Green Mountain

Chen Ji remained silent.

The account books of the Chen Family Salt Shop were kept flawlessly clean by Chen Yue, leaving no handle to grasp.

However, in the account books, there were only records of official salt, with no sign of a single pound of private salt. It must be that several shopkeepers concealed the truth from the main family, secretly mixing private salt into the Chen Family Salt Shop for sale, dividing the profits among themselves.

Now that Second Manager Ye, who was responsible for the private salt, is dead, the deficit in the public accounts is entirely pinned on him, leaving no living witness. Moreover, even the group of private salt traffickers were silenced by murder, and the second branch has thoroughly eliminated the hidden dangers of the salt shop.

No wonder Chen Lizhi was so calm and composed.

A sudden thud was heard.

Chen Yue knelt on the green gold brick, his head like pounding garlic as he kowtowed: "Family Head, it was my oversight, I didn't expect to indulge this scoundrel Ye Yumin in embezzling the public accounts, I sincerely ask the Family Head for punishment."

The sound of his kowtowing echoed in Wendan Hall, persisting until he bled, yet he did not stop.

Official Chen was silent for a long time and allowed him to continue kowtowing.

Chen Wende scolded angrily: "What use is there in kowtowing now, instead of thinking of a remedy?"

Chen Yue did not dare to stop, he could only continue to kowtow.

Chen Wende's gaze furtively swept towards the Family Head, who nonetheless remained with eyes closed, as if truly intent on letting Chen Yue kowtow to death in Wendan Hall. He then looked at Chen Ji, who was silently watching Chen Yue kowtow, with no ripple of emotion in his eyes.

Lowering his head to look at his own reflection in the green gold brick, Chen Ji softly said: "By rights, Second Manager Ye embezzled twenty-three thousand taels of silver, which cannot be spent so quickly. An average family buying a thousand-mile horse costs no more than two hundred taels of silver, and even buying a three-entry courtyard in the inner city costs only two thousand taels of silver, so why is it that uncle and elder brother have just accepted that this silver is impossible to recover, and no one mentions the recovery of the embezzled funds?"

Chen Wende was speechless.

Chen Ji looked up directly at him: "Elder brother, if we now raid the home of Second Manager Ye, perhaps the twenty-three thousand taels of silver are right there, wouldn't you agree?"

Chen Wende remained expressionless; what Chen Ji was suggesting was clearly that the second branch should cover this deficit.

But this is twenty-three thousand taels of silver, more than the lives of Chen Yue and the others combined.

Chen Wende suddenly realized that this younger half-brother... is a person who likes to pursue to the very end.

Amid the sound of Chen Yue's kowtowing, suddenly a voice came from outside Wendan Hall: "Oh, so lively here?"

Everyone looked and saw Chen Yu striding in, dressed in a blue official robe.

Chen Yu stepped over the threshold and kicked Chen Yue to the side, cursing: "Didn't you see the Family Head coming and make way? No awareness at all."

Chen Yue tumbled on the ground, and Chen Yu cupped his hands toward Official Chen: "Family Head, I have ascertained the cause of the grain shop deficit; it involves the shopkeeper Chen Xuan Su colluding with the accountant, warehouse supervisor, and clerks from various grain stores to commit fraud. The accountant embezzled using the 'Flying Sprinkling' method during grain receipt, the warehouse supervisor added rice hulls to increase weight at warehouse entry using the 'Inserting Rice Bran' method, and then privately sold warehouse bottom grain through the 'bottom grain' method. A total of thirty-seven people were involved in corruption, stealing twelve thousand stones of rice over three years, converting to nine thousand six hundred taels of silver. And this is just for three years; if we trace further back, there might be even more."

Chen Lizhi perked up: "In just a few days, you caught so many people?"

Chen Yu smiled slightly: "Father, if given more time, I could catch more. But son privately believes that if we were to arrest all of them, it might cause panic among the staff of the grain shop, making them lose interest in managing the shop, so this matter has not been expanded. After all, the grain shop is our family's, the less we operate it, the less our daily income."

Chen Lizhi stroked his beard: "Prudent. You've indeed made great progress over the years at the Ministry of Revenue. We can't let a few scoundrels affect the family's business."

At this point, he picked up the teacup by his side, casually looking toward Chen Lizun: "Elder brother, all the people in the grain shop are yours, as I recall the warehouse supervisor is the uncle from the lady wife's maternal family? Also, several clerks in the grain shops are from her family... What do you suggest we do about this?"

Wendan Hall became quiet as if the air turned to ice, freezing everyone's words in their mouths.

After a moment, Chen Ji spoke: "What Brother Chen Yu said is very reasonable, we can't let a few scoundrels delay the family's business. Moving so many people simultaneously in the Chen Family Salt Shop and Grain Shop would be a laughingstock for outsiders."

Chen Yue suddenly let out a long breath.

Official Chen, with a hoarse voice, said slowly: "The grain shop's shopkeeper engaged in nepotism and fraud, receive one hundred strokes, the salt shop's shopkeeper for inadequate supervision, receive fifty strokes; all those involved in the grain shop fraud shall be expelled from the Chen family and never be employed again, take a ten-year check on the accounts, and have them cover the deficit, otherwise, prosecute; for the seven remaining shopkeepers in the salt shop, even if you have to sell ancestral assets and family land, you must cover the twenty-three thousand taels of silver deficit in the public account, otherwise, all shall be beaten to death."

Twenty-three thousand taels of silver...

Chen Yue joined the salt shop as an apprentice at sixteen, became a warehouse supervisor at twenty-one, a second manager at twenty-eight, and the store manager at thirty-four. He is now forty-six, having held the power of the salt shop for over a decade, but to cover this twenty-three thousand taels of silver deficit with the other shopkeepers would probably mean working in vain all his life.

But that's the money buying his life.

Chen Yue crawled up heavily and kowtowed: "Thank you, Family Head, for not killing me. Thank you..."

Chen Ji interrupted: "Family Head, the emergence of someone like Second Manager Ye in the salt shop is by no means accidental. In my humble opinion, when you see one ant in the room, there must be millions hiding underground. Although my Chen family does not intend to make this matter public, it is still necessary to investigate whether there are other vermin. Please, Family Head, allow me to thoroughly investigate the salt shop, examining each shopkeeper, warehouse supervisor, accountant, clerk, and head worker. Anyone who does not cooperate in checking accounts shall never be employed again."

Chen Yue shuddered internally.

Official Chen rasped: "Granted."

Chen Ji continued: "Family Head, now that Second Manager Ye is dead, the salt shop's transport affairs cannot be interrupted, please allow me to appoint a trustworthy person to take up the position of second manager."

Official Chen nodded: "Also acceptable."

Chen Yue's heart sank to the bottom, as Chen Ji first seized the power of appointment and removal in the salt shop, then planted a nail to lock all transportation—that alone would be enough to pin him down immobile.

At this moment, Chen Xu, the middle-aged man beside Official Chen, said in a low voice: "Come, Family Head, it's time to go to Wenhua Palace."

Official Chen made an affirmative sound, lifted his arm, and Chen Xu assisted him out.

As Official Chen passed by the others, he leisurely said: "Gentlemen, there is no need for bitterness, the fact that we have successors in the family should be a matter for joy, not grievance. After all, it's easier to get ten thousand soldiers than one good general, it's only a matter of hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, my Chen family can afford it, to use this silver to secure two successors, it brings me great joy. Disperse, lest we waste more time on morning attendance."

Everyone watched Official Chen board the carriage outside Wendan Hall, and Chen Xu led several middle-aged men with dragon-like steps.

As Chen Yu walked out, he laughed heartily and remarked to Chen Ji: "Well played, Chen Liqin was really blind to have sent you to the Medical Hall as an apprentice."

Chen Yu bowed his hands in a cupping gesture, neither retreating nor giving in, and replied: "Uncle, you praise me too much."

Chen Lizhi laughed loudly and walked out: "Let's go, let's go, there's a long way ahead."

Chen Yue scrambled up from the floor on all fours, and embarrassedly said to Chen Ji: "It's my wife's family that has tripped up this affair, otherwise today Chen Yue would surely have been brought to ruin, but..."

Chen Ji smiled: "No need to blame yourself, Uncle, I understand the reasoning."

Chen Lizun, leaning against the beam of Wendan Hall, looked outside and said with emotion: "From the court to the family, there's no escaping from one's obligations. Had it not been for your aunt's maternal family dragging this down, this day you surely could have destroyed Chen Yue, but..."

Chen Ji clasped his hands in a bow: "I must thank you, Uncle, for your help this time. Without those fifteen thousand salt permits from the Ministry of Revenue, I couldn't have set up this trap."

Chen Lizun shook his head: "No need to thank family. About that money from selling salt permits..."

Chen Ji earnestly replied: "The money is also in the Silver Apricot Garden, please trouble Uncle to arrange for the family to send it back in full, as per the four maces of silver per permit agreed upon with the Ministry of Revenue... Do you have other plans?"

Chen Lizun lowered his head and pondered for a moment: "What can be said, and what cannot?"

Chen Ji said confidently: "Say everything."