Chapter 33: Steward Lu’s Audacious Treachery

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The steward of the Lu household was named Lu Fu. He had been born into service at the General’s Residence, as had several generations of his ancestors before him, all of whom had been entrusted with important duties. In his youth, Lu Fu had even accompanied the old general to the frontier.

The old general and Lu Fu had been childhood friends. He had originally intended to take the young man into the army and help him win distinction, but Lu Fu simply was not suited for that life. He eventually returned to the Lu household, content to serve as a steward, and in time rose to the position of chief steward.

In the past, Lu Fu had indeed been utterly loyal to the General’s Residence.

But wealth could move the human heart.

Under Lu Jinrong’s mismanagement, the Lu household had become riddled with leaks, and money poured out in torrents. Who could witness such a thing without growing envious?

At first, Lu Fu had genuinely tried to stop Lu Jinrong. But she considered him meddlesome and obstructive, and even had him brutally beaten with a rod, nearly killing him.

That beating shattered the last of Lu Fu’s loyalty.

“If that is how things are, why should I remain so stubborn? If everyone else can profit, why can’t I? In any case, the General’s Residence will eventually squander all its money. Better that it flow into my hands. At least while it is with me, it still belongs to the Lu family. If the General’s Residence truly finds itself in desperate straits one day, I will not stand by and watch it perish.”

When Lu Fu spoke these words, he was remarkably frank, as though he still believed he had done the family a great service.

Lin Wanqing was so furious that she laughed. “By your reasoning, the Lu family ought to thank you, then?”

“I know, Madam, that you will not believe me,” Lu Fu said. “But in the beginning, that truly was what I thought.”

At first, he really had thought so, and he had acted without the slightest pang of conscience. But as the money in his hands grew, his thoughts gradually strayed.

He began using the money he had siphoned away to undermine the Lu family’s businesses. After forcing several of the family’s shops into ruin, he would buy them up and make them his own, then reopen them and use them to generate even more wealth.

In less than three years, he had amassed a fortune.

He had originally intended to request his release from service before Lu Jinxiao returned, but Lu Jinrong refused. She had created such a massive mess that Lu Jinxiao was returning to be married, and she feared she would be unable to contain the consequences. Thus, she stubbornly refused to grant Lu Fu’s request.

So Lu Fu simply gave up. He stopped restraining the other stewards and allowed them to plunder as much as they pleased.

That was how the outrageous accounts from the wedding banquet had come to exist.

He had dared to act this way because, over the years, he had been extraordinarily clever in siphoning money from the Lu household. Nothing could be discovered by examining the accounts alone. Even if everything came to light, Lu Jinxiao would have no way to hold him responsible.

After all, Lu Jinrong had been in charge of the household. Every coin had passed through her hands.

Who could have imagined that everything he had done would be exposed without concealment before this eighteen-year-old new mistress?

He could rack his brains forever and still not understand how she had discovered it all.

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And yet, for some inexplicable reason, he felt a little relieved.

The General’s Residence could still be saved.

After Lu Fu had confessed everything, he bowed deeply to Lin Wanqing until his forehead struck the ground.

“Madam, this old servant has failed the trust and responsibility entrusted to him by the old general. I am willing to return every last possession belonging to the General’s Residence, as well as all the businesses I acquired for myself. I beg Madam to show mercy and spare the lives of my parents, wife, and children. Do not sell them off. Send them to one of the estates instead—even if they must perform the hardest and most exhausting labor.”

Lin Wanqing truly wanted to drag Lu Jinrong up and beat her senseless.

What kind of idiot could drive a man who had once been utterly loyal into betraying his master?

The fact that the General’s Residence had survived until today could only be credited to the small measure of conscience Lu Fu still possessed. Had he been even a little more ruthless, the General’s Residence would long since have become the laughingstock of Yuzhou City.

Though, in truth, it was already being ridiculed often enough. At least it still retained an empty shell.

Suppressing her urge to strike Lu Jinrong, Lin Wanqing said to Lu Fu, “I agree to your request. Rest assured. I will make proper arrangements for your parents, wife, and children. They have also devoted most of their lives to the General’s Residence. I will not allow anyone to mistreat them.”

Lu Fu struck his forehead against the ground three more times. “Thank you, Madam.”

Lin Wanqing waved her hand. “Someone, take Lu Fu to the magistrate’s office.”

Two young servants stepped forward, and Lu Fu cooperatively allowed them to bind him.

When the young woman saw him being tied up, she immediately burst into tears. “Husband, what will become of me? What will become of our child?”

Lu Fu glanced at her. “Follow Madam’s arrangements.”

With that, Lu Fu followed the servants away, leaving the woman behind to clutch her child and weep helplessly.

Lin Wanqing said to her, “You have two choices. First, leave the child behind and return wherever you came from. Second, take the child with you and accompany Lu Fu’s parents to the estate.”

The woman barely paused before answering, “I choose the first.”

She had been a courtesan whom Lu Fu had brought out of a pleasure house. She had enjoyed more than two years of comfortable living by his side and was utterly unwilling to accompany the Lu family to an estate and suffer hardship.

As she spoke, she handed the child over.

Lin Wanqing had Banxia take the child and then said to the woman, “From this day onward, you are forbidden to reveal anything about the chief steward to anyone outside. Otherwise, I will show you what it means to regret your actions too late.”

So long as outsiders remained unaware of what had happened with the chief steward, the General’s Residence would still have a scrap of dignity left to hide behind.

The woman trembled violently with fear and hurriedly said, “I swear I will not say a single word.”

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She did not dare underestimate this general’s wife, who was not much older than herself. Even a shrewd man like Lu Fu had fallen into her hands. Someone like her could never hope to stand against Madam.

She had grown up in a pleasure house and was most skilled at weighing gains and losses. Naturally, she knew how to preserve her own life.

Seeing that the woman understood her situation, Lin Wanqing had someone escort her away.

As for the eight servants who had attended the mother and child, they were taken away and sold immediately.

By the time everything had been dealt with, it was already past noon.

Lin Wanqing was hungry, so she said to Banxia, “Have someone bring the meal. I will eat first, then continue handling matters.”

Before long, the servants carried in a table and set it up, then brought over a food box and arranged the dishes.

Lin Wanqing’s meal was simple: four dishes and one soup, all in modest portions, enough for one person.

“You should eat as well. There will still be plenty of work after this.”

The mistress and her servants began their meal.

The fragrance of the food drifted throughout the courtyard. The stewards kneeling on the ground swallowed desperately.

They had been kneeling all morning and were already hungry, thirsty, and exhausted. They were terrified as well, and the aroma of the meal pulled their emotions taut.

At last, one of them could endure no longer.

“Madam, I confess! I will tell you everything. I beg Madam to spare my life.”

He was the steward in charge of the front courtyard, a position that offered ample opportunities for profit.

Lin Wanqing lowered her chopsticks. “Wait until I have finished eating.”

The man continued kneeling uneasily.

After Lin Wanqing finished her meal and washed her hands, the others finally broke down as well, weeping and pleading for mercy.

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