Oh no! My grandmother made me shoulder the responsibility for eight households!

Chapter 15 Punishing the Traitor

At the beginning of Hai hour, outside the warehouse courtyard.

Lin Chen lurked in the shadows, and Yuan Tiangang silently appeared beside him.

"My lord, Lin Fu has just gone in, bringing three trusted men with him."

"Proceed according to plan."

The two of them slipped into the courtyard wall like ghosts.

The warehouse is a separate courtyard with two sections, one in front and one in back.

The front yard served as the accounting office and steward's quarters, while the back yard was the actual storehouse, where the mansion's valuables were stored.

At this moment, the lights were on in the front yard's accounting room, and several figures were projected onto the window paper.

"...Master Cui is very satisfied with this batch of goods." It was Lin Fu's voice, tinged with obsequiousness.

"Third Master said that another batch of spirit stones will be transported next month, and we should prepare the silver."

Another voice said:

"Master Fu, the household accounts have been under intense scrutiny lately. The Third Madam and the Fifth Madam are in the accounting room every day. Shouldn't we slow down our actions?"

"Slow down what?" Lin Fu sneered.

"What could those two women possibly find out? The ledger is flawless. At most, they might think the price is a bit high, but what else could they do?"

Besides, with the Second Prince and the Cui family backing me up, would they dare to touch me?

"But what about the Eighth Young Master..."

"That spoiled brat?" Lin Fu scoffed.

"All he does is frequent brothels, what good can he possibly get? If it weren't for the old lady protecting him, I would have already..."

Before he could finish speaking, the door was pushed open.

Lin Chen walked in slowly, a smile on his face: "Uncle Fu, what did you do to me earlier?"

The four people inside the tent all changed color at the same time.

Lin Fu was the first to react, and tried to remain calm:

"Eighth Master, what brings you here? Why aren't you resting so late?"

"Can't sleep, came to see what Uncle Fu is busy with." Lin Chen looked around.

"Hey, these three are... the accounting staff? Working overtime so late, you must be tired."

The three men turned pale, and one of them instinctively stepped back, his hand reaching for his waist.

Lin Fuqian laughed, "Eighth Master, you jest. This old servant is just doing a routine inventory; it'll be finished soon. Why don't you go back and rest?"

"No rush." ​​Lin Chen sat down in the chair. "I happen to have some questions about the accounts and would like to ask Uncle Fu for advice."

He casually picked up an account book from the table:

"For example, this batch of 'century-old ginseng' was purchased last month, with each piece costing 500 taels, for a total price of 10,000 taels."

But I remember that a century-old ginseng root on the market costs at most 300 taels per piece.

"Uncle Fu, what's going on with this price difference?"

Lin Fu's forehead was beaded with sweat: "This...this is top-grade ginseng, it looks excellent..."

"Really?" Lin Chen turned to another page.

"And what about this sum? Repairing the ancestral hall will require thirty cubic meters of nanmu wood, at a price of one thousand taels per cubic meter."

But I just asked the timber merchant yesterday, and a cubic meter of nanmu costs at most five hundred taels.

"Eighth Master," Lin Fu's face darkened, "you don't trust this old servant?"

"Of course I believe you." Lin Chen closed the account book. "Uncle Fu has been in the household for over thirty years, with great merit and hard work. How could I not believe you?"

He stood up and walked up to Lin Fu:

"So I made a special effort to check and see how much Uncle Fu has 'worked' for the family over the years."

Lin Fu's eyes flickered: "What does Eighth Master mean?"

"What I mean is," Lin Chen said, his smile unchanged.

"Uncle Fu bought that three-courtyard house in the south of the city for eight thousand taels, right?"

When his son got married, the dowry was three thousand taels of silver.

For my grandson's first birthday banquet, I hired the chef from "Zui Xian Lou" restaurant, which cost five hundred taels of silver.

"Uncle Fu, where did you get so much money, you're just a housekeeper?"

Lin Fu's expression changed completely: "You investigated me?"

"Not just that." Lin Chen took out the copper coin from his pocket.

"Uncle Fu, you recognize the logo of the Cui Family Money Shop, right? Also, is Manager Sun of the Honest Merchant Guild your cousin? Did you handle the purchase of the mansion by Prince Zhao Yuan?"

With each sentence he spoke, Lin Fu's face paled a little more.

"Eighth Master," he said through gritted teeth, "there are some things you're better off not knowing. Knowing too much won't do you any good."

"Oh?" Lin Chen raised an eyebrow. "Then, Uncle Fu, tell me, what's wrong with it?"

Lin Fu gave a signal, and the three men simultaneously drew their short knives and surrounded him.

"Eighth Master, this old servant does not want to resort to violence." Lin Fu took a few steps back. "Just pretend you didn't see anything and go back to sleep."

Tomorrow morning, this old servant will personally bid farewell to the Dowager Madam, leave the capital, and never return. What do you say?

Lin Chen laughed: "Is Uncle Fu planning to run away?"

"It's better for everyone if we both take a step back," Lin Fu said in a deep voice.

"Eighth Prince, even if you know these things, what can you do? The Cui family, Prince Zhao, the Second Prince—which one of them can you afford to offend? You might as well play dumb and save your life."

"That makes sense." Lin Chen nodded. "But I just don't like to play dumb."

Before he could finish speaking, three men pounced on him!

The blade flashed like snow, aimed straight for vital points.

But Lin Chen simply raised his hand and flicked his fingers repeatedly.

"Ding! Ding! Ding!"

With three sharp sounds, three short knives flew out of his hands at the same time and stuck to the roof beam.

The three men's hands were split open, and they screamed as they retreated.

Lin Fu's pupils constricted sharply: "You know martial arts?!"

"What are you saying? Is it reasonable for the young master of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion to not know martial arts?" Lin Chen slowly approached. "Uncle Fu, can you speak properly now?"

A ruthless glint flashed in Lin Fu's eyes. He suddenly pulled out a bamboo tube from his sleeve and blew on it at Lin Chen!

Several cold stars shot out—poisoned steel needles!

However, Lin Chen's figure flickered like a ghost, and all the steel needles missed their mark.

When it reappeared, it was already beside Lin Fu, and it patted him on the shoulder.

"Snap!"

The shoulder bone was fractured.

Lin Fu screamed and fell to the ground, the bamboo tube in his hand rolling away.

"Uncle Fu, don't embarrass yourself by showing off such a small thing." Lin Chen picked up the bamboo tube and examined it.

"The 'Rain of Pear Blossom Needles' from the Underworld? It seems that behind Uncle Fu, there's more than just the Cui family and Zhao Yuan."

Lin Fu's face turned ashen: "You... what level of cultivation have you reached?!"

"That's not important." Lin Chen squatted down. "What's important is, does Uncle Fu want to live, or does he want to die?"

"You wouldn't dare kill me!" Lin Fu gritted his teeth. "If you kill me, the Cui family won't let you off!"

"Who said I was going to kill you?" Lin Chen smiled.

"I just want to know a few things. For example, how were those Corrosive Spirit Stones transported out three years ago? Who was there to receive them? And after Father found out, who gave the order to silence him?"

Lin Fu trembled: "I don't know..."

"Don't know?" Lin Chen gently pressed his finger on the broken shoulder.

"Ah—!" Lin Fu let out a bloodcurdling scream like a pig being slaughtered.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!" he cried, tears streaming down his face.

"It was Third Master Cui... Cui Yongnian! He made me tamper with the purchase order, mixing the Bone-Eating Spirit Stones into the ordinary spirit stones... The transportation was arranged by Prince Zhao, using the Ministry of War's carriages... The one who picked us up was Elder Bloodhand from the Yama Palace..."

"How did Father find out?"

"There was...an old soldier...who recognized the Bone-Corroding Spirit Stone while unloading the cargo and reported it to the Duke..." Lin Fu said, trembling.

"The Duke wanted a thorough investigation, and Third Master Cui, fearing exposure, contacted Bei Shuo..."

Lin Chen's eyes were icy: "So, the deaths of Father and my brothers were arranged by Cui Yongnian and Zhao Yuan?"

"It was...it was Elder Bloodhand who personally led men to infiltrate the Northern Shuo army and launch a surprise attack amidst the chaos..." Lin Fu wept bitterly.

"Eighth Master, I was forced into this! They kidnapped my son, and if I didn't do as they said, he would die!"

Where is your son now?

"At...at the Cui family's villa..."

Lin Chen stood up and said to the person in the shadows, "Did you record it all?"

Yuan Tiangang walked out silently, holding a sound-recording stone in his hand.

"It was recorded very clearly," Yuan Tiangang said.

Lin Fu was utterly devastated when he saw the recording stone.

"Uncle Fu," Lin Chen looked down at him.

"Considering your many years of service to the Lin family, I'll give you a chance—write down everything you've done over the years, sign it, and put your fingerprint on it."

Then, I will send someone to rescue your son, and send you away from Dayan, never to return.

Lin Fu's eyes widened: "You...you're willing to let me go?"

"The premise is that you tell the truth," Lin Chen said calmly. "If you utter even a single lie, you and your son will suffer a terrible death."

"I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything!" Lin Fu kowtowed repeatedly.