From Hoarding to Time-Travel: My Supplies Saved Him

Chapter 674: Chapter 676: Accountability

Mrs. Liang He, however, had no intention of keeping him for an on-the-spot interrogation. "Since you have information, go and give a proper account.

If you can truly expose the person behind this, I will promise you a fine future."

With a wave of her hand, she said, "Take them all away."

"Madam, I have something to say as well."

"Madam, this truly has nothing to do with me! I don’t know anything!"

...

Mrs. Liang He acted as if she couldn’t hear their pleas. Instead, she turned to her niece and asked in a low voice, "Xiao Yu, who do you think would dare to do such a thing?"

He Xiaoyu replied, "Aunt, I don’t know either."

Mrs. Liang He shot her a glance. "Speak your mind. Even if you’re wrong, your aunt won’t blame you."

He Xiaoyu said, "I think the culprit must be someone from our own household."

If it were an outsider with a grudge against the family, they would have used a fatal blow, given the opportunity.

"Aunt, there’s another possibility," He Xiaoyu added in a low voice. "Perhaps one of the servants was careless and made a mistake."

Mrs. Liang He chuckled. "A mistake? That might be the best joke I’ve heard all year."

He Xiaoyu didn’t dare say another word and quietly stepped aside.

Mrs. Liang He said coldly, "A pity the culprit isn’t ruthless enough. They want the Master to keep his high rank and wealth, yet they also want me gone.

With such misplaced mercy, I truly wonder about the teachings of the nannies left behind by the Chen Family.

Go to the government office and tell the Master to come home. It’s time he learned what fools the people he so diligently protects truly are."

The head steward standing to the side asked cautiously, "Madam, several of the official’s wives have fallen ill today. Should we prepare some gifts to send to them first?"

Mrs. Liang He turned to him with a smile. "Of course.

They were all my guests, and they’ve suffered this calamity for no reason. I feel terribly sorry. Go to the treasury, pick out all the most valuable items, and I will decide how to distribute them."

’Those things were supposed to be sent back to the ancestral home at the end of the year. Now that this has happened, I’ll have to use them to make amends first.’

The head steward hesitated. "But those things..."

Mrs. Liang He raised a hand. "Just do as I say. The Master will have no objections."

Liang Shi was hastily summoned back to the manor. On the way, a steward gave him a brief account of what had happened in the rear courtyard.

He felt a surge of anger and began yelling before he even stepped through the door, "Mrs. Liang He, what kind of job are you doing managing this household?

I ask you to host one banquet, and you manage to create such a massive blunder.

And look what’s happened now! Several official’s wives have fallen ill. How am I supposed to explain this to my subordinates?"

Mrs. Liang He remained seated in the main chair, not rising to greet him as she usually would. "If this is my responsibility, then I am willing to hand over the authority to manage this household.

But for you, my lord, to indiscriminately push all the blame onto me without knowing the full story—is that not unfair?"

"You dare to stand there and argue? Aren’t you the one in charge of everything in the rear courtyard?

Now that there’s a problem, you want to shirk your responsibility?"

Mrs. Liang He chuckled lightly. "It seems my lord has already found me guilty. Very well, let’s say the fault is mine. In that case, let’s bring out the true culprit of this incident, so that our great Lord Qingtian here can pass a fair judgment."

As she spoke, she turned to her trusted nanny. "Go and bring the person out. I hope that this time, my lord will handle the matter with impartiality, just as the rumors outside claim—without favoritism or personal bias."

Liang Shi flicked his sleeves and sat down to her right. "Stop with the sarcastic remarks. Don’t think you can escape blame this way. We’ll deal with this later. For now, get ready. I’m taking you to the other manors to offer our apologies."

Mrs. Liang He tilted her head and smiled at him. "Indeed. Committing such a grave error, poisoning an official’s wife... for such a crime, even death by a thousand cuts would not be enough to satisfy one’s anger."

Liang Shi stared at her coldly. ’This woman must have been provoked into a frenzy,’ he thought. ’She’s not in her right mind.’

Just then, the nanny returned from the rear courtyard, escorting another nanny and two young maids. She forced them to kneel in the center of the hall. "Madam, I’ve brought them."

Liang Shi’s eyes narrowed as he recognized the nanny. "Mrs. Liang He, what are you doing? Are you meddling in the affairs of my personal courtyard?"

Mrs. Liang He lifted her teacup and took a leisurely sip. "Weren’t you looking for the culprit, my lord? Look, this is the one who poisoned the food. We have witnesses and evidence. Now it just depends on how you choose to handle it."

"Utter nonsense! Nanny Luo is a long-serving member of this household. How could she possibly do such a thing?"

"Oh? So I, the Madam of this house, have a reason to create trouble for myself?"

Liang Shi was silent for a moment. "...In any case, it’s because your management of the household is lax."

"When I first married into this family, you told me on the very first day that I had no right to interfere with the servants in your personal courtyard or those left behind by your late wife.

Do you still recall that, my lord?"

Liang Shi was speechless.

"So how can the crime of ’lax management’ be pinned on me now?"

...

Mrs. Liang He beckoned to the servant who had confessed earlier. "Now that Lord Qingtian is seated here, hurry up and report everything you saw. With the great Lord Qingtian presiding over the case, your names will surely be cleared."

"My lord, today, while I was preparing the dishes, this young woman asked me to help her carry something to your courtyard."

An old maid pointed at one of the kneeling girls. "Since it concerned your courtyard, my lord, I didn’t dare to delay and went with her. I don’t know what happened after that."

"Reporting to my lord," Chef Li began, now pointing at the other young maid, "after that woman left, this person came in and started talking to me about your preferences. She said you now enjoy spicy food and that the dishes from the kitchen were too bland."

"What does that prove?" Liang Shi’s face had turned cold, a sense that something was wrong growing within him.

"And me," someone suddenly spoke up from among the kneeling servants. "I saw Nanny Luo go into the kitchen when you, Master Chef, were in there with this young woman. But she came out again very quickly."

"I must say I’m curious," Mrs. Liang He interjected. "Why would the maids and nannies from my lord’s personal courtyard all crowd into the kitchen at the same time?"

Nanny Luo protested, "This old servant merely wanted to see how the food was coming along. You cannot wrongfully accuse me, Madam."

"Oh, a wrongful accusation, is it?" Mrs. Liang He pointed to one of the old maids. "Then why don’t you tell us what you confessed?"

The old maid was trembling, her words stumbling out. "I... I saw Nanny Luo yesterday... she left the manor. When she came back, she was carrying something in a... a basket..."

"This old servant just went out to buy a few things," Nanny Luo said, glaring at the woman. "You cannot make baseless accusations, Madam."

"Oh... you left the manor? You didn’t come to me for a pass token. How did you get out?"

After saying this, Mrs. Liang He looked at Liang Shi with an expression of sudden realization. "Oh, I almost forgot. My lord has granted these people special privileges. They are not under my jurisdiction.

To come and go from this manor as they please—that is their exclusive prerogative, isn’t it?"