Chapter 6: Mayhem

"I, the old servant, have no idea! The madam just ordered me to fetch a ginseng for the miss, and I had just arrived at the storehouse when it turned out like this; please, my lord, investigate!"

At that moment, several people hurried to the storehouse and shrieked, "Ouch! Heavenly Lord! What is going on?"

The speaker was the concubine Liu Wanru.

Beside her were the second young master of the Minister's Residence and two young ladies.

All were born of Concubine Liu.

"Lord Xiang, this… this…"

"Father, has our Minister's Residence been robbed?" Meng Qingrong covered her mouth and exclaimed, "Why is the storehouse empty?"

Meng Xiuqi furrowed his brows, "How could that be? The main gate shows no signs of damage; how could the items inside vanish silently?"

Meng Xiuqi, also born of Concubine Liu, is an illegitimate son yet highly favored by Meng Hui. He is indeed ambitious; despite his youth he has already become a tribute scholar, smarter than the legitimate eldest son Meng Jue of the Minister's Residence. Meng Hui once said Meng Xiuqi is a top‑candidate seed, so his standing in the Minister's Residence is not far below that of the legitimate Meng Jue.

Meng Hui has always placed great importance on his words.

"Xiuqi, what did you just say?"

Meng Xiuqi glanced at the lock: "The lock is intact; there isn't even a trace of dragging inside the warehouse." He took an oil lamp and entered the warehouse, examined the floor for a while, and said, "There is a rather odd footprint."

"Oh?" Meng Hui hurried forward, "What footprint?"

"Here," Meng Xiuqi pointed to a footprint and said, "It looks like a woman's shoe print." He measured it on the ground: "Men don't wear shoes this small; the guards here are all men, so such a print shouldn't be left. Yet if it were a woman, how could she have moved those items out? It's simply impossible."

"No human could do this," Jiang Clan shook his head and exclaimed, "If not a person, could it be a ghost?"

"Silence!" Meng Hui quickly interjected, cutting Jiang Clan off.

The Emperor now despises talk of strange powers and spirits; if Jiang Clan's words reach the Emperor's ears, even she herself would be implicated.

"It must be someone who stole our house's items; if so, start the investigation within the Minister's Residence!" Meng Hui shouted: "Search! Let me, Lord Xiang, search! No matter what, the items must be found for me!"

In an instant, the entire Minister's Residence was in chaos.

Chi Nan Yi never expected that within just a few hours, the warehouse theft would be discovered.

"Miss," Cai Pin walked to the doorway and whispered, "Someone from the residence wants to search the courtyard."

Chi Nan Yi slightly raised an eyebrow, "Search the courtyard? Why?"

She draped a cloak over her shoulders and stepped out of the room.

"They say our Minister's Residence was robbed."

Chi Nan Yi's gaze fell on the group marching toward her courtyard; as they approached, Chi Nan Yi pretended to be weak and staggered to the side.

"Miss!"

Chi Nan Yi coughed weakly.

"Chi Nan Yi hasn't improved yet?" Meng Hui said gravely, "With this condition, what shall we do the day after tomorrow?"

"The day after tomorrow?"

Chi Nan Yi lowered her head, repeatedly trying to recall what day the day after tomorrow was.

At that moment, she suddenly remembered that the day after tomorrow was the day the Crown Prince would meet the original owner.

Meng Hui turned his head, visibly displeased, and looked at the senior madam, "How are the people in this courtyard being attended?"

"Father," Chi Nan Yi whispered, "Don't blame them; they were only assigned by mother today to attend." She looked bewildered at the crowd, "Father, it's already so late, and such a massive mobilization—what's the matter?"

Seeing her so frail, Meng Hui shook his head, "The residence was robbed; the items in our storehouse were taken, and we are currently searching!"

Chi Nan Yi covered her lips, her face shocked, and said, "Father, are you suspecting Chi Nan Yi of stealing?"

Hearing her say that, Meng Hui couldn't help but pause.

"Father, Chi Nan Yi doesn't know how many items are in the storehouse, but regardless of the amount, she would never steal! She isn't short of silver."

Meng Hui, upon hearing that, also felt he had lost his mind.

There are so many items in that storehouse; if they were stolen, how could the Minister's Residence possibly hide them?

Could they have been carted away?

But how could that be? Silently moving so many large crates and even antique shelves out of the Minister's Residence is sheer fantasy; recalling Jiang Clan's words earlier, Meng Hui couldn't help but shiver.

At that moment, two guards rushed over: "Lord Xiang, I have remembered something."

"What is it?"

"This afternoon, at the back gate, there was a suspicious figure. When we spotted him, he leapt away; his lightness skill was superb, and he disappeared within a few breaths."

"What do you mean 'disappeared without a trace'? Isn't it just that we couldn't catch him?" Meng Qingyue rolled her eyes, "In that case, the items in the storehouse were stolen by that thief!"

Chi Nan Yi paused while holding a handkerchief; the man they mentioned… could it be the black‑clad man she saw when she returned in the afternoon?

He took the blame for her, and it does seem she indeed owes him a favor.

"Useless lot!" Meng Hui shouted loudly, "Can't even catch a person, useless lot!"

"I acknowledge my mistake, Lord Xiang, please punish me."

"Father, since it was stolen, we should report it to the authorities! List the missing items, submit the inventory to the government; that way we have a record, and if those items later appear on the market, the authorities can investigate and trace the source."

"Yes, father…" Meng Qingrong echoed, but before she could finish, Meng Hui sharply cut her off: "No! We cannot report it!"

Hearing him say that, a faint, ambiguous smile curled at the corner of Chi Nan Yi's mouth.

She already knew Meng Hui would not agree.

After all, most of these items cannot be openly traded; they were obtained through corruption.

Anyone with a brain would not report them.

This frustration, he can only grind his teeth and swallow blood.

"Father, why can't we report it?" Meng Qingrong said with a resentful look: "Those thieves stole our Minister's Residence's items; aren't you angry? The storehouse is empty, how will we live later? No monthly allowance, and I still want new clothes…"

Bang!

Meng Qingrong's words were cut off as her head was knocked sideways.

"You foolish thing!" Meng Hui shouted angrily, "You clueless idiot! It's still you thinking about your monthly allowance and new clothes! Liu Clan, this is the daughter you raised! When I first said we should raise these children with the senior madam, you said you could raise them yourself, and now look what you've produced—selfish, self‑serving characters!"