Chapter 59: Concubine Wu of the Jun Household

While Jun Zijin was busy collecting debts, the Old Madam was equally occupied with the mess of accounts at the Jun household. Over the course of two days, she discovered a deficit of 500,000 taels of silver in the recorded accounts alone. Of that 500,000, 300,000 had been funneled to the Wu family, and the whereabouts of the remaining 200,000 were unknown; the books only showed the outflow of funds without any record of where they went. With the day of the Jun family’s ancestral rites fast approaching, there was not even 10,000 taels of silver left in the household coffers.

The Old Madam could never have imagined the household had been hollowed out to such an extent. Truly enraged this time, she ordered Wang Mama to summon all the masters of the house to Jingzhu Courtyard, including the First Lady, who was currently under house arrest.

Before long, the masters of each branch arrived at Jingzhu Courtyard. Everyone felt uneasy, wondering what could have provoked the Old Madam into such a fit of fury.

The Old Madam sat in her wheelchair, her gaze slowly sweeping over the crowd before finally resting on Jun Zhengming.

"Zhengming, are you aware that the Jun household's money has all taken the surname Wu? We don't even have enough to cover the ancestral rites, and next month, we won't even be able to pay the servants' wages."

As soon as the Old Madam finished speaking, Lady Li’s face turned beet red, her eyes filled with rage. This was unacceptable; the Jun household would belong to her son in the future, yet Lady Wu had dared to send her son’s money to the Wu family. Lady Li jumped up and pointed at the First Lady, cursing:

"You bitch, you moved all the money to your maiden home—are we supposed to drink the northwest wind?"

The First Lady had never endured such insults and was so furious her face turned ashen. Though she felt guilty about the whereabouts of the money, she would never allow Lady Li to run wild like this.

"Lady Li, you are nothing but a collateral branch relying on the Jun household. What are you, to dare shout at me like that?"

Hearing this, Lady Li’s fury burned even hotter. She pointed at the First Lady’s gauze-wrapped face:

"First Lady, what do you think you are in your current state?"

Jun Zhengming’s head throbbed with anger; he wished he could slap this group of women to death.

"Enough!"

With Jun Zhengming’s angry roar, the hall finally fell silent. His expression was terrifyingly dark as he raised his eyes and glared fiercely at the First Lady:

"Lady Wu, I ask you, since when did my Jun household take the surname Wu?" He no longer held a shred of affection for her.

Lady Wu trembled in fear and dropped to her knees with a thud:

"Old Madam, Master, my brother sends a sum of silver to the residence every month. The day for the delivery is only a few days away, but who would have thought the Second Girl would have him thrown into prison..."

Jun Zijin sneered. Even now, Lady Wu wanted to drag her into this. Jun Zijin scoffed:

"Mother sent the Jun family’s money to the Wu family, gave the Jun family’s legitimate daughter’s shops to the Wu family, and even gave the Jun family’s original wife’s dowry to the Wu family. The Wu family hollowed out the Jun family and returned only small favors. The Wu family occupied the shops of the Jun family’s legitimate daughter to commit crimes and were arrested by the authorities with ironclad evidence, yet Mother wants to blame the Jun family’s legitimate daughter. Mother, how exactly are you doing your math?"

Jun Zijin let out a cold laugh. Without waiting for the First Lady to respond, she continued, addressing Jun Zhengming:

"Father, you probably don't know this, but when I took my mother’s dowry list to take inventory, more than half of the items were gone. I heard that my maternal grandfather emptied the Fang family to provide my mother’s dowry. I actually discovered in the account books of the Linglong Pavilion that many items from my mother’s dowry had been sold. My mother’s dowry was all converted into silver by Mother. I suppose the silver Mother claims her brother sends to our Jun household every month is actually the silver from my mother’s dowry? Father, the Jun household of a dignified Minister is being funded by the dowry of a deceased wife, and the Minister’s successor and the entire household are living off it. Father, Mother is slapping you in the face!"

Lady Wu opened her mouth but could not utter a word. This wretched girl had been sharp-tongued ever since she returned from the farmstead; it was truly bizarre.

Jun Zhengming was both ashamed and annoyed. This Second Girl dared to say anything, but he could not refute her. Since she was speaking based on the account books with evidence, it could not be false. Unable to step down, Jun Zhengming pointed at Lady Wu and cursed:

"You spendthrift woman, how could the Jun family tolerate such reckless behavior from you! How could my Jun family accept a mistress of the house like you! I will divorce you today!"

As soon as these words left Jun Zhengming’s mouth, the hall fell into a deathly silence. Lady Wu and Jun Yiyi widened their eyes in disbelief; they never imagined Jun Zhengming would truly divorce his wife.

The Old Madam frowned slightly, then remained indifferent. She did not like Lady Wu, but she did not want to interfere too much in her son’s inner courtyard affairs. The concubine, Lady Zhou, kept her head down, her expression unreadable. The happiest were Lady Li and Jun Zhidie. Lady Li had been suppressed by the First Lady for so many years and had long been filled with resentment; seeing her end up like this was satisfying. Jun Zhidie wore a look of schadenfreude; with Lady Wu divorced, that bitch Jun Yiyi would be a laughingstock.

"Master, Master, this concubine knows she was wrong. I beg you to give me one more chance." Lady Wu lunged forward, clutching Jun Zhengming’s legs and begging bitterly.

Jun Yiyi, who had been stunned for a long while, dropped to her knees before Jun Zhengming with a thud:

"Father, I beg you to spare Mother. Daughter cannot live without her mother."

Jun Yiyi’s face was pale and streaked with tears, her shoulders trembling and convulsing as if she were about to collapse at any moment. She looked pitiful, enough to stir compassion in anyone.

Jun Zhengming could not bear to see Jun Yiyi like this, and his heart softened immediately. He closed his eyes, sighed deeply, and said:

"Enough. For Yiyi’s sake, from this day forward, Lady Wu is demoted to a concubine and must move out of the Cuiyu Courtyard. None of you are to plead for her again!" Jun Zhengming turned to leave.

Jun Yiyi cried even harder. It was as if her entire world had collapsed; with Lady Wu demoted to a concubine, she, Jun Yiyi, would no longer be the high-and-mighty, enviable legitimate daughter.

"Master." Lady Li ignored Jun Yiyi and called out to Jun Zhengming as he was about to leave.

The First Lady, who had been slumped on the ground, suddenly looked up and stared at Lady Li. Nothing good ever came from this bitch speaking up.

Sure enough, Lady Li said:

"The Old Madam just said that the servants' wages for next month cannot be paid. The First Lady—no, Concubine Wu—sent all the household’s money to the Wu family. Not to mention that we have no funds for the ancestral rites in a few days, our Jun household is now struggling even with daily food and clothing. This matter cannot just end here."

Jun Zhengming felt a splitting headache. What could he do? He suddenly remembered that the Emperor had just bestowed a great deal of silver upon Jun Zijin. He gritted his teeth; what did his pride matter? Solving the immediate crisis was what truly mattered:

"Second Girl, you take out the silver first to tide us over."

As soon as Jun Zhengming spoke, the Old Madam frowned tightly, and Jun Shuyan pouted in dissatisfaction, muttering something under her breath. Everyone else turned their gaze toward Jun Zijin.

Jun Zijin felt a storm of rage inside; this father was actually shameless and thick-skinned to such a degree! She stared at the shameless Jun Zhengming for a long moment before saying calmly:

"Concubine Wu hollowed out the Jun family and stole my late mother’s dowry. Instead of upholding justice for your daughter, Father, you open your mouth to demand the private silver the Emperor bestowed upon me to fill the hole left by Concubine Wu. In Father’s eyes, the Wu family’s face is even bigger than the Emperor’s!"

Jun Zijin had originally wanted to leave Jun Zhengming some dignity; she did not want to upset the Old Madam, but this father was truly shameless.

As soon as Jun Zijin finished, this accusation landed, and Jun Zhengming’s expression changed. He scolded:

"Nonsense! How dare you say such things!"

At this moment, the Old Madam, who had been silent, spoke up:

"Enough, Zhengming. I did not wish to say much about your inner courtyard affairs. Although the Second Girl’s words were perhaps inconsiderate, she is not wrong. You are the First Girl’s father, but you are also the father of the Second and Third Girls. Lady Wu occupied the belongings of the Second Girl’s mother, and instead of upholding justice, you actually ask the Second Girl for money to fill Concubine Wu’s hole! Zhengming, think carefully—is this how a father should act?"

Jun Zhengming was shamed by the Old Madam’s words. After a long while, he said:

"Lady Wu, you will tell them to return the money exactly how you sent it to the Wu family. You are to return all of Mengru’s dowry to the Second Girl within three days."