Chapter 6

Their testimony matched the correspondence from the separate residence, the medical records from the third month, and Chu Xing's journey to Yangzhou. Chu Chu admitted she had not miscarried since the third month. This was still the same pregnancy.

The lie about the child's bloodline was exposed.

But the judicial officer didn't close the file.

"Continue with the sale authorization."

The questioning that followed left nothing out.

The copyist admitted imitating my handwriting. The seal carver admitted that Chu Chu had sent someone with an old impression of my seal. The page who delivered it explained how he'd obtained and passed it on, and where he'd received payment. A false seal was found in the box Chu Chu had brought back. It matched the impression on Manager Qian's authorization exactly.

Chu Xing's letter, the sale contract, and the signatures acknowledging payment were also compared one by one.

Only then did Chu Chu admit she'd proposed selling the warehouse to make up her redemption fee. She knew I hadn't consented, yet still took the forged authorization to the buyer and accepted the two thousand taels transferred afterward.

Through tears, she said,

"I only wanted a comfortable life."

Standing below the bench, Manager Qian's voice was hoarse too.

"So my family has to lose all its capital for you to live comfortably?"

She had no answer.

As for the eighteen thousand taels paid to Zhuyu House, the bank and the establishment's receipts confirmed it had received the full amount. Whether its proprietor had participated in the fraudulent sale required a separate investigation based on evidence. The money couldn't simply be confiscated because it had been received as a redemption fee.

Someone would still have to make good the silver already spent.

More than twenty days later, the judgment was settled.

For participating in the forged sale authorization and conspiring with Chu Xing to defraud the warehouse buyer, Chu Chu was sentenced to imprisonment and recovery of all illicit proceeds. Because she was pregnant, female staff would care for her in custody, with separate arrangements for the birth.

The judgment said nothing about her "lowly birth."

For misappropriating shop funds and conspiring in a fraudulent sale, Chu Xing was sentenced to corporal punishment and restitution. After the case was reported upward, the court stripped him of his status as heir and rejected his petition to inherit the title.

I didn't plead for leniency.

The clan elder rushed in with the news, forgetting even to lean on his cane.

"The title is gone! The line of the Marquis of Yongchang ends with Xing!"

I looked up.

"Third Uncle, when he bought Chu Chu with my money, you said it was enough to gain a grandson."

The corner of his mouth twitched.

I put the case documents back on the table.

"Someone has now come to claim that grandson."

"Please persuade him to repay the remaining debt."

9

The day Chu Chu was taken into the detention quarters, I went to the court office to collect the property restitution documents.

Between two doorways, she recognized me.

"Bai Yahan."

Her voice was hoarse, without any of the gentleness she'd shown in the hall.

"Are you pleased now? You've destroyed your own son's future. Who'll support you in old age and bury you?"

I stopped.

"You haven't served me so much as a bowl of rice, yet you're already thinking about my funeral."

Her eyes were frighteningly red.

"Someone like you has no idea what I've suffered!"

I looked at her.

"I know you suffered at Zhuyu House."

She stared.

"But Manager Qian didn't sell you there. The assistants in those three shops didn't force you to serve anyone."

"Why should their food money pay for your suffering?"

Her lips moved. After a long time, she forced out,

"Chu Xing said all of it was his…"

"His letter to the deputy manager plainly said his mother hadn't authorized it."

I raised the document in my hand.

"You can read. You knew what those words meant."

The female attendant urged her onward.

She clung to the doorframe, her knuckles whitening.

In the end, she let go.

I didn't look again.

When I returned home, the clan elder had already waited in my courtyard for half a day.

This time, he hadn't taken my place at the head.

"Niece, we spoke a little harshly before."

He gave two dry laughs and pushed a wooden box toward me.

"Fifth Aunt sends this as an apology."

Inside was an old gold hairpin.

I recognized it. Five years earlier, when her daughter married, I'd given her a box of six. This was the lightest.

"If you have something to say, say it."

His smile died.

"Can the donated properties be withdrawn? We'll sign an agreement. We won't interfere again. You can manage them alone."

I opened the Ministry of Revenue's receipt.

He didn't look. Instead, he lowered his voice.

"Haven't you kept half your dowry? Cover Xing's debt first. If your son has a way forward, you'll have support in old age."

I suddenly laughed.

After all that, the only favor they were willing to grant me was the right to earn money for the entire family.