After Disguising As A Woman To Marry The Foolish Prince, I Became Pregnant - Chapter 18

Pan Fu quickly summoned everyone in the manor to the front hall. Even Hua Jian was called over, followed by a worried-looking Zhu Man, who hurried to meet him and gestured in small movements to ask if he needed help.

“No need,” Zhu Man waved his hand, showing the ledger compiled by Qin Shanhai and the dowry list to Zhu Man, before leading He Tianyun to sit at the head of the hall.

Although the manor usually felt cold and deserted, a residence this large actually housed many people, and they now stood there in a dense, dark crowd.

Zhu Man took the register from Qin Shanhai’s hand and began flipping through it, saying as he browsed, “I have been auditing my dowry these past few days and discovered some items are missing. I know the management of this manor is lax, and I am willing to give those who made a muddled mistake a chance. Whether you took things before I married in or stole them in these recent days, if you admit your fault and hand the items back, I can let bygones be bygones. But if you persist in your delusions, I will report this to the local authorities.”

He deliberately kept his tone cold, but his voice was naturally soft, lacking even a shred of majesty.

Naturally, no one feared him.

Zhu Man didn’t care either, continuing: “From now on, I will call out names. If you have nothing to say, you may return to your work. Luluo.”

A maid walked out somewhat reluctantly and gave a salute: “Luluo greets the Wangfei.”

Zhu Man glanced at Jingxin beside him. Jingxin understood immediately and took out a gold leaf to give to her: “Here, a reward from the Wangfei.”

When Luluo saw that she could get money just for giving a salute, she instantly became happy and gave another salute: “Thank you for the reward, Wangfei.”

Having said that, she pinched the gold leaf and left happily.

When the others saw this, the previous reluctance vanished. Following the names Zhu Man called, they stepped forward one by one to salute, but until every name had been called, no one came forward to confess a crime.

Jingxin immediately frowned, leaning down to whisper, “Wangfei, what if no one admits it? Should we investigate?”

“I said I would hand it over to the authorities,” Zhu Man said casually. “Among the items are things bestowed by Her Imperial Concubine. Her Grace will naturally send people to oversee the matter; they won’t dare be negligent. The thief won’t be able to hide for long.”

The hall suddenly fell silent, and the atmosphere finally took on a hint of tension. A maid’s face changed instantly, and she spoke out in panic: “Her… Her Grace would care about such a small matter?”

Zhu Man smiled: “It’s just a matter of a single sentence. It’s hardly any trouble at all.”

The maid’s face turned pale in an instant, and she immediately knelt: “Wangfei, have mercy! This servant… this servant was just momentarily muddled.”

Zhu Man wasn’t angry, but instead asked: “Since you have so little courage, how did you dare to act in the first place?”

The maid immediately began kowtowing to Zhu Man with a sorrowful expression: “This servant’s mother fell ill and needed silver; that is why I committed this muddled act. I beg the Wangfei to forgive this servant.”

Zhu Man asked her: “What did you steal? Where is the item?”

“A… a hairpin,” the maid bit her lip and said softly. “It… it was pawned.”

Zhu Man nodded: “Since you admitted it yourself, I naturally won’t pursue it further. In a moment, I’ll have Physician Xu go home with you to take a look. If what you said is true, I will cover your mother’s medical expenses. However, you must pay me back the silver from the pawnshop; what is missing will be deducted from your wages until it is paid in full.”

The maid froze for a moment, then revealed a surprised and joyful smile: “Is the Wangfei speaking the truth?”

“Naturally,” Zhu Man waved his hand. “Get up. Don’t do such a thing again in the future; prison food is not easy to swallow.”

Seeing that Zhu Man truly didn’t intend to pursue the matter, combined with the pressure of the Imperial Concubine from above, several more people gradually stepped out, knelt, and begged for mercy.

The capital was so large it was impossible for every servant in the Prince’s manor to have a sick elderly mother; thus, those with genuine hardships like that girl were the minority. Most simply couldn’t resist temptation and stole things to exchange for spending money. However, they were small-minded and didn’t dare go too far, only doing it once or twice. It was precisely because they were timid that they were so easily frightened into confessing.

As for those who were bolder…

At the thought of how many things might have been stolen, Zhu Man’s heart began to ache.

He pointed to a manservant who had stepped forward to confess and told him to go report it to the officials.

The servant didn’t dare be negligent and ran off immediately.

At this time, Pan Fu walked over and said with a smile, “Such a small matter should be handled by this servant.”

Zhu Man glanced at him and said, “I thought you would first explain to me how so many things could go missing in the Prince’s manor.”

Pan Fu hurriedly said, “This manor has many people and messy hands; this servant also didn’t expect someone to be so bold. It is still the Wangfei who is wise, rooting out these internal thieves in such a short time.”

Zhu Man understood.

He had wondered why Pan Fu would stand by and watch him catch people; as it turned out, Pan Fu had calculated that the “big rats” connected to him wouldn’t be caught, so he was letting these “small fry” be used to make Zhu Man happy.

But Zhu Man hadn’t expected those big rats to have a breakthrough of conscience anyway, so he smiled: “It’s not that I’m impressive, it’s just that you indeed did a poor job. You couldn’t even watch over the property; it makes it so that I have no choice but to punish you.”

The corner of Pan Fu’s mouth twitched, and he looked at Zhu Man with a fake smile: “What does the Wangfei mean by this…?”

“What could I mean? You are an old-timer who has followed the Prince; I could hardly have you beaten.” Zhu Man gave him a kind smile. “However, I must make a show of it. How about this: you are temporarily dismissed from your post. Don’t worry about the manor’s affairs for now. Wait until Mr. Qin has finished auditing the items; we will decide how to handle it once we see what is missing.”

Pan Fu wanted to say something more, but Zhu Man had already stood up and reached out a hand toward him: “The keys.”

Pan Fu hadn’t expected Zhu Man to be so direct. He was stunned, and before he could think of a way out, the keys hanging at his waist were snatched away.

His expression darkened, and he turned to look, only to see that the person who had taken his keys was none other than Prince Zhao.

Pan Fu was momentarily stunned: “Prince, what are you…?”

Before he could finish his question, He Tianyun had already run to Zhu Man with the keys, jingling them in front of him, and saying, “Wangfei, look!”

He Tianyun was often attracted by these clinking things, so it wasn’t the first time he had snatched things from Pan Fu’s person. In the past, when he played the fool, Pan Fu wouldn’t care, but now…

Zhu Man took the keys and handed them directly to Qin Shanhai: “The affairs of the manor will be temporarily managed by Mr. Qin.”

Qin Shanhai gave a word of agreement, then looked at the other silent people and said, “That will be all for today. Several managers should come to see me tomorrow.”

Seeing him starting to put on airs, Pan Fu gave a slight, dismissive snort, saying nothing.

Authority wasn’t something that could be handed over in just a sentence or two.

But Zhu Man added from the side: “If they do not do well, you should replace them.”

Pan Fu’s face stiffened: “Wangfei, this might be inappropriate. Replacing them with people whose backgrounds are unknown…”

“There is nothing inappropriate,” Zhu Man said with total indifference. “To me, whether it’s the current people or new ones, there is no difference. After all, I don’t know a single one of them. Since I don’t know any of them, naturally I only want those who are willing to work honestly.”

Pan Fu had no choice but to say: “But these were all arranged by Her Imperial Concubine.”

“I will speak to Imperial Mother myself.” Zhu Man glanced at him. “The monthly pay from the Prince’s manor isn’t low; it won’t be hard to find replacements.”

These words weren’t for Pan Fu’s ears, but for the people below.

Although Pan Fu managed the manor, it was impossible for everyone to be die-hard loyalists. In the past, when Pan Fu was in charge, they followed his way—after all, who wouldn’t like getting paid without doing work? But most were here to earn silver; at most, they would normally slack off, but they hadn’t committed any major crimes. It would be a loss to lose their jobs over such “loyalty.”

Having finished speaking, Zhu Man didn’t look back to see their reactions. He pulled Zhu Man and He Tianyun and headed back.

After hearing about this, Nanny Du praised him for doing well.

Zhu Man rubbed his nose a bit awkwardly: “I still had to rely on the Imperial Concubine’s name to pressure them.”

Nanny Du poured him tea while saying with a smile, “The Imperial Concubine’s prestige is deep; how could the Wangfei compare? The most important thing is being able to use it, and knowing how to use it.”

Zhu Man curled his lip and took a sip of the tea.

If it weren’t for the fact that this drafty manor felt insecure and kept losing money, he wouldn’t want to manage these things at all.

But Nanny Du continued to speak softly beside him about how such matters could be handled in the future, sounding as though she intended to teach him how to manage a household.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Man was not only willing but also sent someone to call Zhu Man to come and learn together.

Their mother had died early, and Pan Hong would never have taught them household management. Although they had gone to school to study, schools didn’t teach such things. It was rare for someone to be willing to speak on it, so they naturally wouldn’t let the opportunity pass.

He Tianyun was also listening on the side, but his mind wasn’t on Nanny Du. Instead, he kept staring at Zhu Man, no one knowing what he was thinking. Consequently, when Zhu Man called him, he had no reaction at all until Zhu Man called again. He then snapped back to his senses with a dazed “Huh?”, looking quite silly.

Zhu Man laughed: “Find it boring?”

He Tianyun didn’t answer but leaned against him, giggling as he poked the ticklish spot on Zhu Man’s waist.

However, Zhu Man wasn’t ticklish. He caught the mischievous fingers and said, “Stop messing around. We’ll be eating in a bit.”

But He Tianyun had no intention of leaving, still clinging to him and playing with his fingers.

Zhu Man wasn’t annoyed either, smiling as he pinched back, playing this childish little game with him.

Nanny Du watched with amusement and said, “The Wangfei clearly knows how to look after children. In a few years, you might consider bringing a child back; it would make the manor more lively.”

Zhu Man was stunned: “A child?”

Nanny Du nodded: “This is not rare in the Imperial family.”

Some princes and nobles whose children died young, ending their line, would adopt one from another brother to inherit the title. Given Prince Zhao’s situation, if he wanted a child, this was the only way.

Zhu Man curled his lip: “We’ll see.”

Even if He Tianyun was like a child, he was a well-behaved one. But if the child wasn’t well-behaved… if it were his own, that would be one thing, but if it were an adopted one, he feared he would regret it until his intestines turned green.

Probably much like how Pan Hong looked at them?

Thinking of this, Zhu Man couldn’t help but laugh. He reached out and poked He Tianyun’s face, saying, “One mountain cannot hold two tigers. If we brought back a monkey-like character just like the Prince, they’d probably fight every day, or tear this manor down.”

He Tianyun chuckled, grabbed his hand, and gave it two light, harmless nips.

I’m helping you, yet you’re still speaking ill of me!