The Mountain Lord's Daughter

What have you been doing in the manor today?

Yue Zhiheng's injury had been healing for three days. On the fourth day, he was almost recovered and went to the palace.

Zhan Yunwei, having nothing to do in the manor, decided to take Shihu out for a walk around the grounds.

On the way, she saw a group of people carrying account books heading toward the Second Madam's courtyard, and the servants in the manor seemed noticeably happier than usual. People were coming and going, making the place quite lively.

"Is something good happening today?"

Shihu spoke in a low voice, "It's mid-year, and the stewards are bringing the account books and spirit stones. Today, not only will the monthly silver be distributed, but a tailor is also coming to make new clothes for everyone for the next season."

Zhan Yunwei noticed an unusual expression on Shihu's face and asked, "This is a good thing, why do you look so unhappy?"

Having spent some time with Zhan Yunwei, Shihu knew that the young mistress had a very good temperament. This matter should not have been shared with her, and she herself shouldn't feel so discontent, but her father had been plagued by evil energy for a long time. The jade talisman to alleviate it was extremely expensive and in short supply. She had to find a way to gather enough spirit stones to exchange for a new Soul-cleansing Jade Talisman or take her father to Danxin Pavilion to expel the evil energy.

Suppressing the grievance in her voice, Shihu said, "You may not know, but in our courtyard, all the servants receive fifty percent less monthly silver than those in other courtyards. Not only that, but Steward He is always looking for ways to deduct the servants' wages."

Even when it came to the new clothes every season, others received four sets, but Shihu and the others only got one set.

"How could this be?"

Zhan Yunwei had been focused on escaping the Yue family "prison" in her past life, and she had never had Shihu as a maid. This was the first time she was hearing about such things.

"Why are the wages of the people in our courtyard so much less?"

"Steward He says that in recent years, business has been poor, and our Yue family has suffered losses in several of the shops. The eldest son usually practices forging weapons and uses the most precious and expensive materials, so the monthly wages for everyone else in the courtyard have to be reduced."

Zhan Yunwei felt this was absurd after hearing it. She didn't know how the other shops were doing, but Yue Zhiheng's Soul Forging Pavilion sold magical weapons that were priceless. Even if they had to support an entire courtyard of servants, the Yue family could easily afford it.

Moreover, Yue Zhiheng also received an annual salary from the imperial court, and the Heavenly Court did not need the Yue family to provide for them; the imperial court allocated funds.

This amount of spirit stones should be quite considerable.

"Why didn't you talk to Master Yue about this?"

Shihu bit her lip, "The eldest son is always busy, and I dare not disturb him."

Not just her, but no one else in the courtyard dared to speak up. In fact, those who were assigned to Yue Zhiheng's courtyard were usually quiet, timid, and excluded from other places.

Both inside and outside the manor, Yue Zhiheng had a notorious reputation. Who would dare to trouble him over something as small as wages?

Steward He was a distant relative of the Second Madam and always behaved very respectfully in front of Yue Zhiheng, making a great show of politeness. They didn't have Steward He's silver-tongued skills, so they dared not speak out.

If it weren't for having no other choice, Shihu would not have dared to talk to Zhan Yunwei about this.

Though Zhan Yunwei knew that many cultivation families were corrupt, this was the first time she had encountered such a situation.

In the past, at Changya Mountain, since she was young, the kitchen had always been managed by Aunt Wan, who was kind and fair. Even the outer disciples were not treated harshly.

For so long, Shihu and the other servants in the courtyard had been diligent and hard-working, and Zhan Yunwei had noticed it. She couldn't just sit back and ignore it.

Seeing Steward He leading the others toward the Second Madam's courtyard, Zhan Yunwei walked up to them and asked, "Are the account books here?"

The other stewards, who had never seen her before, exchanged glances.

Steward He hadn't expected to meet her here. He quickly put on a smile and introduced, "This is our eldest son's wife."

The stewards quickly greeted, "Greetings, young mistress."

"Bring me the account books. I'd like to take a look."

The others, intimidated by Yue Zhiheng, didn't dare to refuse. Steward He furrowed his brow.

Zhan Yunwei briefly flipped through them.

The Yue family had fifteen shops in the dynasty. Aside from Yue Zhiheng's Soul Forging Pavilion and the Second Madam's rouge shop, most of the others were indeed operating at a loss.

However, in the last season, the other shops had lost a total of 13,000 spirit stones, while the rouge shop earned 2,000 spirit stones, and the Soul Forging Pavilion earned a staggering 280,000 spirit stones.

What did earning 280,000 spirit stones in one season mean?

Now, with spiritual energy becoming sparse in the Spiritual Domain, Zhan Yunwei remembered that Changya Mountain's annual expenses were 120,000 spirit stones.

In other words, Yue Zhiheng's Soul Forging Pavilion could earn 1,120,000 spirit stones in a year, which would not only cover the expenses of Changya Mountain for nine years but would also leave an extra 30,000.

Zhan Yunwei: … Was the Yue family raising some kind of insatiable gold-devouring beast? How could this not be enough?

And on top of that, the people in Yue Zhiheng's courtyard still received half the wages of others.

Zhan Yunwei didn't believe that everyone in the Yue family was unaware of this.

It was just that the people of the Yue family looked down on Yue Zhiheng, thinking that by aligning with the imperial court, he had betrayed the family's ancestral foundation, lusted for wealth, and was a shameless petty man.

But no one dared to confront Yue Zhiheng directly, and no one dared to break away from the Yue family and oppose the imperial court.

So, in these matters, they deliberately cut back on the people in Yue Zhiheng's courtyard, using this as an outlet for their resentment or to line their own pockets.

Zhan Yunwei couldn't help but think of the "Blood-spilling Mister" incident.

She furrowed her brow.

Even in her previous life, when she hated Yue Zhiheng the most, Zhan Yunwei never thought this was right.

As the ancients say: "Eat the king's salary, serve the king's affairs, bear the king's worries."

What does this even mean?

Taking the monthly stipend given by Lord Yue, yet trampling on and despising him in places where he doesn't know?

Even the servants who went to his courtyard were oppressed and treated as inferiors.

Suddenly realizing something, Zhan Yunwei began flipping through the pile of account books and, as expected, found the usual household expenses and rosters.

Steward He, knowing this wasn't good, quickly stepped forward to stop her: "Young Mistress, the household's provisions are traditionally managed by the Second Madam. What you're doing may be seen as overstepping your bounds."

Zhan Yunwei avoided his hand and smiled. "Steward He is exaggerating. I'm just curious. If the Second Madam wishes to blame me, I will personally apologize another day."

Steward He's face darkened, and he tried to step forward to stop her, but Shihu mustered the courage to stand in front of Zhan Yunwei. "Steward He, do you dare offend the Young Mistress?"

Recalling the terrifying "Blood-spilling Mister," Steward He gritted his teeth but ultimately didn't dare to snatch the book from Zhan Yunwei's hands.

Zhan Yunwei flipped directly to the page of the mute girl. She hadn't expected to see this, and her lips tightened in anger.

Almost everything was blank. The last time the Yue family had made clothes for the mute girl was two winters ago when they added a padded jacket for her.

And not a single spirit stone had been allocated to her.

"Steward He, can you explain this?"

Steward He forced a smile. "Her identity is unclear and she doesn't perform tasks like the other servants, so it's hard to determine her monthly stipend. What you may not know is that a few years ago, I did give her a stipend, but she refused it herself."

Such a grandiose explanation. Even if the mute girl had rejected the stipend, the other things should not have been lacking—seasonal clothing, winter coal, summer ice.

These were rare, and Zhan Yunwei speculated that this was during the times when Yue Zhiheng was away in the Heavenly Court. When he was busy, the mute girl didn't get these things.

The young girl rarely left the courtyard, and being a pure and kind mute, even though she might have suffered more than Shihu and the others, she would never complain.

"Young Mistress, please put down the account book. Your portion is naturally the best," Steward He said, with a hint of warning in his voice. "Why must you offend the Second Master and Second Madam over a mute girl?"

Zhan Yunwei remained silent.

Steward He, fearing she might really tell Yue Zhiheng, gritted his teeth and said, "Young Mistress, may I have a word with you privately?"

Zhan Yunwei was curious to hear what kind of excuses he would come up with, so she followed him aside.

Steward He lowered his voice. "There are some secrets you don't know. That mute girl and Yue Zhiheng are not proper children of the Yue family."

Zhan Yunwei had known this from the Mirage Realm, but she didn't reveal it, only showing surprise.

"They are twins. They came to the Yue family when they were eight years old. The ancestor didn't acknowledge them, nor did the First Madam. They were locked up in the forbidden grounds and raised like livestock for eight years. It's said they came from there." Steward He gestured toward the direction of Du'e City. "If their bloodline weren't so lowly, how could the ancestor have treated them this way?"

Steward He was confident in his words, thinking that if Zhan Yunwei knew Yue Zhiheng's background, she would probably feel disgusted by him. He believed that she would be even more inclined to trample on such people than they were, and would never care about the mute girl or the servants who worked for Yue Zhiheng.

Zhan Yunwei's long eyelashes fluttered.

The scorching June sun shone brightly, yet there was no warmth to it.

So that's how it is. No wonder Yue Zhiheng's handwriting was poor, no wonder he didn't even know what a flower banquet was. He spent all his free time reading books.

All the things she had been puzzled about before now had answers.

It turned out that the child she saw struggling to survive in the Mirage Realm all those years ago had simply escaped from one hell into another.

He didn't know that the desperate escape he made back then had only led him to eight years of imprisonment.

When Yue Zhiheng went to the palace to atone for his sins and returned after receiving forty-seven lashes, the guards of the Heavenly Court went to meet him at the gate of the Yue family, hesitating to speak.

Yue Zhiheng felt a sense of familiarity, as though he had gotten used to it. He spoke in a calm voice: "Has Miss Zhan caused another ruckus? Did she run away?"

"No, she didn't run," one of the guards replied awkwardly. "But she slapped Steward He and took the Second Madam's account book."

Yue Zhiheng raised his gaze, surprised that Zhan Yunwei hadn't run and that the information she had obtained wasn't related to the immortal sect or Pei Yujing.

He remained silent. Did this mean Zhan Yunwei couldn't bear staying in the Yue family? Even if forced to stay, was she intentionally trying to annoy him?

The guard thought for a moment and added, "Miss Zhan is fine. Steward He didn't dare lay a hand on her."

Yue Zhiheng's tone grew colder. "In the future, if I haven't asked about something, don't speak out."

The guard quickly responded, "Yes."

As Yue Zhiheng was about to enter the house, he saw Zhan Yunwei speaking with Shihu. Shihu was wiping away tears, repeatedly apologizing, while Zhan Yunwei gently cupped Shihu's face, tenderly wiping away her tears.

Yue Zhiheng leaned against the doorframe, watching for a while.

Miss Zhan truly was gentle with most people. The few exceptions, of course, didn't include the imperial hounds.

His expression grew cold, tinged with mockery.

It was because of this bad habit of hers that she ended up here today. Otherwise, how could a Heavenly-level spirit master, capable of controlling spirits, end up so humiliated, trapped by his side?

Zhan Yunwei caught the familiar scent of ice lotus flowers and realized that Yue Zhiheng was standing at the door.

Zhan Yunwei was surprised. "You're hurt again?"

Yue Zhiheng replied, "Mm."

Shihu stood motionless in place, afraid of Yue Zhiheng, but even more afraid that her words today might cause a rift between the Eldest Young Master and the Young Mistress.

Zhan Yunwei could see her unease and said, "You can go ahead with your tasks, it's fine."

Only then did Shihu leave.

Yue Zhiheng entered with a calm expression, pouring himself a cup of tea.

Zhan Yunwei, holding the account book, sat across from him. She had a rough idea of what Yue Zhiheng had gone to the palace for today. "Lord Yue, is it because I let the Immortal Sect members go that you were punished?"

Yue Zhiheng replied in a cold and composed manner, "You don't need to worry about it. I've already said, this matter is because my skills weren't good enough."

Zhan Yunwei pressed her lips together. Maybe, on normal days, she wouldn't have felt much sympathy for Yue Zhiheng.

But today, all she could think about was what the steward had said: he had traveled a long distance to find the Yue family, only to be treated like livestock and locked up in a forbidden place for eight years, along with the mute girl.

This matter had started because of her, yet Yue Zhiheng hadn't punished her; instead, he had given only a light reprimand. For the first time, Zhan Yunwei felt a sense of guilt toward him.

She softly asked, "Then... was it serious?"

Yue Zhiheng glanced at her, silent for a moment before replying, "Not serious."

Zhan Yunwei nodded, then stood up. "Shall I find a doctor for you?"

"No need." Yue Zhiheng was slightly uncomfortable with her offering such words and rejected the atmosphere she was trying to create. "I bribed the person who administered the punishment. It's only some external wounds."

That was the truth.

Zhan Yunwei couldn't help but glance at him.

Yue Zhiheng chuckled. "As a sycophantic minister, isn't this normal? What's that expression on your face, Miss Zhan?"

She replied, "You're rather honest about it."

"You won't go and tell on me," Yue Zhiheng said, "So, why don't we have a little chat? What did you do in the manor today? Have you forgotten what we agreed upon?"

His expression gradually turned colder.

Was she still not ready to leave, or had his punishment been too mild to hurt?