Chapter 322 — Frustrated

The young servant came back and reported, "."

Zeng Wu lifted his foot and gave the servant a kick. "Do you think I do not know the heir is auditing the accounts! Who is he auditing with? When did this audit begin? How much profit has the Thirteen Hongs of Guangdong brought in? Could you not use your head and find out? You are like an oil lamp: only bright when someone turns the wick!"

Clutching his kicked thigh, the servant muttered, "Even the Lord Defender of the State does not know how much the Thirteen Hongs of Guangdong earn. How, how would I know?"

"Call you a fool, and you dare talk back!" Zeng Wu kicked the servant again. "Could you not see whether the heir is pleased or displeased? No wonder you have been a servant for years without the slightest improvement! Go and find out properly!"

The servant dared not answer back and limped off to Yizhi Hall.

Zeng Wu dusted off his sleeve and grumbled inwardly: I am not that fool Lü Zheng, to deliver myself to the heir to be beaten.

Thinking that Lü Zheng would from now on do nothing but while away his days in the accounting room, he felt a sudden surge of smug satisfaction for no reason at all, and seized a passing maid. "Go, brew me a cup of Da Hong Pao."

The maid gave him a cold look. "Da Hong Pao is tribute tea. It may only be taken on the Lord Defender of the State's orders."

Zeng Wu sneered. "Why, even the Lord Defender of the State drinks it to quench his thirst. If you do not believe me, go and ask him."

The maid flushed crimson. Even knowing he was borrowing the tiger's might, she dared not go and question Song Cen, and went with her head down to the tea room to brew him a pot of Da Hong Pao.

He sat in the tea room's grand armchair, savoring the tea slowly. The servant, having learned his lesson, at last had something of substance to report. "The ones who came are Zhong Bingxiang, chief steward of the Thirteen Hongs of Guangdong, and the bailiffs of the various estates. They have been at it five days now. The heir is very pleased; last night he even held a banquet at the Zuixian Tower to entertain those stewards and bailiffs."

Zeng Wu's attention wandered.

In the days before the Yingzhen Ducal household and Yizhi Hall had divided their households, Steward Zhong would come from Guangdong to the capital every year to audit the accounts, and always brought a little something for the maids and servants—things that could be pawned for a tael or two at the pawnshop on East Street. But ever since the people of Yizhi Hall had stopped eating from the same pot as the Yingzhen Ducal household, they never saw Steward Zhong's gifts again.

All of it went to those creatures in Yizhi Hall!

He was both jealous and covetous. He remembered one year when Lü Zheng had given two hundred taels to Zhong Bingxiang to take to Guangdong and invest as a share; by the next year, two hundred taels had become twelve hundred. He had watched, and his heart had been stirred at the time, but he had no silver in hand, so he could only drool over it. But now… yesterday, following the Lord Defender of the State to the Zuixian Tower to attend to guests, that garrison commander had rewarded him with five taels; a few days ago, when the Lord Defender of the State wanted sesame cakes, he had run an errand and pocketed two mace… He had served the Lord Defender of the State only seven or eight days, and already had a dozen taels in hand. Though it was not to be compared with Lü Zheng, it was no small sum. Why not also entrust it to Zhong Bingxiang for that so-called share?

Only, he did not know whether Zhong Bingxiang would still be willing to do him this favor.

Turning it over in his mind, he went to Song Cen. "The heir is auditing accounts with Steward Zhong of the Thirteen Hongs of Guangdong. Though I do not know how Yizhi Hall has fared this year, the heir is very pleased; last night he even entertained Steward Zhong and the others with wine at the Zuixian Tower."

Song Cen was speaking with the bailiff of the Tianjin garrison. "The hills and woods at the granary mouth brought two thousand taels last year. How is it only eight hundred this year?"

At Zeng Wu's words, a fire leaped up in his heart, and it kept blazing higher and higher.

He snatched up the account book and hurled it at the Tianjin bailiff's head. "Fool! You cannot even answer a question put to you. What use are you?"

All at once the Tianjin bailiff's legs shook like a winnowing basket, and he dropped to his knees with a thud. "Calm your anger, Lord Defender of the State. Last year the weather was fair, but this summer there were great winds. Some trees were torn up by the roots—there are fewer trees this year than last, so the yield is less than last year's."

Why was it that great winds blew over his hills and woods, while the Thirteen Hongs sailed calm and smooth, with never so much as a whirlwind the whole year round?

Song Cen's face was ashen, but out of the corner of his eye he happened to catch Tao Jun's face—a flicker of surprise had passed through Tao Jun's eyes. Song Cen was a suspicious man by nature; his heart gave a jolt, and he opened his mouth and shouted, "Men!" pointing at the Tianjin bailiff. "Drag this fellow who spouts nonsense away and give him twenty heavy strokes of the plank. Then we shall see whether he tells the truth!"

At this the Tianjin bailiff's whole body went limp on the floor, and he wept and wailed for his life. "It was not the great winds—it was that I wished to curry favor with the Lord Defender of the State, so last year I sold every tree that could be sold, and this year there are only saplings left, which fetch no price… I did not lie. If the Lord Defender of the State does not believe me, ask Liu Da; he knows better than anyone."

Liu Da was the former bailiff of the Tianjin garrison. Song Cen had been dissatisfied with the garrison's yield, and his personal servant had recommended his own cousin; seeing that the man talked plausibly enough, he had let him replace Liu Da… never expecting him to be one of those who talk of war on paper!

He trembled with rage, stepped forward, and gave the bailiff several kicks. "Get out! Never let me see your face again!"

The bailiff scrambled up and fled outside, his face full of terror.

Tao Jun could not help giving a soft cough.

Song Cen came to his senses and hurriedly called to the attendants about him, "Throw that fellow into the firewood shed. If he does not give a clear account of the books, send him straight to the yamen."

Several guards waiting outside the door rushed in and dragged the bailiff away.

Zeng Wu shrank back, hunched with fear.

Song Cen had lost all appetite for continuing the audit; he waved his hand and drove everyone out.

The Lord Defender of the State was all wind and rain at a word; he must save a little silver while he was still at the Lord Defender's side, so that even if he fell on hard times, he would not end up destitute.

Zeng Wu thought for a moment and called a trusted servant. "Go and see what Steward Zhong is doing."

The servant slipped away. Toward noon he came back to report. "Steward Zhong has finished his business; every day he only sits in the side hall chatting with people. The heir is auditing accounts with the bailiffs of several estates."

Zeng Wu decided to go and see Zhong Bingxiang now. If he waited until evening, he might not get to see the man at all, and might instead find himself bound hand and foot by the people of Yizhi Hall and handed over to the Lord Defender of the State.

The gatekeeper of Yizhi Hall stopped him at the door with a half-smile. "Whom does Master Zeng Wu seek? Let us announce you. You are a honored guest!"