"Your Highness, please do not rush. I am merely reiterating the preceding events to ensure your understanding!"
"Since you recall it, that is even better."
"Recently, their household’s silver was stolen again. It was only when this latest theft garnered attention that another embarrassing matter concerning them came to light."
The original host was advanced in age. It was a minor miracle she didn't have Alzheimer's, so poor memory was perfectly normal. Therefore, the palace maid who told her stories always followed protocol, explaining the backstory, the setting, and even the character relationships clearly.
This was to prevent the original host from forgetting.
She was listening hazily.
Although surprised that Ding Yun claimed to remember everything, she didn't dare to probe further. Instead, after explaining, she began to share the latest gossip she had managed to gather:
"It is said to have happened over half a month ago. Before the Dali Temple officials even arrived, their neighbors heard their angry shouts and laments. Later, it was revealed that this time, not only was their public treasury robbed of sixty thousand taels of silver, but their private treasuries also suffered heavy losses, with a total of nearly two hundred thousand taels worth of items stolen. It was terrifying.
The Dali Temple officials even suspected how their family managed to amass so many valuable possessions. They did not have much ancestral property, nor were they involved in any profitable businesses. Having such wealth was highly irregular. Later, while the silver thief was not found, the scandal of how they amassed their wealth was exposed: they purely relied on selling their daughters to earn this fortune of several hundred thousand taels.
Marquis Lin'an had numerous wives and concubines, and many children, especially daughters. His household seemed to be particularly fertile in daughters. The legitimate wife of Marquis Lin'an bore six daughters and two sons. Some concubines had three or four daughters, and one even gave birth to several sets of twins. In total, the sons numbered less than a handful, and the daughters, numbering more than could be counted on ten fingers and toes. Unfortunately, these daughters were born into the wrong family.
Marrying into a Marquis's household was even worse than being born into a family that doted on their daughters. While daughters in other families were pampered, or at least received a dowry and were married to a suitable match, or to someone they fancied, the daughters of this household were marked with prices. Almost all of them were married into merchant families.
The betrothal gift for a legitimate daughter was fifty thousand taels, and for a concubine-born daughter, twenty thousand taels. For some wealthy merchants, spending thirty to fifty thousand taels to marry a daughter from a Marquis's household was quite a bargain, even if these daughters brought little to no dowry. It could be said that apart from the eldest legitimate daughter, who was kept for maintaining appearances and married into a family of similar standing, almost all other legitimate and concubine-born daughters were essentially sold off in this manner!
The five remaining legitimate daughters alone brought in two hundred and fifty thousand taels. The over twenty concubine-born daughters brought in nearly five hundred thousand taels. And the dowries given each time were only a thousand or eight hundred taels, consisting of showy but impractical items. Many of the jewelry were merely gilded or silver-plated, which was truly pitiable. By selling their daughters, the Marquis Lin'an household managed to cover their long-standing deficits and even earned several hundred thousand taels. It was just that in recent years, they had married off so many daughters that they had become devalued. According to private whispers among some merchants, the market price had already dropped. A legitimate daughter was now only worth thirty thousand taels, and a concubine-born daughter, a mere ten thousand taels. And in the future, as granddaughters would no longer bear the title of daughters of the Marquis's household, the prices would only decrease further!
Listen to this, what utterly shameless people!"
By the end of her speech, the palace maid telling the story was filled with righteous indignation, even feeling a sense of shared suffering. She herself had been sold by her parents years ago, though they were too poor to fetch a good price, only selling her for ten taels. She had thought that only daughters from poor families were sold by their parents, but now it seemed everyone was the same. The Marquis's household, though wealthy and living in luxury, was merely doing so to fetch a better price.
"It seems those merchants are indeed very wealthy. Once this news spreads, I fear many impoverished noble families might emulate them. It is indeed strange that the silver disappeared. Are there truly no clues at all?"
Regarding the Marquis Lin'an household selling their daughters, it wasn't that Ding Yun, or even the original host, would be overly surprised or feel much pity. After all, no matter how pitiable they were, they at least had a thousand or eight hundred taels accompanying them and servants to attend to them. This was far better than those who became servants or even fell into prostitution. Ordinary commoner girls might never see what ten taels of silver looked like in their entire lives. Moreover, generally speaking, as long as the Marquis's household remained intact, those merchants would not dare to mistreat them. To put it bluntly, even the life of a princess married off for political alliances might be more miserable than theirs.
"It's not that there are absolutely no clues, but the clues are too scarce. There is no direct evidence to pinpoint a specific individual as the thief. Even if there are suspects, they cannot be judged because the silver cannot be found. It's not like a murder case where confessions can be extracted under duress, or false accusations can be made true. However, this time, since not only silver but also many ornaments, furniture, and famous paintings were lost, the Dali Temple officials are rigorously investigating all pawnshops, gambling houses, and brothels. As long as they can find even one item lost from the Marquis Lin'an household, the case will have a breakthrough. But currently, there is no good news."
The attendant palace maid continued to answer Ding Yun's inquiries.
"The reason for this matter likely lies within the Marquis Lin'an household itself. After all, if it were a truly formidable thief, would they only target one household? If I had such ability, I would surely tour the entire capital, perhaps even attempt to infiltrate the imperial treasury. This suggests the thief is specifically targeting the Marquis Lin'an household, harboring a grudge or seeking revenge. Ah, the pastries have arrived. What seasonal treats do we have today!"
Having analyzed for a moment, Ding Yun saw the palace maid returning from the kitchen with pastries. Very satisfied with this morning's breakfast, she immediately put aside her analysis and began anticipating today's pastries. Then, of course, she happily began to eat. The cooks in the Imperial Kitchen, when putting in effort, were quite skilled. While not claiming to be unparalleled, they were undoubtedly among the very best chefs in the world. Ding Yun now had few teeth left, so soft and glutinous pastries were perfectly suitable.
Not long after finishing the pastries, just as she was about to continue discussing the Marquis Lin'an household's affairs, another palace maid entered. She announced that the Empress was visiting. Although Ding Yun held a higher seniority, she did not have a direct blood relation to the Empress, making it inconvenient to refuse. Thus, she had to tidy herself up and go to the main hall of Cining Palace, which was currently occupied by her in the absence of a Grand Empress Dowager, to receive her.
The Empress certainly would not dare to ask such an elderly Noble Consort to perform a kowtow. Therefore, after their meeting, it was the Empress who bowed to Ding Yun, and then they engaged in pleasantries. After a quarter of an hour of conversation, the Empress finally broached the main topic, stating that she had been feeling unwell lately and asked if Ding Yun, who had lived for over a hundred years and remained remarkably vigorous, had any health preservation secrets. As for whether the Empress herself desired this, or if the Emperor was too embarrassed to ask, it was difficult to say.