Reborn Sister Steals the Drunkard, So I'll Marry the Crippled General

”Looking for this, Manager Zhao?” Yimei asked, stepping over to Zhengyu’s wheelchair and holding out the book.

Manager Zhao gasped, dropping his forehead straight onto the floorboards in complete defeat. ”Spared... spare my life, Young Master! Young Madame!”

Zhengyu looked down at the ledger in her hands, then looked up into her victorious, smiling face.

”Good job, wife,” Zhengyu said softly, his deep voice approving as he took the book from her hands. He looked down at the trembling manager on the floor.

”Now,” Zhengyu added, his voice dropping into a cold, dangerous whisper, ”let us see how Second Uncle explains this to Grandmother.”

Zhengyu leaned forward in his wheelchair, his dark, sharp eyes locking onto Manager Zhao like a predator watching its prey. He rested his elbows on his knees, holding Second Uncle Bai Chengbang’s private ledger loosely in one hand.

”Manager Zhao,” Zhengyu began, his voice smooth, quiet, and deadly. ”You have served my Second Uncle for six years. Tell me... how many years in prison do you think a servant gets for stealing from the main family estate?”

Manager Zhao’s body shook violently against the cold floorboards. ”F-First Young Master! I was only following orders! Master Chengbang forced me!”

Zhengyu let out a soft, cold laugh that sent a shiver straight down the manager’s spine.

”Forced you?” Zhengyu asked, tossing the thick stack of bribe receipts onto the floor right in front of Zhao’s face. ”The receipts say otherwise. You took a twenty percent cut for every bag of grain you helped him steal. That does not sound like forcing to me. That sounds like greed.”

Yimei stepped up beside Zhengyu’s wheelchair, crossing her arms with a small, knowing smile. ”My husband is being nice to you, Manager Zhao. In the capital, stealing family property of this size gets a man sent straight to the imperial labor camps. You will break rocks in the frozen mountains until you die.”

Manager Zhao’s eyes widened in total horror. Sweat poured down his pale face, mixing with the dust on the floor. ”No! Please, Young Master! Mercy!”

Zhengyu tapped his long fingers against the wooden armrest of his wheelchair, his expression turning cold and thoughtful.

”I am a fair man,” Zhengyu said slowly, letting the silence heavy up in the room. ”If you tell me everything, I might forget to hand you over to the official court. But if you lie to me even once...”

”I will speak! I will tell you everything!” Manager Zhao cried out, bowing his head repeatedly until his forehead slammed against the wood. ”What do you want to know?!”

Zhengyu narrowed his eyes. ”Start with the First Branch fields. Why have our harvests been dropping every single year for the past three years?”

Manager Zhao swallowed hard, trembling as he spilled the truth. ”It... it was not just the diverted water, Young Master! Three years ago, right after you fell ill, Master Chengbang ordered me to mix low-quality, bad seeds into the First Branch’s spring planting supply!”

Yimei’s eyes flashed with anger. ”Bad seeds?”

”Yes, Young Madame!” Manager Zhao confessed frantically. ”He made us swap the rich wheat seeds for old, cheap seeds that rot easily in wet soil. That is why the First Branch crops kept dying! Then, he bought the good seeds for his own private lands at half price!”

Zhengyu’s jaw tightened, his knuckles turning white as his grip hardened on his chair. ”Go on.”

”He... he also forced the tenant farmers on your land to pay double taxes!” Manager Zhao added, desperate to save his own skin. ”When the poor farmers couldn’t pay, he claimed they were lazy and chased them away, replacing them with his own loyal men! He wanted the First Branch’s lands to look useless so Old Madame Bai would strip your father of his power and hand the whole estate over to the Second Branch!”

Yimei looked at Zhengyu. The picture was completely clear now. The Second Branch hadn’t just been stealing money. they had been systematically destroying the First Branch’s foundation from the ground up, using the farm estate as their main weapon.

”Is that all?” Yimei asked, her voice dangerously calm. ”Or is there something else you are hiding about Second Uncle?”

Manager Zhao hesitated for a split second, looking up at Zhengyu’s icy, unreadable face. The absolute terror in the First Young Master’s eyes broke him completely.