Using the excuse of an investigation, Wang Qiang entered the warehouse he had long been curious about and looked around. As he exited, he saw Lu Yu standing in the courtyard and asked him, "Did you discover any clues?"
"I've just asked the person in charge. He said that previously the elixir from the logistics yard was personally managed by Steward Bai, and no one else had contact with it."
"The accountant also claims there is no issue with the accounts. I'm pondering if perhaps something that only Steward Bai could access was falsely accounted for, which is why no problems can be identified."
"Let's hypothesize: what if, when someone comes to collect the elixir, Steward Bai secretly records an extra pill in the ledger, then takes an extra pill from the warehouse?"
"Along the way, he hides the extra pill somewhere so that when checked after work hours to see if anything was smuggled out, nothing unusual would be found."
"Concerning why Steward Bai visits the logistics yard at night, it can be understood as him retrieving the items he hid during the day and taking them back to dispose of them."
"Moreover, the ledger for the elixir is only accessible by Steward Bai, while the warehouse ledger is recorded by the warehouse accountant. Generally, as long as the numbers match on both ledgers, there's no problem."
"However, since nobody but Steward Bai can access the elixir accounting ledger, all the numbers are filled in by Steward Bai himself. Thus, as long as they match front to back, no issue can be detected."
"But in that case, couldn't we just take the ledger and ask the people collecting the items if Steward Bai has been falsifying the accounts?" Wang Qiang suggested.
"I'll go to the accounting room to get the ledger and start asking one by one to see if there's any falsification." Wang Qiang said immediately.
Wang Qiang was somewhat eager, as this determined whether he could enter the inner courtyard.
Opportunities were rare; if he missed this one, he didn't know if there would be another.
"Wait a moment." Lu Yu quickly stopped Wang Qiang and explained, "The previous deductions were all based on Steward Bai being the thief. If Steward Bai isn't the thief, then naturally there's nothing wrong with the ledger."
"Then what's the point of saying all that?" Wang Qiang calmed down, realizing he was being somewhat rash.
If he wanted to satisfy Steward Zhang, he should be looking for evidence to prove Steward Bai wasn't the thief, rather than evidence of falsifying accounts.
"It's useful." Lu Yu said in a firm tone.
Wang Qiang looked at him curiously, and Lu Yu explained, "If Steward Bai isn't the thief, the previous deductions don't hold, but there's a crucial point — the issue definitely lies with the elixir."
"Because only Steward Bai can access the elixir, and others don't have the chance. This gives Steward Bai some freedom to manipulate."
"If problems arose with other supplies, they'd be easily discovered. With the elixir, it's handled entirely by Steward Bai, so any manipulations aren't easily noticed."
Wang Qiang still didn't understand what Lu Yu meant.
"Hold on." Lu Yu said, then walked toward the warehouse.
"Excuse me, do you take out items from the warehouse yourself or do they go in directly?" Lu Yu asked the elderly accountant at the warehouse entrance.
The elderly man continued accounting while answering, "They go in directly."
"There are too many items daily for me to handle alone. Moreover, entering the warehouse requires an inventory sheet from the accounting department, and exiting also requires registration. The accounts must match to exit."
"What about the elixir?"
The elderly man glanced at Lu Yu and replied, "Steward Bai goes in himself to retrieve the elixir and registers the numbers with me upon exit. Every day before he leaves, Steward Bai checks the quantity against the ledger, and there's never been an error."
Lu Yu noticed the key point and asked, "Does only Steward Bai check the elixir? Are there any others who check?"
After thinking for a moment, the elderly man shook his head and said, "Elixirs are quite valuable and have always been managed personally by Steward Bai. He feels uneasy if others handle them, so he's always been the sole inspector."
Lu Yu felt he was onto something but lacked a trigger.
What puzzled Lu Yu the most was why Steward Bai visited the logistics yard in the middle of the night. If he understood Bai's reason for coming here, many matters could be clarified.
Even the police need to understand the motive when finding a criminal; Lu Yu didn't even know Steward Bai's motive, making it hard to uncover the truth.
"Thank you, sir."
With this thought, Lu Yu expressed gratitude for the elderly man's information, and though not knowing Bai's motive, the man's words confirmed the issue was with the elixir.
"No thanks needed; we're all servants of the Han family, none of us have it easy."
The elderly man mentioned something, sighed, and inadvertently remarked, "Steward Bai was implicated in all this, alas! In the end, we're just servants of the Han family, not comparable to the Han family members themselves; whatever they want to do, we can't stop it."
"After all, it's their territory."
His words unconsciously triggered a thought in Lu Yu's mind, leading him to grasp a key point.
Wanting to leave, Lu Yu swiftly turned back and asked, "Have any Han family members come to the warehouse recently, or even entered it?"
Upon hearing this, the elderly man initially hesitated before saying, "Indeed, Young Master Han Fan has been visiting, inspecting the warehouse daily. How did you know?"
"You told me yourself."
Saying this, Lu Yu turned to leave, calling upon Wang Qiang to leave the logistics yard to find Steward Zhang.
"Did I say that?"
The elderly man stared at their leaving figures, questioning if his memory was failing.
Lu Yu had nearly guessed why Steward Bai visited here every night.
The deductions in Lu Yu's mind seemed a bit incredible, but unless there were other pieces of evidence, this outcome, however unlikely, was likely the truth.
"Why are you leaving in such a hurry? Aren't you looking for clues?" Wang Qiang asked, puzzled, as he followed Lu Yu.
"I already know the truth."
"Know the truth? Then quickly tell me!" Wang Qiang's voice was a bit excited.
"Now we need to find Steward Zhang. Once we find him, the truth will come to light," Lu Yu said calmly.
He knew this matter involved the Han family clansmen, thus wasn't something a mere Protector could judge. It required someone of sufficient rank to handle it.
Wang Qiang didn't have the authority either. Only Steward Zhang, who was one rank below the Patriarch but above everyone else, had the capability to deal with it.
The two arrived at the entrance of the martial hall and informed the Gatekeeper that they wanted to see Steward Zhang, then waited at the door to be notified.
Not long after, Steward Zhang appeared in the hall and met with Wang Qiang and Lu Yu.
Lu Yu explained his deductions and process to Steward Zhang.
"You're saying Bai Qiu goes to the logistics courtyard every night just to make up for the amount of elixirs Han Fan takes from the warehouse during the day?" Steward Zhang's expression appeared... fascinating and indescribably strange.
Wang Qiang also found it particularly unbelievable, speculating that Bai Qiu would use his own money to cover for the young master's mistakes at the Han residence?
He almost suspected Lu Yu was talking nonsense. The relationship between Han residence's young master and Bai Steward couldn't be further apart, so why would Bai Steward spend his own money to fill the warehouse gaps for Han residence's young master?
"Han Fan has already been caught," Steward Zhang suddenly said.
Upon hearing this, Lu Yu felt somewhat surprised.
After glancing at the two, Steward Zhang said, "Follow me, and once inside, just watch and don't speak."
The two followed Steward Zhang into the inner court of the Han residence, which, compared to the outer court, wasn't much different, just wider and cleaner.
So clean that, as they walked, Lu Yu didn't see any dust or fallen leaves on the ground.
It's worth noting that every courtyard along the road was planted with green trees. The trees were so tall they surpassed the courtyard walls, yet there wasn't a single leaf on the road outside, indicating frequent cleaning of the inner court.
Following Steward Zhang, Lu Yu arrived at a courtyard full of flowers and plants. Before entering the gate, Steward Zhang once more reminded the two not to speak.
After taking half a circle around the courtyard, they arrived at the edge of a lawn, where many people in exquisite clothes were standing, young masters and misses. In front of the lawn stood several elders of the Han residence.
Generally, when the servants mentioned 'lords,' they meant the Patriarch of the Han family — Han Yaozu. But there wasn't just one lord in the Han residence.
Similarly, there was more than one young master or young miss, but Han Yu was indeed a legitimate young miss of the Han family because her father was Han Yaozu.
For instance, as Lu Yu learned, Han Fan was also called young master by the servants, but his status was nowhere near comparable to Han Yu, the young miss.
Steward Zhang had the two stand outside the crowd, whispering to Lu Yu, "That's Han Fan kneeling there."
Having said that, Steward Zhang stepped out of the crowd and whispered a few words to the middle-aged man in the center. The middle-aged man nodded in acknowledgment. Steward Zhang then stepped backward, standing behind several of the elders.
Wang Qiang was eager to know what Steward Zhang had said to Lu Yu earlier, but he remembered Steward Zhang's admonition, holding back without speaking.
Han Fan kneeled on the grass, his clothing appeared somewhat disordered, while several elders in front of him were discussing.
They were discussing how to handle Han Fan's unauthorized intrusion into the Patriarch's study. As for Han Fan's theft of elixirs from the outer court's warehouse, that was a minor issue.
"Third Uncle, Han Fan is your son. How do you think we should handle his unauthorized entry into my study?" Han Yaozu said to the enfeebled elderly man wearing jade beads beside him.
The enfeebled elderly man slightly narrowed his eyes, gently saying, "Fan'er is still young and somewhat naive. Besides, no damage was done, correct? In my opinion, it requires only a slight punishment."
"So how about we confine Fan'er at home for ten days for reflection?"
"If the damage is done, it will be too late!" Han Yaozu looked at the enfeebled elderly man and spoke in a heavy tone.
"A light punishment? Then my study will turn into a marketplace? Come and go as you please?"
The enfeebled elderly man's face turned somewhat unsightly, "So, what do you propose?" The cherished jade beads in his hand made a cracking sound.
"According to the family rules, unauthorized entry into the Patriarch's study warrants a month's confinement in the polar area. But the Han family isn't what it used to be, and there's no polar area now, so let's impose a cane punishment," Han Yaozu said in a flat tone.
"Someone, carry out the punishment."
Upon hearing Han Yaozu's words, Han Fan trembled all over, raising his head and shouting to the enfeebled elderly man, "Father, save me, save me, I'll be beaten to death..."
The enfeebled elderly man's face looked distressed, but he couldn't defy the Patriarch's decision. Unwilling to see his son being beaten, he furiously swung his sleeve and hurried away under Han Fan's pleading gaze.
Hearing the order, several guards with wooden canes immediately stepped forward to restrain Han Fan, who tried to get up and hang on to his father's leg.
Han Fan was powerless against them. Two guards held him down while the other two picked up the wooden canes, striking Han Fan's rear one after another.
Soon, bloodstains appeared on Han Fan's pants. He tried to feign unconsciousness to escape the punishment, but the guards continued to beat him, causing him to cry out involuntarily from the pain.
Amidst the cries of agony, the young masters and misses around began to realize the severity of the family rules, their bodies trembling somewhat.
Yet they were not allowed to leave, as the elders required them to stand there and witness the entire process.
When Han Fan could no longer cry out due to a hoarse throat and convulsed, his head drooping, genuinely passed out, Steward Zhang called for a stop.
The old Han Master had long since left.