Seeing Huang Shi in tears, He Yunze stepped forward with difficulty and tightly grasped Huang Shi's hand.

"This move is still for the sake of the stewardship, and for my future official career."

“I was once overshadowed by my elder brother, and now Song Xizhi is overshadowing Ruo'an. If she really gains control of the household, our lives and fortunes will be in her hands. So tell me, who will inherit the title?”

Huang's eyes widened: "That's terrible! We absolutely can't let that happen."

He Yunze nodded, his voice enticing: "Didn't Grandmother say Ruo'an was useless?"

“Once Ruoan heals you, Grandmother will have no more excuses.”

Upon hearing this, Madam Huang readily extended her arm: "Treat him! Treat him quickly! My son is so filial, I will naturally grant his request!"

Upon hearing this, Song Ruoan was overjoyed and stepped forward to sit next to Huang.

He then frowned slightly, pretending to feel Huang's pulse, and pondered for a moment: "It seems to be an old ailment. Although it won't endanger her life, it's still very torturous."

Upon hearing this, Huang's eyes lit up: "That's right! It hasn't gotten better at all!"

Song Ruoan nodded, her expression enigmatic. "Alright, I understand, Mother-in-law. I will guarantee a complete cure. If I fail, hold me accountable!"

"I'll personally prepare your medicine!"

Huang looked at Song Ruoan with awe at her calm and composed demeanor, and at this moment she was already 30% convinced.

But He Yunze said with a confident look, "Mother, you'll only know how superb her medical skills are after you drink the medicine. You can't get her for less than several hundred taels of silver!"

Sure enough, when Song Ruoan came out of the small kitchen, she was carrying two bowls of dark Chinese medicine.

One bowl was for Huang's family, and the other was for He Yunce's family.

Madam Huang hesitated for a moment as she looked at the medicine in front of her, but He Yunze immediately raised the medicine and said, "Mother, I'll drink it!"

He clinked glasses with Huang and drank it all in one gulp.

"Okay, okay, I'll drink it too, I'll drink it too." Madam Huang also picked up her medicine and drank it in small sips.

Song Ruoan held her breath, carefully waiting for Huang's reaction.

The medicine was a bit bitter, and Huang was initially frowning, but soon she felt something different about her body.

The tightness in my chest seems to have disappeared, and even the itchy feeling in my throat has improved a lot.

Huang stood up in disbelief. "This medicine is so miraculous? I don't feel any discomfort in my throat anymore!"

Hearing this, He Yunze was very pleased: "Your son will not harm you. Just wait and see how successful your son's career will be!"

Hearing this, Song Ruoan finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Mother-in-law, this is only the first dose. After you finish the whole course of treatment, not only will your throat ailment improve, but your overall health will also be much better."

That thousand taels was definitely worth it. Thinking of her bright future, she was so excited that she almost cried.

Huang stepped forward, beaming, and firmly grasped Song Ruoan's hand:

"Ruo'an, you are truly my lucky star and a wonderful helpmate to Yun Ce! Since you married into the family, Yun Ce has changed a lot and become much more ambitious!"

"It was my fault for suspecting you on our wedding night, but I didn't have time to say it before. Now I will go and ask for the right to manage the household on your behalf!"

Feeling Huang's hands tightly clasped, Song Ruoan felt a surge of joy and felt lightheaded.

Finally, finally it was her turn to be smug!

At this moment, the atmosphere inside Ximoxuan was not as cheerful as that inside Guanyunxuan; instead, it was somewhat gloomy.

Song Xizhi sat on the soft couch, burying his head in flipping through the dozen or so account books on the table, his brows furrowing more and more as he read.

Madam He trusted her and had given her all the household's account books to look at last night.

Song Xizhi buried himself in the book all night, and the more he looked, the more something seemed off.

The Marquis of Anding's mansion appears glamorous on the surface, but internally it is already running out of money and has almost no wealth left.

The reason it has been able to operate normally over the years is probably because Madam He turned the tide and even used her own dowry to fill the gaps.

The reason for this problem is that the shops outside the Marquis's residence have been operating at a loss for years.

Although she had learned to manage a household in her previous life, Madam He did not trust her as much as she does in this life.

In his previous life, Madam He held onto power and never let go, and Song Xizhi was unaware that there were such big problems with the accounts!

"But that shouldn't be the case. How could Madam He allow outsiders to do such a thing?"

Song Xizhi frowned as he thought, and then called Sanqi in again.

Sanqi was a servant born into the Marquis's household, and his mother was an old nanny who served Madam He, so she was aware of what was happening in the household.

"Sanqi, those businesses west of the Marquis's residence have been losing money year after year. Who are the managers of the silk shop and the silver shop?"

Sanqi scratched his head: "I once heard my mother talk about this. The manager of this shop is a relative of the old lady's family. It is said that he was kind to the old lady in the past."

Upon hearing this, Song Xizhi's lips twitched violently.

No wonder, it turns out he's got connections.

She opened another ledger and asked, "Who is in charge of purchasing for the Marquis's residence? Why does it cost so much money to buy food for the Marquis's residence?"

Sanqi further explained, "I don't know if there are any problems with the procurement, but the supplier of meat, vegetables and grains for the Marquis's mansion is a distant relative of the First Madam's family."

"They also manage many grain shops in the western part of the capital."

The old man was the elder brother of the Marquis of Anding and the eldest son of Lady He.

He died young, and his first wife became a widow at a young age. She voluntarily went to a temple to spend her days with the Buddha and the lamp, and that's how the title of Marquis of Anding came to him.

The Marquis's mansion has wronged the First Madam, so it is difficult to deal with these nepotistic relationships.

Upon hearing this, Song Xizhi suddenly realized that what she was holding in her hand was not an account book, but a hot potato!

These are all tough targets. We can't touch the old lady's relatives, nor can we touch the eldest lady's relatives. If we want the Marquis's mansion to operate normally, we have to put money into it.

She couldn't be that noble, using her hard-earned dowry to pay for it herself!

"A decision must be made decisively." With this thought in mind, Song Xizhi hurriedly stood up and said, "Granny Wu, quickly take these account books and come with me to Wanxiang Hall. I want to return all the account books."

Granny Wu sighed, looking somewhat worried: "It's easy to invite a god but hard to send him away. The old lady truly favors you, Miss, and treats you as one of her own, which is why she exposed all the shortcomings of the Marquis's mansion to you."

Logically speaking, Madam He intended for Song Xizhi to become the matriarch of the noble family. If she returned the account book, it would likely create a rift between them.

How could Song Xizhi not know this?

She was unwilling to do a losing business. If He Jingyan couldn't be saved, wouldn't everything she had done be for someone else's benefit?

"Let's take it one step at a time and see how we can get rid of it."

Song Xizhi said with some distress, and then took the account book directly to Wanxiang Hall.