Meanwhile, Lu Mingzhang went to the accounting office in the front yard, found the man in charge of the accounts in the back yard, and explained his purpose.

After hearing this, the accountant said with some difficulty, "Young Master, we need to ask Madam for a signature for this matter. Now, in the manor, anyone who wants to receive money from the accountant must bring a signature from Madam."

Lu Mingzhang frowned and said, "The monthly allowances for everyone in the household are distributed monthly. I haven't received any. If it's not with you, who collected it on my behalf?"

The accountant listened, flipped through the ledger, and said, "The young master's monthly allowance has been allocated to the inner courtyard. If you want to find this money, you will have to go to the inner courtyard."

Lu Mingzhang sneered and said, "What a joke! You're just telling me to go to the inner courtyard to find money? Who am I supposed to go to?"

The accountant, who had dealings with the inner courtyard, naturally understood the situation. Pointing to the signature on the account book, he said, "This was taken back by the head maidservant who serves the madam. For the past few years, this maidservant has been the one to collect it, along with the allowances for the other young masters in the mansion."

The accounting office was near the Duke of Ningguo's study. When Lu Mingzhang came in, he saw the Duke of Ningguo's two attendants standing at the door of the study. He knew that the Duke was in the study at this time, but he didn't know whether he was receiving guests or doing something else.

The Duke of Ningguo was a man who was extremely opportunistic. He would never waste the value of any of his children if they were of any use.

When Lu Mingzhang was a child, he was handsome and talented in his studies, and was favored by the Duke of Ningguo. Later, Lu Mingzhang became too prominent and hindered the legitimate son of the family, so Lu Mingzhang's stepmother began to suppress him.

At that time, Lu Mingzhang was young and did not understand the reasons behind it. After being wronged, he went to tell the Duke of Ningguo. At that time, the Duke of Ningguo was relying on the help of Yue family and turned a blind eye to Lu Mingzhang's plight. After a long time, Lu Mingzhang understood many things and secretly went to Yanmen Pass to join the army.

Lu Mingzhang fought a desperate battle, risking his life for his future and earning military merit. Eventually, he gained the ability to compete with the Duke of Ningguo, which led to his marriage and subsequent trip to Hexi with Xu Gui.

Thinking of all this, Lu Mingzhang kicked the door of the accounting office. After so many years of training, Lu Mingzhang's physical fitness was exceptional, and the door was kicked all the way into the courtyard.

The commotion was quite loud, and the Duke of Ningguo's attendants came to see what was going on. When they saw that it was Lu Mingzhang, they quickly bowed, and one of them said, "Young Master, what's wrong?"

Lu Mingzhang sneered twice and said, "I just want to ask if I am still a child of the Lu family. If I am, why haven't I received my allowance over the years? If not, I ask the Duke to give me an explanation."

One of the servants hurried to the Duke of Ningguo's study to report, while the other tried his best to soothe Lu Mingzhang's emotions. Lu Mingzhang pretended to be angry until he was invited to the Duke of Ningguo's study.

The Duke of Ningguo frowned as he looked at his son, who appeared quite rugged from the wind and sand of the border region, and asked, "You just got married, what are you up to now?"

Lu Mingzhang cupped his hands in greeting to the Duke of Ningguo and said, "Father, I am a rough man and I can't do those roundabout things. If you want to take advantage of me, just say so. Why beat around the bush?"

Lu Mingzhang was the son of the Duke of Ningguo. His monthly allowance was fifty taels of silver. Over the years, he had accumulated more than five thousand taels. The dowry of a concubine's daughter in the Duke's mansion was only three thousand taels.

Upon hearing this, the Duke of Ningguo's mansion looked up at the accountant who was following behind Lu Mingzhang and carrying the account books, and said to the accountant, "Tell me, what's going on?"

The accountant shook the ledger in his hand and said to the Duke of Ningguo, "Your Excellency, the eldest son's monthly allowance has been collected, but he insists on coming to ask me for it. Where am I supposed to give it to him?"

Upon hearing this, the Duke of Ningguo said to Lu Mingzhang, "Your mother must have taken it back for you. Just go and ask your mother for it."

Upon hearing this, Lu Mingzhang sneered twice and said, "Father, you want me to go to Mother for it? Why should I go to Mother for it? My virtuous and kind mother is already slapping herself in the face right now."

Upon hearing Lu Mingzhang's treasonous words, the Duke of Ningguo frowned even more deeply and rebuked him, "You have been away from home since you came of age, and your mother has been managing all the affairs of the household. Recently, she has even fallen ill twice due to the stress of your marriage. What more do you want?"

Lu Mingzhang looked coldly at the Duke of Ningguo and said, "Father, I am not here to settle old scores with you, nor am I here to complain to you. Why did I abandon my status as the eldest son of the Duke's mansion and go to the border?"

“Did Father ever plan for my marriage? Don’t say that the marriages of the children in the family are all planned by Mother. I am your own son, yet I am blocking the path of my legitimate brother. I don’t believe you don’t know about the oppression and humiliation I suffered back then. I risked my life to earn a way to survive.”

"When you went to propose marriage to the Marquis of Yongning's family on my behalf, they said that if the girl married into the family, she would have to go to Hexi with me. Now that the marriage is settled and my family members have all been recognized, Mother wants to keep the girl here to fulfill her filial duties to my stepmother. Don't you think that's a joke?"

The Duke of Ningguo frowned so deeply he could have trapped a mosquito. He said to Lu Mingzhang, "You just got married yesterday, and there are relatives who have come from afar. I will make the decision for you. You should go back now."

Lu Mingzhang bowed deeply to the Duke without saying a word, then turned and walked out.

As the Duke of Ningguo watched Lu Mingzhang's retreating figure, he felt that many things were beyond his control. He sighed and said to one of his attendants, "Go and calculate with the accountant the amount of the eldest son's uncollected allowance over the past few years. Take some silver notes from my private treasury and send them to the eldest son, but don't let anyone know."

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