Chapter 12: Deductions

————Cuiyingxuan————

At this moment, the porcelain in the house was scattered all over the floor, and the maids were kneeling beside him trembling with fear.

Xu Qingyue sat on the stool with a grim look on her face, and said angrily: "Mother, you actually handed over the power of the Duke's Mansion to a concubine's daughter! How can she, who grew up in the countryside, be in charge of the Duke's Mansion's backyard!"

Today, ever since her people found out that the Duke's wife had handed over the power of managing the backyard to Xu Qingyan, Xu Qingyue has been throwing a tantrum in the house.

Originally Xu Qingyue felt that she was upset enough because she couldn't get her dowry back, but she didn't expect to get such news. She took out all her anger on the furnishings in the house and the maids.

In order to please Xu Qingyue, Fang Dong, who was kneeling on the ground, said cautiously: "Madam, don't be angry. The Crown Prince's wife grew up in the countryside. If the power of the family is handed over to her, I am afraid that something funny will happen. Since the wife of the Duke is willing to hand over the power of the family, she will definitely not take care of it in the future. If the Crown Prince's wife can't manage it well, the power of the family will have to be handed over to you." After saying that, he looked at Xu Qingyue and continued.

"You are the daughter of a legitimate wife, and you have been well-read since childhood. How can the prince's wife compare to you? You just wait for her to make a fool of herself." It must be said that Fang Dong's words really pleased Xu Qingyue. She gradually calmed down and thought that what Fang Dong said made some sense.

A hint of smile flashed across Xu Qingyue's eyes, and she said viciously: "You are right. Xu Qingyan is a country girl who can barely read. I wonder how she can handle such a huge family business in the Duke's Mansion! I don't know what mother was thinking to hand it over to her. In this case, I will take this opportunity to see how she embarrasses herself! If things go wrong, my eldest brother might even divorce her."

----study----

At this time, Xu Qingyan was learning how to manage the household with a sad face. The Duke's wife had already given up and left all the matters in the mansion to her.

Xu Qingyan hated trouble the most, so she let it go. She arranged all the expenses of the mansion and the share of each room, etc., the same as the arrangements made by the Duke's wife before, without making any major adjustments.

Therefore, the various departments in the Duke's Mansion did not raise any questions about the housekeeper Xu Qingyan for the time being, and she herself was happy to have some free time, as she only had to check the account books handed over by the housekeeper every month.

After the housekeeper Zhou Yi knew that Xu Qingyan was an illiterate concubine's daughter, he couldn't help but become a little arrogant towards her in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face.

That day, he went to Xu Qingyan to check the account book as a routine. He thought he would just go through the formalities and then go back. Unexpectedly, Xu Qingyan actually looked at the account book for a long time and said, "Butler Zhou, your account book records that my Tingyuxuan's monthly food expenses are 100 taels. I don't see any delicacies every day, why is it so expensive?" After saying this, Xu Qingyan looked at Butler Zhou in confusion.

"But I remember that nowadays rice is only five cents per catty, and beef, mutton and fish are only thirty cents per catty. My servants don't eat the same food as the masters, so why would it cost so much money?" Xu Qingyan continued.

Originally, she just planned to take a quick look at the account book, but she never thought that this casual glance would reveal such a big problem.

Butler Zhou was shocked. Wasn't it said that the Crown Prince's wife was a concubine who had never read any books? Not only could she read the account books, but she also knew so much about the prices outside. Suddenly, he broke out in a cold sweat.

"Madam, the rice and meat in our Duke's Mansion are of the highest quality, and are definitely more expensive than ordinary ones. It's not just the food, even the pots, pans, and utensils are more expensive, so naturally the monthly expenses are not small when calculated this way." Butler Zhou explained perfunctorily.

Xu Qingyan frowned slightly when she heard this, and after a long silence, she said, "I see. Was it always like this in the past? Can you bring me the old account books as well?"

When Butler Zhou saw Xu Qingyan give in, he thought she had been fooled and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly had all the previous account books delivered.

"Butler Zhou, I'm a little tired today. There are too many account books. Let me look at them in a few days and give them to you." Xu Qingyan glanced at the pile of account books and said to Butler Zhou with a smile.

"Okay, Madam." Seeing that Xu Qingyan didn't raise any more questions, Butler Zhou thought that she must not have noticed anything wrong. Moreover, even the Duke's wife couldn't find any problems with the previous account books, so what could Xu Qingyan find out? He was not worried about this and agreed.

After Butler Zhou left, Xu Qingyan took the maid with her to the kitchen.

————A few days later————

"It's bad, Madam Crown Prince. There's a commotion in the second and third rooms. They say that after you took over the household, you cut their expenses and fed them fake bird's nests and abalone. Now, they've gone to the Duke's wife to make a scene. And Butler Zhou has admitted that this was all your order, and he also said that you embezzled the money in this mansion. Now the mistress wants you to come over." The maid Danyan reported to Xu Qingyan with a worried look on her face.

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingyan placed the teacup in her hand on the table, stood up quickly, and muttered softly: "This day has finally come!"

"Let's go!" Xu Qingyan said excitedly to Dan Yan.

----main hall----

When she arrived, people from the second and third rooms began to accuse and ridicule her.

"Madam, you are so arrogant! As soon as you took over, you took away all the bird's nests from our second wife. The second wife was already in poor health, and now your embezzlement has made her health worse. Do you still have a conscience?"

"Sister, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but how can you hand over the power of the family to someone who is born a concubine? She has no vision, and now that she has gained power, she can't wait to reap the benefits. It's really ridiculous!"

"This is too much. They actually used this trick on us. Do they think we are stupid? Not only will our living expenses be reduced, but our monthly salary will also be reduced!"

"Tell me, how can there be a person like you? Have we offended you in some way? Why are you so harsh to us?"

Xu Qingyan looked around and saw that the entire hall was filled with dissatisfaction with her, except for Xu Qingyue who was standing nearby without saying a word. However, Xu Qingyan could see gloating in her eyes.

I can see that it's this heroine who is causing trouble again! She has already obediently replaced her husband, why is she still not letting me go? What else does she want? I am not a soft persimmon that can be easily controlled by her.

"Qingyan, everyone just told me that you deducted their salary this month, reduced their portions, and used fake ingredients. What's going on?" The Duke's wife did not blame Xu Qingyan, but asked her gently.

After all, after spending these days together, she felt that Xu Qingyan was not the kind of person who would do such a thing.

Xu Qingyan was very touched by the Duke's wife's trust. She bowed respectfully to her and then asked everyone seriously, "Are you sure I reduced your allowance? I withheld your food and replaced it with fake food?"

"Who else could it be except you?" the person from the second room said affirmatively.