Qin Su continued flipping through the ledgers, neither answering Old Hu nor the steward, but instead asked, "Where's the other ledger?"

The manager's heart skipped a beat, and his eyes darted away. "What other ledger? This is the only ledger the horse farm has."

"It seems you intend to report to the Prefect of the Capital." Qin Su's words made the steward even more flustered.

He wailed, "There really is only one ledger, and there has only ever been one. How could I dare to deceive you, young lady? Even if you gave me a thousand lives, I wouldn't dare!"

Qin Su said, "If you hand it over now, I might be lenient with you. But if you are found out, all those involved will be handed over to the authorities."

The manager tried to argue, but then he saw that the people around him were already getting restless.

He cursed these fools under his breath and immediately said, "There really isn't a second ledger. Young lady, you can't let the old man down. I've been with the Marquis's household for many years, and I would never do anything to betray my family."

Qin Su adjusted her posture, put the ledger aside, and looked at the others, "Anyone who dares to step forward and take Lian Tao to find the ledger will be rewarded with ten gold coins."

Qin Su has no shortage of money. Even if she can't compare to the richest man in the city, she is still richer than 70-80% of the people in Beijing. Even if she does nothing and just lies in bed indulging in pleasure, she could spend her money for several lifetimes.

She really didn't care about the ten gold coins.

Someone moved, raised their hand and said, "I... I know where the other ledger is."

The manager looked over, his eyes fierce as if he wanted to devour someone.

Lian Tao and that person left, and when they returned, they had a half-old ledger in their hands.

Qin Su took it and handed it to Lao Hu, saying, "Take a look."

When Uncle Hu opened it, he found that it recorded the actual price of the foals for each time period, as well as the normal selling price, including how much kickback was taken.

He originally thought that clear water had no fish, and that it was acceptable as long as the fish didn't eat much. But is this what you call not much?

This is not an ordinary number.

He pursed his lips and said to Qin Su, "But I still don't understand why he raised the price so high?"

“If he raises the price, he will obviously get less kickback; if he sells it at market price, he can get more.”

Qin Su suddenly crossed her legs, displaying a carefree attitude reminiscent of her teenage years from her previous life. "That's not necessarily true. Xue Huai'an isn't stupid."

"He doesn't have the guts to fool Xue Huai'an."

Old Hu frowned again, "What does this have to do with that kid from the Xue family?"

He looked at the steward and asked, "Have you sold all these foals to the eldest son of the Duke of Cheng's mansion?"

The manager stammered, "Yes, yes, he's willing to pay a high price."

Old Hu immediately realized something and looked puzzled. "But does he need so many foals?"

Qin Su raised an eyebrow, "Just resell it to someone else; someone can offer a higher price."

Lao Hu didn't press further, subconsciously feeling that the issues involved were not suitable for discussion in public.

"If you ask why he raised the price, it's because Xue Huai'an got the money to buy the horses from me. In the end, the horse farm didn't make any money at all. He and Xue Huai'an both knew where the money to buy the horses came from."

Hearing Qin Su's words, Old Hu trembled with anger, "Report to the authorities! You must report to the authorities!"

Qin Su shook her head. "Reporting to the authorities is useless."

The people at the horse farm were stunned. Reporting to the authorities was useless? Had they been tricked?

The person in charge wasn't very smart; he didn't expect that reporting it to the authorities would be useless.

"The money I gave to Xue Huai'an was voluntary, so what do you say about that?" Qin Su could only admit defeat; there was no way to seek justice for the foolish things she had done in the past when she was out of her mind.

However, it wasn't right for them to conspire to deceive her.

The manager collapsed to the ground, feeling he had escaped a terrible ordeal.

Old Hu sneered repeatedly, "It seems you've forgotten who we used to be."

These words were naturally spoken to the manager.

"Even if you don't report it to the authorities, we have other ways to deal with you."

The steward, thinking Old Hu was going to kill him, immediately became frightened and kowtowed, saying, "Miss, spare my life! I know I was wrong, I really know I was wrong. Please spare my worthless life!"

"Please, young lady, spare my worthless life."

Soon, the person in charge's forehead became red and swollen, but he dared not stop until Qin Su spoke.

Dealing with this person is indeed a troublesome matter.

He was not a slave, so he could not be sold, and this matter could not be reported to the authorities.

That's all.

“Compensate them according to the amount, replace the person in charge, and post a public notice about what they did.”

The manager rushed over to try and hug Qin Su's leg, but Lian Tao kicked him away. The manager got up and said, "Miss, I can raise the money. Please don't tell anyone about this, I beg you."

If other people in Kyoto find out, how will he make a living in the future?

This is completely cutting off his path to survival!

He has children, a mother, and a large family at home. What will happen to his family if he loses his job?

"Please, young lady, give me a way out! Please, young lady, give me a way out!" He kowtowed frantically, and soon a large area was stained with blood.

Some people felt sorry for Qin Su, but no one dared to suggest that the matter be dropped.

"If you want to make a living, you can leave Kyoto. What? You're a traitor and no one's allowed to say anything?"

This can be considered as pointing him in a direction; it remains to be seen whether he dares to leave Kyoto.

"Everyone pays the price for doing something wrong. You are no exception, and neither are others."

"As for the others, Uncle Hu can handle them as he sees fit."

Now Qin Su is thinking about how to get Xue Huai'an to return the money. Doesn't he have money now?

"Don't hire anyone else, replace them with one of our own."

Qin Su could hardly believe that anyone other than his own people was giving him the ten gold coins.

When Qin Su left, she took all the account books with her. Looking at the scenery in the suburbs, a sense of sadness welled up in her heart for some reason.

The carefree days of the past seem to be gone forever.

She wasn't one to dwell on the sorrows of spring and autumn, so she didn't stay in the suburbs for long before riding back to the capital.

Instead of returning to the Marquis's residence, he went straight to the Duke of Cheng's residence.

Yu Shuo and Chongyang, who had just come out of the palace, witnessed this scene.

"That seems to be the direction of the Duke of Cheng's mansion." Chongyang scratched the back of his head and turned to look at his prince's expression.

As expected, the mute prince was unhappy again.

"What if Miss Qin gets bullied? Miss Qin's martial arts are indeed impressive, but Xue Huai'an is the kind of person who would resort to underhanded tactics..."

"Besides, didn't His Highness buy a gift for Miss Qin? We can go and deliver it."

Yu Shuo turned his head and glanced at him, feeling embarrassed and annoyed that his thoughts had been exposed.

"Your Highness, please go quickly. Leave the rest to me." Chongyang mustered his courage and nudged Yu Shuo.

Yu Shuo had already wavered; Chongyang's words made sense, and he had to go and see for himself.

...

Qin Su was unaware that Yu Shuo had followed her; she was now solely focused on getting her money back. She certainly didn't lack money, but the fact that it had been given to Xue Huai'an made her uneasy.

Why should she be uncomfortable? Xue Huai'an must be made uncomfortable.

Xue Huai'an found her visit strange; Qin Su didn't seem like the type to personally visit people these days.

Xue Huai'an, who had been in a good mood, suddenly felt as if dark clouds had gathered over him.