"Mr. Jiang, you are the old lady's nephew, right?"

At this moment, the people below were drenched in cold sweat, trembling all over, and kneeling on the ground, not daring to move.

Mr. Jiang stared tremblingly at the ledger in front of him. A quick flip through it revealed the evidence, leaving no room for rebuttal.

He looked up at Jin Shu, still thinking of playing the family card, but then he heard her say something else.

"Do you think what you're doing is worthy of the old lady's trust and guidance? Hmm?"

"Madam...Madam, she..."

"What's wrong with her? She trusted you so much, arranging for you to be the manager of the money shop, yet you've been embezzling ten thousand taels of silver every year. What have you been doing with that money?!"

Mr. Jiang was speechless, his face pale and his whole body trembling.

"Money...money isn't me..."

"It's no use worrying about these things now. Starting today, all thirteen shops will have a new manager."

As for you, I've already reported it to the authorities. You can speak to the officers when the time comes!

Everyone in the courtyard was terrified; no one had expected that Jin Shu could uncover loopholes in the mess of ten years of debts.

"What else do you want to say now? Did you embezzle the money, or is someone behind the scenes helping you...?"

"Madam, please forgive us! We're just helpers, we didn't know anything! Please, Madam, have mercy on us!"

In total, each shop would have a financial deficit of several thousand taels of silver per year.

All in all, Jin Shu knew perfectly well who pocketed the more than ten thousand taels of silver a year.

"You still have a chance. I'll give you three days to go back and make up the money. If you do, I won't report you to the authorities and I'll leave you a way out."

If you can't make up for it, every single one of you will be crying in jail!

Everyone in the courtyard rushed out in a panic.

Jin Shu didn't stop her, and just stood quietly behind and watched.

If nothing unexpected happens, the old lady won't be able to sleep tonight.

Having resolved this mess, Jin Shu was in a good mood and took A Yu directly to the most bustling street in the capital to start shopping.

"Miss, you haven't dressed up much in the past few years. You're going to the palace for a banquet this New Year, so you should dress up nicely so the other ladies won't laugh at you."

The original owner was once a famous "white moonlight" in the capital, with many sons of high-ranking officials and nobles coming to propose marriage.

For example, the son of Prince Beard visited Kim Shu three times.

The son of a high-ranking official even wrote a special article for her, praising her beauty and literary talent.

There are countless outstanding men.

Unfortunately, the original owner and Lu Mingqian had been engaged since childhood. The Lu family had decided that she was their daughter-in-law and sent people to present gifts early on. As for the original owner, she was deeply in love with Lu Mingqian and didn't even glance at other men in the capital.

However, the once-famous noblewoman is now suffering terribly from the hardships of life.

Everyone knows that her husband was defeated and died in battle, and the Duke of Dingguo's mansion declined and fell into ruin. The entire mansion was being held together by her alone.

Every year, the Empress would host a banquet to invite the ladies of noble families in the capital to attend. For the sake of the Duke's mansion's reputation, the original owner would go every year, but she always wore the same old clothes, year after year.

Those noble ladies who had been overshadowed by the original owner for over a decade now naturally wanted to kick her while she was down, seeing her so forlorn.

Ayu watched with heartache, but there was nothing she could do.

There was nothing they could do; the Duke of Dingguo's mansion had fallen from grace and was no longer supported by imperial power, leaving them no choice but to submit to being bullied.

This year's invitation has already been sent to Jin Shu.

Ayu followed Jinshu excitedly, watching her buy the best piece of fabric in the store with a wave of her hand, and then pick out many trendy gemstones and beads from the jewelry store.

"These pieces of jewelry look absolutely stunning on you! Miss, you've finally come to your senses!"

Jin Shu smiled but didn't speak. Looking at her face in the mirror, her eyebrows and eyes were gentle and serene, her features were bright and dignified, her almond eyes were round and clear beneath her willow eyebrows, like the first forsythia blooming in early spring, beautiful yet restrained.

However, when paired with a luxurious and elegant golden begonia beaded hairpin, the bright red beaded flowers did not steal the limelight from her face at all. On the contrary, they highlighted all the advantages of her features. The languid and composed look at the corner of her eyes, unique to Jin Shu, instantly softened her beauty and added a touch of sharpness.

Ayu watched intently from the side.

"Miss, you should wear more red; it really suits you."

Before her marriage, the original owner was a typical noble lady from a prestigious family, and every smile, frown, and gesture of hers perfectly embodied her refined manners.

Therefore, the original owner's clothes never had bright or exaggerated colors; the closet was filled with blue, cyan, white, gray... and no other bright colors could be seen.

The original owner's personality was also like that: low-key, reserved, calm and never showing emotions, adhering to the etiquette of the aristocratic family, completely like a finely crafted ornamental flower.

This was also the root cause of the tragedy in her life.

So dignified, so dignified that even his final death was so quiet.

Jin Shu never recommends raising girls to be too moral or ashamed. No matter the era, girls with overly virtuous character will always suffer.

The original owner of this body is a living example.

She sighed inwardly, then took off the hair ornament from her head and stood up.

"Wrap up everything I just saw."

My legs were sore from walking all day, and with Ayu's things, I spent a total of more than fifty taels of silver.

"Money really lasts a long time."

If Jin Shu spent all her money on herself, she would never be able to spend it all.

The reason why they are living in such poverty now is because the original owner was too kind. She would rather suffer herself than let those lazy bums in the Duke's mansion suffer.

Fortunately, Jin Shu has none of these noble virtues; she's good at being a bad person.

After shopping, Jin Shu returned home, but she didn't see the old lady until lunchtime.

When asked where she had gone, the servant said that the old lady hadn't returned since she left home that morning.

It's normal that she didn't come back. Jin Shu turned all thirteen shops upside down. She still has a lot to do. Jin Shu doesn't care about that. She still has to eat.

"Give the order to replace these bland dishes with some fresh fish. There are three more young masters in the manor now; how can they eat this every day?"

The savory porridge and side dishes on the table had all been replaced with chicken, duck, fish, and meat. Jin Shu picked up her chopsticks and glanced at the three children opposite her.

"Eat up, eat more, you'll have the energy to read and write when you're full."

Lu Xu picked up his chopsticks and started eating in silence, while Lu Huai waited for Jin Shu to pick up food first before following her.

In contrast, Lu Gu looked completely distracted.