Madam Wen noticed that the handkerchief was about to be torn in two; she hadn't received this kind of treatment even after trying to curry favor with the old lady every day for the past two days.

Jiang Yao felt a pang of bitterness in her heart.

Both being daughters-in-law of the Pei family, she didn't even have a seat, while Jiang Shuwan sat so close to the old lady, and the old lady was so affectionate towards her.

People with the surname Pei are all bad news!

The whole room is full of biased people!

"I heard you've been managing your shop quite well lately."

Before Jiang Shuwan had even drunk half a cup of tea, Wen Shi indeed launched an attack, twirling her Buddhist prayer beads and looking at her with a sharp and sarcastic gaze.

"In reply to Madam, it is indeed quite good. The profits of all the shops in our manor have increased by 20%. However, I dare not take credit for it. If Madam wants to reward, please do not only reward me, but also reward the shopkeepers and waiters."

"When did I say I was going to reward you!" Madam Wen glared angrily, slammed her hand on the corner of the table, and the teacup jumped. "Stop beating around the bush, I was talking about Donglai Street."

“I heard that Donglai Street was originally run by merchants from the East Market, and their business was dismal and in dire straits, but now it’s completely different.”

"A gentle breeze comes from the east, and dark clouds rise from the western mountains."

"Many people say that Donglai Street is going to be amazing and prosperous. Many businesses are vying to move in, pulling strings and spending money everywhere. It's very popular."

Seeing Wen Shi staring at her aggressively, Jiang Shuwan just smiled lightly. She raised her hand and tucked a stray hair behind her ear, and said with a smile, "Madam manages the household affairs, but she is very clear about what's going on outside."

"Hmph! I am the mistress of the Marquis's mansion, so of course I care about the mansion. Let me ask you, the annual rent from Donglai Street is two or three hundred thousand taels, so why don't you see it deposited into your account!"

As Wen spoke, he tossed an account book onto the coffee table beside his elbow, a smug look on his face as if he had caught Jiang Shuwan by the nose.

"Jiang, you're not planning to embezzle this money, are you?"

"How much? Two or three hundred thousand taels? Did I hear that right?" The lady felt as if she had heard something out of the blue.

"You heard me right." Madam Wen glanced at her, feeling a pang of sadness herself. She had managed the Marquis's mansion with such care, yet the family's income was only 100,000 a year.

Jiang Shuwan is quite something, setting up some Donglai Street and charging two or three hundred thousand taels just for rent. Doesn't that show her incompetence?

"Wow, wow... there really is so much money..." The aunt gasped.

She counted on her fingers and realized that, not to mention that the Earl's Mansion was not as prosperous as before, even when the Earl's Mansion was at its peak, the annual income from its estates and shops was only seventy or eighty thousand taels.

Two or three hundred thousand taels of silver is equivalent to the income of four or five earls' mansions.

Goodness!

So much silver!

Jiang Yao stared blankly. Although she had never managed a household and did not know how much silver the Earl's mansion had, she knew it was an astronomical figure.

How could Jiang Shuwan possibly earn so much money?

She doesn't know anything!

There's definitely something wrong here.

“Madam, the aunt also said that this is a considerable sum of money, so it is not in vain that I came here today to inform you. Moreover, two or three hundred thousand is just the rent, and there are various management fees, which add up to a considerable amount,” said Madam Wen as she handed the account book to Madam Pei. “Madam, please take a look, not a single penny of this money has been recorded in the accounts.”

After she finished speaking, she gave Jiang Shuwan a smug sneer.

Jiang Yao also sneered from the side.

Jiang Shuwan is incredibly stupid. I don't know where she got so much money, and she doesn't even put it into public funds.

That's so stupid!

"Wan, what's going on?" Old Madam Pei looked at Jiang Shuwan with a puzzled expression.

"Madam, you must have misunderstood. Donglai Street is my own business. I bought it with my dowry money, and I naturally collect the rent myself. It has nothing to do with your household."

She thought Wen was going to say something, but she didn't expect it to be about this.

"What did you say! You only have a few dowries, how could you afford to buy an entire street? I've already had people inquire, and buying all the shops on Donglai Street would cost at least tens of thousands of taels of silver. Where did you get the money?"

Madam Wen glared angrily at Jiang Shuwan, thinking she was spouting nonsense. She knew the Jiang family's financial situation all too well; it was a small family whose first generation barely became officials, with very shallow roots. She had heard that Jiang's father used to have to work in the fields and didn't have much savings.

The betrothal gifts that were later provided to Jiang Shuwan were also brought out of the storeroom by her; there was plenty of fine jewelry and clothing, but little cash.

Jiang Shuwan simply couldn't afford to buy a place on Donglai Street.

"Grandma, Madam Jiang must have taken advantage of her position managing the shops to embezzle the money in the shops. She has a good plan: if she makes a profit, it's her own business and has nothing to do with the manor; if she loses money, it's the manor's business..."

"Cough cough cough."

Madam Wen spoke sternly and fiercely, spitting as she spoke, while Old Madam Pei awkwardly coughed twice.

"Old lady?" Madam Wen looked at her in confusion.

"I roughly know Wan's money; she can afford to buy Donglai Street."

"Old lady, you're lying through your teeth! Where would she get the money..."

“She borrowed some money from me before. I remember that it was when the four food streets were doing the best business. She made a lot of money by trading back and forth. In addition, she had more than 20 shops under her control. She was making a fortune every day. She should not be short of money.”

Madam Wen was overjoyed, "She even made money by reselling houses? That should also go into the public funds..."

“I borrowed my own savings, my dowry money.”

Wen Shi: "..."

Wen felt dizzy and her liver was tearing apart. Old Madam Pei pretended not to see the murderous look in her eyes.

The 100,000 taels of silver that had been lent to Jiang Shuwan was her private savings, so no matter how angry Wen was, it was useless.

Jiang Shuwan managed to amass so much wealth without making a sound, which is indeed enviable.

However, as a noble family, they couldn't possibly covet their daughter-in-law's private property.

Besides, Jiang Shuwan also gave her three times the interest, plus a jeweled fan.

"If that's the case, even if she made a small profit, I don't believe she could come up with 100,000 taels of cash in one go. She must have embezzled public funds. If she embezzled public funds, it would be public business!"

As Wen spoke, he summoned the shopkeepers in, and everyone went to check the accounts and send people to check the cash withdrawals and deposits of the shops.

They couldn't find anything out, since Jiang Shuwan really hadn't misappropriated a single penny from the Marquis's mansion.

Wen was so angry that her head was throbbing with pain, and Jiang Yao was stunned beside her.

What!

Is Jiang Shuwan really able to earn this much money?

What kind of nonsense is this "food street" and "manufacturing houses and shops"?

Does Jiang Shuwan have this ability?

Why doesn't she believe it?

Jiang Yao felt that she had been locked up in the Earl's mansion for too long and had become out of touch with the world. She glanced around, her eyes darting about, and when she saw that no one was paying attention, she secretly slipped out and casually tossed a piece of silver to her personal maid.

"Go and find out where Jiang Shuwan got so much money."

Brother Nai is the president of the West Market Association, and it's no secret in the Marquis's mansion that Jiang Shuwan owns twenty shops. The maid quickly found out.

"What!"

"She opened twenty shops selling milk tea, grilled skewers, and braised pork offal?"

"She made a fortune? And her brother is some kind of crooked association president?"