On their way back to the main courtyard from Ci'an Courtyard, they happened to pass by Qitong Residence. Seeing that it was still early, Lu Yan had Ping'er brought back. He then pulled her along and pushed open the door of Qitong Residence. "I originally wanted you to come and stay here, but now that you are the mistress, you should live in the main courtyard."
"Come in and take a look. Take whatever you like."
As soon as the door opened, Bai Wanyi was dazzled by the wealth inside. She looked around and said, "There are so many good things in here, but you won't let me use them or exchange them for silver. Instead, you sold the Phoenix Coronet. Isn't this putting the cart before the horse?"
Lu Yan frowned and said, "These are all my mother's relics. I have to keep them. If people knew that I sold my mother's relics, the censor would report me as unfilial."
"You are also impeached by the censor now. What's the difference?" Bai Wanyi muttered, and then looked around happily.
The decoration of Qitongju is luxurious and elegant. You can tell that the things are of good quality at a glance. There are antiques from previous dynasties, as well as gold, silver and jade wares. The furnishings are dazzling, but they do not make people feel tacky.
She liked it very much, turned around and grabbed Lu Yan's sleeve and said, "Otherwise, I'd better live in Qitongju. I like it here very much."
Her little calculation was clearly written on her face. Lu Yan's mother's dowry was still here and had not been moved. If she moved in now, the dowry would naturally belong to her.
Lu Yan pulled out his sleeves and said, "The main courtyard has been cleaned up. It's fine for you and me to live in the main courtyard. Besides, this place has not been cleaned up yet. If you are willing to stay here, I will have someone clean it up and you can move in."
Bai Wanyi didn't notice that he was unhappy at all. She fiddled with a piece of porcelain excitedly and said, "I think it's pretty good now."
Lu Yan looked at her greedy face and felt more and more that he didn't know Bai Wanyi anymore. He frowned and said, "I still have to go to court. Go pick out some jewelry from the jewelry box and come back."
Bai Wanyi's eyes were glued to the things in the house. She waved her hand and told him to leave. She walked around the house, but she couldn't bear to let go of this or that. She would not be satisfied until she really moved in.
After looking at the main house, Bai Wanyi went to the left and right wing rooms. After seeing that there were several locked rooms in the back room, he asked, "What's here?"
Chu Yun said, "This is the storeroom where the old lady keeps her dowry. Nanny Li holds the key."
The person in charge of the warehouse was Madam Li, who was originally Madam Li's wet nurse. She and another senior maid were guarding the yard, just waiting to hand the things to Lu Yan and leave to enjoy a peaceful life.
Who knew that after Lu Yan came back, the first time he came, he angered the maid who originally followed Old Madam Li and drove away. The second time he came, even Madam Li didn't see him.
Now the new wife is coming to ask for the key.
Nanny Li said, "This is our old woman's dowry. The key is given to you, and it is also given to the Marquis."
Bai Wanyi's eyebrows shot up, this even concerned his master: "I asked you to bring the key, so just bring it. If you don't, I'll have someone chop the lock with an axe!"
Nanny Li said slowly, "Madam, you covet the deceased old lady's dowry. Someone must be trying to accuse the Marquis of not managing the household properly."
Gin, gin, gin.
These past few days I've been hearing words like "impeachment" and "recall".
Bai Wanyi's eyes widened. "Is this even a report? Those imperial censors are being too lenient."
Nanny Li said, "It is the duty of the Censor to supervise all officials."
Bai Wanyi snorted coldly, his eyes sweeping around at the servants around him. "Chop him up! I want to see who's the chatterbox who's spouting nonsense out there. I don't believe the Imperial Censor could plant spies in my mansion!"
Nanny Li watched the door lock break with a sound, sighed, turned back to her room, put the key on the table, picked up the bag she had packed long ago and left the mansion.
When Madam Li passed away, she returned the deeds of all her servants who came with her as dowry. Only she and another person volunteered to stay here, one to look after the yard and the other to look after the warehouse. After she left to look after the yard, it was time for this old woman to go back.
Old Madam Li also came from a prominent family. Although she had contributed a lot of money to the Pingyang Marquis's mansion when she first married him, her dowry was generous. In addition, Qin Wan handed over the household to her after she married him, so she saved a lot of money in the following years.
As soon as Bai Wanyi opened the door, he saw two boxes of cash piled in the middle of the room. He also found 50,000 taels of silver notes, a box of gold, and a lot of property deeds to various farms and shops.
Bai Wanyi calculated the time when Old Madam Li passed away and the approximate prospects of these shops and farms. He estimated that Qin Wan must have embezzled several years' worth of money.
Bai Wanyi seemed to have caught a huge handle on Qin Wan. She picked up the box containing the banknotes and was about to go out. At this moment, several housekeepers came with account books and cards.
Bai Wanyi originally wanted to deal with the issue of Madam Li's dowry first, but then he thought that this matter could not be dealt with in a short time. Qi Jing had been in charge of the household for several months, and he didn't know if there were any problems with the accounts, so he asked someone to send all the account books to the main courtyard.
These account books only cover the past few months since Qi Jing took over, and there are no account books from previous years.
Bai Wanyi asked, "Are these the only account books?"
The old woman said, "The account books from previous years are all in the accounting office. This is the account book from when Concubine Qi took over."
Bai Wanyi's eyes flashed: "Call the accountant over."
The accountant came quickly. When he heard that Bai Wanyi was going to check the accounts again, he felt bitter: "I just checked it once a few months ago, and there was no problem."
Bai Wanyi looked up at him, raised her chin, and put on the airs of a mistress: "Before, that was before. I am now the mistress of the family. I have taken over the accounts of the Marquis' Mansion, so naturally I have to sort out the accounts of previous years."
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