When Jiang Jianhua was exposed for falsifying expenses, the sweat on his back instantly soaked through his undershirt.
She gripped Xu Runli's wrist so tightly her knuckles turned white, but she dared not lash out. The ledger in Yun Tangyin's hand was irrefutable evidence. If she really brought it to Song Yushuang's attention, she would only be scolded even more severely.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Jiang Jianhua shook off Xu Runli's hand, his voice weak. "Aren't you going back inside? Do you want the whole courtyard to see you looking like this?"
Xu Runli took a half step back, scrutinizing Jiang Jianhua as if he were a stranger: "You really overstated your expenses? Zhicheng said the Jiang family are all honest people, how come..."
"Don't listen to Yun Tangyin's nonsense!" Jiang Jianhua hurriedly interrupted, looking around before lowering his voice: "She still remembers that last time she overcharged by a few cents, she's deliberately targeting me!"
"Five cents?" Xu Runli raised an eyebrow. "Then what about when you said you owed ninety cents?"
Jiang Jianhua was speechless when asked the question. He grabbed a wooden basin from the ground and shoved it into Xu Runli's arms, saying, "Go wash your clothes! If you keep asking about other people's business, I'll have Fu Yuanshan kick you out!"
She was now truly enraged and embarrassed.
Xu Runli caught the wooden basin, her fingertips touching the cold bottom, and suddenly found it funny.
It turns out that Jiang Zhicheng's claim of being the absolute authority in the Fu family also revealed a vulnerability that could be exploited.
Her eyes darted around, and she deliberately put the wooden basin on the ground: "If you don't explain clearly, I'm not washing these clothes. Anyway, I'm a guest, and I can't let a guest be treated like a servant, can I?"
These words struck a nerve with Jiang Jianhua.
But now that he's been caught red-handed, he can only grit his teeth and admit defeat: "Well... well, I had no choice! Everyone needs money!"
“Oh…” Xu Runli drawled, “So it’s not just about exaggerating, it’s about lying too.”
She bent down to pick up the wooden basin. "I'll wash these clothes for you, but you have to tell me the truth: what is Yun Tangyin's status in the Fu family? How come she can even control your salaries?"
Jiang Jianhua glanced towards the main room to make sure no one came out before saying sullenly, "She just got married, and Mom put her in charge of the household. Fu Yucheng dotes on her, Fu Yuanshan is afraid of her, and even my eldest brother thinks she's good at managing the household... Do you think she has a high status?"
"So you're content to be controlled by her?" Xu Runli turned on the tap, water splashed onto the wooden basin and dripped down the drain. "If it were me, I would have already had a huge fight with her."
"Argued? How did we argue?" Jiang Jianhua squatted down beside her, washing clothes. "She keeps perfect records of her accounts and speaks with impeccable discretion. Last time I argued with her..."
She grew angrier as she spoke, recalling the times Yun Tangyin had bullied her. Soap bubbles splashed all over her face. "If it weren't for Fu Yucheng backing up the Fu family, I wouldn't have put up with her. She really thought I was afraid of her just because I gave in temporarily!"
Xu Runli's heart skipped a beat. What if Fu Yucheng stopped protecting her?
Xu Runli leaned closer. "Do you want to get the ledger back? I have a way."
Jiang Jianhua paused for a moment: "What can you do? She's even got her mother wrapped around her little finger now."
"No matter how much you love her, she's still your mother-in-law."
Xu Runli lowered her voice: "Let's find an opportunity to make her miscalculate the accounts once. Then I'll mention her status as a capitalist's daughter to Mom, and you can also mention the Yun family's affairs. Do you think Mom will still believe her then?"
Jiang Jianhua's eyes lit up: "Can it work? What does the Yun family have to do with it?"
It's just that the Yun family is now broken up, and she and her mother are staying with Jiang Zhicheng. As for Yun Zhixiong... although he wrote a letter severing ties, he is still his biological father. Xu Runli doesn't believe that any elder could remain indifferent to being abandoned like that.
As for what the mother and daughter had done, Xu Runli didn't dare tell Jiang Jianhua a single thing.
Jiang Jianhua's hand, which was rubbing clothes, stopped in mid-air, his eyes shining with excitement: "I only knew that Yun Tangyin's father was a capitalist, and I didn't know anything else. I didn't expect there to be such a thing."
"That's enough." Xu Runli leaned closer to her, lowering her voice even further.
"Think about it, if your mother-in-law knew how heartless Yun Tangyin was, she would definitely feel disgusted. Then we can tamper with the accounts and make her miscalculate a big amount. She will definitely think that Yun Tangyin has ulterior motives. Regardless of whether you get the account book or not, at least Yun Tangyin got it, right?"
The more Jiang Jianhua listened, the more feasible it seemed, almost melting the soap in his hand: "So how exactly do we do it?"
“No need to falsify accounts.” Xu Runli smiled. “Next time you go to the supply and marketing cooperative, have her buy a few more items and make her misremember the unit price. Once she writes it down in her notebook, I’ll secretly switch the supply and marketing cooperative’s receipts. When the numbers don’t match, let’s see what she says.”
"Will this work?" Jiang Jianhua was still a little hesitant. "Yun Tangyin keeps very detailed accounts."
“Even the most careful person can get distracted sometimes,” Xu Runli patted her shoulder.
Jiang Jianhua was swayed by her words, and he scrubbed the clothes with much more force. After some hesitation, he finally nodded and said, "Okay!"
The two were chatting happily when they suddenly heard Fu Yucheng's voice from the courtyard gate: "Yinyin, it's chilly outside, I'll take you back inside."
Jiang Jianhua and Xu Runli quickly shut their mouths and huddled next to the laundry tub, pretending to be focused on washing clothes.
Yun Tangyin and Fu Yucheng's footsteps passed by the courtyard gate, and the crisp sound of their silver bracelets was particularly clear.
"I think I heard someone talking just now," Yun Tangyin said, her voice tinged with doubt.
“Someone is doing laundry,” Fu Yucheng said gently. “Never mind them, I’ll read you 'How the Steel Was Tempered'.”
As the footsteps faded into the distance, Jiang Jianhua finally breathed a sigh of relief: "That scared me to death, I almost got heard."
Xu Runli frowned: "Brother Yucheng is too good to her. If this continues, even if we take back the account book, her position in the Fu family will not be shaken."
"That……"
Jiang Jianhua started to panic.
"Don't worry, there's still one more trick." Xu Runli's eyes darkened. "I'm sure I can find a way to make her life miserable..."
Xu Runli sprinkled a handful of laundry detergent into the basin, and foam rose from her fingertips: "Doesn't Fu Yucheng value the reputation of the military the most? Let's start from there."
Jiang Jianhua's eyes widened: "What do you want to do? Don't do anything reckless. If Fu Yucheng gets angry, he might kick us both out!"
"Don't worry, we don't need to lift a finger." Xu Runli nudged her with her elbow. "If someone says that Yun Tangyin still has ties with her former capitalist relatives... do you think Fu Yucheng will still protect her like this?"
Jiang Jianhua's hand trembled violently, and the soap fell into the water with a splash: "This won't do! If word gets out, the Fu family will be implicated. Don't do anything reckless!"
For a fleeting moment, Jiang Jianhua felt that Xu Runli seemed even more ruthless than her.
Moreover, although Jiang Jianhua knew about the conflict between Yun Tangyin and Xu Runli, judging from the expression on Xu Runli's face at this moment, she was indeed a little scared...
After all, if this involves the entire Fu family, things could get really out of hand.
Jiang Jianhua only wanted to gain some advantage and have some status in the family; she never intended to ruin the entire Fu family!
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