Chapter 125 The Money is Gone
Chapter 125
Madam Qin, Qin Heng and the others were all very smart. They changed into clothes that were neither new nor old but thick enough, and did not wear any gold, silver or jade ornaments.
But the children's clothes were still too new. Wu Yuchun was very dissatisfied. "Women can't wear silver jewelry on their heads. And these children are wearing such nice clothes. Change them!"
The same goes for the children. Currently, the Qin family has five children in Chang'an. The oldest are Qin Heng's eight-year-old twins, Qin Han and Qin Jia; there are also Qin Sanlang and Qin Zhao's two daughters and one son, son Qin Yu, daughter Qin Zhen, and the youngest daughter who was born today.
Furthermore, Qin Erlang, Qin Yan, had two sons and a daughter in the northern border. Qin Ming, the fourth son, had two sons, but because he and the fifth son were twins and the fifth son died young after his marriage, Qin Ming adopted one of his sons to him. After the unrest in the northern border, Qin Yan had planned to bring his wife, children, siblings, and nephews back to Chang'an with his coffin. However, his family had been confiscated and exiled, and he would soon be dismissed from his military service and imprisoned, making it impossible for him to return to Chang'an with his coffin.
At this time, Madam Qin and Nie Yunniang only had two silver hairpins to hold their hair in place, and they were told not to wear them. Moreover, these two silver hairpins were not made of pure silver, but silver-plated.
Just when they were at a loss, Lu Songli took out two wooden hairpins and handed them to the two of them, "Mother, Third Sister-in-law, you can use these wooden hairpins. And Third Sister-in-law, this headscarf is also for you. You just gave birth, don't catch a cold."
The two of them took off the two silver hairpins and tied their hair up again.
As for the children, Lü Songli signaled Qin Sheng to open the weaving wicker basket, take out suitable clothes from it, and change the children into them. Mrs. Qin came to help after finishing her hair. Nie Yunniang wanted to help too, but she had just given birth, so Qin Zhao asked her to sit aside and rest while he went to help.
Children's clothes just look ugly, but they are actually made of very good materials. They are all fur and leather and are very warm.
Seeing this, Wu Chunyu didn't know what to say and just snorted.
"Everyone, please come in." As long as Lin Ran sent them to the prison, his job would be done.
At this time, the Minister of Warehouses, who was brought by Wu Chunyu to take inventory of the warehouse, came hurriedly and said, "Sir Wu, the amount of the Qin family's property is not right."
Lu Songli looked at Qin Heng, Qin Sheng and the others. What was going on? Was the account not settled?
Qin Heng knew what went wrong as soon as he heard it.
The Qin family's accountant was a long-time veteran, undeniably loyal to the family, though his accounting skills were mediocre. In the past, when the palace wasn't involved in any major events, he'd been fine. But with the recent surge in cash inflows and outflows, he'd struggled to keep track. He'd wanted to find a new accountant to solve the problem, but good accounts were hard to come by. It was difficult to find someone who was both good at math and loyal.
It was expected that this problem would be discovered, so he was not panicked at all.
Moreover, we know that this account book cannot be destroyed. Once it is destroyed, who knows what the people above will think. It would be even worse if they think that the Qin family has hidden a large amount of wealth.
Wu Chunyu took the account book of the Qin Mansion and took a look. As the Minister of Finance, he was quite good at accounting.
After just a moment's observation, he questioned Madam Qin and Qin Heng, "What's going on?!"
Qin Heng: "I spent quite a bit on the recent wedding."
Wu Chunyu stared at him and asked, "Your Qin family spent so much money on a wedding?"
"Yes."
Minister Cangbu added, "Qin Sheng and Lu Songli's betrothal gifts and dowries are all there, but the numbers don't match."
Qin Zhao also chimed in, "The wedding schedule is too tight, and there are so many things needed for the betrothal gifts and wedding, and they can't be too low-end, so the money spent is a bit high, but the things are still in the warehouse."
What he meant was that the money was still there.
The problem is, the stuff in your warehouse isn't worth that much money!
Wu Chunyu understood. What the Qin family meant was that their wealth had shrunk and they had been made the scapegoats.
The Qin family insisted that all the money was spent on the entire wedding.
Wu Chunyu, who was in charge of confiscating the Qin family's property, was furious. The Qin family's property had shrunk by nearly one-fifth compared to their estimates. Who could be so happy to be the scapegoat?
All the floating wealth is gone! "Some of your Qin family's warehouses are so empty that a rat could run through them! Is this normal?"
"That's normal."
"You're telling me this is normal?"
"Who doesn't spend money to marry a daughter-in-law?"
"Who spends so much money to marry a daughter-in-law?"
"My home."
It's no wonder Wu Chunyu was angry. He was one of the officials secretly supporting the Fourth Prince, and he'd known about his potential ascension to the throne this morning. So when Lin Ran sent for him, he was delighted, thinking it was a good opportunity. As the Minister of Finance, he knew the state of the national treasury better than anyone else. If the Qin family's wealth were added to the national treasury, he would be able to gain some merit, which would be a good opportunity to gain some favor with the new emperor and perhaps even a promotion.
But now the total amount of the Qin family's wealth is obviously not right. It has shrunk so much that if he presents it to the new emperor, he might even get the impression that he is incompetent!
"Stop talking nonsense and tell us the truth. Where did the money go?" If there was a table, Wu Chunyu would have wanted to slam it.
Qin Sheng said impatiently, "Aren't we explaining it right now? Someone snatched it away. Do we really have to explain it so clearly?"
Lu Songli protected the children in the back while the three brothers Qin Heng, Qin Zhao and Qin Sheng negotiated in the front. After listening to the whole thing from beginning to end, she roughly knew what was going on.
In fact, all the cash was lost when they bought the betrothal gifts.
Because Qin Heng later asked her for advice, Lu Songli shared her experience without reservation.
Qin Heng: I learned it. And so, this scene happened.
Qin Heng also sighed, "Yeah, it was all taken away by others, there's nothing we can do."
"Are you being taken advantage of?" Wu Chunyu could no longer bear it and almost called them fools.
"We didn't want to do that either. We had no choice. The wedding date was so tight, and we had to buy so many things in such a short time. If we didn't pay a high price, they wouldn't sell them."
Wu Chunyu choked. Could it be that it was the Empress Dowager's fault?
In fact, apart from Qin Heng who was in charge and Qin Zhao who knew a little, no one else in the Qin family knew that Xiaoliu had spent so much money on getting married and arranging the wedding.
If the Qin family had heard this news before the raid, they would have felt a bit uncomfortable. Just imagine, the money lost alone would have increased their wealth by 20%. Now, if they didn't spend it, it would have been confiscated. If they spent it, they could still hear the sound of it. How comfortable!
Finally, Qin Heng said, "Our accountant is quite old, and some of the accounts are not clear. Lord Bird, please bear with me. Anyway, the entire Qin family's finances are in the house, so we can slowly count them."
What he meant was, Mr. Bird, you should be more open-minded. The remaining ones are still in the house, and those that are gone are gone.
Lin Ran and others didn't care about these things. They were only responsible for arresting or killing people. When they saw that the argument between the two sides was over, they prepared to take the people away.
"Wait!" Wu Chunyu couldn't hold back. "The clothes you're wearing may be fine, but I suspect there's gold and silver hidden inside, so we need someone to inspect them before we can let you go."
Hearing this, the Qin family members all looked very unhappy.
Wu Chunyu didn't care and directly ordered, "Go and find a maid!"
Lin Ran and others did not move, as this matter was not their business.
Sheng Huaian shook his head. Wu Chunyu was truly foolish. The Qin family's actions clearly showed they had anticipated certain events and made corresponding preparations. In other words, even though they were now prisoners, they still had power in the shadows. What good would it do him to offend the Qin family like this? Would an investigation bring back the missing silver?
"You can check, but I don't agree with the other party touching me. Let's find a room and take off our clothes ourselves. She can only watch!" Lu Songli raised her chin slightly and said in a firm attitude.
Wu Chunyu was about to refute but was stopped by Sheng Huaixing, "Sir Wu, the request of Miss Lu Er, the wife of the Sixth Young Master, is also very reasonable." He emphasized the word "Lu" to remind him not to forget whose daughter the woman in front of him was.
Wu Chunyu was not stupid. He understood as soon as Sheng Huaixing reminded him. However, he felt that without Emperor Kang Cheng, Lu Desheng would be like a tiger with its teeth pulled out.
"Okay, let's do it. Get the job done quickly and don't delay us." Sheng Huaixing made the final decision.
The inspection, of course, yielded nothing. The old woman was quite conscientious, keeping an eye on the women's movements and even touching their undressed clothes herself, but found nothing.
Before being escorted to the prison, the only thing Mrs. Qin and the others were worried about was Qin Ming's body being kept in the side hall.
At this moment, the Lu family received news that Jiang had arrived with her two sons, and the two groups of people collided.
In fact, even if they meet, there is not much to say to each other.
"Mom, Big Brother, Third Brother and Sister-in-law, Ah Sheng, if you don't mind, how about entrusting Fourth Brother's funeral affairs to my parents?"
"Okay, but I'll trouble you, uncle and aunt."
Qin Sheng didn't say anything, but just held her fingertips tightly.
Lu Songli and Jiang said, "Mom, I'm sorry to trouble you and Dad with this matter."
Jiang's eyes were red as she nodded repeatedly, "Don't worry, my parents will take care of this."
Meanwhile, back at the palace, the Fourth Prince was facing considerable trouble. The previous day, Emperor Kangcheng had failed to promptly appoint him as Crown Prince. Meanwhile, the Second Prince had also rushed back to Chang'an from his fiefdom. Despite the imperial edict produced by Prince Gong, a member of the imperial clan, which designated the Fourth Prince, Song Mo, as the next Emperor, and the Empress Dowager testifying that the late Emperor had told her that the Fourth Prince would be the next, the Second and Third Princes voiced their doubts, and Song Mo was unable to force his way to the throne.
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