Chapter 315 316. Calculation
Kuang Yunqiao's eyes were almost red, and she held the corner of her clothes tightly with both hands. She was afraid that she would not be able to control herself and would contradict the old woman.
Now that the old woman reminded her of this, she felt dizzy and didn't know how to explain to her parents when she returned home.
When Bai Yugang saw his mother arguing with his wife again, he felt even more annoyed. He shook his sleeves and walked out. He had to think of a solution and could not just sit there and wait for death.
Her patron had left, and Kuang Yunqiao didn't want to see the loving grandparents and grandchildren anymore. When her maid was about to leave, she was stopped by Old Madam Bai.
"Now that the emperor has granted the marriage, in order to show our family's importance, you should quickly prepare the betrothal gifts. Don't lose face for our family."
Kuang Yunqiao turned around and looked at the two of them, "Don't you know what the situation is like in the mansion right now? How can I get such a large betrothal gift?
Doesn't the prince own a glass shop that makes a fortune every day? Would he care about such a small betrothal gift?"
Old Madam Bai poked the floor heavily with her cane. "What are you talking about? How can you let a child prepare the betrothal gifts by himself? Doesn't our mansion have the foundation passed down by the old marquis? How could you ruin it so quickly?"
During the turmoil in those years, Lord Bai followed the late emperor in his campaigns and brought a lot of things into the mansion. Otherwise, the Wu'an Marquisate would not have lived so comfortably over the years.
Kuang Yunqiao pursed her lips. She still had a lot of those old things, and she also had a son and a daughter. How could she possibly give all of them to Bai Jinglie?
Besides, with the income this kid has earned in recent years, he wouldn’t even look down on these things in the mansion.
"Thank you for your hard work, Aunt Kuang. If you are too busy, you can let my wet nurse go over and help for a while." Bai Jinglie immediately spoke up to stop her when her eyes turned to him.
Kuang Yunqiao smiled stiffly and said, "Your Highness knows that our family has had a difficult time in the past two years. How about this? Your Highness can pay for the betrothal gift first, and I will pay you back after I have dealt with the farms."
"Are you planning to sell off our ancestral property?" Old Madam Bai was so angry that her hands were shaking. What had this spendthrift daughter-in-law done to the entire family?
The more he thought about it, the more panicked he became. "Wait a minute, ask the accountant to come to my yard. I want to see what is left of our house after all these years of your stewardship."
Kuang Yunqiao felt a little nervous. She knew best what she had done over the years. Because of Bai Jinglie's existence, she made two special preparations.
If the title was passed to the second son, everyone would be fine. But ever since the imperial decree came out, she started to think hard and transfer all the money on the books into her own private vault.
I thought that after this old woman passed away, she would have the final say in the entire Hou Mansion.
But this happened suddenly. How should I explain it now?
The more panicked she was, the calmer her face became, “Mom always complained of headaches before, there’s no need to bother you for such a small matter.
If you are worried, I will have someone sort out the account books in the next two days and send them to you when the time comes."
How could Mrs. Bai, who has been a housewife for her whole life, not know the tricks here? "I'm going to see it in a moment. Besides, although my health is not as good as before, the people around me are not vegetarians. Can I do these things by myself?"
Seeing that Kuang Yunqiao was still trying to find an excuse, Old Madam Bai directly asked someone to go to the accounting office to bring all the account books over, without even giving Kuang Yunqiao time to prepare.
Bai Jinglie had not expected that the arranged marriage would have such benefits. If he could settle the accounts sooner rather than having an empty mansion in the future, it would be better.
Facing the angry gazes, Bai Jinglie supported Old Lady Bai and said, "Grandma has been standing here for so long. I will take you back to the yard to rest first."
Old Madam Bai patted his hands and said, "Good boy, you are not like your brothers and sisters. They have not been seen all day. It seems that an old lady like me is also annoying."
Bai Jinglie noticed that Kuang Yunqiao's face was getting uglier, and he felt more relieved. "My grandson dare not have such thoughts. I wish you could live a hundred years and take care of me for a long time."
Old Madam Bai believed what Bai Jinglie said. Ever since his mother passed away, this child has lived a much harder life than the two children who still have a mother.
Although he was taking care of him, he also hoped that he could develop a good relationship with his biological father. He didn't expect that unfilial son would let that bitch degrade his own son like that.
I thought the woman was greedy, but I didn't expect her to be so cruel.
Fortunately, the child's biological mother had a backup plan and had a group of loyal servants to help him, so he was able to grow up.
But over the years, unknowingly, the relationship between father and son has been almost alienated, and now the two of them hate each other, which is what worries her the most.
Watching the grandparents and grandchildren talking as they left, Kuang Yunqiao almost fell down. Fortunately, the maid next to her quickly supported her.
"Hurry, ask someone to go to the accounting office and take the account book away first." She whispered to her trusted confidants, hoping that it was not too late.
Before long, the confidant came back in a hurry, "Madam, the old lady asked the nanny and four maids around her to guard there, so our people can't get close at all."
"It's over," Kuang Yunqiao felt dizzy. She had turned the public property in the mansion into her dowry, but the account was rather vague. If it were to be discovered, the old woman probably wouldn't let her off so easily.
"Hurry up and send someone to invite the master and the young master back." Kuang Yunqiao could only grasp the last straw, hoping that the father and son could support her.
“…”
Gu Wenheng has been looking at a pile of files these days, and He Nan came to ask for help with a pile of account books.
"Brother Gu, help is urgent." The two ladies had close contacts, and Gu Wenheng and He Nan had somewhat similar personalities, so naturally they also started to visit each other.
"What's going on again?" Gu Wenheng took a look at the cover. The two people were responsible for different things. It seemed like some old account.
“I’ve checked these accounts twice, but why are they still wrong?
This will be handed in tomorrow afternoon, so please help me calculate it."
He Nan wanted to carry these account books back and ask the accountant for help, but he was not allowed to take them out of the Hanlin Academy. Now in the entire Hanlin Academy, he was only familiar with Gu Wenheng, so he had to ask for help from the accountant.
Gu Wenheng looked at him, grabbed an account book, and without using an abacus, he flipped through the pages one by one.
When he saw something wrong, he stopped and pointed it out. He Nan quickly grabbed it to check and found that there was indeed a problem.
Before, he thought Gu Wenheng just wanted to take a quick look, but he didn't expect that he was actually looking for problems.
Seeing that Gu Wenheng had grabbed the second account book in a short time, He Nan couldn't help but ask, "Brother Gu, have you calculated everything?"
(End of this chapter)
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