The third watch gong struck, and the light in Shen Weiwan's room was still on. Chuntao yawned as she refilled the lamp. Seeing her young lady still gazing at the account book, she couldn't help but mutter, "Young lady, you've been up all night. That old hag Liu is such a stingy woman. How can she see anything in the account book?"
"Stingy?" Shen Weiwan paused, the ink dot smudged into a small circle on the rice paper. "If she's a stingy person, then I'd be a plucker." She pointed to the entry in the account book for "300 taels of silver for warehouse repairs" and sneered. "Last month, I had the craftsmen check, and there's not a single tile missing from the warehouse roof. Where did she spend all that money?"
Chuntao took a closer look. The handwriting was crooked and the ink smelled of cheap oil smoke. "Miss, this handwriting looks like... like the handwriting of the accountant in Liu's house?"
"It's either like him or him." Chen Weiwan closed the account book, her fingertips tapping on the cover. "The old housekeeper said that proper warehouse account books should be written with a purple-hair brush dipped in Hui ink. Look at these shabby words, they look like they were scratched with chicken claws." She got up and opened the window. The night wind blew the copper bells under the eaves, and the ding-dong sound was mixed with the sound of footsteps.
"Who?" Chuntao picked up the feather duster behind the door and prepared to rush out.
"It's the old servant." An old voice sounded outside the window. The old housekeeper stood hunched in the moonlight, holding an oilcloth bag in his hands. "Miss, it's late at night and the dew is heavy. Are you still not resting?"
Shen Weiwan gestured to Chuntao to open the door. Looking at the bag in the old housekeeper's arms, a gleam of light flashed in her eyes: "Housekeeper, this is..."
"Hush." The old housekeeper closed the window immediately after entering, placed the oilcloth bag on the table, and unfolded it layer by layer to reveal the account books inside. "My lady, you asked to see the old account books the other day. I have been searching for them for three nights and finally found them under the ashes in the ancestral hall."
In the candlelight, the five gilded characters "Zhengguo Jiangjunfu" on the cover of the account book had faded to a dark yellow. Turning to the first page, the elegant small characters recorded the military expenditures during the founding of the country. Shen Weiwan's fingertips traced the writing, suddenly stopping on a curled-up corner of the page. "Butler, this 'Liu's withdrawal of twenty taels of silver to purchase rouge and powder' is..."
"It's from five years ago," the old butler sighed, his hand twirling his beard, a little trembling. "The general had just passed away, but his wife was still alive. Mrs. Liu, relying on her position as the head of household expenses, brought things into her room every month. Look at this line..." He pointed to another page, "Ten bolts of fine cloth were sent out from the warehouse, recorded as being for winter clothing for the servants. But I checked the distribution records and didn't see a single piece of cloth."
Shen Weiwan's heartbeat quickened. In her previous life, she had only known her aunt's greed, but she hadn't known it was so blatant. She flipped to the last page and saw the record of her coming-of-age year: "A red gold hairpin, borrowed for Liu to admire, and still unreturned"—the very same one she had given to her cousin in her previous life!
"Housekeeper," Shen Weiwan's voice trembled a little, "Does Liu know about these accounts?"
"She?" The old housekeeper sneered, "She only thinks I'm a useless servant! The other day when you used chili powder to treat her, I knew that the eldest lady has changed. She has become like the general in the past, and she can't tolerate any grain of sand in her eyes." He took out an oil-paper bag from his sleeve pocket, "This is the detailed list of Liu's embezzlement in recent years that I secretly copied, but..."
"It's just that we're missing a chain of evidence." Chen Weiwan took the oil-paper package, which contained several sheets of yellowed straw paper with the following words scribbled on them with a pencil tip: "On the sixth day of May, Liu ordered someone to deliver three pieces of silk from the treasury to Chen Ruorou's courtyard", "On the fifteenth day of July, one hundred taels of silver were given as a gift, recorded as repairs, but actually went into Liu's private treasury."
Chun Tao watched from the side, filled with righteous indignation: "Miss, let's take these and report to the police! Let's see if she dares to be so arrogant again!"
"Report to the authorities?" Shen Weiwan shook her head and folded the straw paper and stuffed it into her sleeve pocket. "Liu has been in charge of the household for many years and has kept the accounts impeccable. What if I report to the authorities without any evidence and she accuses me instead?" She looked at the old housekeeper, a sly look in her eyes. "Housekeeper, what do you think, if Liu herself hands over the evidence of embezzlement?"
The old housekeeper was stunned for a moment, then clapped his hands and laughed: "Miss, you mean..."
"Tomorrow I will announce that I will ask my aunt to preside over the treasury ceremony and check the accounts at the same time." Shen Weiwan walked to the dressing table, picked up a jade hairpin and tapped it on her palm, "I will prepare a fake account book and deliberately reveal some 'flaws' so that she thinks there is an opportunity..."
"Great idea!" The old housekeeper's eyes lit up. "Liu is so fond of money that she's more attached to it than her own mother. She'll definitely tamper with the fake account books!"
"It's more than just tricks." Chen Weiwan raised the corner of her mouth with a hint of "asking for a beating". "Chun Tao, go get my box of 'special' ink."
"Which box?" Chuntao blinked.
"It's the box mixed with fluorescent powder. Last time when Liu stole the seal of the central cabinet, I secretly replaced it with hers." Chen Weiwan smiled like a cat stealing fish. "If she dares to stamp the fake account book, her hands will be covered with fluorescent powder when exposed to the sun tomorrow. Let's see how she can deny it!"
The old housekeeper looked at the gleam in the eyes of the girl in front of him, and suddenly remembered the general's dying advice: "Old housekeeper, Wanwan is a kind-hearted child, I'm afraid she will be bullied in the future..." Now it seems that this child is not only not bullied, but she can even gnaw those who bully her to the bone!
"Miss, I will arrange it right away." The old butler bowed and looked back at the real account book on the table before leaving. "These..."
"Please keep these." Shen Weiwan wrapped the account book in oilcloth again. "When Liu falls into the trap tomorrow, these will be her death warrants."
After the old housekeeper left, Chuntao came back holding the ink box and asked curiously, "Miss, does this fluorescent powder really work?"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
