In Zhucui Pavilion, Ni Gaofei had already drunk five or six cups of tea and ran to the toilet twice before he finally saw Mingyan and her men coming over.
And presented a medicine bag.
"Master, I have carefully checked it, and this medicine is moldy!"
The servant knelt on the ground, begging for mercy: "Master, please spare my life! I met an old man on the road, and it was him who switched the things! I spent all the money from the accountant, and I absolutely did not deduct anything from it!"
He kowtowed hard and begged for mercy.
"Switched? I'm looking at that prescription. Why are all the ingredients there treating my asthma?"
"Yes, that's why it's called a swap! It's not a mistake! It's a swap!" He explained anxiously, his body shaking with fear.
Miao Yuan held her forehead, feeling a little tired: "Master, you can judge it."
Ni Gaofei's expression was serious as he prompted, "Okay, you said you met an old man and he switched the medicine. Now I'm going to have someone go to the pharmacy and check the records of your purchases to see what the price was!"
"Thank you, my Lord. Thank you, my Lord."
"Master, for the sake of fairness, let's let the people from Aunt Tian's courtyard go and investigate, so as to avoid accusations that the people from my courtyard are collaborating with the people from the pharmacy."
Ni Gaofei looked serious and did not refute.
After the servants from Tian You's courtyard came back, he was taken to Zhu Cui Pavilion, where he knelt on the ground.
Ni Gaofei asked, "Did you check the account at the pharmacy?"
"I explained the situation at the mansion, so the people at the pharmacy were very cooperative. They checked the accounts and found out that this person..."
He glanced back at the servants and sighed with regret, "They bought only inferior goods. The people in the pharmacy found it strange. They were all Madam's prescriptions. They used to buy high-end goods. Why did they buy inferior goods twice today..."
The servant immediately retorted, "You're lying! I spent all my silver! How could it be inferior? I saw him record the amount in the account, and he wrote down two hundred taels of silver!"
Another servant retorted, "Master, when I checked, it clearly said 20 taels of silver were deposited!"
Miao Yuan held her forehead, angrily saying, "You bunch of slaves! You took the money from the Prime Minister's Mansion, yet you did something so outrageous!"
"Ahem...you slave, you embezzled money and reported two hundred taels as twenty. Very good, you just came back from the pharmacy, do you still have the remaining money?"
"I have never done anything to enrich myself! This is all a frame-up!"
Miao Yuan gave a wink, Mingyan stepped forward, reached into his arms and groped for a while, then two silver bills appeared in her hand.
"master."
She presented the silver notes, one for fifty taels and another for thirty taels.
Including the twenty taels spent, the total was only one hundred taels.
"Where's the remaining one hundred taels?" Ni Gaofei questioned, no longer having any patience for the dishonest servant.
The servants were already scared out of their wits, how could this happen?
He had clearly spent all his money, and it was that old man again!
"Master, I am wronged. Master, I did not do it, and I dare not!"
"Today is the first day of the lunar year, the day when the Prime Minister's residence exchanges silver at the bank. Silver notes are all numbered sequentially, so sir, why not go to the pharmacy and ask the owner to find the 100-liang silver note that this servant used before? Check the number and then compare it with the serial number of the silver notes used by the residence!"
"It's only noon now, and no one else in the Prime Minister's Mansion should be withdrawing more than a hundred taels of silver. So if the banknote the pharmacy received ends in sixty, the other banknote must be fifty-nine or sixty-one!"
"If you want to find out where the other note went, look around the house to see if there's a fifty-nine or a sixty-one!"
Miao Yuan's words seemed to make sense, but Ni Gaofei was puzzled. "What do you mean? Why do you think fifty-nine or sixty must be at the mansion?"
"I'm not sure, I'm just guessing. There are many flatterers among the servants in this mansion. Once they get something, they won't forget to give something back to please their master! Whoever has this 100-liang silver note is an accomplice in enriching themselves!"
The servant kneeling on the ground was confused by what Miao Yuan said, but he knew very well that Miao Yuan was definitely wrongly accusing him!
"Master, I didn't do anything. The people in the pharmacy must have been bribed!"
"The pharmacy was bought out, and your medicine was swapped! Where did the banknotes in your pocket come from? Did someone stuff them in there too?"
Ni Gaofei glared at the servant angrily, but the servant nodded vigorously: "Master, you are wise, everything is just as it is!"
Ni Gaofei, as if he had heard something funny, ordered the servants waiting outside, "Come here! Drag this man away and give him a good beating. I wonder if he still has the guts to talk nonsense here!"
"Master, what about the banknote?" Miao Yuan's flawless face had an unhealthy flush on her cheeks due to her strong coughing, but it looked as if she had applied rouge, and she looked particularly beautiful with a peach blossom in her mouth.
"No need to go through so much trouble. Just go to the accounting office and check the banknote figures. The difference is only a couple of digits!"
Miao Yuan said, "Mingyan, call the housekeeper."
"yes!"
Mingyan quickly brought the housekeeper over, and Ni Gaofei instructed him, "You will check the cash in the account office every day. Who else has the key to the cash cabinet besides you?"
"Master, besides this old slave, there is also Aunt Tian!"
"Okay, go get all the banknotes!"
The housekeeper was puzzled, but didn't dare to ask any more questions, so he went down to do it.
Soon, all the banknotes were brought in. They were of different denominations, but the banknotes of the same denomination were neatly bundled together.
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