Chapter 20: Thunderous and Powerful

There were quite a few people waiting in the small flower hall.

As usual, several housekeepers and maids in the mansion came to Lu Lingyun to report on household affairs. Aunt Qiu sat next to her and cried.

While listening to the crying, Lu Lingyun calculated the accounts with an abacus.

Her fingertips paused, stopping in front of a ledger.

"One hundred taels to build a wall?"

"Yes, Madam, it will be calculated according to the price of repairing the wall before."

Lu Lingyun was even more shocked. She waved to Aunt Qiu beside her and told her to stop crying. "Has this wall been repaired before?"

Today she received a report from the housekeeper that a wall on the west side of her house had collapsed.

The housekeeper came over to report to her about the wall repair.

Originally, all these matters were reported to Qin. Now that Qin is recuperating, all matters that are not of great importance are left to Lu Lingyun to handle.

She could tell at a glance that there was something fishy about the wall repair.

"To answer Madam, it rained heavily three months ago and was damaged. It cost one hundred taels to repair it."

When Lu Lingyun heard this, he said, "Bring me the person who was in charge of repairing the wall last time, along with the original account book!"

"yes!"

After the nanny left, Lu Lingyun instructed Shuanghong, "Go to the west and take a look at the broken wall, and bring back some broken bricks."

"yes!"

Soon, the head nanny brought over the manager and the account book who was in charge of repairing the wall.

The steward's surname is Cui, and he is a servant of the mansion. His parents used to serve the old marquis, but now they live on the manor to retire. He is in charge of the purchasing business in the mansion, and everyone in the mansion calls him Mr. Cui.

Cui Da came over with a smile on his face, and when he saw Lu Lingyun, he flattered her, "Young Madam, may you be blessed with good fortune and good health."

"Don't try to sweet-talk me, Mr. Cui. Let me ask you, were you responsible for repairing the west wall three months ago?" Lu Lingyun asked softly.

Lu Lingyun's voice is very gentle and she seems easy to talk to.

In addition, she had been in the mansion for almost a month, and she had always been good-tempered. Even when the girl in the prince's room danced in front of her, she never punished her at all. She just asked Cui Da to relax his vigilance, "It's me, Madam, don't worry, I will definitely repair the wall this time to satisfy you."

Lu Lingyun continued in a gentle voice, "Show me the account book for the last wall repair."

Cui Dahun handed over a ledger without noticing.

Lu Lingyun flipped through the scraggly words on it and read, "The blue and white brick is five cents a piece, and you bought it for ten thousand pieces?"

"Yes, Madam, you may not know that blue and white bricks are the best bricks, strong and durable."

"I hired ten workers, the work period is one month, and the salary is thirty taels?"

"Yes, that wall is more than ten feet long. Repair it slowly. Slow work produces fine results."

"It cost twenty taels to make lime and mix all sorts of materials?"

"Yes, ma'am, you don't know, these ingredients are very expensive."

Cui Da had a sincere look on his face, and his smiling eyes were full of shrewdness. He did not feel guilty at all when he told lies.

Even an experienced mistress like Qin couldn't see the subtlety of such a thing. How could Lu Lingyun, a young lady raised in a secluded house, know the prices of walls and bricks?

For low-level purchases, special funds are the easiest to embezzle. No matter how much they quote, as long as there is a clear purpose, it will definitely be approved.

He responded with a smile, and the next second the account book was thrown on his face.

"You are so brave!"

Lu Lingyun stood up suddenly, his usual gentle and good temper suddenly changed, and he stared fiercely at Cui Da who was kneeling below, "I'll give you one chance, how much money did you embezzle last time you repaired the wall!"

Cui Da felt guilty when he saw this, but he still couldn't figure out how much Lu Lingyun knew. "Madam, I don't have any..."

With a "clang", several broken bricks came crashing down.

Lu Lingyun looked down at him and said, "Tell me, is this the best blue and white brick? Why does it look like the most ordinary blue clay brick to me?"

"Young Madam..." Cui Da's face turned pale.

Lu Lingyun continued, "On the market, this kind of blue earth bricks are two for one cent, and even blue and white bricks are only three cents a piece, not to mention that you can get more and get discounts. How much money did you cheat me of on the bricks?"

"And there's labor costs. Ten people can earn thirty taels a month, which is enough to build a whole yard, but you only built me ​​a low wall that's more than ten feet high!"

"You dare to exaggerate the cost of mixing cement and materials. You have already paid thirty taels of labor. Which foreman would ask you for more money for mixing cement and materials?"

"You only paid me one hundred taels of silver to repair such a rotten wall, Cui Da, you are really brave! If you didn't embezzle the money, you should have at least eighty taels!"

Little did he know that Lu Lingyun not only knew the prices of these basic things, but also had rich life experience.

In her previous life, she followed Li Er to govern the four directions. In order to rise to the top, she had to personally handle everything she saw and experienced and be close to the people's livelihood. She not only knew the price of bricks, labor prices, and the prices of various crops, but also had to be familiar with the processes of some industries.

It was ridiculous for such a little thing to try to deceive her.

When Cui Da heard Lu Lingyun pick out the cat stuff from his wall one by one, and even calculated exactly how much money he had embezzled, Cui Da immediately broke out in a cold sweat, "Madam, I, I really don't have any?"

"No?" Lu Lingyun sneered, "Are you trying to tell me that you are not corrupt, or that you were deceived?"

"I was cheated! Those people deceived me! My family has worked in the mansion for generations, how could I dare to deceive the master! They must have taken advantage of me!" Cui cried bitterly, with sincere feelings.

Lu Lingyun was not so easy to fool. She looked at Cui Da and said, "Okay, go and call the shop where you bought the bricks for the wall repair and all the workers who did the work! I'll give you a chance to confront them on the spot. If there is any discrepancy, don't blame me for being rude!"

Since you want him to die, then let him die clearly!

Cui Da couldn't continue to act after hearing this. He knelt on the ground and admitted his fault. "Madam, it was Cui Da who was wrong. Cui Da will never do it again! Please forgive me this time because my whole family has done their best to serve the Marquis' Mansion! I will definitely return the money!"

Lu Lingyun looked at Cui Da coldly, "Come back? Not only that! Come here, drag Cui Da out, give him 20 strokes of the cane, dismiss him from all his duties, and give me three days to return all the embezzled money. If you fail to pay even a penny, you'll be punished!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Cui screamed miserably and the servants in the yard immediately came forward and carried him away.

Lu Lingyun dealt with Cui Da in a swift and violent manner, which shocked everyone else in the yard.

She had always been gentle and kind before, and never fought with others. But after what she did, everyone else knew that their new mistress was not at all a lady from a wealthy family who had never been involved in worldly affairs. It was impossible to fool her!

At that moment, everyone else became much more respectful towards Lu Lingyun.