Later that evening, the sound of slapping could be heard outside the courtyard. Niohuru looked at the bribed servants, who were pleading with her, and a sense of dread rose within her.
She caught a glimpse of Fei Yanggu's annoyed expression out of the corner of her eye, and forcibly suppressed the words of pleading.
If Fei Yanggu were not present, she would sincerely beg Qingyan, and even if Qingyan did not intend to forgive her, she would still be able to spread some bad rumors.
With him present, every action Qingyan took could not be distorted.
Qingyan held her teacup, leisurely sipping her tea.
Under the guidance of the Fourth Prince, Qingyan has grown up. Today, she was angry in the courtyard of the Jue Luo family because she wanted to test whether the method that Yin told her would work.
Once the order was issued, these lackeys were used as targets, intimidating those who had betrayed their master.
Fei Yanggu simply sat to the side, offering silent support to Qingyan.
From now on, Qingyan will have to face the servants alone, and Yin will not be by her side at all times. Qingyan's ability to be ruthless in dealing with them puts Fei Yanggu at ease to some extent.
“Father, isn’t this a bit cruel? Those people are all serving the legitimate mother!” Qingya didn’t want to just stand by and watch. It was already not easy for her to bribe two servants in the Jue Luo family’s courtyard.
The desires of these servants were hard to satisfy, and she gave most of the jewelry and monthly allowance she had saved up to those two men.
Qingyan tilted her head and looked at her, feeling even more strongly that she needed to warn everyone.
She slammed the teacup down on the table beside her, her face tense and her eyes filled with anger.
"What are you thinking? Do those people all have someone behind them, or are there your concubines among them?" Qingyan stared at Qingya, not missing a single glance from her. Qingya's pupils contracted, and she immediately shook her head, denying her statement.
"You're making baseless accusations! How long has it been since you last visited the old house? You think you can beat these people to death with your eyesight?" Qingya was determined not to back down. If she made a mistake, she probably wouldn't have a chance to turn the tables.
Qingyan chuckled.
Sure enough, you can never truly tame a ingrate; no matter how good Jue Luo Shi was to her, it was all in vain.
"You're slandering me?! Granny Liao, go outside and interrogate them yourself. Find out who's behind those servants, and don't let a single one of them get away!" Qingyan had originally intended to let Qingya off the hook and just teach her a lesson, but now Qingya was still ungrateful.
"Yes!" Granny Liao walked towards the door carrying Qingyan's orders.
At this moment, Niohuru glared at Qingya. She didn't appreciate Qingyan's good intentions; instead, Qingya challenged her.
Fei Yanggu watched coldly, but couldn't help being angered by Qingya's behavior.
"Ah Dun, you go outside and keep watch, and write down all the traitors!" None of the women in the backyard are easy to deal with; no wonder Qingyan was beaten to death at the banquet.
She didn't want the mansion to be disturbed.
Qingya is so brainless!
Qingyan turned her head away angrily, and Fei Yanggu smiled. Xiao Guai's behavior was exceptionally childish.
One second she's acting like a primary consort, the next she instantly turns into a child.
"Akdun, collect the account books and hand them over to Qingyan!" Fei Yanggu was furious. The Jue Luo clan was too lax with their servants, thinking that as their own people, they wouldn't betray them.
A lackey must be repeatedly disciplined before he will be satisfied.
"Yes!" Aktun quickly replied. Looking at his back, Aktun couldn't help but feel secretly glad that he didn't work at the old house.
Qingyan looked at Fei Yanggu, her little face scrunched up; she didn't want to look at the account book!
She glared angrily at Fei Yanggu, but he wasn't bothered. He stood up, went to Qingyan's side, and patted her head.
Niohuru and Qingya were still kneeling on the platform, and Fei Yanggu seemed not to see them at all.
"Father, you can't be so biased!" Qingya protested.
Normally, Jue Lun would entrust her with the household's account books, and Niohuru had taught her many ways to make money.
The Jue Luo family checks the accounts on a fixed day every month. Now, it's not yet time for the audit, so there are bound to be loopholes in the accounts.
The mother and daughter exchanged a glance, their hearts pounding with anxiety.
Qingyan caught a glimpse of their expressions out of the corner of her eye, and a sense of unease crept into her heart. She had found a loophole; should she tell them or not?
“Little darling, look carefully. If you find anything wrong, you must point it out. That was originally your Ah Hun’s property.” Fei Yanggu took a deep breath and softened his tone as he spoke to her.
After a cup of tea, Akdun personally presented the account books for the month. Qingyan glanced through them and couldn't help but feel a little amused and exasperated.
At a cursory glance, it's obvious that this notebook has been tampered with.
"Eggs cost one tael of silver each! These are silver eggs!" Qingyan asked directly.
Qingya shuddered. It was clear that Jueluo had no power to interfere. The accounts they gave Jueluo contained mostly large amounts, which was why she hadn't discovered them.
During this period, Qingya rarely checked the accounts in detail; those people were clearly neglecting their duties.
"And this... You eat a whole pig a day? How many people are there in your family?!" Qingyan shook her head. They can't even do proper accounting, they're really stupid. "In this hot weather, the pork is bought fresh every day. One pig a day, how much of it is being embezzled by the servants?"
The questions posed by Qingyan left Niohuru speechless with surprise.
"Sulan, summon the head stewards," Qingyan said, gulping down a cup of cold tea to quell her anger. Linglong Pavilion had attracted wealthy clients, and its subsidiary, Mei'ai, was the top choice for noblewomen commissioning custom jewelry. Even so, she wouldn't change her habit of borrowing from others and let those servants embezzle her money. "Father and the servants earn their salaries with their lives; I won't let anyone waste them. Qingya, if you're going to be greedy, be smart. It's obviously your aunt who instigated this!"
Qingyan looked at the mother and daughter on the ground with disdain. Fei Yanggu watched Xiao Guai's every move and felt a warmth in his heart. The little guy really cared about them.
"No! I don't know!" Qingya found Qingyan's sarcasm particularly grating. She had clearly done as her aunt had instructed, so why was it considered beneath her dignity in Qingyan's eyes?
Fei Yanggu shook his head. The legitimate daughter was indeed more outstanding than the illegitimate daughter. Qingyan was fully capable of being the primary consort. Fei Yanggu was very satisfied with her combination of kindness and severity.
Today, he asked Aktun to bring the old house's account books, wanting to see if Qingyan could detect anything amiss.
With Qingyan's wedding day drawing ever closer, Fei Yanggu was constantly worried that she would be unable to control the servants of the Imperial Household Department.
"I don't know! Was the signature on the back of this book done by a ghost?" Qingyan threw the account book she had just finished reading on the ground and scolded Qingya harshly.
She would never allow the servants to obtain the mansion's silver; Yin hated corruption the most, and so did she.
"No, this is clearly not my handwriting!" Qingya was also startled by the signature on the back of the ledger. She hadn't asked the servants to go to the accounting office to get the silver.
Her terrified gaze made Qingyan inwardly cry out in alarm. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
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