Qingya's heart sank. The account book in front of her was from their usual days, so it must have been tampered with. The handwriting was very similar, but it definitely wasn't his.
The main hall was quiet; no one dared to utter a word. Even Niohuru dared not help her daughter, fearing that she would be disliked by Feiyanggu.
Between her daughter and her doting love, she chose the latter.
Looking at the situation before him, Qingyan couldn't help but sigh at the myriad aspects of life!
"Aktun, let the chief accountant in!" Fei Yanggu looked at the handwriting and had to admit that the person who copied it had put in a lot of effort.
Qingyan looked at the signatures at the back and found that many of them had similar handwriting, which was due to Yin's meticulous habits.
“Father, look at these signatures, are they all written by the same person?” Qingyan pointed to the signatures above, noting that several people had the same problem with their signatures.
She felt a little more confident; it seemed that someone was clearly trying to cause trouble.
The servants in the mansion were mostly carefully selected by Fei Yanggu, and many of them had followed him into battle.
“Princess, this is Ersen, the head accountant of the manor!” Akdun led in a man in his fifties. Qingyan looked him over. The man’s eyes were calm, and he didn’t seem like someone who was faking it.
Fei Yanggu looked coldly at Ersen. At that time, Ersen was in charge of managing the provisions in the military camp. Due to a battle, Ersen made an unknown mistake and was expelled from the military camp. Fei Yanggu saw that Ersen's family was poor, so he took him back to his residence.
"Princess, this servant is Ersen." Ersen was very frank. Those who could come out of the military camp had basically gone through life-and-death situations.
Qingyan handed him the ledger. Just now, she had circled several names on the list with her pen, and her name was clearly visible on it.
Ersen looked up at Fei Yanggu and Qingyan's expressions, carefully examined them, and couldn't help but feel annoyed. These names must have been written by the same person.
She stared intently at Ersen, not missing a single expression on his face.
"Princess, let this servant handle this matter. We can't be sure if this was done intentionally or if someone filled it out for us." Everyone had a lot of things to do, and some people, for convenience, simply had the accountant sign it.
Qingyan nodded. She wouldn't push people too hard, otherwise, these servants would rebel.
Fei Yanggu quietly stood by, watching Qingyan handle these matters on her own; the little guy's treatment was very effective.
At this moment, Qingya felt uneasy. Usually, the servants would try to please her, and the things they prepared were becoming more and more expensive. Could they be putting all those things on her tab?
"Qingya, I'll give you one last chance. Did you sign the errors in these ledgers yourself? Or did you know about them?" Qingyan flipped through three ledgers, which contained over 400 taels of discrepancies. This was not something that could be resolved with a simple oversight.
As soon as she finished speaking, Qingya trembled. Niohuru was secretly anxious. Qingya dug out the money she had given her as a gift from the account book, and she had sent most of it to her parents' home.
She definitely doesn't have the money to make amends, so hopefully Qingya can grit her teeth and not admit that things have gotten better.
"I..." Qingya was, after all, an inexperienced girl, and seeing Fei Yanggu's gloomy face, she was truly frightened.
"Qingya, if you know, just say it!" Fei Yanggu looked at Niohuru, and the worry on her face made Fei Yanggu feel even worse.
“Father, I don’t know… I rarely look at the account books. My stepmother checks them once a month!” After Qingya finished speaking, she turned her head towards Niohuru.
Qingyan stared intently at Qingya's actions, and in his heart he felt that these things might have been instigated by Niohuru.
"Auntie, do you know?" Jue Luo Shi would never hand over the right to manage accounts to Niu Hulu Shi. Qingya may have asked her privately.
Niohuru pursed her lips and shook her head rapidly, hoping not to arouse Fei Yanggu's suspicion.
At this moment, Fei Yanggu and Qing Yan exchanged a glance; Niohuru Clan had a serious problem.
"Little Darling, it's your decision." Fei Yanggu put down his teacup, his eyes showing disappointment as he watched the woman he cherished dare to deceive him.
Qingyan looked down at Niohuru, for concubines were always three points lower than wives.
"Auntie, can you write?" Qingyan asked.
She remembered that the Fourth Prince had mentioned that very few noble ladies of the Eight Banners were literate, and she wanted to rule out the possibility of Niohuru as soon as possible.
"Princess...yes, I do. I only know a few characters." Niohuru Shi certainly didn't hide it; everyone in the mansion knew.
Qingyan glanced sideways, thinking, "Isn't the Niohuru clan a collateral branch?"
Fei Yanggu coughed twice, diverting Qingyan's attention.
A'dun approached Feiyanggu and whispered a few words in his ear. Immediately, Feiyanggu's expression turned even worse.
"Niohuru, haven't I treated you well?" Niohuru was bought by her father. Later, she became a concubine, gave birth to Qingya and a son born out of wedlock, and gradually gained a foothold in the mansion.
Now, however, she's thinking of turning against us!
"Yes, sir, I have no choice!" Niohuru realized that things had been exposed. Her family was not up to par, and her brothers were clearly not giving her any face.
Niohuru did not want her mother to suffer any injustice.
"Using the manor's money to support your maternal family?" Fei Yanggu's voice was icy cold. "Qingya didn't grow up by your side, but she's still your daughter, isn't she?"
Fei Yanggu was in a bind. The Jue Luo clan and the Niu Hulu clan were similar in their ways. Xiao Guai was being protected by them, and Qing Ya could only silently endure it.
Qingya's eyes widened. Those signatures were made by her mother? Qingyan felt a little sorry for Qingya, who had been framed by her mother like this.
Previously, Qingya had sympathized with Qingyan, who was always being used by the Jueluo clan. Now that she had experienced it firsthand, she was naturally in an even worse mood.
"This servant is worried that Mother will be punished!" Niohuru cried out, and Qingyan was somewhat confused.
Tears welled up unexpectedly, and Qingyan sighed inwardly.
Perhaps, if the women in the backyard went to the modern era, each of them would be a superstar.
"Qingya, get up first!" Fei Yanggu told Qingya to get up. He had found the culprit and there was no need to punish her as well.
Seeing that Niohuru was on the verge of a breakdown, Qingya quickly shook her head.
Qingyan was surprised that Qingya would have such concerns about the Niohuru clan.
Fei Yanggu was very indifferent to Qingya. She behaved very well in front of Qingyan, but in reality, she just wanted to get a lot of things from Qingyan.
"My lord, I know I was wrong, and I will never dare to do it again!" Niohuru looked at Fei Yanggu with teary eyes, hoping that he would forgive her for her terrible behavior.
Qingyan sighed. Niohuru didn't understand him. If this crossed his line, Fei Yanggu definitely wouldn't forgive her; in fact, he might even punish her by confining her to the Buddhist hall. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com.)
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