The maids and servants in the room also stared at Madam Wen in shock.
The Wen family was indeed rather stingy with money.
For example, during the Lunar New Year, or when the servants in the mansion had weddings or funerals, she would give them rewards according to the lowest rank.
But she really didn't punish the servants much, and she ate vegetarian food and chanted Buddhist prayers every day.
Aside from being stingy with money, he doesn't seem like the kind of person who would harm others.
Now she admits that she cut back on her sister-in-law's charcoal for money.
It caused the fourth wife to fall ill.
This isn't just a matter of being stingy.
To mistreat one's younger siblings and nieces is cruel.
The maids and servants in the room all fell silent.
I felt like I had discovered another side of the Wen family.
Wen felt uncomfortable under these gazes, and felt that she had completely lost her dignity as a mistress.
I felt extremely embarrassed.
But right now, we absolutely cannot let the old lady check the accounts.
Otherwise, that would be a real loss of face.
Wen's forehead veins were bulging, and he was experiencing throbbing pain in his temples.
It was still very cold, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on her back.
"You may leave!"
Madam Pei asked Mr. Accountant to leave.
She's going to check the accounts, but she'll never do it in front of so many people.
Ultimately, Lady Wen was still the wife of a marquis.
If word got out that she was being questioned by so many people, the Wen family would lose face.
Moreover, if it is truly discovered that Wen Shi embezzled public funds by abusing his power as steward, not only would Wen Shi lose face.
Even the Marquis's mansion will lose face because of this.
The only option was to investigate secretly.
"You shouldn't be in charge anymore. Go back to where you came from."
Madam Pei dealt with the manager of the charcoal room first.
Wen was given a severe scolding and then confined to her quarters.
Anyway, the New Year is over, so there's nothing to socialize about.
Let her stay in the Buddhist hall.
On the other side, Madam Pei invited a doctor back for the fourth wife and added charcoal to their fire.
They talked intimately for a while inside the house, and when the fourth wife was about to leave, she gave her many nice gifts.
The fourth wife was very grateful.
After everyone had left, Madam Pei summoned a few trusted confidants to the room to check the accounts.
Lady Wen did not serve in the Marquis's mansion for twenty years without doing nothing.
Madam Pei had only been investigating for two days when she learned the news and was extremely anxious.
Even after she confessed, the old lady still wouldn't let her go.
Auditing the accounts could lead to serious trouble.
The Wen family was confined to the Buddhist hall, and she couldn't get out, so she sent someone to invite the old Marquis.
"My lord, I am the mistress of the Marquis's mansion. The old lady wants to investigate my accounts. How am I supposed to face anyone?"
"I've managed the household in the Marquis's mansion for twenty years. Even if I haven't made any great contributions, I've certainly worked hard!"
"If the mistress of a household is investigated, even if I am found to be innocent in the end, I will have no face to continue managing the household."
Her words were brilliant.
Let me first talk about my hard work over the past twenty years.
This aroused the old Marquis's pity.
Besides, even if there's nothing wrong with the accounts, she'll still lose face.
She wiped away her tears, her sobs genuine.
After a moment of silence, the old Marquis went to Madam Pei's courtyard.
The old lady was his legal mother, and he respected her.
However, what Wen said was not entirely without merit.
She managed the Marquis's mansion for twenty years and gave birth to two sons; she had worked hard.
Even if the couple's relationship has cooled over the past two years, he's not the type to favor his concubine over his wife.
They are still willing to give the Wen family some dignity.
On the other side.
Madam Pei was checking and reviewing the accounts in her courtyard.
The room was filled with people, including the accountant she had hired from her dowry shop and the maids from Jiang Shuwan's courtyard.
These girls had previously learned accounting from the tutor hired by Jiang Shuwan.
Jiang Shuwan listened to a few lessons and taught them some modern accounting techniques and spreadsheets.
These young girls can't keep track of the accounts now, and their accounting is only superficial.
However, its speed in creating tables is top-notch.
The Marquis's mansion had over a thousand people, resulting in enormous expenses and numerous, complicated accounts.
The accountants that Madam Pei hired were all elderly, but they still gave her a headache.
They had to check and balance the accounts, compare the expenditures, and figure out if there were any fake accounts.
That's enough to make even ten brains not be enough.
Jiang Shuwan then lent one of the maids from her courtyard to Old Madam Pei.
Their skills in checking and inventorying accounts are rudimentary, but when it comes to making various income and expenditure forms, anyone with hands can do it.
Being able to recognize characters is enough.
They easily sorted out the complicated ledgers into various tables.
It caught the eye of a few old accountants.
I was getting dizzy looking at it before.
With the tables, everything became clear at a glance.
The speed of checking accounts has also doubled.
When the old Marquis arrived, he had just finished checking last year's accounts.
"Last year alone, she embezzled ten thousand taels of silver. Is that what you call innocent?"
Madam Pei threw the account book directly in front of the old Marquis who was pleading for Wen.
"Ten thousand taels?"
The old marquis's words of pleading were all stuck in his throat.
He doesn't manage the household affairs and knows little about the situation in the mansion.
But he still knew roughly how much the family's income was in a year.
The Marquis's residence had many farms, manors, shops, and merchant caravans.
The annual income is approximately 100,000 taels.
Wen embezzled nearly ten thousand taels of silver a year, pocketing one-tenth of the profits...
The old Marquis no longer pleaded for Lady Wen.
They simply sat in Madam Pei's courtyard, waiting for the final results of the audit.
Jiang Shuwan also sat in the courtyard, watching the busy maids and accountants in the room.
She was relieved.
Fortunately, these young maids were taught skills to help the old lady check the accounts.
Otherwise, before any problems were found in the accounts, the old Marquis would come to plead for leniency.
At that time, the old lady will inevitably be in a dilemma.
Even if the old lady is determined to do things her own way, a rift may still develop between the son and the mother.
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