Li Jiaojiao couldn't refuse, so she had no choice but to bite the bullet and learn accounting from the Duchess of Pingguo.
She studied all morning the next day, and finally, she found an excuse to go outside to look at wedding dresses and went out.
As I was passing through an alley, I was suddenly dragged inside.
"Ah, help—uh-uh!"
Li Jiaojiao's eyes widened as she saw three burly men with thick beards surrounding her, one of whom was covering her mouth.
"Don't make a sound! Or I'll kill you!" The burly man who had been covering her mouth opened his mouth.
Li Jiaojiao turned pale with fright: "What do you want to do? I am the third young lady of the Duke of Pingguo's mansion! I am the future fiancée of the Marquis of Ningguo! Don't even think about touching me!"
"Touch you?" The three burly men exchanged glances, then spat in unison, "Dream on!"
Li Jiaojiao: "......"
The burly man at the head of the group said, "We only want you to do us a favor. You know Liu Xiawei, right?"
Li Jiaojiao was so frightened that she didn't dare to make a sound, and nodded blankly.
"He owes us 30,000."
That's his business...it has nothing to do with me...
“He can’t pay it back now. We could cut off one of his hands, but what use is that rotten hand to us? Liu Xiawei said he would take all the deeds to his estates, lands, and shops and then use them as collateral.”
Li Jiaojiao's expression changed. This was terrible! She had to inform her mother immediately and tell her to be careful!
But why did they tell her?
The burly man immediately explained, "But Liu Xiawei is useless; he can't steal anything. If you can help him steal the land deeds and shop deeds, we'll give you ten thousand taels of silver."
Li Jiaojiao stared wide-eyed in disbelief: "What?"
The big man chuckled and said, "As long as he steals the land deeds and shop deeds, his debts will be paid off, we'll get the money, and you'll get a reward of ten thousand taels."
Li Jiaojiao was tempted, but then shook her head: "Am I crazy...?"
The burly man said, "Don't worry, you can help Liu Xiawei secretly without him knowing. We won't tell him either. This is something only you and we know."
"If you'd like, deliver this to Deli Money Exchange tomorrow."
As he spoke, the burly man placed a white jade pendant into her hand and then left.
Li Jiaojiao stared blankly at their retreating figures.
She felt she should tell the Duchess of Pingguo immediately, but... her mind was in a mess!
Li Jiaojiao hesitated for a moment, but a hint of hatred flashed in her eyes the next second.
She would never forget the moment she was slapped to the ground in the Shen family home, and when she reached out to reach her mother, her mother took a step back...
In truth, her mother didn't have much genuine affection for her; she was only doing it because she was about to marry into the Ningguo Marquis's household.
Moreover, the Duke of Pingguo's mansion is already in decline; the old man squanders money every day, and the young man gambles away the family fortune...
They'll squander all of Mother's possessions sooner or later.
Rather than letting them squander it, why not let Li Jiaojiao earn some money first?
If it's discovered later, it will be Liu Xiawei who stole it!
After convincing herself, Li Jiaojiao decided to go for it!
......
When Li Jiaojiao returned home, her afternoon study session dispelled her morning laziness, and she became more proactive in learning about accounting.
Lady Pingguo was very pleased to see this.
Li Jiaojiao said, "Mother... should I have the dowry now? Put it in my room first, I want to register it myself. And that ten thousand taels... we should also gather it up. After all, the Gu family's case won't be over for many days."
Lady Pingguo smiled and said, "What you said makes sense."
Li Jiaojiao breathed a sigh of relief, and her smile became more genuine.
She needed to get her dowry ready first, and she also needed to keep the ten thousand taels of silver in hand, lest Liu Xiawei steal it all.
Throughout the afternoon's study session, Li Jiaojiao paid special attention to matters concerning land deeds and contracts.
Finally, it was discovered that all these contracts were kept in a box.
The box was recessed into the wall, behind the bedside table of the Duke of Pingguo's wife, and locked with an iron lock.
The next morning, she went to Deli Money Shop and gave the jade token to the big man from the day before.
The big man invited her to sit in the inner room.
Li Jiaojiao said, "The land deed and shop deed are behind the bedside table in Mother's room. But there is a lock there, and the key is with Granny Yu. That old hag is very difficult to deal with. I can't get the key."
The burly man said, “That’s simple. You just need to use a lump of flour to make a rubbing of the key, and then make a new key. As for how to give it to Liu Xiawei, you can figure that out yourself.”
Li Jiaojiao said, "Why can't we give you the key and then you give it to him?"
The burly man crossed his arms and said, "Sorry, we're legitimate businessmen. How could we steal the key? If Liu Xiawei gets caught and says we gave him the key, how are we supposed to explain that?"
Li Jiaojiao gritted her teeth and went home dejectedly.
Back at the Duke of Pingguo's mansion.
Lady Pingguo has already gathered the ten thousand taels and moved the dowry for Li Jiaojiao into a side room in her courtyard.
Li Jiaojiao looked at the small pile of things with disdain. This little bit of stuff didn't even amount to 20% of Ye Caiping's amount.
After lunch, Li Jiaojiao continued to review the accounts with the Duchess of Pingguo.
While flipping through the account books, the Duchess of Pingguo asked, "Where did you go this morning? Why didn't you take Xiao Lü with you?"
Li Jiaojiao laughed and said, "We didn't go anywhere. We just went out for a walk to relax. We weren't going to buy anything. Why would we bring her along?"
Lady Pingguo didn't ask any further questions: "You mustn't be distracted anymore. I heard that the Gu family's case is only going to be resolved in the next few days. You need to marry into the Gu family as soon as possible."
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
