Chapter 124 A Husband Should Serve His Wife Well
On the first day of taking up his post at the Censorate, although there was not much to do, it took a lot of time to hand over documents and familiarize himself with the environment and colleagues. It was already night when Shen Qingyuan returned home.
He thought Chunxi had already gone to bed and just left the lights and food waiting for him. However, before he even stepped into Wenxin Courtyard, he heard a loud noise.
He frowned and walked quickly into the yard. When the noisy crowd saw him, their expressions suddenly changed and they greeted him one after another.
Shen Qingyuan ignored them, walked past the crowd and went straight into the house.
There were also quite a few people in the room, including Nanny Jia and several main maids in charge of the Marquis's Mansion. Surrounded by these people, Chunxi sat at the table, looking through something carefully and thinking about it.
Although Chunxi looked fine, Shen Qingyuan immediately walked over to her and asked, "What happened?"
As he said this, Shen Qingyuan's eyes swept over everyone in the room one by one, full of scrutiny and warning, fearing that they would bully Chunxi.
Everyone: “…”
Young Master, please don't look at us like that. The whole Marquis' Mansion has been exposed by the Young Madam. Who would dare to bully the Young Madam?
"Husband, you're back," Chunxi raised her head from the account book and smiled at Shen Qingyuan. "I'm too busy today, so I just asked the kitchen to simmer the food. Husband, you must be hungry. I'll have someone bring some food over right away."
Chunxi stood up and gave a few instructions to the outside, then turned and said, "Mother handed over the reins of the household to me today. I'm checking the accounts. We're running low on money in the public account, and everyone in the mansion needs to cut back on expenses. So I've gathered everyone together and am preparing to return some people's indentures."
Shen Qingyuan had taught Chunxi before, so she was more than capable of reading some simple accounts, but checking the accounts of the Marquis' Mansion was a bit difficult for her, and she had only read half of them so far.
Shen Qingyuan sat down in Chunxi's seat and continued to look at the accounts.
He knew at a glance that the accountant was deliberately using those meaningless account books from previous years to make things more difficult for Chunxi. Shen Qingyuan read through the pile of account books quickly and circled all the wrong places in the account books of the past two years.
The bulk of the Marquis's Mansion's expenses in recent years have been on Shen Qingyue and Shen Qingyu.
The two of them were studying at the Yun clan school, and their tuition was one hundred taels. Then, every month, they had to buy the best writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone, as well as pocket money for socializing. When all was said and done, the annual expenses for each person were nearly ten thousand taels.
Since Shen Qingyuan took office in Jingzhao Prefecture, he had used almost all of his salary to cover his expenses, but the expenses recorded in the public accounts amounted to several thousand taels a year.
Shen Qingyuan did not handle it personally. He just told Chunxi about the inconsistencies in the account book and sat aside to eat.
Chunxi's eyes lit up, and her admiration for Shen Qingyuan almost overflowed.
"Husband, you are really amazing! If I were to look through so many account books, I would probably not be able to finish them until tomorrow morning, but you finished them in just a few seconds. You really have a keen eye."
Chunxi was not in a hurry to take the account book and punish anyone. Instead, she diligently massaged Shen Qingyuan's shoulders and head.
Shen Qingyuan was very pleased and said with a narrowed eyelid, "Since you are going to be the head of the family, I will teach you some more skills in reading the account books in the future."
"Don't worry, my husband. I will study hard and will never let you down."
After Shen Qingyuan finished his meal and went to the side room to take a bath, Chunxi walked into the yard with the account book.
The power of housekeeper Mo was handed over very suddenly, and no one in the mansion took Chunxi seriously at first.
The young lady is so young, how can she know how to manage the household?
But when Chunxi pointed out the loopholes in the accounts, everyone's faces changed drastically, and they could only kneel down and beg for mercy: "Young Madam, we will never dare to do this again. Please forgive us, Madam. We have elderly parents and young children to take care of. If we are kicked out of the Marquis' Mansion, our whole family will die."
Chunxi was not soft-hearted, nor was he misled by them. He just asked with a clear goal who had pocketed the money. With such a large amount of money, whether he was kicked out of the mansion or sent to the authorities, getting the money back was the top priority.
Everyone looked at each other, and no one dared to say a word.
Initially, the money spent on Shen Qingyuan in the accounts was real, but later it was discovered that Shen Qingyuan had a bad relationship with the Xiao family, so Mrs. Mo secretly embezzled some of it. Later, when Shen Qingyuan received a salary, this money became evidence that Mrs. Mo, the stepmother, did not mistreat her stepson.
The people below saw an opportunity and began to falsify accounts to profit from it. How can they explain themselves now?
Moreover, the young lady has just taken over the power of the family, and it is not known how long her power can last. How dare they expose Mrs. Mo?
Everyone decided to pretend to be confused and pitiful. Chunxi didn't say much to them and asked the guards of Wenxinyuan to tie up several managers and press them on a bench to beat them with a stick.
Miserable cries echoed in Wenxin Courtyard one after another, and the remaining people were all trembling with fear. No one had expected that the young lady who had just obtained the power to be the head of the family would be so decisive and swift.
The manager couldn't stand the beating and didn't dare to betray Mo, so he could only admit the part he had embezzled and promised to find a way to pay the money back.
They were willing to pay back the money, so Chunxi didn't make it difficult. After the stewards wrote the IOU and stamped their seals, she spoke again, "It's already very late, and I shouldn't disturb you, mother, but the account deficit is too great. I'd like to ask Aunt Jia to inform you and see if we can report the thief to the police."
There was no such thing as a thief in the family. The money either went into the lady's private treasury or was taken back to her parents' home to save face.
Nanny Jia was sweating profusely at being looked at. She whispered, "Madam is still ill, so it's not appropriate to get angry. It's better to tell Madam about these things later. Besides, the eldest young master has just been promoted. It's not good to cause a family scandal at this time."
"Mammy is right. Please tell mother that there is not much money left in the official account of the mansion. Starting tomorrow, all the courtyards must reduce their expenses. I will also send someone to speak to my second and third brothers."
Aunt Jia didn't dare to object and nodded repeatedly.
After everyone left, Chunxi went back to the house to put away the IOU. When she relaxed, she realized that her shoulders were sore and her eyes were dry from looking at the account book for so long.
She relaxed against the back of the chair, closed her eyes and massaged her shoulders.
After just two thumps, Shen Qingyuan's large palm pressed down on her shoulder, and a faint mist carrying the scent of soap filled her nose. "Madam, you don't have to force yourself to do this. We can always move out of the house."
Chunxi closed her eyes and enjoyed herself, saying lazily, "Of course I can move out to live in a separate residence, but I have to get back what my husband has lost over the years first. I can't let others take advantage of it."
We are not blood relatives, so why should we let them take advantage of us for nothing?
Chunxi stood firm, and Shen Qingyuan stopped trying to persuade her. He kissed her on the lips and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you, Madam."
As soon as he finished speaking, Chunxi was picked up.
She instinctively put her arms around Shen Qingyuan's neck, and then heard Shen Qingyuan say: "Madam has suffered because of me today, and I should serve you well as your husband."
"Ah? Husband, you don't have to be so polite. I just looked at the account books a little bit. It's no problem for me to take a bath by myself."
Chunxi subconsciously refused, but she soon realized that her understanding of serving was completely different from what Shen Qingyuan said!
Ahhh! Where on earth did adults learn this? This is so shameful!
Meanwhile, in the main courtyard.
After hearing what Aunt Jia said, Mrs. Mo was so angry that she threw her pillow on the ground.
"I didn't realize she had such tricks. Aunt Jia, go find a trustworthy doctor and ask him for a colorless and odorless prescription. Once you take back power, secretly put it in Cao Chunxi's food. This bitch can't be allowed to stay!"
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