ushernet Chapter 153 World 325
Chapter 153 World 325
Although Yu Miaoqi's words were not pleasant to hear, they were very realistic, so the brother and sister both agreed to consider it further.
Seeing this, Yu Miaoqi breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's still early, you should all go back and rest for a while."
Yinyin and Zhanzheng exchanged a glance, then she said to Yu Miaoqi in a coquettish tone, "It takes time to go back and forth, Mother, how about I stay in the main room with you today?"
"But I'm not used to the new place yet," Yu Miaoqi said with some concern, but naturally agreed.
Hearing this, Zhan Zheng wisely left.
If it's true that Yin Yin isn't used to it, then so be it. But what she and Zhan Zheng are more worried about is that if Yu Miaoqi stays in the main room by herself, she'll overthink things.
After all, Dongchang Courtyard was her former residence in the Zhan family mansion, holding many memories of her and her husband. And because of Old Master Zhan's instructions, many of the furnishings in the house remained as they were, so the brother and sister were naturally more worried.
Fortunately, Yu Miaoqi was so worried about Yin Yin that she suppressed her sadness.
After tidying up and taking a short rest, it was time to go to the front yard for dinner.
Perhaps because Yu Miaoqi had acted rather unapproachable during their previous meeting, the meal proceeded peacefully and without any major incidents.
The following evening, the Second Madam sent only her maidservant to deliver the account books and tally to Yu Miaoqi's entourage for handover.
When Yinyin saw that several people had arrived, each carrying a thick ledger, she couldn't help but frown: "Why are there so many?"
The old nanny beside the second madam laughed: "My mistress said that the first madam has been away from the capital for more than ten years. Although she is in charge again, she still needs to see the old rules. So she asked us to send over all the account books from when she took over until now."
They've sent over a decade's worth of account books? No wonder there are so many.
Yin Yin's face darkened, but she held back from lashing out and looked at Yu Miaoqi.
Yu Miaoqi remained calm, or rather, she was mentally prepared for this. She directly ordered someone to accept the package: "It's kind of you, Second Sister-in-law, to think so thoroughly. I will check it carefully. If I find any problems, I will have to go to her."
The old woman's smile remained unchanged, clearly indicating she didn't take those words to heart, and she took her leave immediately.
“If all the servants of the Zhan family in the capital are like this, it’s truly an eye-opener for me,” Yin Yin said angrily. “They call it a handover, but they just put the things down and left.”
“She’s always been like this; she’s best at making things difficult and annoying in these little ways,” Yu Miaoqi said, looking at the account books in front of her. She was actually a little troubled and could only ask someone to find the accounts from the last two years and read them as soon as possible.
"Mother, are you really planning to read all of these?" Yin Yin said with some worry. "Since you said that the Second Madam is used to making things difficult for you in these small ways, if you accept this, she will definitely have another trick up her sleeve tomorrow. Do you believe me?"
“Of course I believe you,” Yu Miaoqi said with a smile, calling Yin Yin closer. “But Yin Yin, there are some things that, even if you know someone has dug a pit for you, you still have to step over it and get through it.”
“Like these ledgers, let’s look at the ones from the last two years first, to get an impression of the usual practices, so that we won’t be caught off guard if someone comes to report. As for the ledgers from the earlier years… I have to thank her for sending them all. If she hadn’t sent them, she could have done whatever she wanted with them by relying on the practices from the previous years.”
Yinyin pursed her lips: "Then I'll help you look at it, Mother. I'll definitely find more problems in these ledgers, so that when you want to lash out at someone, you'll have a valid reason."
Yu Miaoqi nodded and said, "Yes, we have to make a move. A new broom sweeps clean, so of course we have to start by making a fuss about your second aunt."
"That's what you say, Mother, but you really have to do it!" Yin Yin sighed, looking at the thick ledger in front of her and the obviously wrong prices. Her eyes darted around, and she had an idea.
It must be said that although the accounts appeared perfectly legitimate, there were actually quite a few loopholes that couldn't be patched up. When Yu Miaoqi and Yinyin led people to the warehouse to inspect the goods, even more loopholes were discovered. Passing off inferior goods as superior ones was the least of their problems; replacing the genuine items with counterfeits was a truly countless occurrence.
Yinyin had initially only noticed the pricing issues, but now that she had uncovered so much more, she happily compiled everything and rewrote it into a booklet. To make it easier for others to read, she even had someone inquire about market prices and write them down next to the entries, striving to make everything clear at a glance. As for other losses, she meticulously added them up one by one, thoughtfully calculating a shocking total.
After all, for some people, a few dozen taels of silver is nothing, and a hundred taels of silver is just a cause for concern, but when thousands or tens of thousands of taels of silver are put together, it is not something that can be easily ignored.
With the booklet in hand, Yu Miaoqi glanced at Yinyin, then skipped going to see the Second Madam and went straight to Old Master Zhan and his wife, laying out a pile of account books in front of them: "I haven't been back for so many years, and I didn't even know there was a thief in the house who has almost emptied the storeroom. I don't know if the porcelain bowls and ornaments that were broken or smashed last year were really damaged, or if some thief did it on purpose."
"The old master and madam trusted me and asked me to take charge of the household as soon as I returned, but now it seems that my abilities are limited and I can no longer manage this household."
Old Master Zhan casually flipped through the records kept by the eldest son's family, noticing the missing treasury silver and the prices of goods that were usually misrepresented by the servants. His face grew increasingly dark.
The second wife trembled as she pleaded her innocence, and the second master chimed in to support her. The third master and his wife, however, stepped forward to kick her while she was down.
Old Master Zhan told them to be quiet, then turned to Yu Miaoqi and said, "This family still needs you, the eldest daughter-in-law, to manage it."
“I can manage it, but I only take on clear and transparent accounts,” Yu Miaoqi said. “The personnel matters here can only be handled by the old master himself. Otherwise, if I were to handle them, I don’t know if I would dismiss someone’s confidant or beat someone’s servant. Then the whole mansion would come begging for forgiveness, saying that I am heartless.”
After saying this, Yu Miaoqi got up and took her leave, not caring about how the two elders planned to deal with the second wife.
When she returned to the room, Yin Yin's tea had just been brewed, and she immediately poured her a cup: "Mother, did the trip go smoothly? Did those people all look terrible?"
Yu Miaoqi glanced at her with a smile: "You guessed it all, so why ask me? But this time, the booklet you made has done a great job."
"Then I won't have the chance to see it for myself, and can only hear your story from Mother."
It wasn't that Yin Yin didn't want to go, but Yu Miaoqi was worried that Zhan Shu'er and Zhan Hui'er weren't there. If she took Yin Yin with her, she feared that the Second Madam might take her anger out on Yin Yin, a junior. After all, when someone is angry, they can't be rational. And losing face in front of elders and peers is very different from losing face in front of juniors.
"It's a pity this isn't Yingzhou, so we can't make our own decisions," Yin Yin said, taking a sip of her tea with a look of regret on her face. "Otherwise, we would definitely take down every single one of these corrupt officials and make them spit out everything they've swallowed!"