Chapter 315 - 316: Auditing
Chapter 315: Chapter 316: Auditing
Kuang Yunqiao’s eyes were turning red. She gripped the hem of her robes tightly, afraid she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from talking back to the old crone.
The old crone’s reminder made her feel a wave of dizziness. She had no idea how she was going to explain this to her family.
Seeing his mother and wife at odds again, Bai Yugang felt even more exasperated. With a flick of his sleeves, he stormed out. He had to think of a solution; he couldn’t just sit by and do nothing.
With her support gone, Kuang Yunqiao had no desire to keep watching the affectionate grandmother and grandson. She gestured to her maid and was preparing to leave when Old Madam Bai stopped her.
"Now that the Holy Emperor has decreed the marriage, you must prepare the betrothal gifts at once to show how seriously our family is taking this. You cannot disgrace our family name."
Kuang Yunqiao turned to look at the pair. "Don’t you know the state of our finances? Where am I supposed to come up with such a large sum for a betrothal gift?
Doesn’t the Young Master have that Glass Workshop that rakes in a fortune every day? Would he really care about such a small betrothal gift?"
Old Madam Bai thumped her cane hard on the floor several times. "What are you talking about? Since when does a son pay for his own betrothal gifts? Doesn’t our Marquis Mansion have the fortune left by the Old Marquis? Have you squandered it all so quickly?"
During the turmoil back then, Old Marquis Bai followed the late Emperor on campaigns across the land and brought no small amount of wealth back to the mansion. Otherwise, the Marquis Wu’an Mansion could not have lived so comfortably all these years.
Kuang Yunqiao pursed her lips. There were still plenty of heirlooms, but she had her own son and daughter. How could she possibly spend them all on Bai Jinglie?
Besides, given the income that boy had made over the past few years, he probably wouldn’t even deign to look at the few things left in the mansion.
"Then I’ll have to trouble Aunt Kuang. If you’re too busy, you can have my old nanny come over to help for a while." The moment her gaze turned toward him, Bai Jinglie immediately spoke up to cut her off.
Kuang Yunqiao said with a strained smile, "The Young Master knows our family has had a rather difficult couple of years. How about this? The Young Master can front the money for the betrothal gift this time. Once I’ve dealt with the manors, I will pay you back."
"You want to sell off our ancestral inheritance?" Old Madam Bai’s hands were trembling with rage. ’Just what kind of mess has this wasteful daughter-in-law made of our entire family?’
The more she thought, the more panicked she felt. "Have the accountant come to my courtyard at once. I’m going to see just what’s left of this mansion after all your years of managing it!"
Kuang Yunqiao felt a surge of panic. She knew better than anyone what she had been doing all these years. Because of Bai Jinglie’s existence, she had made contingency plans.
If her son had inherited the title, everything would have been fine. But ever since the Holy Decree on the succession was announced, she had been racking her brain, transferring all the silver from the public accounts into her private coffers.
She had thought that if she could just wait until this old crone passed away, the entire Marquis Mansion would be under her control.
But now, with this sudden development, how was she supposed to explain everything?
The more panicked she felt, the calmer her expression became. "Mother, you were always complaining about headaches before. There’s no need to disturb you over such a small matter.
If you’re not at ease, I’ll have the ledgers organized in the next day or two and sent over to you then."
Having managed a household her entire life, how could Old Madam Bai not know what trickery was afoot? "I want to see them now. Besides, even though my health isn’t what it used to be, the people by my side are not to be trifled with. Do you think I have to do these things myself?"
Seeing that Kuang Yunqiao was still trying to find an excuse, Old Madam Bai directly sent people to the accountant to bring all the ledgers over, leaving Kuang Yunqiao no time to prepare.
Bai Jinglie hadn’t expected the marriage decree to have this kind of benefit. If the accounts could be cleared up now, it would be far better than him inheriting an empty shell of a Marquis Mansion later.
Braving her resentful glare, Bai Jinglie supported Mrs. Bai. "Grandmother, you’ve been standing for so long. Your grandson will escort you back to your courtyard to rest."
Old Madam Bai patted his hand. "Good child. You’re not like your younger brother and sister. I never see them all day. It seems this old woman is just a nuisance."
Noticing Kuang Yunqiao’s expression turning even uglier, Bai Jinglie felt all the more delighted. "Your grandson would never dare have such a thought. I only wish for you to live a long life, so that you may continue to look after your grandson for many years to come."
Old Madam Bai believed him. Ever since his own mother passed away, this child’s life had been much harder than that of his two siblings, who still had their mother.
Although she had looked out for him, she had also hoped he could build a good relationship with his father. She never imagined that unfilial son of hers would let that wretched woman torment his own legitimate son so.
She had thought the woman was merely greedy, but never expected her to be so cruel.
Fortunately, the boy’s mother had made preparations, leaving behind a group of loyal servants to help him. That was the only way he was able to grow to adulthood.
But over the years, the relationship between father and son had been driven apart, and now they couldn’t stand the sight of each other. This was what troubled her the most.
Watching the grandmother and grandson leave while talking, Kuang Yunqiao nearly stumbled, and it was a good thing her maid was there to quickly support her.
"Quick, have someone go to the accountant and get the ledgers first," she whispered to a trusted aide, hoping there was still time.
Before long, the aide hurried back. "Madam, Old Madam Bai has her nanny and four senior maids guarding the place. Our people can’t get close at all."
"It’s over." Kuang Yunqiao felt a wave of dizziness. She had transferred the mansion’s public assets into her own dowry, and the bookkeeping for it was deliberately obscure. If this were discovered, that old crone probably wouldn’t let her off so easily.
"Hurry and send for the Marquis and the young masters to return," Kuang Yunqiao said, grasping at the last straw, hoping that father-son pair would back her up.
"..."
For the past few days, Ancient Wen Heng had been poring over a large pile of files again when He Nan came over, clutching a huge stack of ledgers and begging for help.
"Brother Gu, it’s an emergency." The wives of their two families were close, and since Ancient Wen Heng and He Nan had somewhat similar personalities, they naturally started spending time together.
"What’s wrong this time?" Ancient Wen Heng glanced at the covers. The two of them were responsible for different things, and these looked like some old, dusty accounts.
"I’ve clearly checked these accounts twice, but no matter what I do, they don’t add up."
"They have to be submitted tomorrow afternoon. Please, hurry and help me check the calculations."
He Nan wanted to take these ledgers home and ask an accountant for help, but he wasn’t allowed to take them out of the Hanlin Academy. Ancient Wen Heng was the only person in the entire Hanlin Academy he was familiar enough with to ask, so he had to turn to him for help.
Ancient Wen Heng glanced at him, then took a ledger off the top of the pile. Without using an abacus, he began to flip through it page by page.
When he found a problematic entry, he would stop and tap it. He Nan quickly grabbed the book to check, and sure enough, there was a real problem.
At first, he thought Ancient Wen Heng was just giving it a quick look, but he hadn’t expected the man to actually be finding problems.
Seeing Ancient Wen Heng pick up the second ledger in no time at all, He Nan couldn’t help but ask, "Brother Gu, did you just calculate all of that?"