An ugly girl starts off, then becomes a beauty

The workload of Yewu Garden was imaginable. Fortunately, Sang Ling had instructed Zong Xiang on the first day of the new year to make several trips to Jingsi Residence, Jiuyuan and the backyard to compare all the details in last year's account.

Even the smallest amount, like a copper coin, must be counted clearly.

The day before yesterday, Cheng Ai used her connections to invite an old accountant from the Gao family to come over.

Even if I have to work all night today, I have to sort out every single detail.

"I said I've been feeling uneasy these past two days, and it turns out this is the reason." Aunt Cheng naturally told Sang Ling about the eye contact between Aunt Xing and Aunt He in the afternoon.

"I don't know yet." The second young master's wife had two rolls of bamboo slips in her hand, one was the original account book, and the other was what Zong Xiang had recorded himself in the past few days.

"If it's the accounts for August, it's okay, because they are all big accounts, so it's easy to find the mistakes. But if it's the accounts for other months, I don't know how long it will take to sort them out." She scribbled on a piece of bamboo silk. Old Mother Cheng couldn't understand the tables and formulas. Zong Xiang had been studying with Sang Ling for so long that he understood about 90% of them, so he helped from the side and compared them carefully.

After a while, the accountant was led over by Wei Chu. Now he was taking off his shoes in the corridor. Old Madam Cheng was instructing two servants to replace the oil in the lamp in the corner. Suddenly, she heard a voice from the back room, "No—" She turned around and saw Zong Xiang also shook his head, "No."

"Go and take a look!" So he quickly pulled the old accountant into the main room.

There was a noise in the house, so Sang Ling looked up and saw an old man with white hair and beard. She had met this man before. He was the accountant who often reported the household expenses to Sang Feng'e.

The Second Young Master's wife's pupils shrank, and she raised her hand forward, "Take a look."

She handed over two rolls of account books.

……

The wind in the early spring night was really freezing. The servants waiting in the corridor of Wuyuan were all sent back to the servants' rooms, leaving only Ah Zeng in the corridor. He came at sunset, and as Wuyuan was having lunch, he stayed to have lunch with the servants. After lunch, he didn't rush back. He played in the yard for a while, and then squatted on the corridor in a trance. Cheng Nu didn't urge him.

The old mother put her hands in her sleeves, looked around the frost-covered courtyard, yawned, and went back to the main room to kneel down.

"The total amount of grain for the birthday banquet was 2,250 coins—" the voice of the old accountant came, "the total amount of the five livestock was 8,510 coins, and the account book recorded 8,633 coins, 332 coins more. The total amount of gifts returned was 8,541 coins, 227 coins more in the account. I would like to ask Madam how much the reward from the servants of the two mansions was, and how much the supply for the backyard kitchen is...?"

On the day of the Nei Taigong's birthday banquet, not only did the hosts and guests in the front yard toast to each other, but the servants in the backyards of the two mansions were also allowed to join in the feast.

"It's 36 coins per person per day, and it's distributed for a whole month. The kitchen's supply for that day is 284 coins." It was Zong Xiang who took over the conversation.

The flame on the lampstand flickered slightly, and the figures on the wall looked like the people in the painting. Wei Chu followed the other side of the Second Young Master's wife and refilled the hot water for the master and the old accountant. The old accountant bent his body, fiddling with the abacus on the table, but his eyes were on the account book. "The expenses of the slaves in the backyard and the reward are recorded as 54,000 coins, 96 coins more; the external coachman is recorded as 200 coins, 45 coins more; the ox carts and horses here are recorded as 529 coins."

After the accountant finished speaking, Cheng Lao immediately understood, "The ox carts are basically our own, and we only hired twenty or ten from outside..." But she forgot how many there were. Only a loud voice came from the corridor, "Twenty-two carts, and the money was five hundred coins."

Everyone in the room looked back in confusion, only to see Ah Zeng's head poking out from the wooden door, "It's always been this price before."

He was born in the backyard, so he was certainly aware of these things. Sang Ling nodded, turned around and glanced at the old accountant.

"The East Mansion should have an extra 3,826 coins, but the account book is 4,850 coins, which means an extra 979 coins."

As expected, she had falsified the accounts. She said that Xing was even more diligent than Shi before, and she thought that she was so active because she was worried that she, the new boss, didn't understand much.

"The expenses of Jiuyuan here were reimbursed by 8,000 coins, but the East Palace actually only paid 328 coins." The old accountant continued.

Zong Xiang's hand holding the pen trembled suddenly.

"Return to support?" Sang Ling leaned forward.

The eldest maid quickly knelt forward and said, "It turned out to be the account I found on the first day of the new year, but I didn't figure it out at the time, so I didn't submit it. Later, I had to go to the backyard to ask for the account, so I forgot about it for a while--"

Before he could finish his words, Sang Ling had already taken the account book from the old accountant, only to find that there was a part missing when he handed it over.

Zong Xiang kowtowed again, "Young Madam, I really forgot about this account."

It seems that he is really panicked.

Ever since Sang Ling began to use her, he has always trusted her. She is also studious. Not only can she read the account books clearly, but she also remembers the seasonal prices.

Now that such a huge mistake has occurred, if the old accountant hadn't been paying attention to it, I'm afraid it would have been thrown into oblivion.

"What is the replenishment?" Sang Ling was too busy to care.

"At first I didn't know, so I asked Wei Chu to find out, but then... I forgot about it."

Wei Chu seemed to have just remembered, and he knelt straight to speak. After thinking for a while, he looked at the door again. Ah Zeng noticed his gaze and immediately knelt in. "This matter - Brother Yin found out on the second day of the New Year. He said that it was filled by the West Mansion, using the name of Old Man Nie. He reported it on the day he returned to his hometown, and just said that it was his own filling for the Marquis' Mansion."

Sang Ling raised his eyebrows slightly, thought about it in his mind, and then roughly figured out the mystery. Wasn't Shen trying to frame Madam Zhaoyu for withholding money from the government?

Corruption is a big taboo for those who are in charge of a household.

She couldn't help but close her eyes, glanced at the fire clock, and waved her hand to let the servants retreat, "You guys go back and rest first."

In the next few days, we may have to fight a tough battle.

……

In a blink of an eye, midnight passed and everyone in Wuyuan's bedroom left, but the lights in the back room were still bright.

After Cheng Mu turned off the half-man-high twig lamp, she came back and waved the mugwort in her hand, and changed the incense in the censer.

"I still don't quite understand."

Sang Ling did not lie down completely. He twirled the tassels of the curtain with his jade fingers and spoke softly, "Xing Madam falsified the accounts in August and recorded more money than we paid. If it gets out, the Madam will inevitably be accused of trying to curry favor with others. That's fine. If it's a mistake, it can always be fixed. It's the amount that Jiuyuan paid back—"

Old Madam Cheng understood the account, but she was still curious. "We also added the money. Since the West Mansion also made up for it, there should be an extra amount. Even if Xing was able to falsify the account book, where did the extra money actually go?"

"I don't know." Sang Ling shook her head. When her thoughts were in a mess, she heard a "dong" sound from the fire clock on the wall. It was already Chou hour. The sound seemed to penetrate into her sea of ​​consciousness, and immediately caused ripples.

Since Shen wanted to frame Madam Zhaoyu for corruption, it would be impossible for her to take back the extra money herself. Otherwise, why would she do such a thing?

"Let's go to Yunyue Pavilion." She stood up suddenly and took off her cloak from the wooden plank.