Quick Wear: The first person to love the host

Seeing his wife's jealousy rising, Wang Shuo quickly took Yunniang's hand and gently pulled her into his arms.

“My lady has misunderstood me,” he explained gently. “Our Qing’er was able to enter Wanfang Academy thanks to these fragrant cakes.”

"Stop trying to fool me," Yunniang turned her face away, "This incense was probably given to you by one of your lovers outside."

Wang Shuo chuckled helplessly and hugged her tighter. "I'm so busy every day that I don't even have time to rest. When I get home, I'm with you. What lover could I possibly have? The last two times, I was afraid you'd be suspicious, so I made the incense myself, but I could never quite get the heat right. You're so skillful, Madam. I really need your help with this incense making."

"Really?" Yunniang took the sesame cake, her brow still furrowed with doubt. "How could there be such a good thing in the world? Could there be something wrong with this sesame cake?"

Wang Shuo was amused by his wife's words and laughed loudly, "Why are you as suspicious as your father? Don't worry, I had an expert check it out privately, it's just some exotic fragrance."

Yunniang was slightly relieved, but then remembered something else and looked worried: "Husband, I heard that Father handed over the management of the household to the new wife this afternoon. What if she finds out about the discrepancies in the accounts?"

Wang Shuo waved his hand dismissively, "Madam, please put your mind at ease. Even Father can't see through these accounts, let alone that Imperial Concubine who's been confined to the inner courtyard all these years?"

Not to boast, but with his accounting skills, if word got out, countless people would be begging him to settle their accounts.

Unfortunately, this arrogance will soon be shattered by reality.

If he were to actually confront Su Miaomiao, who had been neglected in the Su family, he might not have discovered the accounting problems. But now, Wang Shuo was facing Su Ziyu.

The original owner grew up in Jiangnan, and his maternal grandfather Shen family's businesses were all orchestrated by him. Although he was frail and sickly, his business acumen was first-rate, and his accounting skills were unmatched. Trying to pull any tricks under his nose was simply a pipe dream.

After taking over the management of the household, Su Ziyu's first task was to check the accounts.

He had prepared himself to gain nothing—since the butler had readily handed over the keys and ledger, he must either have a clear conscience or had already cleaned up the mess.

However, the reality was beyond his expectations.

The ledgers that were obtained had been tampered with most of them. The methods were subtle, but they were all tricks that had been used before.

"interesting."

Su Ziyu immediately became interested and spent five days thoroughly sorting out the account books. The result shocked him—in the past five years, the amount of money misappropriated from the Prince's residence had reached more than 100,000 taels.

It can be said that more than half of the income of the prince's residence ended up in the steward's pocket.

No wonder the son of a mere steward can wear fine linen clothes; it turns out that in this prince's mansion, only Qi Jinyu, the proper master, is suffering on the frontier. How ironic.

Su Ziyu put down the last ledger, moved to the round table, and rubbed her temples: "Any news about my sister?"

This has become a question he asks every day.

He didn't necessarily want to find his sister; he just wanted to send someone to escort her safely back to the Shen family in Jiangnan, or find her a safe place to stay so that she wouldn't be discovered by those with ulterior motives.

Since his younger sister has chosen to elope, she clearly has no interest in the eldest prince. Once Qi Jinyu sets off for the frontier, he will pretend to accompany her, then feign death on the way, at which point he will be able to reunite with his sister.

Liu Ye served flower tea: "Please rest assured, Master. Our people have searched all the way to the outskirts of the capital and are heading east. We should have news soon."

East? Su Ziyu's heart tightened.

As far as he knew, there was a locust plague in the east, and the second prince was ordered to go there to provide disaster relief.

You absolutely must avoid running into these two!!!

To avoid overthinking, he asked instead, "Have you finished compiling the gift list from last time?"

Liu Ye immediately took out the gift list from her sleeve: "Reporting to Master, everything has been prepared."

Su Ziyu didn't even look at it, but instead asked Pu Ye to invite Qi Jinyu over and hand over the gift list first: "This is a thank-you gift for Your Highness's help last time."

Qi Jinyu took the document and immediately beamed with joy: "My lady is so generous! If there are any such lucrative opportunities in the future, please remember to think of your husband."

Fifty thousand taels of silver was enough for the soldiers to have a good meal for seven days.

Although it was still a drop in the ocean compared to the required military pay, every little bit helps. He had been dealing with the Ministry of Revenue for the sake of military pay for some time now, and was thoroughly annoyed.

Su Ziyu glanced at him and said, "Dream on."

Qi Jinyu leaned closer, his smile growing even more solicitous: "Madam, I've heard that my brother-in-law has an exceptional talent for business. I wonder if he could offer me some guidance? Let me experience the joy of making money work for me. It's really tough being able to ask those old foxes in the Ministry of Revenue for money all the time."

Su Ziyu was amused by his appearance: "Your Highness, it's best not to go into business, lest you get sold out and still be helping others count the money."

Qi Jinyu understood the deeper meaning in his words. She glanced at the account book beside him out of the corner of her eye, waved away the people around her, and sat down next to him: "Has Madam discovered something?"

Su Ziyu was surprised by his keen insight, but this was exactly the result he wanted. He raised an eyebrow slightly: "Indeed, we've discovered a huge sucker."

Qi Jinyu: "???"

Su Zijing tapped the ledger lightly with her fingertip: "There are quite a few shady dealings here."

Qi Jinyu was stunned and blurted out, "That's impossible!"

He was away on campaigns most of the year, and the affairs of the household were all managed by his steward, Uncle Wang. Uncle Wang was an old man left behind by the Empress Dowager, who had been with him since childhood. He was loyal and would never do anything to betray his master.

Su Ziyu had anticipated his difficulty in accepting the report, but he hadn't expected such a strong reaction: "If Your Highness doesn't believe me, you can always have someone else check. This is only the problem that can be seen on the books; there are other aspects..."

Listening to his calm narration, Qi Jinyu felt a chill run down her spine.

He believed that with his wife's abilities, she would not stoop to lying, nor would she need to fabricate lies.

In his previous life, he resisted marriage. After getting married, he either trained his troops or drank heavily, and was indifferent to the outside world. Even his acquaintance with Su Ziyu was due to her intention to approach him.

Now reborn, he knows the hardships of frontier warfare and is unwilling to repeat the mistakes of the past. His hundreds of thousands of soldiers, who should have died on the battlefield, were instead killed in vain due to conspiracies and treachery.

He endured for many years before finally storming the capital, hoping to seek justice for his soldiers. Unfortunately, in the eyes of some, justice was no match for the throne or the merit of supporting the emperor.

Once you're dead, your life is worthless.

In this life, he must protect not only Su Zijin, but also the hundreds of thousands of soldiers.

To protect everything you cherish, you must fight and strive. Only by ascending to the supreme position can you protect everything you wish to protect.

A sudden sharp pain shot through her forehead, and Qi Jinyu's eyes gradually turned crimson.

Oh no, he's having another attack!

Qi Jinyu's first reaction was to 'escape', she couldn't let Su Ziyu find out, it would scare him.

Unfortunately, before he could even take a step, Su Ziyu grabbed his arm, and even sat on his lap, cupping his face, "Why are your eyes suddenly red?"

No! No!

The dignified eldest prince actually cried because of the betrayal of his servant!

"Stop fooling around, get off."

Qi Jinyu was tense all over, gritting her teeth and speaking in a low voice.

Su Ziyu completely disregarded his warning and was still laughing at him for crying. But as she spoke, she suddenly realized something was wrong.

Wait a minute, this guy is a prince, his mental fortitude shouldn't be this bad!

A thought flashed through his mind, and when he looked up and met Qi Jinyu's bloodshot eyes again, his legs went weak. He immediately started shouting towards the main gate, "Liu Ye, quickly call Doctor Jiang!!!"