Quick Transmigration: The Green Tea Mistress's Guide to Seduction - A Master's Handbook

The ledger was placed on the table.

Besides Xie Qingyu and Madam Hou, only Granny Lai was inside the room; even Tingling couldn't come in.

Lady Hou looked at Xie Qingyu with a hint of annoyance in her eyes, but less dissatisfaction.

"This is your account book. Let Granny Lai tell you what problems there are in the account book," said Madam Hou.

"Please take a look, young mistress." Granny Lai opened one of the account books, some pages of which were folded up.

"These folded sections are where the ledgers don't match, meaning there's a discrepancy between last month's and this month's records. Some are also clearly wrong. For example, the purchase price of Coptis chinensis is 20 taels and half a catty, which is obviously written incorrectly, but the general ledger is still calculated based on this. This ledger is problematic."

There were many problems on one of the account books that Granny Lai picked up at random.

After Granny Lai had said a few things, Madam Hou finally spoke.

“I know you haven’t managed the accounts before. This shop must have been managed by your stepmother or her manager. It’s easy to be careless when it’s not your own shop, which is why the people in the shop managed to fool you.”

Madam Hou took a sip of tea, picked up another account book beside her, and said, "After you married into the family, the manager of your shop did come here to check the accounts with you. They came twice in the two months since you got married, but the first time they ran into our family's manager and ended up going to Granny Lai's place to check the accounts without really knowing what was going on."

Madam Hou pushed the account book toward Xie Qingyu, "These are their account books for the past two months. They still look profitable. Look, the shop has also contributed some money in the past two months. I've already asked Granny Lai to give it to you."

"Ah..." Xie Qingyu's face showed a suitable expression of surprise, "I had initially forgotten about the dowry of these shops, and I didn't expect them to return. I didn't tell anyone in the household beforehand..."

Xie Qingyu looked somewhat surprised, and seeing that the Lady Hou's expression didn't seem fake, her expression softened.

"It's just that your stewards stumbled in by accident; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to get in even if the manor didn't have proper identification." The Lady of the Marquis's words seemed to disclaim any responsibility.

Xie Qingyu simply listened.

Everyone knew she was taking the blame for Qin Lingrong.

Otherwise, how could those stewards have gotten in without the token? It must have been Qin Lingrong who happened to run into them when he returned to the mansion.

"These are minor matters. Although the shop lost money before, the accounts for the past two months have been quite good. You can handle these accounts yourself. The managers will be sent to you next month. If there's anything you don't understand, just have someone call Granny Lai." Seeing that Xie Qingyu believed her, Madam Hou felt relieved and began to dismiss the people.

"Thank you, Mother." Xie Qingyu's embarrassment had not yet faded.

It was unusual for Lady Hou to refrain from telling Xie Qingyu to win over Qin Lingrong's heart.

As Xie Qingyu came out, Granny Lai took the box from the table and handed it to Tingling. She also sent a maid to take the account book back with them.

Only after leaving the Lady of the Marquis's courtyard did Tingling look at the box in her hand. With the maid from the Lady of the Marquis's courtyard beside her, she could only weigh it in her hand and guess what was inside.

When they returned to the courtyard, Tingling placed the box on the table. Only after Xie Qingyu gave her two meaningful glances did she realize what was happening and quickly gave the little maid some reward money.

After the maid left, Lingcai murmured, "It's been so long since I've given anyone a tip; I almost forgot."

Ting Ling's words were true; Xie Qingyu had a hard time before, and no one needed their money.

"Just remember that in the future." Xie Qingyu paused for a moment. "You're the only head maid I have. It's not enough in this Marquis's mansion. Among the maids in the courtyard, which one do you think is usable? You can promote them, at least to be a second-class maid first, so they can come into the house to serve you and you'll have someone to take turns with."

"That's fine too. It's really not good for Miss to be alone right now."

Xie Qingyu had no nanny by her side, and she was the only head maid, which was indeed not enough.

It was fine when they didn't have much money, so it wasn't a problem for her to go out with them.

Now the young lady has five thousand taels of silver. When they all went out, there wasn't even a single person left in the room to guard her.

"I think the red bean in the yard is alright. Observe it for two more days, and then choose two to bring into the house." The red bean Xie Qingyu mentioned was the maid who kept watch last night.

"Okay!" Tingling replied crisply, her gaze falling on the box on the table. "Where do we take this?"

Xie Qingyu also looked at the box on the table, opened it with a quick gesture, and saw gleaming white silver ingots.

Presumably for her convenience, there were silver ingots inside in addition to silver notes.

Xie Qingyu glanced at it briefly; it was nearly a thousand taels.

When Tingling saw this, her eyes widened in surprise. "Why is the Lady of the Marquis suddenly giving the young lady money?"

"This is the shop's profit. Put it away and lock it up separately," Xie Qingyu instructed.

"Great!" Tingling couldn't have been happier than today.

"Go to our storeroom and pick out a few things that can be used as a thank-you gift," Xie Qingyu said.

"Is it to be sent to the Lady of the Marquis?" Tingling asked.

"For the second young master."

“Then I’ll pick out some suitable ones and let Miss take a look,” Tingling said crisply.

Perhaps because the storeroom wasn't very well stocked, Tingling quickly brought over the items. "Miss, please take a look at these. The Four Treasures of the Study and some decorative items, should that be alright?"

Even those who listen to spirits have no experience in this area, but they do know exactly what they need.

"These are fine." Xie Qingyu glanced at them and didn't complain.

Anyway, Qin Shenzhi wouldn't care what it was.

"Let Hongdou come with me, you stay inside and keep watch," Xie Qingyu said.

Tingling's expression showed a visibly disappointed look.

Xie Qingyu glanced into the inner room. "In this courtyard, you are the only person I trust the most. Now that we have these things in the house, I don't feel comfortable letting anyone else guard it."

Upon hearing Xie Qingyu's words, Tingling's expression immediately improved, and she even seemed a little embarrassed. "Then Miss, please take Hongdou with you. I will definitely take good care of the house."

Xie Qingyu waited until nightfall before heading to Qin Shenzhi's courtyard.

Tingling called Hongdou over in advance and assigned tasks to her.

Hongdou didn't seem surprised when she heard that Xie Qingyu was going to Qin Shenzhi's place. Not only could she bring things, but she could also lead the way for Xie Qingyu.

Whether it was because there were fewer people at night or because Hongdou was leading the way, Xie Qingyu didn't encounter a single person on her way from her courtyard to Qin Shenzhi's courtyard in the outer courtyard.

Xie Qingyu was now completely certain that Hongdou was Qin Shenzhi's person.