The Flourishing Era of Female Merchants

After a moment, the steward led the accountant to the study. The accountant spread out the ledgers in front of Liu Zhan. "Young Master, it's all here. The amount is not small. According to Master's wishes, it is deposited in Tianxiang Money Shop, Wanxing Money Shop, and Yongtai Money Shop."

Liu Zhan nodded. This money was the Liu family's current available funds. When the debt collectors came knocking, they would probably have no choice but to pay them off. Fortunately, the Liu family could still afford to pay that amount.

Liu Zhan sighed deeply, ignoring the steward and accountant, and strode out of the study towards Liu Xuan's study. To withdraw silver from the bank, one needed one's father's seal. Currently, both father and mother were still in prison, but fortunately, given father's habits, such valuable items would definitely be kept in the study.

After searching through Liu Xuan's study, Liu Zhan finally found the seal in a hidden compartment. Looking at the seal in his hand, a smile appeared on Liu Zhan's lips. He quickly put the seal in his pocket and hurriedly left the study.

At Wanxing Money Exchange, Liu Zhan froze on the spot after hearing what the manager had just said. He forced a smile and said urgently, "How is this possible? Could there be a mistake? How could the silver my Liu family entrusted to your money exchange be gone?"

Seeing Liu Zhan's disbelief, the shopkeeper calmly said, "Young Master Liu, the bank's accounts show that the Liu family indeed has no money left!"

Liu Zhan's eyes narrowed. "Hmph, could it be that your bank swallowed it?"

The shopkeeper frowned. "Young Master Liu, you can't just say things like that. Look, it's all recorded clearly here. The Liu family's money was withdrawn a few days ago. And look, there's even Master Liu's seal here!"

Liu Zhan looked at the record and saw that it did indeed bear his father's seal, but... who took the money?

Liu Zhan's heart skipped a beat, and a bad premonition immediately arose. He suddenly grabbed the shopkeeper's wrist, "Do you know who came to collect this money?"

Who could possibly obtain Father's seal?

A hint of displeasure flashed in the shopkeeper's eyes, but seeing Liu Zhan's anxious look, he frowned, glanced in a certain direction, and said, "Ding Fu was supposed to be on duty that day. Go and ask Ding Fu if he remembers."

Following the shopkeeper's gaze, Liu Zhan saw Ding Fu behind the counter and immediately rushed forward, "Tell me quickly, who was it that used my father's seal to withdraw the silver that day?"

Ding Fu pondered for a moment, then immediately realized something. "Oh, that day it was the young master of the Liu family. He said that Master Liu was currently in prison and could only instruct him to come and withdraw the money. Originally, I was wondering if he should take all of such a large sum of money. But then I thought, the Liu family is going through a lot of trouble right now, and they probably need the money, so I didn't have any doubts. It just so happened that the master was inspecting the area that day, so I asked the master for permission, and the master agreed."

Young Master Liu? Liu Zhan's head buzzed. He naturally knew who this Young Master Liu, whom Ding Fu was talking about, was!

Liu Jing! It was actually him who took the silver?

What was he going to do? The unease in his heart grew stronger. Liu Zhan thought of something and dared not linger here. He quickly left Wanxing Money Shop and ran anxiously towards Yongtai Money Shop.

Upon arriving at Yongtai Money Shop, Liu Zhan learned that, just like at Wanxing Money Shop, all the silver deposited by the Liu family there had been withdrawn. Liu Zhan almost expected that Tianxiang Money Shop would suffer the same fate. However, he still held onto a sliver of hope that the silver at Tianxiang Money Shop was still there. But when the manager of Tianxiang Money Shop informed him that the silver had been taken away a few days earlier by Liu Jing, who had come to collect the silver on Liu Master's orders, bearing Liu Master's seal, Liu Zhan was struck dumb.

Gone! All the silver the Liu family had stored in the three major banks was taken by Liu Jing!

Liu Jing... Liu Jing!

Yes, Liu Jing. Liu Zhan was startled, as if he had thought of something. Without any delay, he quickly ran out of the money shop. Liu Zhan, he must find him and ask him where all that silver had gone!

He was determined to make Liu Zhan hand over that silver; that silver was now the lifeblood of the Liu family!

However, the unease that permeated Liu Zhan's heart could not be dispelled. Even as he left the money shop, he did not notice a tall figure brushing past him. When the man saw Liu Zhan's hurried manner, his handsome eyebrows furrowed slightly, as if he was thinking about something. After a moment, he strode into the money shop.

"Where is Liu Jing? Where is the Second Young Master? Tell me quickly where Liu Jing is!" As soon as Liu Zhan entered the gate of the Liu residence, he asked the servants a barrage of questions, startling them.

"Second Young Master? Didn't the Second Young Master go to Liuzhou to handle some matters the day before yesterday?" The butler frowned. The eldest young master usually ignored the second young master. Why was he looking for the second young master today?

"Liuzhou?" Liu Zhan frowned. "What about the Second Madam?"

"The Second Madam has been feeling unwell these past two days and has rarely left the courtyard," the steward replied. As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Zhan hurriedly turned and left. Seeing that Liu Zhan was in such a hurry, as if something important had happened, the steward immediately followed.

When they arrived at the Second Madam's courtyard, it was completely silent. Usually, only the Second Young Master would come to this courtyard. When the Master was alive, he would leave frequently. Due to the pressure from the Madam, even the servants would try to have as little contact with the Second Madam as possible.

Liu Zhan searched every room, but couldn't find Yunniang anywhere. His face grew increasingly grim. "Where is she? Where is she?"

Looking at the empty dressing table in Yunniang's room, Liu Zhan, no matter how unwilling he was to believe it, had to face the fact that the Second Madam was gone! Liu Jing had gone to Liuzhou to handle some matters…

"How did you serve her? Didn't you even know the Second Madam was missing?" Liu Zhan grabbed a teacup from the table and smashed it on the ground with a loud crack, startling everyone.

The butler was also taken aback by this turn of events, his face turning deathly pale. "Young Master, this... Madam instructed that we must not serve the Second Madam, and that we should pretend she doesn't exist... this..."

It doesn't exist? It really doesn't exist anymore!

Liu Zhan felt even more frustrated. "Now you're blaming my mother? Humph, that damned Liu Jing, report him to the authorities! Liu Jing must have absconded with the money!"

"Yes, this old servant will go right away..." The steward immediately withdrew, but just as he reached the door, he heard Liu Zhan's voice again...

"Wait!" Liu Zhan seemed to have thought of something, and his face became even more ugly. If he reported it to the authorities now, the news would spread very quickly, and the creditors would know that the Liu family's money had been embezzled. The Liu family would probably be even more troubled.