Transmigrated as the Villain Boss's Mother

Before dawn the next morning, Li Qian got up to practice his boxing, while Xu Zhu and Li Baobao slept soundly in bed. This was one of the advantages of not having a mother-in-law or a sister-in-law; Xu Zhu could sleep as long as she wanted.

As for why Li Baobao was also lying on the bed with his undergarments up, exposing his little belly, sleeping soundly with Xu Zhu, it has to be said that he happened to see his father doing something naughty last night, and naturally made a deal with him, thus gaining the benefit of sleeping in late today.

After getting up, Xu Zhu looked at her son's sleeping posture and angrily reached out to pinch his little face. Yesterday, when Li Qian was watching her... well, you know, she was half asleep. She figured Li Qian was always trying to find opportunities to test her, so why not just let him investigate directly—he couldn't find anything anyway. Xu Zhu was already barely suppressing the thrill of Li Qian's rough thumb stroking her skin. But this brat's interruption only made her more ashamed, her face turning bright red.

"Bad boy."

Yesterday, the Li residence was in complete chaos. Princess Dening's residence was no better; it was brightly lit with fire, and imperial physicians were constantly moving in and out carrying wooden boxes. Princess Wenruo woke up once in the middle of the night and, upon learning that her face was disfigured, went berserk, smashing everything in the mansion—vases, jewelry, paintings, screens—to pieces. Princess Dening watched, feeling both heartbroken and distressed.

As expected, during the court session, Princess Dening's memorials flew onto the emperor's desk like snowflakes.

"Your Majesty, Princess Dening detained nearly half of the families of all the civil and military officials yesterday. This is truly outrageous!" A court official stepped forward, tears streaming down his face.

"I second the proposal."

"Your Majesty, no princess in history has ever dared to act so recklessly. I beg Your Majesty to make a wise judgment."

"Your Majesty, we implore you to make a wise judgment."

The Emperor looked at the kneeling officials below and felt a headache coming on. The officials were also holding their breath, their wives and children had been detained for several hours without any reason, and they had lost all face and dignity.

"I have my own decision on this matter. Do you ministers have anything else to say?" Seeing the ministers' excitement, the Emperor had no choice but to agree.

"Your Majesty, I have a matter to report. Recently, some treacherous people in the south have gathered a crowd and started an uprising..."

"Go, go and summon Princess Dening to me. She's becoming increasingly lawless." The Emperor angrily threw down his memorial after the court session.

"Greetings, Your Majesty..." Princess Dening knew why her brother had come to the palace before she even entered.

"De Ning, you've become increasingly arrogant. Last night, you used the Empress Dowager's name to summon nearly half of the imperial physicians from my Imperial Hospital, and my beloved concubine's headache didn't receive timely treatment. Today, those old ministers impeached you for privately imprisoning a minister's family member. What are you trying to do every day?" The Emperor pointed at Princess De Ning, barely suppressing his anger.

“Your Majesty, I didn’t want this to happen either. Wenruo was tricked by that vile woman and fell from her horse yesterday. I stayed by her side all night. Now Wenruo’s face is completely ruined, and her legs are probably… My poor child,” Princess Dening choked up halfway through her sentence, “I panicked in my haste and did something foolish. Your Majesty, you are a loving father and understand the heart of a parent! I didn’t know the situation was serious. Please forgive me!”

Princess Dening first recounted Wenruo's plight, then flattered the Emperor, and finally claimed she was ignorant of politics. This whole explanation completely extinguished any anger the Emperor might have felt.

"This time, I'll punish you by making you copy the 'Women's Rules' ten times and confine you to your room for six months. If this happens again, hmph!" The Emperor picked up the book heavily but put it down lightly, showing boundless indulgence towards Princess Dening.

"Your Majesty, I will remember this." Princess Dening bowed, looked up at her brother, and pleaded with red eyes, "Your Majesty, could you offer a reward throughout the land to heal Princess Wenruo's facial injuries? You know how important a woman's face is."

"Your Majesty, news has come from the front that the Emperor has spared Princess Dening and is even preparing a nationwide reward for curing Princess Wenruo," the eunuch reported to Consort Yu, bowing low.

"Spare her?" Consort Yu shook off the maid who was styling her hair and looked at the eunuch. "His Majesty is increasingly indulging that Princess Dening. A while ago, Dening said that the First Prince was studying diligently every day, and the Emperor was so pleased that he rewarded him with the Jade Purity Three Treasures; five days ago, she told the Emperor that the Empress had worked hard and deserved more consideration, and the Emperor agreed wholeheartedly, with rewards flowing into the Qiankun Palace like water. Who does Dening think she is, meddling in the Emperor's harem affairs? Isn't that ridiculous? Isn't that ridiculous?"

“This…” The eunuch dared not speak.

"This is utterly ridiculous!" Consort Yu had long disliked Princess Dening. Yesterday, she finally managed to find an opportunity to sow discord between Dening and Consort Yu, but she was easily fooled by Consort Yu's few words.

"Your Majesty, please keep your voice down."

The old woman was startled by Consort Yu's words and was afraid that others would overhear.

"What's there to be afraid of? I've disliked her for a long time! I just said it, so what?" Consort Yu was skeptical, raising her head high, her green agate bronze peacock hairpin swaying from side to side.

"Whom does my beloved concubine dislike?" The Emperor stepped over the threshold and looked at Consort Yu with a smile.

"His Majesty also said that he just can't stand you." Consort Yu's legs went weak, but fortunately, the nanny helped her up in time. Consort Yu looked at the palace maids and eunuchs kneeling on the ground, and she couldn't guess how much the Emperor had heard.

"Oh? Tell me what you've done to me." Upon hearing this, the Emperor's smile faded. Even if he doted on Consort Yu, it was just that—doting. He wouldn't tolerate such insolence.

"And you're still talking! Your Majesty insisted that our son go to that damned academy. I miss him so much." Consort Yu threw herself into the Emperor's arms, her little pink fists punching his chest repeatedly. She knew men all liked submissive, delicate women.

"Haha, what a woman's view. That academy is full of great scholars and famous figures; only there can one learn good things." Upon hearing this, the Emperor laughed heartily, pulled Consort Yu onto his lap, and began to slowly and restlessly climb upwards.

Then, indulging in pleasure during the day, one can reach a paradise of love and passion.

"Your Majesty, could you please allow my younger sister to come to the palace to keep me company?" Consort Yu hurriedly asked while the Emperor was still lost in his desire.

"The Grand Commandant's residence?" The Emperor turned over and lay down, pondering.

"Yes, Your Majesty... I haven't seen my sister for several years. The last time was at her daughter's full-moon banquet." Consort Yu's eyes were alluring, and her voice was soft and sweet. Whether it was the Emperor or a commoner, no one could resist such teasing.

"If you serve me well, I will allow you to visit your family." The Emperor stared at Consort Yu's bright red lips.

"Really?" Consort Yu asked happily, her snow-white arms exposed.

"You have no joke."

Another round of passion and romance ensued.

"Madam, these are the account books for this month. Please take a look." The head accountant entered and handed the account books to Xu Zhu.

Only then did Xu Zhu realize her role as the general's wife, and she sat up straight.

"Bring it here so I can take a look." Xu Zhu opened the ledger and couldn't help but click her tongue in admiration. It seemed the accountant was quite skilled; the tiny handwriting was incredibly elegant.

"Madam, the first few pages record the expenses for repairing and furnishing the mansion, as well as the cost of hiring maids and servants—these are the major expenses. The following pages record the daily expenses of our mansion, which are all miscellaneous expenses. Please look at the next few pages; these are the expenses for the master and madam's entertainment, which are also not insignificant. Finally, this servant has written down the total amount of silver spent." The steward, seeing his wife intently staring at the first page of the ledger for a long time without moving, immediately understood the situation and, with a sneer in his eyes, "appropriately" analyzed the situation for her.

Xu Zhu didn't notice the manager's expression at all, listening to him speak eloquently and logically. It seemed that this accountant was quite capable.

"Well done, you've worked hard!" Xu Zhu nodded in satisfaction. The accounts were well-organized and logical. "Oh, by the way, how much silver is left in the manor?"

"Reporting to Madam, there are still over five hundred taels left," the steward immediately replied.

“Five hundred taels? I remember Master Li, no, Master Li alone received several thousand taels in bounty. How come there’s so little left?” Xu Zhu frowned. The money was spent too quickly.

"Madam, the renovations and new purchases have cost a lot, so there's not much left," the steward replied calmly.

Xu Zhu opened the account book again with some skepticism. Although there were some differences between ancient and modern characters, Xu Zhu could still recognize the basic everyday characters.

After observing for a while, Xu Zhu understood. They all thought they were taking advantage of her being a peasant woman to bully her. A black lacquered bed cost a hundred taels of silver; no wonder the money was being spent so quickly. This accountant had quite the appetite. However, he was clever enough not to falsify the accounts for items Xu Zhu was familiar with, such as eggs and meat.

"I wonder who procured these things?" Xu Zhu raised his teacup, slowly blew on the tender leaves floating in the water, and took a sip of tea.

"Yes, Madam, it was Chang Liu who made the purchase." The steward felt a sense of unease, wondering whether Madam had spotted the problem with the accounts at a glance or had just stumbled upon it by chance.

"Go and call him over." Xu Zhu wasn't angry; she smiled gently.

"Then this servant will go and fetch them," the steward quickly took over the task.

"No need, let Ping'er go." Xu Zhu knew exactly what he was thinking; he was going to tip off his accomplice!

"This humble servant greets Madam. May I ask what Madam commands me?" Chang Liu entered, bowed to Xu Zhu, and glanced at the head accountant.

"Chang Liu, I heard that you are the one who goes out to purchase everything in the manor?" Xu Zhu looked at the man in front of him. He had shifty eyes, a pointed mouth, and a monkey-like face. He looked like a cunning and opportunistic person.

"It's small."

"These things you bought are ridiculously expensive!" Xu Zhu slammed the teacup down on the table with a loud bang.

“Madam, I always compare prices before buying anything, and I would never buy something at a high price.” Chang Liu looked aggrieved, as if he had been greatly slandered.

"Really? Tell me where you bought these furnishings. A screen costs fifty taels? A bed costs over a hundred taels? The screen is just ordinary silk. The bed is a black lacquered bed with outlines, yet you reported the price as nearly ten times higher. Ha, you really dare to talk such nonsense!" Xu Zhu angrily slammed her teacup down. If she hadn't read *Jin Ping Mei*, she would have almost been fooled by this Chang Liu!

It is clearly written on the gold leaf that when Pan Jinlian entered Ximen Qing's house, she spent sixteen taels of silver to buy a black lacquered bed with gold trim, and brought with her a large red gauze curtain.

Chang Liu panicked. A bed costing a dozen taels of silver would be beneath the notice of a wealthy and powerful family, but it was certainly not something a country woman could afford. How could the lady of the house, who rarely left her home, know so much about the price of a bed?

"Madam, it was that seller who cheated me, yes... it must be. Madam, please see the truth, please see the truth." Chang Liu kowtowed repeatedly, his head hitting the ground with a loud thud.

"Madam, it's highly likely that Chang Liu was unaware of this as well. You are a magnanimous person." The steward also stepped forward to plead for him.

"Shut up! Do you think I'm a fool? And you, you better remember this! How dare you!" The person in charge had been quiet, but Xu Zhu was even angrier when he spoke up.

The accounts were filled with incorrect conversions: gold to silver, silver to copper coins. They kept changing the numbers, undercharging her by several hundred taels of silver. Did they think she was stupid?

Xu Zhu threw the ledger at the person in charge's face. The ledger looked well-organized, but it was actually nothing. Look at how these accounts were done; if Xu Zhu hadn't studied mathematics, he might have been fooled.

“Ping’er, have the steward recalculate the accounts. Make sure the accounts are clear of any discrepancies, and that they return the money they took. Then report it to the authorities,” Xu Zhu said, turning to Ping’er.

"Madam, Madam, please forgive us, please spare us, Madam..." The accountant and Chang Liu kowtowed desperately, begging for mercy. The law was severe, and if they were reported to the authorities, their lives would be ruined.

Xu Zhu remained unmoved, and his investigation uncovered quite a few people. Many in the household believed she was a peasant woman who couldn't keep track of accounts and therefore brazenly embezzled money. Xu Zhu showed no mercy, sending them all to the authorities! This established Xu Zhu's authority within the household, and no one dared to harbor any further ill intentions.