After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

Aside from the steward, the rest of them didn't take Lu Zhiyuan seriously. In their eyes, she was just a legitimate daughter of a fallen marquis's mansion; if it weren't for the Xie family's backing, who would even know who she was?

The Marquis's mansion had fallen on hard times, her biological father had been sent to a distant post, and her biological mother was stationed at the border. Even with a maternal grandfather who was a general and an uncle who was a prime minister, what difference did it make? Her surname was Lu, not Xie. In the eyes of those arrogant and sycophantic stewards, she was just an orphan, a hostage used by the royal family to control the Xie family.

They deliberately brought in boxes of account books, mixing the new ones with the old ones, to give the newly appointed Crown Princess a hard time.

Lu Zhiyuan discerned their intentions with a single glance. She instructed Lu Yun to guard the door, Liu Ying to open the box, and Qingzhi and Han Ting to examine the account books. Ever since her mother went to the border, Qingzhi had managed all of her mother's shops. Later, when she entered the palace, Qingzhi also took over her shops. Her and her mother's shops spanned various industries, and she could easily understand the details recorded in the account books.

Han Ting is the leader of the Qinghe Gang, which also has its own businesses, so reviewing the accounts is a piece of cake for him.

Besides Qingzhi, Liuying, Hanting, and Lu Yun, there were also the Song sisters, whom her uncle had personally trained. They originally helped Qingzhi manage those shops, but considering that she was new to the Eastern Palace and didn't have her own people, Qingzhi brought them into the Eastern Palace to help.

The Song sisters were not only adept at reading the shop's account books, but also skilled in managing the household affairs. The account books related to the storeroom and the inner quarters had been handed over to them long ago. The two sisters were currently tidying up in a side hall. The Xie brothers stood outside the hall, attracting the attention of anyone passing by. While they looked, no one dared to approach and speak; the aura they exuded was different from that of ordinary guards, and it was intimidating.

In just half an hour, all the ledgers were categorized into three types.

Qingzhi looked at the managers and said, "I don't know who gave you the audacity to deceive my lady like this, mixing up new accounts, old accounts, real accounts, and fake accounts together."

The stewards held their breath and remained silent. Firstly, they were unsure if the other party had truly discerned the truth in such a short time, and they feared Qingzhi was bluffing. Secondly, they didn't believe the people brought by the Crown Princess possessed such capabilities.

Seeing through their thoughts, Qingzhi snorted coldly, grabbed a few account books, and threw them at them.

"Do you think we're blind? The paper of the old and new ledgers is different, the thickness is different, the ink is different, not to mention the old ledger is damaged, has a musty smell, and contains some insect eggs. And these ledgers, if you had put in any effort, you wouldn't have made them look so fake!"

As they spoke, the Song sisters brought over the account books they had reviewed. Any discrepancies were marked with red ink as annotations. Lu Zhiyuan gestured for Song Tinglan to deliver the account books to the steward, but after flipping through less than half of them, the steward flew into a rage.

For example, there might be leftover charcoal from the previous year, clearly recorded in the ledgers. However, after purchasing and storing it in the new year, the total quantity in the ledgers wouldn't change. This cycle repeated itself; where did all the extra charcoal go? Besides charcoal, this phenomenon also occurred with rice, flour, cooking oil, cloth, and other items delivered during festivals and holidays.

A rough calculation shows that these items alone would amount to about 20,000 taels of silver.

Twenty thousand taels of silver is enough for an ordinary family to live on for several years.

The housekeeper's face turned both white and red. Before Lu Zhiyuan could speak, he grabbed the account books and went to settle accounts with the nannies in charge of the affairs.

Seeing this, the managers all lowered their heads. Lu Zhiyuan stood up, walked up to them with her hands behind her back, and introduced them one by one.

"Han Ting, the leader of the Qinghe Gang, the largest gang in the world. You've heard of the Qinghe Gang, right? Your tricks are no match for him. Qingzhi, the president of the Yunzhou Chamber of Commerce. Why Yunzhou? Because Qingzhi's ancestral home is Yunzhou. All the shops you own have some dealings with the Yunzhou Chamber of Commerce. To falsify accounts right up to her, you really overestimate yourselves."

Let me introduce you again. This is Song Tinglan, also known as Song Xulan. She's my eldest uncle's right-hand woman, personally trained by my eldest and second aunts. She can manage not only the shops but also the messy accounts in the inner quarters. As for Lu Yun and the Xie brothers, they can't handle accounts; they're murderers. Lu Yun likes to bury people alive, and the Xie brothers like to skin them alive. Your mistress is skilled in medicine making; she can guarantee you'll live for three days after being buried underground, remaining conscious throughout the skinning process.”

A steward stammered, "Even if you are the Crown Princess, you cannot treat human life so lightly!"

Lu Zhiyuan's gaze turned fierce: "Treating human life like dirt? Should I ask Commander Ma of the Commandery to help investigate?"

The man chickened out and pulled his head back in.

"You are all veterans of the Eastern Palace, and were handpicked by His Highness the Crown Prince. I believe you are loyal to His Highness and to me. I understand the principle that 'too much purity leaves no room for fish.' What is rightfully yours, I will let you take; what is not rightfully yours, you should keep your hands to yourself."

The managers looked at each other and then all knelt on the ground.

Lu Zhiyuan ordered Liu Ying to bring a tray, on which were several items: gold ingots, silver ingots, house deeds, land deeds, a shop, handcuffs, and a bloodstained dagger.

Lu Zhiyuan picked up the dagger and twirled it twice: "I am fair in rewarding and punishing! Those who deserve reward will be rewarded handsomely, and those who deserve punishment will be punished severely. The choice between reward and punishment is up to you."

Approaching the first steward, he said, "The box you brought contains a mix of new and old accounts, but none of them are false. The ledgers are complete, the payments are clear, and even the complex accounts have notes. Even the old accounts have neat pages, indicating that you review and maintain them regularly."

The man trembled with fear, not daring to raise his head, and whispered, "I dare not take credit for what is within my duty."

Lu Zhiyuan nodded and picked up the property deed: "You entered the palace five years ago and were promoted to manager three years ago, in charge of running the restaurant under His Highness's name. Unlike other managers, you did not arrange for your family to live in the restaurant, but instead rented a house for them in the suburbs."

The manager nodded, still speaking in a low voice: "This restaurant belongs to His Highness. I am just a manager. There are rules in the restaurant that the rooms are for the manager and the staff, not for my family."

“I like people who have principles and stick to them.” Lu Zhiyuan handed the house deed to the steward: “A two-courtyard house should be enough for your family of five.”

The manager froze, looking at Lu Zhiyuan with disbelief.

A two-courtyard house? Even if he worked his entire life at His Highness's restaurant without eating or drinking, he might not be able to afford it. Land in the capital is incredibly expensive, and the closer you are to the residence of a nobleman, the more valuable it is. This house is located near the restaurant, and even though it's near the back gate, it's still shockingly expensive.

He didn't dare to take it, and just stared blankly at Lu Zhiyuan.

"This is what you deserve. If you feel bad about it, then continue to run His Highness's restaurant well as always."

The manager, holding the property deed, didn't know what to say. Lu Zhiyuan moved to the second manager. Unlike the first one, he seemed to disregard Lu Zhiyuan, and even his kneeling earlier was reluctant, following the other managers.

When Lu Zhiyuan stopped in front of him, he straightened his back and lifted his eyelids slightly.