The Poisonous Consort, the Regent's Beloved

Liu Hui's face was pale, and her eyes were filled with disbelief as she looked at Su Fuying. "You, you were actually checking the accounts?"

Su Fuying smiled slightly. "Now that I, the princess, am in charge of everything in the manor, if the accounts are not thoroughly investigated, who will I complain to if the deficit falls on my head in the future?"

Liu Hui's face was ashen, and her voice grew increasingly shrill and piercing, "You're just a country bumpkin, what do you know about auditing accounts!"

Upon hearing this, the old lady looked displeased and glared at Liu Hui. She said in a deep voice, "Ying'er is exceptionally intelligent and diligent in her studies, while Wan'er was raised in a secluded mansion and has ended up like this."

Then, the old lady added firmly, "In addition, regarding the accounts from the past ten years or so, I will definitely have Ying'er investigate them thoroughly and get to the bottom of it to see who put this money into their own pockets."

As soon as she finished speaking, Liu Hui felt a chill run down her spine, and a fine layer of sweat appeared on her back, because these accounts simply could not withstand close scrutiny.

Her secret stash of money was stolen by a despicable thief, so she had to make new plans for Wan'er. She originally intended to frame Su Fuying later, but she didn't expect that Wan'er could actually understand the account book.

"How could that be, Mother? I've looked at these ledgers for over ten years without a single mistake. How could they fall apart when they came into Su Fuying's hands?" Liu Hui said with a forced smile, trying to shift the blame onto Su Fuying.

Before the old lady could even scold her, Su Fuying suddenly spoke up, "The account book is very detailed, but I specifically asked the manager of Manyuelou to check it. Mother can have someone come and confront her." Her voice was gentle, but her eyes were firm and powerful, making people take notice.

Full Moon Pavilion?

"How could you possibly have invited the manager of Manyuelou?"

Liu Hui clearly didn't believe her words. Full Moon Pavilion was the largest restaurant in the capital, owned by the Regent Prince; reservations usually had to be made half a month in advance.

How could we possibly get that little slut to do anything?

"How could I not be invited? If there is nothing wrong with Mother's account books, then I am naturally not afraid of being investigated."

"You...you actually dare to doubt that there's something wrong with my ledgers!" Liu Hui's face turned extremely ugly. She hadn't expected Su Fuying to dare to openly challenge her authority.

“Mother, I was just following Grandmother’s instructions and had no intention of offending her.” Su Fuying smiled slightly, a sly glint in her eyes.

"Hmph! Fine, since that's the case, then let's invite the manager of Manyuelou to come and see if there are any problems with the accounts!" Liu Hui gritted her teeth, determined to have a showdown with Su Fuying.

She didn't believe Su Fuying could actually hire the manager of Manyuelou; he was just trying to intimidate her.

Not long after, the manager of Manyuelou arrived at the Su residence. Liu Hui looked at the middle-aged man in front of her and sneered disdainfully, "Just anyone you call here is the manager of Manyuelou? Is Ying'er taking advantage of her mother because she's never met the manager of Manyuelou before?"

"Shut up." Su Chengde suddenly spoke, then immediately changed his tune, stepped forward, cupped his hands to the middle-aged man, and said with a fawning smile, "It's actually Manager He. I didn't know Manager He was here. I'm so sorry for not welcoming you properly."

As a court official, he naturally looked down on a businessman, but since the regent was a member of the emperor's faction, he had to put on a good show even though he was a member of the emperor's party.

"Yes, I was entrusted by Princess Chang Le to come and take a look." The middle-aged man simply responded, causing Su Chengde to clench his fists inwardly.

"Manager He, thank you for your trouble."

Su Fuying spoke calmly, which completely panicked Liu Hui. How could this be? How could she know Manager He?

Manager He carefully examined the ledger and compared it with the evidence provided by Su Fuying. Ultimately, he concluded, "Madam, there are indeed some problems with this ledger. Although the accounts are very detailed, some income and expenditure are not recorded, and the whereabouts of several payments from previous years are unknown."

Upon hearing this result, Liu Hui's face turned deathly pale. Her eyes widened as she stared at the shopkeeper in disbelief, her heart filled with anger and fear.

“Grandmother, you see, I was right, wasn’t I?” Su Fuying glanced at Liu Hui disdainfully and showed the old lady her results.

"You scoundrel! How dare you embezzle family funds!" The old lady trembled with anger as she pointed at Liu Hui and shouted.

"Mother, please calm down! Your daughter-in-law knows she was wrong, please punish me!" Liu Hui was so frightened that she immediately knelt down and begged for forgiveness. She knew that the mistake she had made this time was too big and that she would probably not be able to get away easily.

The old woman stared intently at the person kneeling on the ground. "Tell me, where did all this money go?"

"Go, go..."

Liu Hui was speechless for a moment, stammering that she couldn't say where the money went. She could have easily said that she hadn't spent the money and had saved it for her two children, but that it had been burgled a few days ago and that her yard had been trespassed on. Regardless of whether there was anything wrong with it, saying it would ruin her reputation.

“Grandmother, Mother must have some unspeakable reason. She wouldn’t squander such a large sum of money; she’s probably saving it for us children.”

Upon hearing Su Fuying's words, Liu Hui didn't have time to think and quickly followed up, "Yes, yes, Mother, your daughter-in-law just wanted to save some dowry for Wan'er. The money hasn't been spent yet; it's being kept with me."

"Alright, now that I need to settle the accounts, since the money hasn't been touched, I'll trouble you, Mother, to give me the money that has been owed over the years, totaling 26.8, the land deed for a shop on the most prosperous street in the capital, and the land deed for three estates in the suburbs."

"boom."

Something exploded in her head. Liu Hui's crying gradually stopped, and she stared blankly at Su Fuying, her pale face filled with shock.

She was wondering why this little bitch was being so kind; it turned out she was waiting for her here.

"How many?"

Su Chengde couldn't sit still any longer. Two hundred thousand? How dare she!

"My lord, I have my reasons. Please let me explain."

Liu Hui hurriedly grasped at the last straw, but where could she get such a large sum of money?

Su Chengde was filled with anger and was about to lash out at her when he looked at Liu Hui's face. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his heart, as if a voice was telling him that he couldn't get angry at Liu Hui.

With a long sigh of relief, Su Chengde gradually calmed down. Changing his attitude from before, he turned to the old lady and pleaded, "Mother, Hui'er didn't do it on purpose. I will have Hui'er come up with the money. Please don't punish her."

Upon hearing this, a hint of inquiry flashed in Su Fuying's eyes as her gaze lingered between the two men. She had noticed something amiss earlier; Su Chengde's attitude seemed somewhat unstable, though she wasn't entirely certain. After observing him for so long today, she confirmed the answer that had been on the tip of her tongue.