Shen Ruzhi looked at her with an inquiring gaze.
Jiang Wanning motioned for Haitang to come closer and whispered a few words into her ear.
“Yes, Miss,” Haitang replied, her face lit with excitement.
The next day.
Jiang Wanning rose early. After having breakfast, she saw Shen Ruzhi off and then led Shaoyao in a different direction.
“Miss, where are we going?”
“To audit the accounts,” Jiang Wanning said nonchalantly. “Since Father has handed the power of household management to me, I must naturally conduct a proper inspection.”
Shaoyao scratched her head. “But if the Madam is unwilling to go out, must we carry all those account books back to the manor?”
Her young miss had never liked managing accounts; she only enjoyed spending money. In the past, the Madam handled the books, and later it was Auntie Liu. Even though the power had been given to Miss now, without the Madam’s help…
The corners of Jiang Wanning’s lips curled slightly. “No need. We are just going to familiarize ourselves first.”
In her previous life, after marrying into the Prince’s manor, she had managed the entire, vast Langya Estate for the sake of Pei Anqing’s household. Thinking back on it now, while she had worked herself to the bone managing the estate, that scum of a man and his mistress were off indulging in their pleasures.
However, whenever there was something she didn’t understand, someone would always mark the explanations for her the following day. Those notes belonged to Pei Yanchuan.
In her past life, she had simply assumed he did it to avoid any complications or misunderstandings.
The carriage came to a stop at Liangfu Zhai. Shaoyao assisted Jiang Wanning as she stepped down.
“Where is your manager?” Shaoyao called out to the shop assistant behind the counter.
“The manager isn’t here. What do you want?” The assistant spared them a brief, impatient glance. “Grain has been in short supply these past few days. If you haven’t made a reservation in advance, there is none for you.”
“Tell Wang Fu to come out and see me,” Jiang Wanning said, her voice cold and clear.
The assistant finally took a proper look at the two of them. “May I ask which noble family you are from?”
“How amusing,” Shaoyao sneered. “What kind of ‘noble’? You don’t even recognize your own employer.”
The assistant hesitated. This shop was an industry of the Marquis’s Manor. Usually, the ones who visited were either Auntie Liu or the Second Miss of the manor. He hadn’t really seen this particular lady before, but her aura…
The assistant did not dare to be dismissive any longer. “Please wait a moment, I will go find the manager right away.” With that, he turned and ran toward the backyard.
In less than fifteen minutes, a thin man came rushing out. The moment he saw Jiang Wanning, a flash of shock crossed his face. However, he quickly masked it, stepped forward hurriedly, and bowed with his hands clasped.
“Eldest Miss.”
“Please forgive me, Eldest Miss. Usually, it is Auntie Liu and the Second Miss who visit, so the workers in the shop do not recognize you.”
Jiang Wanning’s eyes were cold as she cast a faint glance at the assistant behind Wang Fu. “If they don’t recognize me, does that justify this kind of attitude toward other customers? One would think my Liangfu Zhai is some sort of sacred ground where customers must rely on a shop assistant’s whims.”
The assistant’s body trembled, and he immediately lowered his head. “Eldest Miss, please forgive me! I was only being lazy for a moment…”
Wang Fu glared fiercely at the assistant, then turned back to Jiang Wanning with a polite air. “Eldest Miss, the shop has been incredibly busy these few days. Everyone is exhausted, which led to some negligence in their work. I will certainly discipline them strictly.”
Seeing that Jiang Wanning had no intention of speaking, Wang Fu continued, “Might I ask what brings the Eldest Miss here today?”
Wang Fu’s heart was drumming. This was a grain shop, not a rouge shop. This Eldest Miss had never set foot here before.
“Father has entrusted the management of the household to me. Finding myself free today, I thought I would check the accounts. As I happened to be passing by, I decided to start with the grain shop’s books.”
As she spoke, Jiang Wanning sat down in a nearby chair of her own accord. “Manager Wang, don’t mind me. Just bring the account books for me to look over.”
The assistant looked at Manager Wang with a nervous expression.
Wang Fu, however, remained as steady as a rock. He offered a fawning smile. “It is my honor to receive guidance from the Eldest Miss. What are you waiting for? Go and bring the account books here.”
Wang Fu signaled the assistant with his eyes. The assistant immediately replied, “Eldest Miss, please wait a moment. I will bring them right away.”
Jiang Wanning took the tea handed to her by Shaoyao. She used the lid to brush away the floating tea leaves, but her hand paused as she brought the cup to her lips.
“Manager Wang, be careful not to bring the wrong books.”
Wang Fu was taken aback, then laughed. “What is the Eldest Miss saying? What else would my grain shop have besides grain accounts? Naturally, I won’t bring the wrong ones.”
“That would be for the best,” Jiang Wanning said. “I have simply heard that the texture and color of the paper in new account books are different from old ones. The scent of the ink differs as well. Manager Wang, have someone bring over all the account books from the last three years.”
A cold shiver ran through Wang Fu’s heart. He quickly replied, “Others might not know where the older books are kept. I will go and retrieve them personally.”
Jiang Wanning set down her teacup, lifted her gaze, and smiled slightly. “Then I shall trouble Manager Wang.”
Wang Fu walked to the backyard.
The assistant whispered, “Manager, the Eldest Miss has never cared about these things. Why is she doing this today? Should I go to the Marquis’s Manor to tip off Auntie Liu?”
Wang Fu rubbed the thumb ring on his other hand. “No need. From the look of her today, it doesn’t seem like she was ‘passing by.’ It seems she came here specifically. “
“Then what should we do? There is a set of fake accounts for this year, and we don’t even have the ones from previous years.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Wang Fu said. “When has this Eldest Miss ever managed accounts? Even if we show her the real ones, she won’t be able to make heads or tails of them. Besides, three years of records is a lot; she won’t necessarily finish reading them. I suspect the main wife of the Marquis’s Manor is intentionally making things difficult for the concubine but doesn’t want to leave the house herself, so she sent the Eldest Miss to just go through the motions.”
The assistant agreed. “The manager is indeed farsighted. Then should I bring all the real accounts over?”
Wang Fu nodded. Just as the assistant reached the door, Wang Fu stopped him. “Swap the ones from the last three months and put them at the very bottom.”
The accounts from the last three months contained the most falsifications. Although the person coming was an amateur, on the off-chance she noticed one or two inconsistencies and reported back to the main wife, it would be trouble. That Madam was not so easily fooled.
The assistant turned back and followed Wang Fu’s instructions to swap the books.
When they returned to the front shop, Wang Fu smiled. “Eldest Miss, the account books are all here.”
Jiang Wanning tilted her head to look at the thick stack of books. Her finger slid slowly down the side of the pile until it suddenly stopped. She tapped a specific spot, and Shaoyao pulled out the volume Wanning had pointed to.
Jiang Wanning flipped through the pages one by one. The further she got, the faster she flipped.
Seeing this, Wang Fu felt even more relieved. At the rate Jiang Wanning was reading, let alone finding issues with the accounts, she probably wouldn’t even notice a typo.
Just as he was feeling smug, Jiang Wanning slammed the ledger shut with a heavy thud.
“Eldest Miss, is there a problem?”