Inside the main courtyard’s inner room.
The moment the door closed, Xiao Chenghuai’s upright figure suddenly swayed.
“Cough, cough, cough!”
He abruptly released Jiang Zhaoxue’s hand, supported himself against the table, and coughed violently. A sickly flush appeared on his originally pale face.
That confrontation just now had exhausted the little strength and spirit he had painstakingly gathered.
“What are you trying to prove by forcing yourself?”
Jiang Zhaoxue frowned.
The arrogant attitude she had displayed earlier, as if she could challenge the entire world, instantly disappeared.
She stepped forward quickly, grabbed hold of the unsteady man, and efficiently half-supported, half-carried him onto the soft couch.
“Lie down. Don’t move.”
Her tone was harsh, but her movements were extremely gentle. With a flip of her fingers, several silver needles were already held in her hand.
Xiao Chenghuai leaned against the pillow. Because of his heavy breathing, his chest rose and fell violently. His eyes were half-closed as he watched the young woman bend down, her expression focused, while the silver needles accurately pierced the acupoints on his chest.
As the silver needles entered, a warm current slowly flowed through the acupoints. Xiao Chenghuai’s coughing gradually subsided.
Jiang Zhaoxue shook her head.
“I finally managed to heal you a little, and you ruined it again!”
After a long while, Xiao Chenghuai slowly opened his eyes. The clarity returned to his deep gaze.
He looked at Jiang Zhaoxue, who was removing the needles.
“Who was it that said she wanted me to stand up for her just now? Hmm?”
Jiang Zhaoxue was slightly stunned. Hearing the raised tone at the end of his sentence, her ears suddenly felt strangely itchy.
Xiao Chenghuai did not notice her unusual reaction. Instead, he suddenly reached under the pillow and pulled out a heavy purple sandalwood box.
“Open it and take a look.”
His voice was hoarse.
Jiang Zhaoxue raised her eyebrows and suspiciously took the box from him before opening it.
Inside the box lay half of a cold, hard bronze seal.
Jiang Zhaoxue recognized what it was at a glance.
The main seal for the internal affairs of Jing Prince’s residence!
Dowager Consort Meng held the keys to the treasury and the other half of the seal, which was why she had been able to control the financial authority.
Yet the most crucial half was actually in Xiao Chenghuai’s hands!
She frowned speechlessly.
“You already had this, yet you were still being tormented half to death? Are you playing around?”
Xiao Chenghuai could not help but laugh. He explained:
“What use is having the seal? Without anyone capable of using its authority, it is nothing more than a useless object.”
“Then what does this mean now?”
Jiang Zhaoxue looked up at him.
“Since you have already played the villain today, you might as well go all the way.”
Xiao Chenghuai looked at her, the corners of his lips curving into a smile.
“Madam Meng has controlled the household affairs for three years. The accounts of the residence have already become a complete mess. When the time comes, those imperial relatives outside will bite at you like mad dogs, afraid that you will block their source of wealth. Rather than waiting for that, you should seize the initiative now.”
Xiao Chenghuai looked at her steadily, his eyes filled with trust.
“I’m giving this seal to you. Check the accounts for this prince.”
“If anything happens, this prince will take responsibility for you.”
Jiang Zhaoxue looked at the heavy seal in her hand, and her eyes instantly lit up with astonishing brightness.
She did not have many hobbies. Aside from studying mysticism and feng shui, what she loved most was going through accounts and calculating schemes against others.
“Why didn’t you say so earlier, Your Highness!”
Jiang Zhaoxue stuffed the seal into her robe and smiled like a little fox that had just stolen something delicious.
“I’m good at checking accounts! You can just rest and recover without worry. I guarantee that whatever they have taken, I’ll make them spit it all back out exactly as it was. Even if a dog comes, it’ll have to leave a layer of fur behind!”
Looking at her greedy yet lively appearance, Xiao Chenghuai felt that even the lingering illness that had plagued him for days had become somewhat lighter.
He closed his eyes and softly replied with a single word.
“Good.”
The next morning.
The door to the accounting office, the most important financial area of Jing Prince’s residence, was kicked open with a loud bang!
After following Jiang Zhaoxue for only two days, Laifu’s back was now straighter than the stone pillars beside the accounting office entrance.
With both hands on his waist, he raised his voice with great authority.
“Princess Consort has arrived! Why haven’t you come out to welcome her?”
“Keep it low-key, keep it low-key!”
Jiang Zhaoxue laughed and patted Laifu’s shoulder.
Inside the accounting office, Manager Ge, who had been leisurely drinking tea, trembled when he heard the commotion. The scalding tea spilled onto his lap, burning him so badly that he yelped and jumped up.
When he raised his head, he saw Jiang Zhaoxue walking in with Granny Cui and several sturdy old maidservants, striding confidently into the room.
“Oh my, Princess Consort, what brings you to this humble accounting office?”
Manager Ge’s eyes shifted around as he hurried forward with a flattering smile full of wrinkles.
Although his waist was bent, there was a hint of contempt hidden in his eyes.
Dowager Consort Meng had already instructed him long ago that the accounting office was the lifeline of the entire prince’s residence.
Even if this wild girl had shown off her authority in the reception hall yesterday—
When faced with the mountain of account books piled up in the accounting office, with their complicated and tangled records, wouldn’t she still be completely lost?
Jiang Zhaoxue walked straight to the grand chair and sat down. Her gaze slowly circled above Manager Ge’s head.
Good heavens.
The gray-black murky aura above this old man’s head was so thick it looked as if it could drip ink. Just how much dishonest money had he taken?
“Stop wasting time. Bring me the general accounts from the past three years, the detailed records, and the warehouse inventory tokens. Bring everything out.”
Jiang Zhaoxue tapped her fingers against the table, her voice cold and crisp.
Manager Ge showed a troubled expression and pretended to sigh.
“Princess Consort, you may not know this, but these accounts are extremely complicated. Without the dowager consort’s seal, this humble servant truly does not dare…”
Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Zhaoxue flipped her wrist, and half of a cold, hard bronze seal was slammed heavily onto the table.
“Will this do?”
The moment Manager Ge’s eyes landed on the bronze seal, his legs suddenly went weak, and he fell to his knees.
The prince… the prince had actually given her the main seal?
“Laifu, bring people to move the account books! Whoever dares to stop you, break their legs and throw them out!”
Jiang Zhaoxue shouted coldly.
“Got it!”
Laifu’s spirits soared. He led the people into the inner storage room like a pack of fierce wolves and tigers. In less than half an hour, stacks of account books as tall as a person were piled in front of Jiang Zhaoxue.
Manager Ge collapsed on the ground, still secretly sneering in his heart.
So what if she brought out the books?
The accounts prepared by the dowager consort were flawless. With nothing more than a little country girl who grew up in the countryside, even if she spent three months looking through them, she would never find anything.
However, in the next moment, Manager Ge’s smug smile froze on his face.
Jiang Zhaoxue flipped through the accounts with her left hand while holding a brush in her right. Her speed was so fast that it looked as if she was simply fanning herself with the pages.
“Third month of the seventh year of Tianqi. Two pieces of premium aged ginseng were purchased. The account recorded three thousand taels of silver, but the actual amount was transferred into the Meng family’s private treasury.”
“Fifth month of the eighth year of Tianqi. The main courtyard renovation was allocated ten thousand taels of silver. In reality, only three hundred taels were used to purchase inferior wood. The remaining nine thousand seven hundred taels were used to fill the gambling debts of the eldest son of the Meng family!”
“In the winter of the same year, three thousand jin of silver-thread charcoal meant for the prince’s main courtyard was withheld and converted into silver, which was sent to the dowager consort’s maternal family…”
With every sentence Jiang Zhaoxue read, Manager Ge’s face became paler.
In less than the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Jiang Zhaoxue snapped the last account book shut and let out a cold laugh.
“What a truly ‘compassionate’ Dowager Consort Meng! In just three years, she misappropriated a total of six hundred and fifty thousand taels of the prince’s residence’s funds to subsidize her maternal family, completely draining the foundation of the dignified Jing Prince’s residence! She even dared to withhold money for the prince’s life-saving medicine!”
She stood up and looked down at Manager Ge, who was already trembling like a sieve.
“Tie him up. Bring the account books. We’re going to Shoukang Courtyard to collect the debt!”