TRBDM -Chapter 85 The Account Book Issue

“Hm?” Xie Wanrou didn’t react at once.

Seeing the hesitation in her expression, Jiang Yuelin felt he might have gone too far with his joke. He immediately said, “I was only speaking casually. Miss Xie, please don’t mind it.”

“No, not at all.” Xie Wanrou had recovered by then. “I’ll make the pastries again tomorrow—so long as Lord Jiang doesn’t find them disagreeable.”

How could Jiang Yuelin possibly dislike them? He had never tasted pastries more suited to his palate.

“They’re very good. Even better than the imperial kitchen’s.”

When Jiang Yuelin praised someone, his tone was no different from usual, yet it still made the tips of Xie Wanrou’s ears flush faintly red.

Aside from Xie Lan, who had once said her pastries were the best, Jiang Yuelin was the first outsider to praise her like this.

Xie Lan had adored his elder sister since childhood, believing that even a single strand of her hair was the best in the world.

His compliments were heartwarming, but inevitably filtered through sibling affection—hardly entirely objective.

But Jiang Yuelin, Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, who had handled countless cases with iron impartiality—his praise had to be genuine.

No one is immune to the desire for affirmation. Especially not Xie Wanrou, whose confidence had long since been ground down by years of suppression and denial from Lei Lieshan.

“Lord Jiang, thank you for your affirmation.”

“I’m only stating the truth.”

Xie Wanrou smiled, then bade Jiang Yuelin farewell.

After leaving the Court of Judicial Review, the carriage rolled leisurely back.

Suddenly, the sharp neighing of a horse rang out, and the carriage came to an abrupt halt.

“What happened?” The sudden stop threw Xie Wanrou forward; she nearly hit her head.

Once the carriage steadied, the driver reported, “Miss, a woman on horseback has blocked the road ahead.”

Xie Wanrou lifted the curtain and looked outside.

There was Luo Feiyang, holding the reins and sitting tall upon a magnificent steed, arrogantly blocking their path.

She hadn’t expected Luo Feiyang to be this impatient—she had barely left the Court of Judicial Review before the woman came after her again.

Xie Wanrou and Luo Feiyang locked eyes from a distance.

The visitor clearly harbored ill intent.

“Oh? With Lord Jiang backing you up, your gaze has grown bolder now. Xie Wanrou, as Lei Lieshan’s wife, he’s only just been imprisoned and you’re already eager to latch onto the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. What remarkable skill.”

Luo Feiyang sneered at her, eyes brimming with contempt.

“His Majesty has already issued an edict granting me a divorce from Lei Lieshan. I now have no relation to him whatsoever.”

“A divorce?” A crack appeared in Luo Feiyang’s previously unshakable expression.

That wasn’t what Lei Lieshan had told her.

He had said he would repudiate Xie Wanrou, seize her dowry, and then formally marry her with all the proper rites and celebration.

So how had it suddenly become a mutual divorce?

When she learned that Lei Lieshan was to be investigated by the Court of Judicial Review, Luo Feiyang hadn’t been overly concerned.

After all, he was a man of the Third Prince. At present, no one in court could rival the Third Prince’s position.

Those affiliated with him had grown increasingly bold as well.

She had assumed that with the Third Prince’s protection, no one would dare move against Lei Lieshan.

But what Luo Feiyang hadn’t anticipated was that the Emperor himself would intervene.

To obtain an imperial edict for divorce required more than the status of a fifth-rank titled noblewoman from a marquis household—it reflected the Emperor’s own will.

“Miss Luo, I’ve long known that you and Lei Lieshan share mutual affection. Now this works out perfectly—he can properly marry you as his principal wife.”

Xie Wanrou smiled lightly. “There’s only one condition: that he leaves the Court of Judicial Review alive. If the court finds him innocent, when the two of you wed, I will sincerely offer my blessings.”

“…” Luo Feiyang was rendered speechless.

If even the Emperor had personally intervened, how could Lei Lieshan possibly walk out of the Court of Judicial Review unscathed?

Every word Xie Wanrou spoke stabbed at Luo Feiyang.

Seeing her frozen in place, Xie Wanrou let go of the carriage curtain and said to the driver, “Let’s go.”

The carriage turned and departed smoothly, leaving Luo Feiyang disheveled in the wind.

After returning to the marquis’s residence, Xie Wanrou went to the study and picked up a cookbook.

Tomorrow, she planned to make Jiang Yuelin a dessert she had never attempted before: Honey Puff Nut Flowers and Ice-Cold Yuanzi.

The weather was getting warmer; a bowl of chilled Yuanzi was naturally a perfect indulgence.

Her two younger brothers had been studying so diligently lately, neglecting sleep and meals, rising at the rooster’s crow. Xie Wanrou felt a pang of sympathy for them, so the pastries she made were for them as well.

At noon, someone delivered a medicinal soup.

Xie Wanrou glanced at it. It wasn’t Xie Wanyi’s handwork—apparently, she had completely given up.

In Anhe Courtyard, Nanny Qi reported to Wei Zhaorong, “Miss, Second Miss didn’t prepare the medicine for the eldest lady today.”

“Hm.”

Everything was just as Wei Zhaorong had anticipated.

Xie Wanyi could no longer be trained.

Her dream of having the same dowry as Xie Wanrou was exactly that—a dream.

Selfish, willing to oppose her own family, eager to become a concubine—she was unworthy of any dowry!

After lunch, Wei Zhaorong and Dou Shuyao examined the household accounts together.

She had long suspected discrepancies in the residence’s books and had discussed the matter with Dou Shuyao at length.

At the end of last year, the silver entering the household was five hundred taels less than the year before. The ledgers had been tampered with; if they hadn’t carefully checked, they would never have noticed.

The accountant was quickly summoned.

“There’s a deficit of five hundred taels in the marquis’s household. How did you manage these accounts?”

The accountant, Old Ding, was sweating profusely. “Madam, the accounts are correct. I recorded everything according to the income and expenses.”

On the surface, the books didn’t show anything unusual. But compared to the previous years, the problem was glaring.

Five hundred taels—enough to cover the marquis’s household expenses for an entire year—a significant sum.

“The year the old marquis passed away, the funeral was grand and costly, yet total income was still higher than last year. All the accounts went through your hands—are you saying you didn’t notice?”

“Old Ding, how many years have you been in the marquis’s accounting office?”

Old Ding wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Twenty-two years.”

“So many years… it’s a shame. But the marquis’s household does not support those who betray it. You’d better confess honestly.”

Old Ding knelt with a thud, begging nonstop: “Madam, I’ll tell you everything. Please, don’t let me go. My little grandson just turned three this year, but he has tuberculosis, and the medical costs are high. I had no choice but to act wrongly. Madam, I beg you to spare me.”

“Old Ding, if your family has difficulties, tell me. I can help—but that is no excuse for falsifying the accounts,” Wei Zhaorong said, unmoved.

There were too many pitiful people in the world; she was no reincarnated bodhisattva, not obligated to extend mercy to everyone—especially to someone who had embezzled from the marquis’s household.

“Now, explain properly—exactly which entries did you tamper with.”

Sweat dripped from Old Ding’s chin to the ground as he trembled and said:

“In the household’s monthly purchase accounts… there was… an extra transportation fee.”

Dou Shuyao immediately flipped through the books and confirmed that indeed, each purchase entry included a transportation fee.

“Shops in the capital deliver goods free of charge—there’s no need for a transportation fee.”

Upon hearing this, Old Ding kowtowed repeatedly. “Madam, I beg you to spare me. My little grandson is ill, and we need a lot of silver every day. I truly had no other choice.”

Wei Zhaorong’s expression remained stern. “Lock Old Ding in the firewood room first.”

Nanny Qi immediately ordered someone to carry it out.

After everyone left, Dou Shuyao said, “Mother, Old Ding isn’t telling the full truth. The transportation fees add up to less than fifty taels a year—not even close to five hundred.”

Wei Zhaorong nodded. “I know. Someone else tampered with it behind the scenes. That’s why I haven’t reported it to the authorities… I’ll find the person responsible first.”