Seeing the distressed expression on Leng Jinyu's face, she couldn't bear to tell him the truth about the original owner's death.
"Yes, Li'er, thankfully you are alright. Otherwise, your father would have no face to meet your mother in the underworld," Leng Jinyu suddenly sighed.
Upon hearing this, Leng Ruo Li quickly changed the subject.
"Father, although Liu Ruyi and Leng Ruo Shuang have returned most of the money they had embezzled over the years, the expenses for their mother and daughter's food and drink in our Leng General's Mansion for these years haven't been accounted for yet. Plus, the ten thousand taels of silver for the insult fee Leng Ruo Shuang hurled at me in Mingyue Courtyard haven't been paid either. I'll have the accountant tally it all up this time."
Leng Ruo Li smiled with her eyes curved, a hint of cunning hidden within her gaze.
Leng Ruo Shuang's face revealed a trace of hatred. Leng Ruo Li was truly detestable. Not only had she caused her to lose a fortune today, but she had also disfigured her. Yet, Leng Ruo Li still refused to let her off.
At this moment, the accountant, who had been called by Steward Qi, was hiding in a corner of the hall. Startled by Leng Ruo Li suddenly calling him out, he panicked.
"Accountant, could you please come out for a moment?" Leng Ruo Li shouted towards the figure in the corner.
At this, the accountant cautiously walked out from the corner.
In fact, he was inseparable from how Liu Ruyi and her daughter were able to embezzle so much money from the Leng General's Mansion.
However, he had also been forced by Concubine Liu. After Leng Jinyu marched to the border, Concubine Liu had found him and asked him to falsify accounts for her, giving her control over eighty percent of the income from two estates. He was initially unwilling, but Concubine Liu actually seduced him. Unable to resist the allure of her beauty, he succumbed.
But everyone knew he was a man afraid of his wife. After this incident, Concubine Liu constantly threatened him with it. Fearing his shrewish wife finding out and causing a scene, he had no choice but to agree to falsify accounts for Concubine Liu, channeling eighty percent of the income from the mansion's two estates into Liu Ruyi's coffers.
However, he also received quite a few benefits. At the very least, his monthly salary increased by a hundred taels of silver, and he could also carry on a clandestine affair with Concubine Liu. In any case, he had gained considerably.
"Accountant, what are you spacing out for?" Leng Ruo Li shouted at him again.
The accountant instantly snapped back to attention and bowed to Leng Ruo Li, saying, "Wangfei, I am coming."
Leng Ruo Li glanced up at the absent-minded accountant, her eyebrows furrowing. This person was definitely suspicious.
Then, Leng Ruo Li took a serious look at the accountant. She had heard he was surnamed Zhang and was originally a scholar, the son of the former old steward of the mansion. When Leng Ruo Li's grandmother was alive, seeing that his family was poor but that he was good at accounting, she had him appointed as the accountant.
In fact, he was only about thirty-five years old. Today, he was wearing a dark green cross-collared robe. He was tall and thin, fair-skinned, with delicate features. His black hair was neatly tied up with a wooden hairpin, exuding an air of scholarship. He looked somewhat frail and timid.
"Calculate carefully how much silver Liu Ruyi and her daughter have spent in the mansion over the years and tell the King Qing's concubine," Leng Ruo Li instructed him.
"Yes, Wangfei!" The accountant nodded repeatedly, his sidelong glance falling upon Leng Ruo Shuang.
He secretly thought, "Leng Ruo Shuang, don't blame me. Blame your mother and daughter for being too greedy. You've gained so much, yet you still don't know when to stop."
At this moment, Leng Ruo Shuang was looking at the accountant with fierce resentment, thinking desperately, "It's over, it's over. This accountant knows so many things about our mother and daughter. This is terrible."
Moreover, she was blocked from leaving the mansion by Xiao Cheng and Steward Qi. She couldn't even escape if she wanted to.
Just then, the accountant found a seat in the hall and began to work his abacus. In less than the time it took to brew a cup of tea, he finished calculating the money Liu Ruyi and her daughter had spent in the Leng General's Mansion over the years.
"Wangfei, Great General, Concubine Liu and the second young lady spent a total of twenty-three thousand one hundred and five taels of silver on food and living expenses in the mansion," the accountant said cautiously.
"What? Are you sure you calculated correctly? How could it be so little?" Leng Ruo Li said incredulously.
"Wangfei, I've calculated it three times, and it's always this amount," the accountant replied earnestly.
"Bring the ledger over here. I want to see it," Leng Ruo Li said with a frown.
The accountant quickly handed the ledger to Leng Ruo Li, breaking out in a cold sweat. He harbored a sliver of hope, thinking that the Leng Wangfei, being intellectually deficient since childhood, probably wouldn't understand this ledger.
Unexpectedly, Leng Ruo Li glanced at the ledger and did some rough calculations, immediately spotting a problem.
"Accountant, last year, on the Empress Dowager's birthday, the palace didn't seem to hold a banquet for her, did they? Yet, it's recorded here that Concubine Liu took ten thousand taels of silver notes to buy a birthday gift for the Empress Dowager. What's going on?" Leng Ruo Li pointed out the discrepancy in the ledger.
"Wangfei, I was merely following Concubine Liu's instructions. I'm not sure if the palace actually held a birthday banquet for the Empress Dowager," the accountant argued evasively.
Upon hearing this, Leng Ruo Li gave the accountant a chilling look, and even Leng Jinyu frowned.
This man surnamed Zhang had been the accountant in his mansion for over a decade. The Leng General's Mansion had treated him well. He hadn't expected him to collude with Liu Ruyi.
"Scholar Zhang, do you want to recalculate this ledger, or shall I, this Wangfei, help you calculate it?"
Leng Ruo Li spoke with a chilling tone, her voice so cold that it sent a shiver down his spine. She didn't even want to call him accountant anymore, directly calling him Scholar Zhang.
Hearing this, Scholar Zhang wiped the cold sweat from his brow.
"Wangfei, I will recalculate it," Scholar Zhang replied.
A moment later, Scholar Zhang finished recalculating the ledger.
"Wangfei, Great General, Concubine Liu and her daughter used a total of fifty-eight thousand one hundred and eight taels of silver. If we add the ten thousand taels of silver for the insult fee you mentioned earlier, it comes to sixty-eight thousand one hundred and eight taels of silver."
Leng Ruo Li nodded upon hearing this. This figure was not much different from the one she had calculated earlier.
Immediately, she turned to Leng Ruo Shuang and said, "Leng Ruo Shuang, did you hear that? A total of sixty-eight thousand one hundred and eight taels of silver. How do you wish to settle this?"
"How could we have spent so much money? You must be trying to extort me, Leng Ruo Li!" Leng Ruo Shuang said indignantly, pointing at Leng Ruo Li.
But just as Leng Ruo Li was about to retort, a deep, slightly hoarse voice sounded from the doorway: "Does my Wangfei lack your paltry sum of money?"
As he spoke, a tall and imposing figure walked in through the main gate of the Leng General's Mansion.
Those standing in the outer courtyard saw the figure clearly and all bowed in greeting.
Jun Mohan waved his sleeves, exempting them from their courtesies.
"Ye Ying, accompany the King Qing's concubine back to King Qing's mansion to retrieve the money calculated just now and give it to the Great General."
"Yes, your subordinate obeys!"
Subsequently, before Leng Ruo Shuang could react, she was escorted away by the two guards brought by Jun Mohan.