Chapter 15 The Absurd Account Books of Prince Ye’s Manor

Chapter 15: The Absurd Account Book of the Night Prince's Estate

Matron Xu's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't expected Ji Yuntang to have such a keen eye, picking out the issue right away.

Thinking of the many other problems that lay ahead, she dared not admit to a thing.

"Your Highness," she replied, "the bed I bought for His Highness had already worn out before you even married into the estate. I then arranged for His Highness to sleep on the Ice Stone Bed, which, of course, was also Consort Li's intention."

"As for the ice expenses, they are settled once a year. Ice is rare and expensive in the palace. Although Consort Li is His Highness's mother, our prince has long since set up his own establishment. She couldn't possibly keep footing the bill for our prince indefinitely, could she?"

"If word got out, it would be seen as unfilial and damage our prince's reputation. So, I took it upon myself to give the Imperial Household Department three thousand taels of silver. Consort Li is unaware of this matter."

Ji Yuntang sneered. What a sharp-tongued old hag. In no time at all, she had concocted a whole set of excuses and shifted all the blame onto Luo Junhe.

It showed just how seasoned Matron Xu was at this.

Ji Yuntang did not call her out. She turned the page and continued reading, "The maid, Dujuan, has a monthly wage of two taels of silver. Starting from last October, her wage suddenly became ten taels per month, totaling sixty taels for the year. How is this calculated? Could it be that the estate's accountant doesn't even know the simplest addition?"

Matron Xu's mind raced, thinking of how to fob Ji Yuntang off.

Before she could speak, the servants present began to whisper and discuss among themselves.

"What? Didn't Dujuan die two years ago? Why is she still receiving a monthly wage, and one higher than us living people? What on earth is going on?"

"That's right. I remember Dujuan was a third-class maid back then. Even our first-class maids only get four taels a month. How could she possibly get ten?"

"Not even first-class maids get that much. Even Matron Xu herself only gets a maximum of five taels per month. How could she allow someone else to receive more than herself?"

"..."

The back-and-forth comments were like slaps to the face, making Matron Xu's face turn green with rage.

These damned turncoats! Had they forgotten how she usually treated them?

Now they had the gall to undermine her in front of Ji Yuntang? How dare they!

Chen Hu, hearing these absurd entries, hurriedly asked, "Your Highness, what about mine?"

Ji Yuntang remained calm as ever, but her gaze fell on Chen Hu's name as she spoke calmly.

"Laborer Chen Hu, monthly wage of three taels, last year's year-end bonus and reward, five taels..."

Before Ji Yuntang could finish, Chen Hu's hot temper boiled over. He roared at the top of his lungs.

"To hell with that damn year-end bonus! I've never even received my monthly wage once, and now there's an extra five-tael year-end bonus? That idiot accountant must have a screw loose! If he's gonna make stuff up, at least come up with a believable reason!"

Liu Linlang, having watched the show for a while, now seeing Chen Hu daring to act so insolently toward them, immediately scolded, "Chen Hu, you say you didn't take it, but how can you prove you didn't receive those taels?"

How to prove it? Of course, Chen Hu couldn't prove it.

The Night Prince's Estate issued each servant's monthly wage separately. There was no evidence to prove he had received it, nor any to prove he hadn't.

Matron Xu could easily turn around and accuse him of slandering her.

Chen Hu felt frustrated and helpless. He clearly knew Matron Xu had tampered with the accounts, but he was still powerless against it.

Ji Yuntang put down the account book in her hand and looked at Matron Xu. "You just said Chen Hu gets two taels a month, but the book records three. What's the deal with that extra tael?"

Matron Xu's heart trembled. How could she have forgotten this loophole?

This Ji Yuntang was really meddlesome!

Suppressing her nervousness, she patiently replied, "I saw that Chen Hu was hardworking and diligent, so I increased his monthly wage by one tael."

"Lies!" Ji Yuntang slammed the account book onto her face.

"Matron Xu, do you really think you're the smartest person in the world and no one can compare to you?"

"This four-pillar accounting method of yours only has the old balance, no new receipts, and certainly no disbursements. You didn't think that just because the final numbers matched up, the accounts were properly done, did you?"

Matron Xu was even more astonished. Wasn't Ji Yuntang an illiterate country girl? How did she know about the four-pillar accounting method?

Could it just be a lucky guess?

While she was stunned, she heard Ji Yuntang continue, "The estate didn't have a mistress before, but now it does. From now on, the stewardship of the Night Prince's Estate will be solely in my hands as the Princess."

"Considering that Matron Xu is His Highness's life-saving benefactor, I won't make things difficult for you. As long as you make up for all the silver missing from the estate's accounts over the years and pay all the overdue monthly wages to the servants in full, then this matter will be considered settled."

Hearing Ji Yuntang's intention to take away her stewardship caught Matron Xu off guard. She immediately stopped pretending to be foolish and flew into a rage.

"Your Highness, I have been fiercely loyal to the Night Prince's Estate. All these years, whether His Highness was out leading troops in battle or paralyzed in bed, it was I alone who diligently managed the entire estate. I have invested a great deal of effort into this."

"I address you as 'Your Highness' out of respect, but you can't just overstep like this. My authority to manage the household was personally handed to me by His Highness back then. Even if it is to be taken back, it should be His Highness who does so. You have no right to do this!"

The stewardship of the Night Prince's Estate was Matron Xu's greatest source of confidence. It was precisely because of this power that she could arbitrarily control all the financial expenditures of the entire estate, high and low.

And those servants, for their monthly two or three taels of silver, no one dared to disobey her or oppose her.

Including Chen Hu before.

If she lost the stewardship, Matron Xu would lose all her financial support. How could she continue to profit from it?

Liu Linlang felt the same way. The reason she could live a life of a young lady of nobility in the Night Prince's Estate was precisely because her mother held the stewardship of the entire household.

This was the greatest reliance for both mother and daughter. No matter what, she could not let Ji Yuntang take the stewardship from Matron Xu's hands.

"My mother is right. Before you came, she managed the entire Night Prince's Estate in perfect order. What gives you the right to take away her authority the moment you arrive?"

"Ji Yuntang, don't think I don't know. The princess originally bestowed by the Emperor to marry Brother He wasn't you at all, but the true young lady of the Yongning Marquis Manor, Ji Qingqing. You, a country-bred illegitimate daughter, how can you compare to Miss Ji, the beloved daughter of the Marquis Manor? What right does an imposter like you have to step through the gates of our Night Prince's Estate?"

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