Chapter 427
Chapter 427 Another Set of Account Books Appeared
“Lord Marquis, it’s… it’s…” The two shop assistants didn’t expect that Wei Luowen would come out to the parking lot at this time. They hurriedly knelt and saluted.
“Where are your Shopkeepers?” Wei Luowen asked coldly.
“They are reporting the accounts in the mansion!” One of the shop assistants quickly said.
“Send someone to call them over!” Wei Luowen instructed a lad servant in a low voice.
“Father!” At this time, Wei Yuewu had already held Huamo’s hand and walked down the carriage. She said softly, “It’s about Mother’s shops. Can you call the Shopkeepers over? I want to ask them about it.”
“Call the two Shopkeepers to the study. I have something to ask them!” Wei Luowen pondered for a moment and agreed. He had originally planned to give Rui’er’s dowry to Yuewu. Since Yuewu was interested, then he would let her ask. In the future, these were all her own dowry. She had to deal with them anyway.
If there was anything she didn’t understand, he could help deal with it on the side.
The lad servant answered and ran out.
“Yuewu, go change your clothes first, and then come to my study!” Wei Luowen looked up and down at Wei Yuewu’s sorry state. He frowned tightly. He had heard that something had happened to Wei Yuewu and that she could not even get out of the carriage. That was why he had been in a hurry to come and see her. But now, she was not in a state to talk. That was why Wei Luowen sent Wei Yuewu away.
Wei Yuewu nodded. She knew that she could not see anyone in this state, so she returned to Lotus Courtyard and changed her clothes. Then, she went with Huamo to Wei Luowen’s study.
In Wei Luowen’s study, although the two Shopkeepers were sitting, they were both trembling with fear. It was the first time that they had come to Lord Marquis’ study. Moreover, since they entered, Lord Marquis had not said a word. He continued to read through the documents by his writing desk. He actually ignored them, which made the two of them feel really uncertain.
It had been a while since they sat down, but Lord Marquis did not care about them. They were sitting on pins and needles. The two of them had been busy with the stamp and signature issues for the account books at Concubine Dong’s place. The matter had not been settled yet, but Wei Luowen called them over. Even the account books had been brought over. Their hearts were in a mess, and they could not stop worrying.
“Father!” Wei Yuewu walked in with Huamo and bowed to Wei Luowen.
Only then did Wei Luowen raise his head and look at his daughter’s face. He pointed to a chair and said, “Take a seat!”
“Yes, Father!” Wei Yuewu knew that Wei Luowen wanted to ask about what happened at Prince Nan’an Mansion, so she obediently sat down on the chair next to her.
“How did you end up like this?” Wei Luowen frowned.
“Eldest Sister asked Prefectural Princess Jia’nan to bring me there, and something happened, so Prefectural Princess Jia’nan was driven away by Princess Nan’an!” Because the Shopkeepers were around, Wei Yuewu only explained it vaguely.
But Wei Luowen understood. There was a trace of anger in the corner of his eyes, but this was obviously not the time to ask in detail. He nodded slightly to show that he understood.
He lowered his head and continued to deal with the documents on his desk, leaving the two Shopkeepers to Wei Yuewu.
Wei Yuewu turned to the two Shopkeepers. “Shopkeepers, did you come to the mansion today to see Concubine Dong?”
The two Shopkeepers were both quick-witted people. After listening to the conversation between Wei Yuewu and Wei Luowen, they looked at each other and immediately understood that the seemingly weak Miss in front of them was the Sixth Young Lady born by their deceased Master.
But now, their new Master was Concubine Dong.
“Yes, we came to pass the accounts to Concubine Dong,” one of the Shopkeepers who was sharper quickly answered with a smile.
“The shops you two are in charge of are my mother’s dowry?” Wei Yuewu asked casually.
“Yes, but they’re gone now!” A Shopkeeper hurriedly said. This was what Concubine Dong had told them to say so that their statements were unified.
“Gone?” Wei Yuewu asked softly.
“That’s right. Sixth Young Lady, you might not know this, but our business has been getting worse and worse ever since Madam passed. Although Concubine Dong has asked people to take care of our two shops from time to time, but… there is really no way to reverse the situation. We have been losing more and more. Now we can’t even afford to open the shops anymore. They are going to be closed down eventually!”
The other Shopkeeper quickly took the cue and answered. His face was full of worry. He sighed and stamped his feet lightly. He looked like he really had no other way.
The two of them were hurriedly called over. Although they saw the shop assistants of their respective stores, they did not talk to them at all. Therefore, the Shopkeepers did not know that their account books had been sent to the government by the Second Shopkeepers. By now, the books should be placed on the Mayor of the capital city’s desk.
“You’ve suffered so many losses that you can’t even keep the shops?” Wei Yuewu looked surprised, as if she really didn’t know anything.
“Yes, Sixth Young Lady, if not for the fact that the loss we suffered was so severe, why would we not keep the two shops? The mansion had subsidized too much, so much so that both of us feel sorry for Concubine Dong. For so many years, Concubine Dong has been taking care of us. Otherwise, we would have closed the shops even sooner. However, there should be a limit to the subsidy. We feel guilty to Madam and Concubine Dong. So, after settling the accounts, we feel that it is best to close the shops.”
“Sixth Young Lady, we entered the mansion today to handle these formalities. The two shops have suffered great losses. It is not good to keep them. There is no benefit to the mansion keeping them, instead, it will drag down the other shops.”
The two Shopkeepers got a word in cleverly one after another, and they fended Wei Yuewu off.
Facing a young lady of an aristocratic family who had never stepped out of her room and was said to have come from a small place like the countryside, the two Shopkeepers felt that it was no big deal. Having been in the business field for so many years, how could they not be able to deceive such a young and tender Miss?
Therefore, they spoke more and more articulately.
“The shops have not been earning profit after Mother passed?” Wei Yuewu frowned slightly.
“Yes. At first, it was bearable, but then things became worse and worse. Recently, the losses have become huge!” One of the Shopkeepers sighed.
The other Shopkeeper immediately followed suit and said, “Exactly. This has been going on for a long time. We can’t even afford the salaries for the shop assistants. Many of them are going to make a scene because of this!”
The two of them played along with each other and described the two shops with earnings as a losing business. They also repeatedly listed what they had done for the shops.
Wei Luowen put down the document in his hand and looked at his daughter’s frail face. He sighed. For a moment, he did not know what to say. He regretted it in his heart. If he had known that these two shops had such bad luck, he would have sent someone competent to manage them. After all, Concubine Dong started out as a maid and did not do things well. She probably would not understand business.
Otherwise, the two good shops would not have ended up like this.
“Have we suffered any loss recently?” Wei Yuewu lowered her eyes slightly. Her long eyelashes blinked twice to hide the coldness in her eyes. The two Shopkeepers spoke so fluently that it was needless to say that they had colluded with Concubine Dong.
Originally, she wanted to find an opportunity for the news to spread to her ears. Now, wasn’t it just right for her to hear about it? Of course, the way they said it was almost flawless. If she had not prepared for this, she would have been fooled by them.
It was a joke that Concubine Dong, who had been plotting to steal Mother’s dowry, was described as a kind-hearted Bodhisattva!
“Did you bring the account books today?” Wei Yuewu asked indifferently.
“Yes, yes. It’s our original intention to talk to Concubine Dong about the closing of the shops and to handle some procedures. These accounts are necessary!” The two Shopkeepers picked up the two piles of account books in front of them and respectfully placed them before Wei Yuewu.
Wei Yuewu picked up an account book and flipped through it.
“Sixth Young Lady, have a look for yourself. These are our accounts for the last three months. We have been suffering losses all this while. Moreover, the losses are so great that we really can’t hold on any longer. This is why we decided to ask Concubine Dong to close the shops. There is no point in continuing to keep them open. They will only be a burden to the mansion.”
One of the Shopkeepers looked at Wei Yuewu’s face and said with a smile.
The two of them were not worried that Wei Yuewu would find out something fishy. As a weak lady confined to a boudoir, no matter how smart she was, she would not understand the ins and outs of the commercial world. It couldn’t be that they would fail to fool this young and tender young lady of an aristocratic family, could it?
“Yes, just now, Concubine Dong said that she was unwilling to, but later on, she could not stand our begging and agreed to close the shops!” The other Shopkeeper also sighed and quietly said some nice words about Concubine Dong.
Wei Yuewu sneered in her heart. They were really servants who betrayed their Masters. They had completely defected to Concubine Dong so quickly. They had long forgotten the kindness that Mother had done for them years ago.
Wei Yuewu had already inquired about it clearly. These Shopkeepers had previously been a part of Mother’s dowry. Their slave contracts were in Mother’s hands. Later, Mother felt that they had done a good job, so she returned their slave contracts together with those of their families to them. However, she did not expect that they would be so ungrateful in return.
They actually colluded with Concubine Dong to steal Mother’s dowry.
“Are these accounts genuine?” Wei Yuewu asked coldly without raising her head.
This question made Wei Luowen turn to the two Shopkeepers with a gloomy face, and he looked up and down at their expressions.
“Of course it is true, Sixth Young Lady. I, as a subordinate, swear to the heavens that if it is not true, there will be retribution for us!” The two Shopkeepers felt their hairs stand on end while being looked at by Wei Luowen, and they hurriedly swore on their lives.
Lord Marquis was not the Sixth Young Lady who had not experienced the society. If they answered too slowly, it would be troublesome if Lord Marquis found out something.
Since the two Shopkeepers’ answers were quite neat, the doubts in Wei Luowen’s heart slowly faded away.
“Are these the real account books?” Wei Yuewu raised her head, her gaze becoming sharp. Her pair of cold eyes fell on the two Shopkeepers, making them feel an inexplicable kind of power, and they actually shivered unconsciously.
However, the two of them were experienced business people. They knew that at this time, they could not retreat at all. Immediately, they smiled and said, “Sixth Young Lady, we can guarantee that these account books are absolutely real.”
Only their own most trusted Second Shopkeepers knew where the real account books were placed. Even if Wei Yuewu sent people to investigate, they would not be able to find anything. The two of them were very confident about this.
“Father, call those two shop assistants in!” Wei Yuewu smiled callously and turned to look at Wei Luowen.
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