The Journey of Immortal Cultivation
Chapter 156 - 108 Secret Talks

Chapter 156: Chapter 108 Secret Talks

She finally walked out of the City Lord Mansion’s gate without any surprises or dangers and quickly returned to Tan Mansion.

At this time, the whistle was still staying at Tan Mansion, keeping the mistress company. Ning Xiaoxian went to deliver food, and Chengcheng had not yet finished her classes; it was an excellent period for them to be alone. When Xiao Xian returned, she felt the air in Tan Mansion heated up a bit, but looking at their expressions, it seemed Qinghe’s enthusiasm was higher while the whistle treated her with cautious courtesy.

Looking left and right, she couldn’t understand what was so attractive about the whistle’s poker face. He was a traveling merchant, had no fixed residence, and lacked the sense of security women sought. Alas, she could only conclude that this was a case of ’what’s bred in the bone will come out in the flesh’ - it must have been that Tan Qinghe’s preferences were somewhat bizarre.

After she returned to Tan Mansion, the mistress eagerly questioned her about everything until she heard that no flaws had been revealed, then she finally breathed a sigh of relief. Ning Xiaoxian’s intuition told her that Tan Qinghe knew Second Young Master Wen’s identity, but she never openly stated it, and also hoped that this secret would be kept forever.

For the following two days, Ning Xiaoxian continued to deliver food to Wen Liangyu, and the two took the opportunity to talk for a while. The more Ning Xiaoxian and Second Young Master Wen spoke, the more uneasy she felt. For someone who never ventured outside, his knowledge was too extensive and his thoughts too profound. In him, she even saw illusions of Mr. Yan.

The food delivery went smoothly until the very last time when she heard voices conversing in Wen Liangyu’s pavilion. Since it was Wen Residence after all, she gently coughed and knocked on the door. The conversation inside immediately ceased, and Wen Liangyu, knowing it was her, gently called for her to "come in".

The other person inside was an elder, with full silver hair and a slightly corpulent figure. If not for Qiongqi’s reminder, she would have almost forgotten that this kind-looking old man was the Grand Steward of Wen Residence. Seeing her enter, Uncle Wu’s furrowed brows relaxed, he stood up to take his leave, and casually carried a thick stack of notebooks with him as he left.

She had sharp eyes and noticed that these items were account books.

It seemed that Uncle Wu was one of the few in the residence who knew of Wen Liangyu’s identity and could move freely within his courtyard. But what did his bringing the account books to Wen Liangyu imply? Was this seemingly leisurely Second Young Master also involved in managing the residence’s finances?

Of course, she did not know that Uncle Wu had arrived two hours earlier. "Second Young Master, as per your instructions, I have been cautiously reviewing the manor’s accounts for the past seven years over the past half year, and indeed there are unaccounted funds, and the sum is substantial. I have brought the problematic account books here."

Areas of concern within the account books were marked in red. Wen Liangyu leafed through each one, quickly finishing them, then lightly tapped his index finger on the table, falling into deep thought.

Uncle Wu summarized: "Within the last seven years, among the thirty-six manors of Rock City, eleven had falsified harvest records, one hundred and twenty-seven transactions were manipulated for profit, and there are also about ninety-six entries regarding trades with merchant teams whose funds went unaccounted for in the residence’s own accounts."

"The silver lost over these seven years amounts to a staggering 4.3 million taels. Thanks to Second Young Master, Rock City’s income has greatly increased over these years, yet one-tenth of the earned silver has disappeared into thin air. The books are kept so meticulously that if you, Second Young Master, hadn’t suspected something first, I wouldn’t have been able to delve so deeply."

"Do you have any leads on who might have tampered with them?"

"Yes! Initially, I thought the eldest young master might have tampered with them... "

Second Young Master Wen immediately gestured with his hand: "It couldn’t be him. Although the eldest brother loves wealth and is shady, he has no subordinates, and alone, he couldn’t have fabricated such meticulous false accounts. Moreover, the sum is too vast for him to dare to tamper with."

Even though Uncle Wu was deeply worried, he couldn’t help but twitch his lips. Wen Liangyu’s description of the eldest young master was indeed vivid. "I spent three months tracking down the vine, even placing a sum of sound money in one of the problematic manors, and finally caught a break. The so-called ’sound money’ refers to silver notes specially marked with a substance that allows their owner to use a Secret Technique to track their whereabouts."

The gleam in Wen Liangyu’s eyes flickered: "Where did the money go?"

"It changed hands three times, the visible traces all broke off, but eventually, it was traced through the sound money. The money was split into ten parts, making its way into four banks in the nearby Tai City and Tong City."

"In this world, what deed can truly be accomplished without leaving any trail? "Who orchestrated this?"

"Our accounting steward. Lord’s nephew, Huang Shouyi! He has received great favors from the lord before, unexpectedly he had the audacity to do this!"