Quick Transmigration: The Mad Beauty Refuses to Be the Scapegoat!-Chapter 397 - 19: The General Mansion’s Cast-Off Cannon Fodder Wife

Chapter 397: Chapter 19: The General Mansion’s Cast-Off Cannon Fodder Wife

Little Buding smacked his lips.

"In the end, the original owner didn’t even know how she died. Alas, too miserable."

"There are many people who don’t know how they died. Now that we know, let’s see what other tricks she has."

Because of a Wind and Moon Poem, Jiang Lai gained quite a few benefits since her original work was bought by the Eighth Prince, and others copied it to sell in bookstores, earning her another sum of silver.

The Eighth Prince even specially invited Jiang Lai to a teahouse for tea, and gave her the money while there.

"We don’t pretend to be the high-minded literati who treat money as dirt. In my view, only after you’re well-fed and clothed can you create better works. So take this money without worry, and keep up the good work."

Of course, Jiang Lai accepted the money without any qualms; after all, she was aiming for these "dirt" piles.

After taking the money and chatting with the Eighth Prince for a while, Jiang Lai got up and left, found a nice place to have a set of clothes made for herself, and bought quite a bit of jewelry along the way.

Returning to the General Mansion, the place was cold and deserted. The old lady stayed in the ancestral hall all day and night without coming out, and Xu Ruling had basically vanished ever since being relieved of her duties not long ago.

Handling the General Mansion’s internal affairs was unusually simple, with only the old lady and Tie Yi’s matters to manage, not many servants or maids. Plus, Tie Yi was rarely home, and the old lady seldom showed up. Generally, the only thing Jiang Lai needed to do was take care of herself.

Moreover, Tie Yi truly didn’t care about anything. After Jiang Lai started reviewing the previous account books, she discovered that hundreds of taels of silver went unaccounted for almost every month.

Having been a Domineering President before, Jiang Lai was thoroughly familiar with finance; she could uncover the pests behind fake accounts in modern society, let alone a stack of account books right before her.

In just one day, she found several anomalies, and all these discrepancies were silver drawn by a maid under Xu Ruling’s command.

"From this, it seems Xu Ruling embezzled a large sum not long after arriving in the capital. From October last year to March this year, in less than half a year, eight thousand taels mysteriously disappeared from the accounts."

This was no small amount; even a Marquis, as a member of the imperial clan, only had a salary of thirty taels a month. Yet, this General Mansion lost eight thousand taels in just half a year, and the worst part was that no one in the mansion was managing it.

Little Buding had no concept of money in this era.

But he knew this must be a significant sum.

"So what now? The money’s gone, so why bother checking?"

Jiang Lai took a brush and circled all the problematic areas in the account book, lowering her gaze and calmly saying,

"A thief is a thief, even if it’s a family thief. When you encounter a thief, you report it to the authorities, as is only right."

Without wasting words, she reported it directly to the authorities.

——

Within the General Mansion’s inner courtyard, Jiang Yu came for the first time.

Jiang Lai was just getting up when she heard the report, so with her face unwashed and hair uncombed, dressed in a set of red inner clothes tailored to her own liking, she opened the door to receive her guest.

Jiang Yu looked around the room.

Not just the ebony eight-step bed and the silk brocade quilt on it, but also the dressing table inlaid with tortoiseshell and colorful shells across from it were lavish and spectacular, dazzlingly beautiful.

The room was exquisite and luxurious in every corner, high-profile and eye-catching, and Jiang Lai, sitting as the lady of the house, seemed more like a distinguished lady nurtured in silver, with every move leisurely and composed.

Suppressing the odd feeling in her heart, Jiang Yu exchanged a few words with Jiang Lai.

"Father fell ill not long ago as well, and out of old affection, Your Majesty did not pursue the matter any further."

Hearing this, Jiang Lai remained unmoved.

"Hmm, anything else?"

Jiang Yu frowned, not expecting Jiang Lai to be so cold and ruthless, marrying into the General Mansion riding on the Marquis Mansion’s name, enjoying a life of luxury while completely turning her back on the Marquis Mansion.

She hadn’t expected that Tie Yi would be so generous with Jiang Lai; looking at the furnishings in the room, even one piece was worth a fortune, and without Tie Yi’s permission, Jiang Lai could never have accessed such good things in her life.

Recalling the days when the Marquis Mansion hadn’t yet fallen, she too lived in comfort, but even then, she was never as extravagant as Jiang Lai.

Seeing this scene, Jiang Yu recalled a saying she heard among the common folk.

A pheasant falls into a phoenix’s nest and, adorned with phoenix feathers, really thinks it’s a phoenix.

Before, she thought the saying was crude, but now, seeing Jiang Lai, she understood how true it was.

Jiang Lai was nothing but a pheasant pretending to be a phoenix, adorned with the Marquis Mansion’s feather.

Watching Jiang Yu’s eyes darting around, Jiang Lai didn’t need to guess what she was thinking inside.

"Sister, wouldn’t you like to stay for a meal? I’ll have the small kitchen prepare something simple for lunch, and we sisters can have a meal and chat together?"

Jiang Yu didn’t want to stay a second longer than necessary.

Besides, she wasn’t here for Jiang Lai this time, so she casually said,

"Father and mother are waiting for me to return for a meal, and their health isn’t good, so they can’t do without care. Just take care of yourself, Jiang Lai. As for the Marquis Mansion’s matters, help if you want to, but there’s no compulsion.

I still have some time to visit Miss Xu for some matters."

Jiang Yu left, her back straight, exuding a sense of grace and peace like a solitary orchid in an empty valley.

Little Buding was curious.

"Do you want to know what she’s seeing Xu Ruling for?"

"No, I don’t."

"Oh, have you changed? Not curious to know? I can reluctantly eavesdrop a bit for you."

Jiang Lai waved her hand, appearing unconcerned.

Little Buding snorted,

"Fine, suit yourself."

He decided to listen on his own.

——

In Xu Ruling’s room, Jiang Yu hesitated for a long time before finally revealing her purpose.

"If it weren’t truly difficult, I wouldn’t ask you for help." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Hearing that Jiang Yu had come to borrow money, Xu Ruling surprisingly felt flattered, not daring to put on airs and eagerly agreed.

This was Jiang Yu, after all, falling to the point of needing to borrow money!

"Three thousand taels... Sister Yu, I do have the money, but what do you need so much for?"

She thought it would only be a few dozen taels, which was already a lot, but to her surprise, Jiang Yu directly asked for three thousand taels!

"I knew you’d have it; the General really treats you well."

Xu Ruling couldn’t help but smile,

"The General is generous, unconcerned with the household’s affairs. Why didn’t you want to marry in here back then? We could’ve continued being sisters in the mansion."

Jiang Yu smiled, but her eyes turned slightly cold.

Her understanding of Tie Yi back then wasn’t only from external sources, but largely from Xu Ruling’s mouth.

She depicted Tie Yi as a cold-blooded beast who killed without blinking, crude and ugly, and illiterate.

How could she marry such a man? At the time, she was glad it was Jiang Lai who married him, sparing her the possibility of a feud with the General Mansion.