Check the clan's wife's account.

As soon as these words were raised, everyone in the hall was shocked. Even Tan Rong did not dare to continue crying for a while and glanced at Xiang Yi uneasily.

The reason why a clan is a clan is not only because of its bloodline advantage, but more importantly, it must be dignified among the clan members.

The clan's wife is in charge of the trivial affairs of the clan, and she has to act for the clan's son when necessary. If the clan's wife is found out if she casually checks the accounts, and if problems are found, where is the dignity of the clan's wife?

Although Zhao was angry, she felt it was inappropriate and frowned.

Tan Jian also felt uncomfortable, but he didn't speak for a while, and Yang Zhen stood up and spoke for him.

"Is your request too much?"

In her eyes, a good person like my sister-in-law has some faults, so what's the big deal?

She spoke openly, and Tan Jian blinked quickly and looked over, his eyes shining brightly.

Xiang Yi was stunned for a moment.

Unexpectedly, the first person to speak for her was her sister-in-law who had just been married three days ago.

Her eyes softened, but the next moment she noticed the cold gaze from her superiors.

The gaze was like the cold wind on the ice in winter, looking over with no concealment of coldness.

The gentleness on Xiang Yi's face disappeared and returned to its previous appearance.

Tan Ting, who stood with his hands behind his hands, felt his heart sink.

At the age of fifteen, he became the eldest son of the Tan family.

At that time, nearly half of the clan members questioned how he could win over the clan members and maintain the family fortune at such an age.

If it weren't for the support of the late Third Old Master, and if his imperial examination went smoothly, the position of the eldest son of Di Zhi would have been given to others.

Now that something like this happened, plus the Chu Xinggu incident that caused a lot of commotion before, if we don't find out and don't give an explanation to the clansmen, what will happen?

But if she just checked her account books...

Tan Ting pressed the corners of his lips tightly.

After yesterday's incident, he wanted her to understand on her own, so he wrote the poem "On Bribery", not wanting something to happen today.

Tan Ting hesitated for a moment, and suddenly there was a noise outside.

"What's going on?" he asked.

Masaki ran in quickly.

"Uncle, what happened in the workshop was known to the tribe. They forced the craftsmen to the door. Many tribesmen followed to see how to deal with it." The

tribe members all came and knew about it, and the matter became more and more serious. .

The corners of Mrs. Fusan's eyes couldn't help but curl up.

Some of those people had been agreed upon in advance by her and the Qiu family. They usually relied on financial aid from the clan and were most concerned about the whereabouts of the clan's money.

People bring people here, but there are more and more people.

Don't blame them for deliberately causing trouble. If they didn't make the situation such a mess, what if the clan family protected the Xiang family out of face?

If Mrs. Xiang went full circle and continued to manage the house, how would they live their lives?

Shao must take advantage of this opportunity to cause Xiang to lose his stewardship.

Zongzi didn't like her anyway, so it wasn't impossible to divorce her.

After Zhengji finished speaking, the noisy sound outside became more and more clear.

Now that the matter has come to this, even if we want to turn a big thing into a trivial matter, it is impossible.

Tan Ting's heart completely sank, and he took one last look at Xiang Yi.

"Do you have anything to say?"

If she explained herself and admitted her mistake, although her face would be uglier, it would be more decent than being forced to find out by others.

Xiang Yi vaguely understood what he meant, but how could she say that she was innocent?

The tribesmen won’t believe it, and I’m afraid he himself won’t believe it either.

Xiang Yi shook his head, "I have nothing to say."

After these words came out of his mouth, Tan Ting closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he spoke in a deep voice.

"Check the accounts."

...

Now that we have reached the point of checking the accounts, why not take a look at everything in detail.

Tan Ting simply invited several elders of the clan to witness, and asked the clan's numerate disciples and the clan accountant to work in pairs to check various discrepancies and calculate the account numbers.

According to Tan's rules, all income and expenses are recorded in detail. Xiang Yi has been in charge of the family for three years, and the account books are not small. Fortunately, there are many people. Tan Ting has also transferred all the people who can be used. There must be someone today. result.

It was extremely quiet in the hall, and time moved backward slowly and extremely compactly amidst the crackling sound of counting.

Xiang Yi stood alone in the corner of the hall, silently watching them one by one, calculating the accounts she had handled in the past three years.

After an unknown amount of time, the children of the Tan family who were finally calculating the general ledger stopped moving their hands on the abacus and raised their heads.

"How's it going?" Mrs. Fusan and Mrs. Qiu were the most anxious and stepped forward in two steps.

As long as the dirty deeds done by Xiang are discovered, many of these things can be mixed together.

Mrs. Fusan also deliberately called the disciple who did the final calculation, "You must see clearly, don't make a mistake, you have wronged Mrs. Zong."

After hearing this, the man nodded and re-calculated the last few figures. Once, he said, "That's right."

Mrs. Fusan asked anxiously, "So?"

The man raised his head and put the number of their calculations and account books directly in front of everyone.

"The accounts are balanced, and Madam's accounts are clean."

This sentence is resounding.

After the words fell, the expressions of the people in the hall varied.

Mrs. Zhao was worried about whether she would have to take charge of the house again if something happened to investigate Xiang Yi and Xiang Yi could not continue to manage the house. Now she was relieved after hearing the result.

Tan Rong blinked. Tan Jian raised the corner of his mouth, and Yang Zhen was the most straightforward, "I knew sister-in-law was fine."

The elders in the clan also nodded with satisfaction.

Tan Ting, who was standing at the top, was startled for a moment and couldn't help but raise his eyes.

He also thought that there was probably something wrong with her, it was just the size.

But right now...

He couldn't help but glance at her. She still had her head half lowered, as if she was a little tired. She closed her eyes, and there was no wave on her face.

No wonder she wasn't afraid just now, let alone stopped her.

The fire in my heart had already reached its peak, but now it seemed to have subsided quietly, as if it had encountered a spring rain.

His eyes fell on her again, and then he slowly looked away.

But Mrs. Fusan and Mrs. Qiu were dumbfounded.

The two of them grabbed the account book and the checking paper and read it without belief.

No matter how you look at it, the two numbers are exactly the same, not even one copper plate is missing.

"Did you calculate it wrong?!"

Mrs. Fusan broke out in a sticky sweat at this result.

A wife who has been in charge of the family for three years actually didn't even hide a single coin? !

How can this be? !

Qiu also swallowed twice with a tight throat.

But compared to Mrs. Fu San's complete disbelief, Qiu's mind was spinning faster.

"There's nothing wrong with the accounts, but it doesn't mean that Mrs. Xiang didn't accept bribes! She must have the money in her own hands!"

She didn't dare to say explicitly that she was going to search Zongzi's yard, but she said.

"What happened to Chu Xinggu last time was that the maid Qiao Yun collected the jade pendant on her behalf? I think her house was searched first!"

She remembered that Xiang's Qiao Yun had always been close to Jixiang Seal Shop, and this time the new The carpenter seems to be on good terms with the shopkeeper of Jixiang Seal Shop.

Maybe Xiang asked the Jixiang Seal Shop to exchange the bribe money for precious jade and other objects, and kept it secretly.

What she thinks is unknown to others.

But everyone has also heard about Chu Xinggu’s two jade pendants.

Because the Tan family had their wedding a few days ago, this matter has not yet been concluded, and I am not sure whether it is true or not.

Everyone looked at the clan elders and everyone in the clan, especially the eldest son Tan Ting.

This time, Tan Ting did not give orders decisively with a cold face like he had just checked the accounts.

He glanced at Xiang Yi hesitantly.

But Xiang Yi raised his head at this moment.

"Uncle, please send someone over to search Qiao Yun's house."

Now that the investigation has been done to this extent, there is no need to leave another floor.

Tan Ting paused slightly, seeming to understand what she meant.

He looked over, but found that her eyes did not fall to look at him at all.

He calmed down and glanced at Mrs. Fusan and Mrs. Qiu.

"Since this is the case, let's check it out once and for all."

Tan Ting directly pointed a few people to Qiao Yun's place.

...

The back room of the main courtyard.

Qiao Yun was imprisoned for several days and had no idea what was going on outside. Only the little girl who came to bring her tea just mentioned it.

"Madam, they all went to the old lady's place, and many people from the clan gathered in front of Qiuzhaoyuan."

"What's going on?" Qiao Yun asked.

It's a pity that the little girl is too young to be able to deal with these things.

Qiao Yun felt that something was not right. She thought of the last time Qiu made trouble and searched her room, breaking many things and breaking two cups. She quickly packed up a large box on the table and went up. It's good to lock it and put it under the bed.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she came out from under the bed, there was a sudden noise outside, and chaotic footsteps came to the door of her room.

Qiu was the most anxious and followed Tan Tingdian's people.

Now she is worried about no one. After all, she has not prepared in advance, so she has to dig out the things herself.

When Qiao Yun saw it was her again, her eyes almost popped out of her head.

Mrs. Qiu couldn't care less. She snorted at Qiao Yun and started to look for it.

Qiao Yun's room was small, and there were only a few household items that came back and forth. Besides, they had gone through it once last time. The people assigned by Tan Ting looked over it and said they didn't like it.

Qiao Yun crossed her arms and sneered.

When Mrs. Qiu heard nothing, she became really anxious. She rummaged through several cabinets and finally asked her maid to look under the bed.

Not wanting to take it seriously, the maid shouted, "There is a box!"

Mrs. Qiu's eyes gleamed, and she hurriedly asked the maid to pull out the box.

The two of them were so rude, Qiao Yun became annoyed and even asked them to stop.

Hearing her urgent call to stop, Mrs. Qiu became more and more energetic. Then she heard the ding-dong sound in the box, and she suddenly realized something.

Is this the precious jade that Xiang bought in exchange for the auspicious seal?

She couldn't help laughing and hugged the box.

"It's so hidden!"

...

Qiu Zhaoyuan.

Mrs. Fusan wished she could go over the accounts again in person.

But there was no point in calculating the accounts that had no problems. On the contrary, the eyes of several elders in the clan looked at her with a lot of contempt.

Everyone in the hall was waiting quietly, but Xiang Yi was still standing in the same place, making it difficult to see his emotions.

Tan Ting's eyes fell on her for a few times and then looked back.

As soon as he picked up the tea cup, there was movement outside.

Qiu ran faster than anyone else. As if she had caught some life-saving wood, she hugged the wooden box tightly and reached the hall.

"Found it, the stuff is in this box!"

She slapped the wooden box on the table in the center of the hall and gave Xiang Yi a proud look.

Xiang Yi frowned.

With her acting like this, the eyes of everyone in the hall couldn't help but change a bit.

Mrs. Qiu became more and more proud, "Mrs. Xiang, do you know this box? It's not good to lock it so that no one can see it."

She knocked on the lock, and everyone looked at Xiang Yi again at the sound of picking the lock.

Tan Ting also looked over.

Xiang Yi, standing on the other side of the crowd, pursed his lips slightly.

She knew that in this situation, it was impossible to continue to hide the things she accidentally said.

Xiang Yi closed his eyes and spoke in a very calm voice.

"There is no key here, just pry it open."

She said it neatly. After hearing this, Mrs. Qiu thought she was afraid of herself, so she immediately called for someone.

"This is what Mrs. Xiang said herself, so let's pry it off."

Everyone in the hall frowned when Qiu acted like this.

But Qiu couldn't control that much.

As long as it is proven that Xiang is guilty, what else can these clan elders say about her?

The box was made of ordinary material, not expensive wood. The lock on the box fell off with a strong force.

Mrs. Qiu and Mrs. Fusan both came forward, thinking that when they opened the box, they would see many shining jewels.

Unexpectedly, the box suddenly opened. There was no shining jewelry, only a few unfinished sealing stones, carving knives and ink pads.

"This..."

Mrs. Fusan was stunned and looked at Mrs. Qiu.

Mrs. Qiu was also stunned. She picked up the unfinished jade materials and looked at them hard, as if to see the value.

Xiang Yi's eyes were calm.

Qiu rummaged through it again and again, and finally found two decent pieces of jade.

"These two pieces of jade are worth a lot of money. Where did they come from?" Qiu held the two pieces of jade and was about to make a fuss.

"When Mrs. Xiang came in, she only had eight tons of dowry, so it's not like she could afford such jade."

Xiang Yi only had eight tons of dowry, so he really couldn't afford such jade.

But before anyone else could say anything, Qiao Yun suddenly barged in.

She saw Mrs. Qiu and Mrs. Fusan bullying her wife in this way, while the wife stood alone in the corner of the hall, with no one speaking for her or redressing her grievances.

Qiao Yong was very angry, "With my wife's dowry, I can't afford these jade stones, but my wife will never take bribes, and she has never touched a penny of the Tan family's things! These are all the results of my hard work over the years. Carved with a knife!"

She said, taking out a thick account book from her arms and slapping it on the case.

The maid's boldness made many clan members frown, but Qiao Yun couldn't care less and said directly.

"This is Madam's private account record since she married into the Tan family. I remember every transaction clearly. Check it out!" Have you

even remembered the private accounts clearly?

Everyone was surprised, especially Mr. Qiu and Mrs. Fusan. They went up to look through it in disbelief.

Qiao Yun let them flip through it and walked to Madam with sore eyes to take a closer look at Xiang Yi's face.

Xiang Yi smiled comfortingly with her, but Qiao Yun almost shed tears in this smile.

She couldn't help but remember that she had asked Madam why she kept such detailed records in her private accounts.

Madam didn't answer too much at the time, saying it was better to write it down.

She thought at that time, is Madam getting married? How can marriage be so clearly divided?

It seems so necessary now...

Qiao Yun spread the accounts on the table, and the jade materials in the box were also spread out in front of everyone.

Mrs. Qiu and Mrs. Fusan were looking through the private accounts with extremely detailed records, and it felt like their hands were being burned. Their faces were ugly, and beads of sweat were falling down.

The clan elders all saw the two people's behavior like this, and they became aware of it.

Yang Zhen couldn't sit still at first. She pushed aside the two stiff-looking people and took a look at the accounts.

She couldn't believe it.

As a wife of a noble family, the money at her disposal was neither brought by her mother's family nor given by her husband's family. It was all carved out by herself.

Tan Jian couldn't help but walked over and saw the name of the store written on the account.

He murmured, "I was wondering why I had met my sister-in-law several times at Jixiang Seal Shop for such a reason..."

He couldn't go on, but he remembered that even though his sister-in-law was in such a tight situation, his eldest brother wrote at that time The letter came home and asked everyone if they could buy anything for me, but my sister-in-law didn't ask him to buy anything.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but glance at his elder brother.

There were people talking quietly in the hall, but Tan Ting's ears suddenly became so quiet that there was no sound at all.

He paused on the spot.

His eyes fell on the pattern papers that Qiu had turned over.

The pieces of patterned paper, about the size of a child's palm, fell from the box without anyone noticing.

It just drifted and landed at Tan Ting's feet.

On those papers, the word "和" in ancient style was carefully traced one after another, as if looking for the best shape to print on the seal.

Lucky Print Shop.

That piece and the word seal.

No wonder they refused to sell it to him...

Tan Ting was silent and couldn't help but look at the farthest side of the hall from him.

She stood silently, with two or three pieces of hair tucked into her ears.

She wore the most regular hair accessories, with an ordinary silver hairpin and an inconspicuous floral comb in her hair.

Wearing a cleanly washed apricot-colored long coat and honey-colored bijia, the clothes are still old but not new, and they are already leaning towards old clothes.

Tan Ting slowly turned his eyes away, looking at everyone in the hall, and finally fell on her again.

No matter whether they are the widowed mother Zhao or the elderly members of the clan, no one is as plain as her, not even having a pair of bracelets on her wrists, let alone her cherished sister and dowry. Generous siblings.

She has nothing.

But he still wanted to check her account...

Tan Ting paused, and a strange feeling suddenly passed through his heart.