Chapter Eleven: Gathering You

  A whole minute later, Su Tiancheng finally spoke slowly and called Su Jun to come in.

  Su Jun was already furious, his face also turned somewhat gloomy.

  "Su Jun, there's something I want to get clear about."

  "I don't know what young master wants to know, I'll try my best to answer."

  Su Jun spoke somewhat aggressively, apparently still unwilling to give in. Su Tiancheng was angry at the same time, and also lamented that the former Su Tiancheng had become so weak and timid.

  "This young master's inquiry, you must be aware of it. The old master and the two madams went to Taiyuan Prefecture after the first month, now it is already October. This young master has an expenditure of 30 taels of silver every month, all of which are managed by you. Speaking of which, it's also 300 taels of silver. Today this young master wants to take a look at the account book, where did these silvers go?"

  Just like Su Jun, such a domineering housekeeper, with silver in hand, the previous Su Tiancheng was so weak, and could spend up to ten taels of silver per month, which was already extravagant, and the remaining silver would have to be accounted for.

  Su Tiancheng had two purposes in doing so. Firstly, to clean up the accounts, if there was any remaining silver, take it over immediately and don't let Su Jun manage it anymore. This reason is easy to find, with so much silver left over, Su Jun wouldn't plan to embezzle from his master's household, with ill intentions. Through this step of intimidation, slowly strip away Su Jun's power.

  What's important is the second point, Su Jun is a home-born son, and he doesn't usually see much silver. Generally speaking, those who manage the household like to take advantage of opportunities. If there are suspicious points found in the account book and verified, Su Tiancheng will definitely take action without hesitation. Of course, there are many ways to take action, and having a good grasp on Su Jun's handle has many benefits.

  "Master, so you were asking about this matter. Master's monthly expenses are so high, even the small ones have been added to it, and now there isn't a single silver coin left."

  Su Tiancheng's face revealed a charming smile, thirty taels of silver, for a wealthy family, it was nothing, but for him, it was different, he originally lived the life of a servant, where did he need to spend so much silver?

  "So that's how it is! I'll have to take a closer look at the account book then. How can you ask me for silver? Tell me, where is the account book?"

  "The account book is in the hands of the young wife."

  "Second Brother, go get the account book and say what I told you. If he doesn't want to bring over the account book, then this young master will be in a bad mood and lose his temper. Su Jun will suffer the consequences."

  Su Er Tong immediately ran out, having had enough of Su Jun's temper. This time, he could finally hold his head high.

  "Master, isn't this inappropriate? The young lady has already gone to sleep."

  "Haha, you mean I have to go get it myself, right?"

  Su Jun's face turned red, his lips trembling, unable to speak. Su Tiancheng's meaning was clear: his own wife was a lowly servant girl, and Su Tiancheng looked down on her.

  Su Jun's wife, Yu Huan, was previously a maid of the first wife, and had been favored by Su Tianran before he married. However, since Su Tianran hadn't yet married, and things were getting out of hand, she hastily married Su Jun instead.

  This matter is also Su Jun's unspoken secret, but there is no way to get angry.

  "Young master, I've brought the account book. Please take a look. My husband thinks about the household matters every day and is worried to death."

  After all, she was a maid beside the madam, and Yuhuan had a clever tongue.

  "Did this young master ask you to speak?"

  Yu Huan looked at Su Tiancheng, her face also changed. To be honest, she had never really looked at this young master with a straight eye. Although Su Tiancheng was handsome, he was too weak.

  The account book fell into Su Tiancheng's hands.

  In ancient times, accounting was done using a ledger, where every daily expense was clearly recorded. At the end of each month, a summary was made to see how much had been spent and what remained.

  Su Tiancheng is a time-traveler, and checking such account books is child's play for him.

  Su Jun originally thought that Su Tiancheng was timid by nature and only knew how to read books, so he couldn't possibly understand account books. Therefore, when doing accounts, he didn't have any scruples. All the expenses of his own family were recorded under Su Tiancheng's name, and the excess silver was also accounted for as fake expenses. In fact, all the silver had entered his own pocket.

  Seeing Su Tiancheng seriously looking at the account book, Su Jun's face changed color.

  "Bang."

  Su Tiancheng closed the account book, still with a smile on his face, but Su Jun shivered.

  "Su Jun, are you going to make me spell it out one stroke at a time, or will you tell the truth yourself?"

  Su Jun's legs softened a bit, at this time, he would never easily admit it, he didn't believe that Su Tiancheng could understand the account book, and this was not something that scholars cared about.

  "Young master, I haven't done anything wrong, there's nothing to say."

  "Alright, Second Brother, prepare the family law."

  Yu Huan's expression had changed, she didn't know why, but as soon as she saw Su Tiancheng for the first time, she felt that something was wrong. This silly young master had undergone a huge change. A woman's thoughts are meticulous.

  "Young master, is my husband loyal and honest? Has he done anything wrong?"

  "Is that right, Yu Huan? Su Jun is your husband, isn't he?"

  "Why did you say that, young master?"

  "This young master is strange, Su Jun is your husband, but the silver you spend on dressing up every month, why did this young master pay for it? Just this one item, in ten months' time, spent 120 taels of silver, isn't it that you and this young master have an illicit relationship, and this young master secretly gave you money?"

  Su Jun has collapsed, Su Tiancheng really understands the accounts book, everything is over.

  Yu Huan saw Su Jun sprawled on the ground and knew something was wrong, so she hastily knelt down.

  "Master, don't say that, this might be a special case, and even account books can make mistakes."

  Hahaha...

  Su Tiancheng looked up at the sky and burst out laughing.

  "It's interesting, May is already the beginning of summer, and I've bought 20 taels of white charcoal. It's strange, I don't know where these white charcoals are going to be stored. 20 taels of white charcoal can fill up two rooms! In June, which is the peak of summer, I'm actually going to buy a brocade quilted gown, one gown costs 20 taels of silver. Doesn't this young master know about the change of seasons? Even more bizarre, in the first month, I bought a brocade single-layer garment, also costing 20 taels of silver. These have already added up to 180 taels of silver! Su Jun, can you explain?"

  Su Jun's face had turned ashen, and even if Madame herself were here, she wouldn't be able to save him from being punished for embezzling the master of the house's money.

  "Young master, I was wrong, I deserve to die, I deserve to die..."

  "Su Jun, you tell me, how should this young master handle this matter?"

  Su Jun kept kowtowing, his forehead bleeding. Yuhuan saw that something was wrong and also started kowtowing.

  "Su Jun, Yu Huan, you two were originally servants, but you don't know the rules. I was thinking that after retrieving my silver, I would send you both directly to the government office..."

  "Spare my life, young master! I don't dare anymore, really don't dare anymore..."

  Su Jun began to wail and cry, and was taken to the government office. What would happen next didn't need to be said - he already knew. His own wife would likely be sent into prostitution, and after being flogged, if he managed to survive, he would probably be sent to join the army.

  "Alright, as the saying goes, family scandals should not be made public. Doing so would also bring shame to the Su Manor. However, you cannot escape punishment. Go and receive your punishment yourself."

  After saying all this, Su Tiancheng spoke in a cold tone.

  "From today on, all matters in the mansion will be directly handled by Uncle Su Pingyang. Everyone must follow his arrangements. If anyone disobeys, I will dismiss them immediately and show no mercy."

  Su Tiancheng was beaten with twenty big boards, lying in bed, unable to get up. Yu Huan cried and took out more than 200 taels of silver, handing them over to Su Pingyang.

  This matter immediately caused a sensation in the Su Mansion. Although there were only about thirty servants in the Su Mansion, everyone knew that Su Tiancheng was a useless person and Su Junchen was the real master. Now, Su Junchen himself had been punished by family law, and he didn't even dare to cry out for injustice, which showed that the situation had undergone a huge change.

  For several days in a row, all the servants saw Su Tiancheng, and their feelings were completely different. Su Tiancheng had really changed, and it was a big change.