"Where's Aunt Liu? Why hasn't it come yet? Dou Qing'e took a sip of tea, with real worry on her face.

Qin Yuwan's hand shook, and the tea almost spilled: "My mother is busy in the account room." ”

Qin Zhen slapped the table dissatisfiedly: "When is it, there is such a big fire in the Begonia Courtyard, and she is still busy there, I don't know what to do." The implication is that he and his precious concubine are frightened, and everyone should rush to offer condolences.

Although most of the people present also disliked Aunt Liu, when they heard that Qin Zhen was so partial to Li Mengming, they felt unhappy in their hearts.

"Not necessarily," Qin Yunuan said lightly, "The wind is strong tonight, and the southeast wind is blowing, and the account room is close to the Begonia Courtyard, everyone is focused on fighting the fire in the Begonia Courtyard, but I'm afraid that this account room is not ......." ”

Before Qin Yunuan finished speaking, a panicked female voice came from far and near at the door.

"Master, master, something happened to the bookkeeper, something happened to the bookkeeper." The voice was sharp and thin, obviously Aunt Liu's.

Behind her was Aunt Chang, who was also flustered, each with a little disheveled clothes, and even a few traces of sparkling sparkling on her face.

"Master, the account room was also burned, and none of the account books in it were saved." Aunt Liu looked at Qin Qian's expression for a while, and when she saw Qin Zhi's eyebrows suddenly clustered into a "Chuan" word, she quickly knelt down, she had been in the Qin family for so many years, and she was the best at reading people's faces, and the deeper Qin Qian's brows wrinkled, the more angry he was in his heart.

"It's the slave and the maid who are useless, it's the slave and the maid who don't take care of the account books, the master trusts the slave and the maid, and lets the slave and the maid take care of the house with Sister Chang, but the slave and the maid are ......." As she spoke, she watched Qin Zhen's expression change.

Aunt Chang on the side also knelt down and said: "The concubine is also at fault in this matter, and she is willing to take responsibility with Aunt Liu." ”

The account book in the account room records the expenditure income of the Qin family, from the income of the acres of land in the suburbs of Beijing to the purchase of a needle and thread.

Qin Yuwan saw her mother kneeling, and hurriedly knelt down and pleaded: "Father, you can't blame your mother for this matter, the fire suddenly burned, this is something that no one expected, you look at your mother, her face is blackened, it can be seen that her mother has done her best." ”

Dou Qing'e also persuaded at this time: "Yes, it's not a big deal if the account book in the account room is burned, Sister Liu, can you make a brief backup of the account book?" If there is, it will not delay the income in and out and bookkeeping in the future. ”

Aunt Liu's face froze, and she looked at Shang Qin with a hint of hope, and kowtowed to the ground and said, "The slave is stupid, I didn't think of using this method, master, the slave knows that it is wrong, and it really knows that it is wrong." ”

Qin Zhen's face sank: "There is more than enough success." "If the fire is an accident and inevitable, but the bookkeeper forgets to back it up in case it is needed, this is Aunt Liu's own problem.

Qin Yunuan sat on the side and watched, and saw a trace of cunning flashing on Dou Qing'e's face, that's right, she succeeded, she went from a small fight before to a fire today, which proved that the Qin family can't do without her, sure enough, just when Qin Qian's face was about to condense to the extreme, Dou Qing'e opened her mouth with a smile: "Sister Liu is also in charge of accounts for the first time, and it is natural that she is not familiar with these rules, but fortunately, the concubine has backed up all the accounts since she managed the accounts earlier, and specially vacated a room in Cuixuan Courtyard to place it, As long as you do a cursory tidying up, you can move in at any time. ”

Aunt Liu was suddenly stunned, she looked at Dou Qing'e with her eyes, and suddenly didn't know whether to thank her or blame her.

Qin Zhen's eyebrows and eyes suddenly brightened, and his heart suddenly fell to the ground, and he couldn't help but sigh: "This family, in the end, is still indispensable to Qing'e's wife." ”

"The master smiled," Dou Qing'e's eyes were so soft that they seemed to be dripping water, "sharing worries for the lord is what a concubine should do." ”

The sky was already dark, and the sky was gradually white, and the soft early sun shone in through the panes, casting a shadow of light.

"Master, the fire has been found," the old butler followed by a small servant with a brazier, bowed at the door, hurried in, asked the little servant to put the brazier on the ground, and arched his hand, "It is this pot of coals for heating." ”

Qin Yunuan had already asked Liao's mother to go back with Baochuan first, and she looked at the brazier that was burned a little deformed in the center with everyone, and she couldn't see the decorative gold flower on the nail at all, and the sturdiest bottom of the pot was also burned out of shape, and there were only some black residues left in it.

"This coal?" Dou Qing'e dragged out her tone, but did not continue.

In the past, the Taiwei Mansion used the best silver charcoal on the market, which was smokeless and dust-free, and would not raise high sparks, but it was also very warm.

"The silver charcoal is warm, but there is no flame, the black charcoal is not exhaustive, and there will be sparks coming out when it is burned, I think, it must be this pot of black charcoal when it burns out sparks or flames, and burns to the nearby drapery or the like, so that the fire is ignited." Qin Yun's makeup slowly and methodically came to a conclusion about the cause of the fire, she and Dou Qing'e glanced at each other knowingly, and the convergence of the eyes fell on Qin Yunuan's eyes, Qin Yunuan's body was in arrears, and he changed to a more comfortable posture.

Sure enough, Qin Zhen waved his hand and instructed the old housekeeper: "Find the housekeeper of the account room and the grandmother in charge of purchasing, I want to ask how this inferior charcoal got into my Qin family." Then he looked at Li Mengming, who was a little depressed on the side, and said softly: "But tired?" If you're tired, go back and rest. ”

Li Mengming didn't speak, just lowered her head and shook her head, although her eyes didn't fall on Su Chenghai so nakedly, but the slightest lingering was like a silk thread wrapped in the air, and Qin Yunuan could see it very clearly.

Qin Yunuan looked back at Su Chenghai, he was drinking the cold tea leisurely one by one, his slender fingers holding the tea cup looked twelve points elegant, and he could vaguely see the calluses in his palms, slightly yellowed, it should be calluses.

"Master, everyone has brought it." After a while, the old housekeeper led Ye San and Mama Qiao, who was in charge of purchasing, in.

"Mama Joe?" Aunt Chang's face immediately changed when she saw Mama Qiao, who was calm and relaxed, "Didn't you say that you have a waist and leg disease and want to go home to rest for half a month?" ”

"Hmph, of course Aunt Chang hopes that the slave and maid will rest." Mama Qiao's words shook the world, she knelt on her knees, and said straight to Qin Qian, "Master, the old slave has also been working in the Qin family for thirty years, and I have been in charge of purchasing, and I have been in charge of purchasing for eight years. I didn't want to lose this errand, so I thought of a way to get both, and went home. ”

"Nonsense!" Aunt Liu immediately jumped to her feet, "Where did I let you do this kind of stealing dragon and phoenix, I just told you, when buying, shop around, and save the money you can save, is this also wrong?" ”

Mama Qiao didn't know where she got the courage, so she said directly to Aunt Liu: "Auntie is naturally right, but I don't know how much silver my aunt saved by letting her slaves and maids use inferior goods to top up good goods." ”

Aunt Liu's eyebrows widened, and she wanted to have a seizure, but she was dragged down by Aunt Chang on the side, and when she saw that Qin Zhen's face was so cold that it was close to horror, she shrank her head, and she didn't argue too much, but just called to Qin Zhen with tears: "Master, you and I have been together for so many years, can't you still trust me?" "Aunt Liu has been serving Qin since she was twelve years old, and the two of them have tasted the clouds and rain for the first time at the age of fourteen, and now, it has been more than 20 years, and Aunt Liu has been holding herself as the old man of the Qin family every day, which is exactly this reason.

"You say," Qin Zhi directly ignored Aunt Liu, and pointed at Ye Sandao, "You are in charge of the account room, and you know best what the Qin family's expenses and income are these days." ”

Clear is clear, but on the contrary, this Ye San is Dou Qing'e's person, Qin Yunuan took a sip of strong tea, the sun outside gradually rose, and the sleepless night also made her feel a little exhausted.

Ye San knelt down, and his thin cheeks seemed to be straightforward when he spoke: "Master, the silver that Aunt Liu recorded in the account is indeed sufficient, and sometimes she even takes more than when Madame was in charge, but where it is used, the small one doesn't know." ”

"Phew," Aunt Liu shouted, "it's not that you got the ...... of the wedding dress wrong." She wanted to say that Ye San deliberately made a mistake in the color of the wedding dress, so that she had to spend an extra amount of silver to dredge it, but when she came back to her senses, this matter was originally to hide the secret of the master, and she must not say that she leaked it.

"There is no basis for what you say, Ye San, do you have any evidence?" Although Aunt Chang and Aunt Liu didn't have much friendship before, at this time the two of them were also grasshoppers on a rope, and she couldn't help them.

"Aunt Hui," Ye San said with a hint of contempt, "Didn't all the ledgers be burned in the fire just now?" So small, no evidence. ”

"Since there is no evidence," Qin Yunuan said slowly, "One of you said that the two aunts were shoddy, and the other said that the two aunts misappropriated the money in the account, this is not a trivial matter, why didn't you report to your father or mother earlier?" I had to wait until this time, when the fire burned and everything was destroyed, to stand up and testify. ”