An ugly girl starts off, then becomes a beauty

At night, after Sang Ling had finished taking the medicine, Nie Ce came back and the couple leaned on the couch and talked for a while.

He did not stay at home that night, as he had an urgent errand on hand, which did not seem to be for epidemic treatment, but he did not reveal any information about where he was going or what he was going to do. He only gave an approximate time. "I can't stay for long, I will be back in three to five days at most."

Sang Ling had a rough idea in his mind: it was probably about making Jiaozhou the king.

When he came back in the middle of last year, he said he would only stay until the end of the year. Since he wanted to have three burrows, he would have to move around before the south was recovered.

"I don't have anything to tell you. As for the epidemic, you still need to be on high alert around you."

She didn't know about the rest, and she didn't have the mood to test it now, so she could only talk about the epidemic first.

"Yes." Nie Ce nodded as he listened to her. He leaned over and put his hand on her forehead again, "Are you feeling better now after taking the medicine?"

"Even if you didn't take the medicine, you should have been well by now." Sang Ling rolled his eyes at her and couldn't help blaming her.

Nie Ce obviously didn't understand his daughter's little thoughts and raised his eyebrows. "Why are you angry?"

It would have been fine if she hadn't asked, and she could have teased him for some reason. But when she asked, she suddenly wanted to laugh and didn't even have the heart to tease him. Her husband was a straightforward person and it was impossible to flirt with him.

She could only sigh, "You are always away from home, which makes me feel uncomfortable. The New Year's mansion is no more relaxed than the outside world. I have to take care of the upper and lower ones, and there is also the West Mansion... This is my first time to deal with it. Even when I was at home, I have never suffered so much."

After that, Nie Ce seemed to be thinking seriously. He said "hmm". She watched for a while, then smiled and moved closer. "But I am sensible and I won't argue with you."

This kind of thing is the hardest to care about. Although in this era, men are responsible for external affairs and women are responsible for internal affairs, she has not been completely influenced by this. She always wants Nie Ce to know more about the affairs of the mansion and have a sense of participation. Especially since the Nie family always likes to fight among themselves.

Then as a marquis, he cannot stay out of it completely.

She needed him to know clearly that she was not eating his food for free.

"I heard about what happened on Chuyi. I haven't had the chance to go to my mother yet. You can imagine that she will just say it's no big deal." Nie Ce thought she was complaining about the fact that her power as the head of the family was taken away.

"It's nothing serious." Sang Ling said truthfully, "Grandpa is thinking that my mother and I haven't recovered yet, so he is sympathizing with us. This is a good thing."

Better things are still to come. She smiled sarcastically in her heart but did not show it in front of Nie Ce.

"Second Aunt is here to make a fuss." Although the young general had a lot of official business, he was still very clear about family affairs. Sang Ling sneered indifferently, "She went to mother, but she said what she said. Can mother take a few words to heart?"

Madam Zhaoyu has seen a lot of ups and downs, so she shouldn't be really affected by her.

Nie Ce nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

The conversation between the couple did not last long. He set off at the hour of Hai. It had been snowing outside again in the mornings and evenings over the past two days. Before he left, Ying Bushi was still in the corridor helping him change into a thick felt coat. Through the shadows of a few winter pine trees in front of the corridor, he could vaguely see a few men waiting in the yard.

They were all Nie Ce's trusted followers, and they could freely enter the Marquis' Mansion and the Noon Garden. However, they would just wait in the yard from a distance and would not come forward. Sang Ling covered his mouth to hold back his cough, then turned back and whispered to Wei Chu to send a few cups of hot water.

*

The weather in the first month of the year was worse than before, and it was cloudy for several days. A few days after Xifu took over the power of the family, he sent people to Wuyuan as expected to silently check the accounts before the end of the year with Sang Ling.

The ones who came were Aunt He and a few older maids.

When Sang Ling's illness was over, Cheng Ai helped him back to the back of the carriage and listened to the questions about personnel management. Cheng Ai answered all the questions and explained everything in less than half an hour. At noon, Zong Xiang, Shi Ai, Xing Ai and He Ai checked the accounts.

The most difficult one to calculate was the one from August last year. As He Ai rolled the bamboo in her hand, her brows knitted together, "Did the expenses for the birthday banquet in August go to the relatives in my hometown?"

Regarding the birthday banquet account, Madam Zhaoyu meant to use the relatives' expenses to make up for the East Palace's account. However, an epidemic broke out soon after, and a series of problems arose in the blink of an eye, so it was not clearly written in the account book. Sang Ling asked Zong Xiang to continue to write it down in the account.

It will be fine as long as Madam Zhaoyu knows about this matter.

But just by taking a look, Aunt He knew what it meant?

Sang Ling glanced at Xing who was kneeling beside him.

It seems that this person was not very cautious in doing things, and he didn't even bother to check the account book afterwards, and just reported it to the West Palace.

"Yes, but it hasn't been sorted out yet, so the account is still recorded as it is." Under the light, the second young master's wife smiled like a spring breeze.

Her long black hair was simply tied behind her back, and she was wearing an ordinary black straight-hem gown, but she caught people's eyes. It was as if there was a beam of light on her body that shone among everyone in the room even through a veil.

While Aunt He was still in a daze, Aunt Xing was the first to sense something was wrong - if it was not clearly written in the account book, how could Aunt He tell?

She couldn't help but feel weak in her hands and feet, and quickly gave He Ai a look.

After all, she was the chief servant of the West Mansion. Even if she didn't understand the accounts, she was still smart. He's mind immediately churned for a few times before she suddenly realized, "I just saw that the relatives spent a lot of money. Thinking about the style of the first lady in previous years, I was afraid that she would do this... I thought the second young lady didn't know, so I had to ask."

Even if she was a servant, so what? She was brought here by the Second Madam from the Shen family. Not to mention that ordinary servants had to treat her like a half-master, even a new daughter-in-law from the Sang family, who had been married for less than two years, had to be polite to her.

"Yes, after all, this is my first time, and I don't understand many of the intricacies involved." Sang Ling still spoke kindly, "So the account has not been completely reconciled. Since Second Aunt wants to take it to see it, let me check it carefully again."

"You've made it clear. We'll take the bill back and settle it. It's the same." He Ai raised her head and raised her voice, as if trying to make up for her previous mistake.

Little did they know that the more this happened, the more suspicious it would be. Both Xing and Shi were old ladies who managed the accounts. Who could guarantee that Xing had not tampered with the account books? -- Suspicion flashed through Sang Ling's mind, and he turned his head away. Zong Xiang immediately spoke up, "I don't know, there is one last item of the relatives' expenses that has not been filled in. The people from Jiuyuan reported it yesterday."

He Nanny, who was in the West Mansion, certainly had no idea what was true and false. Upon hearing this, she glanced at Xing Nanny and saw that she was also thinking for a while. Before she could reply, she noticed another gaze coming over from the corner of her eye. She met the gaze and found that it was Cheng Nanny, who was beside the Second Young Master's wife.

This person has always been cheerful and amiable, but for some reason there is a hint of scrutiny in his smile at this moment.

I don't know how long I have been staring at them.

He's heart trembled, and she quickly retracted her gaze.

Sang Ling sat up and said, "We should finish what we have started. After we finish it, let Second Aunt take a look. Wouldn't that be convenient for everyone?"

After she finished speaking, a draft blew through the hall, making the snow on the trees in the yard rustle, which made the front hall of the house full of people even quieter. The corners of He's mouth twitched, but she didn't know what to say.

However, no matter how they calculated the account, there would always be discrepancies in the end. Before leaving Wuyuan, He couldn't help but glance at Xing, and only when she saw that she nodded secretly did she feel relieved.