Daqian Night Emperor

Chapter 40 Don’t tell Mother!

Gou Xiangxi sat down hurriedly, daring only to place his buttocks close to the edge of the chair, with his body half bent.

Just as Zhao Qi'an raised his hand to take the teapot on the table, he hurriedly stood up, took the teapot and filled Zhao Qi'an's cup with it, then carefully handed the cup to Zhao Qi'an and smiled flatteringly, "Boss, have some tea."

Zhao Qi'an put his hand on the lid of the tea bowl, not in a hurry to pick it up, lowered his eyelids, and asked, "How did the investigation go today?"

Speaking of the accounts, Gou Xiangxi perked up and said, "Boss, we have a short time, so I and my men only checked the accounts for March. I didn't know until I checked, but once I checked, I was really shocked. Guess what?"

"Don't keep me in suspense."

"Yes, yes. According to the accounts for March alone, the Princess's Mansion has 8,381 taels and 3 qian of silver missing. This is just one month. Based on the accounts of the mansion, I speculate that this situation started before the New Year. It has been at least four or five months now. At least 20,000 to 30,000 taels of silver are missing."

Gou Xiangxi then told Zhao Qi'an in detail how he discovered that the original accounts of the princess's mansion were false and how he found the real account books.

As he spoke, he carefully watched the changes in his boss's facial expression.

But Zhao Qian just listened calmly from beginning to end. He neither interrupted him nor showed any interest in any part.

Just tens of thousands of taels of silver were just a drop in the bucket for the huge Zhao Company.

Gou Xiangxi knew what Zhao Qi'an was interested in, so he tactfully changed the subject and stopped talking about the accounts. Instead, he talked about what happened after he captured the eunuch Hai and faced Yu Zhen today.

In fact, Zhao Qi'an had already heard reports about these things from his subordinates today.

Yuzhen was so angry that she cried, and this matter was talked about by people in the mansion with great relish.

"Boss, I took it upon myself to beat Hai Huaiyi to death. Wasn't that... a bit too much?"

Gou Xiangxi asked cautiously.

He knew that the boss was currently keeping a low profile, and that the boss seemed to be quite wary of the palace and was unwilling to get involved in palace affairs.

I wonder who in the palace can make the boss so afraid...

Is it the Majesty who ignores the affairs of state?
Or is it the peerless national teacher?

Gou Xiangxi had been an official for several years and had some understanding of court affairs.

But because of this, he didn't dare to speculate rashly, and quickly stopped the idea, not daring to think about it further.

Zhao Qi'an opened the lid of the teacup, took a sip, then put it down and said calmly, "Since I told you to do it freely, it's up to you how you do it. Kill Hai Huaiyi if you want. Once he leaves the palace, he will be a private slave of the princess's mansion. What does it matter if he lives or dies?"

Gou Xiangxi asked, "Don't you worry that the news will spread to Fuyan Palace?"

"Just do your thing and don't think about it."

That’s all Zhao Qi’an has to say.

But after Gou Xiangxi heard these words, he felt relieved.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, and his smile widened: "Then I know what to do next, please rest assured, Master."

……

In the princess's residence, inside the bedroom.

"Boom!"

The porcelain was thrown heavily to the ground, the hall was in a mess, and the flower pots and porcelain were all knocked over.

The maids serving in the palace were all silent, pretending not to see the figure who was venting his anger on the things in the palace, but the occasional sound of broken porcelain made them twitch their eyelids. After venting her anger, Yu Zhen sat back on the soft couch, panting, her delicate makeup had long been ruined by crying, her eyes were red and swollen, and her tears had smudged her rouge into two black tear marks on her face.

After she came back from the warehouse, she cried bitterly in her bedroom, feeling very aggrieved.

But after being wronged, what surged in my heart was shame and anger.

She was a princess, but she was being ridden on by a slave!

He is still a disgusting, wretched, rotten-toothed... extremely ugly slave!

And those servants, how dare they laugh at me!
These slaves... all deserve to die!

Die, die, die...

The more Yu Zhen thought about it, the angrier she became. She couldn't control her temper anymore and smashed everything in her bedroom.

No one dared to offend her at this time. Yu Zhen looked at the frightened maids in the bedroom, and the depression in her heart was relieved a little, and her complexion looked much better.

It was not until she stopped her meaningless outburst that her personal maid Luan Nu came forward and whispered softly, "Your Highness, calm down. Why are you getting angry with a servant?"

"Who on earth is that bastard? How dare he come to the princess's mansion and act wild?"

Yu Zhen gritted her teeth, clenched her fists, and her nails dug deep into her flesh.

Luan Nu replied, "I have sent someone to find out clearly that Gou Xiangxi is one of the eight stewards of the Zhao's business. Apart from the owner and the principal, he has the highest position in the business. Moreover, he was the top scholar in the 36th year of Tianwu, and he studied under Prime Minister Wu. He once served as a reader in the Hanlin Academy and is expected to enter the cabinet."

"Later, during the imperial lecture, His Majesty saw that he looked disgusting and made a joke, so he was banished. In the fourth and fifth years of the Tianwu reign, he was involved in the 'Emperor's Armory' incident and was deposed and exiled. I don't know how he turned into a steward of the Zhao family's business."

She revealed Gou Xiangxi's identity one by one, and each of these things made Yu Zhen look very unhappy.

But Yu Zhen quickly looked at Luan Nu suspiciously: "How do you know so much?"

Luan Nu remained calm and replied, "Your Highness, this person is very famous in Kyoto. I have learned so much about him after asking around."

Yu Zhen immediately stopped doubting him and snorted heavily, "No matter how powerful he is, he is just Zhao Qi'an's dog! The one who really wants to embarrass me is Zhao Qi'an!"

There was a hint of resentment in her eyes, and she murmured, "You can only know a person's face but not his heart... But isn't it said that the Zhao Company has someone else in charge in the capital? Where does Zhao Qi'an get so much power?"

Before today, she had never looked at Zhao Qi'an directly.

Because Zhao Qi'an seldom went to Zhao's Trading Company and stayed in the princess's mansion most of the time, everyone in Kyoto knew that the person in charge of Zhao's Trading Company in Kyoto was an important figure, not Viscount Haiqing and the princess' husband Zhao Qi'an.

As for who is behind the Zhao Trading Company in Kyoto, anyone in Kyoto who is interested can find out.

Otherwise, with Zhao Qian'an and Zhao's Company doing such a big business in Kyoto City alone, could those big shots in Kyoto City just watch over it?

Can Zhao Qi'an hold on?
Yu Zhen originally thought so, but today when she saw Gou Xiangxi's respectful and almost humble attitude when he mentioned Zhao Qian'an, even if she was stupid, she now figured it out.

"Your Highness."

Luan Nu interrupted Yu Zhen's thoughts.

She bowed and asked respectfully, "Butler Hai is dead. Should we inform the palace? The queen..."

Yu Zhen shuddered and said quickly, "Don't tell mother!"

(End of this chapter)