novelaction Chapter 158: Arrangement
Chapter 158: Arrangement
Chapter 158: Arrangements
The chains that had made the noise were opened and thrown to the ground, the wooden door creaked open, and a blast of cold air blew out as it was pushed open.
The interior was even more desolate, overgrown with weeds and branches, making it look like a haunted house. Before Ji Meiqing even went inside, she looked at the old Taoist priest and asked, "If you don't want this Taoist temple, you can buy it for me as well."
The Taoist priest was taken aback. Ji Meiqing immediately changed her mind, "Let's go in and take a look."
The situation inside looked rather bad. She followed beside Lu Yu, the sound of branches colliding in her ears, as if they were about to fall at any moment.
She finally found the huge pile of things, all covered in dust. She picked through them, some items were broken, but looking at the complete set of tools, she figured that was about it. She didn't know how much it would cost to rebuild them.
"I'll have someone come and move it. I wonder how much the Taoist priest wants."
"Girl, just give me whatever you think is appropriate. I don't have many days left, and in the future, everything in this temple will be given to others."
She smiled and looked at Lu Yu beside her. He immediately understood and took out a bag of silver from his sleeve and placed it in front of her.
“I think the money in here should be enough for you,” Ji Meiqing explained again. She grinned and then turned her gaze to the pile of alchemy furnaces that looked like scrap metal.
These were all old items; she didn't know how much she could fetch if she tried to sell them. She tapped them, and they made a clear, crisp sound. Lu Yu walked over and stopped her from doing anything further.
"It's covered in dust and looks a bit dirty."
She reluctantly withdrew her hand, looking somewhat aggrieved. "I just wanted to take a look."
"I'll look at it again when I get back," he said gently.
She could only follow his advice and go back, waiting until everything had been cleaned before looking at it. It was the first time Ji Meiqing had ever seen these antiques; she had never seen anything like alchemy materials before.
After paying, they left. The journey down the mountain was quite fun; the roadside was covered in ivy, though the leaves and stems were somewhat withered and yellow, looking rather lifeless.
The stone steps led down to the bottom, and she took off her cloak, skipping and hopping down. A cold wind blew through the mountain valley, but she seemed oblivious, her enthusiasm only growing stronger. Lu Yu followed helplessly behind her, at a leisurely pace, keeping her within his sight.
Jifu.
The hall was solemn and quiet. Master Ji sat in a chair, with an account book on the table beside him. Rouge stood to one side, her face calm and composed.
"Did you find this?"
"I'm trying to suppress my anger," Master Ji asked. He leaned forward slightly, his gaze fixed intently on her.
Tian Cuiwei shuddered, but calmly admitted it.
"Hmph!" He slammed his hand on the table, the loud bang freezing them all in place.
His gaze swept over everyone in the lobby, but then he suddenly stopped. "Where is Ji Tianzhuo? Where is he?"
"He..." The people below were stunned. At this time of day, he was either at a casino or a restaurant. There were only two places he went to. Now that Master Ji had asked this question, they all knew what was going on.
This matter is likely related to Ji Tianzhuo.
"Bring him back to me!" he said, his face darkening.
The people outside immediately sprang into action. Even though Tian Cuiwei didn't know what had happened, judging from their movements, something terrible must have occurred.
"How did you find this ledger?"
"It was...it was Ah Jiao who told me," she stammered, looking somewhat uneasy.
She winked at the person next to her, who immediately understood and ran to the back to bring the person out.
The girl named Ajiao was brought over, and she panicked when she saw the people in the big room, not knowing what had happened.
"Where did you find this ledger, and how did you find it?"
The girl named Ah Jiao immediately knelt down. She wasn't unfamiliar with big scenes, but it was still quite unsettling to see one happening to her.
"It's...it's from the young master's study. Second Madam instructed me to bring it here," she said timidly, glancing at the two of them subconsciously, afraid they wouldn't believe her.
All eyes were on Rouge, who was standing to the side, but she didn't seem flustered at all.
Seeing that they were all looking at her, Rouge finally snapped out of her reverie. Noticing Master Ji's unfriendly gaze, she said naturally, "Young Master said that Sister Tian is pregnant, and it wouldn't be good to leave all the affairs of the manor to her, so he asked me to help out. I happened to be free at the time, so I asked her to go and get it, but who knew she would go and get the account book."
Their gaze then fell upon the maid, who panicked and had no idea what to do.
"What about Aunt Tian? Why is this account book so expensive in your possession?"
Her gaze shifted again in an instant, and Rouge looked over as well, suddenly speaking up, "That's right, how come this ledger is in my sister's hands?"
The moment she spoke, everyone's eyes were fixed on her like nails, making her feel as if she had been stripped naked and thrown out into the street.
This kind of meticulous work is something that every courtyard has some of, but it makes people look down on it and disdain it.
"It was you, it was Second Aunt who made me do this. She told me to get the account books, she specifically told me that." She couldn't take it anymore and directly revealed who it was.
Rouge glanced at her, seemingly unconcerned about their questions.
"Did I ask you to bring this out?" she asked casually, then, too lazy to argue further, she said directly, "I asked you to send all these ledgers over. As for why this one is out there, I'll have to ask you."
"This is what you asked me to make, this is the proof." She took out a bracelet from her sleeve, its bright color captivating.
She scoffed dismissively and returned to her original spot. Tian Cuiwei stared at the bracelet, her eyes widening in disbelief.
"Isn't this my jade bracelet? How did it end up here!" She lunged at her and grabbed her neck, looking fiercely unlike someone who was several months pregnant.
Gillian was immediately frightened, completely unaware of what was happening, and could only point at Rouge, saying, "It was her, she gave it to me."
"I gave it to you? Why would I take someone else's things to give to you? This jade bracelet is a token of love that the young master gave to my sister. She wears it every day. How could I possibly have gotten it? As for you... a thief like you shouldn't be a thief for the first time, right?"
Rouge glanced at them indifferently, then looked at Master Ji and said sincerely, "I know nothing about this matter. I just wanted to help my sister with some household affairs."