The Incense Monopoly Order

Chapter 66: Sending Half of the Tribe to Jail
Yao's Jishitang was spread across Jiangnan, and large-scale transactions like medicinal materials often required credit. Many pharmacies and medical clinics would take the herbs in advance and settle the bill monthly, quarterly, or even half-yearly.

Yao kept accounts very carefully. If it weren't for Du Zhong's help, she would have found it difficult to detect the trick when an account was recorded for one of the pharmacies after the pharmacy closed down.

"I've checked and found that Zhang's Pharmacy used to do business with the Yao family every year. The amount of money and the amount of goods purchased were consistent with the scale of Zhang's Pharmacy. Since Zhang's Pharmacy closed down, apart from that extra money, there is no Zhang's Pharmacy in the account books anymore. It shows that the accountant is cautious."

The Yao family has thousands of credit transactions every year, and this is not just for one year. They make a profit of ten or a hundred taels of silver from each transaction, which means tens of thousands of taels of silver in a year. This is just one of the items.

Taking into account the false reporting of inventory, false reporting of losses, and false reporting of shipping costs, the Yao family was defrauded of at least hundreds of thousands of taels of silver each year. Even so, the Yao family was still profitable, which shows how lucrative the medicinal materials industry is.

The more Shang Wenshu helped with the accounting, the more frightened she became.

"These are not the most important things..." Shang Wenshu's expression was serious, not because she had discovered such a large amount of money that had gone missing, but because she had discovered that several tax payments had been tampered with. "Without the cooperation of the government, these false accounts would have been difficult to complete."

This is not ordinary betrayal, but corruption and abuse of power.

"You say..." Shang Zishu rolled her eyes and hooked her finger at the two sisters. The three sisters leaned forward across the wooden table and stretched their necks. "Could it be that the accountant that Old Lady Yao hired earlier realized that the law was involved and was afraid to get involved, or was he threatened by Yao Zongtian and said he couldn't see the trick?"

"That makes sense." Shang Mingshu agreed with the latter.

As for exposing the illegality of the Yao family's accounts, the accountant only told the matter to Old Lady Yao, and it was up to Old Lady Yao to decide how to deal with it. They did not need to be implicated.

"Have you encountered anything strange recently?" Shang Mingshu was worried about Shang Wenshu.

Shang Wenshu shook her head: "I know, you sent people to protect me secretly."

The original intention was to guard against Shi Houqiong, but accidentally guarded against Yao Zongtian as well.

"Have you finished with the accounts?" Shang Mingshu asked again.

"Only one-tenth or two-tenths." Shang Wenshu helped Yao sort out the account books for half a month and only managed to find a very small part. This was even with Du Zhong's help. The two of them ate three meals a day at Yao's house, which was enough for them to find so much. "I want to tell the old lady all the problems I have found. No matter what decision Madam Yao makes, the evidence is sufficient."

If they continued to look back, it would be like the Yao family's medicinal herbs were stripped naked by Shang Wenshu, and they would not know how to face Old Madam Yao in the future.

This is the importance of accounts. Shang Mingshu knew a long time ago that the most private place for a merchant is the account book. After her elder sister showed her talent in this area, she spared no effort to encourage her.

Account books are to merchants as the foundation stones are to tall buildings. Without a solid foundation, the tall buildings cannot be built. Without clear accounts, merchants cannot thrive.

"Old Madam Yao is indeed a wise old woman." Shang Mingshu laughed. Facing the inexplicable looks from her two sisters, she said, "Old Madam Yao may not have failed to see the crux of the matter. It's just that it involves the law. She needs witnesses and a statement."

Shang Zishu understood immediately: "You mean that the old lady knows about the dirty things Yao Zongtian did. If she exposes it herself, it will make her look cold and heartless. In order to protect Yao Zongtian, the Yao family will distort the truth and spread rumors that Yao Zongtian acted on orders and that the mastermind was the old lady Yao. The old lady knew that the truth would come out, so she abandoned the car to save the master and pushed Yao Zongtian out to take the blame."

"No matter what, it will cause chaos and the one that will suffer the most damage in the end is Yao's Pharmacy." Shang Wenshu was not sure whether things would go as Shang Zishu expected, but a fight over Yao's Pharmacy was inevitable.

"Eldest sister, have you made up your mind?" Shang Mingshu asked, "Will you testify for Yao?" Shang Wenshu has not yet informed the old lady of the audit results. She can follow the example of the previous accountants and refuse by admitting her own lack of ability.

"I'm upright, so why wouldn't I dare?" Shang Wenshu didn't intend to refuse. "If I decline without mentioning your friendship with Madam Lin, wouldn't that just embolden the evildoers? I also want to use this to shock the Shang family."

Almost all the tea shops in Xiangmingzhai are run by people from the same clan as the shopkeepers and accountants. Most of them are diligent, but a few are smart and just want to let them know how powerful they are.

"Eldest sister is right. We are just doing our duty on behalf of others. We are not the kind of people who do evil things, so why should we act secretly?" Shang Mingshu supported Shang Wenshu.

Although she had made up her mind, Shang Wenshu felt more at ease with her sister's support. Her eyes moved and her tone was sincere: "Thank you, Third Sister."

What she thanked was not Shang Mingshu's support, but the fact that she took the trouble to find a way for her to forget the hurt that Wen Yan had caused her.

Shang Mingshu raised her eyebrows, her thoughts stirring as she spoke, seemingly unnoticed, "Yesterday the government issued its verdict. The Fang family's wealth was confiscated, and all three generations of Fang Chaofeng's direct descendants, both male and female, were exiled. Mu Xiaoniang was also among them. Wen Yan was stripped of his scholar status and imprisoned for three years, after which he will be repatriated to his hometown."

No direct evidence was found that Fang had colluded with the Japanese pirates, so he could not be charged with the serious crime of murdering an imperial official, but the crime was not light either. However, Fang Chaofeng sent his wife and daughter away, and the imperial court arrested him again.

This matter involved a very wide range of issues, so Prefect He reported it to the court and only made a judgment after receiving the court's approval.

"He got it right." Shang Zishu was a little disappointed. She wished Wen Yan would die.

"He will be living a life worse than death after he gets out." Shang Wenshu did not escape, but instead persuaded Shang Zishu.

Wen Yan was determined to rise to the top of the world, but now his fame and fortune are gone and he still has to spend three years in prison. Three years later, he will become the beggar who begs on the street in his childhood. However, at that time, there are still people who feel pity for the weak. In the future, he will never meet a kind-hearted person like Shang Jinliang again.

He had enough food and clothing for ten years, and after he achieved fame, he was highly sought after. He may not be able to adapt to this gap after he is released.

Shang Mingshu looked carefully at the changes in Shang Wenshu's expression. She gently waved her fan and said nothing.

People like Wen Yan are like centipedes that are still alive even after their death. When he is released from prison, she will take back everything that Shang gave him.

To prevent him from going to another place with that face and learning to read and write to deceive other young ladies.

Shang Mingshu didn't need to tell Shang Wenshu these words. She was sure that Shang Wenshu could really mention this person calmly.

In early September, Old Lady Yao personally brought the account books to sue several accountants of the Yao family for colluding to embezzle money, which caused an uproar in the provincial capital.

The old lady was well prepared and sent most of the young men of the Yao family to the yamen in one fell swoop. Many members of the Yao family were so angry that they threatened to cut off ties with the old lady's family.

Shang Zishu went to watch the fun early in the morning, and when she came back she said to Shang Wenshu, "Eldest sister, why don't you let go and give them some courage so we can follow suit."

(End of this chapter)