The abstinent prince, practicing Buddhism, is seduced by a voluptuous beauty into breaking his vows.

The next morning, Su Yaoyao went out with Granny Lin, Jingzhe, and Chuntao.

These three shops in the west of the city were her mother's most valued businesses back then—a silk shop, a rouge shop, and a tea shop.

With such a good location, the business should have been thriving, but under Aunt Liu's management, it has been losing money year after year.

"Miss, we've arrived." The carriage stopped, and Chun Tao lifted the curtain.

Su Yaoyao looked up.

The shop is quite impressive, with three storefronts side by side.

At this hour, the shops should have been open for business, but only the silk shop had half its door open, and the place was deserted with no customers.

She frowned and got off the carriage.

As soon as I entered Jinxiu Manor, I heard the manager's lazy voice coming from inside:

"We're not buying any new stock today. If you want to buy fabric, go somewhere else... Oh, and who is this young lady?"

The shopkeeper was about forty years old, with a thin, long face and a small mustache.

He was dozing on the recliner behind the counter when he saw Su Yaoyao come in. He was stunned at first, but when he saw Lin Mama behind her, his expression changed instantly.

"Granny Lin?" He hurriedly stood up, forcing a smile, "What brings you here?"

Lin Mama said coldly, "Manager Wang, this is the eldest daughter of the household. She has come today to check the accounts."

"Young...Young Miss?" Manager Wang's eyes flickered.

"Oh my, you must be Miss? I'm so bad at recognizing people... Please, have a seat! Waiter, bring some tea!"

"No need." Su Yaoyao walked straight to the counter. "Bring me the account book."

Manager Wang's smile froze for a moment: "This... the account books were sent to the manor for the concubine to review a few days ago, and haven't been returned yet..."

"Send it to the manor?" Su Yaoyao raised an eyebrow. "I asked my aunt yesterday, and she said the account books are all in the shop."

"Then, that might be a mistake..." Manager Wang's forehead was covered in sweat.

"How about... Miss, you come another day? I'll personally deliver the account books to your residence once they're returned?"

This attempt to shirk responsibility is all too obvious.

Su Yaoyao wasn't annoyed. She turned to Jingzhe and said, "Let's go to the back hall and take a look."

"Hey! You can't go into the back room!" Manager Wang tried to stop her, but Jingzhe dodged to the side and went straight in through the curtain.

Before long, Jingzhe emerged, carrying several thick ledgers: "Miss, we found it. It was hidden at the bottom of a chest in the storeroom."

Manager Wang's face turned ashen.

Su Yaoyao took the ledger and casually flipped to a page.

She smiled after only a few glances.

"Manager Wang, your accounting is quite interesting."

After reading only a few pages, his brows furrowed.

"Last December, we received a batch of Shu brocade, recorded as worth one thousand taels in the accounts." She looked up at Manager Wang, "But the warehouse records show that this batch of Shu brocade was only worth three hundred taels. Where did the remaining seven hundred taels go?"

Manager Wang's face turned pale: "This...this...maybe I remembered it wrong..."

"You misremembered?" Su Yaoyao turned to the next page. "In February of this year, a 'repair fee' of five hundred taels was paid. But this shop was just renovated last August, what need is there for repairs?"

She slammed the ledger shut, her eyes turning cold.

"Manager Wang, when my mother hired you, it was because you were honest and reliable. You know very well how much you've embezzled during all these years when Aunt Liu was in charge of the household."

Manager Wang knelt down with a thud: "Young Miss, please understand! I... I was confused for a moment, it was all Aunt Liu's fault! She said if I didn't falsify the accounts, she would fire me..."

"Forced you?" Su Yaoyao sneered. "So, all the money you've embezzled over the years, was that also something she forced you to accept?"

She pulled a slip of paper from her sleeve and slammed it on the table: "This is your family's deposit record, which I obtained from the money exchange. In three years, you've accumulated two thousand taels of silver. Manager Wang, you're just a shopkeeper, your monthly salary is only ten taels. Where did these two thousand taels come from?"

Manager Wang's face turned ashen, and he collapsed to the ground.

Su Yaoyao stopped looking at him and said to Jingzhe, "Go report this to the authorities. Embezzling the master's property should be punished according to the law."

"yes!"

Suddenly a commotion arose outside.

"What's going on?" Su Yaoyao frowned.

Chun Tao rushed in, her face pale: "Miss, some thugs have come in, saying that the silks we sell in our shop are of inferior quality and they want an explanation!"

Su Yaoyao sneered.

They came really fast.

She got up and walked to the front hall, where she saw three burly men blocking the doorway. The leader was a scarred man with a face full of scars, holding a piece of brocade that had clearly been maliciously torn.

"Where's the shopkeeper? Get out here right now!" Scarface yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Look at the junk you're selling! I spent fifty taels on this brocade, and it tears with the slightest tear! Pay me back! Or I'll smash your shop to pieces today!"

Several men stood guard nervously, but dared not step forward.

A crowd of onlookers gathered outside the shop, pointing and whispering.

Su Yaoyao stepped forward and glanced at the "Yun Jin" (brocade) – the material was rough and the dyeing was uneven; it was not the kind of item the shop should have.

"Sir," she began, her voice clear and melodious, "you said you bought this brocade from our shop, do you have proof of purchase?"

When Scarface saw that it was a young and beautiful woman, his eyes lit up, and his tone became flirtatious: "Oh, the shop has such a beauty hidden away? Proof? I am the proof! Young lady, seeing how delicate your skin is, why don't you have a cup of tea with me, and we'll call it even, how about it?"

As he spoke, he reached out to touch Su Yaoyao's face.

Jingzhe's eyes sharpened, and she was about to make a move—

"You don't want those claws anymore!"

A sharp shout came from outside the door.

His voice was clear and resonant, yet carried an undeniable air of authority.

Everyone turned to look.

Two young men walked in one after the other.

The man walking in front was about twenty years old, dressed in a moon-white brocade robe with a jade belt around his waist. He had a handsome face, a scholarly air about him, but sharp eyes and a calm demeanor.

The boy behind him was a little younger, only seventeen or eighteen years old. He was dressed in a black outfit, with his ponytail tied high, sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and a sword at his waist. He walked with the dashing air of a military general.

The white-clad youth's gaze swept coldly over the several burly men, but softened when it finally landed on Su Yaoyao.

"Yaoyao, are you alright?"

Su Yaoyao was stunned.

Memories flooded back—many years ago, a boy would always hold her little hand and take her to pick persimmons in the backyard of the Grand Tutor's mansion, and would clumsily wipe away her tears when she cried.

Later, her mother "passed away," and Aunt Liu took over the household, gradually severing ties with her.

The last time they met was when she was ten years old. He secretly climbed over the wall, slipped her a packet of osmanthus cakes, and said...

"Don't be afraid, Yaoyao, your cousin will protect you."

But she never saw him again after that.

"Cousin..." Su Yaoyao's eyes reddened slightly.

Jiang Jingchen—her uncle's only son, the youngest vice minister of the Dali Temple.

A flicker of heartache crossed his eyes. He quickly walked to her side and carefully examined her: "Are you hurt? Were you bullied?"

"I'm fine." Su Yaoyao shook her head, her eyes welling up with tears. "Why is my cousin here?"

"I heard you were coming to audit the accounts, and my father was worried, so he sent me to check on things." Jiang Jingchen said, turning to look at the crowd before him, his eyes instantly turning cold.

"Who are you people? How dare you cause trouble in the capital in broad daylight?"

The burly man was intimidated by his imposing manner, but he still refused to back down verbally: "And who are you? Mind your own business!"

"Who am I?" Jiang Jingchen took out a token from his robes. "Jiang Jingchen, Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. Tell me, do I have the authority to interfere?"