Being a second wife is difficult: I'm busy raising children in the Earl's mansion.

Chapter 66 Winter Charcoal Accounting

The first cold wave of winter came unexpectedly. The courtyard, which was still basking in the autumn sun just the day before, was suddenly frozen solid overnight by the north wind. Even the water in the copper vat under the eaves was covered with a thin layer of ice.

As the weather suddenly turned cold, the winter supplies in each room became more readily available.

Cotton-padded clothes, winter charcoal, leather rugs—we need them all.

Early this morning, people started coming to Jiang Wan's courtyard one after another.

In previous years, the old routine was followed: the old lady would take the lead, Granny Ding would approve the orders, Wang Fu would make the purchases, and after the New Year, the accounts would be settled and the matter would be over.

This year is different. Ding Mama was expelled, and Wang Fu's account was reprimanded by Jiang Wan. The people below couldn't figure out the direction of the situation, so they demanded even more fiercely than in previous years.

The first person from Fang's side, Ruige, delivered a note, saying that the second master had been studying for days and his hands and feet were so cold that they were stiff, so he needed two more baskets of silver frost charcoal.

Although Aunt Zhou didn't say anything, when the maid from the east courtyard came to collect the winter clothes, she asked, "Hui-ge'er's cotton robe sleeves are half an inch too short. I wonder if we can exchange it for a new one?"

By the time the words were delivered to Jiang Wan, she had already left, leaving behind a hesitant half-spoken sentence.

Jiang Wan put these things together and felt there was an inexplicable awkwardness in them.

There wasn't enough charcoal for winter, the cotton-padded clothes didn't fit, and the usage records and inventory were two separate accounts.

She spent two days flipping through the brochures, and the more she flipped through them, the more she felt that there was an unbridgeable chasm between the outer courtyard's purchasing and warehouse.

Charcoal and cotton are not as valuable as silk and medicinal materials, but they are used in large quantities and have many channels, making them the easiest to tamper with.

Now that she has taken over, some people are still reaching out according to the old rules.

Where is Granny Liu?

"They should be stored in the north room of the warehouse," Qiu Tang said. "A few days ago, Madam instructed us to take inventory of the old materials, and she goes there every afternoon."

Jiang Wan closed the booklet: "Summon her to the study in the east courtyard. I have something to ask her."

'

Qiu Tang understood and withdrew.

Jiang Wan got up and walked to the window, pushed it open a crack, and a cold wind carrying tiny ice shards rushed towards her.

The foundation of managing a household lies in its finances and provisions; unclear accounts are tantamount to losing control of the household.

She can tolerate someone's momentary lapse in judgment, but she cannot tolerate someone taking advantage of her politeness.

Granny Liu arrived faster than expected. Today she was wearing a slightly worn gray-blue cotton coat. Standing outside the threshold, she first stomped the mud off the soles of her shoes before stepping inside.

She closed the door behind her as she entered before curtsying to Jiang Wan.

"Madam, you wanted to see me?"

The study was small; it was actually just a side room that Jiang Wan had set aside from the main courtyard. It was used to store account books and copy lists of holiday gifts.

There was only one oil lamp lit in the main room, and the charcoal brazier had just been refilled but hadn't been fully heated yet.

"Sit down." Jiang Wan looked up from behind the desk, pushed a stack of booklets aside to make room for her, "It's cold, have some hot tea first."

Granny Liu glanced at the several ledgers spread out on the table; they were all records of winter supplies submitted by the storeroom.

"Has the First Madam been looking at the storeroom accounts these past few days?"

"It's not just the warehouse." Jiang Wan poured her tea herself. "I also checked the purchase order from the outer courtyard."

"Regarding the winter charcoal, the warehouse recorded 1,200 jin of it being stored, but the actual amount taken by each department was only around 800 jin. Where did the remaining 400 jin go? Wang Fu reported it as 'normal loss'."

As she spoke, she placed the two booklets side by side on the table, and tapped the word "wear and tear" twice on them with her finger.

Granny Liu didn't respond to that. She warmed her hands with the teacup and looked down at the broken tea leaves in the tea soup for a while.

The north wind blew in the courtyard, making the window paper rattle. The study was so quiet that only the occasional spark from the charcoal fire could be heard.

"Since Madam has asked to this extent..." Granny Liu raised her eyes, a thin layer of probing in them, "This old servant dares to ask, does Madam want to hear the stated explanation, or the truth?"

Jiang Wan wasn't silenced by her words.

"When did it become my turn to choose only one thing to listen to when you speak to me, Granny?" She put her hand back into her sleeve, her tone unhurried.

"Whether it's what's on the surface or what's in the truth, just tell me, I can tell the difference."

Granny Liu remained silent for a few moments, then suddenly smiled. The smile was faint, carrying a hint of relief as if she had accepted something.

"This old servant has been waiting for you to say these words, Madam."

"Then this old servant will speak frankly." Granny Liu put down her teacup. "For the past ten years or so, Wang Fu has been trying to interfere with the joint management of the storeroom. He doesn't dare to do it openly in front of the old lady, so he does it behind her back."

"This time, the winter charcoal is recorded as 'normal loss' in the accounts, but I have another ledger in my hand—only nine hundred catties were put into storage, not twelve thousand."

Jiang Wan's fingers paused for a moment.

Nine hundred jin were put into storage, but the report was for 1,200 jin, which was an overstatement of three hundred jin.

Adding the 800 jin that each household actually took, Wang Fu only had 100 jin left. In other words, the 300 jin he falsely reported was a completely empty account, with not a single piece of coal taken in.

Jiang Wan picked up the cooled teacup, took a sip, and felt the astringency slide down her throat before slowly putting the teacup down.

"All of Wang Fu's purchasing and storage accounts have to go through your hands. He's been falsifying losses and using inferior goods. You're a smart woman, Granny Liu, you couldn't possibly have been completely unaware, could you?"

Granny Liu didn't shy away from the topic and frankly said, "Last year when we were buying winter supplies, he came to see me and said he wanted a share of the profits, on the condition that I would be lenient with the inventory in the warehouse."

"The old servant didn't agree at the time, but he didn't confront him on the spot either. He guessed that the old servant was greedy for that little bit of silver, but was just too timid to take it. There would be plenty of opportunities to test him later."

At this point, Granny Liu scoffed, "Wang Fu always thinks everyone in the world is like him, only caring about money."

"To be honest, even when we were still serving the old lady, I didn't like him very much."

"The old lady saved him back then and transferred him to work in the courtyard. It would have been fine if he had climbed up the ranks and had ambition, but he only cared about profit and didn't care about anyone else, only about money."

She waved her hand: "This old servant has gone off on a tangent."

Correcting her expression, Granny Liu lowered her voice and said, "Every time he came to test me, I would give vague answers, dragging things out and slowing things down. That way, I could write down all his words and actions."

As she spoke, she pulled a thin notebook from her sleeve.

The cover was worn and frayed, the corners of the pages were curled, and it made a dull thud when it was placed on the table.

"This old servant thought that the First Madam might need this, so I brought it with me today."

Granny Liu opened the journal, her fingertip tapping on the yellowed pages. "It records the days he came to see this old servant, what he said, who was present, the amounts he reported when he made purchases, and the actual amounts that went into the warehouse. It records everything, line by line."

Jiang Wan glanced down at it.

The handwriting was so dense that the paper was almost opaque, but every stroke was clear.

"Thank you for your trouble, Granny."

"This old servant would like to speak frankly to Madam," said Granny Liu, putting down her teacup and placing her hands on her knees.

"The old lady saved him back then and transferred him to the position of steward in the inner courtyard because she believed in his loyalty, but Wang Fu... he only sees the immediate benefits."

"The old lady handed over the storeroom to him, and he felt that those things were rightfully his to pocket."

She snorted, "Before, they would just make snide remarks behind your back, but now they're getting worse and worse."

"Regarding that batch of winter materials, he overstated the loss by 30%, then used the saved money to fund his own shop. He thought this old servant didn't know, but at my age, what kind of tricks haven't I seen?"

Granny Liu looked up at Jiang Wan and softened her tone: "However, there is one thing that this old servant is quite curious about."

"What is it?"

"He wasn't so bold before, but then someone gave him an idea, saying that if he could win over the old servant, they could share the storeroom's contents. That's when he started coming to test the old servant every few days."

Granny Liu grinned, a hint of disdain in her smile. "But he probably doesn't know that the person who gave him the advice may not have had any good intentions either."

Jiang Wan sensed the weight in her words and didn't rush to express her opinion.

After a moment of silence, she spoke: "Since you've brought out your private accounts, you must have decided which side you're on. I won't ask who you kept the accounts for before, I'll only ask if you're willing to work with me to sort out the accounts from now on."

"Don't worry, Madam." Granny Liu stood up and curtsied. "This old servant's legs can still hold her in the storeroom, and this hand can still turn the pages of the books."

"As long as Madam doesn't mind that this old servant is bad at talking, this old servant is willing to keep a close eye on the things coming in and out of the storeroom for Madam."

Jiang Wan nodded, gesturing for her to sit down again.

Some things don't need to be said too definitively; it's enough that we both understand each other's thoughts.

A few sparks popped in the charcoal brazier, crackling as they fell back into the ash.

Jiang Wan picked up the glass of tea, which had gone cold, touched the inside of the glass with her fingertips, and then put it down.

"Now is not the time to take action against him."

Granny Liu looked up at her.

Jiang Wan: "The winter material procurement is still in its second half. The next two weeks are the peak season for large-scale coal and cotton imports. I need you to keep an eye on one thing for me—no matter what Wang Fu does, you keep a close eye on the amount that goes into the warehouse."

"Record everything clearly: which day, how much was received, what quality it was, and who handled it."

After a moment, Granny Liu asked, "Does the First Madam mean to wait for him to gather all the evidence himself?"

"He's already raising the money."

Jiang Wan smiled, a very faint smile that lingered on her lips for only a moment.

"Reporting 300 jin falsely is accounting, stuffing charcoal into the warehouse is physical evidence, and recruiting you is witness testimony; all that's missing is the opportunity to catch you in the act."

She paused for a moment: "He always needs to order another batch of goods."

"Then this old servant will keep an eye on it."

"Just keep an eye on him, but don't alert him. He's been in charge for over ten years, so he still has some sense of awareness. If you're too proactive, he'll just back down."

Granny Liu nodded and turned to leave.

"Thank you for your hard work, Granny."

Jiang Wan took a purse from the table, which contained loose silver, and put it into Liu Mama's hand.

"I know that you don't appreciate these things, but the weather is getting cold. Take this and buy a pot of hot wine to warm yourself up. It's my small token of appreciation."

"If you have anything to discuss with me in the future, just come to my courtyard."

Granny Liu squeezed the weight of the purse.

It's not heavy, but it's not light either.

She did not refuse, tucked the money into her sleeve, bent her knees slightly, and turned to leave.

The study fell silent again. The charcoal brazier burned bright red, occasionally sputtering out a few sparks that were quickly extinguished in the grayish-white ash.

Jiang Wan did not move.

She sat behind the desk, her fingertips tapping lightly on the thin notebook.

Wang Fu's attempt to win over Granny Liu happened half a year ago, but his audacity grew little by little.

First they falsely reported a few kilograms of charcoal, then a dozen kilograms, and later a few bolts of cloth and a few baskets of rice.

Each time, it was only slightly more than that, as if testing whose eyesight was sharp enough, or whose memory was good enough.

The old lady, however, believed him and believed him for more than ten years.

But when the old lady trusted him, Wang Fu wasn't even in charge yet.

At that time, he was just a servant boy, kneeling in front of the old lady and saying, "This servant's life was saved by the old lady."

Once you've gained power, your ambitions naturally grow.

Jiang Wan gathered the notes and put them in the bottom of the drawer, under a stack of old account books.

A breeze picked up outside the window, causing the paper used for pasting the window to rustle a few times before falling silent again.

She looked up and gazed at the window.

The winter supplies procurement still has a second half to go.

When that batch of goods arrives at the warehouse... she wants to see how much Wang Fu can still stuff into his own pocket.