Marrying a treacherous official

After having dinner, Cui Zemin was to conduct a thorough investigation of the Qinghui Courtyard's storeroom ledgers for the past three months.

Granny Kong placed the three account books on the desk, bowed, and left the main room.

After closing the lattice door, she let out a satisfied sigh, then said to Hua Chao and Chunxuan, who were guarding outside the door:

"You don't need to guard this place anymore, I can keep an eye on it."

"Granny is quite old; how could we trouble her to guard the door?"

Chunxuan refused to leave no matter what she said.

"If the master finds any discrepancies in the accounts and takes his anger out on the madam, I will have to go in and plead for her."

"What can you possibly find by checking the accounts in the middle of the night?"

Seeing her so oblivious, Granny Kong tapped her forehead and said, "If you stay here any longer, you'll only ruin the master's plans."

Chunxuan and Huachao exchanged a glance and silently followed behind Granny Kong as they walked out.

"Does the old woman mean that the master's auditing of the accounts was a pretense, and his real intention was to be intimate with the madam?"

"Otherwise what?"

Granny Kong said to them, "Can you come up with a better excuse for the master to spend the night in the madam's room?"

Chunxuan and Huachao blushed and shook their heads in embarrassment.

"You are inexperienced and know too little."

Granny Kong, drawing on her own experience, earnestly instructed them:

"As soon as the old man mentioned having a meal in the inner courtyard, I knew his real intentions were not what they seemed. Do you know what they were?"

Chunxuan and Huachao guessed it but didn't dare to say it, they could only shake their heads.

Granny Kong continued, "If the master wants to get close to the madam, I can only quietly assist him from the sidelines. My job is to smoothly escort him into the main room. Do you understand?"

Chunxuan and Huachao nodded in agreement, truly having learned a great deal.

Inside the main room, wisps of incense burning in the Boshan censer rose upwards.

When Yunji was asked about the details of the New Year's gifts exchanged in the third chapter, and her answer was vague, Cui Zemin looked up from the account book and stared at her intently for a long time.

The estate's account books mostly detailed the expenditures, and they were handled by Granny Kong, so she didn't tamper with them.

She had falsified accounts only for New Year's gifts exchanged as social obligations, and these accounts were flawless. However, he still managed to spot the trickery.

"Before the New Year, I gave the maids, servants, and guards in the courtyard a reward of silver and new clothes. The expenditure was nearly seventy taels, which I balanced on the New Year's gift list."

Yunji was caught red-handed and had no choice but to confess to him "truthfully".

Cui Zemin was puzzled, "How can an account of seventy taels of silver be balanced?"

"According to my husband, who should advance this money?"

Yunji, hearing him speak so lightly, refuted him, saying:

"The New Year's money that Madam Hou gave to the servants was only 160 taels of silver. There were only so many people in and around Qinghui Courtyard, so I gave her 70 taels of silver."

"If this account is recorded in the books, the Lady of the Marquis will cause trouble when she checks the accounts. I can't bear the blame for squandering money. This money should come from my personal savings, but I don't have a monthly allowance, and my personal savings have been completely taken away. In the end, I had no choice but to settle the account with the New Year's gifts."

Cui Zemin immediately became angry, "How come you don't have a monthly allowance?"

Yun Jichong rolled his eyes dramatically and said disdainfully:

"Ever since Granny Wang was expelled from the mansion and offended the Lady of the Marquis, I have lost my monthly allowance and cannot take money from the treasury to spend on myself. I have been living in poverty ever since."

She indeed did not receive a monthly allowance, which is why she took the money from his account.

Cui Zemin put down the account book and stopped looking at it. His face was sullen, and it was unclear what was causing his sullenness as he sat on the plain armchair with its auspicious cloud design.

Yunji quietly moved over, silently picked up the account book, and placed it on a bookshelf far away from him.

She was afraid that if he looked any closer, he would uncover even more messy situations, and then she wouldn't be able to explain herself no matter what.

"Li Xiuji will return your private money later."

Cui Zemin turned around, watching her slender waist, and looked straight into her eyes. "I will give you your monthly allowance from my salary."

Before Yun Ji's smile could fade, he heard him say with ill intent:

"The lady is in charge of the inner quarters. Not only has no money come in for three months, but she also keeps asking me for money."

Cui Zemin clearly distinguished between public and private matters and settled accounts with her:

"You coaxed me before, and you were given six thousand taels of silver for the opening expenses of the four estates. Later, you took another five thousand taels of silver from He Qingchang to balance the accounts. Now you want to open a gold and silver shop and ask for a thousand taels of silver right off the bat."

He meticulously recorded all these accounts for her, saying, "Even if I had a mountain of gold, my wife would empty it all out sooner or later."

Yunji never embezzled any of the money in these "public accounts." Those were all expenses with compound interest. She only targeted money that couldn't be made public. How could he possibly pin all these debts on her?

"I've said everything I needed to say. If you don't expand your business, there's no hope of doubling your profits by the end of the year."

She asked confidently, "What else does my husband want from me?"

"come over."

Cui Zemin spread his long legs out and stretched them towards her.

Yunji saw undisguised, deep desire in his eyes.

She had a premonition, especially when his gaze turned frivolous. There was no way to avoid it. She neither rejected nor avoided it; she simply faced it head-on and let her instincts guide her.

For example, last time I bit him and he backed away for a while.

Yunji walked over and sat gracefully on his lap.

Cui Zemin pulled his legs in and sat her in his lap.

His calloused fingertips pressed against her lips, stopping her from saying what she was about to say.

Then he pressed hard against those red, thin lips, and the pressure from his fingertips made them even more alluring.

He bit her lips and began to kiss her repeatedly, his passion lingering endlessly.

Yunji was still stuck on the techniques from last time, trying to keep up with his kiss, but she couldn't keep up with his breathing, biting, or even her thoughts. In a daze, she could only passively respond.

She was asked to kiss me the whole time.

She used her few moments of consciousness to catch her breath.

The snow on the eaves was melting, and the dripping snow water fell on the window frame with crisp sounds.

I don't know how much time has passed.

Cui Zemin slowed down, and it was Yun Ji's turn to climb up his neck and gently peck at his lips.

Unlike his relentless pursuit, her kisses were as soft and gentle as rain, melting him away so easily that he pressed his head against hers, kissing her endlessly.

Taking advantage of the situation, Yunji bit his lip again.

In a flash, Cui Zemin quickly pulled away from her mouth, leaving her biting empty air.

"Take another bite?"

Cui Zemin murmured these words, and the desire in his indifferent eyes was ignited. He pressed down on her chin and kissed her directly, while his large hands on her waist climbed up and haphazardly pulled her misty blue camellia jacket outwards.

Yunji looked up and saw the swaying roof beam, realizing that he had completely miscalculated this time.