The richest woman committed a crime with her child - Chapter 25

“It’s fine. You must be hungry. I’ll ask Butler Liu to bring another portion.” As she spoke, Xu Mei stood up.

Luo Jiusheng quickly said, “Miss Xu, it’s hard to pick up where we left off once the accounting is interrupted. Let me go instead. It’ll also give me a chance to familiarize myself with your household, which will make things easier in the future.”

After working on the accounts together, Luo Jiusheng noticed that once Xu Mei’s attention was broken, it was difficult for her to refocus, and accounting required intense concentration.

“Alright.”

Xu Mei nodded, remembering that she had to attend the tasting event at Wu Mengying’s restaurant that evening. She added, “Don’t prepare too much food. Just enough to tide us over. Later, I’ll take you to the restaurant to try some dishes.”

“Understood.”

Luo Jiusheng went straight to the main hall, where Xu Shuntian and Chen Jingjing were silently eating, with Butler Liu standing beside them.

When Butler Liu saw him, he leaned down and whispered into Xu Shuntian’s ear, “Master, the new accountant Miss Xu hired is here.”

Xu Shuntian looked at Luo Jiusheng, surprised to see a young man. “Why didn’t Mei’er let Zhao Fanglin handle the accounts as well?”

“Miss Xu said she can’t let one person handle all the accounts. She wanted to hire someone different.”
Xu Shuntian nodded approvingly. “I thought she opened the tailor shop just to pass the time. I didn’t expect her to be so serious about it.”

“Indeed, Master. Miss Xu is your daughter. A tiger father doesn’t have a dog for a daughter. She can also expand the Xu family.”

“I don’t expect her to take on the Xu family,” Xu Shuntian waved his hand. “I don’t want her to work too hard.”

Butler Liu understood Xu Shuntian’s meaning and smiled. “Your concern is well-placed, Master.”
Chen Jingjing listened in silence, scoffing inwardly at Xu Shuntian’s words.

Luo Jiusheng approached Xu Shuntian and bowed deeply. “I am Luo Jiusheng, the new accountant hired by Miss Xu.”

“Which characters are in your name?”

“The ‘Luo’ from the Miluo River, the ‘Jiu’ from ‘nine times nine equals eighty-one,’ and the ‘Sheng’ from ‘endless life.”

“An interesting name.” Xu Shuntian memorized his name and asked, “Why have you come here?”

“I’m here to relay a message from Miss Xu. Her friend’s restaurant is hosting a tasting event tonight, inviting many scholars and dignitaries. Miss Xu is among the guests and may not return home to sleep tonight.”

Chen Jingjing paused while picking up food with her chopsticks.

Xu Shuntian, who never interfered with Xu Mei’s affairs, smiled and said, “Alright, I understand. Tell her to be careful and preferably bring two guards with her.”

“Understood. I’ll relay that to Miss Xu.”

Seeing that Luo Jiusheng had a gentle demeanor and was easy to talk to, Xu Shuntian asked a few more questions. “How is Mei’er doing with the accounts? Are there many mistakes?”

“Miss Xu is quick to learn. Her accounts are well done, with very few errors.”

Hearing his daughter praised, Xu Shuntian laughed heartily. “Good. As her accountant, as long as you keep her in check, her income will keep growing. My daughter is very generous when it comes to money. Feel free to work with her to expand the business.”

“I will, Master Xu.” Luo Jiusheng, anxious about another task, added, “Master Xu, may I take some food to the shop for Miss Xu to eat?”

“Of course. Butler Liu, take care of it.”

“Yes.” A flicker of doubt crossed Butler Liu’s eyes—hadn’t Young Master Shen already taken a food box to Miss Xu’s shop? Did he miss Luo Jiusheng, or was he delayed by something?

…

Shen Youting carried a food box to “Xu’s Salt Shop.”

At night, there were no customers, but the shop was still busy with incoming and outgoing goods.
At the counter, Manager Wang and Zhao Fanglin were going over the accounts. Both were experienced, and the process was smooth, with Zhao Fanglin’s abacus clicking rapidly.

Suddenly, Zhao Fanglin stopped and sniffed the air. “What’s that delicious smell?”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shen Youting entering with a food box. “Young Master Shen, what brings you here?”

Shen Youting placed the box in front of them. “This is for you.”

Zhao Fanglin and Manager Wang thanked him profusely and, without hesitation, opened the box and started eating.

Shen Youting picked up the account book and began flipping through it.

Manager Wang remembered something and said, “Young Master Shen, when Miss Xu came to the shop looking for you yesterday, she caught the eye of an official’s son. Today, a matchmaker came asking for her birth details. How would I know…”

Shen Youting seemed to ignore the latter part of Manager Wang’s words and simply asked, “What did she want?”

“She asked where you were. I told her you were called away by that young man named Qiu. After that, she left without saying anything.” Manager Wang, hoping to get Xu Mei’s birth details from Shen Youting, pressed on, “Young Master Shen, do you know her birth details?”

“I don’t,” Shen Youting replied indifferently.

Zhao Fanglin, while picking up food, added, “The day before yesterday, I saw someone kissing Miss Xu’s hand at the Xu family gate. I thought she was about to get married, but it turned out to be a woman.

Today, an official’s son is asking for her birth details. Who knows what’s going on? Sigh…”

When Zhao Fanglin mentioned the word “kiss,” Shen Youting’s hand paused while flipping through the account book. Before Zhao Fanglin could finish, Shen Youting dropped the book and walked out.

Manager Wang and Zhao Fanglin quickly stood up to see him off.

…

After Xu Mei and Luo Jiusheng had a quick meal, they continued working on the accounts. By the time Wu Mengying’s restaurant staff came to urge them, it was already late. They headed to Wu Mengying’s new restaurant together.

Wu Mengying stood at the entrance welcoming guests. Her injured arm was in a sling, so she could only gesture with her left hand. She was dressed in a red and black vest, which highlighted her natural beauty.

Qiu Chigong stood slightly behind her, dressed in black, with several bruises on his face.

The dark red bruises added a bit of color to his usually stoic expression.

Xu Mei, in a red chiffon dress, added a festive touch. She tugged at Wu Mengying’s sleeve and casually asked, “Why are you dressed as a woman today?”

Wu Mengying whispered in her ear, “Wearing men’s clothes requires binding my chest. With one hand like this,” she touched the splint on her injured arm, “it’s inconvenient.”

“This outfit suits you.” Xu Mei glanced at Qiu Chigong and asked, “Didn’t you say you’d take care of Mengying? Why did you disappear right after? Where were you yesterday?”

Qiu Chigong glanced at her. “I was held up by a bastard.”

“…”

This was the first time Xu Mei had heard Qiu Chigong swear. She was a bit surprised and even a little impressed by whoever had managed to hold him up, even if they were a “bastard.”

She remembered Luo Jiusheng standing beside her and quickly introduced him with a smile. “Mengying, this is Luo Jiusheng, the accountant from my shop. You two should get to know each other.”

The two exchanged bows and pleasantries.

Xu Mei and Luo Jiusheng were seated at the central table, surrounded by scholars and dignitaries who had already started drinking and chatting, creating a lively atmosphere.

About a zhang away from the central table was a stage for storytelling, a unique feature of the restaurant.

Also seated at the table were two scholars who often discussed scripts with Wu Mengying—the tall and thin Wang Ming and the short and stout Zhou You. Both knew Xu Mei and nodded in greeting when she arrived.

Xu Mei nodded in return.

Wang Ming seemed to have a question and moved to sit next to Xu Mei. “Miss Xu, why didn’t you come with your sister?”

“My sister?”

Wang Ming gestured toward a table near the wall. “Before you arrived, your sister had us read her latest script… Tsk, the plot is absolutely brilliant. Who would have thought someone from a wealthy family could be so talented?”

Xu Mei followed his gaze and saw Chen Jingjing, dressed in a plain white dress, surrounded by scholars passing around a handwritten manuscript. She seemed quite popular.

Wang Ming continued to praise her. “They say every word in that manuscript was written with her left hand after her right hand was injured. It’s better than what many right-handed people can write. Zhou You and I were just discussing how to befriend her. Having her join our script discussion group would be fascinating.”

Xu Mei had seen Wang Ming and Zhou You arguing with others at Wu Mengying’s script readings. These two were often arrogant and dismissive of others, yet now they wanted to befriend Chen Jingjing…

Since when did Chen Jingjing have such literary talent? Not to belittle her, but Chen Jingjing could play a few simple tunes and do decent embroidery, but her literary skills were far from impressive.
Xu Mei remembered that when Chen Jingjing first arrived at the Xu household, they had the same tutor. However, Chen Jingjing’s foundation was weak, and she often couldn’t answer the tutor’s questions, earning harsh criticism. Feeling wronged, Chen Jingjing had asked Xu Shuntian to hire a private tutor for her. Regardless of how well she learned from the tutor, over the years, Xu Mei had never seen Chen Jingjing show any interest in scripts.

Did falling into the lake suddenly unlock her literary talent?

Xu Mei felt someone staring at her and turned to see Chen Jingjing. When their eyes met, Chen Jingjing deliberately looked away.

Xu Mei thought, “How childish.”

She glanced at Chen Jingjing’s legs and asked Wang Ming with a smile, “Who brought her here?” As far as she knew, apart from the recent meals in the main hall, Chen Jingjing usually stayed in her room, which slowed her recovery. The distance from the Xu household to the restaurant was considerable, so she wouldn’t have come alone.

“I know this,” Zhou You, who had been observing Chen Jingjing from afar, chimed in. “It was arranged by Shen Youting.”

Xu Mei snorted softly—of course, he would arrange it. First, he took away her food, and now he sent Chen Jingjing here to cause trouble.

Meanwhile, Wu Mengying had finished welcoming all the guests and slowly walked onto the stage. In her loudest voice, she announced, “Thank you all for attending tonight’s tasting event. Please give your honest feedback on each dish. For every suggestion, we’ve prepared a jar of wine. The more suggestions, the better.”

Hearing about the free wine, the guests erupted in cheers, losing all pretense of scholarly decorum.
Luo Jiusheng whispered to Xu Mei, “This Miss Wu doesn’t seem to be here for business. It feels like she has another purpose.”

Xu Mei casually asked, “What purpose?”

“She’s trying to win people over. While all the scholars here tonight will likely develop a favorable impression of her because of the wine, it won’t bring her much business.” Luo Jiusheng lowered his voice even further. “Miss Xu, do you know who she is or what her family does?”