Chapter 5: Do You Want to Make a Big Score?

Not long after, Li Baofu awkwardly entered the study room.

As soon as he stepped inside, he saw Xu Mu sitting and Xu Shuangyi standing, leaving him momentarily bewildered.

Recently, many jokes about Xu Mu had been circulating in Liangzhou City.

His wife, Su Hanwei, had recently become involved with Liang Shucheng. For a man, being cuckolded was a tremendous humiliation.

It was said that to please Su Hanwei, Xu Mu even took the initiative to bring Liang Shucheng back home, allowing them to spend the night together.

In his eagerness to become the prefect’s son-in-law, he had lost all shame.

“Want to stay alive?” Xu Mu’s sudden question left Li Baofu dumbfounded.

“You’ve been siphoning funds from Jinhua Pavilion on behalf of those big shots for years. You know too much. Now that Miss Xu is here, those powerful figures will definitely kill you to silence you.”

The unexpected threat caused Li Baofu’s hair to stand on end.

He was just a small-time player, but he did know quite a bit.

Feigning calm, he whispered, “I don’t understand what you mean, Young Master Xu.”

As long as Xu Shuangyi couldn’t decipher the accounts, she had no leverage over him.

He estimated it would take her at least three months to fully audit the books.

Since he had personally kept those ledgers, only he could understand them.

By the time Xu Shuangyi finished her investigation, he could rewrite the books and cover up previous discrepancies.

But what Xu Mu said next nearly made his legs give out, and he almost collapsed to the floor.

“This year, you transferred all 3,100 taels of silver in profits. How much did those big shots pay you as a reward?

You are the manager of Jinhua Pavilion, and Miss Xu is the owner. In her eyes, you have committed embezzlement.

If it weren’t for my face, Miss Xu would have already cut you down with a single stroke.”

Gasp!

Li Baofu’s entire body bristled, cold sweat cascading down his forehead, soaking his back.

3,100 taels—that was exactly the profit Jinhua Pavilion made this year.

Yet, how had Xu Shuangyi managed to audit such a complex ledger thoroughly within an hour?

With the accounts completely clear, Li Baofu had no time to react.

Once those powerful figures found out, they would undoubtedly kill him to silence him.

“Miss Xu, please spare me! I was also threatened and forced to transfer the money!” Li Baofu knelt, begging for mercy.

He had initially intended to mock Xu Shuangyi, to slowly trap the woman who kicked him as soon as she arrived with the ledger, to show her his power.

But now, in Li Baofu’s eyes, Xu Shuangyi was utterly unfathomable.

With the ledger exposed, as soon as Xu Shuangyi traced the money’s destination, he would be eliminated!

“Tell me, how much silver have you transferred over the years?” Xu Mu asked.

“In total… I can’t calculate it exactly,” Li Baofu replied.

“How much did they pay you as a reward?” Xu Mu stood up and asked with a smile.

“Well… I’m nothing to them. They only gave me ten taels a month,” Li Baofu answered honestly.

“Li Baofu, do you want to make a big profit?” Xu Mu inquired.

Li Baofu suddenly lifted his head, his face filled with terror as he stared at Xu Mu.

What was this good-for-nothing really up to?

“Please, Young Master Xu, enlighten me!”

“I won’t expose you. You tell those behind the scenes that we haven’t finished auditing the accounts. Then you do this…” Xu Mu crouched beside Li Baofu and whispered.

Li Baofu listened and nodded along.

“If this succeeds, I’ll give you 3,000 taels and have Miss Xu arrange for your entire family to leave the city. From then on, you’ll be free to roam the seas and skies, living a carefree life. How about that?”

“Three… three thousand taels?” Li Baofu couldn’t believe it.

At his current earning rate, he would never make that much in a lifetime.

The waters of Jinhua Pavilion were too deep; one wrong wave would mean certain death for a small fish like him.

Better to listen to Xu Mu and make a fortune, then escape.

“I understand. I will follow Young Master Xu’s orders exactly!”

“By the way, you haven’t told me who’s backing you,” Xu Mu asked.

“The Liang family.”

“The Liang family?”

“Yes, the Liang family of Liang Shucheng—your rival.”

Hearing this, Xu Mu laughed immediately.

The Liang family in Liangzhou was a scholarly clan but barely qualified as a third-rate gentry.

Behind the Liang family, there must be other powerful clans.

Su Hanwei, you’re so madly in love with Liang Shucheng?

Let your dear Shucheng go bankrupt first!

“What did you just say to him?” Xu Shuangyi asked curiously.

“Just a little scam. You don’t need to know the details; you just need to play the role of the thick-headed Lei well,” Xu Mu smiled faintly, adding, “Oh, but you don’t even need to act—you are one already.”

“You!”

Since when did Xu Mu become so arrogant and domineering?

---

“It’s late; I need to return to keep vigil for my mother. Don’t forget to arrange her funeral,” Xu Mu said as he returned to his cold and quiet home, sitting beside the coffin and closing his eyes to rest.

Unexpectedly, Xu Shuangyi followed him in.

No matter how she thought about it, Xu Mu seemed like a completely different person from before.

Though she disliked the current Xu Mu, she couldn’t help but feel a strong interest in him.

Especially after today’s performance, she was deeply surprised.

She wanted to understand what kind of man Xu Mu truly was now.

Xu Shuangyi silently lit three incense sticks and placed them in the incense burner.

“My condolences.”

“Thanks. You may leave,” Xu Mu replied indifferently.

“I’ll prepare the mourning hall tomorrow and bring the young mistress over. Then I’ll choose an auspicious day to send her back to the mountains.”

“Mm.”

Xu Mu nodded faintly and said no more.

...

At night, Li Baofu sneaked in through the back door of a mansion.

A voice sounded behind him, nearly making him fall.

“Why come looking for me at this hour?”

Li Baofu turned around and saw Liang Shucheng standing there, though he hadn’t noticed when he arrived.

“Master Liang, you scared me! There’s urgent news: the Xu family is sending someone to take over Jinhua Pavilion. I’m afraid the money from now on won’t be accessible,” Li Baofu hurriedly said.

“Didn’t I teach you how to manipulate the accounts? Your job is to make sure they can’t audit the books properly,” Liang Shucheng said.

“Master, it won’t be that simple. The person the Xu family sent is Xu Shuangyi! I think we’ve been too blatant, which angered the old master. From now on, it’ll be impossible to siphon profits from Jinhua Pavilion,” Li Baofu whispered.

Not a single tael was sent to the capital this year—how blatant was that?

Hearing Xu Shuangyi’s name, Liang Shucheng’s expression darkened.

Though she was only the Xu family’s adopted daughter, she was highly favored by the old master.

By the age of eighteen, she had already reached the level of a martial arts grandmaster, renowned throughout the land.

Jinhua Pavilion originally belonged to the Xu family. The local aristocrats in Liangzhou only dared to embezzle the Xu family’s assets because the Xu clan had moved their entire household to the capital years ago, out of reach.

Li Baofu saw Liang Shucheng silent for a long moment, then whispered, “I have a plan that can allow Master Liang to make a big profit before Jinhua Pavilion is reclaimed by the Xu family.”

“Oh? Tell me.”

---

End of excerpt.