Reborn as a concubine's sister, the eldest lady went crazy

Xu Yixing saw that she spoke so seriously, and thought that she must have discovered some clues in the past, otherwise Yan would not be willing to take care of these things.

"Okay, thank you for your advice, aunt. I'll chat with you for a while." Xu Yixing raised the corners of her mouth, revealing a few teeth. This smile was not the ladylike smile that women in Beijing admired, but when she made this expression, Yan thought it was pretty good.

In order to wait for his uncle to come back, Xu Yixing stayed in Bai Mansion for a long time. It was almost dinner time before he saw his uncle rushing back, exhausted.

"Oh! Really, you are such a fool. Your niece has been waiting for a long time and you just came back!" Yan complained slightly, but her tone was full of love. She helped her husband change his armor. Her meticulous and considerate look made Xu Yixing feel happy.

"There are so many things going on in the palace today, so I stayed there for a while longer. Yan'er, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for a long time!" Uncle Bai changed into his casual clothes, took Xu Yi into the inner room, and dismissed everyone before he began to explain.

"Your aunt has just told me the reason for your visit. Actually, if you ask her about this matter, she won't know much."

Uncle Bai was sitting upright, and Xu Yixing was sitting on the guest seat next to him. He was delighted: There is a way!

"It seems that my uncle does know something, but I don't know if it is convenient for me to tell him."

"Of course you can, otherwise I wouldn't have asked you in." Uncle Bai took a big gulp of tea and it felt like he was drinking alcohol.

"After I took over the Bai family's business, I really had no idea what to do in the first one or two years. I just followed your grandfather's rules. It was only later that I gradually discovered some unusual expenses."

"Yes, but is it for sacrifice?" Xu Yixing pinched his handkerchief. It was getting dark outside, but his uncle had driven everyone away from the room, so no one lit the lights.

"No." Bai Yu shook his head: "Although the annual expenses for worshipping the ancestral tombs are high, everything is done according to the rules of our ancestors. Even your grandfather didn't make any major changes at the time, so it's naturally not the ones above."

Eh? This is strange. My aunt clearly said that only the expenses for sacrifices continued, but not this one?

Uncle Bai didn't beat around the bush and said, "It's the lists of those shops that are a little strange."

"Shop?"

"Yes, you know that the government in Beijing does not allow businesses, so the noble families all look for side branches or business companies to act as agents. When our family had a lot of business in the early years, the agency fee was as high as ten thousand taels a year!"

This was all information Xu Yixing already knew, so she nodded and listened to what her uncle continued to say.

“At first I discovered that there were some stores similar to weapon shops in our business industry, but they were disguised as iron shops.

Most of these weapon shops are located in the northern and southern borders, far away from the capital, and are not very large in scale. The annual income is average and very insignificant. But Yan'er, you should know how strict the court's control over salt and iron is, and the weapon shops are not allowed to be dabbled by merchants and civilians.

So later I did some research and found that the annual profits of these nominal blacksmith shops were definitely more than what they paid to the government."

Xu Yixing frowned as she listened. Up to now, she still hadn't figured out what the matter had to do with the Shadow Guard.

Bai Yu saw her confusion and continued, "Of course I didn't make it public. After all, it's a prohibited business. If it's exposed, it won't be good for the Bai family. But I paid close attention to the industry on the other side of the border. Guess what I found?"

Xu Yixing's palms were sweating: "What is it?"

"We have businesses in the North, South, and East China Sea, and the types of businesses are extremely diverse. But without exception, the fruit and vegetable shops, food and oil shops, kerosene and firewood shops only pay half of their net profits to the mansion every year. The other half does not go to our mansion."

Xu Yixing seemed to know what happened. What she wanted to ask was the source of the Shadow Guards’ money. Now she happened to hear that some money that should have belonged to the Bai Mansion had disappeared. Could this be the money left by her grandfather to train the Shadow Guards?

"Where did the money go? Have you checked?"

Bai Yu suddenly stopped talking and showed an unfathomable smile, which made Xu Yixing feel creepy.

"Where did the money go, Yan'er, don't you know?"

Sure enough! My uncle knew about the Shadow Guard!

It's just not clear whether he discovered it himself or learned about it from someone.

"Um...I..."

"You don't have to worry. I know exactly where the money went. Just listen to me. Later, I chose to ask Aunt Bai directly. After all, she is the one who knows the old accounts of the Bai Mansion best."

Xu Yixing nodded again and wiped the sweat off his face with a handkerchief.

"Madame Bai gave me a letter that your grandfather wrote himself. It can be considered a suicide note. It details what he had done and hoped that I would continue to complete it. Madame Bai also told me some of the truth.

Later, because of this matter, we sold most of the shops in Beijing, but we kept the shops in the faraway places. Although we made less money, it was enough to make ends meet. "

"So, the reason why the business was sold off was not because of poor management, but just to create a cover?" With that said, Xu Yixing couldn't help but admire his uncle's courage. Such a large business was sold off just like that.

"It's a combination of both. First, my wife and I don't really manage the business and we really don't have the energy to run it. Second, it's a cover. The shops in the border areas are far away and no one will easily investigate them. But the shops in the capital are doing so well that they arouse envy. We are afraid that someone will get jealous and harm our family."

"Uncle is wise." As a distant relative from the outer branch, he has not only kept the Bai family safe and sound for so many years, but also prevented anyone from finding any evidence against him. It is truly not easy.

"Your grandfather has been kind to me. Since I have the opportunity to become his heir, I, as his son, should serve him wholeheartedly. It's a pity that the old man has a tragic fate. He was already frustrated enough, and he had to experience the tragedy of seeing his son die before him."

Bai Yu expressed regret at this point, and Xu Yixing felt very uncomfortable after hearing it.

"Then uncle, how did the money end up in the hands of those people?"

"I don't know about that either." Bai Yu did not hide it: "At first I checked only because I found that the amount was too large. I thought the old man was raising private soldiers, hahaha! Later, Nanny Bai said that it was not the case, so I didn't investigate further.

It seems that half of the profits from these stores belong to our government, and the other half belongs to a non-existent "second boss". Every year, the money is remitted from the border and finally transferred to various banks. Then, through the method of interest, the interest is guaranteed to reach a certain amount every month, and then it is taken away by others. "