The Rebirth of an Orphan

After Wang put the boxes of account books in place, he walked into the room, bowed to Zhao Xihua and said, "Young Madam, Madam needs to rest recently, so I'll leave these accounts to you. It's almost the end of the year, and you still need to sort out the accounts for the year. That's all Madam has instructed me to do. If you're fine, I'll take my leave."

Zhao Xihua smiled and asked, "Butler Wang, are these accounts the family's expenses for this year?"

Steward Wang also smiled back, "Yes, Madam, it's all here."

Pingshui was secretly shocked. With so many accounts, how much money did the Gu family spend in a year? How could they sort out such a large pile of accounts?

There is less than a month left until the end of the year. With so many accounts to do, it will probably take more than half a year to finish even if I work on them every day, let alone one month.

The coldness at the corners of Steward Wang's lips was faintly visible, but he still smiled faintly and said, "If there is nothing else, Madam, I will take my leave."

"Wait," Zhao Xihua stopped the butler Wang who didn't take him seriously, and said with a hint of sarcasm on his face, "Go back and tell Madam that since she's not feeling well, she should take good care of herself. I'll take care of all the household affairs, so she doesn't have to worry about them."

After hearing what Butler Wang said, he didn't know what Zhao Xihua meant. Then he sneered inwardly, thinking, "You are just a country girl. Let's see what you can do."

Zhao Xihua's face darkened as she watched Butler Wang leave. Chunfeng said anxiously, "Miss, what should we do? Isn't this deliberately embarrassing? When will this be settled?"

She walked to the box and asked a servant to open the lid, which immediately stirred up a cloud of dust. "Oh, who said I was going to check these old accounts?"

She leaned over and picked up an account book, brushed off the dust on it and said with a smile: "Since the account books are brought to me, there must be no problem. Madam Hua is not stupid, so I will just pick up a few and take a look."

"But if the account books can't be sorted out..." Pingshui was a little worried and hesitated to speak. She really didn't know how her sister would deal with it.

Zhao Xihua stood still and looked into the distance at the Gu family compound, with a hint of sarcasm at the corners of her lips: "Mrs. Hua is trying to use this to restrain me, but it's too early. She looked at the two sad-looking girls beside her and said, "Didn't Mr. Gu say yesterday that I would be in charge of all the household affairs in the future?

Pingshui and Chunfeng both nodded, saying that this was indeed what the old man said.

Zhao Xihua said, "Since I am in charge of this account book, I have the final say. You don't need to look at the old accounts anymore. Just make a new one. Pingshui, please invite the managers of each room to come to me in my name."

Pingshui's eyes lit up. After all, her sister was very capable. Since she was making new accounts, she had to recount the inventory, and she must account for the money in the public account. It was the end of the year, so she wouldn't be too deliberate in doing these things. It was natural that the key to the warehouse would be in her sister's hands in the future.

"Chunfeng, go find Mrs. Qian who is with Madam Hua to get the key to the storeroom. If Mrs. Qian doesn't give it to you, go to Zhuyuan to ask for it from Mr. Gu."

After arranging two maids, she asked other servants in the East Garden to place chairs in the main hall and make scented tea. Then she sat on the chair in the middle, sipping the tea from the cup, quietly waiting for the managers of each room.

Soon, managers came over one after another, and the small courtyard in front of their East Garden was filled with a black crowd.

All of these stewards looked up at the young mistress sitting in the main seat. She had turned the Gu family upside down as soon as she arrived, and their hearts were beating fast.

They all knew that the young mistress and the lady didn't get along, and Mr. Gu letting the young mistress be in charge was obviously going to make things difficult for the lady. Now that they were all called here, it seemed that things were not going to be easy to deal with.

Zhao Xihua had asked Gu Lun about this overnight. She knew very well how many people were in charge of the family. She understood it with just a quick glance.

"Pingshui, go check which room or courtyard's manager has not come?" Zhao Xihua put the teacup in her hand on the table. There was a crisp click, which startled the managers who were standing there.

"Yes, Madam." Pingshui naturally changed the address in such an occasion. She walked over quickly and soon came to Zhao Xi's screen and said, "Madam, there are still five people who haven't come yet."

Pingshui said hurriedly: "The steward in the kitchen asked for leave to go home to attend the funeral. The steward in the eldest lady's room is sick. The steward in the second lady's room said that he has something to do and has no time to come. The steward in the third lady's room..."

"The steward didn't say anything about the reason. It's just that when I went to inform her, she was busy preparing the flowers for the Third Miss and ignored me. Finally, Mrs. Qian, who was with Mrs. Hua, accompanied her to the farm to recuperate."

Zhao Xihua lowered her head and gently turned the jade bracelet that Gu Lun had given her on her wrist and said, "Go and notify them again, and tell them that the year is coming to an end and we need to do the accounts again. What's the matter with them not coming? The steward in the kitchen has a special situation, so let him go to the funeral, and then come to my East Garden. It's okay for Sister Qian to take care of her mother, but what about the other three? Go and notify them."

Accounting? All the managers took a deep breath. It might not be that easy for the young mistress to do the accounting this time.

Although the fight between the Young Mistress and the Lady has reached a fever pitch, the Young Mistress is still very popular, and there is also Mr. Gu's favoritism. What should they do? Everyone stands there with their heads down, watching how the Young Mistress's drama will unfold without a word.

Pingshui returned to Dongyuan not long after, this time followed by Gui Sao, who was left by the married eldest daughter to look after the house. She had said she was sick before, but the young mistress still sent someone to inform her that she had to come just to look after the house.

Mrs. Gui bowed towards Zhao Xihua who was sitting in the main seat and said, "Greetings, Young Madam. Hello, Young Madam!" Although she was performing the greeting properly, she did not conceal the disdain in her eyes at all.

Zhao Xihua stared at Mrs. Gui in front of her. Her face was flushed and she looked so arrogant and proud. How could she be a sick person?

She picked up the teacup, took another sip of tea and said with a smile: "Don't be so polite, Mrs. Gui. Since you are sick, you should have a good rest." Mrs. Gui didn't understand what Zhao Xihua meant. What did she mean by that she should have a good rest?

Zhao Xihua then said to Pingshui, "Go and ask Cheng Ma to come over and tell her that the eldest lady's house needs someone to take care of it. Since Sister Gui is not in good health, please ask Cheng Ma to take care of it for a while. Sister Gui won't have to worry about the eldest lady's house anymore."

"Young Madam," Mrs. Gui's face changed, and the sick look she had pretended to have disappeared immediately.

"Madam, what did I do wrong to make you treat me like this?" Zhao Xihua came from a humble background, and these stewards looked down on her from the bottom of their hearts. How could Mrs. Gui tolerate what Zhao Xihua said, and her tone was full of aggressiveness.

She and Cheng Ma have been sworn enemies for many years. Now she is asked to take her place. How could she tolerate this country bitch who dared to treat her like this?