Chapter 21: Don’t Think of Lu Lan as Too Kindhearted

Lu Lan spoke with blunt candor:

"For years, the Qi family has been clinging to our backs, sucking our blood. I will make them cough up every bit they have swallowed."

In any case, Lu Lan’s notorious reputation was known throughout the city. With over a dozen unresolved lawsuits already pending at the Shuntian Prefecture, he hardly cared about adding one more charge of arson and robbery to his name.

Moreover, Lu Lan was certain that the father and son of the Qi family would never dare to report him to the authorities. Qi Xuefu and Lu Zhongwang were not only the protective talismans of the Qi family but also his own. As long as Qi Xuefu remained in the Lu household, the Qi family still harbored hopes of a comeback. Therefore, they would not dare to burn bridges.

"Uncle Zhong, record these silver banknotes into the accounts. From now on, all household ledgers must pass through my hands; there must be no more mishaps."

Uncle Zhong felt a heavy knot in his heart. As the head steward, he could not shirk responsibility for such a significant discrepancy in the estate's accounts. Feeling he had betrayed the Madam’s trust, he prepared to tender his resignation to the young master.

"Young Master... I have been negligent. Even though I knew Uncle Qi had been tampering with the estate's assets for years, I did not dare to inform the Madam or the Master. I have no face left to remain in this house. I shall go and offer my resignation to the Madam immediately."

Uncle Zhong looked pitiful, wiping away aged tears with his sleeve as he spoke.

However, he waited in vain for Lu Lan’s response. When he finally looked up, he found Lu Lan already deeply engrossed in the ledgers under the light of the goose-and-fish lamp.

"Uncle Zhong, let’s set aside the talk of resignation for now. You watched me grow up. In a short while, I am to be married, and I will need you to manage the wedding preparations for me!"

"Young Master..."

Uncle Zhong stared at Lu Lan, his eyes filled with shock and overwhelming gratitude. He immediately knelt and kowtowed. He reasoned that the young master must be remembering his decade of diligent service to the Lu family and, out of pity for an old man who would have no way to survive outside, chose not to punish him. The young master was truly too kind to him.

In truth, he had misjudged Lu Lan’s character.

Uncle Zhong was the trusted head steward of his mother, having served diligently for over a decade; would he really kick him out the moment he took over the treasury? What would his mother think? Even if Uncle Zhong were at fault, he should not be the one to play the villain.

After the display of grief, Lu Lan signaled for Uncle Zhong to withdraw.

For the entire night, Lu Lan meticulously audited all the assets of the Duke of Yu’s estate.

The ledgers showed six thousand acres of fertile land, yielding 1.8 million catties of grain annually, equivalent to approximately nine thousand taels of silver. There were three top-tier residences in the city, five middle-tier, and twenty-seven standard ones. Outside the city, there were eighty-six manors, ten thousand qing of mountain forests, eight restaurants, thirty-one shops of various kinds, two piers, fifteen cargo ships, and three merchant caravans.

At the founding of the Southern Chu Kingdom, the founding Emperor bestowed titles upon twenty-four individuals of exceptional merit, collectively known as the "Four Princes, Eight Dukes, and Twelve Marquises." Aside from the four princes who were relatives of the Emperor, the Eight Dukes held the highest titles for subjects of non-royal blood—a first-rank peerage. Thus, it was not surprising to see such a vast fortune accumulated over several generations.

However, after reviewing the accounts, Lu Lan’s jaw dropped.

Farming was the only profitable venture for the Duke of Yu’s estate; everything else was operating at a loss or was being hollowed out. The timing of his rebirth was most unfortunate, as the best assets had already been sold off by Qi Xuefu’s family. Even with the sixty thousand taels of silver banknotes he had recovered, those ancestral assets were merely suffering from poor management and still held great potential. If placed in the hands of someone with business acumen, they could easily be turned around.

Thinking of this, Lu Lan dipped his brush in vermilion ink and marked an entry in the mountain forest section:

[Great East Mountain: This mountain is filled with black stones and releases toxic gas, making it unsuitable for cultivation... It requires fifteen men to stand guard and patrol the forest nightly, costing over eight hundred and thirty taels of silver annually.]

Great East Mountain? The name sounded familiar. Black stones?

"Xianyu, go and investigate why it costs over eight hundred taels of silver just for fifteen men to patrol the mountain."

The monthly wage for a household servant was only half a tael of silver. Even with food and clothing included, fifteen people could not possibly spend eight hundred taels. Lu Lan suspected there was embezzlement involved.

Xianyu scratched his head. "Master, I know a little bit about the bottom of this."

"Tell me!"

"The eight-hundred-plus taels spent on Great East Mountain every year are primarily used for funeral arrangements and compensation payments to the families of the deceased."

"What happened there?" Lu Lan frowned.