Chapter 231: Posthumous Letter

Ruan Fengshan's gaze was deep as he pulled a thick stack of items from the letter.

On the very top was, unexpectedly, a folded property deed.

Ruan Fengshan glanced at the address on the property deed; it was for a remote residence.

Ruan Fengshan's gaze flickered; he did not know what the intention was behind Xu Shouxian having his Old Butler hand him a property deed for such a remote residence after his death.

Beneath the property deed were more than ten sheets of letter paper, covered in dense, tiny regular script.

Upon seeing the handwriting, Ruan Fengshan's heart skipped a beat; this regular script, slender, handsome, and elegant, was precisely Xu Shouxian's handwriting.

Ruan Fengshan believed that the questions in his heart would certainly be answered by Xu Shouxian in this posthumous letter left for him.

Ruan Fengshan picked up the thick letter paper and stared at it intently.

"To Manager Fengshan for your perusal: This old man is muddled, and my death is not worth lamenting..."

"... Thanks to the Manager's promotion, I have held the position of Chief Accountant for over twenty years, and the errors and omissions therein are truly numerous..."

"... Water that is too clear has no fish; those many petty, scheming people are not worth mentioning... Manager, you should also not be overly harsh or broad in your reprimands due to the matter of bad debts, as doing so easily shakes the foundation of the hearts of the people in the Yuanshun Escort Agency..."

"... And my greed began with Luan Jingfu!..."

Ruan Fengshan read page after page, his state of mind shifting many times!

The handwriting on the final few pages of this letter was already scrawled and difficult to recognize; even though Ruan Fengshan was very familiar with Xu Shouxian's handwriting, he still needed to pause and guess from time to time to make sense of the sentences.

From this, one could see how intense and turbulent the emotions of the person writing must have been when they reached this point...

After Ruan Fengshan finished reading, his thoughts were, for a time, as tangled as hemp...

The anger and hatred he had originally felt toward Xu Shouxian in his heart had now vanished completely; in this moment, a sense of desolation welled up in his heart instead.

Ever since Xu Shouxian became Chief Accountant, he would occasionally take some petty, minor profits, but he only began to embezzle on a large scale starting two years ago, and it was Luan Jingfu who had pulled him into the water bit by bit.

"When did your master give you this secret letter?" Ruan Fengshan asked in a deep voice.

"It was on New Year's Eve last year!"

Ruan Fengshan nodded. "It seems this letter was written in the twelfth lunar month of last year."

The end of the letter was only signed with the date of the twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month, but it did not state the year.

Last year must have been the first year Xu Shouxian embezzled on a large scale; by the end of the year, perhaps he had already begun to feel fear.

Ruan Fengshan muttered to himself: "You were already afraid, so why didn't you stop?"

Ruan Fengshan turned his head to look at the property deed on the desk.

After reading this letter, Ruan Fengshan already knew why Xu Shouxian had left this property deed with the remote address.

Under the floor tiles of the east wing of that remote residence, a box was buried.

Inside the box were the funds Xu Shouxian had embezzled over these past two years, as well as the jewelry and gifts Luan Jingfu had given him, and detailed records of the account dealings between him and Wang Dean, Zhu Shicheng, as well as Luan Jingfu and the Escort Heads of the six major Escort Teams.

Among those with power in the Yuanshun Escort Agency, the only one who did not have private accounts with him was Xiao Zongting!

And among these, the accounts with Luan Jingfu were the largest; compared to him, the others were all not worth mentioning!

"Luan Jingfu?"

Ruan Fengshan sighed deeply, and with a sorrowful expression, he looked at Ye Tian and said: "Old sir, you should go back first. I will have people place your master's body into a coffin and send him back to his residence tonight! This can be considered my sending him on his final journey."

Upon hearing this, Ye Tian prostrated himself on the ground and cried out: "With the Manager sending him off, my master can close his eyes in peace!"

After Ye Tian finished crying and shouting, he stood up on his own. With clear tears hanging on his aged face, he cupped his hands in a salute to Ruan Fengshan and then turned and left.

Ruan Fengshan watched Ye Tian's back and suddenly gave a miserable laugh, saying to himself: "Old thing, the butler you chose actually has some clear and noble character!"

Sorrow was thick in Ruan Fengshan's eyes, and past events surged into his heart like a tide...

It was as if he had just arrived at the Accounting Office and first met Xu Shouxian only yesterday.

At that time, Xu Shouxian was in the prime of his life; not only was he skilled in accounting, but he also taught him everything he knew without holding anything back, and the two soon became friends despite their age difference.

In the blink of an eye, more than twenty years had passed...

People change!

Twenty years is truly too long!

"Zheng Wei!" Ruan Fengshan suddenly called out.

Zheng Wei immediately walked in, following closely, and stood with cupped hands, waiting silently for orders.

"Go to the coffin shop and order a high-quality coffin! I want it before the sun sets!"

"Yes."

Zheng Wei received the order and turned to walk out.

Ruan Fengshan pondered for a moment, then locked the secret letter and property deed from the desk into a hidden compartment behind the screen, and then walked slowly out through the back door.

Ruan Fengshan stood before a remote courtyard wall in the Back Courtyard, suddenly leaped over it in a flash; Xu Shouxian's remote residence was not far from there, being a property in the vicinity of the Yuanshun Escort Agency.

Perhaps this was also an intentional arrangement by Xu Shouxian.

Ye Tian left the back hall of the Gathering Justice Hall and walked slowly to the door of the Backyard Accounting Office. The Backyard Accounting Office had already been surrounded by Guards; in front of the Main Hall door, two Guards in sturdy attire holding blades stood there. As Ye Tian approached, the two men's gazes immediately locked onto him.

"Old man, this place is cordoned off, no entry allowed! Get lost!" one Guard shouted at Ye Tian.

Ye Tian still performed a bow and said: "I have a family letter that I need to deliver to Principal Xu Fuxian."

"What family letter or not, I said no entry. Get lost!"

Seeing the Guard's poor attitude, Ye Tian had no choice but to retreat dejectedly, preparing to find another opportunity later to deliver the letter to Xu Fuxian.

Just as Ye Tian turned around, he happened to see Zheng Wei walking over.

Zheng Wei had received Ruan Fengshan's order to go to the coffin shop to order a coffin and happened to be passing by this place.

Zheng Wei glanced at the entrance guarded by the Guards and smiled: "Old man, how about I take that letter in for you and give it to the Principal?"

Zheng Wei was now Ruan Fengshan's Personal Attendant; if he wanted to go in, no Guard would dare to stop him.

Ye Tian hesitated for a moment, but still bowed and said: "Many thanks! I won't trouble you. This letter is not urgent; after a few days, I will hand it to my master personally."

After Ye Tian finished speaking, he turned and left.

Zheng Wei watched Ye Tian's retreating back and spat on the ground.

About half an incense stick of time later, in front of a secluded wall in the Back Courtyard of the Yuanshun Escort Agency, a figure suddenly leaped in from the outside...

This person clearly had excellent skills; his movements were as fast as a ghost, and he landed without a sound.

It was none other than Ruan Fengshan, who had left earlier, only this time when Ruan Fengshan reappeared, he had an extra thick account book in his hand.

Ruan Fengshan rolled up the account book, held it in his hand, hid it in his sleeve, slowly walked around the Rockery, and went from the bamboo path to the back hall of the Gathering Justice Hall; Ruan Fengshan sat back down at the small table, spread the account book open, and began to read it carefully.

Ruan Fengshan read for a full few cups of tea's time before suddenly closing the account book and letting out a long sigh!

In these past few years, he had been promoted to Branch Master of the Filthy Blood Sect and had poured most of his energy into the Filthy Blood Sect, truly neglecting the management of the Yuanshun Escort Agency.

Especially since he had brought in Luan Jingfu to be the chief of this Escort Agency; looking at it now, it was truly a blunder!

Although Luan Jingfu was bloodthirsty and brave, often able to fight to the death between life and death, such a person was just as desperate when it came to greed!

He had more than enough recklessness but lacked finesse!

Ruan Fengshan stood up and paced back and forth in front of the small table.

"Luan Jingfu?"

Ruan Fengshan's expression was uncertain; regarding the bad debts of the Yuanshun Escort Agency, Luan Jingfu certainly deserved to die, but at the Xiangu Branch of the Filthy Blood Sect, Luan Jingfu was absolutely a brave general!

He was one, and Wei Yutian was another; they could be called his right-hand men, and it would be a pity to kill him!

(End of chapter)