Chapter 147: Setting a trap, a test!

Looking at this child's appearance, I truly feel heartache.

But seeing what they did, I couldn't help but admire Yun chu—I was short‑sighted. Grand Madam and Kang Lian chatted about the children's changes, and also about how the children had previously done things to repay her; today they spoke of them one by one.

Kang Lian nodded, then sighed, "I am not much better than the second son."

Since the children were sent to Chun Hua Xue Yuan, the second son hasn't even gone to pick them up, nor has he ever asked about them; the children aren't even afraid of breaking arms or legs.

Before, he had asked, "Aren't you worried about the children?"

Do you remember what the second son said?

The Regent Prince's Manor has a manor doctor; broken arms and legs can be reattached—what's there to worry about?

At that time, he still didn't understand.

But looking at the children, each one's degree of adaptation, and even day‑by‑day changes, he seemed to understand everything.

"Your natures are different; children have their own path." Grand Madam smiled; these days she felt the children's changes, each day different.

Feeling the children's earnestness, they are merely young in age, but their minds are now not small.

"One month has passed." Jiang Yun Chu looked at the children, she chuckled as she glanced at the ledger in her hand; although she remembered some things being messy, each entry was still clear in her mind, and she had noted the reasons for doing so.

"Whatever we do, we need a budget."

"For your first time doing this, the amount of money exceeding the budget is not much."

"But because of the Kang Clan's involvement, if the Kang Clan hadn't intervened, the money you exceeded the budget by wouldn't be this little."

"Have you considered? It's a problem of not having calculated the costs properly."

On the morning practice field, Jiang Yun Chu stood before the children, looking at one tender yet dark‑faced face after another; being able to hold back laughter was already the utmost endurance.

"It's my problem; I miscalculated the quantity of the fertilizer raw materials and also bought them at a higher price." Kang Wen answered somewhat embarrassedly.

By the time they discovered the price was wrong, it was already too late.

Moreover, they found that if they bought the fertilizer raw materials at market price, the money the Dean gave would be exactly enough.

Jiang Yun Chu nodded. "Exactly, it's the fertilizer problem."

"The fertilizer not only used up the previously saved labor costs, but also added three taels of silver."

Looking at the ledger and the slips written by those merchants confirmed Kang Wen's guess.

"The one‑month agricultural practice course is finished."

"Next time we take it up will be next spring, when spring planting begins; this task's evaluation will serve as your year‑end exam's agricultural evaluation, and because of the overage, everyone's evaluation can only be a B grade."

"Do you accept that?"

After she said that, she looked at the children.

"Accept!" Ning Hanmo nodded; exceeding is exceeding—the original budget was appropriate.

"Accept!"

The others also agreed.

"All right, you rest this afternoon; tomorrow we resume classes. There are two months left until the year‑end vacation; I hope you spend these two months finding what you want to do and striving for it."

After she finished speaking, she went straight back to the Rhyme Courtyard; before long, a clerk entered through the side door.

"Greetings, Princess Consort; this is the original price slip, and here we have extra money collected from the Young Master." The clerk left the slip and the silver.

Jiang Yun Chu nodded. "Thank you for the trouble."

"No trouble, no trouble."

That clerk then left through the side door.

Ning Hanmo and the others still don't realize that this scheme was a test set by Jiang Yun Chu, but they haven't passed it.

These past months, the entire capital of Jingdu has been in an uproar: first, the Regent Prince's Manor lost a young lady; then, the Princess Consort, in a fit of rage, slaughtered Ying Feng Zhai; after that, people from Cao Fu came carrying silver to the Regent Prince's Manor.

"Oh?" Jiang Yun Chu set down her book, looked at Zi Su, and said uncertainly, "They've come?"

Zi Su nodded, the corners of his mouth twitching involuntarily twice, "The gongs and drums are booming, the commotion is great—those who don't know might think it's a wedding procession."

"Moreover, they carried three large chests over, making a show as if afraid no one would notice."

Jiang Yun Chu narrowed her eyes; in the previous investigation of Ying Feng Zhai, the mastermind behind it was very crafty—the trail cut off at Ying Feng Zhai and Yin Ling, and by the time everyone reacted and went to inquire at the tea house's attendant, the person had already fled.

The private room in that tea house had been reserved by the Second Prince.

After asking the Second Prince, it was indeed his reservation, but someone had sent him a message; tonight, when Jiang Yun Chu came to find him, he didn't use that private room and had already cancelled it.

She suspected that the Cao Clan definitely had a hand in this, only she didn't know at which step they were involved.

"Previously, Cao Fu took our belongings and had the scholars copy them into large characters, posting each sheet one by one at the Wang Fu gate, and making the scholars recite them page by page—every amount, every account, was read aloud." Jiang Yun Chu gave a cold laugh.

Cao Fu, what audacity!

"Make way, we're here to repay the debt." The Cao Clan's Eldest Young Master, looking at the person blocking the door, his face grim, shouted angrily.

"Without the Princess Consort's order, forcibly barging into the Wang Fu, Cao Dasha—can you bear this charge?" Ning Hanmo opened his fan, gestured to the person blocking the way, and motioned for them to step aside.

"Come, let me see—does Cao Dasha's eyes hold any regard for the law?"

"Today you stormed my Regent Prince's Manor; tomorrow, are you planning to storm the Imperial Palace?"

Before Ning Hanmo finished speaking, Cao Dasha let out an angry shout, "Ning Hanmo, shut up."

Since parting at the West Village racecourse last time, this is the first time they've met; previously, whenever they met they would curse and fight.

After not seeing each other for a few days, this Ning Hanmo has become hard to deal with.

"Shut up?"

Ning Hanmo snapped his folding fan shut with a "pa" sound, then pointed at the sign above the door and said, "Cao Dasha, open your dog eyes wide—look, where is this?!"

"This isn't the gate of your Cao Fu; I, the Young Master, am speaking here—do I still need to report to you?"

"Kang Wen! Read the ledger." Ning Hanmo shouted loudly.

Kang Wen chuckled and said, "Here we go."

"In February of the 36th year of Da Ning, they took three sets of clothing from the clothing shop, four bolts of cloth—specifically light pink, sky blue, jasmine white, and indigo blue—and on the same day took twenty dan of grain."

In March of the 36th year of Da Ning, they took away six boxes of rouge, three portions of facial tissue, five portions of hair oil, one bottle of rouge.

In April of the 36th year of Da Ning, ……

……

Kang Wen finished reading, and Kang Wu began to read; even some details—what color, who took the items—were all recorded clearly.

I estimate even the Cao manor didn't record it that clearly; that Cao family's eldest Young Master, who came making a show, mainly just to win back popular support, but……

I didn't expect the Regent Prince's Manor to directly pull this stunt.

Now he's riding a tiger, hard to get off……