The carriage wheels rolled over the bluestone pavement, the sound of the axle turning monotonous and dull.
Xu Qinghuan leaned against the soft cushion, eyes closed, her brow knitted into a tight knot. Her mind was a chaotic mess, filled with the sound of those disaster victims kowtowing at the city gates, and the gaze of that man in plain clothes standing in the wind—a look that seemed to see right through her.
That gaze was too heavy, pressing down on her until she could barely breathe.
The system panel flickered in the corner of her vision, the constantly refreshing emotional value numbers each pulse a reminder: today's affair was a complete mess, a thorough disaster. She wanted to be a wastrel, but ended up a savior to the people; she wanted to ruin her reputation to seek exile, but ended up being lifted to the clouds.
The main gate of the Xu residence was right before her.
The vermilion lacquer gates stood wide open, the large red lanterns hanging from the lintel not yet taken down. The double-happiness character pasted on them now looked somewhat glaring. Steward Old Zhao stood at the entrance, his aged face crinkled into a smile like a withered chrysanthemum. He rushed forward to grasp the carriage shaft before it had even come to a full stop.
The courtyard was piled high with goods not yet stored away. Dozens of empty burlap sacks were haphazardly stacked in a corner, next to several open rosewood chests. These had originally held the banknotes used to buy rice, now lying empty, with only the red silk lining at the bottom remaining.
An aura of brash, nouveau-riche extravagance assailed her.
Xu Qinghuan swept a glance over those empty chests, and the frustration in her heart eased slightly. At least the money was spent, part of the family fortune squandered. That was some consolation.
Figures moved within the main hall.
Even before entering, she could hear the crisp clatter of abacus beads. Zhao Si, the manager of the Zhao Family Rice Shop, stood in the center of the hall, clutching a stack of banknotes that hadn't even had time to warm in his hands. The two slabs of fat on his face gleamed with oily excitement.
Seeing Xu Qinghuan cross the threshold, Zhao Si's knees went weak, and he dropped straight to the floor in a kneel.
"Young Mistress!"
His cry was both shrill and fervent, sounding less like he was addressing a patron and more like he was calling out to his own mother.
Xu Qinghuan's steps faltered, and she retreated half a pace.
Zhao Si gave her no chance to react. Holding the stack of banknotes over his head, he kowtowed on the green brick floor with loud thuds. "You are a genius! A true philanthropist! This humble one was blind before, failing to see your grand scheme. That fifteen hundred dan of old rice had been moldering in the warehouse for three years—even the rats shook their heads at that rubbish. I was just worrying about spending money to hire people to cart it outside the city to burn! With your move to buy it all outright, not only did you clear out my dead stock, but you also let me triple my profit!"
Zhao Si lifted his head, a shrewd gleam in his eyes. "This move of yours is brilliant. Turning rubbish into benevolence, turning inventory into ready cash. From now on, for any business of the Xu family, this humble Zhao Si will stake his very life to serve you!"
Xu Qinghuan opened her mouth, but seeing Zhao Si's look of tearful gratitude, all words of explanation stuck in her throat.
She looked towards Xu Youde, sitting in the master's chair.
Xu Youde was rolling two ornamental walnuts in his hand, their shells clacking together with a kadakada sound. Listening to Zhao Si's pledge of loyalty, his face showed no surprise, but rather a calm composure that suggested he had expected this all along.
He raised a hand and waved, signaling Zhao Si to withdraw.
Zhao Si withdrew with a thousand thanks and ten thousand blessings, not forgetting to bow deeply to Xu Qinghuan once more before leaving.
The hall held only father and daughter now.
Xu Youde rose from his chair, walked over to Xu Qinghuan with his hands clasped behind his back, and circled her once. His gaze was as if he were examining a rare treasure fresh from the kiln.
"Father, I really didn't think that much," Xu Qinghuan said, her voice dry, attempting a final struggle. "I just didn't like the sight of that money and wanted to hear it make a splash."
"Father understands."
Xu Youde stopped, reached out, and patted Xu Qinghuan's shoulder, his tone profound. "Your father has muddled through the official circles for so many years; how could I not know the tricks of the trade? To outsiders, those five thousand taels look like profligacy, like handing out porridge, like charity. But in the eyes of those in the know, this is accounting."
He lowered his voice, pointing towards the door. "The court allocated twenty thousand taels. On my books, I recorded it as 'purchasing grain at high price from other regions.' In reality, you used five thousand taels of your private funds to buy up all the local old rice, and Zhao Si cooperated by providing fake receipts for the high-price purchase.
This way, when the court audits the accounts, they see 'twenty thousand taels bought grain,' and the people eat the porridge you provided (and can't complain about the government's inaction). As for that twenty thousand taels of public funds, aside from a small service fee paid to Zhao Si, the rest naturally and legitimately stays in our treasury, becoming 'the Xu family's legally obtained business income,' doesn't it?"
Xu Youde sat back down in his chair, picked up a teacup, took a sip, his face full of gratification. "Not only must the money be swallowed, it must be swallowed legitimately, swallowed in a way that makes people grateful. Good girl, this move of yours—'passing off the inferior as the superior'—is better than your old man."
Watching her father's "I understand completely" expression, Xu Qinghuan gave up all attempts at explanation.
In this family, no matter what foolish thing she did, it would be interpreted as unfathomable political maneuvering.
She turned and went back to the embroidered tower in the rear courtyard.
Closing the door, shutting out the clamor from outside, Xu Qinghuan plopped down on a round stool and let out a long, heavy sigh.
The mechanical voice in her mind sounded right on schedule.
Settlement of the "Old Rice" case complete. The host's actions triggered large-scale group emotional fluctuations, particularly causing severe psychological shock to the high-weight individual "Xiao Jingyan." System determination: Task over-fulfilled.
"Reward: Retirement fund cumulative increase, five hundred thousand taels. Unlock Grand Wheel of Fortune draw once."
Xu Qinghuan didn't even bat an eyelid. Five hundred thousand taels in retirement funds sounded like a lot, but that was money only usable back in the modern era. Right now, to her, it was just a useless string of numbers.
All she cared about now was whether she could quickly complete that ten-billion target, or quickly get herself banished through her own misdeeds.
The text on the panel flickered, the originally blue interface turning into a glaring blood red.
"Advanced Profligacy Task issued."
"Task Objective: Within thirty days, complete a total capital flow of one hundred thousand taels of silver through means such as 'exploitation,' 'embezzlement,' and 'extravagant spending.'"
One hundred thousand taels.
Xu Qinghuan stood up anxiously, her knee bumping against the table leg. She sucked in a sharp breath from the pain.
Where would the family get one hundred thousand taels?
Although she was a transmigrator, she knew what one hundred thousand taels meant in this day and age. The annual salary of a seventh-rank county magistrate was only a few dozen taels. Five thousand taels was already private money Xu Youde had gritted his teeth to produce. Now, with a single demand for one hundred thousand?
"Cui'er!" Xu Qinghuan called out towards the door.
The maid Cui'er pushed the door open and entered, carrying a plate of sliced melon and fruit.
"Go to the study. Bring me all the household and county office account books. Also, bring me the key to my father's private treasury." Xu Qinghuan spoke extremely fast, giving Cui'er no chance to ask questions.
Half an hour later.
Over a dozen thick account books piled high on the desk. Xu Qinghuan held a vermilion brush, flipping through the densely packed records of income and expenditure.
The more she looked, the colder her heart grew.
This Xu family, for all its appearance of silks, satins, and splendid luxury, was actually an empty shell.
The strings of numbers in the account books looked staggering, but each was followed by annotations.
"In the spring of the fifteenth year of Tiansheng, for the birthday gift of Vice Minister Wang of the Ministry of Rites: one jade cabbage, valued at three thousand taels of silver."
"In the summer of the fifteenth year of Tiansheng, for managing the capital audit evaluation: gifts to the Vice Director of the Ministry of Personnel, two antique paintings, valued at five thousand taels of silver."
"In the winter of the sixteenth year of Tiansheng, for renovating the ancestral home: ten thousand taels of silver spent."
Xu Youde was indeed a corrupt official, but the money he embezzled never stayed with him. The bureaucracy of the Great Qian Dynasty was a bottomless pit. To keep his position secure, to climb higher, he had to keep sending money upward. The remaining funds either turned into the immovable rosewood furniture filling these rooms or became those priceless antiques and scrolls.
The actual ready cash he could lay his hands on amounted to less than ten thousand taels.
As for the county office's treasury, it was even more pitiful. The books showed a deficit of three thousand taels; they were even worried about paying the constables' salaries next month.
Xu Qinghuan slammed the account book shut with a heavy thud.
No money.
How can one squander a fortune without a fortune? How can one be profligate without money?
The task given by the system was an absolute order; failure meant death. To spend money, one first needed to have money. Since there was no money at home and none in the county coffers, she would have to find it from others.
Xu Qinghuan walked to the window, looking out at the gradually darkening sky.
She was the daughter of a corrupt official, the vicious supporting female character.
Since she needed to get money, she couldn't use righteous means.
Those wealthy households, those local gentry, those merchants who usually followed Xu Youde around—they surely had money.
"Cui'er."
Xu Qinghuan turned around, her voice carrying a chill. "Go fetch the county office's register listing the wealthy households. Also, find the records of troublesome commoners who have owed taxes over the years. Bring them all to me."
Cui'er was startled by her young mistress's grim expression and stammered, "Young Mistress, what... what do you need these for?"
Xu Qinghuan toyed with the vermilion brush in her hand, its tip pressing a red mark into her fingertip.
"To scrape the earth clean."
