Qin Shuying paid him no attention. He was just a steward – speaking to him was giving him face.

The current Qin Shuying could choose not to give him this face.

If she gave him this face, they would have ways to hit back.

Hui Yun said, “You steward, could it be that your ears aren’t working properly? It was clearly your Madam Lu who drove us out. So many ladies witnessed it with their own eyes, yet you’re being unreasonable and stirring up trouble. Look at all these people coming and going – do you want me to shout it out so everyone can judge who’s right?”

The steward looked at the curious passersby outside and didn’t dare say anything more, muttering to himself that Madam Liang wasn’t someone easy to deal with, and even her maid was a tough character.

Finding a carriage for rent wasn’t easy. Qin Shuying and Hui Yun had only been standing at the gate for a moment when Madam Lu came over.

“Madam Liang, it’s all the fault of this mouth of mine. I apologize to you here. You’re magnanimous – please don’t hold it against me anymore. Please come back inside.”

Madam Lu spoke very sincerely, showing no sign of reluctance or embarrassment.

Qin Shuying made no sound, but looked at her coolly, as if all of Madam Lu’s tricks had nowhere to hide in front of her.

Being stared at by Qin Shuying’s deep, clear eyes, Madam Lu felt uncomfortable all over, and her anger surged like a prairie fire.

Although Madam Lu was young, her husband was accomplished, and she had had smooth sailing for so many years. When had she ever been looked at with such an expression?

Although Grand Aunt Liang hadn’t said anything, she had certainly given her plenty of sharp looks earlier.

Therefore, she hesitated slightly before chasing after her.

She had originally thought that Qin Shuying would be stopped by the people at the gate and would lower her head slightly. Since they would have to meet in the future, if Qin Shuying was sensible and tactful, she would certainly use this ladder to step down gracefully.

She hadn’t expected that Qin Shuying would just look at her like this, neither dodging nor avoiding, her eyes cool and full of mockery.

“Since Madam Lu knows she was wrong, I won’t be ungracious either. Hui Yun, go call Ziteng back.”

Madam Lu was so stunned by these few words that she saw stars, but didn’t dare say more. Qin Shuying was just a shameless rogue! She wasn’t afraid of anything, didn’t fear anything!

After Qin Shuying returned to the back courtyard, Grand Aunt Liang, Lu Ruyang, and Madam Lu didn’t cause any more trouble. The ladies had strange expressions – who knew how they would gossip when they returned home.

After lunch, Qin Shuying bid farewell along with the other ladies.

As soon as she left the Lu family’s main gate, Qin Shuying immediately had Hui Yun call Liang Yanjun to meet at a tea shop under Qin Shuying’s name.

After explaining everything clearly to Liang Yanjun, Qin Shuying returned to the Pingxi Earl’s mansion with exhaustion filling her body.

Songtao Residence.

Qin Shuying had just sat down and drunk a cup of water when Liang Zhen came over with Qu Linglong, had someone lead Qu Linglong to the study to practice calligraphy, then spoke with Qin Shuying.

“Shuying, the old madam has awakened. Madam went to visit her, and when she learned that the household management is now in your hands, although she was angry, she didn’t do anything agitated.”

Qin Shuying and Liang Zhen looked at each other, both seeing solemnity and confusion in the other’s eyes.

Old Madam Liang truly was an extraordinary figure!

“Elder Sister, we must watch the old madam at all times. Since she’s so confident, let’s place a few more people in her room to watch her. She must be under our surveillance at every moment. I don’t believe she won’t do something unexpected. That letter – who exactly was she planning to give it to? Why wasn’t it taken away? How did she originally plan to send it out?”

Liang Zhen nodded. “She should wake up in a while. Let’s go see her and fulfill our filial duties.”

Qin Shuying smiled brilliantly and recounted the events at the Lu family. “Those two people – the man was called Dayou by Lu Wangzhi, and the woman was called Qin Lady. They’re definitely not servants, nor relatives. They talked about mine affairs. Although it was only fragments, that Dayou gestured with his hands and feet, while Qin Lady mentioned a string of numbers. Hui Yun has a good memory and actually remembered them all. I analyzed them, and the figures are shocking.”

The numbers Qin Lady mentioned were approximately income and expenditure. The income was 2.2 million, expenditure was 1.2 million, with a profit of a full million.

They spoke very cautiously, and Qin Lady spoke particularly vaguely. All this was what Qin Shuying had puzzled out. It was nothing special – when she herself spoke with Mi Luo, she would also use code words that outsiders couldn’t understand at all.

Qin Lady’s code words were naturally very secretive, but Qin Shuying had always devoted herself to studying these things, so with a little thought, she understood everything.

Hearing Qin Shuying’s analysis, Liang Zhen was also greatly shocked: “One million taels?”

No wonder she was so shocked. After annual income and expenditure, the Liang family only had a surplus of sixty to seventy thousand taels of silver. Of course, the Liang family’s expenses were particularly large and extremely luxurious. What the ladies used and ate were all top-quality goods. Just making jewelry for the masters alone cost tens of thousands of taels of silver per year.

The two discussed carefully for a while, then went hand in hand to Ning Garden.

Old Madam Liang could already get up and move around. Her complexion wasn’t very good, and because she had slept too much, her face appeared somewhat swollen, making her look less shrewd and beautiful than before.

However, Qin Shuying and Liang Zhen wouldn’t let their guard down. The two properly performed their courtesies and paid their respects.

Old Madam Liang faintly said “Mm” and didn’t speak, just sat quietly drinking tea. After a while, she actually closed her eyes to rest.

Liang Zhen and Qin Shuying exchanged glances, said they wouldn’t disturb grandmother’s rest, and both withdrew.

Just after they left, Liang Jie and Liang Qiong came over.

This was the first time Old Madam Liang had seen the siblings in so many days, and she was quite happy, asking them a few questions affectionately.

Basically, it was Liang Jie who answered, while Liang Qiong just nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, Old Madam Liang remembered that Liang Yuan hadn’t come and asked, “Why didn’t Yuan’er come?”

Liang Qiong had only recovered after so many days of care. Although she felt wronged for Liang Yuan, thinking of that dark chamber under the bed made her find grandmother very frightening, and for a moment she actually forgot to answer.

Liang Jie was a bit better, but recalling the eight white skeletons he had seen with his own eyes in that chamber, and later hearing from father that there were several more skeletons, as well as those strange things, he had long been convinced that Old Madam Liang was fake. These days he had already gone through various mental struggles.

Liang Yunshan had instructed that the matter of Liang Zhe injuring Liang Yuan must not be known by outsiders. Of the servants who had witnessed it at the time, except for a few trustworthy ones, all had been dealt with by Liang Yunshan.

Liang Jie said, “Grandmother, Second Brother has been somewhat busy these days. When he’s finished with his business, he’ll come to pay his respects to grandmother.”

Old Madam Liang stared straight at Liang Jie, making him involuntarily lower his head.

Although Old Madam Liang’s tone was gentle, it clearly carried anger: “What business could the Metropolitan Commander’s office have that would leave Yuan’er without even time to pay respects to his grandmother? Jie’er, what are you hiding?”

Liang Jie fiercely suppressed the panic in his heart. This old witch truly wasn’t to be trifled with. That imposing presence seemed innate. Just a few cold words were enough to make him feel fear and a sense of submission.