A solid bundle of banknotes.

Xianjin glanced calmly at a line in the ledger, then swept her gaze around the room. She had a clear picture now.

“I’ve reviewed the books. Our shop currently employs four papermakers, one procurement agent, two shop assistants, and two branch managers.” She toyed with the bundle of notes in her hand, rubbing it lightly, then smiled. “Since I entered the shop, I haven’t visited the papermaking workshop. Just looking at the storefront, I’ve only seen one young apprentice and Manager Zhu. Where are the others?”

Before Sixth Master Chen could respond, Xianjin joked, “Did they all have mothers who fell and broke their legs, like Manager Li?”

Manager Zhu quickly replied, “Today’s the ten-day break!”

“Ah, the ten-day break…” Xianjin nodded, then smiled again. “Look at me, a bookkeeper with too much mouth. I deserve a slap.”

Manager Zhu shook his head like a dice, saying repeatedly, “You have every right to ask! The Old Madam sent you to work here. Whatever you want to know, I’ll tell you everything!”

He seemed to sense—vaguely—that this she-devil softened a bit after seeing the money. Her tone was gentler, even giving the illusion that she was easy to get along with.

Manager Zhu exchanged a subtle glance with Sixth Uncle Chen, then bowed obsequiously. “About the ledger… what do you think?”

Xianjin suddenly understood, as if waking from a dream. She picked up the bundle of notes and weighed it.

All fifty-tael notes. About eight to ten of them.

Four to five hundred taels. Equivalent to 200,000–300,000 yuan.

Just the day before, Old Madam Qu had brought the ledgers from Jing County and East City for a showdown. The East City shop, which Xianjin had reviewed, had a monthly net profit of 100,000 yuan. The twelfth-month ledger for Jing County showed only fifty taels—about 35,000 yuan.

They were offering her nearly ten months’ worth of profit to buy her silence. And that didn’t even include the future “filial gifts” intended for Chen Fu, which would only grow larger.

Xianjin casually pushed the bundle toward Sixth Master Chen. “Three to five hundred taels… not even enough for Third Master to buy my mother a few fancy hairpins.”

Manager Zhu’s heart skipped a beat. This she-devil didn’t reek of greed at all.

Sixth Master Chen was overjoyed! Absolutely delighted!

He beamed and pulled out another bundle of notes from his sleeve, placing it beside the first. “No wonder you’re a young lady from Xuancheng—your vision and insight far exceed ours in this little town!”

And your appetite is bigger too.

“Eight hundred taels of silver—I don’t know how many hairpins that buys,” he said. “But I do know that in Xuancheng, a two-courtyard house costs only three to four hundred taels. In Jing County, it’s even cheaper—one to two hundred taels gets you a courtyard with elmwood furniture. Add two or three quick and capable maids and matrons, and you’ll live comfortably for the rest of your life.”

Xianjin smiled, tucked both bundles into her pocket without a second thought, closed the ledger with a crisp snap, and stood to leave. As she walked out, she turned to Manager Zhu with a cheerful tone, “Third Master may have trouble walking, but his eyes, ears, and mouth work just fine! Are you really going to leave him cooped up in the old house?”

She was hinting. Take the money—do the job.

This she-devil was straightforward. She knew the game. A true ally in the trenches.

Manager Zhu bowed his head respectfully.

Xianjin’s tone was breezy. “We have a sedan chair, right?”

“Yes, yes! A two-man blue cloth sedan!”

“And in town, we’ve got opera troupes, right?”

“Yes, yes! The Changqiao Guild has Guichi masked opera, shadow puppetry, and Huangmei opera!”

Xianjin clapped her hands. “Then what are you waiting for? Tonight, lift Third Master into the sedan and take him to the Changqiao Guild for a show—some lively southern shadow puppetry. Bring two pots of good wine. The Third Master loves a crowd. You’ve pampered him these past few days, but once the shop staff return from their break, they’ll be working overtime to make paper. No one will have time to entertain him. When that contrast hits…”

“Do you think he’ll want to stay in Jing County?”

Sixth Master Chen nodded repeatedly. Yes, yes, yes! He hadn’t thought of that. He’d only considered how to keep Chen Fu comfortable—never what would happen if the guy got too comfortable and refused to leave. Better to follow this girl’s advice: lift him high now, then quietly withdraw. When the contrast hits, he’ll beg to go back to Xuancheng. They’d be courteous, warm, and never offend the useless heir.

Sixth Master Chen nodded again and walked Xianjin to the door with Manager Zhu.

Xianjin waved them off. “No need to see me out. I’ll wander the city a bit. You two go ahead.”

Sixth Master Chen muttered a bunch of flattery about her being young and promising, watching her turn the corner before dropping his smile.

“Act with some dignity!” he barked, slapping Manager Zhu on the head. “Three wen to balance the books? You’ve embarrassed me!”

Manager Zhu grinned and clutched his head. “Sixth Uncle! Sixth Master! Sixth Grandpa!”

“Call me Sixth Ancestor, and it still won’t help!” Sixth Master Chen snapped, scanning the shop. “Once Third Master leaves, bring back Li Sanshun. He makes good paper—people like it. As for the others, the troublemakers get one tael and are sent packing. The honest ones—send two men to scare them into quitting.”

Xianjin turned the corner, her expression calm, her stride steady.

Nanny Zhang followed closely behind, step for step, glancing at her a few times but swallowing the words she wanted to say. She truly believed that following Miss Jin would lead to a promising future. But the direction of that future seemed a little off? Built on trickery, manipulation, and double-crossing?

“Jin—”

“Nanny Zhang—”

They spoke at the same time.

Nanny Zhang fell silent. “You go ahead.”

Xianjin’s gaze swept casually across the storefronts lining the street as she spoke. “You said you’re familiar with the old residence?”

She was referring to last night, when Nanny Zhang had offered to help her fight for a better room.

Nanny Zhang nodded repeatedly. “Most of the older generation of the Chen family came from Jing County. Everyone’s connected—very familiar.”

There was a hemp shop with long strands of raw fiber hanging at the entrance, a yarn shop with skeins of thread, and a fur shop with coats on display. Xianjin’s eyes scanned each signboard one by one. Then she said, “Then please help me find a few of the workers from the Chen Paper Shop who live in town and pass along a message.”

That was easy.

“What message?” Nanny Zhang asked.

Ah! There it was—the carpenter’s shop with wooden plugs hanging out front!

“Tell them: Third Master Chen Fu of the Chen family has arrived in Jing County. Tonight, he’ll be taking a blue cloth sedan chair to the Changqiao Guild to watch a play.”

That was it. No explanation.

Nanny Zhang blinked. “That’s all?”

Xianjin stepped toward the carpenter’s shop. “That’s all.”