Who Said My Wife Is A Demon!

The atmosphere suddenly became a bit strange.

Standing on the side, Yang Shifei gradually furrowed his brow, but before he could think further, he saw the manager stroking his beard and saying, “Miss Tan Xiang, why did you suddenly come to ask for the account books today? Is something wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong,” Tan Xiang’s gaze was serene, her tone flat. “It’s just that the person beside me has a knack for accounting, and since he’s new to the East City, I thought I’d help him find a livelihood.”

“Then the account books…”

“I need to test him first,” Tan Xiang glanced sideways at Yang Shifei. “By using the previous account book entries, we’ll see if he’s up to the task.”

The manager’s gaze shifted, his face full of surprise. “This young man seems talented. Could he be a talented individual sent by the Luo family?”

“He’s not from the main branch of the Luo family, just acquainted with Miss Luo,” Tan Xiang urged softly, “Let’s not disturb your business much. Once we have the account books, we’ll return to the Luo Mansion.”

“Alright, alright, Miss Tan Xiang, please wait a moment. I’ll go fetch them right away,” the manager chuckled and hurried back to the restaurant’s backyard.

“…” Yang Shifei remained silent for a moment before whispering, “Is this a way for me to get in through the back door?”

“Regardless, you risked your life to subdue an assassin last night, which is a favor to the Luo Mansion.” Tan Xiang stared in the direction of the backyard, her voice even. “Besides, you have a close relationship with the Luo Mansion now. Instead of seeking a livelihood elsewhere, it’s better to work in the restaurant under the Luo Mansion’s umbrella, which can save you a lot of trouble.”

“Thank you,” Yang Shifei’s smile was complicated. “But I feel a bit embarrassed by how much help I’ve received from the Luo Mansion.”

Tan Xiang glanced at him again. “It’s just an opportunity. Whether you pass the test depends on you. Also, the accounting at the Clear Moon Pavilion has always been overseen by the manager. With the business booming this year, he’s overwhelmed on his own.”

Yang Shifei had just sighed with emotion, and now he listened as the maid found reasons to “comfort” him. He couldn’t help but smile gently. “I’ll do my best not to let the lady down.”

If it was just accounting, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division should be more than enough. It wouldn’t require calculus, would it?

“Here it is!”

The manager quickly emerged from the backyard, handing over several thick ledgers with a hearty smile. “Miss Tan Xiang, here are the account books from the past few months. If you need more, I’ll go get last year’s.”

“No need,” Tan Xiang took the account books, her expression calm. “Thank you for your hospitality. We’ll take our leave now.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she turned around gracefully, without any intention of exchanging pleasantries.

Yang Shifei smiled and bowed to the manager before leaving the Clear Moon Pavilion together.

…

Not long after, the two returned to the study room at the Luo Mansion.

Yang Shifei flipped through the account book, pondered for a moment, and soon felt relieved inwardly.

Fortunately, he could understand it.

He had been worried before whether the accounting methods of this era would be significantly different from what he remembered, but now he could dispel those concerns.

Even though there were some differences in counting methods and various special symbols, it ultimately still relied on addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

“It seems you’re confident,” Tan Xiang brought some paper and pens to the desk. “But is your wound on your hand okay? Will it affect your writing?”

“I’ll just be careful with my strokes,” Yang Shifei rolled up his sleeve and confidently said, “Miss, just watch.”

He sat down, dipped his brush in ink, and quickly began writing.

Tan Xiang stood quietly by the side, silently watching him write down various crooked characters, slightly furrowing her brows.

It seemed he hadn’t practiced writing well, as his handwriting was quite rusty. However, when it came to accounting, he didn’t seem like a novice and calculated quickly.

Tan Xiang’s furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and she casually prepared ink for him.

But after a while, it was Yang Shifei who looked increasingly puzzled.

“Weird,” he muttered to himself, flipping through the account book several times, carefully checking the “answers” on both sides.

“What’s wrong?” Tan Xiang asked softly.

“The discrepancies are quite significant,” Yang Shifei’s tone was somewhat strange. “There are still many unclear credit entries, with amounts going in and out randomly. Moreover, many entries were erased during the final bookkeeping, and there are even many symbols I don’t quite understand, making it seem deliberate.”

Although he wasn’t an accounting professional, anyone could probably tell that something was off with such records upon careful examination.

“And the costs have been increasing month by month. Did you change suppliers these past few months?”

“…”

Tan Xiang looked at the discrepancies indicated in the account book, her eyes flickering, but she didn’t speak.

Seeing her reaction, Yang Shifei couldn’t help but ask curiously, “The Clear Moon Pavilion is a business of the Luo Mansion. Haven’t you usually overseen it?”

“The Luo Mansion, including the Miss, only has three people in total, and we don’t have the energy to manage everything,” Tan Xiang pursed her lips and said softly. “The lady pays more attention to the business on the cloth market side, while the Clear Moon Pavilion is mainly managed by the manager from before. Every three months, he brings the account books for us to check.”

Yang Shifei sighed helplessly. “Has it always been like this?”

“Yes.”

“That manager looks simple and honest, but he’s quite audacious.” Yang Shifei smiled wryly. “Miss, you’re also a bit careless.”

He didn’t explicitly say it, but it was more than just carelessness; it was practically throwing money away.

Tan Xiang glanced at him, “I’ll explain the oversights to the young lady later.”

With that, she tidied up all the account books on the table.

“What about my bookkeeping job?”

“I will decide after seeing Miss,” Tan Xiang said calmly. “I’ll go back to the Clear Moon Pavilion first. You can rest here.”

Yang Shifei’s eyebrows twitched. This little maid was really decisive in her actions.

“Wait, don’t rush. It’s better to find a trustworthy accountant to help verify. And if the manager claims he mistakenly brought the wrong account book, you need to examine it carefully to avoid being deceived.”

“Understood.”

Tan Xiang nodded slightly and turned to leave.

Watching her petite figure, Yang Shifei scratched his head, feeling somewhat helpless.

It seemed like the Luo Mansion had too much money on hand, and they weren’t paying enough attention to their business affairs, probably bleeding out a lot of resources without realizing it.

But there might be trouble ahead.

Yang Shifei pondered for a moment, thinking about the manager’s smiling and amiable appearance. He couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy.

If the deception of falsifying accounts at the Clear Moon Pavilion were to be fully exposed, with concrete evidence, would that manager really accept punishment willingly?

…

Half an hour later, as Yang Shifei was reading in the study, he suddenly looked up.

Tan Xiang had appeared at the door, expressionless, and walked in.

“It’s been resolved.”

“Huh?” Yang Shifei was stunned. “Does that mean…”

“The manager prepared drugs and poison needles, and colluded with outsiders to set up an ambush. Now he’s caught red-handed and handed over to the authorities. The Clear Moon Pavilion is temporarily managed by the old chef in the restaurant.”

Tan Xiang cast a calm and waveless gaze. “As you said, he tried to deceive me by claiming we took the wrong account books and wanted to fetch another set. I saw through his scheme on the way. Thank you.”

“As long as you’re safe, Miss.” Yang Shifei’s lips trembled slightly.

In just half an hour, quite a lot had happened, it seems.

His mind stirred slightly, and he added, “But since the Luo Mansion is short-handed and Miss Luo’s focus is on the cloth market, why bother with the Clear Moon Pavilion’s business?”

Could it be that the cloth market isn’t profitable, so they need Clear Moon Pavilion to balance the finances?

“There’s no particular reason. It’s just that when Miss Luo arrived in East City, she wanted to try the local cuisine, so she bought the Clear Moon Pavilion.”

“…”

Yang Shifei’s eye twitched slightly, momentarily speechless.

Rich people are indeed capricious. If in the future she decides she wants to sail, will she buy up all the boatyards along the East City riverbank?

“The accounting work will be handed over to you from now on. Here’s the contract, take good care of it.” Tan Xiang handed him a yellow paper, saying calmly, “Every morning, I’ll bring the previous day’s accounts for you to review. I’ll pay your monthly salary in person, which also includes three meals a day. How’s that?”

Yang Shifei looked a bit stunned, obviously not expecting the job to be so easy and straightforward.

“Are you not going to double-check more thoroughly?”

“Miss Luo doesn’t care much about the Clear Moon Pavilion’s business,” Tan Xiang replied firmly as she thrust the contract toward him. “But as long as you do your job well, you’ll naturally be rewarded.”

Seeing her resolute attitude, Yang Shifei didn’t hesitate to accept. However, when he casually glanced at the writing on the paper, he couldn’t help but be surprised.

The salary was twice as high as the one at Yellow Crane Pavilion’s accounting.

“I’ll bring the old account books tonight. For now, you can relax,” Tan Xiang said, looking towards the bookshelf. “If there are any books you want to read, feel free to borrow them. The young lady won’t say anything.”

Yang Shifei chuckled awkwardly as he carefully placed the book back in its place. “That’s not necessary. I’m not very interested in literature and art. But does Miss Luo particularly enjoy poetry and literature?”

“During festivals, East City holds temple fairs, and young people from various families go out to play,” Tan Xiang said softly. “The young lady isn’t very keen on making friends, but occasionally, she will stroll around the temple fair.”

Yang Shifei understood.

He could somewhat imagine what ancient temple fairs were like, thanks to various novels and TV dramas set in ancient times. They usually involved riddles, couplets, poetry, and paintings.

It was a great place for showing off and impressing women.

But himself…

Yang Shifei’s expression was blank.

Who remembers ancient poetry after four years of college?

…

Yang Shifei didn’t linger long at the Luo Mansion, returning to his own place. He had been somewhat concerned whether members of the Feilin Gang would lurk in the shadows tonight, but Tan Xiang assured him that the authorities had dispatched people to eradicate the bandits, and the Feilin Gang might not even survive until the next night.

This outcome left Yang Shifei somewhat silent.

Was the wealthy Miss Luo a bit too aggressive?

“Never mind, stop overthinking it,” Yang Shifei said, patting his forehead, feeling somewhat bemused.

Now that his job was settled, he was more interested in calmly studying the changes in himself than worrying about the so-called Feilin Gang.

“Hmm?”

But as soon as Yang Shifei pushed open the bedroom door, his expression froze.

The room, which should have been empty, now had an extra delicate figure.

The mysterious young girl, unseen for two days, was sitting diagonally at the tea table, supporting her delicate face with her hand, smiling sweetly as she extended her tender hand.

“Come, bite me~”

“…”