Duan Rong suddenly closed the account books in front of him, folding the corners of the pages he had been flipping through, then divided them into three stacks according to their nested sequence.

Duan Rong placed these three stacks of account books on the floor by the wall.

Huang Qing watched Duan Rong’s actions, a look of confusion flashing in his eyes, and asked, "Aren’t you putting the examined account books back on the shelf?"

Duan Rong turned back and smiled, "Let’s put them back together after we’ve checked them all."

Seeing Duan Rong smiling naively, Huang Qing nodded. He felt Duan Rong had a point.

Besides, Duan Rong had examined more than thirty account books but hadn’t recorded any entries nor used an abacus for verification.

To say he wasn’t checking the accounts, he had looked through more than thirty books. To say he was checking, he merely flipped through them and closed them.

Though Huang Qing was puzzled, he inherently believed in not getting involved in matters unrelated to oneself. Additionally, Duan Rong and Xiao Yu were personally appointed by the shopkeeper to audit the accounts. He was just an apprentice accountant; Wang De’an had arranged for him to assist Duan Rong. As long as Duan Rong instructed him, he would do what was needed. Other affairs were none of his business!

How Duan Rong wanted to audit the accounts was his business!

Having finished the first entry, Duan Rong immediately began working on the second entry, which was signed and finalized by Xu Fuxian.

Duan Rong looked at the name, slightly startled.

"Xu Fuxian... Xu Shouxian...?"

He didn’t believe Xu Shouxian would mistakenly write his own name because their handwriting was completely different—one delicate, one bold.

Duan Rong suddenly had a thought. He recalled a few months back, when he went to the East Ear Room to collect silver from Xu Shouxian, knocking on the door in the hallway, a person emerged from the innermost East Ding Room.

At that time, Duan Rong felt the person looked somewhat like Xu Shouxian.

Now, as he examined the two names, Duan Rong was almost certain the person was Xu Shouxian’s biological brother.

However, Xu Fuxian, being both the Chief Accountant Xu Shouxian’s brother and the chief of the East Ding Room, didn’t seem to be Xu Shouxian’s confidant.

With suspicions in mind, Duan Rong began investigating the second entry.

Discovering this, Duan Rong was greatly surprised. This entry did not use the previous complex nested structure but was remarkably straightforward, corresponding to only eight account books.

Moreover, the accounts were meticulously aligned, with no discrepancies; even the smallest denomination matched.

A deep sense of puzzlement flickered in Duan Rong’s eyes. "What’s going on? Xu Shouxian pilfers money but doesn’t involve his own brother?"

Duan Rong immediately dismissed this thought. Xu Fuxian’s accounts were too clean and precise, akin to crystal-clear essays unaffected by dust, lacking even a single penny’s discrepancy. This might reflect some aspect of his personality.

After pondering, Duan Rong placed these account books directly on the table and proceeded to the next entry.

Since Duan Rong was auditing accounts from the twelfth lunar month, the necessary books were concentrated on the last few shelves. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Xiao Yu and Huang Qing, after searching a few times, became quite familiar with those shelves, and their speed in finding books increased.

Duan Rong, growing more accustomed to the nested structure, accelerated the auditing process through synergy with the assistants.

Meanwhile, Wang De’an and others carried Li Jun to the nearest medical clinic.

The physician attending at the clinic was a gaunt middle-aged man.

While Li Jun was unconscious, his breathing was normal, and he showed no other symptoms, not burning or aching.

The physician, after a lengthy examination, couldn’t identify the issue, only asking various questions, ultimately shaking his head and saying, "Perhaps it’s some strange acute illness?"

"Some strange acute illness?" Wang De’an noticed the physician’s hesitance and felt uneasy, but he still said, "At least prescribe something for me to buy the medicine."

"This..." The physician seemed troubled but eventually prescribed a calming concoction and advised, "After taking the medicine, let him sleep for a night. If he doesn’t wake by tomorrow, visit another clinic."

Wang De’an took the prescription, sensing some evasiveness in the physician’s tone, but he nonetheless obtained the medicine and had the robust apprentice accountant carry Li Jun back home, along with the medicine.

Though robust, the apprentice accountant was not trained like the Escort Master, as accountants didn’t learn martial arts. The ordeal left him utterly exhausted, internally cursing Wang De’an.

Seeing Li Jun unconscious upon arrival home, the household descended into chaos.

Wang De’an relayed the physician’s words verbatim to Li Jun’s father, then hurriedly left, claiming urgent tasks at the Escort Agency.

Li Jun’s father started brewing the medicine while promptly seeking another physician, knowing Wang De’an’s recounting showed the first physician couldn’t discern Li Jun’s illness, leaving him uneasy.

Wang De’an felt he had done his best by taking Li Jun to the clinic and returning him home.

Leaving Li Jun’s home, he returned to the Yuan Shun Escort Agency’s back-office accountant room.

Upon entering his chief East Yi Room, a young man rose from the table, saying, "Chief Accountant Xu requests you to come over."

Wang De’an’s expression shifted slightly. "Did Xu mention the reason?"

"No, just said for you to return and go over."

Wang De’an nodded and changed his course toward Xu Shouxian’s East Jia Room.

Standing at East Jia Room’s door, he gently knocked three times. Though he’d visited countless times, he still felt nervous at the door.

After a few breaths, a cough echoed from within.

Wang De’an pushed open the door and entered.

He saw Xu Shouxian seated behind the table, sipping tea and waving a fan.

Li Jun wasn’t present; the room contained only Xu Shouxian. Wang De’an entered, discreetly closed the door behind him, moved to Xu Shouxian’s side, and took the fan from Xu Shouxian, fanning him slowly.

While fanning, Wang De’an softly asked, "Did you have any instructions for me?"

Xu Shouxian took a sip of tea and said, "How is Li Jun?"

Before entering, Wang De’an anticipated Xu Shouxian would inquire about Li Jun.

"Saw a physician and obtained medicine."

"I returned him home, and his father is caring for him. Though unconscious, his breathing and pulse seem normal, so the issue might be minor; he should recover quickly with the medication."

Xu Shouxian nodded. "That child’s health has always been poor. De’an, have you ever heard the saying ’Too wise and too short-lived’?"

Wang De’an replied, "Li Jun probably won’t..."

Suddenly, Xu Shouxian turned to Wang De’an, "You know his health isn’t good, let him drink less in the future."

Wang De’an was taken aback; his hands paused for several breaths then resumed fanning after a moment.

Wang De’an said, "You’re right. I’ll be mindful in the future."

Leaving the East Jia Room, Wang De’an’s expression was uncertain.

This situation seemed to have backfired on him. He often invited Li Jun because Xu Shouxian valued him.

Was Li Jun’s unconsciousness truly due to drinking? But the facts were irrelevant now, evidently Xu Shouxian believed so, having hinted as much.

"Li Jun, you must wake up! If something happens to you, Xu Shouxian will definitely implicate me."