After Li Jun fainted, the nearby apprentice accountants scrambled about, pinching him between the nose and mouth, massaging his temples...

Seeing that despite all their efforts, Li Jun still didn’t wake up, and with the chief accountants all in the Document Library, the apprentices were at a loss. After much discussion, they decided to carry Li Jun to a medical clinic.

But at that moment, Luan Bao had already surrounded the rear courtyard accountant room with his men, preventing anyone from entering or exiting at will.

The apprentice accountants panicked and reported the situation to Luan Bao. While Luan Bao hesitated, Li Jun suddenly began convulsing, his entire body shivering, his eyes rolled back, and within a few breaths, he had passed away...

Ruan Fengshan glanced at the corpse lying in the western corner of the accountant hall and faintly smelled an odor of excrement and urine.

"Li Jun?"

Ruan Fengshan seemed to recall the name; Xu Shouxian had mentioned him a few times, saying this person was a genius with abacus calculations.

Ruan Fengshan’s eyes suddenly flashed with a thought, and he turned to Xu Fuxian, asking, "The structure of that set of accounts is so cleverly concealed, unlike the work of common people. Was it designed by this person?"

Xu Fuxian bowed, cupping his fists, and replied, "Indeed it was."

Ruan Fengshan’s eyes sharpened as he looked at Li Jun’s body, his expression frosty. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"Leave the body here!"

It’s the twelfth lunar month and bodies don’t rot easily, but Ruan Fengshan wanted this corpse to be like a suspended sword over the accountant room, making everyone uneasy!

"Everyone in the accountant room must write a report, and it has to be signed. Luan Bao, you’re responsible for this, collect them all and hand them to me!"

"Yes!"

After speaking, Ruan Fengshan strode out of the rear courtyard accountant room.

Duan Rong and Xiao Yu followed him out of the accountant room.

As soon as Ruan Fengshan stepped out of the accountant room, he felt an unusual exhaustion. His face was weary, with anger and fatigue in his eyes interwoven. But for some reason, an inexplicable heat surged in his abdomen, and in his mind flashed the image of Ma Chunying’s serpentine twisting waist...

Xiao Yu felt a sense of joy because she knew that Xu Shouxian had gradually begun to disagree with her father over the past two years, siding with Luan Jingfu, and had made numerous attempts to trouble the Xiao Family.

With Xu Shouxian falling from grace, it was as if there was one less person in the Escort Agency causing trouble for the Xiao Family.

When Duan Rong walked out of the accountant room, he did not feel any sense of excitement or relief from accomplishing a task; instead, his mind was full of concerns.

He knew that exposing the messy accounts in the accountant room would not only affect the accountant room itself but likely also ripple out to many people connected to Xu Shouxian in one way or another.

As the saying goes, a strong wind sweeps over the old Dongting Lake, and this ripple is probably just beginning to spread...

Just as Duan Rong and Xiao Yu walked out of the rear courtyard, a figure suddenly sprung from the bamboo grove beside them, blocking their path.

Upon seeing clearly, it was Zhu Xiaoqi, who had been waiting there.

Zhu Xiaoqi said, "The master wants to see you as soon as you come out."

As Zhu Xiaoqi spoke, his eyes flicked over Duan Rong, subtle and fleeting.

Duan Rong gave a wry smile, thinking to himself: Looks like the first ripple has already spread.

After Luan Bao had surrounded the rear courtyard accountant room with guards, the news quickly spread throughout the Escort Agency.

Xiao Zongting immediately sent Zhu Xiaoqi to wait there, and upon spotting Duan Rong and Xiao Yu, he asked them to come see him together.

Duan Rong and Xiao Yu entered Xiao Zongting’s rear courtyard, where he sat on a stone chair, smoking in silence, with a considerable pile of ash at his feet.

Upon seeing the pile of ash, Xiao Yu’s expression darkened.

Xiao Zongting noticed Xiao Yu’s expression and said, "I know! This won’t happen again!"

Xiao Yu said, "It’s not that you can’t smoke; taking a few puffs occasionally is fine for relief. But smoking like this, at your age!"

Xiao Zongting silently extinguished the smoking pipe and went inside the hall with them, proceeding to inquire in detail about the account checks.

When Duan Rong revealed the monthly flow and discrepancies to Xiao Zongting, his expression noticeably darkened.

"This is unacceptable! Such things would never have happened when the old shopkeeper was here!"

Duan Rong sensed that Xiao Zongting’s words bordered on a sensitive subject, so he did not respond.

Later, Xiao Zongting questioned Duan Rong about how he managed to comprehend the accounts, to which Duan Rong explained that he had been sensitive to numbers from a young age and was always the first to solve Sudoku puzzles.

Xiao Zongting nodded in acknowledgment, recognizing that people with strong Spiritual Power often excel not only in Martial Arts but in other areas as well.

After leaving Xiao Zongting’s compound, Duan Rong returned immediately to Liu’s House, shutting himself in and indulging in miscellaneous reading in the garden pavilion, pretending to be deaf to anyone knocking.

Half an hour passed, and several waves of people had come and gone.

Sitting in the pavilion, Duan Rong remained unmoved, and with a sweep of his Divine Sense, he knew who had come.

Both the Leader of the Second Escort Team, Sun Huang, and the Leader of the Fourth Escort Team, Wang Zhuoyong, came knocking. Seeing no one respond, they left looking grave.

The one who lingered the longest outside Liu’s House, reluctant to leave, was Ma Chunying’s father, the Gatekeeper Ma Wentao, because he knew that Duan Rong had not left the Escort Agency. He kept knocking at the door for a long time before leaving with a sour expression...

Sitting in the pavilion, Duan Rong sighed.

After all, Xu Shouxian had managed the accounting for decades, twenty years of which were as the Chief Accountant of the Escort Agency. The number of people implicated may far exceed his imagination...

Just as Duan Rong was in Liu’s House, refusing visitors, a maid from the Luan Mansion arrived at the rear courtyard accountant room, carrying Luan Jingfu’s waist token, and asked a guard to summon Luan Bao.

Upon seeing the maid, Luan Bao asked, "Feng Ye, what brings you here?"

This Feng Ye was Luan Jingfu’s personal maid and rarely left the mansion.

Feng Ye curtsied to Luan Bao and said, "The master returned to the mansion this morning, seriously injured. Young master, you should return to the mansion and take a look."

"My father is injured?" Luan Bao’s heart was jolted, and he hurried to rush back, but stopped at the door, calling, "Qin Ye! Keep the brothers in check. I’ll head back to the mansion for a bit."

A tall young man responded loudly, cupping his fists, "Yes!"

Only then did Luan Bao dash out the door, exit the Escort Agency, and head back home.

He ran all the way, bursting into the rear courtyard, and saw Luan Jingfu drinking tea in a Grandmaster’s Chair.

Luan Bao noticed the bandage on Luan Jingfu’s shoulder, exclaimed, "Dad, you’re hurt! Is it severe?"

"Don’t make a fuss, I’m not dead yet!" Luan Jingfu gave Luan Bao a glance and said, "Bao’er, sit down. I have something important to tell you."

Seeing that Luan Jingfu’s voice was full of vigor, yet his expression was tense, Luan Bao sat on a Grandmaster’s Chair, watching him with inquisitive eyes.

"Why are you sitting so far away? Come closer." Luan Jingfu ordered.

Luan Bao moved his chair closer to Luan Jingfu’s side. Only then did Luan Jingfu lean over and whisper something to Luan Bao.

As Luan Bao listened, his expression changed drastically, his eyes showing signs of panic as he stammered, "Strangle... him?"

Luan Jingfu gestured for silence, glaring at Luan Bao with slight disappointment.

Despite having sent away all the servants and maids in the room, one must still be cautious of eavesdroppers. This matter should only be known to heaven, earth, and them - father and son.