A scumbag husband fakes his death to escape his marriage? I'll burn down his funeral hall and s

Chapter 600 The Wang Family? It's a Pit of Fire!

Gu Qingchen's "miserable" life has officially begun.

In her study, those storybooks and miscellaneous notes were no longer visible; instead, there were stacks of account books piled higher than herself.

“Mother, I recognize the words on this, but I don’t understand them when they’re put together.”

Gu Qingchen grabbed her hair, her face scrunched up, staring at a thick ledger of expenses, feeling utterly overwhelmed.

Chu Ruohan sat to the side, holding a cup of tea, calmly supervising her daughter and ignoring her complaints.

"The Shu brocade purchased last March amounted to 320 bolts, each costing 12 taels of silver, for a total of 3,840 taels."

"But in May, the price of the same Shu brocade became fifteen taels per bolt. Why is that?" Chu Ruohan casually pointed to a spot in the account book and asked indifferently.

Gu Qingchen's little brain worked quickly, and he muttered, "The price went up, huh?"

"Why did the price increase?" Chu Ruohan pressed.

"I...how would I know?" Gu Qingchen said, somewhat deflated.

Chu Ruohan put down her teacup, her tone still calm: "Because Sichuan experienced torrential rains in April, many mulberry fields were flooded, leading to a shortage of raw silk, and the price of brocade naturally rose accordingly."

"A steward must not only be good at accounting, but also be able to read the current situation and know the prices, so that he will not be deceived."

Gu Qingchen nodded as if he understood, but he still felt annoyed and patiently continued reading.

She herself didn't realize that when she calmed down, those boring numbers slowly came to life in her eyes.

At night, Qian Zhenyun once again climbed in through the window, carrying a bag of warm osmanthus cakes in his arms.

"Sister, eat up! I brought this especially for you!"

Gu Qingchen's eyes lit up at the sight of food. She quickly pulled him behind the screen, stuffing pastries into her mouth while asking indistinctly, "What's new and exciting happening outside?"

"I found out that Lin Jiayou was taken back to the Yongwang Mansion by his uncle, the young prince, and hasn't come to the private school for several days." Qian Zhenyun lowered his voice, like a dutiful little spy.

Gu Qingchen swallowed the osmanthus cake in her mouth and nodded: "It's good to go back to the Prince's Mansion. With his uncle protecting him, Wang Hao's family won't dare to cause any more trouble."

Although she was confined to the mansion, she still thought about her friends outside.

Unlike the "strict" atmosphere of the main courtyard of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, the atmosphere in the courtyard of the third branch was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

Lu Ge'er sat at his desk with books spread out in front of him, but his mind was not on them at all.

His mind was filled with images of his younger sister, Lan'er's, red and swollen eyes from crying.

Inside the room, Madam Gu was holding a gift list, happily calculating with the nanny beside her: "The Wang family is indeed generous. The betrothal gift alone is three hundred taels, plus these four kinds of gifts and six kinds of gold jewelry..."

Her voice wasn't loud, but every word reached Lan Jie'er's ears as she silently wept in the corner.

In her grandmother's eyes, she was not a living person, but a commodity with a price tag that could be exchanged for profit.

"Madam, this marriage should be arranged sooner rather than later," the nanny flattered. "We don't want things to get complicated."

“Of course.” Madam Gu smiled smugly. “I’ve already spoken with Madam Wang, and we’ll exchange birth certificates next month.”

Upon hearing this, Lan Jie'er trembled, and her tears flowed even more fiercely.

Main courtyard, study.

Haitang strode in, her face extremely pale, and placed a stack of documents she had found in front of Chu Ruohan.

"Madam, everything has been investigated."

Chu Ruohan stopped flipping through the ledgers and looked up at her: "Speak."

"The Wang family in the south of the city looks impressive, but it's actually an empty shell. Their shops have long been losing money, and they barely maintain their facade of wealth by secretly lending money at exorbitant interest rates." Haitang's voice carried a hint of anger.

Chu Ruohan's gaze remained unchanged, as if she had expected this all along.

Haitang took a deep breath and continued to report: "More importantly, that Second Young Master Wang is more than ten years older than Miss Lan...and his conduct is extremely improper."

"He is addicted to gambling and has a huge debt in all the major casinos in the capital. Moreover... he is also violent. Not long ago, a handsome young servant in his courtyard had his leg broken because he did not serve him to his liking. In the end, the Wang family used a sum of money to force him to stop."

Upon hearing the word "tyranny," Chu Ruohan paused slightly in her teacup.

Haitang hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, "Madam, there are rumors outside that the Second Young Master Wang... has homosexual tendencies."

With a soft "snap," the lid of the celadon teacup in Chu Ruohan's hand slid onto the tray.

The air in the study seemed to freeze for a moment.

Chu Ruohan slowly raised her eyes, and those usually calm and gentle eyes were now filled with ice, chilling to the bone.

She finally understood.

Madam Gu is not stupid, she is wicked.

She didn't care whether Lan Jie'er lived or died after marrying into the family; she just desperately needed a dowry to cover her own financial deficit and her son's future.

Pushing a young girl into a fiery pit of extravagance, tyranny, and eccentricity is no different from murder.

"I understand." Chu Ruohan's voice was soft, but it carried a chilling undercurrent. "You can go now."

Haitang bowed and withdrew, not daring to say another word.

Chu Ruohan sat there quietly, her fingers unconsciously stroking the rim of the cold teacup.

The night was deep and dark, and even the chirping of insects sounded oppressive.

Lu Ge'er sat by the window, unable to concentrate on reading a single word of the book in front of him.

An old servant who was delivering midnight snacks quietly approached Lu Ge'er when no one was looking, and put down the food box.

"Young Master Lu, it's being said outside that the second young master of the Wang family is a complete scoundrel!"

Lu Ge'er clenched his fist tightly, his knuckles turning white: "Uncle Chen, what...what do you know?"

The old servant glanced towards the inner room, his eyes filled with sympathy and pity: "My nephew works at the gambling den in the south of the city. He said that the Second Young Master Wang is heavily in debt and has a violent temper."

"The two maids who were supposed to be concubines, one was beaten and sold, and the other threw herself into a well! This is pushing Miss Lan into a pit of fire!"

After the old servant finished speaking, he dared not linger, quickly bowed, and left.

With a crash, the inkstone in front of Lu Ge'er was accidentally swept to the ground, splattering ink everywhere like a pool of thick, black blood that couldn't be dissolved.

He couldn't sit still anymore.

Asking the grandmother for help? That's like asking a tiger for its skin.

Grandfather... so he wasn't that important to his grandfather!