Looking at Elder Zhao's expression, Lin Mengya roughly understood.
"It must be the Zhao Family's secret again."
She was about to skip this sentence, but Elder Zhao turned around and took out a small rectangular sandalwood box from the interlayer of the bookcase.
He stroked the box with a slightly complicated expression.
After a long time, he let out a long sigh.
"I used to think that as long as my business grew, both the Elders and the Zhao Family would pay more attention to me.
Now I realize that I'm just a pawn for them to make money. "
He left home at a young age and experienced several life-and-death situations to get to where he was today.
He didn't expect that he was just a tool in the eyes of the Elders and the Zhao Family.
Even his wife was almost unable to protect him.
As a man, he felt that he was a complete failure in his life.
Lin Mengya couldn't comfort him.
Fortunately, Elder Zhao was not a person who would blame others.
After sighing, he opened the small box.
There were also account books in it, but compared to the messy account books outside, the account books inside were neat and tidy.
He took them out carefully and placed them in front of Lin Mengya.
"This is where every single one of my profits goes. I have indeed earned quite a bit over the years, but apart from a small portion that I kept for my own use, I handed over the rest to the Elder Council and the Zhao Family. "
No wonder. Lin Mengya thought. No wonder Elder Zhao was so disheartened.
She flipped open the account book, but the contents made her eyes widen in shock.
"Isn't this —"
"Oh, I forgot that you can't understand it."
Elder Zhao slapped his own head.
He was about to find a book for her to compare, but he saw that Lin Mengya was turning the pages seriously. It didn't seem that she couldn't understand it at all.
He couldn't help but be shocked.
"How can you understand the secret language of my accounts?"
Because he was so surprised, Elder Zhao's tone was almost interrogative.
But Lin Mengya's face was also full of disbelief.
"So, you also know this language? Did you manage all the business outside? "
They used to get along well, but now they seemed to be at loggerheads.
In the end, it was Elder Zhao who pinched his eyebrows.
He was probably too sensitive.
"Miss Gong, you —"
But before he finished his words, Lin Mengya couldn't wait to ask, "Elder Zhao, I just want to ask you one thing. Are you in charge of the mines outside?"
This was very important!
Back then, the Bo Ren group had been captured and brought to the mines, where they were almost tortured to death.
If Elder Zhao was really the mastermind behind the mining business, then Huo Xiao would not rest until he found out the truth!
Even Aunt Fang would not forgive him.
Elder Zhao hesitated for a moment before nodding slowly.
Lin Mengya's heart sank.
"Then why did you …" Before Lin Mengya could finish her sentence, Elder Zhao covered her mouth abruptly.
"You hide first," he whispered in her ear and pushed her into the cabinet behind the screen in the study.
Before Elder Zhao could close the cabinet, the door to the study room was pushed open.
Then, a slightly older male voice said, "Elder Zhao, I heard that your wife passed away a few days ago. Please restrain your grief, Elder Zhao."
Elder Zhao maintained his composure and walked out from behind the screen.
Hiding in the cabinet, Lin Mengya adjusted her breathing and activated the hidden function while digesting the information she had just received.
The Bo Ren group had been captured and tortured in the mines, and the boss behind the mines was Elder Zhao. Huo Xiao was the leader of the Bo Ren group, but his biological mother was Elder Zhao's first wife.
How, how could this be so messy!
Suddenly, she remembered that when Huo Xiao brought the Bo Ren group to negotiate, it was also Zhao Jian who led the group to surround them.
Oh my god! What the hell was going on?
Outside, Elder Zhao's face tightened when he saw the man.
However, he quickly returned to normal, but that person was also looking at him with a rather profound gaze.
"Elder Lu, I wonder what brings you to my humble abode?"
Elder Lu smiled and sat down on a chair.
His eyes swept across the account books, and there was a hint of coldness in them.
"I heard that you were going to look into those old accounts, so I came here to help."
Elder Lu hid a dagger in his smile.
"Although I'm not as good as Elder Zhao, I've been in charge of the Merchant Union for many years. I'm afraid that I can't remember the old accounts as clearly as I do."
Elder Zhao knew that the man was up to no good.
All the elders in the Elders' Union had their own duties, and except for promotions and deaths, there were almost no vacancies.
He was a dark horse that year and became the youngest Elder San Hui.
As a result, his appearance was destined to occupy the position of some people.
Unfortunately, that person was Elder Lu.
Before him, he was the elder in charge of most of the businesses in the Elders' Union.
"In business, we need to do an inventory to know which ones are profitable and which ones are not. Otherwise, we will lose a lot of money. "
But Elder Zhao was very calm.
He had to do an inventory every year, but these days, he had dug up all the old accounts, which naturally attracted some people's attention.
But he didn't expect that Elder Lu would be the first to lose control.
"I see. But Elder Zhao is really amazing. I don't know what's the use of digging up the old accounts. Or, do you have another purpose? "
Elder Lu's attitude was very impolite when he said that.
Zhao Yixuan was a bit surprised, but now that he was on the same level as Elder Lu, there was no reason for him to be scolded.
His face darkened. "It's my business to check these accounts. It has nothing to do with Elder Lu, right? Or is Elder Lu afraid that I'll find out something? "
"Zhao Yixuan!" Elder Lu slammed the table and glared at him.
"The Elders' Union is not your place. Also, you'd better be smart. You have to keep your mouth shut about things that you shouldn't know, even if it rots in your stomach. Otherwise, no one in the Elders' Union can save you! "
After warning him, Elder Lu left angrily.
Zhao Yixuan, on the other hand, had some thoughts in his mind.
What did Elder Lu mean by those words?
While he was frowning and thinking hard, there was a sudden bang from the bookcase behind the screen.
"Oh no!"
He screamed and hurried to open the door.
Lin Mengya, who had almost suffocated to death, stared at him with a resentful look.
"Are you going to silence me?" His hoarse voice sounded a bit guarded.
Elder Zhao blushed and hurried to say, "No, no.
"No, no, I was just thinking about something and forgot about you."
Did he think she would believe him?
Zhao Yixuan felt very guilty when he saw the doubt in her eyes.
"I'm really sorry. Oh, where are these account books?"
After all, this guy had a favor to ask of her.
Lin Mengya wiped the sweat on her forehead and finally decided to sit down and check the accounts for him.
Although the mine business was his, Lin Mengya still felt that Elder Zhao was not a cruel and heartless person.
This could be seen from his attitude toward Aunt Fang and Huo Yunsi.
Moreover, there was the word "coincidence" in every aspect of this matter.
If everything went according to plan, Huo Xiao, who found out the truth, would definitely add the new and old grudges together and fight to the death with Elder Zhao.
It was as if Elder Zhao was deliberately targeting Huo Xiao.
But was that really the case?
With Xiaoyao's help, the speed of checking the account books was increased to an astonishing speed.
Of course, this was the result of her deliberate control.
But this was enough for Elder Zhao to be shocked.
"These, these are all calculated by you?"
In his hand, there was already a stack of papers.
Written on the paper were all the problematic parts that Lin Mengya had found, as well as the final figures of the general ledger for that year.
As for the disputed parts of the account book, she had marked them and folded them so that they could be found at any time.
Lin Mengya glanced at him and continued to check the account books.
Finally, when the third candle was also half burned, she had already sorted out the accounts for the past ten years.
Next, she picked up the small account book from the sandalwood box.
It was a coincidence.
When Elder Lu broke in, Elder Zhao only remembered to hide her, and the account book was mixed with the old accounts.
After that, Elder Zhao broke out in a cold sweat.
If Elder Lu saw this, he would be the one dead!
But the more Lin Mengya looked at the small account book, the stranger she felt.
The secret language that Elder Zhao mentioned was the special language used in the account books that she had found when she was raiding the iron mine.
But in fact, there were subtle differences between the two.
To put it simply, the account books in the iron mine belonged to some kind of ancient language. Because some of the words were very difficult to understand, it was rarely seen in daily and modern books. Usually, no one would use it.
But Elder Zhao's account book was not like that.
Some parts had been simplified and improved, so it was more like a modern common language.
Of course, these subtle differences could not completely rule out Elder Zhao's suspicion.
But at least, it could be a breakthrough point.
After reading the contents of the small account book, she compared it with the contents of the big account book. Soon, she found the problem.
"The accounts you submitted to the Elders' Council and the Zhao Family every year are very clear. There are no problems. But for at least ten years, the final profit recorded in the big account book is different from the profit recorded in the account book. After eliminating some objective factors, I found that the amount of silver missing in the disputed account book is consistent with the value of the missing profit. "
She was afraid that she was not clear enough, so she wrote, "In short, a part of the profit is missing."
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