After the eldest sister-in-law of a fishing family became a widow, her disabled younger brother-in-l

Chapter 58 General Pei

Upon hearing this title, Jiang Yuyue glanced at the man in front of her. He was unshaven and looked extremely unkempt, but upon closer inspection, she seemed to have seen him at Xie Yunqi's funeral. However, she had never heard of such an uncle before.

They're probably some distant relative.

As if seeing through Jiang Yuyue's doubts, the man then gave a brief introduction.

"I suppose my niece-in-law has only been married into the family for a short time and doesn't quite recognize me, her uncle. I am Xie Yuanji, the son of Master Xie's cousin. I currently manage both of these shops. I wonder what my niece-in-law wishes to see here?"

Hearing this convoluted explanation, Jiang Yuyue understood the gist of it, smiled, and gave a slight bow.

"So it really is you, Uncle. My apologies. I've only come today on the orders of the Old Madam to check on the operation of the shops under the Xie family's name. Would you be so kind as to let me see the account books? I'd like to go back and report to the Old Madam."

Upon hearing that he wanted to see the account books, Xie Yuanji's face flashed with displeasure, but since Jiang Yuyue had already brought up Old Madam Xie, he couldn't refuse and could only reluctantly agree.

"You can certainly see it, but my niece-in-law is young and her account books are difficult to understand. I'm afraid you won't be able to understand them."

"Perhaps the old lady wants to train the younger generation."

Jiang Yuyue said calmly, "Uncle, please feel free to bring it to me for a look. If there's anything I don't understand, isn't there you here?"

Having said all that, Xie Yuanji had no choice but to take the account book out of the cabinet and hand it to Jiang Yuyue.

Jiang Yuyue opened the ledger and casually flipped through a few pages. With just a quick glance, she got a general idea of ​​what was going on.

The accounts here are all jumbled up and disorganized, and upon closer inspection, it's easy to see that they don't match up at all. It seems that Xie Yuanji has been embezzling a lot of money from them.

Seeing Xie Yuanji looking extremely uncomfortable, Jiang Yuyue flipped through a few pages but stopped looking at them, closed the ledger and handed it back to him.

"As expected, this ledger is not something that can be easily understood."

Jiang Yuyue feigned a sigh, and upon hearing this, Xie Yuanji secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Of course, my niece-in-law is still young, it's too early for her to be exposed to these things, she can learn them slowly later."

Jiang Yuyue smiled and nodded, then subtly surveyed the shop's furnishings. The fabrics displayed were all patterns that were popular several years ago, making it clear that the owner hadn't put any effort into running the business.

It's a real pity that this kind of shop ended up in the hands of these distant relatives of the Xie family.

"I have already reviewed the account books and need to go back to report to the old lady, so I will not disturb you any longer, uncles."

Jiang Yuyue made up an excuse to leave, and Xie Yuanji's expression immediately darkened as he watched her go.

The Xie family has never managed these shops before, so why did they send this young girl to check the accounts today?

Could it be that they discovered something?

Jiang Yuyue initially planned to visit several more shops, but after seeing the shop under Xie Yuanji's management, she lost interest in looking at any others.

It's obvious that the other shops are probably in a similar situation, with distant relatives of the Xie family controlling them and falsifying accounts to line their own pockets. It seems that if she wants to take over these shops, she'll have to get rid of these people first.

"Alright, let's go to Fuyuanzhai."

Jiang Yuyue felt a headache coming on just thinking about these troublesome matters, so she decided to eat some pastries to calm herself down.

"Remind me to buy more peach shortbread later. I saw Xie Jinglan eat several pieces yesterday, so I guess he likes the taste."

Upon seeing her young mistress mention Xie Jinglan again, Xiao Liu quickly reminded her, "Miss! You mustn't mention his name carelessly! Be careful someone doesn't overhear!"

No sooner had Xiaoliu finished speaking than her younger brother Jiang Huanxi's joyful shout came from behind.

"sister!"

Jiang Yuyue turned her head and saw that it was indeed Jiang Huanxi. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly noticed the man next to him.

The man before her had a face like jade, handsome beyond compare, and dressed in a smart outfit that made him look even more capable. When he saw Jiang Yuyue, he was slightly taken aback, and then his eyes filled with a touch of tenderness and complexity as he stared straight at her.

Xiao Liu looked at the man with a hint of surprise in her eyes, and secretly tugged at Jiang Yuyue's sleeve, whispering something.

"Miss, this looks like General Pei!"

The General Pei that Xiao Liu mentioned is Pei Jingchuan, Jiang Yuyue's childhood sweetheart.

Looking at Pei Jingchuan's familiar yet slightly unfamiliar face, Jiang Yuyue felt as if she had been transported to another world.

Although Pei Jingchuan lived in the capital, he was not very healthy as a child and was raised in Jiangnan with his grandmother. The Jiang family was not far from the Pei family, and Jiang's parents were skilled in medicine. They prepared many prescriptions to improve Pei Jingchuan's health, which greatly improved his condition. Therefore, the two families had a fairly good relationship.

Jiang Yuyue and he had been friends since childhood. They spent a lot of time together and developed feelings for each other. They had originally agreed to propose to Jiang's parents when Jiang Yuyue turned sixteen.

However, Pei Jingchuan's parents, who lived far away in the capital, learned of this and strongly opposed the marriage.

The reason was simple: Pei's parents looked down on the Jiang family, a mere merchant family, and directly ordered Pei Jingchuan to return to the capital and join the army. They never saw Jiang Yuyue again until she was killed by Xie Yunqi in the previous life.

Now that she has reunited with her old friend, Jiang Yuyue has mixed feelings.

The atmosphere froze. The two looked at each other but neither spoke first.

"What a coincidence."

Jiang Huanxi noticed the atmosphere and broke it, saying, "I was just talking to General Pei about my sister when we bumped into each other here. What a coincidence!"

"What fate or destiny? It's just a chance encounter."

Jiang Yuyue said calmly, avoiding Pei Jingchuan's gaze. They were destined to be apart in their previous life, and now that she was pregnant, she should have no connection with Pei Jingchuan.

"If we've met, it must be fate."

Pei Jingchuan spoke slowly, his gaze never leaving Jiang Yuyue.

"Moon, it's been many years since we last met, you're still the same as before."

"What General Pei said."

Jiang Yuyue just smiled and said, "Now that I'm a married woman, how can I still act like I did when I was a child? General Pei is joking."

Hearing Jiang Yuyue address him with such a distant tone, Pei Jingchuan's eyes darkened slightly.

His parents initially opposed his marriage to Jiang Yuyue. His original plan was to join the army, achieve some merit, and use that as leverage to persuade his parents before proposing marriage to the Jiang family.

But before he could even return, he received the news that Jiang Yuyue had married into the Xie family.

Pei Jingchuan returned for two reasons: first, to visit his grandmother; and second, because he was deeply saddened to hear that Jiang Yuyue's husband had died shortly after their marriage.