The guards brought out three naked children from behind the tree, and when He Yong saw them, he awkwardly smiled.

“This… this, please forgive me, Your Highness.”

Since it was already seen, and His Highness didn’t seem like he was going to get angry, He Yong decided not to say anything more.

Wei Yu lifted his foot and moved forward. “Alright, I’m going to take a look at the manor. You lead the way.”

“Yes, yes.”

He Yong smiled and moved forward to lead Wei Yu.

The tenants standing to the side lowered their heads and did not dare to make a sound.

Wei Yu did not notice this ahead, but Fang Sheng, walking behind, noticed that a few tenants at the back quietly retreated.

Something didn’t feel right.

Fang Sheng gave a signal to the guards behind him.

The guards understood and followed the retreating tenants quietly, without anyone noticing.

On the way, knowing that Wei Yu was unfamiliar with the manor, He Yong introduced the situation of the manor to him.

From what crops were planted per acre, to the yearly harvest, when the manor started raising chickens and ducks, how many fish were in the pond, and how many families of tenants there were, along with how many children each family had…

Wei Yu caught onto something.

“You seem to know the manor very well,” he remarked.

This visit was impromptu, and no one could have prepared in advance, so it was impossible for He Yong to have arranged all the details. He truly knew everything about the manor.

He Yong smiled awkwardly and lowered his head. “Your Highness flatters me. I am the steward of this manor and have been here for over twenty years. It’s hard not to know all the details. If someone else were to take over, I believe they’d know just as much.”

Not quite the same.

If someone who didn’t manage the affairs, and only enjoyed the benefits and exploited others, they might not know a thing.

And this wasn’t something Wei Yu had asked; He Yong had brought it up himself.

This showed that He Yong had no guilt at all about being a manager for so many years.

Wei Yu glanced at He Yong, still harboring some doubts.

If this person doesn’t have guilt about his years of stewardship, why had he shown such panic when he first learned about his identity?

Hmm, something’s off.

Wei Yu followed He Yong into the manor.

The manor was divided into three courtyards, and as soon as they entered, Wei Yu was led to the front hall.

Wei Yu sat in the main seat, Fang Sheng stood behind him holding a knife, while the other guards dispersed to check and stand watch at various parts of the manor.

He Yong said, “There are thirty-one servants in the manor, Your Highness. Would you like to meet them?”

Since they were just the rough workers, there was no need to meet them. If there was anything to be done, it would be handled by his guards.

“No need. Just bring me the accounts of the manor for the past five years.”

He Yong understood and withdrew to get the account books.

As soon as he left, Fang Sheng informed Wei Yu about the tenants who had quietly left.

“Ha, are they going to inform someone?”

Wei Yu thought for a moment and turned to look at Fang Sheng. “It’s just the two of us here. Be honest with me, if I had you and your team of ten or so handling everyone here, could you ensure my safety?”

Fang Sheng replied, “…Your Highness, I believe you’re looking for a one-man army, but we’re just ordinary people.”

Wei Yu: “Just say you can’t do it. Otherwise, it makes me seem unreasonable.”

Fang Sheng kept a neutral expression.

Wei Yu sighed and turned back, tapping the desk. “There are some small secrets hidden in this manor. I don’t know what they are, but I hope they’re not too big of a deal. Otherwise, it would be troublesome.”

Before long, He Yong returned with the account books.

The books were stored in two large chests, carried in by four people.

He Yong bowed and opened the chests, revealing thick bundles inside. “Your Highness, here are the account books from the past five years. Please take a look.”

Seeing the two large chests, Wei Yu was taken aback.

He knew that the records were tedious, but seeing and flipping through them in person was something else entirely.

Wei Yu had previously planned to inspect the accounts, but now he was going to refuse.

He calmly nodded. “Mmm, just leave them here. I’ll be staying for a couple of days. You can go and make preparations.”

He Yong looked surprised. “Your Highness is staying here?”

Wei Yu looked at him. “What, is that inconvenient?”

Realizing his mistake, He Yong hurriedly denied. “No, no, Your Highness, it is our honor that you would stay here. I just thought the manor is rather simple, and I was worried that Your Highness, being of noble status, might not adapt well. I didn’t mean to disrespect you.”

Wei Yu replied, “You don’t need to worry about that. I’m not someone who’s hard to serve. Just make sure the horses are taken care of.”

He Yong muttered an acknowledgment and left.

Once he was gone, Wei Yu immediately changed his attitude.

He leaned on the armrest, looking at his loyal guard.

“Fang Sheng, now that your master is in trouble, it’s time for you to step up. Tell me, shouldn’t you be helping your master out?”

Wei Yu looked at Fang Sheng with expectation.

Fang Sheng’s chest visibly rose and fell.

With a serious expression, Fang Sheng kept his gaze forward, speaking sincerely.

“Your Highness, I can’t read.”

Wei Yu silently stared at him.

Fang Sheng added, “…Your Highness, the other guards can read. I can ask them to help you with the accounts.”

Wei Yu was satisfied. “Good. Have the literate ones come over. If they can’t read the accounts, I’ll teach them. Also, get some paper, pens, and ink from He Yong.”

Back in the day, accounting wasn’t done with neat digital tables. It was a complicated and tedious process, with an abacus required to do any serious calculations.

There was no way Wei Yu would do it himself. Why bother when he had people to do it?

The guards didn’t know how to account with tables or Arabic numerals. What should be done?

Simple. Teach them!

It wasn’t hard to learn a few simple numbers. They were adults who could think, not children, and could pick up new skills in a couple of hours.

One hour would do.

They could look at a template, and if they didn’t remember something, they could refer to it. It was all fine.

Not wanting to let his master suffer, Fang Sheng really went to find the literate guards.

There were eight of them, and they all stood in the front hall, scratching their heads.

They listened as Wei Yu explained the new way of bookkeeping, drawing lines to form tables on the paper, explaining how the boxes should be filled out…

“Hey, are you paying attention? This table is that simple, first row horizontally and vertically…”

“These are called Arabic numbers. One is one, two is two. Simple, right? Oh, right, you’re doing well. That’s how you write… Don’t write so stiffly!”

“I can’t believe this. You don’t even understand the place value system. You’re all the dumbest students I’ve ever had!”

The whole hall was filled with Wei Yu’s voice.

Outside the hall, Fang Sheng stood with his arms crossed under the eaves, silently puffing out his chest, listening to the scolding inside.

Good thing he was clever.

Otherwise, he might have been one of the ones getting scolded too.

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