Chapter 42: I Can Use an Abacus!

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“What? Collecting a debt?”

Everyone present was stunned, their eyes fixed on Li Zhao as they scrutinized him from head to toe. They wondered whether he was a little mad or had taken the wrong medicine before coming out—otherwise, how could he dare to demand repayment from Prince Ning himself?

Even Prince Ning was dumbfounded, digging into his ear as if to confirm he hadn’t misheard.

But it turned out Prince Ning—Li Chengqi—heard correctly. Li Zhao pulled out a thick stack of IOUs and laid them on the polished white jade table, declaring that he was here to collect what was owed.

“Outrageous impudent fellow! How dare you defy your superior and offend my lord! Seize him at once, administer fifty heavy strokes of the cane, then send him to the Ancestral Court for punishment!”

“Yes, sir!”

The guards of the prince’s mansion surged forward, firmly restraining Li Zhao, ready to lead him away for the corporal punishment.

Li Zhao did not resist; instead, he calmly fixed his gaze on Prince Ning. At this moment, he had to take a gamble—that this prince was as history described: humble, filial, courteous, and a genuinely good man.

If he guessed right, everything could be resolved.

If he guessed wrong, well, there would be another chance in the next life.

“Hold your hands! Bring him back. The sage once said: one should not punish without hearing the whole story. Regardless of right or wrong, let him finish speaking.”

“Yes, sir!”

Heaven bless this gamble, Li Zhao thought as Prince Ning waved his hand and the guards brought him back.

“Thank you, Your Highness, for your magnanimity. What I must say is this: Your mansion’s third steward, Shen Er, often abuses the name of Prince Ning to bully the weak, engage in forced transactions, extort money, and commit countless evils. Many in Chang’an have suffered under his oppression and the people are filled with complaints. Moreover, Shen Er accepts bribes, wields power arrogantly, fraternizes with officials, and discusses state affairs privately… His misdeeds are too numerous to count. I implore Your Highness to judge wisely!”

This petition was carefully crafted by Li Zhao. Though brief, every word was a cutting blade straight into the heart.

He was confident that Prince Ning would be furious upon hearing it, and Shen Er’s days would be numbered.

“Is this true? Someone, bring Shen Er here immediately! I shall interrogate him myself!”

As expected, Prince Ning’s expression darkened. Among the imperial princes, Prince Ning was the eldest and held the highest rank, expected to set an example.

Yet his third steward took advantage of his position to oppress the weak and extort from the people, tarnishing the prince’s reputation… Worse still, Shen Er dared to privately consort with officials and discuss state affairs, a grave taboo.

Since the founding of the Tang dynasty, the Li family had been torn apart by ruthless power struggles for the throne, with palace coups and tragedies aplenty.

Knowing this, Li Chengqi had long relinquished his position as crown prince, choosing instead to live as a peaceful noble, indulging in leisure while strictly adhering to two lines of self-preservation: never meddle in military or state affairs, and never associate with court ministers.

This was to prove, especially to the current emperor Li Longji, that he had no interest in imperial power, much less any rebellious intent.

Yet now, after decades of maintaining this boundary, it was shattered by a mere eunuch in his own mansion. How could this be tolerated?

…

The guards went to deliver the order, and moments later, two figures appeared in the rear garden: one was the dissolute Flower Crowned Marquis, Wei Renzha, staggering and with darkened eye sockets; the other was Shen Er himself.

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Shen Er had served as steward in the prince’s mansion for many years and had numerous informants. He had already been warned of the situation in the rear garden, which terrified him.

He never imagined anyone would dare to lodge complaints directly to Prince Ning—what could he do now?

Feeling guilty, Shen Er promptly sought out his protector: the Flower Crowned Marquis Wei Renzha. Together, they came to the rear garden.

“I, your humble servant, greet you, Your Highness, Your Grace!”

“Impudent servant, do you know your crime?”

“Your Grace, I know nothing!”

“Hmph! Someone accuses you of bullying the weak, forced sales, extortion, and all manner of evil, as well as fraternizing with court officials in secret. What do you have to say?”

“Your Grace, I am innocent! Since entering the mansion, I have diligently served my masters without a single mistake. How could I have committed forced sales or extortion? If you do not believe me, send someone to examine the accounts. If there is any discrepancy, I would rather die without complaint!”

Shen Er knelt, sobbing loudly, as if suffering the greatest injustice.

Now this was troublesome. Li Zhao accused Shen Er of forced sales and extortion, but Shen Er vehemently denied it. How could the truth be determined? There was only one way: examine the accounts!

The mansion’s ledgers for the past three years were brought out—two large boxes in all—along with eight accountants, each a master of numbers.

At the command, the eight began their inspection, using counting rods laid out horizontally and vertically on the ground.

Their method: units marked vertically, tens horizontally, hundreds vertically, thousands horizontally, with zero left blank… allowing representation of any natural number.

This tool, dating back to the Spring and Autumn period, was still in use in the Tang dynasty, helping with complex calculations, though it was cumbersome—one had to carefully arrange the rods or risk starting over.

After a full hour’s work, the eight accountants finished checking the mansion’s books and found them clear and without error!

“Hahaha, bold scoundrel, how dare you slander the loyal servant of the mansion! Seize this wretch, bind him, and send him to the Ancestral Court for punishment on charges of false accusation!” The Flower Crowned Marquis, now energized, ordered the guards to bind Li Zhao, but the surrounding guards remained unmoving.

As the saying goes: in a household of a thousand mouths, only one commands. Prince Ning was present, so the Marquis had no authority to issue orders—that was protocol!

Still, all eyes were on Li Zhao, waiting to see how he would respond. If he could not produce solid evidence, he would surely be dragged to the Ancestral Court.

“Heh, colluding villains, a den of snakes and rats. Such an examination of the accounts would naturally find nothing amiss. Your Highness, I, your humble servant, wish to personally verify the ledgers. If I still find no fault, I shall accept whatever punishment is deemed necessary without complaint.”

During the initial examination, Li Zhao had observed clearly:

First, Shen Er was quite cunning; the accounts were cleverly arranged, making it hard for ordinary eyes to detect any discrepancies.

Second, all eight accountants were mansion staff and likely accomplices in the embezzlement. Sending them to check the books was akin to letting wolves guard the sheep—they would inevitably cover up the truth.

Therefore, Li Zhao requested to verify the books himself, confident he would uncover the problem.

“Impudent scoundrel! The time of Your Highness is precious; who has the leisure to waste on your delay? Confess your crime and accept punishment. Considering we share the same clan, leniency may be granted,” the Flower Crowned Marquis retorted, with some reason.

Two large boxes of ledgers had taken eight accountants a full hour to check. If Li Zhao were to do it alone, how long would it take?

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Would Prince Ning, the illustrious noble, simply stand by with eyes wide open, doing nothing?

“Your Highness’s time is precious; I dare not delay. Half an hour is all I need.”

“What? Half an hour to check all the accounts?”

“Yes. Within half an hour, I will complete the verification. If I fail, I willingly accept punishment at the Ancestral Court.”

Li Zhao had anticipated this challenge and produced a small, exquisite golden nanmu wood abacus from his belt.

Recently, he had been managing a salt refining business with the Wang family, which involved complex accounting, so he had crafted this abacus himself—just the tool needed today.

In terms of calculation, the abacus was far superior to counting rods!

“Two plus one makes five… carry two to make ten… four times four makes twenty… six times five makes thirty…” Li Zhao sat cross-legged, flipping through the ledgers with one hand while deftly manipulating the abacus with the other, verifying the accounts at lightning speed through his multitasking skill.

Admittedly, Shen Er was skillful; the accounts were meticulously recorded and appeared flawless on the surface.

But Li Zhao was a top graduate of Wudao Vocational Technical School, well-versed not only in mechanical engineering but also in economics and finance. This kind of audit was trivial for him.

Soon he discovered a discrepancy:

In Chang’an’s East Market, a bolt of premium purple silk satin—the material for official robes of third rank and above—cost about 2,600 wen. When purchased in bulk, the price should be considerably discounted.

The ledgers showed the same price for each bolt, which seemed fine—except the prince’s mansion bought 300 bolts at once. By custom, they should have received at least a 20% discount, saving about 156,000 wen.

But this saving was nowhere to be found. Had it truly been lost, or pocketed by someone?

A second issue: in June, the mansion purchased 30,000 jin of superior silver frost charcoal, which was then reported as damaged by rain and removed from the accounts.

Yet Li Zhao clearly remembered the summer was hot and dry with no rain in Chang’an that month. How could the charcoal have been water-damaged?

The 30,000 jin of charcoal must have been sold off by Shen Er!

Several other entries showed obvious signs of tampering—numbers altered from one to two, two to three, three to five…

Each time he found a false entry, Li Zhao marked it with a brush.

With every mark, Shen Er’s face grew paler.

After half an hour, the two large boxes were fully audited and covered with marks. Shen Er, sweating and trembling, collapsed onto the ground.

It was over. This time, everything was truly lost.