kingnovel Chapter 2075 makes perfect sense, doesn't it?
Chapter 2075 makes perfect sense, doesn't it?
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's eyes were focused on Li Xiangnan.
Song Cijiu frowned, his fingers tapping on the armrest of the armchair. He was waiting for Li Xiangnan's response and quickly thinking about how to break the deadlock.
Li Dequan's expression remained unchanged, but the old man's hand holding the teacup showed slightly white knuckles, indicating that he was using considerable force.
Song Ziming, Wang Defa, and the others standing at the door held their breath. They knew that the account book in Li Xiangnan's hand was fake, and they also knew that there was no Mu Huanying in the backyard.
Once we agree to let Mu Huanying come out to make the identification, this huge lie will be exposed instantly!
Ye Ruyan was determined to go all the way and leave Li Xiangnan no room for maneuver.
Li Xiangnan, of course, knew that this was Ye Ruyan's carefully considered plan, with the aim of getting into the backyard as soon as possible and finding out whether Mu Huanying was there or not!
If she were to refuse her firmly at this moment, Ye Ruyan would definitely suspect that Mu Huanying was not in the backyard at all, and that her claim that the entire account book was in Li Xiangnan's hands was just a smokescreen.
But if we agree... Grandma isn't even in the backyard! And Grandma isn't even in the courtyard right now!
This is the biggest deception Li Xiangnan has set up.
Once Ye Ruyan enters the backyard and finds that her grandmother is not there, all the lies will instantly collapse!
This is Xiao Xitang's wedding banquet, and all ten prominent families of Yanjing are here. Who knows what they'll say about it! Anything could go wrong!
How to do?
Li Xiangnan's mind raced, and his reaction surprised everyone.
He showed no panic, no anger, and didn't even refuse immediately. He simply stood there quietly, his gaze meeting Ye Ruyan's for a full three seconds, before suddenly smiling.
The smile was faint, carrying an almost mocking tone.
“Comrade Ye,” Li Xiangnan spoke slowly, his voice eerily calm, “you’re right, only Grandma can truly verify the authenticity of the account books!”
He actually admitted it?
Song Ziming felt a pang of anxiety and almost couldn't help but speak up to remind him.
Wang Defa was so anxious that cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
Song Yi covered her mouth, afraid that she might accidentally shout out in excitement.
But Li Xiangnan's next words stunned everyone.
“However,” Li Xiangnan changed the subject, glancing at the four people behind Ye Ruyan, “Grandma is not in good health and it’s inconvenient for her to come to the front yard! Since Comrade Ye insists on having her do the identification… then why don’t we go to the back yard together!”
He actually offered to go to the backyard?
A hint of surprise flashed in Ye Ruyan's eyes, as if even she hadn't expected Li Xiangnan to be so calm, but she quickly regained her composure.
She squinted, scrutinizing Li Xiangnan as if trying to determine the truthfulness of his words!
"Dr. Li agreed to let us go to the backyard?" Ye Ruyan confirmed.
"Why not?" Li Xiangnan countered, his tone frank. "Comrade Ye came with good intentions to return the account books to their rightful owner! If I were to obstruct him, it would make me seem guilty!"
His words were so confident and self-assured that they aroused Ye Ruyan's suspicion!
She stared at Li Xiangnan's handsome and resolute face, and a chill ran through her heart!
broken!
I almost fell for this kid's trick!
He said he agreed to let them go to the backyard, but he didn't mention the account book in his hand at all. If Mu Huanying was really in the backyard, then the account book in his hand would fall directly into the other party's hands. Isn't that like getting something for nothing?
"However," Ye Ruyan thought of this and began to be wary of Li Xiangnan's cleverness, and suddenly said, "Before we go in, I have a suggestion!"
"Please speak!"
“Since Dr. Li also has an account book, why don’t we… take it with us!” Ye Ruyan’s eyes were bright. “Let Comrade Mu Huanying carefully examine both books to see which one is genuine! That way, it will be fair to everyone!”
That's a ruthless move!
Li Xiangnan was shocked.
Ye Ruyan was trying to force him to produce that fake ledger!
If two ledgers are placed in front of her at the same time, and Grandma is unable to distinguish them on the spot, or the result of the identification is unexpected... the outcome will completely get out of control!
But he couldn't just refuse outright!
Refusing is tantamount to admitting that you don't have the ledger at all!
Li Xiangnan's mind raced, and three seconds later, he made a decision.
“Okay!” He nodded and looked at Song Ziming. “Ziming, go to my study and get that willow box on the third shelf of the east side bookshelf! Cuihua cleans there often, so if you can’t find it, ask her to look for it!”
Song Ziming was taken aback.
He knew Nan's house well, but there was no study there at all! Besides, there were no bookshelves, let alone a third shelf, and there was no willow box anywhere!
However, Lan Cuihua does have one...
He was puzzled, but when he looked at Li Xiangnan, he immediately understood and nodded emphatically: "Yes, Brother Nan, please wait a moment, I'll go right away!"
Li Xiangnan then looked at Ye Ruyan: "Comrade Ye, please wait a moment. It will take some time to retrieve the items!"
"No rush!" Ye Ruyan then slowly sat back a little, picked up her teacup, and gently sipped the warm tea with her red lips. Her almond-shaped eyes, full of spring, scanned the room with a seemingly casual glance.
The mature woman in front of him was incredibly charming and beautiful, but Li Xiangnan had absolutely no interest in appreciating her.
The waiting process was naturally agonizing, and the atmosphere inside the room once again fell into an eerie stillness.
But everyone knew that beneath this calm lay a turbulent storm about to erupt.
Li Xiangnan appeared calm on the surface, but in his mind he was making rapid calculations.
Following the hint, Song Ziming went to Lan Cuihua to get the fake account book, which would buy him at least ten minutes!
In these ten minutes, he must think out all the follow-up measures and, in conjunction with his previous preparations, limit Ye Ruyan's chances of dying to the greatest extent possible!
The backyard is empty; Grandma isn't there. Once you enter the backyard, the lie will be exposed instantly!
So... we can't actually go into the backyard!
Agreeing to Ye Ruyan's request was merely a temporary measure!
We must deal with Ye Ruyan before we even enter the backyard.
How to solve it?
Li Xiangnan's gaze fell on the kraft paper document bag on the coffee table!
The only breakthrough is this ledger!
If it can be proven that the account books in Ye Ruyan's hands are fake before entering the backyard, then all her reasons will be untenable!
But how can we prove it?
Even their own accounting books are fake!
Li Xiangnan's mind flashed back to the characteristics of the temple's account books from around 1940 that Liu Yiming, Gan Jinqian, and Liu Jianshe had examined at Pudu Temple.
"The account books or special records from this period were made of specially made mulberry paper that had been soaked in medicine and was resistant to fire and water."
"The ink used for bookkeeping was mixed with gold powder and cinnabar, so it would have a subtle sheen in the sunlight!"
"In the bottom right corner of each page, there is a corresponding family watermark, which only appears when held up to the light..."
Will Ye Ruyan know these details?
If the ledgers she had were carefully forged, she might notice these things, but if they were just hastily acquired counterfeits…
Take a gamble?
Having made up his mind, Li Xiangnan looked at Ye Ruyan again and suddenly said, "Comrade Ye, while we wait for the account books to arrive, I have a question I'd like to ask you!"
"Speaking!"
"You said you obtained the ledgers by chance?" Li Xiangnan stared into her eyes. "Can you explain in detail how you obtained them?"
Ye Ruyan's expression remained unchanged: "I got it from a secondhand dealer! He said that during the famine, people were searching through ruins for food, and they would take this to him to exchange for food, that's how I got it..."
Li Xiangnan narrowed his eyes and asked again, "Has Comrade Ye carefully examined these ledgers? For example, what kind of paper and ink were used?"
Ye Ruyan's eyes flickered slightly: "Why is Doctor Li asking this?"
"Curious!" Li Xiangnan smiled. "The account book I have here is made of specially made mulberry paper, soaked in a special solution, making it impervious to water and fire! The ink used for bookkeeping is mixed with gold powder and cinnabar, giving it a special reflective quality under light! Every page also has the Mu family watermark... I wonder if Comrade Ye's copy has these characteristics?"
With each characteristic he mentioned, Ye Ruyan's brows furrowed slightly.
Finally, Ye Ruyan paused for a moment before slowly saying, "I haven't carefully examined what Doctor Li said!"
"Then why don't we check it now?" Li Xiangnan chuckled, put down his teacup, and said with a sharp look in his eyes, "If the account book in Comrade Ye's hand is genuine, it should have these characteristics! If it's fake... then I'm afraid there's no need to bother my grandmother!"
General!
Ye Ruyan's fingers unconsciously tightened a little!
Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside the door.
Song Ziming walked in quickly, carrying a willow wood box.
"Brother Nan, here you go, I've brought the things!"
All eyes instantly focused on the exquisite willow box.
Li Xiangnan took the wooden box and gently opened it.
Inside, lying quietly were yellowed, thread-bound booklets.
The cover prominently displays four simple, ancient characters—
The Mu Family Account Book