A thousand thoughts flashed through Lord Qian's mind. He asked tentatively, "Worthy... no, young Lord Zhou, have you come today to advise me about antiques?"
"Do I look like I have that much time on my hands?"
That utterly undisguised look of contempt.
That face, which bore little resemblance to Zhou Yunshen's yet was still handsome.
That gaze, identical to Zhou Yunshen's...
All of it made Lord Qian's head ache with anger.
Yet he dared not argue and could only give two dry chuckles to mask his embarrassment.
"You're quite right, young Lord Zhou. Then your visit today is..."
"The quantities of supplies previously sent to the Western Army don't quite add up. The Ministry of War said the funds and supplies were allocated by the Ministry of Revenue, so I came to check them with you."
"Yesterday, Father obtained both the inventory submitted by the Ministry of Revenue and the shipment manifest submitted by the Ministry of War from His Majesty."
"I've already reviewed them, and there are indeed discrepancies. That's why I came to verify them with you, Lord Qian, so Father can report to His Majesty at court tomorrow."
When Lord Qian skimmed the military funds, he had considered the possibility of being discovered, so he had been extremely discreet.
There was absolutely nothing wrong with the quantities; he had merely replaced refined grain with coarse grain.
Military clothing had been replaced with ordinary garments.
They looked much the same on the outside, but the cost of materials and labor had been cut in half.
The savings on one garment were insignificant, but hundreds of thousands of sets amounted to a considerable sum.
Lord Qian believed his work was seamless, without a single stitch showing, and still hoped to gloss over the matter.
"Surely not. The funds