She opened her phone and saw: Mr. Qin: "How did your final exams go? How did you do?"

Gu Qin: "Not bad."

Mr. Qin: "Aqin will definitely get first place. What reward do you want?"

Gu Qin thought carefully: "Nothing in particular."

Then she realized it didn't make sense. She wasn't that close to Qin Xiansheng, so why would he offer her a reward?

Before she could ponder further, another message from Mr. Qin came: "What are your plans for the winter break?"

Gu Qin: "Training."

Mr. Qin, far away in Beijing, couldn't help but smile, "Train well. I hope you'll be even more impressive when we meet next time."

Gu Qin: "Thank you."

Mr. Qin: "How is the sleeve whip working?"

Gu Qin: "I haven't used it yet. There hasn't been much need for it in this peaceful era."

Mr. Qin: "Have you thought about naming it? It will be your weapon from now on, growing with you, eventually developing its own consciousness. It will be your most loyal companion. Give it a name to make it feel more at home."

Gu Qin paused, realizing she hadn't thought about this before. Now that he mentioned it, she also wanted to name the sleeve whip. But what should she call it? She asked Mr. Qin, "Mr. Qin, what name do you think suits it?"

Mr. Qin thought for a moment and replied: "How about calling it 'Liu Guang'? Its speed in attacking is very fast, and 'Liu Guang' sounds fitting.

Gu Qin couldn't help but laugh and said, "Then let's call it Liu Guang. Thank you, Mr. Qin."

Mr. Qin replied with a pat-on-the-head emoji: "Then get some rest early."

Gu Qin: "Good night."

Three days later, she was returning to school. Gu Qin didn't plan on cultivating and breaking through during these three days. She intended to go to Mount Tai after the three days were over. After retrieving her grades from school, she indeed ranked first in her grade. The school held another assembly, where all the students attended. The principal praised her on stage and then asked her to speak to the students about how she went from being at the bottom of the class to becoming the top student.

Gu Qin didn’t mince words and shared her study methods briefly. Finally, she said, "I’m just an ordinary student like everyone else, not a genius. Everything is the result of my daily efforts, and there’s no shortcut. If you’re willing to work hard, your results won’t be worse than mine."

After speaking, applause filled the auditorium. The loudest clapping came from Class Seventeen. In fact, the students in Class Seventeen admired her very much, and her popularity in Class Seventeen was very high. Even the students from Grade Two and Three remembered this fair-skinned and lively-featured junior.

After the assembly, they returned to their respective classes. The homeroom teacher reiterated the vacation time and the start date for school, which finally marked the end of the break.

When she got home, Gu Qin spent the first three days finishing all her homework. Only then did she plan to focus on cultivation. However, she didn't expect that after Cheng Yinxiang returned home that night, her expression wasn't good. She sat on the sofa without saying a word. Gu Qin looked at her face and guessed what had happened.

The nose is called the wealth palace. The wealth palace should ideally not have moles, spots, or pimples. When such imperfections appear on the tip of the nose, it often leads to unexpected financial losses. Cheng Yinxiang's wealth palace appeared dull, indicating a potential loss.

Cheng Yinxiang rarely carried anything when commuting to work, sometimes carrying only a few dozen yuan to buy groceries. Such small amounts would not show up as significant issues in the wealth palace even if lost or stolen. Therefore, the issue must involve a larger sum.

Looking at Cheng Yinxiang's career palace, located in the forehead above the temples, between the hairline and the eyebrows, known as the official residence or fortune palace. This area reflects one's career prospects or academic performance. Factors related to career, such as promotions, demotions, job position levels, relationships with superiors and colleagues, can all be seen in the career palace.

Cheng Yinxiang's career palace was also dim, indicating problems in her career. As an accountant, both her wealth and career palaces showed symptoms, and her complexion was very poor. Gu Qin sat next to her and noticed that her body was trembling. Being an accountant, something serious must have happened to scare her like this, likely involving company finances.

Cheng Yinxiang was honest and never misappropriated public funds. So, the problem must have been with the accounts she handled.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Gu Qin held her hand and asked, "Mom, what happened?"

Cheng Yinxiang's hands trembled uncontrollably. "Nothing... nothing. What do you want to eat tonight? Mom will cook for you."

Gu Qin comforted her, "Mom, don’t worry. Tell us what happened. We’re a family, and we can solve anything together."

Cheng Yinxiang didn’t want her daughter to worry, so she shook her head quickly. "It’s nothing. Don’t worry. I’ll go make dinner for you." She hurriedly got up and went into the kitchen. Gu Qin followed, opened her third eye, and immediately understood what had happened.

She entered the kitchen and asked, "Mom, is there a problem with the company’s finances?"

Cheng Yinxiang froze for a moment, then turned around and asked, "Qin Qin, how did you know?"

"Mom, you forgot I can read fortunes?" Gu Qin smiled. "Of course, I calculated it. Mom, don’t worry. It’s only twenty thousand yuan, and it’s a misunderstanding. There will be a way to resolve it."

At this point, Cheng Yinxiang couldn’t help but feel distressed. She had never been accused of taking twenty thousand yuan without reason. She worked hard every month and made extra money, but this mistake cost twenty thousand yuan. And it wasn’t even her fault; she was being wronged.

She told Gu Qin everything. "Yesterday, someone brought twenty thousand yuan in cash to the company to pay the bill. I was about to take it to the bank, but our manager said he needed the money urgently and took it. My colleague was sitting beside me, and she saw it too. I asked him to sign, but he left in a hurry and said he’d sign tomorrow. I thought it was fine since my colleague could vouch for it. But today, when I asked him to sign, he denied ever taking the money. When I asked my colleague, she also denied it. They claimed the manager never took the money. The worst part is, the company’s surveillance cameras were broken..."

Gu Qin naturally saw this through her third eye. She saw Cheng Yinxiang arguing with a middle-aged man, Manager Liu, "Manager Liu, it was you who took that money yesterday. You said you needed it urgently, so I gave it to you. Fangjie was sitting beside me, and she saw it too. I even asked you to sign. You said you’d sign tomorrow. Ask Fangjie!"

When she called Fangjie, she said, "Accountant Cheng, are you mistaken? I was indeed sitting beside you, but I didn’t see Manager Liu take any money from you."

Cheng Yinxiang was stunned and stammered, "Manager Liu, Fangjie, how could you do this? It was around 3:00 PM yesterday..."

Both of them denied it.

Cheng Yinxiang instinctively grabbed Gu Qin’s arm. "Finally, we reported it to the police, but they couldn’t do anything because the surveillance was out. The boss wants me to compensate for the money."

Gu Qin naturally believed Cheng Yinxiang. She knew Manager Liu was wronging her, but she didn’t understand why. Cheng Yinxiang had been working at the company for many years. Why would they treat her this way? Fangjie also denied seeing anything, suggesting she might have been bribed to lie.

Gu Qin checked her third eye and saw that the person who delivered the money used a red bag. Manager Liu took the bag along with the money.

Gu Qin turned off the gas and helped Cheng Yinxiang sit down in the living room. She recounted the sequence of events, "Mom, don’t you find this strange? I know companies rarely deal in cash anymore. Most transactions are done via bank transfers. Why would such a large amount of cash suddenly be delivered to the office? Has this ever happened before?"

Cheng Yinxiang replied, "Yes, it has happened before, but rarely. Once, another company had this amount and was close to us, so they delivered it directly. This time, the other company was far away, but the person said they were passing by and decided to deliver the cash instead of transferring it online. But then..."

Gu Qin said, "Mom, I think this isn’t simple. Someone seems to be setting you up. From the moment the money was delivered, things have been suspicious. How could the surveillance be broken at the same time? Either someone is behind this, or they are working together to embezzle the money. Even though we’ve reported it to the police, I don’t think it will help much. Let me see if I can find someone to help."

Her connections were mainly the Jiang family and Li family. She first called Jiang Ni and briefly explained the situation. Jiang Ni said, "Qin Qin, don’t worry. Based on what you’ve said, this isn’t simple. Either two people conspired to take the money or someone is targeting Auntie. Brother Li has friends in the police force, and I can ask him to look into it. I think this shouldn’t be too difficult. Although Auntie’s company doesn’t have surveillance, there are cameras everywhere on the streets. If we can find some evidence, we can prove Auntie’s innocence."

Gu Qin replied, "Thank you, Sister Jiang. I’ll call Brother Li."

Brother Li was Li Qi, the son of Li Yongsheng. Gu Qin had saved his life using her vital energy, and he had fully recovered. He was now helping Li Yongsheng manage the company.

She called Li Qi, and he answered almost immediately. "Master Gu?"

Gu Qin said, "Brother Li, it’s me. I need your help with something." She explained the situation, and Li Qi responded, "Don’t worry. I know someone in the bureau who manages that area. There is indeed an incident. I’ll talk to him. He’ll investigate, check nearby surveillance for clues, and I’ll update you."

Gu Qin hung up and said, "Mom, don’t worry. Brother Li’s friend manages that area. They’ll help."

They both knew the difference between having connections in the bureau and not. Without connections, the case was nearly impossible to solve. With connections, they would take it seriously and investigate thoroughly. Li Qi’s friend was likely an official, making it easier to handle.

Soon, the police contacted Cheng Yinxiang and requested a new statement. Cheng Yinxiang became more anxious, but Gu Qin reassured her, "Mom, it’s fine. They’re taking this seriously now. Before, they probably didn’t even record your statement properly. Now they’re recording it officially, so they’ll investigate thoroughly. Mom, everything will be resolved."

It was already past five o'clock, and they still had to go to the police station to give statements. Clearly, they were taking the matter seriously. Gu Qin accompanied Cheng Yinxiang to the police station.

When they arrived, Manager Liu and Fangjie were already there, looking impatient. "What’s going on? We were told there was nothing to investigate, and now we have to give statements? Clearly, the company’s accountant is the one who took the money. Why are they blaming us? Didn’t they say we should just pay the money?"

Cheng Yinxiang angrily confronted Manager Liu, "Manager Liu, how can you say that? You took the money, and you won’t admit it..." She pointed at the other woman, "Fangjie, I always considered you a friend, but I didn’t expect you to do this to me. You were sitting right beside me, and you saw Manager Liu take the money. How could you do this?"

Manager Liu, a forty-something balding man, was somewhat portly but tall and strong. Seeing Cheng Yinxiang with a girl, he didn’t back down. He stood up and pointed at Cheng Yinxiang, yelling, "You’re framing me! You filthy b*tch, you better fix the company’s books, or it won’t matter if you report it."

A young policeman intervened, "What are you doing? A grown man pointing at a woman and shouting? Have some shame. Besides, the case isn’t clear yet. You can’t just shout here."

Manager Liu glared at Cheng Yinxiang silently. Gu Qin frowned. This man disrespected Cheng Yinxiang, and she wouldn’t let him off easily. She flicked her fingers, casting a yin spell, and a cold aura wrapped around Manager Liu’s wrist.

Manager Liu felt a sharp pain in his wrist, as if someone was squeezing his tendons. He screamed, "Ouch, ouch, my wrist hurts!"

This scream startled everyone in the police station. The young policeman rushed over, saw nothing on his wrist, and scolded, "Enough, that trick won’t work. Just give your statement, and you can leave."

Seeing him still lying on the floor screaming, the policeman grew frustrated, "Get up and give your statement. Otherwise, I’ll charge you with obstructing justice and lock you up."

Cheng Yinxiang stood silently, watching. The policeman told her to follow the female officer inside to give her statement. The female officer was kind and assured her, "Don’t worry. We’ll find out what happened. If they framed you, justice will be served."

"Thank you," Cheng Yinxiang said gratefully.

The female officer nodded and asked for her name, age, gender...

Cheng Yinxiang answered honestly. Gu Qin suddenly recalled entering the police station once before due to the riot at the station. She hadn’t expected to enter again with her mother.

"Narrate the incident..."

"Yesterday afternoon at 2:30, another company delivered a cash payment of 200,000 yuan. I gave them the receipt, and around 3:30, Manager Liu came over. My colleague Fangjie was there. Manager Liu said he needed the money urgently, so I gave it to him. I wanted him to sign, but he was in a hurry and said he'd sign the next day. Fangjie was there and said she would vouch for it. But today, when I asked Manager Liu to sign, he denied ever taking the money."

Cheng Yinxiang, who was soft-spoken, became emotional as she spoke. Her eyes welled up, and the female officer sympathized, believing her story. Such incidents were common, but many lacked evidence, leading to compensation.