Su Wanyan couldn't help but take out paper and pen from the hidden compartment and start doing arithmetic.

The annual salary is ten thousand taels. According to Yu Nanqing's statement about the highest standard of one thousand people, the servants receive about two taels of silver per month. The steward, head maid, and personal maid should receive more than two taels of silver.

But Su Wanyan doesn't know the specifics yet, so she'll just calculate it as two taels of silver for now.

A year has 12 months, so one person receives 24 taels a year.

One thousand people... 24,000 taels...

Su Wanyan opened her mouth in a daze. In other words, even if the Prince's Mansion had a salary of ten thousand taels of silver per year, it wouldn't be enough to support a thousand people!

Even if there are 100 secret guards and 200 soldiers, totaling 300 people, it would still cost 7,200 taels a year, and that's based on the lowest monthly pay.

How can you raise a baby like this? You'll have trouble even feeding them.

Forget it, let Yu Nanqing do it himself.

She decided not to get involved in the matter.

Su Wanyan threw down her brush, just as Mingyu's voice came from outside: "Your Majesty, we have arrived at the Prince's Mansion."

Su Wanyan crumpled the paper, put it in her sleeve, and got off the carriage.

As soon as she stepped into the mansion, Wang Zhang greeted her: "Your Highness, the Lady of Yuanning Marquis has returned."

Su Wanyan was stunned. Oh!

I forgot!

Oh well, it's not important anyway, and even if I met them, I probably wouldn't say anything nice.

In the main courtyard, Su Chien was watching the koi fish in the pond in the front yard. When he saw Su Wanyan return, he immediately ran up to her and called out, "Sister!"

"Sister, why are you back so soon this time?" Su Chien asked with slight surprise.

Every time I entered the palace before, it was fraught with danger.

Su Wanyan laughed: "What, isn't it good that I came back early?"

"Okay, of course."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm looking at the fish. Didn't my sister buy some fish fry and put them in? They don't look very good to me."

There is a small stream in the front yard, which is built under a small bridge. Su Wanyan used the water from here to help Yu Nanqing wash his body.

There were originally fish in the stream, but only a few. Su Wanyan felt that was not enough, so she had someone buy some fish fry and put them in.

Upon hearing this, Su Wanyan lingered on the small bridge for a while. The fish fry were in groups and looked alright, but they didn't seem to move much, and some were almost unable to swim anymore.

Su Wanyan scratched her head: "I'll find a gardener in the city later to see what went wrong."

Su Chien immediately volunteered, "Sister! Let me go!"

He felt uncomfortable if he didn't do anything for a day, and always felt that he had to do something every day to repay Su Wanyan.

From the moment Su Chien called her "sister," Su Wanyan treated him like a younger brother, and she couldn't let him always do errands.

Remembering Yu Nanqing's words, she asked, "Chi En, do you want to learn martial arts?"

I'd been wanting to bring it up with him for a while, but every time the thought crossed my mind, I'd instantly forget about it.

There were just too many things to remember.

"Learn martial arts?" Su Chi'en's eyes lit up. "Yes! Sister, do you want me to learn martial arts?"

“It’s not a matter of whether I want it or not, it’s a matter of whether you want it or not.” Seeing that he answered without hesitation, Su Wanyan advised, “Think it through before you answer. Martial arts training is very hard, and it’s something that requires perseverance. Don’t rush to answer.”

"I want to learn! Sister, I want to learn martial arts!" Su Chien's eyes shone brightly.

That day, he could only watch helplessly as his sister and the prince were in dire straits. If he had learned martial arts, he would have been able to protect his sister!

How could he possibly refuse such a good deal?

“Once you start learning, I won’t let you give up, not even if you regret it. I will hold you to my standards. Have you really thought this through?” Su Wanyan was not one to give up halfway.

She either does it or she doesn't; once she starts, she's determined to do it well.

"I've thought it through, I'll learn! I want to learn!" Su Chien's eyes were both firm and enthusiastic.

"Okay, I'll go talk to Yu Nanqing."

Su Wanyan patted Su Chien's head and walked towards the main house.

Su Chien excitedly followed.

At the entrance to the main house, the two maids, Qiuye and Huangye, bowed to Su Wanyan in unison.

Su Wanyan nodded slightly to the two of them, as if in acknowledgment.

Inside the room, Yu Nanqing lay on her side, holding a book in her hand.

Brief Notes on the Imperial Court

Su Wanyan stepped forward and picked up the book: "Why are you looking at this?"

Yu Nanqing knew Su Wanyan had returned. Seeing her pick up the book, her hand still holding it, he subtly shifted his gaze upwards, his eyes landing on Su Wanyan's face: "You want to know about things in the palace?"

"Yes, I do." Su Wanyan didn't hide anything. She closed the book, put it down, and sat on the edge of the bed. "I'm curious about many things. If you can tell me, I won't have to go to the bookstore to buy these books every day."

"for example?"

Su Wanyan propped herself up on her elbows by the bed and looked at him: "If you can accept all the questions I ask, then I will tell you; if not, then I won't ask."

She raised her hand and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear: "I don't want you to brush it off with a cough."

"..." Yu Nanqing was speechless. She opened her mouth, but after a long while, she closed it again.

Su Wanyan didn't press the matter: "Never mind, let's not talk about that. Let me give you a report on today's battle."

At the mention of this, Su Wanyan couldn't help but smile: "Emperor Yuanhe gave us three years' salary, 30,000 taels of silver, 30,000 bushels of rice, plus an estate! Yu Nanqing, you're rich! You won't have to worry about food and clothing anymore!"

"..."

"From now on, the palace will send your share of salary every six months. You don't need to send someone to collect it. Anyway, after today, Emperor Yuanhe will no longer deprive you of your salary."

“However, the Prince’s mansion is so big, you’ll need to add more people to the mansion.” After saying that, Su Wanyan counted on her fingers: “For example, a steward, and someone to manage the finances. Now that the estates have been divided, someone needs to take over and manage them. With so many things, we’ll also need to add some maids and servants, otherwise no one will manage it, and the Prince’s mansion will soon be taken over by Emperor Yuanhe’s people again.”

“…” Yu Nanqing stared at her without saying a word.

Su Wanyan asked curiously, "Aren't you happy?"

Are you happy?

He should be happy.

He was initially very happy.

However... Su Wanyan clearly distinguished her position from his. From beginning to end, she felt that it was his property, his salary.

She never intended to participate, nor did she ever think about sharing it with him.

He would have preferred Su Wanyan to say, "We won't have to worry about food and clothing anymore."

After a long while, Yu Nanqing managed a gentle smile: "I'm happy... but I can hardly believe it."

“I couldn’t believe it either. My eyes widened when I saw it. I thought they had miscalculated!” Su Wanyan immediately chimed in. “But luckily I was quick-witted. I could tell from their expressions that something was wrong, so I asked them to add more fertile land and real estate. Hehehe, Emperor Yuanhe must be furious.”