As the Golden Offering Festival approached, the wives and daughters of officials in the capital were all busy ordering jewelry from Linglong Pavilion, hoping to save face during the festival. Half a month ago, Lady Jue Luo even sent Qingyan's former wet nurse to discuss this matter.

“Master, the madam’s headdress is not yet finished. Today, the madam asked about it again!” Su Lan walked in.

Before breakfast, Lady Jue Luo sent a servant from her residence to the residence of the Fourth Prince to inquire about the jewelry to be awarded during the Golden Festival.

She frowned slightly, feeling a little impatient.

Recently, Linglong Pavilion's orders have surged, forcing her to transfer some skilled craftsmen from the south to the capital. Qingyan has gone to great lengths to ensure that Consort Tong and others have the best attire.

Yesterday, the freshly made headdresses were delivered to the imperial concubines, and Lady Jue Luo came to ask for hers immediately.

"Tell Mother to send it to the mansion in five days. Considering the time, there are still more than ten days until the Golden Festival. It's still in time to have the people at the mansion make the appropriate clothes," Qingyan said with a frown.

Tong Guowei had just been reprimanded by Emperor Kangxi, but Madam Tong did not go out of her way to cause trouble. Instead, she simply ordered jewelry according to the rules of Linglong Pavilion. Unlike in the past, Madam Tong no longer enjoyed any preferential treatment.

“This…” Su Lan was worried that the Jue Luo family would come directly to their door.

"Reply with exactly what was said." Fei Yanggu would not allow the Jue Luo clan to visit. After the autumn harvest, many people were keeping an eye on the families of the primary wives, so they had all become somewhat more restrained.

Su Lan had no choice but to go and reply, and the nanny who came had to wait at the second gate.

The treatment was quite different from usual. After hearing this, the nanny looked coldly at Sulan and said, "You little hussy, the Fujin is the Madam's own daughter. How could you answer like that? Did you not ask?"

Su Lan quickly shook her head; her master's words carried such weight.

"Hmph, wait until I get back and report to Madam, and see how she deals with you!" The old woman flung her sleeves arrogantly and left the Prince's residence.

These old women were acting arrogantly and domineering in front of Qingyan. Jueluo always told Qingyan that even the old women around her parents had to give her some respect.

Qingyan's stubbornness caused her to lose face with the servants. The good tea and water they used to serve, along with the promise of benefits upon their return, were all canceled.

The servants had thought they could make exorbitant demands on Qingyan and get more things to keep for their own families.

Contrary to their expectations, they had to return home disappointed.

"Master, what about the nanny..." Su Lan and Su Zhu had married along with Qing Yan. The layout of the Ulanara family mansion forced them to think more about their master. The two young masters' wives would be filial to their wives, and at that time, the Fujin might be directly resisted by the three wives.

"No need, Father and the others won't believe it." Qingyan still had that much confidence.

Looking at the sleeping children, Qingyan's irritability slowly subsided.

"Today we'll be conducting a random check of the ledgers. Have all the supervisors bring their ledgers over," Qingyan ordered in a low voice.

Qingyan would conduct a random check of the mansion's accounts once a month, at an irregular time, to prevent the managers from falsifying accounts.

"Yes!" Su Lan helped Qing Yan to the study, and she quickly asked Su Zhu to inform the others.

Later that evening, the managers from various departments of the mansion gathered in the courtyard of Qingyan. Their expressions varied, some were relaxed, and some were slightly worried.

After several rectifications, there is no corruption in the mansion. Only a few managers did not keep accounts according to the time. In the past two months, the mansion's expenses have not been large, and some small accounts have not been recorded in accordance with Qingyan's regulations.

Su Lan walked into the courtyard and collected all the account books. The supervisors all lowered their heads, waiting for Qing Yan to review them.

Qingyan sat cross-legged on the soft couch in the study, flipping through the account books. She could see the servants' movements outside the window when she turned her head.

Flipping through the account books of key areas such as the kitchen, the accounts were fairly clear. The cooks in the mansion would inevitably embezzle some things to take home. These things were not much, and Qingyan didn't say much. A cold look from them was enough to make them behave themselves.

"Call the head of the kitchen!" Qingyan noticed that the amount of silver the kitchen received during Qiu Mi's two months of service had not decreased, but rather remained the same as before, which she found rather strange.

The masters of the mansion are not here, yet the servants have used all of their things.

"This servant greets the Princess Consort!" The head of the kitchen was a nanny in her forties. She was dressed in brown clothes and bowed respectfully to Qingyan. Her gray hair was wrapped in cotton cloth of the same color.

"How many more servants have been added to the mansion in the past two months?" Qingyan secretly calculated that the expenses for the servants had clearly increased.

Kangxi directly dismissed many of the servants in the princes' residences, and the Imperial Household Department also filled some positions.

"Reporting to the Madam, after the previous cleanup, the Imperial Household Department filled 15 positions, and the expenses are much higher than before!" the nanny quickly said.

Qingyan looked down and saw that the old woman was quite plump, clearly well-nourished.

"Granny, how much is your salary? Judging from your complexion, you're doing better than me." Qingyan sneered. These nannies had been skimping on her pay.

Although clear water has no fish, Qingyan will not let those who are too greedy go unpunished.

The old woman in front of him, Granny Liang, was brought by Yin from the prince's courtyard. She had been serving Yin for many years and acted arrogantly in the kitchen. She had even intercepted the bird's nest soup at the Qingyan banquet.

The cooks dared not say anything and could only silently fill the bowl. From that day on, every afternoon, Granny Liang would go to the kitchen to ask for a bowl of bird's nest soup.

Recently, Qingyan planted spies in the kitchen and discovered the problem. She finally understood why her bird's nest maid's salary remained so high.

"You flatter me, Madam. Being able to serve my mistress is more important than salary," the old nanny replied hastily, as if she hadn't understood what Qingyan was saying.

"A bowl of bird's nest every day, Granny certainly knows how to maintain her health." Qingyan uttered a cold sentence, and Granny's heart skipped a beat. Had the Princess Consort gotten wind of this?

wrong!

The kitchen was clearly under control; there was no mention of the Princess Consort ordering an investigation.

"This servant dares not. Bird's nest is a ration for the masters, how could this servant use it?" the nanny quickly replied humbly.

Qingyan smiled coldly and waved her hand towards the outside of the courtyard. Two chefs from the kitchen who specialized in making bird's nest were summoned. They rarely saw the Fujin (principal wife), and her cold gaze made them reveal the truth.

"What else is there to say?" Qingyan looked at her. The servants outside were all kneeling on the ground, each trying to recall if they had ever done anything similar.

"This servant..." The old woman understood that none of the officials in the Imperial Household Department would stand up for her. She was merely a pawn, and being beaten to death by Qingyan was only a regrettable loss of a valuable asset. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com.)