Chapter 85: Does the Prince Zhongshun's Mansion have her students?

The Prince Zhongshun's Mansion.

The chief clerk in the main hall had his head almost drooping to his knees, but he still couldn't escape the reprimands from Prince Zhongshun.

"You've been with me for so many years, why are you becoming increasingly careless in your duties this year! Are you trying to climb the social ladder? You don't want my Prince's Mansion, there are plenty of positions in the homes of the Four Princes and Eight Dukes, or I can send you there!"

"Winter is here, and radishes are everywhere. You could spend a month trying to find someone to buy one! I'll give you three more days. If you still can't find that jade radish, you might as well pack your bags and go grow radishes!"

"Your Highness, I've been to the estate where those radishes are grown many times, and I've even secretly checked on them. There are definitely no more radishes in the fields. The estate does have some winter radishes stored there, but those are definitely not jade radishes," the chief secretary whispered in his defense.

This is because the goods from the original Hongqu Manor were transferred through several manors to avoid detection before finally being transported to the shop for sale. If we hadn't followed along when the radishes first appeared, we wouldn't know their true origin now.

But at the time, nobody took the radish seriously.

"You still dare to talk!" Prince Zhongshun threw a teacup at him. The teacup rolled directly onto the chief secretary, but it didn't break. However, it spilled a cup of warm tea all over him.

"What about the radish shop? Didn't you check it out?"

“Once the investigation reaches the Rongguo Mansion, it becomes impossible to investigate further. You said that if the Four Kings and Eight Dukes don’t fall into our hands, we should try to have as little contact with them as possible to avoid causing trouble.”

The chief secretary said, sounding aggrieved.

"Didn't they wait until that person came out?"

"I managed to get there once, when she went to the Lin family's residence. After all, it was the old residence of the Salt Inspector, Lord Lin. I couldn't just go there directly, so I made up an excuse to lure her out of the Lin residence. I never expected that the two from the Rongguo Mansion were secretly following me. Before I could say a few words, I was kicked in the stomach..." The Chief Clerk felt that he was really unlucky.

Prince Zhongshun stroked his beard and thought for a while, wondering if it was worth making a trip to the Rongguo Mansion for a jade radish.

How can we extract the original red lotus without tainting the Rongguo Mansion?

"Go and find Jia Zheng. Tell him that Yuan Hongqu from the Lin family is... is the teacher of my granddaughter. I heard she is in the capital, so I have come to ask her to meet me."

These days, the Prince Zhongshun's mansion has not failed to find out anything about Yuan Hongqu. It turns out that when she was in Yangzhou, she was a teacher at a girls' academy, and later Lin Ruhai invited her to his home to teach his daughter.

His daughter was the granddaughter of the Rongguo Mansion.

Since the Rongguo Mansion's granddaughter can be Yuan Hongqu's student, so can my own granddaughter!

Although King Chungsun didn't even have a daughter, that didn't stop him from fabricating a granddaughter.

The chief clerk's lips twitched; the prince was clearly going after the Prince Xian's mansion.

The Prince Xian's Mansion won the Emperor's favor with these small items, but Prince Zhongshun had never found an opportunity. Finally, a jade radish appeared, but the Prince Xian's Mansion did not rush to offer it as tribute. Prince Zhongshun thought he had an opportunity, but then the radish was gone.

It's radish harvest season now, and King Zhongshun doesn't believe that there really isn't a single radish left on the estate!

The midday sun shines through the gaps in the vines, casting bright, dappled patches of light on the ground, which are quite beautiful.

Winter days are short, so Daiyu's afternoon nap was also shortened. However, after lying down for a short while, she went to school with the three sisters.

The sun has been shining brightly these past few days, so Yuan Hongqu had all of Daiyu's bedding and other items changed. The new bedding and other items were first sunned for three full days before being put on.

The bed curtains, drapes, and other items in the room were all replaced.

The whole house looks brand new.

The only thing left to change is the window screen. A couple of days ago, Yuan Hongqu had the Lin family's servants go out to buy glass. After the glass was replaced, the room became bright again and kept warm.

Glass is still a rare commodity, and its price is exorbitantly high, but it is still relatively easy for people like them to find.

Baoyu's room had glass windows, and Rongyue Courtyard had a large full-length glass dressing mirror.

The reply from outside is that the glass will be delivered this afternoon.

In the afternoon, just as the sun was beginning to set, the glass was delivered, secured with wooden frames and carried in.

Yuan Hongqu watched as they installed several windows. The workmanship was quite good, and the windows were very finely made. It was clear that they were people who often worked for wealthy families.

So he left the two old women to watch over things while he went to the kitchen to prepare the soup for dinner.

She had just put the ingredients into the casserole when Amber's voice came from outside the door.

"Granny Yuan, the old lady requests your presence."

Yuan Hongqu poured water into the clay pot, covered it, and had someone watch over it to prevent the soup from boiling over. Only then did she take off her apron, wash her hands, and go outside.

"Is something wrong with the old lady?"

"I heard that the Second Master had just received the Chief Secretary of the Prince Zhongshun's Mansion, and then sent someone to tell the Old Madam to ask Granny Yuan to come over."

When delivering messages to Rongyue Courtyard, there are always fresh snacks and candies to eat. After eating them, you can even put a handful in your pocket. Not only Amber, but also the maids from other courtyards like to deliver messages or things to Rongyue Courtyard.

The Rongyue Courtyard has a room filled with pastries, fruits, candies, and tea, specifically for those who come here. Everything inside is made with care; it's not just something perfunctory because it's for maids.

I heard that this tea room costs no less than ten taels of silver a month, all of which is paid for by the Lin family themselves. They would never be so considerate to their servants.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Hongqu said,

“In that case, Amber, please wait a moment while I go change my clothes.”

People from Prince Zhongshun's mansion were looking for her. Wang Xifeng had already warned her once before, so she was much more vigilant when she went out. She would always make sure to disguise herself before going out, so nothing went wrong.

I later learned that the incident that happened at the Lin family's gate was caused by the chief clerk of the Prince Zhongshun's mansion. Was it intentional, and was it aimed at me?

So this time they actually risked their reputation for associating with the Rongguo Mansion and came directly here to find me. Could it be that the Prince Zhongshun Mansion and the original owner really have some connection?

As they say, the original owner was the teacher of a young lady in the Prince Zhongshun's mansion.

Since we're bound to clash sooner or later, we might as well go out and take a look. We'll deal with whatever comes our way.

Yuan Hongqu changed her outer robe and went to Rongqing Hall with Amber without any other people.

"Granny Yuan, did you once teach the young ladies of Prince Zhongshun's mansion?" Grandmother Jia asked eagerly as soon as she saw her enter.

Yuan Hongqu smiled.

"Replying to the old lady, I once taught at the girls' academy in Yangzhou for ten years. I taught countless students, but I really don't remember whether I taught any of the daughters of Prince Zhongshun's mansion."