The Seventh Princess understood the problem and then thought of another thing: "Mother, are the managers of those shops really going to embezzle money? And they are my people. There is nothing wrong with them doing things under my name. Why should I be on guard?"
Concubine Min saw that it was time for dinner, so she had the meal served. She then said to her daughter carefully, "You are oversimplifying things. Everything has its pros and cons. With the Princess's Mansion as your backing, everything will go smoothly, but it will also easily whet the appetites of those below you."
"Take the palace for example. You said that those concubines who were not favored were not your father's women? But those servants still bully them and control them."
"It's the same with those shop managers. Can you check the accounts every day? Do you know the purchase price of everything? Do you know the selling price of everything? This year, there are droughts and floods in the south, so the prices of rice and silk will rise sharply. Next year, with good weather and good harvests, the prices will fall. Do you know the price difference here? Do you know how much an egg costs in the imperial kitchen? Do you know how much an egg costs outside?"
The Seventh Princess didn't know how much the eggs from the imperial kitchen cost, but she knew how much silver the eggs cost. Because if she asked the imperial kitchen to make eggs outside the quota, it would cost money, and she spent a lot of money in the imperial kitchen.
"Eggs from the imperial kitchen cost three hundred coins each." The Seventh Princess felt a pang of pain when she said this. Although she had a lot of silver, an egg cost three hundred coins, and a whole egg custard required three eggs, which was less than one or two taels of silver.
Before she got married, Concubine Min was also in charge of household affairs. She said, "The price of eggs has remained the same for many years, fluctuating between one and three wen. When the household stewards purchase eggs, they add thirty or fifty wen to the total price. Your grandmother and I pretend not to notice. But if they add two or three wen to each egg, that's unacceptable."
"Why? There are more than ten people in the family, and dozens of servants. The eggs we buy are always over a few hundred. Let's take 500 as an example. Just imagine how much more silver we have to pay?"
The Seventh Princess was not stupid. After doing some calculations in her mind, she completely understood what Qin Wan said.
Concubine Min saw the Seventh Princess deep in thought. She summoned her maid and asked about her itinerary for the day. When she learned that she had met Lu Linglong before going to Qin Wan, her face immediately fell. She tapped the Seventh Princess's forehead and said, "That Lu Cainu, although stupid and not a concern, she has no rules or methods. As the saying goes, a random punch can kill a master. You'd better stay away from her. First, don't get involved with her. Second, don't let her infect you and make you stupid. If that happens, I won't want you anymore."
"Oh, mother..." The seventh princess acted coquettishly on Concubine Min's shoulder.
Concubine Min was so annoyed by her that she begged for mercy again and again. She was only able to escape when a palace maid came over and said that the meal was ready.
The Seventh Princess returned to her palace from Concubine Min's place. Just as she was about to digest what Qin Wan and her mother had said, she saw the Sixth Princess waiting in her room.
She immediately put on a fake smile and said, "Sixth sister, what brings you here unexpectedly?"
The Sixth Princess was the daughter of Concubine Li and the younger sister of the Fourth Prince. The two princesses had always been at odds with each other, so she naturally didn't care about the Seventh Princess' slightly sarcastic remarks. She just covered her mouth with a handkerchief and laughed, "What are you talking about, Seventh Sister? We are princesses, so why can't we talk to you? You're bullying me like this, don't let others see you and laugh at you."
The Seventh Princess rolled her eyes and said, "I have no intention of trying to be nice to you. If you have something to say, just say it."
The Sixth Princess refused to speak and only had tea served: "I have been here for a long time, and the maids in your palace won't let me drink tea. Will my sister be stingy with a cup of tea?"
The Seventh Princess had no choice but to have someone serve her tea: "After you drink the tea, tell me straight away!"
The Seventh Princess and the Sixth Princess didn't just get along because of their mothers. They had been at odds since they were little. Even when they couldn't walk, they would lie together and scratch each other's faces.
The Seventh Princess knew the Sixth Princess too well. If she didn't listen to her, she would torture herself for several days.
The Sixth Princess contentedly sipped her hot tea to moisten her throat, then asked with a smile, "I heard you went to meet our new sister-in-law today?"
The Seventh Princess rolled her eyes at her. "Why should I hear about it? I'm afraid everyone in the palace knows by now that I've gone to look for our new sister-in-law. Tell me, what's your purpose?"
The Sixth Princess' eyes rolled around: "Do you want to help your brother move to another position?"
The Seventh Princess looked at her and smiled: "I think you want it too. Our brothers both want that position. Shouldn't we be on opposite sides? Isn't it ridiculous that you come to me to join forces?"
The Sixth Princess shook her head. "Sister, don't you know? The enemy of my enemy is my friend. We have a common enemy now, so why can't we be friends?"
The Seventh Princess blinked. "So, you're on my side, and you're also on the side of the Crown Princess. Then, isn't the Crown Princess's sister-in-law and I's common enemy you?"
The Sixth Princess's expression changed slightly, and her voice became a little cold: "Seventh Sister, you need to see the situation more clearly."
The Seventh Princess smiled and said, "I see it clearly, so Sixth Sister, why don't you tell me about your plan? If I think it's feasible, I will naturally stand with you. If not, I will just watch from the sidelines and definitely not say a word."
The Sixth Princess wanted to do it herself, but if she did so, not only would she be easily exposed, but she would also fail to form a large-scale operation and would not be able to deal a blow to Qin Wan.
But if she told the Seventh Princess, it would be easy to expose the secret. After thinking it over, she decided that if the Seventh Princess took action, she would also take action. If the Seventh Princess did not move, she would also remain silent!
Having made up her mind, the Sixth Princess said, "My method is harmless. If discovered, at most I'll be scolded, but it won't implicate Mother. Don't be afraid, sister."
After saying that, the Sixth Princess pulled the Seventh Princess aside and whispered to her for a while.
The seventh princess nodded hesitantly. She also wanted to test how capable her sister-in-law was.
The next morning, several palace maids fell ill and had to call the imperial physician.
Palace ladies were not qualified to ask the imperial physician for help when they fell ill. Usually, apprentices from the Imperial Hospital would treat them. However, because there were so many cases of illness this time and the symptoms were similar, the imperial physician had to be asked to take action.
This was originally a trivial matter. After all, since the imperial physician had been alarmed, there was no need to alarm the Crown Princess, Concubine Li and others.
But the one who got into trouble was the Sixth Princess's maid. She directly reported the matter to Concubine Li, and now she cried with red eyes: "My daughter had no appetite yesterday, so she let the maids and eunuchs around her eat the whole table of food. Who knew she would become like this? It's a good thing she didn't eat it, otherwise, she would be lying in bed unable to get up now."
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