It was already afternoon when we arrived at the farm. Tangtang had woken up but was still a little groggy.

Jiang Muyu carried her out of the carriage. Manager Shang of the farm was already waiting outside, followed by a deputy manager and two housekeepers.

Seeing her, they all knelt down and said, "Greetings to the Princess and the Princess."

"Get up, everyone." Jiang Muyu put Tangtang down and started to lead her as she walked.

She glanced at Manager Shang and said, "Lead the way."

"Yes." Manager Shang didn't even have time to clean the mud off his pants, and hurried to the side to lead the way.

The name of this estate is Lihua Estate, which is a reference to the name of Lihua Town. It is the largest estate under her name, with more than 300 acres of land.

There is a courtyard in the manor, which is specially for the owner to live in. In the past, the wife of Marquis Jing'an would come down to inspect in person and live in that courtyard.

Yun Xuan arranged for people to move all the things they brought over, while Jiang Muyu was taken by Manager Shang to check the condition of the fields.

As the manager walked, he said, "The harvest on our farm this year is still good, much better than last year."

"I have seen the account book. Logically, there are more than 300 acres of land here. The income is far from enough to cover the cost."

"This..." Manager Shang's forehead immediately broke out in sweat. "Last year, a drought left us with almost no harvest. Most of this year's harvest was used to fill the gap."

"Oh? Why didn't anyone report this? And why wasn't there any record?"

"Your Highness, you didn't care about these things in the past few years."

"If I don't care, you can just muddle through?" Her tone turned cold.

Manager Shang was so frightened that he immediately knelt on the ground and said, "I failed in my duty and did not report the situation of the farm truthfully. But other than that, I have absolutely not done anything against the law. Please allow me to make amends, Your Majesty."

"I have investigated you, and I have found that you have not done your job well. You have neither great merits nor great faults. I will not deal with you arbitrarily."

"Your Majesty is wise."

Manager Shang had just let out a breath when he heard Jiang Muyu say, "Then I'll fine you one quarter's salary."

He felt sorry for the money, but he didn't dare to refuse and agreed quickly.

Jiang Muyu continued walking forward. The supervisor stood up, patted his trouser legs randomly, and continued walking forward.

After a round of inspection, Jiang Muyu had seen enough and had a deeper understanding of the situation in Lihua Manor.

After returning to the arranged accommodation, she asked Yunyan to take Tangtang out to play, while she stayed to discuss the management of the farm with several managers.

"I took a look around today and found that many things are not rational. We need to make some adjustments to improve the yield."

Manager Shang leaned forward and asked, "What does your Majesty want to do?"

She thought for a moment and asked, "Is there any good painter in Lihua Town?"

"There is a scholar named Lin, who is a good painter."

"Go and invite him here immediately. The price is negotiable."

"yes."

She waved her hands, "Everyone please leave first."

"Yes." Several people bowed in unison before leaving the room.

Manager Shang didn't dare to speak until he and his companions were far away from the courtyard.

The deputy director wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "This Princess Rui is really scary. I dare not even breathe in front of her."

"Princess Arrangement, I'm afraid you don't want this tongue anymore." Manager Shang glared at him, and he quickly covered his mouth and looked around.

Manager Shang said, "Look at you, you are so timid. No one heard you. Now do as she told you to do and get Mr. Lin here."

"But Mr. Lin is probably still in the wine jar, if we can't handle this, will it implicate us?"

"Even if you have to carry him, you have to carry him here and splash him with a bucket of cold water to wake him up, otherwise you won't get your monthly salary next quarter." Manager Shang had just had his monthly salary deducted and was still furious.

The deputy director was frightened at the mention of money and said quickly: "I will definitely complete the task."

Having said that, he called the two tenant farmers who were working in the fields and hurried to the town.

Lihua Town is not big, but Mr. Lin is quite famous in the town, so you can find him by just asking around.

As soon as they arrived at the door of a tavern, they saw a man in a green gown being pushed out. He staggered as if he was about to fall, but managed to steady himself.

The man had delicate features, but an unshaven beard and sunken eyes. He was shouting in a hoarse voice, "How can you open a shop and chase away customers? Don't you want to open this crappy shop anymore?"

The owner of the tavern stood at the door with his hands on his hips, determined not to let him in. "Mr. Lin, it's not that I don't want you to pay the bill. You haven't paid off the wine money you owed last month. I'm here to do business, not to help the poor."

"I didn't say I wouldn't give you the money. Wait until next month..."

The shopkeeper interrupted him and said, "Don't tell me next month anymore. I'm tired of hearing this. Day after day, month after month, year after year, who knows if you can settle this bill before you die? I'll take what happened before as a lesson. Don't come to my shop anymore. Go back to where you came from!"

"You..." Lin Xiucai held it in for a long time, until his face turned red, and then he said: "That's too much!"

The deputy manager rarely saw Lin Xiucai sober. It turned out that he had no money to buy wine. Seeing that Lin Xiucai was about to leave, he hurriedly chased after him: "Xuancai, please stay."

When Mr. Lin heard someone calling him, he turned around and saw that it was the deputy manager of Lihua Manor, which was the largest private estate around the town. It was said that the owner was a nobleman from the capital, and people in the town were honored to work on the estate. This deputy manager was considered a "big shot", and most people in the town knew him.

Lin Xiucai would occasionally set up a stall to write letters, couplets and the like for people in the town. He had written quite a few for the deputy director, so they became acquaintances.

"Deputy Director, you're looking for me?"

"Yes." The deputy director came over with a smile and put his arm around his shoulder. "I need your help with something."

Mr. Lin joked, "Is this time the letter to Cuicui in Xinghua Village or Huanhuan in Yangliu Village? I don't think they can understand my love poems."

"No, this time it's a serious matter." The deputy director lowered his voice and whispered in his ear: "My boss wants you to paint."

Mr. Lin thought he was talking about Director Shang and frowned, "Didn't he say that my painting in a remote and poor village is like a bronze crane that can't fly no matter how strong its wings are?"

"He's just talking nonsense. Why do you still care about it? It's not convenient to talk about it here. Let's talk about it on the way. Anyway, you will definitely benefit from it if it's done."

Mr. Lin then followed him.

After they left the town, the deputy manager said, "You don't know, this time it's not Manager Shang who's looking for you, but a boss who's even more powerful than Manager Shang."

"You mean... the nobleman from the capital?"

The deputy manager looked around and confirmed that no one was around before he lowered his voice and asked, "Do you know who this noble man is?"

Lin Xiucai only knew that the owner of Lihua Manor was of noble status, but he didn't know how noble he was, so he guessed a bit, "Could he be a marquis?"

"Tsk, tsk, it's even bigger than the Marquis's."

Lin Xiucai was surprised, "Could it be the Prime Minister?"

The deputy director said meaningfully: "I'm afraid the Prime Minister will have to bow to our master when he sees him."

Mr. Lin took a deep breath. Apart from the Emperor, the only person with more power and status than the Prime Minister in the capital was the Prince. He knew that the owner of Lihua Manor was of great importance, but he didn't expect him to be so powerful.

He was immediately frightened and stopped, not daring to move forward.

The deputy manager pulled him but he didn't move. He asked in confusion, "What are you doing standing here?"

Lin Xiucai shook his head and said, "I won't go."

"Why?"

"I am afraid of these powerful people in Beijing. I dare not do this."

The deputy supervisor knew that Lin Xiucai was a talented person. He was a famous prodigy in the area in his early years. He could write poems and paint at the age of twelve, and he passed the examination for a scholar at the age of fourteen. Such a person was naturally proud, but when he went to Beijing to take the examination, he offended the powerful and wealthy, which broke his pride and caused him to be unable to recover for so many years.

The deputy director sighed and said, "This matter is not up to you. The princess specifically asked you to paint. If I can't take you there, I'm afraid we won't be able to report to the emperor."

At this point, Mr. Lin had no choice but to follow him to Lihua Manor. But the closer he got, the heavier his heart felt. The humiliation he experienced that year flooded into his heart like a tide, making it difficult for him to breathe.