“No, Your Majesty…” the Marquis hurriedly tried to object, but the Emperor waved his hand to interrupt him, “Cousin, there’s no need to say anything more, my mind is made up.”
The Marquis sighed, thought for a moment, and said, "If anyone asks, the Emperor will surely say that it was my suggestion."
The Emperor laughed, “Now that my cousin has entered the palace, I will conscript the sons of noble families into the army. Even without me saying this, everyone can guess who the culprit is.”
The Marquis laughed, "Yes, I was confused too."
After exchanging a few more casual words, the Marquis said, "Fu Niu'er is still in the manor, I'll head back now."
The Emperor remembered the basket of melons and immediately said, "The other day, Suzhou presented us with a lot of fine fabrics. Pick some to take back and make dresses for Fu Niu'er."
The Marquis didn't stand on ceremony at all and replied, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Steward Yi, with great tact, entered and, with a smile, led the Marquis outside.
When some eunuchs and palace maids tried to serve the emperor fresh tea, the emperor waved them away.
The emperor, with his hands behind his back, paced back and forth in the room, calculating the number of descendants of each noble family and which family he could squeeze the most money out of.
Although he had many concerns earlier, once he made up his mind to do something, he would not go back on his word.
Moreover, he was the emperor, worrying every day about the empty treasury, while those aristocratic families lived extravagantly and indulged in a life of debauchery.
Since they enjoy the blessings that ordinary people cannot enjoy, they should naturally also suffer the same hardships as ordinary people!
He paused halfway through his calculations, then burst into laughter, muttering, "Cousin, still the same cousin, hasn't changed at all!"
The Marquis brought more than a dozen fine pieces of fabric, boarded a carriage, and returned to his residence.
Those officials waiting to be summoned outside the palace gates couldn't help but feel envious.
Someone said, "The Marquis of Xinting will probably soon be called the Duke of Xinting. It is truly rare for the Emperor to have such high regard for him."
“Yes, the Marquis of Xinting commands tens of thousands of troops, and this time he has returned victorious. Naturally, the Emperor will show him even greater favor.” Another official echoed.
But some people said sourly, "I heard that this expedition suffered heavy casualties, with 800 of our own men losing 1,000 of the enemy's men. How can that be considered a victory? A victory won with so many lives lost could have been won by anyone in command!"
The other two didn't dare to interfere and quickly changed the subject...
Leaving aside their gossip, let's just say that the Marquis's carriage left the palace gates.
The Marquis slowly closed the carriage window only after the eaves of the palace disappeared from sight.
The purest feelings are those formed when people are children.
As we grow up, this friendship will inevitably change.
His six-year-old cousin, the prince, would trust him completely.
However, his cousin, the emperor who possessed the Heavenly Martial Arts, would be suspicious and wary of him.
So, let bygones be bygones.
At all times, it still comes down to self-interest.
Just like today, with enough benefits, even the emperor would willingly be used to help him deal with the Wu family...
Inside the main courtyard of the Marquis's residence, dozens of account books were piled up, and the shopkeepers and managers of various shops were waiting outside the door.
Inside the room, Jiayin, along with Shuiling and Shuiyun, and the head housekeeper, had been working away on the abacus for half an hour.
Finally, five ledgers were selected.
Jiayin said, "Uncle Steward, there's something wrong with these account books. The amounts are incorrect; at least one of them is off by more than two hundred taels."
The head steward had just finished calculating one book, and his expression was really bad.
He often gave these managers and shopkeepers a warning, fearing they might become greedy. Moreover, the Marquis's mansion paid them high wages, and they also received a share of the profits from the shops at the end of the year.
Who would have thought they would still do such a stupid thing!
With a dark expression, he walked to the door and beckoned all the shopkeepers and managers to come inside. Then he called out the shopkeepers of the five shops whose accounts had problems.
The five shopkeepers, feeling guilty, naturally looked uneasy, but when they saw that the person sitting in the main seat was a little girl of a few years old, they mustered their courage again.
If they were to face a marquis, they would immediately beg for mercy and atonement.
But a little girl... they still have a chance.
One of the shopkeepers chuckled dryly and was the first to ask, "Princess, is there anything you need to instruct this old servant?"
“Yes,” Jiayin answered readily, taking a pastry and eating it as she spoke. “Your ledger is short three hundred and eighty taels. Just give it back. When your godfather comes back, I’ll plead for you. He won’t punish you and will even let you go home to retire.”
The shopkeeper's face darkened, and he retorted coldly, "Your Highness is joking. This old servant has served the Marquis's mansion for thirteen years, and has been the shopkeeper for thirteen years as well. There has never been a problem with the accounts. Why is there a problem when Your Highness checks the accounts?"
"If Your Highness doesn't like this old servant and wants to replace him as manager, just say so. As long as the Marquis nods, this old servant will immediately give up his position."
"Insolence!" The head steward glared at the shopkeeper and shouted, "Who gave you the audacity to speak to the princess like that? The Marquis has already given instructions that everything in the Marquis's mansion is decided by the princess. If the princess wants to replace you, why would she need to make up such an excuse!"
"That's hard to say. After all, the princess's surname isn't Ye. She probably wants to replace this old servant and find someone with the surname Li to take over." The shopkeeper was also stubborn, and perhaps because of his seniority, he spoke very rudely.
Everyone thought the princess would get angry or even cry, since she was just a child and couldn't possibly keep her composure like an adult.
But they were all wrong. The princess continued to eat her snacks with a smile, not angry at all.
She raised her hand, pinched the ledger between two fingers, and tossed it to the shopkeeper, saying, "On page 20, the balance is 18 taels and 6 mace, but when it comes to the last page, it becomes 10 taels and 6 mace. Where did the other 8 taels of silver go?"
The shopkeeper's expression changed. He took the ledger but did not open it, replying, "Perhaps this old servant has misread it."
"You made a mistake once, you made a mistake twice, are you sure you'll make a mistake ten times?" Jiayin patted the crumbs of pastry on her hands, looked at him seriously, and said, "Fine, even if you made a mistake, that's possible. But you're in charge of the restaurant. In the summer, eggs cost three coins for two, so why are they five coins each on your purchase order? It's impossible that you bought more and the price was higher, right? It's not just eggs; the prices of pork, mutton, fresh fish, and all kinds of vegetables are much higher. How do you explain that?"
The shopkeeper finally realized he was scared and started falsifying purchase invoices to make extra profit—a tactic he'd been using for years.
He never expected that a child of only a few years old would expose him.
"This, this..." He couldn't find an excuse for a moment, but Jiayin was impatient to waste any more words on him.
If they don't appreciate the courtesy, then don't bother offering it anymore.
"Uncle Steward, give this man twenty lashes, tie him up, and wait for my godfather to return and deal with him."
"Yes, Princess." The head steward was also angry; these people's stupid actions were a slap in his face.
As they were talking, a guard was called over, grabbed the shopkeeper's arm, and dragged him outside.
The other shopkeepers were terrified; their faces turned deathly pale.
Just then, the Marquis returned from the palace.
The shopkeeper, as if seeing a savior, rushed over, crying, "My lord, save this old servant! The princess is going to kill this old servant!"
Served at midnight~~
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