Yuan Dong came in with a smile on her face, "Princess, the line is moving."
Meng Qi was stunned for a moment, then asked, "You mean, someone contacted Xiao Xizi?"
Yuan Dong nodded. "The secret code Li Mancang mentioned has been revealed. A red rope has been tied to the entrance of the west courtyard."
Meng Qi breathed a sigh of relief. Although she had a good guess that it was Ms. Li, she still needed to confirm it. And after that, she would have to think about how to deal with Ms. Li.
Now, Nanny Hai and Ms. Zhang are both dead. Although Mrs. Bai is not dead, she is said to be dead to the outside world. Now that the news that Ms. Li is gone has spread, it will be a bit eye-catching.
Moreover, Ms. Li is a very scheming person. In the past, whenever Lin or Gong entered the palace, she had many opportunities to follow them. She must have passed on more information or created more trouble in the mansion than Nanny Hai and Ms. Zhang.
"Tell Wang Chenghai to keep an eye on him. Don't alert the enemy yet. I need to discuss this matter with the prince."
Meng Qi hadn't seen Song Chengze for several days. Firstly, he had received the Emperor's order to accompany the Crown Prince daily to help with state affairs. He was supposed to be handling state affairs, but there was no way the Crown Prince would actually hand those over to Song Chengze. All Song Chengze could do was handle minor matters or things the Crown Prince didn't want to offend.
Secondly, whether in the Northwest or Sichuan, Song Chengze has started the preliminary arrangements. There are too many things that need him to decide. Wang Chenghai said that the lights in the study in the outer courtyard are on all night long.
Therefore, Meng Qi did not consult him about all the matters in the inner house. After all, Song Chengze had said that she would make all the decisions. Of course, she did not make all the decisions by herself, because Song Chengze would know all the information she got. Even if he did not care, she would still selectively tell him about it.
There are also areas beyond her ability, which require Song Chengze to step in.
"Is there anything unusual over there at Baochun?" Meng Qi asked.
Yuandong stepped forward and whispered, "No one has gone out of their way to look for her since Luo Lan's visit. I don't know if Madam Hai's death scared her. That day, Madam Hai's daughter-in-law came to sort out Madam Hai's old things and wanted Baochun to take her with her, but Baochun refused. Xiaoyan said that after the incident with Madam Hai, Baochun never left the eldest young master's courtyard at night."
Meng Qi hummed. Was Baochun truly afraid, or was there some other reason? She didn't believe that Nanny Hai's "accident" had anything to do with this girl; she wasn't capable of that. But she should know something about Nanny Hai. After all, she had been working there for so long, and her assignment to the Outer Courtyard was ostensibly something Nanny Hai had requested from Song Chengze.
Meng Qi stood up and looked at the lit red lanterns outside swaying in the wind. According to her thinking, as long as she found something wrong, she would deal with it and not leave a single one alive.
Now she still had Baochun, Lady Li, and Lady Xiaolin in the palace to worry about. After all, the clues behind these three people had not been clearly sorted out. Even if she knew that Lady Li was Prince Cheng's person, she couldn't touch her now. Lady Zhang was dead, and now there was only Lady Li. It was the end of the year, and she would go to the palace more often. It was impossible not to bring Lady Li with her at every turn, otherwise it would arouse the Queen's suspicion.
And who was Baochun, exactly? Could she be from the Xiaolin clan? Meng Qi wanted to assume Baochun was Xiaolin's. That would make it easier to deal with her, but she was afraid she might be wrong. If she dealt with Baochun, it would alert the people behind her.
And the two people who troubled him the most were Xiao Lin and Cheng Qian. He absolutely did not want to get involved in their affairs. However, if he said it so openly, Song Chengze would be embarrassed. So, it would be best to create an accident and let Song Chengze find out himself.
Meng Qi felt a headache as she looked at the piles of account books on the table. In her previous life, as for her dowry, whether it was the shop or the farm, she only collected the money on the due date, leaving the rest to Mama Liu and the others. She only saw the shopkeeper and the farm manager a few times a year. She only knew that Mama Liu managed everything well, leaving her with plenty of money, and she never cared about it.
In this life, since I have made such a plan, I must be clear about the fundamentals on which I will rely for survival in the future.
Her own dowry alone was not enough to give her such a headache. In the afternoon, Zhang Decheng asked a young eunuch to bring several stacks of account books into Jing'an Garden with a smile, saying that it was the prince's intention to give all these to the princess.
Meng Qi was very surprised. Those were the accounts for the inner court. Zhang Decheng explained that since Gong's death, all matters in the inner court had been managed by Madam Hai, Concubine Li, and Concubine Xiaolin. The prince's financial expenses in the inner court were all in Zhang Decheng's hands, with Madam Hai also managing a small portion. Later, due to the incident with her eldest son, Song Chengze took back this power.
Zhang Decheng said with a smile, "These are the prince's account books in the inner palace, as well as the receipts for the New Year's gifts. The prince asked me to bring them to the princess. The New Year's gifts are just around the corner, and it would be helpful to have these old rules to give the princess some advice."
Meng Qi nodded. Song Chengze was very thoughtful. She had never taken care of these things in her previous life, so she naturally had to learn from scratch in this life.
After saying this, he took out two separate account books and said, "This is what the prince asked me to give to the princess. It was originally with me, but I have to take care of the affairs of the prince's outer courtyard, so I really can't be away. Your Highness, please have pity on me. I will trouble you from now on."
Meng Qi opened the two account books and found that they were all the income transactions of the farm and shop under Song Chengze's name.
"Is this what the prince meant?" Meng Qi was surprised. After the Wanshou Festival, Song Chengze asked her to take charge of all the affairs in the inner house and not to think about any agreements.
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