Hearing this, the wife was stunned for a moment.
Everyone around believed that since Duke Anguo was going to return to the northern frontier, Liu should go with him - after all, not only did her son Sheng Huaichen plan to go, but her wife, daughter and grandchildren had already settled there for many years.
While living in the harsh and cold place, the master had become accustomed to having Liu by his side.
Noticing the other party had fallen silent, seemingly lost in thought, Hai Shang decided to add, "The outskirts of the Great Wall are remote and have a harsh climate. Aunt Liu, who has endured countless hardships there, should stay in the capital to recuperate and enjoy the peace and quiet she deserves."
Through this sentence, Hai Shang expressed her own point of view and also hoped to seek better arrangements for the woman who had been working hard for many years.
This sentence made the Duke's wife's eyes light up - if Liu could be kept in the capital, she would be able to better monitor and control her.
This is a way to solve the problem without appearing too contrived, but actually implementing this plan will require some effort.
Of course, realizing this plan requires not only careful planning, but also convincing the master to agree.
Therefore, she had to consider it more comprehensively to avoid causing unnecessary trouble.
After weighing all the possibilities, her brows involuntarily furrowed slightly, and she was obviously feeling a bit troubled by this.
So, she cautiously began to probe, "I heard the Second Miss is of marriageable age. Why doesn't she go to the capital to find a suitable man? Could it be that the family intends to arrange a marriage for her directly at the border?"
Her words may seem like simple questions on the surface, but in fact they cleverly provide a possible strategic direction for implementation.
Seeing that the other party had understood her hint and did not show any displeasure or opposition, Hai Shang immediately realized that she had hit the key point.
To avoid offending the noble, she hastily explained, "This servant is truly rude. It's not right to discuss such important matters. But regardless, no matter who will be accompanying the Lord to the Northern Territory, we must make preparations in advance to ensure a worry-free journey. At the very least, we should be aware of their respective preferences so we can arrange their meals, and the specific list of kitchen staff should also be finalized as soon as possible."
"You are quite right. This matter should indeed be dealt with immediately."
After hearing these words, the wife of the Duke was obviously very satisfied.
"Madam Mei, please call Cui Mingying over immediately. From now on, she will be responsible for selecting the appropriate recipe and arranging the cooking."
Such a decision means that finding a suitable replacement is urgent.
How to effectively prevent Liu from following the team northward can be discussed in detail later, but the most important task at hand is to select someone who can take on this important task as soon as possible.
Thinking of this, the Duke's wife chuckled gently, and then signaled Mother Mei to reward Wen Zhu with an exquisite silver ornament as a reward for her useful advice today.
After receiving this unexpected surprise from Aunt Mei, Hai Shang bowed and took her leave with tears of joy and gratitude.
Watching her retreating figure, Aunt Mei smiled and commented, "Wen Zhu is truly a clever woman. She always does things to the point."
"Indeed," the eunuch's wife nodded solemnly, agreeing, "I can see that she sincerely hopes Liu won't return to Saibei so easily."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Mei, the old lady who had been accompanying him, also whispered her opinion.
"In my opinion, you should have taken measures to restrain that ignorant woman a long time ago, otherwise I'm afraid it will cause more trouble sooner or later!"
A glimmer of determination suddenly flashed in the eyes of the mistress of the mansion, and her previous mentality of not wanting to fight with the concubine seemed to be quietly changing.
After all, Liu's behavior in recent days has become increasingly intolerable. She has even openly challenged her authority as the mistress on many occasions. Now, perhaps she really can only take the initiative to deal with it.
Let’s not talk about how the Duke’s wife will be arranged for now.
Not long after, a piece of news came from the palace that shocked the entire court: a large-scale epidemic suddenly broke out in the Jiangnan region.
When the emperor learned about this, he attached great importance to it and immediately ordered a group of capable imperial doctors to rush to the epidemic area to provide emergency treatment. He also asked local officials to fully cooperate and initiate various response measures to prevent the spread of the epidemic.
Upon hearing the news, officials from all over the country responded to the emperor's call and quickly organized forces to join the epidemic prevention work.
Although the disease caused by this outbreak is not fatal and the number of direct deaths is small, most of the infected people are generally weak and need a long time to recover.
This directly led to a significant decline in the effective work efficiency of the labor force. Many people had to temporarily put down their work and go home to recuperate or take care of their families, which greatly affected local production capacity.
The result is that Jiangnan, a nationally renowned textile and agricultural center, has seen a sharp drop in product output, and the phenomenon of supply and demand imbalance in the market has become increasingly obvious.
As supplies became increasingly scarce, daily necessities and agricultural products, which had previously had stable prices, began to show varying degrees of price increases, and some commodities even experienced a situation of looting.
At this time, Wen Zhu seized the opportunity and decided to sell off all the high-quality cloth that had been stored in his warehouse for a long time.
With her keen business sense and good grasp of market changes, she finally cleared out the inventory in just a few days, successfully earned a large profit, and brought rich returns to the family.
At this time, the variety of goods in the store is no longer as monotonous and scarce as before. Although the number of customers has decreased compared to the peak period, thanks to the good foundation laid in the early stage and the accumulated loyal customer base, the overall sales performance still remains at a good level.
Overall, the store has returned to a state of sustained profitability, and the operating income figures recorded in the account books are also very impressive.
Originally, Fu Yu didn't have much expectations for this small shop run by his sister.
However, one evening, as he returned home from his official duties, he unexpectedly heard his butler's excited report: "Master, you're truly foresighted! We previously stockpiled a lot of handicrafts from the south, and we've taken advantage of this surge in prices to sell some of them. Our tea and porcelain sales are also booming, and we've achieved unexpectedly good results!"
"According to the latest intelligence, the situation in the southern region has been effectively controlled. I believe that the prices of various commodities will gradually return to normal soon. Then we can take the opportunity to purchase new goods at low prices to replenish our reserves."
As he spoke, the steward who had been with the Sheng family for a long time bent down and saluted his master, respectfully and proudly expressing his suggestions.
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