After rewriting it, Sun, the accountant, said to Gu Shiliu, "I heard that many of the stewardesses have returned their shares to the madam and have gone to add to the sixth madam's share."
Gu Shiliu gave a surprised "Oh," and asked, "What, is Madam Six also buying pepper?"
Accountant Sun placed the brush on the brush mountain, stretched his long neck laboriously, as if he wanted to tell a secret, "Sixth Madam's family has found a way and bought a lot of pepper. Nowadays, pepper in the capital is very expensive, and the Prince Qi's mansion has said that it will not allow anyone to sell it for the time being. Madam has not been able to buy pepper yet. What I mean is, if you want to get rich, you still have to follow Sixth Madam."
Butler Cao glanced helplessly at Accountant Sun, picked up the small teapot on the table, and while sipping water, watched how Gu Shiliu would respond.
Gu Shiliu chuckled and said, "Seventeen is looking outside, how could he not find it?"
Accountant Sun muttered under his breath, "Who can afford to offend a prince?" He then pointed out a silver note and handed it to Gu Shiliu. Gu Shiliu took it, put it in his pocket, and said with a smile, "I trust Madam."
Accountant Sun kept his mouth tightly shut.
Butler Cao moved the spout away and said with a smile, "Sixteen, could you help me find out if Madam still accepts monetary gifts? If she does, I'd like to give one as well."
Accountant Sun hunched his shoulders, pretending not to care, and casually fiddled with the abacus beads.
Gu Shiliu glanced at Accountant Sun, then at Steward Cao, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes, and said, "Alright. Await my news."
Gu Shiba cleared his throat and said, "Naturally, it's because Cuiming discovered that Madam is both foolish and capable. Besides, if Cuiming suspects Madam, who else could she suspect?"
The Marquis put down his teacup and said with a wicked smile, "Why did we all bring this up?"
Qin Yuan also placed the incense shovel on the stove, closed the lid, and went in and out with her head held high.
"Oh~" Hongye drawled, looking at the sycophant behind her.
But Steward Cao's attitude of begging for favors was much worse than Prime Minister Lin's.
Gu Shiba carefully took the money and put it into his purse.
When smallpox started, things became strange again.
Gu Shiba's words shocked everyone. The Marquis was filled with doubt and surprise: "That's what Song Shan ordered?"
The Marquis then asked, "What's wrong?"
Accountant Sun silently moved the abacus beads. Lord Gu continued, "Now that there are few matters outside the manor, the household must obey orders at any time. Don't say you've been too harsh on him. I heard that after the madam took over the management of the household affairs, she checked the accounts of all the stewardesses. Now that the madam is also taking over the management of the inner courtyard, he should hurry up and check the accounts to avoid losing face later."
Hongye originally wanted to avoid Butler Cao, but upon hearing this, her eyes lit up, and she walked away while standing close to the door frame.
Hongye also spoke up.
Have you heard Gu Shiba say that extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures?
The Marquis couldn't help but laugh: "You haven't even gotten your pepper yet, and he's already going around soliciting customers for you."
Song Shan: "..."
Qin Yuan also pretended to be busy fiddling with the incense burner.
But, I must say, that flattery was very satisfying.
In later generations, you also drafted many memorials for Lin Ziqi. You never imagined that even after marrying Gu Jinghui, you would still have to help draft memorials.
The account books in the front yard alone are enough to keep the Lady of the Marquis busy. How could the fire spread to me and the people behind?
Gu Shiba patted his chest and said, "The eldest has a bad memory, so please don't worry, Madam."
Hongye accepted the silver notes, Qin Yuan took the ledger, made a record, filled out the receipt, stamped it, and handed it to Gu Shiba.
Accountant Sun was completely untrustworthy.
Madam Hou is quite young. It's uncertain whether she can even manage the front yard properly, let alone the back yard. Do you think you can manage that?
Seeing that I was taking it to heart, Song Shanming frowned, but didn't say anything more.
The Marquis tapped his slender fingers on the table, thinking to himself, "Gu Shiba is good at talking and getting things done. No wonder he has less face than others when he's with Steward Cao." He then said, "Alright, for his sake."
The Marquis secretly wondered if Steward Cao had sent Gu Shiba to deliver these words before saying that there was nothing else to remind him of.
Both of them wondered what Song Shanming was trying to say, given his awkward demeanor.
Hongye reached out to take it, and looked at the Marquis, waiting for him to speak.
"There's no logic to it, why doesn't he explain?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Shiba was so happy that he didn't know where to put his hands and feet. He grinned and said, "Thank you, Madam. I'll go and talk to Song Shanming about it."
Wutong Garden.
Song Shanming wasn't embarrassed at all.
After Gu Shiliu left, Steward Cao said to Accountant Sun, "Why are you so cunning? The Marquis has already spoken. Who used to have the final say outside the manor? Is it still obvious?"
Hongye sighed, "Eighteen is really amazing. It hasn't been long, and he's already received a hundred taels of silver as a reward for Cuiming."
The Marquis said, "Of course, does my husband have nothing to say to you?"
Gu Shiba glanced at Hongye knowingly. Actually, I thought so too. However, Gu Shiba said, "Cuiming is wise and intelligent. She made mistakes when she was guarding the northern frontier. Song Shan's words about Cuiming are unreasonable."
Song Shanren chuckled and said, "He's really carefree."
The Marquis remained silent.
Hongye sadly lifted the curtain and went to the inner room.
"Madam, those are all the money I'd use for a wife outside, how could that be a big deal?"
After Qin Yuan served the tea, Steward Cao said, "Yuan'er, you and he are husband and wife, cough cough..."
Qin Yuan spoke up.
The Marquis said, "Gu Shiba is working so hard to save up for his wife's future. Who knows who will enjoy that blessing in the future?"
Steward Cao pulled a white memorial from his sleeve, placed it under the table, and said solemnly, "Yuan'er, you want to submit a memorial requesting to be granted a fiefdom, but... a smallpox outbreak in the Marquis of Dingbei's residence is a minor matter. If it is quickly contained, it will be worse. If it can be contained, the Marquis's residence will be absolved of responsibility for the disaster in the capital. That memorial... that memorial..."
Gu Shiba took out seventy taels of silver notes from his pocket and handed them to Hongye, but his eyes were on the Marquis. "Madam, the big man has already received a reward for his work. Can he also contribute a share?"
After flipping through half of the account book, Steward Cao arrived. I sat down in the armchair, and unlike usual, I shifted from side to side. Even though Song Shan was clever, he could guess what was wrong with me.
Hongye interjected softly, "Madam is worried about him, she is worried about Cuiming."
Gu Shiba quickly replied, "This is the usual practice, Madam. Song Shanming also wants to contribute a gift, what do you think..."
If it were in Xiaoying, I wouldn't have a high-ranking official in charge of documents. But now, the worst person in the entire prefecture is the Marquis. The Eighth Prince is a reliable guy, so we can only rely on him.
The Marquis then said, "Let the two of them serve inside. You and Cuiming have nothing to say."
Looking at Gu Shiba's beaming face, the Marquis nodded and said, "Alright, shall we proceed as usual?"
Seeing your smile, Gu Shiba quickly raised his head, his face flushed, and said, "Madam knows, it was just a coincidence that we met. As for the matter of contributing money, neither Shiyi nor Shisi had any intention of doing so privately."
Upon hearing this, Hongye quickly tugged at the Marquis's sleeve and gestured with her eyes.
The Marquis was stunned.
Hongye absolutely has to lift that bar.
Steward Cao glanced at the two maids, lifted the lid of the cup, and focused intently on watching the tea leaves rise and fall inside.
Gu Shiba respectfully went in and out.
Gu Shibei coughed and said, "Is this because we haven't finished our errand?"
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