At this moment, Green Chrysanthemum agreed with a face full of gratitude, and her words were very eloquent.
"It is my honor to be able to take care of the young master. I will serve him with utmost loyalty."
Li Chenjiao didn't say much: "Alright, just serve me faithfully from now on."
The four maids agreed in unison once again.
Li Chenjiao waved her hand and went inside, followed by two maids who went in to serve her.
Granny Lin was still tending to the two pots of green chrysanthemums outside when she saw the four maids looking at each other, unsure of what to do, and smiled.
"Go and pack your things first. From now on, everyone will have their own responsibilities. There's still room in the back room next to Qiu Hu and Qiu Ci, but you'll have to pack there first."
The four maids then agreed.
As Lin Mama watched the four maids walk away, she sighed, whether with a sigh or a sense of melancholy, "And there's still more to see."
Judging from the current situation, the concubine clearly doesn't consider these four maids as part of her own people. The tasks she assigns them are all ones that can be kept under her watchful eye.
However, in Lin Mama's eyes, such an arrangement for the concubine was naturally the most appropriate. After all, she was a servant who had just come to serve in the East Courtyard. Although there is a saying that one should not doubt those who are useful and should not use those who are not useful, which maid who came from the Imperial Household Department did not have a past of serving noble people?
Even Lin Mama herself, when she first arrived at the East Courtyard, didn't she also suffer a long period of neglect?
If a servant wants his master to trust and value him, he needs to provide proof.
Lin Mama naturally agreed with this approach. However, she had not yet fully gained her master's trust, so she would take this opportunity to keep a close eye on the four new maids who had arrived in the East Courtyard.
Wasn't Madam He, who was from the main courtyard, being kept under her watchful eye?
The east courtyard below was like an iron barrel, and no one could get in.
Originally, the main courtyard intended to use the two cooks they had planted to make their move, but they found that they couldn't even speak to Madam He in the east courtyard, let alone send messages.
In the end, the Fujin and Granny Qian could only turn their attention to Princess Wu in the South Courtyard, or rather, to the First Prince.
——
As for the Fourth Prince, the Ministry of Revenue has been relatively quiet lately. The Rehe Imperial Palace has already been completed, but the Changchun Garden in the western suburbs of the capital is in some disrepair. The Ministry of Works needs money for repairs, and the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works have been arguing about it these past few days.
This matter was neither too big nor too small, and the Fourth Prince had no need to get involved. He listened to the Minister of Revenue and the Vice Minister thinking about squeezing money from various sources without saying a word.
Seeing that no one knew how long the discussion would last, the Fourth Prince said expressionlessly, "Please discuss first, and then we will send someone to inform Yinzhen when we have finished."
After saying this, the Fourth Master cupped his hands in greeting and left his seat.
Judging from Fourth Master's back, he seemed to be unhappy with what he had heard.
But when Fourth Master returned to his office, the icy look on his face had vanished, and he spoke casually as he sat down.
"Serve tea."
Su Peisheng had also figured things out by now, and bowed to ask, "The Emei Snow Bud tea that the Crown Prince sent over a few days ago was quite good, so should we use the same one today—"
Fourth Master gave Su Peisheng a cold look: "You're doing your job better and better these days. You even need to ask me what kind of tea you use?"
Su Peisheng hurriedly said he dared not.
As Fourth Master watched Su Peisheng retreat, he suddenly said, "Wait. Send the other jar to your Master Li in the East Courtyard when you return to the manor."
Li Chenjiao loves green tea, but used to love Pu'er tea the most. When she's in a happy mood and can't drink tea, she likes to drink things like goat's milk.
After my postpartum period, although I still love drinking Pu'er tea, I also enjoy drinking some green tea on ordinary days.
The Emei Snow Bud tea leaves are straight and beautiful, resembling bamboo leaves, with a tender green color. After brewing, the tea soup is clear and bright, slightly yellow and light green, with a fragrant aroma.
The two jars of Emei Snow Bud tea sent by the Crown Prince are among the finest, reportedly new tea from the Emei Tea Garden this year.
Su Peisheng has been going to the East Courtyard to deliver things countless times lately, more than he can count on two hands.
Although Su Peisheng was used to the Fourth Master's habit of sending good things to the East Courtyard, he still couldn't hide his surprise.
Good heavens, those are tribute items, even the master didn't have them. I heard that the Crown Prince only received four jars.
That's only because their master and the crown prince had a good relationship, which is why they got two jars.
However, the tea leaves were rare, so Su Peisheng never let Fu Lu, who was so clumsy, serve tea. He would carefully consider how to brew the tea himself.
Right now, the master is sending one of the jars to Master Li in the East Courtyard without even blinking an eye. What a great favor this shows!
Su Peisheng knew that Master Li of the East Courtyard was favored, but he was still waiting to see what would happen when the new bride arrived next year.
Master Li is currently favored, but that's only because there's not a single person in the Fourth Prince's household who's easy to deal with; it's like choosing the tallest among the short.
However, it seems that's not the case now.
Indeed, given Master Li's appearance, even when Consort Xie was around, she couldn't overshadow him, could she? Let's wait and see.
Su Peisheng withdrew, but when he returned with the tea, he brought one more thing with him.
"Master, Lord Qin has instructed me to bring you the list of officials promoted this year from the Ministry of Revenue for your review."
Lord Qin, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, is a smooth and shrewd man.
Clearly, the Minister of Revenue and the two vice ministers on either side couldn't figure out the Fourth Prince's attitude after he left, so they used this trivial matter to see if the Fourth Prince was angry.
Fourth Master was naturally not angry. He raised his hand and said, "Bring it here."
There weren't many changes among those with higher official positions, and the Fourth Prince briefly flipped through the first few pages.
The promotions and changes each year are not too big. Who wouldn't want to be a stable official in the capital? After all, once you are transferred to a post outside the capital, it will be for three years. Moreover, there is only one position available. Once you are transferred outside the capital, it is not easy to return to the capital.
Fourth Master flipped through the pages and found that most of the officials were being transferred to the Ministry of Revenue. It was rare to see one being transferred out of the ministry. Although it was a promotion, it was not as good as staying in the Ministry of Revenue and waiting to accumulate seniority for a promotion.
Fourth Master took a closer look at the man's place of origin and other details.
Upon seeing that it was a familiar place of origin, Fourth Master paused for a moment, then quickly looked down again.
Upon catching a glimpse of the inscription "Father is the Prefect of Jiaozhou, Shandong," Fourth Master knew who this person was.
However, despite working in the Ministry of Revenue for a long time, it seems that Fourth Master had never actually met Li Chenjiao's brother.
Moreover, in Fourth Master's memory, Li Chenjiao never mentioned it. She only mentioned in casual conversation at night that she had an older brother, but she never mentioned that her brother also worked in the Ministry of Revenue.
It's unclear whether Li Chenjiao entered the mansion early without anyone knowing or if she wanted to avoid suspicion.
Now that Fourth Master knows of this person, he will inevitably pay more attention to him.
When someone from the other side came to say that they had reached an agreement and asked the Fourth Master to make the decision, the Fourth Master listened for a while, pointed out a few unclear details, and then mentioned the person named Li Fuhuai before leaving.
The Vice Minister of Revenue quickly realized that the Fourth Prince had asked the question after seeing the roster.
The Left Vice Minister, not understanding the Fourth Prince's sudden question, only vaguely mentioned Li Fuhuai's character.
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