This reminded Li Chenjiao of something else.
"Let me see this month's accounts. We're almost done for the year, it's time to sort things out."
Li Chenjiao didn't have the time to check the accounts every day, but she would check them once a month, once every three months, and once again during the holidays to check for any discrepancies.
Taking advantage of the free time, Li Chenjiao checked the accounts, marked the red envelopes given to the maids and servants during the New Year, and then looked at the New Year's gifts given to the Second Princess.
She found it too cold outside, so she decided to look at the accounts on the bed, using the ledgers that the maids had kept.
Over the past two or three years, Li Chenjiao has accumulated quite a few good things, but most of them are gold and silver jewelry, and not many of them are actually used by the Second Princess.
Li Chenjiao disliked the messy bed. Two account books were next to the soft pillow. After flipping through them for a while, Li Chenjiao felt dizzy and lightheaded.
She was quite good at checking accounts, but asking her to pick out the New Year's gifts for the Second Princess from these ledgers was really asking her a lot of trouble.
The second princess was still so young, and Li Chenjiao was unwilling to impose her expectations on her.
Li Chenjiao closed the ledger and thought for a moment: "Go count the silver notes in the ledger, and bring a mahogany box. This box of silver notes is the New Year's gift I'm giving to Aman this year."
Even though Qiu Hu knew that her master doted on the Second Princess, she still couldn't help but click her tongue in amazement. This was truly a grand gesture.
Li Chenjiao flipped through a few more pages of the account books. The maids under her were thorough and loyal, so there was nothing wrong with them.
After checking the accounts and thinking about the New Year's gift for the Second Princess, Li Chenjiao was extremely sleepy. She had already washed up, and as soon as she put down the account book, she closed her eyes in drowsiness.
Qiu Hu had no choice but to first take out the New Year's gifts prepared for the Second Princess as instructed by her master, and then she checked the storeroom again.
It wasn't her turn to keep watch tonight. When she came out from inside, Qiu Ci quietly went in and trimmed the lamp wick.
Green Bamboo and Green Plum were gossiping outside. Qiu Ci laughed at the two girls for being silly, squatting in the wind and talking. She forced the two girls to go to the side room and watch over some persimmons.
The persimmon has become increasingly lazy lately, spending its time either in the side room, the inner room, or in the corner of the small kitchen.
Xiao Luzi was free at the moment, but he was concerned about his masters' health. He went to change the charcoal in the Second Princess's room, but was stopped by Qiu Ci at the door.
Qiu Hu gestured: "Keep your voice down, don't disturb the master's sweet dreams. The master has just fallen asleep. You can put me down now and I'll go in and add some charcoal in a little while."
Xiao Luzi is a smiling tiger just like Su Peisheng outside, but he's not a talkative person in the East Courtyard. He just smiled good-naturedly after hearing Qiu Ci's words.
Qiu Hu seemed to be thinking of something, so she looked down and poked at the charcoal fire: "The Little New Year is almost here, I wonder when Master will be back, is there enough charcoal?"
Xiao Luzi said, "I told you last time that you and Qiu Hu were overthinking things. Even if the steward of the backyard had two heads, he wouldn't dare to mistreat our master's charcoal."
Qiu Ci snorted, but did not refute.
The mistress's position as a secondary consort was not hard-won, and with the primary consort like a wolf and Wu Shi watching from behind, she was naturally always on edge.
However, after this ordeal, and observing the behavior of everyone around her during the days that the Fourth Master was away from the mansion, she finally felt a little more at ease.
Qiu Ci remembered something else: "Master has been enjoying pear soup lately, but there aren't many pears left in the kitchen. Go to the kitchen tomorrow and ask if there are any more."
Lately, the master has been spending all his time with the second princess, talking and joking with her, which has really strained his voice.
As Qiu Ci was speaking, she suddenly heard the Second Princess's voice from the side room again: "Oh dear, that little darling is probably crying again because she hasn't seen our master."
Before Qiu Ci could even take a step, the two maids in the side room reacted faster than anyone else, and in the blink of an eye, the two maids disappeared.
Finally, it was naturally Granny Chen who carried the Second Princess, who was covered up tightly, to the master.
Qiu Ci was not surprised and took the opportunity to go in and add charcoal to the fire.
Sure enough, the Second Princess inside stopped crying as soon as she saw her master; her crying just now seemed like she was faking it.
However, upon closer inspection, Chen realized that the tear stains on the Second Princess's face were undeniable.
Qiu Ci added charcoal to the fire and then retreated to the outer room. Xiao Luzi was nowhere to be seen, so she guessed he had gone to the small kitchen.
Qiu Ci smiled, but the smile didn't last long before she suddenly heard a noisy knocking at the door outside.
"Who could it be? Would anyone come to visit at this hour?"
Qiu Ci muttered to herself, and without even opening her umbrella, she headed towards the courtyard gate. Once she was a little further away from the garden, she said, "Stop knocking, our master is resting."
She said this but still opened the door first. Knocking on the door at this critical moment could mean that something important had happened.
The wind and snow continued throughout the night. Qiu Ci shivered and regretted in her heart that she had forgotten to put on a cloak before going out.
When Qiu Ci looked up, she was startled and quickly bowed to greet him.
"This servant greets His Majesty."
Fourth Master's voice was somewhat deep: "Has your master fallen asleep?"
Qiu Ci's heart was bleeding with pain. Why did she blurt out like that? Fortunately, she could tell from her master's words that he didn't intend to leave.
"Yes, I didn't know the master was coming, the concubine had just gone to sleep," Qiu Hu replied cautiously.
Fourth Master waved his hand, showing no sign of reproach. He strode forward, instructing, "Prepare hot water."
Qiu Ci hurriedly agreed, and at this moment she also noticed that the Fourth Master walked by with hurried steps and somewhat "careless" clothes.
The mud on those boots must have come from traveling all night.
Inside, Li Chenjiao was already asleep, with the Second Princess in her arms.
The second princess was quite well-behaved, snuggling against Li Chenjiao's chest and soon falling asleep contentedly.
Fourth Prince had indeed been traveling for several days, and before the Emperor's carriage even arrived in the capital, he and Fifth Prince rushed back overnight.
This heavy snowfall has affected more than just the villages on the outskirts of Beijing; surrounding areas such as Zhili and Shandong have also suffered from snow damage to varying degrees.
His Majesty, with the people at heart, sent his princes to handle the matter on his behalf, even though he had not yet arrived in the capital.
The situation in the capital is relatively better, but with the Emperor absent, more princes are needed to oversee the capital. The Crown Prince is currently ill, and without any adult princes in the capital, it feels somewhat like the capital is without a leader.
Despite his exhaustion, Fourth Master first sat down quietly on the couch in the outer room, without going into the inner room to rest.
He himself found the smell of his own sweat disgusting, let alone the delicate Li Shi inside.
The Fourth Prince rubbed his forehead, silently pondering what he should do tomorrow.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
