Even now, Liu Shi had not left. Li Chenjiao looked at Liu Shi with a faint smile on her face and asked, "Is there anything else you want to say, Liu Gege?"
When asked by Li Chenjiao, Liu first curtsied respectfully: "Considering that Consort has just finished her confinement period, she should not worry too much. If Consort is unable to attend to matters, this servant may be able to help."
After she said this, Li Chenjiao opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Niohuru, who had just stood up to leave, gave Liu a cold glance: "Gege Liu has managed the household, and knows all this? But even Consort Wu didn't stay, you're quite shameless."
Niohuru spoke much less politely than Li Chenjiao.
Liu was completely bewildered. Why was Niohuru looking at her with such hostility all of a sudden? But Niohuru's words had indeed left her speechless.
Li Chenjiao guessed that it was probably because she had pulled Niohuru's arm earlier that Niohuru spoke up.
She paused for a long time before finally managing to say in a muffled voice, "Then this servant will not stay here and cause trouble for Consort. This servant will take his leave. Consort, please take care of yourself."
Liu's words were quite comprehensive.
After Li Chenjiao and the others left, she didn't rush to ask the steward standing to the side what she was talking about. Instead, she first said to Qiu Hu, "Later, call the stage manager of the opera troupe over. I have something to say to him."
She had already sent Green Bamboo to reward him with silver, but while the reward was given, a warning was also necessary. A combination of reward and punishment is the proper way to manage subordinates.
Granny Lin agreed.
Today, Li Chenjiao revealed a side of herself that she doesn't usually show.
However, the fact that Li Chenjiao has never shown it doesn't mean that she doesn't understand these things.
Just as the Fujin learned these household management skills from her mother, Xilin Jueluo, since childhood, Li Chenjiao naturally learned them from her mother as well.
However, for Li Chenjiao, since she became the Fourth Prince's concubine, she had not forgotten these methods of managing subordinates and stewards, but she had no intention of showing them at all.
She simply devoted some effort to managing the servants in her own garden and that was about it.
Li Chenjiao's decision to step forward at this moment was naturally based on her own considerations.
The head maid had been standing by for who knows how long. After giving all the instructions, Li Chenjiao finally gave the head maid a proper look.
"What are you still standing here for, Granny? That cat has been running around and smashed quite a few cups. How much did it cost? Did it hurt any servants or maids? How are we going to appease it? And what should we do with the cat? Are you waiting for me to give you all these instructions? I've already said what I wanted to say. Whether you consulted the Princess Consort or made your own decision is none of my business. I'm not one to interfere in these matters. I'll head back now."
Li Chenjiao has always done things this way: once she gets something done, she does it, but she never does it completely.
After all, some things were not her responsibility to decide or arrange. She didn't have to do everything that wasn't her responsibility, but she wouldn't skimp on what she was supposed to do.
After saying this, Li Chenjiao stood up gracefully.
The head maid was stunned by these words, her mouth trembling as she spoke: "Second...Second Madam...you, you..."
Li Chenjiao had already stood up. She glanced back at the head maid, a smile on her face, but her words were as cold as a sword: "What's wrong? Does the Princess Consort think that having the head maid in charge means she's just there to eat and watch?"
The head maid choked up again, and subconsciously said, "Of course not..."
Li Chenjiao composed herself and snorted coldly, "Then what's the point of saying anything more?"
She walked straight past the head nanny, took Lin's hand, and headed out. Before leaving, she left a message: "Oh, by the way, invite the stage manager over after the opera troupe has finished lunch."
Li Chenjiao was helped out of the Qingyuan Courtyard by Lin Mama, and she leaned against Lin Mama as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders: "As expected, this job of being in charge is not so easy to get..."
Upon hearing this, Granny Lin laughed: "Just now, the master seemed quite imposing. When this servant and that maid, Green Bamboo, came in, we were both stunned."
Li Chenjiao's face had long since lost its frosty expression. Upon hearing Lin Mama's words, she smiled first: "Is that so? A steward must act like a steward. Being too gentle won't do, but being too harsh will easily cause trouble. Finding the right balance is always the most difficult thing... As for me, I can't do this job."
After she finished speaking, she shook her head helplessly.
Hearing this, Granny Lin shook her head in disagreement: "You see things so clearly, how could it not work? It's just that your mind isn't on these things."
The mistress and servant exchanged a glance, and Li Chenjiao smiled first: "Let's just say it's as the old woman said."
In reality, she did have reasons for being too lazy to deal with these things, but it wouldn't be wrong to say that her mind wasn't on them.
Li Chenjiao handled today's farce quite well.
However, there was one thing that Li Chenjiao chose to overlook: the cat named Tanzhu that suddenly darted around.
When the chief eunuch Wang Jinzhong gathered the cat in the main courtyard, Li Chenjiao saw Tanzhu's cat eyes; they were as beautiful as its name.
Cats and dogs don't understand those things. Those cats and dogs that can be kept around princes and princesses are naturally very docile. There's no reason for them to go crazy.
Li Chenjiao didn't have anyone investigate the cat, but she could guess that perhaps the cat ate something wrong or was frightened...
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