“My lord, my brothers born out of wedlock aren’t very capable. I’m not their Aladdin, and I won’t grant them any request they make.” Lanqin immediately said upon hearing the Fourth Prince’s words. She felt that it was not a good thing for the Fourth Prince to start arranging things for his wives and brothers before even accomplishing his grand plan.
"Aladdin's lamp? What's that?" Fourth Prince felt a warmth in his heart. Although he didn't know what Lanqin meant by "lamp," he understood what she meant. It was that she shouldn't use her princely privileges to arrange jobs for relatives with little ability.
“Um, it’s a Western myth. Legend has it that there is a lamp that can grant any wish. Although I am their sister, I do not wish to be such a lamp, nor can I allow you to be such a lamp for my family,” Lanqin said.
Fourth Master knew that the young woman was always careless about small things, but never careless about important matters. He didn't want some women to try to install their own people after they gained power.
The next day, Lanqin gave the Second Princess a lampshade; the others didn't have one yet and had to wait to have it custom-made at Wang's shop. Fourth Master had already agreed to let the Second Princess start helping Lanqin with some matters, so Lanqin asked Nianxue to invite her over. Since the incident where she fell into the water, the Second Princess had basically never come over for a meal, even though she lived very close to Lanqin, only a few hundred meters away. Lanqin, feeling she shouldn't be unworthy of Fourth Master's offspring, didn't want to hold a grudge against the Second Princess.
After listening to the steward's report on recent events, the Second Princess followed Nianxue over and happened to see Lanqin listening to the steward's report.
"Greetings to Consort Lanqin!" The Second Princess had grown even taller and gave Lanqin a proper greeting.
"Second Princess is here, please sit down and listen to what's happening!" Lanqin gestured for Nianxue to help her up and sit down to the side.
The head of the main kitchen in the manor was reporting on the quantity of vegetables and fruits recently delivered to the Fourth Prince's residence, as well as the amount of money spent. Lanqin read as the head of the kitchen spoke, and Lanqin would occasionally ask a question, which the head of the kitchen would answer.
After all the reports were finished, Lanqin gave a few instructions, and the managers from each department bowed and left.
"Second Princess, did you notice anything amiss in what you just heard?" Lanqin turned her head and asked the Second Princess.
"No, they explained everything clearly, and there are even accounts. There shouldn't be any problems, right?" The Second Princess was happy to hear that the Fourth Master had asked her to help Lanqin manage some household affairs. This showed that the Fourth Master valued her highly, and that the family he had chosen for her was better than that of the First Princess and the others.
Lanqin said, "No, if you want to manage the household, you first need to understand the market situation. For example, if you buy a batch of cabbages, do you know the market price of cabbages? Otherwise, if these purchasing people deliberately inflate the prices and collude with the accountants, how will the master of the house find out?"
The second princess stirred and said, "The accountants and the procurement staff are different people. They are all servants. As long as the master can manage these people well, there's no need to worry about them turning into monsters!"
Lanqin nodded and smiled, "You're right, but sometimes profit is the most tempting thing in the world. As long as they have common interests, they dare to collude and deceive their masters. So the fundamental solution is that the master must also understand the market prices. For example, if you know that a pound of cabbage costs ten coins, but the accountant writes it as thirty coins, and then the purchasing agent quotes you thirty-five coins, then in reality, twenty-five coins are taken by them privately."
The Second Princess hadn't expected such a seemingly simple matter as purchasing vegetables for the kitchen to involve so many intricacies, and she couldn't help but feel a little nervous. As a pampered young lady who rarely left her home, how would she know the prices of vegetables outside? If she were to marry into the Nian family and be responsible for such matters, she would be completely bewildered. Although it seemed like a small matter, it was indeed a matter of vital importance to the livelihood of the entire household. If one area wasn't managed well, the servants in other areas would also be quick to sympathize, and they would band together to hope for their master's approval, because their master was easy to deceive!
"I never imagined such a small matter could have so many intricacies. Erlinzhu has learned a lot. Thank you for telling me, Consort." The Second Princess was genuinely grateful to Lanqin for this lesson. Before, when she was with the First Princess, she had never been taught these things. The governess hired by the Fourth Prince only taught her some principles of interpersonal relationships and the general principles of being a daughter-in-law and wife, and never touched upon such trivial matters.
"No need to thank me. In another year, you will be getting married. Since your father has entrusted you to me, I also have to take responsibility for you. I hope that after you get married, you and your husband will live in harmony and everything will go smoothly," Lanqin said. "Why don't you start with this most ordinary but practical little thing? From now on, you will be in charge of the income from vegetables, fruits and meats in the kitchen, as well as the income from each person's own money."
Second Princess didn't expect Lanqin to take care of these things for her right away. Although she was grateful to Lanqin, she was also a little wary of her because her impression of her couldn't have changed so quickly.
"Well, is it that you dare not, or that you don't want to?" Lanqin knew that the Second Princess had something to worry about when she saw that she did not agree but hesitated.
“No, it’s because Erlinzhu feels she has no experience at all. For example, I don’t even know how much silver a pound of cabbage costs. The concubine entrusted these matters to me. Erlinzhu is afraid she won’t be able to manage them well,” the Second Princess said. She even suspected that Lanqin deliberately entrusted these matters to her so that she would make mistakes and ruin the Fourth Prince’s impression of her.
Well, some people just like to judge others by their own standards. Lanqin guessed at the Second Princess's little scheme. She sneered inwardly, suppressing her displeasure, and said to the Second Princess, "It doesn't matter if you have no experience, as long as you are willing to learn. It's not that difficult. If you don't know the market prices, just go out of the manor for a day or two to learn about them, talk to the common people at the bottom of society, and you'll understand immediately. I won't hand it over to you right away; I'll let you handle it completely once you've gotten the hang of it."
When the Second Princess heard Lanqin say this, she felt a little relieved. After thinking for a moment, she got up, curtsied, and indicated that she would go out to check the market prices first.
After the Second Princess left, Nianxue couldn't help but say to Lanqin, "The Second Princess is so ungrateful. The master meant well by letting her learn to manage the household, but she only suspected the master's intentions."
Lanqin picked up a cup of tea, took a sip, and said, "Forget it, she's still Master's daughter. She'll be getting married next year, why should I argue with her?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
