Chapter 27 Chapter 27 How clever!
Li Shuyao thought so and asked.
Qingyao leaned her hands on the table, supporting her small chin on both sides, frowned and thought for a long time, but still couldn't understand what the emperor was thinking.
In the end, he could only suggest very tactfully: "Why don't you go ask Aunt Lin?"
"That Nanny Lin is the easiest to talk to, isn't she? She definitely won't be mean to you. It's just a simple question, there's nothing to lose."
After saying that, he picked up the milk tea in front of Li Shuyao and took a sip.
——Her cup was taken away by Lingluo long ago.
Li Shuyao saw that she had finished drinking, and naturally reached out to take the cup, brought it to her lips, and gulped down a few sips.
After putting down the cup, she suddenly remembered what Lingluo had said earlier, and her expression immediately became nervous. She pulled all the trays in front of her in front of her, wrapped her arms around them, and then said to Qingyao with a vigilant look, "No, you can't eat anymore. Lingluo said that if you eat too much, you won't be able to sleep at night."
Qingyao stretched her neck and glanced at the empty plates in her arms. Then she said helplessly, "There are only two pieces of peach meat left. I can't eat them."
Li Shuyao was startled and looked down, only to find that she had eaten all the snacks on the plates until only a thin layer of crumbs remained.
Then her face turned red quietly, the blush spread to behind her ears, and the temperature gradually rose.
But even so, she still suppressed her embarrassment, picked up the silver fork, strung together the last two pieces of peach flesh that were about to oxidize on the plate, and stuffed them all into her mouth in one gulp!
Then the white and tender cheeks on both sides bulge like a hamster when eating, which makes people want to touch it.
Guo Luoluo Qingyao, who was sitting opposite, watched with a slightly moved expression and couldn't help but pinching her fingertips.
*
After coming out of Qingyao's room, Li Shuyao held two account books, no, an account book and a diary, and went straight to find Nanny Lin.
Nanny Lin didn't expect her to notice something unusual so quickly, and she was very surprised. "Diary?"
What is that?
Li Shuyao explained it with gestures, saying that it was a small notebook used to record what was done every day.
Nanny Lin immediately revealed an expression of sudden enlightenment: "You mean the daily records?"
Li Shuyao thought it was about the same, so she nodded.
Nanny Lin's face showed a hint of disapproval. "Your Majesty's daily life is recorded by a special record officer every day and compiled into a book. And the record officer basically uses Chinese. Why does he need to write it in Manchu and Mongolian?"
She shook her head, pulled the "account book" back from Li Shuyao's hand, flipped it open and took a look, then asked Li Shuyao: "Do you understand everything?"
Li Shuyao was silent for a moment, then replied quietly, "I specifically asked Miss Guo Luoluo to look at it for me. She knows Manchu and translated it right away."
In other words, there are other smart people.
Nanny Lin couldn't help but look at Li Shuyao with a bit of pity and sympathy in her eyes.
She thought about it and felt that she should explain it to Li Shuyao.
So, while choosing his words in his mind, he spoke slowly: "Actually, this matter was also ordered by the emperor..."
As soon as she started talking, Li Shuyao's eyes quickly turned red.
She lowered her head and grasped the hem of her skirt, twisting it up and down and left and right.
While twisting my body and feeling aggrieved, I knew it was that big bad guy!
Fortunately, she just had a change of heart and burst out with a strong sense of ambition and responsibility. She thought that even if she had to quit her job, she would help him check the accounts and make sure that those bad guys in the Ministry of Internal Affairs get what they deserved.
But who knew that people were coaxing and deceiving her?
It's like a child who has always aspired to go to Tsinghua University and has bought all the five-year college entrance examination and three-year simulation books with great confidence, only to be told by his parents with a smile, "You'd better go roast sweet potatoes."
——That’s roughly the metaphor.
How can I not feel wronged?
I even felt like my conscience had been thrown to the dogs.
As expected, office animals should learn to be bad...
Li Shuyao was lost in thought when she heard Nanny Lin's voice gradually becoming tinged with melancholy: "...During that time, Wen Lin, Fu Xue, Hu Ru, and I, no matter where we went, you always had countless questions to ask."
"Why does the Emperor only like to drink tea that's eight-tenths hot? Why doesn't that palace maid want to go to Shunzhen Gate to meet her family? How much is this young eunuch's monthly salary, and why is that eunuch's monthly salary one tael more than his? They committed the same offense, but why is this palace maid punished more severely and that one less severely..."
"And last time, when I saw Concubine Nianhulu give Chief Steward Liang a purse when she came to the Palace of Heavenly Purity to ask for an audience with His Majesty, you actually asked me if this was a palace custom. If so, how much should be given to a Concubine, how much to a Concubine, and what about ordinary concubines? And has Lady Guo Luoluo ever been given one?"
Nanny Lin said, throwing up her hands helplessly: "How should I know this?"
Even if she knew, how could she possibly tell her?
Li Shuyao was stunned, and the feeling of grievance that was still boiling in her heart suddenly fell to the bottom of the abyss like a waterfall with a croak.
She thought about it carefully and it seemed that she had indeed become more studious during that period.
Isn't it because Manager Liang suddenly pushed her to the position of head maid, making her feel an unprecedented huge pressure?
Li Shuyao slowly raised her flushed face and looked at Nanny Lin aggrievedly: "Just because of this?"
Nanny Lin waved her hand, "But there's more than that!"
She chattered on and on and listed a dozen questions that Li Shuyao had asked her.
Li Shuyao listened silently, her body gradually becoming petrified and her expression becoming stiff.
I couldn't believe that I had asked such a contradictory question before?
She quickly grabbed Nanny Lin's hand and shook it a few times coquettishly, trying to stop Nanny Lin from continuing.
The blush spread across the fair, jade-like little face, from the delicate jaw all the way up, and even the smooth forehead was glowing pink.
The long, thick, curly eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings, blinking several times at a very fast frequency.
Her voice was also suppressed to be sweet and greasy. Because she had just drunk milk tea in the afternoon, there was a faint milky fragrance when she opened her mouth, "Mammy~"
"I already know I was wrong, and I will never ask like this again. Please forgive me this time, okay?"
"Madam, you are the best. No maid in the Forbidden City is as good as you. Please be magnanimous and don't bother with me..."
Nanny Lin raised a helpless smile, and seemed to enjoy listening to Li Shuyao's whole set of coquettish words.
When the little girl let go of her hand with a smile, walked behind her and began to massage her shoulders and back, she coughed lightly and said in a very soft tone: "You said that."
"Yeah! That's what I said." Li Shuyao didn't know what she was referring to, but she thought that if this could make her calm down, she would admit anything.
Nanny Lin pursed her lips and smiled, a hint of cunning could be seen in her usually gentle and calm expression.
She slowly continued, "Let me remind you, when you came, I was talking to Wen Lin and the others in the back room."
Wenlin? Gong Wenlin, Matron Gong?
There are a few more. Could it be that all four great maids are here?
Wait, what did she just say?
——No maid in the Forbidden City is as hello to you.
——The entire Forbidden City.
--Complete.
...Who is she scolding?
Li Shuyao's expression was stiff as she heard faint footsteps coming from behind her. They came closer and closer, and finally stopped behind her one after another. It was like a ghost behind her, emitting a faint chill that made her back numb.
Suddenly, a serious voice rang out: "Shu Yao has really grown up."
"Yes, he even massages Fang Yu's shoulders and back."
"After all, she's the best nanny in the Forbidden City, right? It's only natural that she should be treated with some favor."
Li Shuyao: "..."
Li Shuyao simply fled.
-
But the next day, he still painstakingly prepared an apology gift and went to the other three maids one by one to apologize sincerely.
By the way, she also added a sentence to each of them: "I think you are actually the best nanny in the entire Forbidden City, no, in the whole world!"
The three of them smiled and accepted her gift.
He turned around and showed off in front of Nanny Lin.
Nanny Lin touched her shoulder, smiling even more gently than the other three, and said in a gentle voice, "Isn't it magical? That little girl just gave me a few massages, and today my shoulders feel much more relaxed. I don't feel tired anymore when I look at the account books."
The three maids quickly put on a gloomy face again: "..."
On the other hand, Li Shuyao didn't know that several maids had started an "internal conflict" because of her nonsense.
She deeply reflected on her previous behavior of being easily obsessed with learning, and decided that it would be better to "rule by doing nothing" in the future.
Then he sorted out the several account books sent by the Imperial Household Department and sent them back to the Imperial Household Department intact.
As for the diaries that the emperor threw to her, she found a very delicate purple wood box with carved animal patterns, put them in, and locked it. She planned to take them out and show them to Qingyao when she gave birth to a baby and the baby was five or six years old.
Look, your Khan said he could shoot two deer when he was five years old.
What a braggart!
…
Palace of Heavenly Purity.
Upon learning that Li Shuyao already knew the truth about the "account book", the emperor showed a rare interest. He threw down the brush in his hand and asked Liang Jiugong, "How did she figure it out?"
Liang Jiugong replied with a smile, "I heard that he showed the booklet to Miss Guo Luoluo, and she recognized it."
The emperor was somewhat surprised to hear this, "Guo Luoluo also knows Manchu?"
Liang Jiugong nodded. "Ms. Guo Luoluo is from the Manchu ethnic group and must have studied it since she was young."
The emperor said nothing, but compared the two men in his mind and felt that his previous judgment was correct.
This Li Shuyao is just a vase, only with decent appearance. She has none of the qualities of being well-read and elegant.
Thinking of this, Li Shuyao's delicate little face like a snow lotus appeared in his mind at the right time. He paused for a moment, but had to admit that just with this appearance and that simple and naive character, she had already won over many people in the palace.
If I could teach her...
His mind moved slightly.
-
After solving the issue of the account books, it felt like a huge stone had been lifted from my heart.
Li Shuyao no longer thought about sharing the emperor's worries.
After all, she has little influence and is not a professional match. How could she have the ability to help the emperor investigate the case?
Another thing was that when she went to apologize to the maids, she accidentally overheard some of their conversations and knew that the reason why Nanny Lin was impatient to answer her questions was because the emperor had already handed over the task of thoroughly investigating the Ministry of Internal Affairs to them.
I'm so busy that I don't have time to take care of a naughty child like her.
That's why I deliberately gave her a fake account book. It's the same as when a mother makes dumplings, she often throws a piece of dough to her naughty child to play nearby.
Li Shuyao didn't want to be a naughty child, nor did she want to cause trouble to the maids, so she learned to shut up, talk less and watch more.
In addition to normal work every day, I teach Yueshu calligraphy.
...To call it teaching is actually a bit of a stretch. After all, the characters she knows are basically modern simplified characters. As for the traditional characters used in the Qing Dynasty, she can only say that she can read them but can't write even a little bit.
So rather than saying that she taught Yueshu to read, it would be more appropriate to say that the two of them studied together.
As for the teacher, Guo Luoluo Qingyao is the only one who can be qualified for the position.
Fortunately, apart from accompanying the emperor, she does not have any extra work, so she is more adept at taking care of the "child" than the other maids.
Half a month passed in an orderly manner.
Li Shuyao received her second paycheck in her life. Suppressing her excitement, she returned to her room and counted the money. Suddenly, her heart skipped a beat. "Why is there two taels missing?"
She didn't do anything wrong, why should her salary be deducted!
That’s a full two taels!
Enough for her to eat ten plates of snacks!
Li Shuyao paced back and forth in the room angrily, not knowing who to settle the score with.
At this moment, someone suddenly knocked on her door.
Li Shuyao quickly swept all the silver on the table into the drawer, closed the drawer, stood up and walked to the door to open it.
Standing outside the door was her second best sister Yueshu.
Yue Shu looked like she had been crying, her eyes slightly red, but her expression was extremely excited. She shouted incoherently to Li Shu Yao, "I, I, I, how come I also have Yue Yin?"
She remembered that she had only been in the Ganqing Palace for less than a month. According to the palace rules, this month's salary should be paid according to the monthly salary she received when she was a palace maid, which was only half a month's salary.
Then she would have to wait until this time next month to collect her monthly salary share for the month and half month in the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
Yue Shu was so excited that she didn't even notice the ambiguity in her words.
Li Shuyao quickly pulled her in, covered her mouth, and whispered "hush" to her.
This silly child, doesn’t he understand the rule of not showing off his wealth?
And the most taboo thing in the workplace is that employees disclose their salaries to each other!
After Li Shuyao pulled Yueshu into the house, she looked outside nervously for a few times and found that there was no one in the yard. Only then did she feel a little relieved.
She closed the door again, pulled Yueshu to the inner room, sat down on the chairs, and then reached out her hand and rubbed Yueshu's pretty and round little face.
After rubbing it for a long time, he reluctantly let go and asked Yue Shu seriously, "How much did you make?"
Yue Shu touched her face and answered obediently: "Ten taels."
Li Shuyao seemed to be thinking about something. That was a little less than her, but compared to other palace maids in the Qianqing Palace, it was more than double.
Li Shuyao also told Yueshu the amount she owed. Yueshu widened her eyes exaggeratedly, not knowing how to measure with her hands. Finally, she muttered in a daze, "Eighteen taels! That's so much?"
"How can it be more? I had twenty taels last month!" Li Shuyao puffed up his cheeks in frustration.
"Twenty taels!" Yue Shu repeated it louder, and finally said, "I've been in the palace for a whole year, and I only took home twenty-four taels..."
What?
Li Shuyao frowned and looked at her.
Yue Shu was unaware of her confusion and smiled foolishly, holding her face. "But it will be fine in the future. If I can earn ten taels every month, I can take eight taels home. One month is eight taels, two months is sixteen taels, three months is twenty-seven taels, four months..."
"Wait, wait," Li Shuyao couldn't help but stop, "How can three months be 27 taels?"
She remembered that Yue Shu was illiterate and therefore probably couldn't do math, so she simply gave the correct answer: "Three months should be twenty-four taels."
"Oh, that's twenty taels. It used to take a year to send twenty-four taels home, but now it only takes three months," Yue Shu said, and then happily asked Li Shuyao, "Then help me calculate how much silver I can take home in a year?"
Li Shuyao:?
She usually has to think about it for a while if the number is above double digits.
So I looked up at the ceiling. Twenty-eight and sixteen...
He lowered his head and said to Yue Shu in a decisive tone, "Ninety-six taels."
"Ninety-six!" Yue Shu's voice was filled with uncontrollable excitement. She couldn't help but stand up and jump a few times, and the velvet hairpin on her head trembled in the wind.
Yue Shu finished her excitement, and with a red face, she looked at Li Shuyao. Then, like a small cannonball, she rushed into her arms, buried her head in Li Shuyao's chest, and said with a very touching tone: "Shuyao, thank you!"
Li Shuyao: "..."
She raised her hand to hug back, then grabbed Yueshu's arm and pushed her forward, pushing her away from her.
Her hibiscus-like cheeks were slightly red, showing shyness.
She was embarrassed for a long time, and Yueshu finally calmed down from her excitement, and the two of them sat down again holding hands.
Li Shuyao poured her a glass of boiled water and pushed it towards her, "Drink some cold water and wake up."
Yueshu said "Oh", took it without hesitation, and drank it all with her head tilted back.
Li Shuyao took the opportunity to ask her: "Why do you want to take the money home? Is your family very poor?"
That shouldn't be the case. Yue Shu was born into a Manchu military family, so her family background shouldn't be too bad.
Yueshu didn't know what Li Shuyao was thinking. She now regarded Li Shuyao as her benefactor, so she naturally had no answers to her questions. She chattered briefly about the situation at her home.
—An alcoholic father, a seriously ill mother, an uneducated brother, and a woman on the verge of breaking down...
After listening to this, Li Shuyao clapped her hands with a wooden expression. All the elements are complete!
It’s a pity that this is a palace fighting novel. If it was a domineering CEO novel from the old days, wouldn’t the heroine be a naive little white flower?
Li Shuyao was still sighing when she heard Yue Shu continue to speak with tears in her eyes -
A year before she entered the palace, her father fell into a river drunk at night and drowned; her mother also passed away from illness not long after, leaving only her younger brothers, who were entrusted to the care of her eldest uncle...
Hearing this, Li Shuyao couldn't help but interrupt: "Brothers?"
Yueshu held up three fingers. "I have three younger brothers, all of whom are still growing up. My uncle said they need to eat five meals a day, three big bowls each. At first, we had chicken, duck, and fish for every meal. Later, when we ran out of money, we had to go to the mountains in the suburbs to dig wild vegetables... So my brothers never had enough to eat. From five meals a day, we suddenly had to eat seven. My uncle said he was about to sell his children..."
As Yue Shu spoke, her voice gradually lowered, and if Li Shuyao was not mistaken, the expression on her face should be one of deep guilt.
Li Shuyao:?
What on earth is Yueshu feeling guilty about?
She believed such an obvious lie?
She said, "Have you ever thought that your uncle might be lying to you?"
"That's impossible, Shu Yao, you don't know. When my uncle came to visit me, he brought his two children with him. They were my cousins. They were starving, skin and bones. Their clothes were washed white and had several big holes in them."
"On the other hand, my three younger brothers, although a little thin, have fair faces and hands, and their clothes are more respectable."
"You can tell at a glance that they are being well taken care of."
As Yue Shu spoke, she seemed to be moved by what she said. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she clenched her fists with a determined expression, as if she was about to join the Party. "So from then on, I vowed to work hard, eat less, and save more money, so that I could take more money back to repay my uncle and his family."
The more Li Shuyao listened, the more she felt something was wrong. She was about to pull out a National Anti-Fraud Center app and ask Yueshu to download it.
Just as the words were about to come out of his mouth, he suddenly remembered that he was in the Qing Dynasty and those things didn't exist yet.
She calmed herself down and asked, "How old are your uncle's children this year?"
Yue Shu pondered for a moment and said, "This year, one is about seven years old, and the other is five years old."
Li Shuyao asked again, "Where are your brothers?"
Yue Shu: "The youngest is ten, the oldest is fifteen, and the one in the middle is thirteen."
Li Shuyao: "When was the last time you saw your uncle's child?"
Yueshu thought about it and said, "It was probably when they were just born. I went with my mother to drink the full moon wine together."
Li Shuyao smiled at her and said, "So how can you be sure that the pair of children you saw at the side entrance of Shunzhen Gate are definitely your uncle's children?"
Yueshu: ...
Her expression went blank for a moment.
Thinking about what Li Shuyao said, my heart suddenly trembled.
She said in disbelief, "Shu Yao, you, you mean to say that my uncle lied to me?"
"But those two kids are so skinny and look so pitiful!"
Li Shuyao pursed her lips and pointed out sheepishly, "There's a very famous slum on the outermost edge of the outer city, and there are many children like this in it."
She knew all this probably because in the original novel, Uya had a trusted eunuch who came from the slums in the outer city. He lost his parents when he was young and had struggled all the way. He had snatched food from dogs and fought with beggars who were more than ten years older than him.
Finally, he was put into a sack and was intended to be sold to another place. Fortunately, he was smart and found a chance to escape. On the way, he accidentally made his way to the inner city and happened to see someone in the palace recruiting eunuchs in the inner city.
After hearing that being a eunuch could give him enough food, he made up his mind and signed up.
…
Yue Shu was still a little reluctant to believe it, and murmured, "But, but my brothers are really doing well. They are plump and clean. Although their clothes are not brand new, compared with my cousins, at least they don't have holes..."
Li Shuyao felt a little sorry for her when she saw the panic-stricken expression on her face, but the child was so stupid that she would not learn a lesson unless she felt some pain.
She remembered that when she was little, she didn't like to eat, but her parents were cruel to her and starved her for two meals before she became obedient.
After mentally encouraging herself, Li Shuyao clenched her fists and continued to coax her: "When you met them, it should have been within the first two months after you entered the palace, right?"
Yueshu nodded slowly, slowly.
Li Shuyao continued, "So, the reason they looked fine back then was because you took such good care of them after your father and mother passed away. The credit goes to you, don't you understand? And once you entered the palace, even if they were mistreated at your uncle's house, it wouldn't show on the outside for a while."
She paused, suppressing her sympathy and reluctance, and continued, "Another thing, since your uncle wants to defraud you of money, he must not go too far at the beginning. He must save face no matter what. Otherwise... what if you don't want to give me the money?"
After receiving her first salary, Li Shuyao also took a good look at the prices of goods at that time.
——Take the most ordinary family of five as an example. Their annual expenses will definitely not exceed twenty taels, and basically hover between ten and fifteen taels. Such a living standard is already relatively high in the outer city.
In addition, Yueshu's family came from the Manchu military flag, and although they were only bondservants, they could receive a certain salary every month.
Yueshu entrusted her three younger brothers to her uncle, which meant that her uncle could receive three more heads of salary. At the same time, Yueshu worked hard in the palace, providing a steady stream of money for his family...
Thinking of this, Li Shuyao looked at Yueshu with more loving eyes.
But she also knew that Yueshu could not be blamed entirely on herself. People who want to do bad things can always find excuses to do bad things.
She took advantage of Yue Shu's daze and pulled her up from the chair, saying in a tone that did not allow for argument: "Let's go find Qingyao!"
"Let Qingyao vent our anger for us!"
Yue Shu: “…”
She finally came to her senses, and her first reaction was to pull her hand out of Li Shuyao's palm with all her strength. She looked panicked and frightened, "Qingyao, how can Qingyao help me vent my anger..."
Should I tell the Emperor? But how could the Emperor possibly ask about this matter just because of a little maid like her?
Furthermore, she was also afraid that if Qingyao spoke up for her, it would affect her image in front of the emperor. What if the emperor thought she was too petty and no longer liked her in the future?
Having already harmed her three younger brothers, Yueshu refused to harm anyone more.
So after retracting his hand, he squatted down with his hands on his knees, and said pitifully and helplessly: "I won't go, and you don't have to go either. Don't tell Qingyao about my affairs. I don't want her to be sulking because of these things."
"...It's only twenty-four taels, no big deal. I get ten taels a month now, so I won't give them any more. As for my brothers, I'm thinking, could I spend some money and find some people outside the Forbidden City to steal them away from my uncle's house and find somewhere else to house them?"
As she spoke, she raised her head and looked at Li Shuyao with questioning eyes.
Li Shuyao: "..."
She took a deep breath. "Your brothers are still young. How are you going to accommodate them? Buy them a house? Buying a house in the capital is very expensive. Even if you sell yourself, you can't afford it... You can't send them to the palace to become eunuchs."
"Besides, stealing is against the law! What if your uncle reports it to the police?"
Yue Shu silently hugged herself tighter.
Her gaze looked from bottom to top, revealing a bit of grievance and longing. When she looked at Li Shuyao, she was like a poor puppy getting wet in the rain.
Li Shuyao couldn't even get angry.
He could only reach out and grab Yueshu's wrist and pull it for a while. His attitude was very clear. He had to go find Qingyao and talk to her today.
But Yue Shu squatted on the ground and refused to move. Finally, she simply hugged a table leg in Li Shuyao's room and said in a hoarse voice: "You, don't go. Let me think about it again. There will always be a way."
"Don't think about it, I have a way, just trust me!" Li Shuyao turned his back to her and just focused on pulling her hands hard.
But Yueshu didn't believe it and thought Shuyao was trying to trick her into going to Qingyao.
Qingyao and Shuyao have the same temperament. After hearing this, she will only be angrier than Shuyao... Calling her stupid is a small matter, but what if the emperor is alarmed by this matter?
Then Qingyao will fall out of favor.
This is unacceptable!
Li Shuyao held her breath and pulled for a while, thinking that she had used so much strength, even if there was a cow behind her, it would have to be pulled by her to stand up and walk a few steps.
Why can’t I pull it?
She breathed a sigh of relief like a pufferfish, and her puffed-up cheeks quickly deflated and turned a little red.
He turned his head and was almost amused by Yueshu's posture.
But she probably understood Yueshu's feelings, so she let go again, stood there thinking for a moment, and said to Yueshu: "I swear, I will only tell Qingyao, and I won't let her go to the emperor, okay?"
Yue Shu still shook her head with a look of vigilance.
Apart from the Emperor, she couldn't think of anyone else who could help her...
Just as this thought came to her mind, Li Shuyao's voice suddenly rang out, with a hint of confusion and faint resentment: "And, most importantly, there's no need to alarm the emperor about this. Have you forgotten what Qingyao's father does?"
"There are also several brothers in Qingyao's family. They are all strong and powerful. If they just go to your uncle's house, your uncle will be scared to death..."
"It's obviously a very simple matter, how can you make it so complicated with your little head?" Li Shuyao twisted her face and sighed heavily.
She never imagined that one day she would be able to surpass Zhuge Liang in wisdom and strategy.
How clever!
She was almost admiring herself!
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