At lunchtime, Songkelierha changed into a light blue embroidered qipao with butterflies celebrating spring. Her hair was styled into two small buns with openwork gold thread. On the tassel, she wore a cloisonné headdress with auspicious patterns and a single gold bead earring.
"Little darling, thank you so much!" All of Songkelierha's clothes and jewelry have been delivered, along with the things that Yin and Yingenjueluo needed.
Qingyan informed the shopkeeper early on to speed things up as much as possible. The shopkeeper prepared some new items and asked the embroiderers to work through the night to make them.
“Sister-in-law, it’s only right that we sisters-in-law help each other out.” Qingyan smiled, knowing that Yin and Yingenjueluo felt awkward staying here and had specially ordered someone to speed things up. They should be able to get everything sorted out in a day and a night. “I heard from Fourth Fourth that you can go back tonight!”
Last night, Yin sent Su Peisheng to personally direct the servants to clean the courtyard thoroughly.
"My dear, thanking me too much makes us seem distant!" Yin Genjue Luo Shi felt a growing sense of care from Qing Yan, a feeling she had never experienced even from her own family.
In the afternoon, Qingyan sat side by side with Lady Yingenjueluo in the courtyard, where servants knelt. The servants in the accounting office were all very afraid. They knew a little about the Fourth Princess Consort's ability to read the account books. In just one day and one night, she had almost finished looking through all the account books.
Qingyan slammed down her teacup, and the quiet atmosphere gradually turned into a tense one. Some of the timid maids had already collapsed onto the bluestone ground of the courtyard.
"Everyone is having a great New Year, with new clothes and plenty of money," Qingyan said coldly.
Yin Genjueluo only stayed by Qingyan's side, helping to keep things under control.
"We servants wouldn't dare!" The accountants understood that Qingyan was truly enraged. The deficit in the accounts was not caused by them, but by the descendants of the imperial family.
Qingyan stared intently at the head accountant; his dejected expression struck her as odd.
Could there be something more to these things on paper?
“Little darling, is there something wrong? This person doesn’t look like him to me!” Yin Genjue Luo asked, leaning to one side.
Qingyan shook her head: "I don't know for now, we have no way of judging."
"Why don't we ask Eshuo?" Yin Genjueluo thought it best not to wrongly accuse someone.
Qingyan beckoned to Sulan and whispered a few words in her ear, asking someone to inquire with Eshuo.
"Steward, before the master left, he entrusted the courtyard to you, didn't he?" said Lady Yin Genjue Luo.
"Yes!" the steward quickly replied, bowing his head.
"Why has the courtyard become like this?" Yin Genjue Luo was furious; her courtyard was basically unusable.
“This servant is guilty. During the New Year, the princes of the imperial clan were dissatisfied with the preparations for the naval port and wanted more. This servant tried to dissuade them, but they said that they were entitled to these things, and that the royal family had forgotten about them and the princes’ possessions.” The steward said with his head bowed. “Lord Eshuo was in the Fourth Prince’s tent, so those people dared not say anything, and went to Prince Zhi’s courtyard.”
The steward was puzzled that these people dared not act recklessly in Lord Ulanara's courtyard.
Therefore, only those in Prince Zhi's courtyard became cannon fodder, and even if these servants wanted to stop them, they couldn't.
"How dare you! Who started this?!" Lady Yin Genjue Luo was furious. How dare these servants be so insolent.
The stewards dared not say much. They could not afford to offend either the royal family or the princes of the imperial clan, so they could only resign themselves to their fate and try to please everyone.
"Sister-in-law, leave these matters to Master. I don't think it's a big deal!" Qingyan glanced at him. "Steward, where are Prince Zhi and Fourth Master now at the interrogation site?"
After Qingyan finished speaking, he glanced at Bayan and told him to stay with the steward in case he escaped on the way.
Bayan chuckled coldly. This steward was quite amusing, daring to challenge the Fujin's authority at this time.
As soon as the steward left, the servants present all lowered their heads and dared not even breathe loudly.
During the New Year, the head steward issued orders, and his authority was not much less than that of Lord Eshuo.
After their masters returned, the difference in their status became too great.
"Where is the head accountant?" Qingyan asked coldly.
The deputy steward knelt on the ground, trembling, and replied, "The steward's mother passed away before the New Year. She entrusted everything to this servant and then went home for her funeral!"
"Little darling, the head accountant wrote a secret letter to the master to apologize, but didn't the fourth master receive it?" Yin Genjue Luo Shi thought Qing Yan knew about it.
Qingyan shook his head. The steward probably thought that the two brothers would communicate, which was why he wrote a letter.
"The group is leaderless?!" Qingyan sneered, looking down at the kneeling deputy steward. "Who copied these ledgers?"
Qingyan threw the several account books on the table directly in front of the deputy steward.
"It's the accountant. These are all things the princes of the imperial family need during the New Year. Before the Prince of Zhi and the Fourth Prince left, they instructed us to prepare some firecrackers and the like for those princes. The servants didn't prepare well, so these princes went to buy them themselves. The extra items are separate purchases!" All the servants in the military port had a prosperous New Year, and these princes bestowed all the prepared items upon their subordinates.
Qingyan was both angry and amused upon hearing this. The servants, on the other hand, believed that the gifts were bestowed upon them and had nothing to do with them.
"You guys had a really good New Year, you bought double the amount of stuff, didn't you?" Qingyan sneered.
"We dare not, those gentlemen do not use these rewards, so we have no choice but to accept them!" the deputy steward quickly said.
"How much are these things worth?" asked Yin Genjue Luo Shi.
"We've bought everything worth about 100,000 taels of silver for the New Year!" Qingyan looked at the account book, her head throbbing with anger.
Yin Genjue Luo said helplessly, "You should submit a detailed list."
The deputy steward quickly pulled out the lists from his wide sleeves. He always carried them with him, afraid of losing them and being unable to explain himself.
Su Lan personally took it and handed it to Qing Yan.
She flipped through the pages and found detailed records in every single one. However, the amount spent on firecrackers alone reached a staggering 50,000 taels.
"Sister-in-law, these people are quite something, take a look!" Qingyan placed the list directly in front of Ying'en Jueluo Shi.
Yin Genjue Luo looked at Qing Yan in surprise. "This works too?"
"How could there be so much?" Lady Yin Genjue Luo knew that even a prince's mansion wouldn't have such expenses for the New Year.
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