"So, if this girl is raised in our household, which courtyard will she live in, and how will her allowance be calculated?"
Jiang Yuwei pondered for a moment and then said:
"For now, let her stay in the eldest young master's courtyard. After all, he can't live in such a big courtyard by himself. It will be more lively if he has a close friend to keep him company. Just give her the same allowance as Aunt Xu. Our manor is not short of money. The main thing is to put the eldest young master and that girl at ease."
"Alright, I'll go and give the young master my reply right away."
Jiang Yuwei looked at the last nanny and said:
"Does Aunt Lin even need to come to the Princess to ask about this? The Princess is unwell right now, and she, as a concubine, is putting on airs, trying to be a decorative figurehead. Who would go to her courtyard for no reason? What kind of facade is she trying to maintain?"
Jiang Yuwei paused as she spoke, then, seeing that the old woman's expression remained unchanged, continued:
“Aunt Lin is too unruly. The Princess has not even mentioned repairs to this courtyard, so why is she always making repairs? Let’s reject her proposal. If she insists on repairing it, let her pay for it herself. However, we can only start work after the Princess has recovered. Right now, the Princess cannot withstand any more disturbances.”
The old woman nodded and left.
Seeing that the day's events were finally resolved, Jiang Yuwei sat down in a chair and breathed a sigh of relief. But just as she sat down, Ning Zixuan walked in from outside.
"Did you send me to the Prime Minister's residence for the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet?"
Jiang Yuwei quickly sat up straight, looking at Ning Zixuan with a puzzled expression, and nodded:
"Yes, I think you should attend more banquets like this and get to know those noble ladies better so you can find your Mr. Right sooner."
Upon hearing this, Ning Zixuan clenched his fists and said coldly:
"You don't need to worry about my marriage. I will attend the banquet tomorrow."
After saying that, he turned and left.
Jiang Yuwei watched Ning Zixuan's retreating figure and murmured to herself:
"You're not worried at all? How old are you? You're becoming a source of great anxiety for the princess. Tsk tsk, she won't even let us mention you. Look how angry you are."
After saying that, Jiang Yuwei got up and went into the inner room.
At this moment, the princess also woke up, and her mother was wiping her face with a towel.
"Yuwei, have you finished what you were doing at the front?"
Jiang Yuwei smiled and nodded, poured a cup of spiritual spring water for the princess from the table, sat down beside her, helped her drink the water, and then took her pulse.
The princess's pulse has stabilized considerably, and with fewer things to worry about, coupled with the attentive care of Jiang Yuwei and Wang Ma, her health has naturally improved.
Jiang Yuwei put down the princess's hand, covered her with the blanket again, and began to massage the princess's head.
“Yuwei, Wang Ma just told me that you are a very capable steward. You have arranged everything in the manor very well, and you have done it in a reasonable and well-founded way that no one can find fault with you.”
Jiang Yuwei smiled and said:
"I only have a rudimentary set of skills, and I can only fill in for the Princess for a few days. In the future, the Prince's mansion will still need to be supported by the Princess."
The princess closed her eyes and slowly spoke:
“I don’t think so. I’m already this old, it’s time for me to rest. When the prince returns and we’re officially related, I should hand over the reins of the mansion to you.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuwei simply smiled slightly.
"Then I must learn a lot from the Princess, as there are still many things I don't understand."
The princess patted Jiang Yuwei's hand.
"Take your time, there's no rush. You've already done a great job. Many women who start learning housekeeping from a young age still can't do it as well as you."
After massaging the princess's head, Jiang Yuwei took out the prepared moxa wool to perform moxibustion on the princess. After busying herself for a while, Jiang Yuwei saw that the princess had fallen asleep again in a daze. Only then did she sit down at the table, take out the account book brought by the accountant, and start looking at the account book.
Jiang Yuwei only looked for a while before realizing that the expenses of this Prince's Mansion were too high. To support all the people in the manor, it would cost several hundred or even a thousand taels of silver every month.
Just looking at the flowers and plants in this yard is a considerable expense. The seasonal flowers and plants need to be replaced every month. The empty yard can't be left to waste either; people have to be sent to clean and replace the flowers and plants every day.
Jiang Yuwei then noticed that the kitchen expenses were increasing several times over each month. Logically speaking, the daily food purchases shouldn't cost so much money. Even though the Prince's Mansion used the finest ingredients, it really shouldn't cost this much.
Before coming to the Prince's Mansion, Jiang Yuwei went to the market to buy groceries every day, so she was already very familiar with the prices in the capital. If there were other things that Jiang Yuwei didn't understand, she would definitely not miscalculate this.
If the kitchen expenses were high only in one month, it would be understandable, since the Prince's Mansion often holds banquets for social occasions. However, if the expenses are so high every month, then there is indeed a problem.
Jiang Yuwei put the ledger away separately. It seems she'll have to go check on the kitchen and the small kitchens in the courtyards tomorrow. The money spent should have some effect; money shouldn't be spent like this.
Jiang Yuwei looked at the account books for a while longer before feeling a bit of backache. Seeing that the princess was still asleep, she quietly slipped out and pulled Wang Ma aside to instruct her:
“Wang Ma, the princess’s health has improved somewhat these past few days. Could you please have the kitchen prepare a bowl of white fungus soup for her every day as a snack, so that she can have something sweet to eat?”
Upon hearing this, Wang Ma quickly nodded in agreement.
Seeing that there was nothing else going on here, Jiang Yuwei hurriedly left the Princess's courtyard and went to her own.
Ning Wan needs to be taken care of from time to time, and Ning Zhao is busy studying. Jiang Yuwei doesn't want him to be delayed by taking care of Ning Wan, so she hurriedly went to Jinglan Pavilion.
To his surprise, as soon as he arrived at the entrance of Jinglan Pavilion, he saw Consort Lin standing at the courtyard gate with several maids and servants.
"You bastard, get out of my way!"
Yun Qing bowed and said:
"Aunt Lin, you can't enter this courtyard!"
Upon hearing this, Aunt Lin slapped Yun Qing across the face.
"Who do you think you are? I've been wandering around the Prince's mansion, and I've never heard of a place I can't go."
After saying that, he frowned and kept blowing air into the hand that had just slapped Yun Qing's face.
"Ha, you've got some nerve! That hurts so much! You, stand over there and slap yourself!"
Upon hearing this, Yun Qing gritted her teeth, didn't move, but kept slapping herself in the face with her head down.
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