Ye Qingcheng felt respect for the original host for the first time.
"If that's the case, why didn't you defend me before and remained indifferent?"
This time, Xiao Wangye's eyes showed a hint of surprise. "I was also indifferent before!"
Ye Qingcheng broke out in a sweat. How pathetic was this original host!
Xiao Wangye waved his hand, signaling Lin Xiao to push him to the bedside in the inner room. "I just didn't expect you to dare to resist like this today."
Ye Qingcheng followed him into the inner room and saw a large pile of booklets on the table.
Ye Qingcheng was full of confusion. She flipped through the booklets and found that they were all account books, with clear records of income and expenses. Just a moment ago, she was sighing about how clearly everything was recorded! The next second, she heard Xiao Wangye say, "To prevent you from going out to find trouble again, these will be under your management from now on."
"Ah?"
Xiao Wangye raised an eyebrow. "Yu Jian is still locked up in the woodshed. The Prince's mansion should have a steward, a mistress of the household."
Ye Qingcheng was unwilling. She knew that the expenses of the Regent's mansion were originally very troublesome. If she had to calculate them... Oh God, just kill her!
"Then I'll let Yu Jian out!"
Xiao Wangye shook his head. "Her body is too depleted now, and she still needs to recuperate. During this period, you will still be in charge."
"Then why not train someone new!"
Jing Xiu was pouring tea on the side. She carried the tea set and first offered it to the Prince. Xiao Wangye took the tea and blew on the steam. "Training someone also takes time. When I chose Yu Jian, it was only because I saw that she was skilled in business and could read account books from a young age, so I let her be the management aunt."
Ye Qingcheng was choked. Looking at the pile of account books, she had no choice but to take them on with a heavy heart.
Before leaving, Xiao Wangye praised Jing Xiu for brewing good tea and told Ye Qingcheng to learn such elegant arts as flower arrangement and tea brewing.
Ye Qingcheng waved her little fist at his retreating back.
After a long while, Ye Qingcheng had no choice but to pick up an account book and look at it. She had to admit that although Yu Jian was not a good person, she was quite good at her job. The flow of money was traceable and clearly recorded. It even stated what was used in which month and year. At this moment, Jing Xiu diligently brought over an abacus.
Ye Qingcheng's eyes widened. This little girl was probably hoping she would become a steward busy with calculations!
Jing Xiu was still pleased with herself.
"Princess Consort, look, I've brought you the abacus. You must calculate it well."
Ye Qingcheng put her arm around Jing Xiu's shoulders. "Jing Xiu! It's a pity, your master doesn't know how to use an abacus."
Jing Xiu was shocked. "Ah? Princess Consort doesn't know how?"
Ye Qingcheng let go of her and continued to look at the account book. "Yes! Your Princess Consort is just like this! Jing Xiu, go and get some Xuan paper and brushes." Of course, calculations should be done using modern methods!
Although Jing Xiu was confused, she still went to prepare Xuan paper and brushes.
For the past half month, Yu Jian had been locked up by her, so the account books were blank for this period. However, the expenses for each day were marked and traceable.
It was through these gradual calculations that Ye Qingcheng roughly flipped through the account books from a long time ago. There were no unclear expenses. She had to admit that Yu Jian had indeed made great contributions to the management.
As for the other scattered account books, it was just that the people in charge of procurement had inflated the prices and skimmed off some spare money. These were also harmless.
When using people and their needs, one should not be too strict, not giving them a chance to breathe. This way, it would not last long, nor would they be able to retain people.
In this regard, Yu Jian also did a good job, it was just that her personality was not generous and a bit narrow-minded.
Lin Xiao pushed Xiao Wangye to Ye Qingcheng's window. He saw her inside, scribbling on paper, engrossed in checking the account books.
Lin Xiao asked doubtfully, "Your Highness, why are you letting the Princess Consort check the account books?"
Xiao Wangye tapped the armrest of his wheelchair with his fingers, one by one. "I just said that I don't want her to go out and cause trouble again."
"But..." Lin Xiao wanted to say that the Princess Consort hadn't caused any trouble when she went out, but seeing the Prince's sideways glance, Lin Xiao wisely stopped himself.
Xiao Wangye's fingers traced the armrest. "Haven't you seen that the young master of the Liu family has been listless recently? He goes to guard the city gates whenever he has time."
"This..." Lin Xiao found it difficult to speak. This was indeed something the Princess Consort had done, and he had nothing to say.
Xiao Wangye steadied himself, waved his hand, and signaled Lin Xiao to leave.
As they passed by the garden lake, Xiao Wangye asked, "Do you know the identity of the person Ye Qingcheng met this afternoon?"
Lin Xiao reported, "His name is Xu Qingke."
"Xu Qingke?" Xiao Wangye was a little surprised. "Is he the grandson of the Sixth Prince?"
"Yes."
Xiao Wangye hooked the corners of his lips. Then this would be interesting.
Lin Xiao continued to report, "Your Highness, there is one more thing. Xu Qingke is secretly operating a brothel."
Xiao Wangye looked at him sharply, somewhat incredulously. "Is the news accurate?"
Lin Xiao nodded. "The news is accurate. It was reported by secret agents."
Xiao Wangye chuckled. "It seems that our nephew is not simple either!"
It was known that the best place to obtain intelligence was a brothel. The people in brothels were mixed, but most of them were high-ranking officials and nobles. The saying "walls have ears" was not unfounded. It was possible that a few confidential matters had been overheard.
Lin Xiao pushed the Prince back to the courtyard, only to hear the Prince faintly say, "Find an opportunity to expose the identity of the owner behind this brothel."
He wanted to see how the Sixth Prince would protect his grandson.
Lin Xiao accepted the order. "Yes."
As Xiao Wangye had said, Ye Qingcheng could no longer go out to find romance, because she had been checking account books for several days. The expenses for only half a month were so large.
However, it made sense. The Regent's mansion, what a grand mansion!
Jing Xiu brought the brewed tea to quench the Princess Consort's thirst.
Ye Qingcheng drank the tea with a lifeless expression and said in a崩溃 tone, "Now that I'm in charge of the mansion, I only realize that there are about a hundred people in the mansion, big and small." She listlessly held up the account book. "Not to mention the monthly allowances, just the monthly wages alone require an expenditure of over six hundred taels of silver."
Jing Xiu's eyes widened as she heard the figures. "So much money!"
Ye Qingcheng snorted. "This is nothing compared to the expenses of the Prince's mansion. The Prince's mansion alone spends over seven hundred taels on vegetables, not to mention the money for trimming and decorating the trees in the courtyard." She pointed to the white birch tree in her courtyard. "For example, that tree alone cost over five hundred taels of silver."
Jing Xiu was completely numb. "How much?" Over five hundred taels, that was a sum that they, as servants, would never see in their lifetime!
She turned to look at the white birch tree. Just a tree, it was worth so much money?
Ye Qingcheng shook her head as she looked at the accounts. "No, if this continues, we will only be depleting our resources. We need to cut down on expenses."