Song Chaoyu's words made wet nurse Jiang beam with joy.
She kept waving her hands at Song Chaoyu, "No, no, no, it's not tiring! This old servant returned to the prince's side to serve the prince and princess, how could it be tiring?"
"That's good then."
Song Chaoyu raised an eyebrow, deciding to dig the "pit" deeper, "Our prince is in the capital now, and countless eyes are watching us.嬷嬷, you must not make any mistakes, lest these maids and servants ruin the reputation of our prince's mansion. So no matter what method you use, just make them obedient and loyal. I'll say it upfront, if due to your poor management, these maids and servants develop arrogant intentions, then I..."
"Naturally, it will be this old servant's fault, and this old servant is willing to accept punishment!"
Without Song Chaoyu having to say more, wet nurse Jiang assumed she was incompetent and useless and relied on her.
So, wet nurse Jiang patted her chest and guaranteed to Song Chaoyu, "This old servant will surely train these maids and servants well for the prince and princess!"
"That's good."
Song Chaoyu smiled and nodded at wet nurse Jiang, "Everything will be entrusted to you, wet nurse Jiang!"
Wet nurse Jiang happily took the steward's waist token and left, her smug look as if she wanted everyone in the prince's mansion to know that she was now the steward nanny.
Song Chaoyu turned back and said to Qiu Qing, "You spread the news. First, exaggerate wet nurse Jiang's merits, so that everyone in the mansion knows that she is someone who constantly boasts about saving the prince's life."
Qiu Qing also sneered, "I'm afraid no one will be convinced, right? A life-saving grace from so many years ago, is it worth boasting about every day?"
Song Chaoyu nodded, "Secondly, spread another meaning. Say that in this mansion, the capable ones work harder. She is now the steward nanny, but it doesn't mean she will always be. As long as someone is capable, they will naturally be reused."
"This servant understands!"
Qiu Qing nodded, "Princess, please rest assured, this servant will convey the message properly without letting anyone know that it is your intention, Princess. However, our prince's mansion will likely be in a commotion next!"
"Good, let there be commotion!"
Song Chaoyu was not worried at all, "Only when there is commotion can we find their faults. As long as we find their faults, it will be easy to dismiss them! My prince's mansion is not a place to indulge these lords and ladies. If they do well, they can stay. If they don't do well, they will all be dismissed with an excuse. I believe those who work diligently will not go to such extremes, don't you think so?"
Qiu Qing understood Song Chaoyu's intention and immediately went to give instructions.
—
Song Chaoyu was not idle either. Now that she had just arrived at the prince's mansion, there were always many things to handle and deal with.
She was busy until dusk when Mu Changxi returned from outside.
Seeing that the mansion was now completely renovated, and the main hall was no longer so gaudy, but instead decorated by Song Chaoyu in a simple yet luxurious manner.
Mu Changxi's lips, involuntarily curled up.
Entering the backyard, he saw Song Chaoyu still busy.
From the mixed flowers and plants in the front and back courtyards, even in front of the sleeping quarters, there were two large flower beds.
Now Song Chaoyu had people move away the flower beds, creating an open space.
At this moment, she was having people move a year-round evergreen camellia tree to that open space, and a set of white marble tea tables, bestowed by the Empress Dowager, were placed under the tree.
Just seeing this scene made Mu Changxi begin to imagine himself and Song Chaoyu sitting under the camellia tree in full bloom, drinking tea and admiring the flowers in the future.
As soon as Song Chaoyu had people move the camellia tree, she instructed them to place white pebbles in the small flower bed around the tree. She turned around and saw Mu Changxi appear behind her silently in his wooden wheelchair.
Song Chaoyu was startled, "Why didn't you have someone announce your return? Are you trying to scare people?"
Mu Changxi gestured for everyone to retreat, then pushed his wooden wheelchair forward himself, took Song Chaoyu's hand, and sighed, "Coming back now, I finally feel like this is what a home should look like! Ayu, you've worked hard."
It seemed that when they were together in the manor before, Mu Changxi would not have spoken such polite words.
Song Chaoyu was indeed a bit tired, so she simply sat in front of the newly moved tea table and smiled at Mu Changxi, "You just haven't put your mind to these things. You go out every day these past two days, is something going on?"
Mu Changxi's brows furrowed slightly, "I'm afraid... I'll have to go to Haizhou."
Song Chaoyu knew that what was causing a stir in the imperial court a few days ago was the flood in Haizhou.
Prince Ning incited the ministers to recommend the Crown Prince to go to Haizhou to oversee disaster relief, but both the Crown Prince and Mu Changxi knew that Haizhou was Prince Ning's territory. This trip would likely put the Crown Prince in danger.
Moreover, it was now the time for the autumn harvest, and the situation of the autumn harvest for the year needed to be reported from various regions.
If the Crown Prince could not be in the capital, this matter would naturally fall to Prince Ning.
Then the Crown Prince would lose the initiative, and Prince Ning's plan was indeed well thought out!
In fact, Song Chaoyu thought that for the sake of the Crown Prince, Mu Changxi would volunteer himself.
She nodded, "When do we leave? Who should I bring?"
Mu Changxi did not expect Song Chaoyu to accept so quickly. There was a hint of apology in his eyes, "Originally, I should have gone alone. However, the Empress Dowager said that you are to stay by my side, so you will probably have to go to Haizhou with me."
Song Chaoyu nodded, "That's fine. I haven't been to Haizhou yet anyway. I've heard that the customs and traditions of the southern coastal areas are very different from here. It's great that the Prince can take me to experience it."
Yes.
Mu Changxi had long known that Song Chaoyu was such an optimistic person.
No matter how big the matter was, it seemed to be no big deal to her.
"However..."
Song Chaoyu was still a little worried, "Your prince's mansion is already in a mess. I'm afraid that once we leave these two days, it will be even more chaotic when we return."
Mu Changxi had no other good solution, "Let it be chaotic. Anyway, the Empress Dowager praised wet nurse Jiang for saving the master today. You might as well hand everything over to her to handle and manage. Let her compete with those maids and servants who already have ulterior motives. When we return, we will deal with them all at once!"
He knew after all?
Song Chaoyu was a little surprised, "You mean... you don't plan to protect wet nurse Jiang?"
Mu Changxi let out a cold laugh, took Song Chaoyu's hand, and pushed the wooden wheelchair into the room, "Back in the Southern Kingdom, she said she saved a life, but in fact, it was just that everyone was caught in a whirlpool in the sea. If she truly had intentions later, why didn't she come to my side? Now that she sees me returning to the capital, she spreads the merit of saving me all the way. Can't this prince and my mother see her little intentions?"