Song Chaoyu’s face flushed crimson, all the way to the roots of her hair!
Even her earlobes turned pink, causing Mu Changxi to curve his lips, finally feeling satisfied.
Song Chaoyu quickly pushed Mu Changxi away, giving him a look of exasperation. "Aren't all these troubles caused by you? And now you're blaming me?"
Mu Changxi smiled faintly and pulled Song Chaoyu back to sit. "Are you regretting it now? Marrying me always comes with so many troubles to deal with."
But in truth, Song Chaoyu didn't regret it, at least not yet.
—
When they returned to the Chang Prince’s Estate, they had barely alighted from the carriage when a young servant rushed forward, wailing. "My Prince and Princess, you're finally back! Hurry and take a look! Something big has happened in the estate!"
Something big?
Song Chaoyu and Mu Changxi exchanged a glance, then asked the servant, "Did Granny Jiang cause some trouble?"
The servant looked astonished. "How did the Princess know?"
Song Chaoyu nodded. "Let's go in and see!"
The two of them, with Xiang Rui in tow, entered the estate, while the servant explained what had happened that day.
In fact, the estate had been somewhat chaotic lately.
Song Chaoyu had allowed many people to cause disturbances within the estate, and Granny Jiang naturally had to assert her authority and try to bring order to the estate.
How could she have known that the people Song Chaoyu had "allowed" were all seasoned veterans, not easily dealt with?
It was said that early this morning, Granny Jiang had thrown a huge tantrum.
She had gone to the small kitchen and discovered that some of the wet nurses and maids there had consumed two bowls of premium bird's nest soup.
In any other estate, this might have been resolved with a few reprimands.
But for some reason, whether to establish her authority or not, Granny Jiang had sent her nephew, Shuǐ Shēng, to fetch a plank and had them beaten, those maids and wet nurses who had stolen the food!
Furthermore, she had proclaimed that she had saved the Prince’s life, and that from now on, she would be the one in charge of the estate.
How could those maids and wet nurses possibly be convinced by Granny Jiang?
By noon, naturally, someone had to "stand up" for the beaten maids and wet nurses.
A head wet nurse in the kitchen, known as "Nanny Liang," had directly confronted Granny Jiang, accusing her of not having the right to punish the servants. She demanded that Granny Jiang provide an explanation to the maids and wet nurses who had been beaten.
Granny Jiang, considering herself the Prince's savior, how could she possibly listen to her?
Thus, the two of them began to argue within the estate.
At this point, the servant sighed. "Actually... it wasn't anything particularly major. But Granny Jiang lives in the servants' quarters, right? Her nephew, Shuǐ Shēng, for some reason, seeing Granny Jiang being bullied, directly went and got into a brawl with those wet nurses, maids, and the head wet nurse!"
As soon as Shuǐ Shēng made a move, everyone else in the servants' quarters naturally had to join in.
In an instant, the servants' quarters descended into chaos.
Someone finally managed to call the guards to pull them apart. Now, in the servants' quarters, a group of people were waiting for Song Chaoyu to deal with them.
Upon hearing this, even Mu Changxi let out a cold laugh. "Every single one of them is a handful! What kind of place do they think my Chang Prince's Estate is?"
Just as he was about to go to the servants' quarters, news arrived that the Crown Prince had sent someone to summon Mu Changxi.
Mu Changxi said to Xiao Ruizi, "Make the Crown Prince's people wait, this Prince—"
"Ah!"
His words were stopped by Song Chaoyu. "Your Highness, please go to the Eastern Palace. I'll handle things here."
Mu Changxi frowned. "You... can handle it?"
Song Chaoyu chuckled. "If you don't even trust me, how can others be convinced? This is a matter of the inner court. Your Highness, please go to the Eastern Palace. I will handle it here."
That's right, Mu Changxi realized that he should trust Song Chaoyu.
He nodded. "Then I'll leave this to you."
However, as Mu Changxi turned his wheelchair, Song Chaoyu saw Xiang Rui about to follow him.
"Xiang Rui!"
Song Chaoyu quickly called out to her. "What are you doing? There are so many matters in the estate, you can't just follow the Prince away."
Xiang Rui paused, unable to directly refuse Song Chaoyu.
Song Chaoyu then stepped forward with a smile, taking Xiang Rui's hand. "Since you were sent by His Majesty, you should naturally serve our estate. Let the Prince handle the matters outside. The Chang Prince's Estate is currently swamped with various affairs. If you leave, how can I possibly manage it all alone?"
Song Chaoyu's smiling demeanor left Xiang Rui with no way to refuse her.
After Mu Changxi left, Song Chaoyu took Xiang Rui to the servants' quarters.
In the courtyard of the servants' quarters, after the scuffle involving many people, it was indeed left in a mess!
Song Chaoyu frowned and looked at the assembled crowd. "Kneel down, all of you!"
But the crowd looked at each other, and eventually, they knelt down reluctantly. Only a small portion of them immediately knelt after Song Chaoyu spoke. It was evident that most of them, relying on their status, were not entirely convinced.
Granny Jiang knelt and stepped forward, about to explain to Song Chaoyu. "Princess Consort, please listen to me."
"Enough!"
Song Chaoyu waved her hand and sneered at Granny Jiang. "If matters like wet nurses and servants fighting require my personal intervention, then this estate will truly be in chaos, won't it?"
Under normal circumstances, these matters should be handled by the head wet nurse.
At this moment, Song Chaoyu turned to look at Xiang Rui standing behind her. "This is Miss Xiang Rui. She is a former head palace maid who served His Majesty. These matters will be handed over to Miss Xiang Rui to manage."
"This servant... this servant fears she is not capable!"
Xiang Rui knew clearly that if she took on these responsibilities, she would either be worked to death or entangled in the complex human relationships of the capital, which she did not wish to offend.
But how could Song Chaoyu give her a chance to refuse?
Song Chaoyu covered her mouth and smiled at Xiang Rui. "Miss Xiang Rui, why be so modest? Someone who can serve His Majesty well, surely the affairs of this estate are but trivial matters to you? Miss, just do your best, and no matter what, aren't we and the Prince here to support you?"
Saying this, Song Chaoyu also rubbed her forehead. "I really woke up too early today. I have a terrible headache right now and need to go back and rest. Miss Xiang Rui, thank you for your hard work!"