Chapter 167 Counting
A cold autumn rain.

It was the season when the ginkgo leaves in Shangjing City were rustling and falling. The taverns and teahouses along the street were bustling with people, all talking about the Empress Dowager’s seventieth birthday celebration. Carriages from various countries also came into the capital in an endless stream, and the post stations were crowded and busy.

When autumn begins, winter is not far away.

At the west corner gate of Prince Duan’s Mansion, servants were moving the newly made silver-thread charcoal into the warehouse.

Xue Yuechen sat under the eaves of Muyue Residence, checking the account books with a slightly frown on his face.

“This year, the price of charcoal has increased by 30%.”

She looked at the cinnabar annotations on the paper and sighed to Xue Sui who was brewing tea beside her: “The Western Frontier is now in turmoil, and the Xizi people have been causing trouble in the capital recently. In my opinion, this war is inevitable. Even the expenses of the Empress in the palace are being cut…”

Having said this, she sighed heavily.

“This time the prince was resourceful. He conducted a thorough investigation of the Ministry of Revenue and added tens of millions of taels to the national treasury. He was very much applauded.”

Xue Sui smiled lightly, “The affairs of the Heavenly Kingdom will be taken care of by their ruler and ministers. We just need to live our own lives and prepare for a comfortable winter.”

Xue Yuechen prepared charcoal and cut new clothes in Prince Duan’s mansion, and she took care of everything carefully. Seeing her laziness, she could not help but scolded, “You are becoming more and more idle…”

Before he finished speaking, the doorman sent someone to report that Princess Ruihe was coming to the mansion again.

Xue Sui paused for a moment, smiled, and said nothing.

Xue Yuechen’s face darkened.

“I wonder what excuse you’re going to find this time…”

During these days, Ruihe visited Prince Duan’s palace three times.

Once he hand-copied Buddhist scriptures, once he brought medicinal food, and once he asked Xue Sui for loquat paste to relieve his cough.

Every time I visited, Li Huan was not at home.

She always spoke in a dull tone, talking about the past events in the palace or the customs and practices of Longyou. Xue Yuechen accompanied her in a perfunctory manner, and every time he prepared a small nanmu table, put some fruit on it, and asked Xue Sui to make tea nearby, in order to get rid of this rather impatient reception.

The relationship between the two sisters is much closer than usual.

Xue Yuechen completely relied on and trusted Xue Sui, and would consult her on all matters, big or small, in the mansion.

Everyone inside and outside the palace said that the princess was kind-hearted, but the concubines in the palace’s backyard had a very hard life.

The prince was busy with government affairs all year round and rarely cared about the affairs of the rear house.

Such a huge mansion is firmly controlled by the Xue family, like an iron barrel.

The concubines dared not speak out, and could not avoid the morning and evening visits, and they had to pinch their tiger’s mouth to suppress their jealousy. Concubine Zhang was calm, and she kept her head down like a quail, saying to others that she wanted to cultivate her mind and worship Buddha, and live a law-abiding life.

In the Xue Mansion, Old Mrs. Cui was very pleased about this.

While the matchmaker from Duke Zheng’s mansion was coming to propose marriage, she specially called back all the girls in the mansion, those who were married and those who were waiting to be married, except for Xue Yueying who was in confinement. They were all gathered in the old lady’s Shou’an Courtyard and were severely scolded.

The old lady warned them to take the honor and favor of Xue Yuechen and Xue Sui as an example and be careful about their own words and deeds.

The sisters agreed verbally, but each had their own plans in mind.

The matchmaker came to the mansion of Duke Zheng, along with an experienced old nanny, who personally examined Xue Yueman’s uterus, and only then was the marriage finalized.

This matter was done in secret and most people were kept in the dark. The sisters congratulated the Eighth Girl one after another, saying that she had finally got what she wished for and found a good match.

Only Xue Yueman, filled with humiliation and resentment, locked herself in her boudoir after the post-mortem examination and cried bitterly…

Xue Sui pretended to be unaware of the situation and set up a tea table in Lixiang Courtyard.

Invite the third lady Qian and Xue Yuelou to come for tea and chat.

Xue Ji was pouring tea and passing water, with a smile on her face.

After that inappropriate concubine ceremony, although Xue Qingzhi never came to see her, the Third Lady in the mansion was in charge of the food and daily necessities, which were continuously stuffed into Lixiangyuan. Xue Yuelou also brought Ming Ge’er over from time to time to chat with her and relieve her boredom.

Xue Ji lived a more comfortable life than ever before.

Xue Yuelou was holding a silver stick and picking candied fruits for Mingger, but he kept complaining.

“Now that Eighth Sister has finally gotten what she wanted, she is still pretending to be nice in the mansion, making sarcastic remarks every day. As a daughter who has just returned home, I dare not say much. I never thought that today, in front of so many people, she would also act pretentiously…”

She was much plumper than before the divorce, and her words became more bold.

Xue Sui knew why the Eighth Girl was crying, but he didn’t say anything and just smiled.

Qian suddenly sighed.

“More and more people are leaving this mansion. I used to feel it was too noisy, but when the eighth girl gets married, there will be one less person to quarrel with. I feel empty just thinking about it, and it’s a weird feeling…” Xue Sui couldn’t help laughing.

Qian placed a piece of cake on the plate of Tenth Lady Xue Yueling, motioning for her to eat, and wiped the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief.

“Our little Shi will become a problem in a few years…”

The Tenth Miss was still a little girl under ten years old, and was usually spoiled by Xue Qingxiu and Qian. She had no idea of ​​sadness and just spoke while blinking her big eyes.

“I won’t be like my eighth and ninth sisters, who think about getting married all day long. I am happy to be an old maid in the mansion, with my father and mother raising me. That’s a beautiful life…”

Qian smiled and pinched her rosy cheeks.

“I’ve spoiled you so much that your grandmother will hear it and blame me for spoiling you.”

Xiao Shi chuckled.

Xue Ji also laughed softly, happy and cheerful, but she didn’t say anything, fearing that she would disturb others…

Xue Sui looked at his mother and aunt, then at his younger sister, with a faint smile on his face, but a hint of sadness in his heart…

Because only she knows.

This beautiful peace will not last forever.

The Xue family would not continue to enjoy wealth and prosperity forever as Mrs. Cui hoped…
–
The autumn rain fell gently on the surface of the pond, and the East Palace was desolate and silent.

Li Zhao was painting a picture of flowers and birds in his study.

The cinnabar on the tip of the brush suddenly spread out, dyeing the birds on the rice paper red.

Lai Fu came in with his neck shrunk to add water. Seeing that the prince had smudged the paper, he was afraid that it was his fault and dared not even breathe…

During the past half month, the Crown Prince seldom went out. He devoted himself to learning how to govern the country in the East Palace. His daily routine consisted of attending government meetings in the Purple Palace, listening to lectures by the Grand Tutor in the Chongwen Palace, and playing a game of chess with the Crown Prince’s guests.

The Ministry of Revenue’s mess was cleared up after Luo Huan was demoted and Xiao Jing died. The Minister of Revenue was replaced by Zhou Chongli, a disciple of the Prince’s Tutor, and the Vice Minister of Revenue was replaced by the steady and capable Tian Huaitong.

They took on this hot potato and were extremely respectful to the Crown Prince. As they were unsure of his temper, they did not dare to make decisions on their own and carefully asked for instructions from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince on everything.

Although everything seemed calm in the Eastern Palace, it was actually secretly holding the purse of the Daliang Dynasty in its hands.

It is reasonable to be happy that the prince has taken such a brilliant step.

But Lai Fu saw that his master always paused several times and dipped the brush in ink repeatedly before writing, which showed that he was clearly impatient.

“Master, this year’s new Junshan Silver Needle is here. Please try it.”

Li Zhao hummed, without making any comment.

Mei Ruhui sat at one side and said slowly, “I heard that Prince Duan found the long-lost auspicious object – the Nine Dragons Playing with Pearls Colored Glass Cup. The Queen Mother has been thinking about that thing for a long time…”

Li Zhao hummed again, still with no expression on his face.

Mei Ruhui looked at his expression, straightened the corner of his robe, and said with a folded hand: “According to the tip-off, it was the one from the Xue family who made the gesture and helped Prince Duan to find this item from the antique dealer in Jiuling Marsh…”

He carefully observed Li Zhao’s reaction, fearing that he might say something wrong.

Lai Fu was even more unlucky. He just heard the “click” sound of the wolf hair brush in the prince’s hand, and the splashing ink hit him like raindrops. He was so scared that his face turned pale and he fell to his knees.

“Your Highness, calm down…”

Li Zhao was not angry. He casually placed the broken pen on the inkstone with a calm expression.

“So there’s no other news?”

Mei Ruhui said: “The Prince of Wei prepared a hundred hu of pearls from the East, the Prince of Chun presented a guqin, and even the Prince Xian’s Palace presented a troupe of slaves from Dianzhou… The princes and ministers all racked their brains to prepare gifts for the Queen Mother. The gifts Your Highness sent must not only suit the Queen Mother’s preferences, but also show the dignity of the Eastern Palace. It is really not easy…”

The teapot was bubbling.

There is no such thing as a trivial matter in the palace.

Mei Ruhui was well-versed in history books and was well aware of the pros and cons involved.

A birthday party is not a simple celebration, but a place of fame and fortune where various forces compete secretly.

Li Zhao looked at the gloomy and gray sky outside the window.

On that snowy day, Xue Liu broke into Youhuangju and said he wanted to be his chess piece. Now thinking about it, he was the best chess piece in Xue Liu’s entire chessboard.

“Lonely Heart knows it.”