Wangfu Shenyuan

Many people had already gathered in the first courtyard, and Xia An sneaked in among them.Hearing Mr. Liu say that Princess Wang's father's birthday was cancelled, everyone applauded in a low voice.Chief Liu is also in a good mood, having solved a big problem, the fifteenth prince can also be more generous.

"Qing Tu."

Qingtu came out: "The servant is here."

Director Liu took out a gift list and handed it over: "You and Xia An go to Huaying Academy, and you must get an affirmative answer from the manager."

"……Yes."

When the two went out, Qingtu was very angry: "This is obviously embarrassing for us two. The gift list that has been pending for a few days can be settled overnight? We will definitely be scolded to death by the manager today."

"Can I have a look at the gift list?" Xia An opened the gift list given by Qingtu, and sighed after reading it: "Basically it hasn't changed, except for a white jade turtle presented by Suzhou."

"Fortunately, the Fifteenth Prince has no internal support in the palace. We will be scolded a few times, or we can ask the manager to add or subtract a few sums, and the matter will be settled." Qingtu accepted the gift list.It is also a big or small crime to be seen to open it privately.

Xia An frowned and asked: "I don't quite understand why it's so difficult for us to make a gift list? He congratulated General Yin's birthday because our prince didn't want to give the sword, and the princess refused to let go, so we were stuck in the middle. As for the prince, if you don't want to give an expensive gift, you can give a light gift, as you said, the fifteenth prince has no internal support in our mansion, why are we still in such a difficult situation?"

Qingtu lowered his voice and said, "Our prince is the son of the emperor's concubine, do you know?"

"I know, but my lord is not..."

"Some things don't need to be said. Although he is just a prince of leisure now, he used to be anyway. Besides, our prince is an elder brother. What we give to our brother's wedding congratulations is not a gift, but a reward. There are too many rewards, and our palace can't take them out. , the rewards are less, isn’t it a loss of face for our lord? The face of the emperor and the royal family is not good. I don’t know how many people are staring at our lord.”

Xia An realizes that it is not easy for the idle prince to do anything. He has no serious job and only relies on the prince's salary. Naturally, it is not easy to support a large family, even giving his younger brother a wedding gift is difficult.And it was stared at by many covetous eyes.

"Shh, someone is here." Qingtu signaled Xia An to keep quiet.When someone approached, it was Yun Bi and Yun Qing, the big maids under the concubine's hand, who walked over proudly, Qing Tu and Xia An hurriedly stood aside to make way for them.

Yun Qing glanced at the two of them, and whispered to Yun Bi's ear.Yun Bi smiled and nodded, beckoning them over. "Aren't you guys from the outer courtyard?"

"Returning to the girl, the servants are working in the Adu Courtyard." The two saluted slightly.The status of the big maid next to the master is not inferior to that of the women in the palace, and they are also called girls.They are likely to be taken into the house by the prince in the future.

"Is Adu Courtyard an allusion from Aduwu?" Yun Bi asked.

Qingtu replied: "Miss is smart, that's right."

Yun Bi and Yun Qing both covered their handkerchiefs and smiled.Yun Bi asked again: "What kind of courtyard is it, but does it manage the expenses of the outer courtyard?"

"No, it's a post about making a gift list."

"Ah, it turns out that it was your yard that made the empress angry several times, what a majesty." Yun Qing's smile turned cold.

Qingtu and Xia An glanced at each other, they both knew something was wrong, but they couldn't escape, so they had to bite the bullet and replied: "The servants dare not, they just follow orders."

Yun Qing wanted to say something more, but Yun Bi stopped her and spread her tenderness towards the two of them: "Not far ahead is the Huaying Court, the two of you are here to see the manager. Let me guess, but for the fifteenth prince Are you overjoyed? Can you show us the contents of the gift list?"

"Girl, please don't embarrass the slave. It's against the rules to show the gift list casually." Qingtu bent slightly, and took Xia An back a step without any trace.

Yun Qing's almond-shaped eyes widened: "Presumptuous, it's also free to show us, that's tantamount to showing it to the empress."

Qingtu raised his eyes to look at her, and said calmly: "The girl read the gift list with the mother's order? If not, please be careful with what you say, because it is a crime of disobedience for a servant to represent the master."

Xia An sighed inwardly, Qingtu has always been a person who chooses his words carefully, even if they are not allowed to read the gift list, they will not offend anyone, why are they so aggressive today, is it possible to say this?Let alone girls.

"Presumptuous, sister, a boy from the outer court actually bullied us. There is no rule at all. We must teach them a lesson." Yun Qing stomped his feet and shouted.

Why did you bring me along?Xia An groaned in his heart.Take a step forward and explain: "You two girls, don't be angry, the servants are just afraid that they will cause the sisters to break the rules."

"Haha, who is your sister, I really don't feel ashamed." Seeing that Xia Anchang is fair and good-looking, and she speaks well, Yun Bi no longer darkens her face.

"Slaves don't remember age. My sister has a high status, so it's natural for me to be the elder." Xia An said compliments very seriously, and Qingtu squinted at him.

"Since it's the elder sister, the younger brother should show the gift list to the older sister." Yun Bi joked.

Xia An was about to tactfully refuse, when she heard a joking voice from behind: "Early in the morning, sister and brother, what they know is that the servants of our palace love each other, but those who don't know think there is some adultery."

Looking back, Xu Qingrui, the manager, was wearing a crescent-white long gown, holding a red plum folding fan, looking suave and suave, not like a housekeeper, but like a son in a wealthy nest.Xia An sighed again, the lord is not raising slaves, he is clearly raising the manager as a master, so that a servant dares to challenge the mistress of the house, and it lasts for two years.

"Slave/servant has met the manager." All four of them saluted the manager.

"Aren't you doing nothing? What are you doing at the gate of Huaying Courtyard?" Xu Qingrui narrowed his eyes and looked at Xia An. He looked familiar, but he didn't seem to recognize him.

The two girls answered first: "The slaves are assigned to go to Dongxue Pavilion to find Director Xue to lead the Lanxi Court."

"It's strange, when did Xue Gu become so courageous, he dared not send the monthly bills on time, but taught the big maid next to the empress to come and pick them up in person." There was no anger on Xu Qingrui's face, Even if you look closely, you can see the smile lines in the corners of his eyes.

Yun Qing pouted and took a big step forward, Yun Bi hurriedly pulled her back, and spoke first: "Supervisor Xue sent someone to deliver the case, but the money for the case is 100 taels for the empress, this month Supervisor Xue only sent 80 taels In the past, the number of concubines and concubines and aunts has been reduced, so the empress sent slaves to ask for clarification."

"You don't need to go to Dongxue Pavilion, let me tell you what's going on, our palace is struggling now, the palace has not given rewards for a long time, the cost of the palace is too high, and the warehouse is empty, so we should save money and food Otherwise, in a few years, I'm afraid all the masters will have to eat porridge and eat green vegetables. I told the prince the day before yesterday, and the prince also meant the same thing. Is there anything else your mother wants?"

Xia An and Qing Tu stayed aside, wanting to laugh but not daring to laugh.The concubine meets the rogue manager, it's the treasure in the hands of the real master against the real master, the two fight, it's very lively.

Before leaving, the empress had told them that she might not come back this month, the damn manager was in charge of the money and refused to delegate power at all.Also "your mother", could it be that the princess is not the master of your chief executive.

Yun Bi didn't show any dissatisfaction, and bowed her head respectfully and politely said: "Your Majesty is very quiet and doesn't take care of internal affairs, so she doesn't know about the financial situation of the Palace. Your Majesty is the mistress of the Palace, so naturally she has to take care of the family. She should take the lead in living frugally. , but I also ask Director Xue to send the monthly account book to Lanxi Court, so that the empress can check it carefully so that the problem can be solved.”

"Oh? Your Majesty can solve the problem just by looking at it, which is what the servants are looking for. Come, go to Dongxue Pavilion and fetch the monthly account book of the inner court for this year and give it to the two girls." Xu Qingrui immediately called for someone to come. Pick.

So much so that the two girls couldn't help being surprised.It's not that the manager has been unwilling to delegate power to the concubine, let alone looking at the account book, even if she calls the managers to question, she will push back and forth, so today it is not the manager Xuanxue, but two big maids.Why are you so happy today?There must be demons in every abnormality, but Yun Bi really can't think of the manager's intention.The empress told them to take the account book back, no matter what kind of fraud the manager is, it is better to take the account book back first, so as not to be punished for ineffectiveness.

The two of Yun Bi got the ledger and resigned.Xu Qingrui fixed her eyes on Qingtu and Xia An again. "You two?"

"Returning to the general manager, the slave is the servant of Adu Courtyard. Today, I will ask the general manager to have a look at the gift list for the fifteen princes prepared by the master." Qingtu stepped forward, knelt down, and presented the gift list with both hands.

Sure enough, the manager glanced twice, then raised his eyebrows, Lao Gao: "Why is there another white jade turtle, you, Aduyuan, have a very loud tone."

"Don't dare, the principals are just suggesting, and I hope the manager will make a decision." Qingtu's attitude was neither humble nor overbearing.

Xu Qingrui said: "The tortoise means longevity, and the flawless white jade means beauty. It's not for birthdays. Why give this away. I remember that there is still a concentric jade pendant that was rewarded by the palace a few years ago in our treasury. It is the best. Nuanyu, how about exchanging it for a white jade turtle?"

"The manager is wise." Someone immediately complimented him.

Xu Qingrui's beautiful eyes were still looking at this side, Qingtu could only say: "The servant will convey the general manager's meaning to all the principals."

"If you want to convey or not, just decide on the spot. It will save you half a month to make a gift list in your yard. Add the concentric jade pendant, remove the white jade tortoise, change Wu Daozi's painting from landscape painting to Songzi painting, and two more What kind of rare thing is a fist-sized East China Sea night pearl? There are many in the palace. If the fifteenth prince can still have it, you are becoming more and more careless in your work. Isn't there a piece of crocodile cloud brocade in the storeroom in the inner courtyard, which just happened to be sent to ten The fifth princess makes clothes and wears them."

Qingtu can only answer "yes".

I thought it was all right, but Xu Qingrui asked again: "What's your name?"

Xia An kept his head down, not knowing that Xu Qingrui was talking to him.Qingtu had no choice but to answer for him: "If you go back to the manager, he is Xia An, the second-class servant in Aduyuan."

Xia An didn't realize until he heard his name being called. He instinctively raised his head to check the situation, and then lowered his head immediately.But the manager laughed and said: "Don't lower your head, let me take a good look." Xia An had no choice but to raise his head for the manager to see.The manager looked up and down at him if he had real eyes, which made Xia An feel uncomfortable.

"Your name is Xia An?"

"Yes, servant Xia An."

"Xia An—" Xu Qingrui read in a long tune, suddenly remembered something, and asked, "To be a second-class servant in Adu Courtyard, you must at least be able to read and write, right, Qingtu? "

Qingtu didn't know the manager's intentions, so he replied honestly: "Yes. Xia'an's handwriting is beautiful, and the painting is also good."

"I remember that you once recommended yourself to the prince to work as an errand in the study, and you learned the Lin family's calligraphy of the beautiful hairpin flower. Well, people are much whiter than before, but they are still annoying."

"... If you go back to the manager, you're a slave." Xia An had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, Xu Qingrui turned over old accounts: "On the first day you entered the mansion, I asked you if you have read books. What did you say, you don't even know a few words, and you don't know how to read account books, right?"

Without waiting for Xia An to defend, Xu Qingrui asked the servants behind him: "In our palace, what punishment should be given for cheating the general manager?"

"Beating to death with a stick." A wise man replied.

Xia An was trembling and wanted to speak, but Xu Qingrui didn't give him a chance, and ordered: "Come here, drag this dog servant to the punishment hall for fifty rods. The manager has a big heart and doesn't care too much about him. Don't worry about it next time." You lied to me, and directly flayed it alive and fed it to the dogs."

"Cough." Rong Li suddenly came out of Huaying Courtyard, and asked with a half-smile, "Who made the manager angry again?"

Those who were going to talk about Xia An hurriedly stopped, and everyone bowed down to greet the prince.Xu Qingrui stood up first, pointed at Xia An and complained: "My lord, this servant dared to lie to me. He is really audacious. He must be treated properly."

Rong Li is helpless, the second thing his house manager hates is human traffickers, and the first thing he hates is people who are abducted by human traffickers and speak for human traffickers.There is a story in it, but Xu Qingrui is not allowed to mention it, as soon as it is mentioned, he loses his temper and harms the entire palace.

He hid in the yard, watching Xu Qingrui fight with the maids of Lanxi Court with cold eyes, and also watched Xu Qingrui talking with Qingtu, he didn't want to show up, but Xu Qingrui's heart is not as big as a pinprick.

"My lord, please forgive me, and the boss will forgive me." Qing Tu anxiously pleaded for Xia An.But the person concerned just hung his head blindly, his body seemed to be shaking slightly, and he couldn't see his expression.

Rong Li nodded and said: "Our palace really can't tolerate such a slave who deceives and commits crimes."

Qing Tu saw that Xia An's body shook violently, then raised his head and looked at the prince, as if he didn't believe it, but also as if he expected it, he still didn't say anything, and lowered his head.

Rong Li ordered the guards behind him: "Drag this slave down." The guards responded, supporting Xia An from left to right.Xu Qingrui pursed his lips suddenly, but held back a smile, and asked, "My lord, how much do you want?"

"How much does the manager think is good?" Rong Li asked with a smile on his face.

"Naturally listen to the prince." Xu Qingrui was obedient.

The corner of Rongli's mouth twitched: "There's no need to count, just kill."

"My lord, please spare me." Qingtu yelled, but immediately a guard stopped him and drove him to the side of the road.When Xia An was dragged away, she kept turning her head and staring at the prince with wide eyes, but there seemed to be nothing in her eyes.The prince didn't look at the two of them, and led the manager and his party into the Huaying courtyard.

Xia An was dragged to the punishment hall, halfway there, he suddenly turned into a small garden and entered a rockery. The guard let go of the dull Xia An, said "Offended" and left.

Xia An was stunned for a long time before realizing that he was the only one left.Is the prince saving him?The prince didn't hit him?Xia An was very surprised. Although he became a friend with the prince, the prince has a cruel temper and hit him whenever he wanted. He never expected the prince to save him from siege, and to consider him as a friend when he was angry.

"Xia An—"

"Qingtu, I'm here." Xia An stood up and sweated profusely when he saw Qingtu who was chasing after him in a hurry.

"Are you okay?" The guards kept Xia An away from the main road, and Qingtu thought they were going to find a random place to deal with Xia An.But he didn't expect Xia An to stand there in good order, with a smile on the corner of his mouth.

"I'm fine." Xia An came out of the rockery, patted the dirt on his knees, and said casually: "Let's go back and return, Chief Liu must be unexpected, we two actually got things done this time. "

Qingtu didn't change the subject following Xia An, but still asked, "Why are you all right?"

Xia An blinked, and the lie came at her fingertips: "I used to serve the prince in the study, maybe it's because the prince misses the past and forgives me."

"Isn't the lord..." Qingtu stopped talking, it's better to say less disrespectful words.He believed in Xia An. Didn't the manager just say that Xia An did serve in the study.

Xia An was in a good mood, and his usual coldness faded away, and he smiled so hard that his teeth could not see his eyes: "Could it be that the manager lost his head this time, why did he agree to exchange the crocodile cloud brocade for the night pearl? That is the only horse in the world. The manager told me yes The silkworms raised by the immortals spun and wove silk."

"I don't understand either, forget it, what to do if you think so much, we slaves can follow the master's will. Let's go, go back and report. I really want to hear Mr. Liu praise us." Things went well. After solving it, Xia An turned the crisis into safety, and Qingtu's mood also improved.