"I'm not being spiteful," Wushuang retorted, but despite her outward refusal, she immediately deflated like a punctured balloon.
She frowned and thought for a while, then quickly came up with a new idea: "I...I still have my family!"
"You don't actually want to ask your mother-in-law to help you with the accounts, do you?" Chu Yao was still trying to persuade Wushuang to let him handle it. "That would only add one more person. How much have the four of you looked at today?"
Wushuang avoided answering, only saying, "This is such a small matter, there's no need for Mother to personally handle it. Our family has plenty of capable people!"
She immediately wrote a letter back to the Marquis of Runan's residence, and received a reply in less than an hour.
This reply wasn't just a piece of paper; it came from about twenty living people.
This included Yang Shi, He Caiqiong, the old lady, several maids and servants who accompanied Wuxia and Wuyou, as well as the managers and accountants of the shops that accompanied each of them, including Wushuang. Even Qi Lan came to help.
Wu Shuang asked Chu Yao to set aside a courtyard in the Prince's mansion, arranging for them to work in two shifts, day and night, checking the accounts tirelessly. They finally finished reconciling all the accounts before the evening of the third day. [The website has almost all the books I want to read; it's much more stable than most novel websites, updates faster, and it's all text with no ads.]
At that time, Mrs. Qiao had just finished her dinner, brewed a pot of tea, and sat leisurely under the trellis to enjoy her tea and rest.
Over the years, she has not had to serve the old princess, and she has also managed all the internal affairs of the palace. Apart from her innate status, which she cannot change, she has actually lived a life no worse than that of a real mistress.
For example, this pot of jasmine tea in front of me was a tribute bestowed by the palace.
Prince Chu Yao only drinks rock tea, while the young princess has a sweet tooth and only drinks Anxi Tieguanyin tea with a strong aftertaste. All other varieties of tea in the Prince's mansion, whether they are gifts from the palace or purchased by the household according to custom, are all distributed and selected by Mama Qiao.
If the power of housekeeping is handed over to the newly married princess, then this benefit will be lost.
In mid-spring, the weather is already quite warm, but it still gets dark very early.
After finishing a pot of tea, the sun set, and the little maid ran around the courtyard lighting up the lanterns hanging under the eaves one by one.
As the head maid of the inner courtyard, Madam Qiao naturally lived in a small courtyard by herself, with four maids attending to her daily needs.
After relinquishing her housekeeping authority, her treatment in this regard will certainly remain unchanged, but the number of people who frequently come to her courtyard to curry favor will definitely decrease.
Not only her interests, but also those of the maids will be affected.
Just then, someone carrying a wicker basket entered the yard—they must have brought something nice to offer as a token of respect, hoping to get something in return.
As the person approached, Madam Qiao recognized her as Qiqiao, the head maidservant of the new princess.
"Oh, Qiqiao girl, what wind has blown you here?" she greeted warmly.
"Aunt Qiao, fresh cherries have been delivered from the estate. The Princess specially asked me to pick out some large and red ones to send to you." Qiqiao handed the wicker basket to the little maid who came to greet her. "They've all been washed. If Aunt Qiao doesn't mind eating them raw or cold, soaking them in cold water before eating will make them even more refreshing."
Qiqiao's meticulous instructions were seen by Qiao's mother as evidence of her trying to curry favor.
She must have been unable to finish reviewing the account books, so the princess sent her over to smooth things over.
As if by telepathy, just as the thought crossed Qiao's mind, Qiqiao brought up the account books: "Qiao, I have another matter to discuss with you today. The Princess instructed me to come and see if you have finished your meal. If you have, please come to Daoyuanxiang Hall to discuss the accounts."
"Has the Princess checked all the accounts?" Madam Qiao asked casually.
"Yes, it's all correct," Qiqiao replied with a smile.
"That must have been very tiring for Your Highness," said Madam Qiao. "It must have taken a lot of effort, right?"
Qiqiao said, "It's not that hard."
This is actually the truth. Apart from the first day when Wushuang personally reviewed the accounts until evening, it was all thanks to the hard work of her assistants that she was able to keep up with the results.
Besides, when facing someone, if you admit that you are suffering terribly, you will lose face even if you win.
Mrs. Qiao had some doubts, but she didn't show them on her face. She just nodded, smoothed out the wrinkles on her skirt, stood up and said, "Alright, let's go over now."
Inside the main room of Yuanxiang Hall, Wushuang held a scroll in her left hand and a fresh cherry in her right. She would eat a cherry, glance at the book, and leisurely swing her little feet, which were crossed over her legs.
When Qiao's mother entered the room, she saw that the little princess had a rosy complexion and her face seemed even rounder than three days ago, without any of the haggard look one would expect from someone who had been working tirelessly on the accounts.
Her doubts deepened, but then she thought that it was not surprising that the women of royalty and nobility all had their own beauty and health remedies.
Qiao's mother stepped forward and greeted Wushuang with a graceful bow.
Wushuang put down the book in her hand and said slowly, "Mother, I've finished checking the accounts. I originally invited you here to discuss the handover of internal affairs. But..." She deliberately dragged out the words to emphasize, "There are a few discrepancies in the accounts. Mother should know the rules. If the accounts are unclear, the handover cannot proceed. We need to clarify the discrepancies first, and I'm afraid you'll have to make up for the missing amounts."
“Your Highness, you are young and have no experience in managing a household, so you may not know this. Sometimes it is difficult to keep the accounts exactly right, especially since there are many people in the Prince’s mansion and the expenses are high. If we make people pay out of their own pockets to cover the accounts for a few pennies, wouldn’t people laugh at us and think that the masters in our Prince’s mansion are all petty and not like wealthy people?”
Mrs. Qiao bowed her head and bowed respectfully, but her eyebrows and eyes were full of contemptuous smiles, and her words were merciless in mocking Wushuang for being petty and stingy.
“What Mother says makes perfect sense,” Wushuang said, not annoyed. “However, you may not know this, but while I am young and inexperienced in managing a household, it’s not like I’ve never managed one before. Back in my parents’ home, I not only helped Mother manage the household but also learned to handle the accounts of the dowry shops for a while. Therefore, I have some understanding of the accounting rules in both the household and the shops. Shops are for business, and accounts must be meticulously accounted for, even for the smallest things like lamp oil and candles. Every single item must be accounted for, without the slightest error. As for the household, that’s for daily life, and daily life requires leniency. Just like Mother said, if you’re short a few coins or taels of silver at the end of the year and still ask the servants to cover the difference, it’s certainly laughable. But what if the shortfall isn’t just a tiny bit of money, but hundreds or thousands of taels?”
Wushuang had heard Chaohua mention in her previous life that after she sold herself into the Jun family, her monthly salary of five hundred coins was enough for her family to eat, drink, and wear. Their lives were even more comfortable than those who ran small stalls or businesses. Even if Chaohua didn't keep a single coin for herself, her family would still receive six taels a year. By that calculation, over a hundred taels of silver would be enough for an ordinary family to live a good life for more than ten years, which was no small amount.
Madam Qiao said, "Perhaps it was an oversight on someone's part when keeping the accounts, and they made a mistake. All the servants in our household are honest and would never secretly seek personal gain. Let me check which entry it was, and then I'll find someone to question them and give Your Highness an explanation."
This is purely taking advantage of Wushuang's new arrival and unfamiliarity with the rules of the Prince's Palace.
Fortunately, she had asked Chu Yao beforehand and was not deceived.
Madam Qiao's cunning infuriated Wushuang, and her tone became much harsher when she spoke again: "As far as I know, although the accuracy requirements for accounts differ between the shop and the household, the rules for accountability after reconciliation are the same. If the accountant's accounts are unclear, and the manager finds out, the accountant is responsible for making up the missing amount. If the manager doesn't find out, and the discrepancy is only discovered when the accounts are handed over to the owner, then the one who suffers the loss is definitely the manager, not the accountant. These account books were all handed to me personally, which means that you had no objections to the accounts before that. So when I discovered problems with the accounts, I only asked you to investigate. No matter how many people handled them before that, or who the initial source of the error was, that's irrelevant now. It's all your responsibility for not fulfilling your duties and failing to clarify things."
After saying that, Wushuang didn't give Qiao's mother a chance to argue. She picked up a piece of paper from the table and said, "These are the discrepancies in the accounts. Would you like to hear them, Mom?"
Although she asked the question, she still read it aloud before Qiao's mother could speak.
As Mrs. Qiao listened, her brows furrowed even more deeply.
Wushuang grew increasingly irritated the more she thought about it.
In previous years, there were only occasional errors and omissions in the accounts, and the amounts were not large; it was simply due to a lack of carefulness. But later, all sorts of tricks were discovered, clearly indicating that someone was deliberately tampering with the accounts.