Xie Fengyue didn't take this to heart. She had been enjoying the spring breeze recently, and she always had a smile on her face when she fell asleep at night.
The next day, after she freshened up, she lay down lazily on the couch again. The weather was getting hotter day by day, and there were seven or eight ice basins in the back room, but it was still a little stuffy.
After Huarui entered the door with a displeased look, she put the ice basin in her hand on the ground, sat down on a small stool and said angrily: "The price of this ice is one per day, this thing is like a waste of money."
Xie Fengyue found it a little funny to see her depressed look. This girl had been with Ye Wan for a while, and she was also obsessed with money. She put down the book in her hand, raised her head and asked her: "Isn't the palace sending a cart of ice every day?" Come on, why are you so grand?”
Hua Rui's expression was hard to describe: "Girl, the ice sent from the palace is all dirty goods, and they are all distributed to various places in the house that need it. All the ice you use is the perfect ice purchased from outside. Those are all It is mined from the river in winter and stored in the ice cellar. A cart of perfect ice in the south costs three hundred taels of silver.”
Xie Fengyue couldn't help but be stunned when she heard about this family. It's snowy in the winter in the North, and every household does this. Even if the sun is scorching in summer, a truck of ice only costs about ten taels of silver. If it's a rainy season, You can even buy a car for three or four taels.
She never expected that the price of ice in Shengjing would be so high.
"Is there still ice in the princess's palace ice cellar?" Xie Fengyue asked.
Huarui was confused by the question. She touched her head and said, "I haven't visited this house since then. Didn't I say that you should have less contact with the stewards sent by the royal family?"
Xie Fengyue was ashamed. She had said this at the beginning. She didn't know the roots of those people and didn't know anything about them. Of course, she couldn't rest assured. So far, the people serving in the inner courtyard are still the same people who were originally in the Zhongcheng courtyard.
Xie Fengyue stood up and straightened the messy hem of her skirt: "Go and find out. What is the name of the housekeeper of the Princess's Mansion?"
Hua Rui lowered her head and thought for a while, then said uncertainly: "It seems like her surname is Liu"
Zhe Zhi on the side retorted: "No, it seems his surname is Zhang."
Until the steward arrived, the two of them were still discussing the steward's last name.
"Slave Bai Rongan, pay your respects to the master." The steward was about forty years old. The goatee on his chin made his face more shrewd. He knelt down and kowtowed respectfully.
After Zhezhi and Hua Rui looked at each other, they both lowered their heads.
Xie Fengyue looked at his appearance, and classified him into the smart category for the time being, and said simply: "Get up, I called you here today, but I just want to ask you some questions about the general affairs of the house."
Bai Rongan's temples suddenly jumped, but his face remained humble and respectful: "Princess, please tell me, I have been in this mansion for more than ten years. When there was no one in the mansion, I was always guarding it. I have no control over the affairs of the mansion." It’s very clear.”
Xie Fengyue was waiting for his words. She asked: "Is there any remaining ice in the ice cellar in the house?"
There was a trace of uneasiness in Bai Rongan's eyes: "To return to the princess, because this mansion has been vacant in the past few years, there is no ice in the winter."
"Oh?" Xie Fengyue asked suspiciously.
With just one word, Bai Rongan knelt down again: "What I said is true, Princess. This mansion has been vacant for many years, and there are only some rough-skinned servants in the mansion. My dear, Xia Tian No need for ice, so I didn’t save it.”
Xie Fengyue lowered her head and twirled her fingers, with a sneer in her eyes. She originally thought that most of the money in the house was allocated by the clan government anyway, so she didn't bother to ask, but such a small steward deceived her so openly. This Shengjing was indeed an outstanding person.
"If not, forget it. You can send me the account books after I entered the house later."
Bai Rongan restrained his trembling voice, kowtowed respectfully, and then left with empty steps.
His guilty look made Zhizhi, who had always been dim-witted, frown: "Girl, could this man have used his money to take over the position of steward of the Princess's Mansion?"
Huarui disagreed and said: "The people assigned by the royal family are all in different positions. I'm afraid it's not easy to replace them. Maybe this person has tampered with the account books."
Zhe Zhi waved his hand indifferently: "It's tampering with the account books. That's okay. The girl was the best in arithmetic in the clan school at the time. Even the man can't compare with me!"
Xie Fengyue put her hand on her forehead and replied with a slight sneer: "Don't put too much gold on my face. Although arithmetic and accounting are related, the knowledge between them is huge."
After finishing speaking, she said to Huarui: "Go and find Chunhan, and call Nanny Zhou who is in the kitchen now."
In less than half an hour, the two of them were brought by Hua Rui.
Before anyone could say anything, Grandma Zhou shrank and knelt down to beg for mercy: "Girl, please have mercy on me. I am the one who started greedy for money the day before yesterday. I only have twenty taels in total. Please look at me, Lady." For the sake of being the first batch of people you bought, please spare me this time.”
Xie Fengyue didn't expect that there would be an unexpected surprise. She changed her tone instantly and replied coldly: "I'm giving you a chance by asking someone to bring you here. You actually dare to tell lies to deceive me. It doesn't seem like it's true." Send you to the City Patrol Prison, you are not willing to tell the truth, right?”
Aunt Zhou's face was covered with runny nose and tears. She looked like a pitiful person. She couldn't stop shaking her head: "It's not like this, it's not like this. I didn't tell lies. It was really the day before yesterday. Oh no no no. It started the day before yesterday.”
Xie Fengyue showed no emotion or anger. She repeatedly scratched the table with her gorgeous kodanjia, making a sharp and harsh sound. This sound fell in the ears of Aunt Zhou, like a knife sharpener in the prison of the City Patrol Division. The sound is average.
She was frightened and banged a few more times, causing her forehead to turn red instantly.
"Are you going to explain yourself, or do you want me to say it?" Xie Fengyue asked.
"I really didn't think about it at first. The money you gave me is twice as much as other people's. I'm really grateful from the bottom of my heart. It's just"
Zhe Zhi shouted: "You are so timid about what you say. If you say half and leave half, I will have you beaten ten times and then thrown to prison!"
"It's just that the other nuns in the kitchen are laughing at me. They say I don't know how to adapt to the lucrative job of taking care of Lady Jun's daily tea and ice drinks." She said with tears streaming down her face, "You really are just from above. It started the day before yesterday. This is really the first time. Please be kind to me, please forgive me this time.”
Xie Fengyue lowered her eyes and stared at the bowls on the table.
Aunt Zhou hurriedly explained: "This ice drink is called Biyu Sushan, and the food used in this bowl is definitely not defective! Absolutely not!"