Qu Qing Ju turned her head and saw a man and woman walking together. The man looked to be about the same age as He Heng. His appearance was exquisite, so exquisite that the word "beautiful" could be used to describe him. But the arrogance that belonged to a person of high status seeped through his brows, making it hard for others to approach him. The woman beside him was about sixteen or seventeen. Her appearance might not be devastatingly beautiful, but her actions were dignified. It could be seen that this woman came from a prestigious family and had a good upbringing.
The four of them stood three steps apart. Qu Qing Ju saw the man in front of her raise his hands with a smile that didn't reach his eyes: "Huang di greets er huang xiong, er huang sao." The woman beside him lowered her eyes and bowed as well.
Taking back her gaze, Qu Qing Ju slightly lowered her head. So this was the Rui Wang He Yuan that was rumored to be the most favored by the Emperor. The two brothers seemed to be more polite than intimate.
"San di doesn't have to be so courteous," He Heng smiled slightly as he returned the bow. He looked at the numerous attendants and palace maids behind him, "We brothers don't have to be so courteous."
"Er huang xiong is joking. Etiquette can't be ignored," He Yuan put his hands behind his back and faintly looked at the docile Qu Qing Ju beside him, "Er huang xiong and er huang sao are really in love." There were many jokes about the Qu Family. His good huang xiong, for the power of the Tian Family, could endure it.
"San di is teasing," He Heng didn't like He Yuan's attitude but his expression didn't change, "It's getting late. Didi, why don't you come with wei xiong."
Qu Qing Ju silently stood at the side. After hearing He Yuan's words, her brows furrowed. As a didi who didn't have a deep relationship with his older brother, to casually talk about the matters of his older brother and sao, this He Yuan was a bit arrogant.
"Huang xiong first," He Yuan's lips barely curled into a smile, "Didi will follow after."
"Then yu xiong will go first," He Heng didn't waste words with him. He took Qu Qing Ju and turned to leave. When they reached the carriage, he reached out to help Qu Qing Ju onto the carriage before he followed.
"Pfft, ben wang's huang xiong is so protective of the fairer sex." He Yuan looked at the carriage leaving in the distance, a disdainful smile on his face. A few days ago, he had exploded in anger for a woman at Chang De Gong Fu. Now, in front of the palace gates, he was so attentive to wang fei. Who was he acting for?
Rui Wang Fei Qin Bai Lu, who had been standing silently at the side, raised her head upon hearing this. Her eyes were complicated as she looked at the carriage leaving. She said in a low voice: "Maybe it's true."
"My good wang fei, don't you know the matters of the Imperial Family?" He Yuan sneered as he walked forward, "Let's go, stop looking."
Qin Bai Lu curled her lips and followed. She watched as He Yuan boarded the carriage in front of them. She held onto a servant girl's hand and boarded the carriage behind.
In the slightly swaying carriage, Qu Qing Ju leaned against the soft pillow and suddenly said: "This His Highness Rui Wang, his conduct is very brash and unruly."
When He Heng heard this description, his eyebrows slightly moved. It was a compliment to use this term to describe famous people. But to describe an imperial son, it wasn't such a good term. This wang fei of his, she was a wonderful person. "The use of the term wang fei is very special."
This man definitely didn't like Rui Wang very much. She, as a wang fei, naturally had to be on the same side as him. Hearing He Heng say this, Qu Qing Ju smiled as she straightened: "Wang ye is complimenting qie?"
He Heng smiled as he looked at her for a beat before replying: "Naturally."
The smile on Qu Qing Ju's face became even brighter. For He Heng to say these two words to her, it meant that he had a basic level of trust in her. As to how much trust, it wasn't something she cared about.
He Heng didn't continue talking about Rui Wang and leaned against the soft pillow behind him to rest.
When Qu Qing Ju closed her eyes, she thought that He Heng was even more complicated than she had imagined. This kind of man was the spokesperson for the products of the Imperial Family. He didn't lack anything that the Imperial Family possessed.
The matter of entering the palace ended like this. The next month passed peacefully in the wang fu. It was just that the weather became colder. Everyone in the fu had to change into winter clothing, put in charcoal. Qu Qing Ju had to see all the stewards many times. As a wang fei, she didn't need to do everything herself. She only needed to make a decision for many things and there would be enough servants to run for her. Just like in her previous life, the CEO of a company wouldn't personally manage the wages of the cleaners. If she had to manage everything, she wouldn't need to be a wang fei. The fu wouldn't need to support those people.
In the quiet hall, Qu Qing Ju casually flipped through an account book. Several of the wang fu's main stewards were kneeling on the ground. These main stewards had come from the palace and experienced many things. At this time, they all had respectful expressions. Kneeling on the ground in the winter, their faces were covered in sweat.
"Five eggs for one tael of silver," Smiling, she closed the account book. Looking at the steward in charge of buying fruits and vegetables, Qu Qing Ju lightly threw the account book in front of him, "I heard that a normal family of the Da Long Dynasty's annual living expenses are around twenty five taels of silver. So the lives of our Da Long Dynasty's common people are so hard. Their annual living expenses are only enough for us to eat around a hundred eggs?! Even like this, you, the steward, say the money isn't enough. Tell me, how is it not enough? "
This steward was so scared he trembled. He had assumed that wang fei and the yahuan were all well-off and wouldn't know the truth in this. Also, the other wang fu's purchasing methods were about the same as his. This made him even more confident that there wouldn't be any slip-ups. Who knew that wang fei only flipped through the account book a few times before exploding.
"Wang fei, you don't know. Twenty five taels of silver is the annual living expenses of a remote place. Which thing in our Jing City isn't several times more expensive than in other places. Nucai really has no other choice." The steward saw that there was no other way and could only bite the bullet.
Qu Qing Ju didn't even look at him. She picked up another account book and flipped it open: "Five taels for a bolt of cotton, twenty taels for a bolt of normal satin … …" She threw the account book onto the person in charge. She didn't even listen to the explanation and continued to flip to the next book.
Not even an hour later, all of the account books had been thrown onto the ground. Qu Qing Ju raised a teacup to take a sip: "Huang Yang, summon the people you found to copy the market prices. Tell these people, if they copy it well, they will be the new stewards."
When the others heard this, their expressions changed. They had assumed that wang fei only dared to explode at them. Who knew that she was going to replace all of them? Instantly, they started to cry out their grievances. The steward responsible for purchasing cloth, relying on the fact that he had been brought out of the palace by wang ye, even spoke: "Wang fei, nucai have served wang ye for many years. We wouldn't do anything that would betray the wang fu. If you do this, doesn't it mean that wang ye doesn't have a good eye for people?"
When Qu Qing Ju heard this, her lips suddenly curled into a smile. She viciously smashed the teacup in her hand in front of this person: "What are you, you're not worthy of wang ye picking. The only servants in this fu that are worthy of such words are Qian Chang Xin, Ming He, and a few close servants. Wang ye didn't punish you, but you are the first to be arrogant. If this gets out, doesn't that mean that I, wang fei, isn't as noble as you servants?! "
Qian Chang Xin and Ming He, who had walked to the doorway, coincidentally heard this. The two exchanged a look and stopped to stand guard at the doorway, looking as though they were protecting wang fei.
Huang Yang came over with a few taijian. He bowed to the two before entering the room. Qian Chang Xin and Ming He found that these people in the fu also knew how to work. If wang fei chose these people to replace the original ones, it would be the most suitable.
The two's hearts jumped. They saw that wang fei usually didn't like to take care of the houyuan. They hadn't thought that she understood the people of the wang fu so well. Thinking about it, the two found that they had underestimated wang fei in the past. They had assumed that she only had a few tricks to deal with wang ye. They hadn't thought that on these matters, she was also amazing when she acted.
"The rice produced this year is one dan for two hundred wen, one dan for five hundred wen, one egg for two wen, one bolt of normal satin for five liang … …" As the people came in, they read out the prices. The faces of the kneeling stewards were all pale. They had to hold their breath to keep from collapsing.
"Look at how you've heated up the stewards," Qu Qing Ju held a newly changed teacup. She said faintly, "Come, give each of these stewards a big bowl of iced sour plum soup."
It was already the winter solstice. A bowl of sour plum soup had more ice than soup. After the stewards drank it, their teeth started to chatter. The steward that had talked back looked at Qu Qing Ju and said shakily: "Wang fei is very skilled. You should let wang ye see your might."
Was he telling her that if she was strict, she would be disliked by wang ye?!
Qu Qing Ju didn't get angry but smiled. She blew on the tea in the cup and slowly opened: "This person talked back to ben wang fei. Twenty strokes of the cane. Have someone send him back to the Department of Household Affairs. Say that he didn't learn the rules well. Duan Wang Fei can't keep such a servant." Since he said she was skilled, how could she let him down?
When she finished, someone dragged the steward away. The remaining people instantly became obedient and begged wang fei not to send them back to the Department of Household Affairs. If the servants that were sent back to the Department of Household Affairs, even if they wouldn't mysteriously lose their lives, it would be a fate worse than death. They would rather receive a dozen strokes than go back to that place.
Seeing the stewards keep quiet out of fear, Qu Qing Ju put down the teacup: "Do you know your wrongs?"
The stewards heard wang fei's tone and there seemed to be room for negotiation. They instantly started to kowtow and admit their wrongs.
Gently putting down the teacup, Qu Qing Ju tested the corner of her lips: "Since you are honest and know your wrongs, I am a soft-hearted person. I will punish you with ten strokes of the cane, half a month's salary, this position … … will be vice stewards. These people will be the stewards, do you have any objections?" She pointed at the people that were recording the prices of the items.
The stewards hadn't thought that they wouldn't be sent back to the Department of Household Affairs and would be able to keep their positions as vice stewards. All of them were filled with gratitude and kept on saying that wang fei was benevolent and that they had to work well for the wang fu.
"In the future, all of you will work well. I know clearly who really did the work and who took advantage of the situation. In the future, if anyone does such a thing again, I won't take your lives. Just obediently return to the Department of Household Affairs." Qu Qing Ju sighed. Holding Mu Jin's hand, she stood, "Those who should do the work, those who should receive the punishment, receive the punishment. Leave."
Qian Chang Xin and Ming He, who were standing at the doorway, looked at the people that came out. Each of them had a joyful expression. They couldn't help but sigh again. Wang fei was really skilled.
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