Back at Bixiao Hall, after Nangong Yue sent Yong Yang and Fu Yunyan back to Yunli Court, she went to the study of the outer court and called Zhu Xing.
Nangong Yue told him all about today's horse market, and Zhu Xing was afraid for a while, thinking: If the concubine Shizi hadn't happened to meet, wouldn't those bad horses be sent to Huiling City?!
The elder son was away on an expedition, so he had explained military affairs. They paid close attention to the dispatch of food, arrows, and soldiers and horses, but they didn't expect that there would be a mistake in the procurement of the army this time.
"Shizi Concubine." Zhu Xing clasped his fists and said solemnly, "I will go to the barracks immediately, and I will never let similar things happen again."
Zhu Xing pretended to be a housekeeper on the surface, but in fact he was still a member of the army. It was not appropriate for Nangong Yue and his wife to come forward for this matter. It would be best to leave it to him.
Nangong Yue nodded slightly, "I'm going to thank Butler Zhu."
After Zhu Xing saluted and resigned, Nangong Yue sat quietly for a while, took up a pen and wrote a letter to Xiao Yi, and ordered Baihui to hand it over to the incident office and send it to Huiling City. Not long after, Baihui came back and brought back a letter from Mrs. Fang Si.
So, Nangong Yue took the letter and went to Tingyu Pavilion.
Old Master Fang frowned slightly after reading the letter, and said, "Fourth brother has a cold, so I can't come here for the time being."
The fourth old master Fang is the patriarch of the Fang family. Not long ago, the old master Fang wrote to him about the third house, and wanted him to come to Luoyue City to rectify the family tradition.
Nangong Yue raised her eyebrows lightly. Is it a coincidence that the fourth old master Fang is sick at this time, or is he deliberately avoiding the third room of Shang Fang's family? After all, the third room's Xiao Fang is still the wife of Zhennan Wang, maybe he doesn't want to annoy Zhennan Wang …
Old Master Fang thought the same way. He had been in a coma for more than ten years, and now he couldn't help feeling that the Fang family was no longer the original Fang family.
"Grandfather." Nangong Yue said with a smile, "Don't worry, it's fine if the Fourth Old Master is really cold, otherwise, in a few days, he will come to Luoyue City to apologize to you..."
Old Master Fang looked at her with some doubts, Nangong Yue's bright smile dispelled the unhappiness accumulated in his heart.
He has picked up his current life. With his grandson and grandson-in-law being so filial, what else can he demand? The hundreds of years of the Fang family's foundation and honor and disgrace are not his business alone...
Old Master Fang smiled slightly, and his mood became much clearer.
Nangong Yue pushed Old Master Fang around the yard, chatted and laughed with him for a while, and then returned to her room.
Hearing that such a wonderful thing happened in the horse market today, the maidservants who did not go together sighed with regret.
After Nangong Yue took a bath and changed her clothes, she listened to An Niang's report on Bixiaotang's big and small things today, while thrush helped her wring her hair dry.
Not long after, Que'er came hurriedly, with a strange excitement on his face.
After bowing her knees and saluting, she hurriedly complained, with a smile on her face: "Concubine Shizi, the lord returned to the mansion at 3 o'clock after Shen Shi, and immediately went to the main courtyard... I heard that the lord didn't dismiss the servants in the house, so he was right Seeing Madam yelling and yelling at Madam's relatives for losing his face, and Madam's short-sightedness, not understanding meritocracy, knowing how to help relatives every day, and questioning whether Madam has benefited from it! Madam swears that she is completely I didn't know about this, and I wanted to excuse Niu Xinglong, but the prince became even more angry, and asked his wife to copy the "Diamond Sutra" for nothing, so that he could calm down and raise his spirit... "
Nangong Yue looked at Que'er beside her through the bronze mirror, and asked with a smile, "Did you ask about the property?"
"I asked." Que'er felt that his concubine was really clever, and hurriedly said, "Madam never admitted it, and then threw herself on the pillow and cried loudly, saying that the prince wronged her. The prince may have been annoyed by crying. Throw your sleeves and go."
Nangong Yue nodded slightly, Xiao Fang wanted to use crying and making troubles in exchange for Zhennan King's sympathy and love... This may have been useful in the past, but now, Zhennan King has doubts and love gradually When retreating, if you use this trick again, I'm afraid it won't have such a good effect.
Doubt has been born, it will gradually ferment until it is irreversible.
There is no rush now, the best time to settle all this is when the accounting office "sorts out" the books.
Que'er continued to say: "...as soon as the prince left, the madam kept throwing things there..." After a pause, she said meaningfully: "It seems that Nanny Qi will come to visit the princess concubine tomorrow! "
Huamei and the other maidservants looked at each other, and they both covered their mouths and laughed. Huamei deliberately complimented Que'er and said, "From now on, I will call Sister Que'er for a fortune!"
Isn't that what it is? Everything has been dropped, so we can't leave the room empty?!
Magpie puffed out her chest proudly.
As she said, Nangong Yue had just returned from Youning Hall the next day, and Madam Qi came as expected.
"I have seen the concubine." Qi Nanny saluted Xiang Nangong Yue thoughtfully, but there was a hint of arrogance in her description, "Reporting to the concubine, the things in the madam's house haven't been replaced for a while, madam Tired of watching, I want to change some items, and the special servants come to get the right cards to open the warehouse."
As soon as Nanny Qi said, Queer and Thrush secretly exchanged a look in the room, and couldn't help laughing.
Que Er blinked, meaning that from today onwards, you can call me "Magic Fortune" instead!
Nangong Yue also felt a little funny in her heart, and politely said to Nanny Qi: "I don't know what items my mother wants, so please ask Nanny to make a list and go to the warehouse to get it."
Make a list
Nanny Qi's complexion was not very good-looking. In the past, when she received items for Xiao Fang's family, she always took people directly to the warehouse to pick them out, and then asked the warehouse to record the items. But when she went to the warehouse to pick up things just now, the new mother Liu insisted that the warehouse could only be opened if the concubine gave the right card, and she refused to put the key in whatever she said. She had no choice but to come to Bixiao Hall , but I didn't expect that the Crown Princess would ask her to make a list?!
How can there be such a daughter-in-law in the world, the concubine Shizi simply doesn't pay attention to the wife, the mother-in-law!
The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she was, the madam had offended the prince several times, and now her status was in jeopardy, but the concubine Shizi gradually gained a firm foothold in the palace, and even took control of the palace, it's no wonder that her arrogance became more and more powerful, she actually Deliberately embarrass yourself!
With a gloomy face and a bit of arrogance in her tone, Nanny Qi said forcefully: "Concubine Shizi, Madam always takes things from the storeroom first, and then let the storeroom record them!"
Nangong Yue glanced at Nanny Qi indifferently, picked up the teacup on the side, and slowly removed the tea foam on the surface of the tea soup with the tea lid, without saying a word.
But the carelessness she exuded invisibly made Nanny Qi feel extremely aggrieved. Since Nanny Qi followed Xiao Fang to the Zhennan Palace, because she was Xiao Fang's nanny, she was the most powerful person in front of Xiao Fang. No one in the entire palace disrespects her. In the past ten years, she has been used to going smoothly. Even if the concubine Wei was in power before, she would not dare to neglect her. Only the concubine...
A gloomy look flickered in Nanny Qi's eyes, but she could only bear it.
At this time, Que'er said: "Nurse Qi, Madam has the rules of the wife, and the concubine has the rules of the concubine, and now the concubine is the housekeeper under the order of the prince, so naturally she has to do things well so that she can live up to the prince. entrusted."
Que'er said with a serious face, while Nanny Qi's face turned blue and white, and she thought: This is because the prince is oppressing me!... This is really a scene of being caught by a shrimp in the shallows of a dragon, and now a little girl dares to treat her like this Speak for yourself!
Que'er naturally saw that Nanny Qi was unhappy, but pretended not to know, and said, "Or maybe Nanny Qi forgot what Madam wants? Why don't Nanny quickly go back and ask Madam?"
Nanny Qi knew that if she went back empty-handed like this, she would definitely be angered by the madam, and it would be bad for her to handle affairs! The madam was recently confined in the main courtyard, and even if she wanted to lose her temper, she could only send it to the servants in the courtyard. Which of the servants is not a man with his tail between his legs.
Nanny Qi took a deep breath, and said forcefully: "Miss Lao Que'er, don't worry, I will naturally remember Madam's instructions."
Huamei said "kindly": "Mother Qi came here for the first time, and I don't know the rules of the concubine. Today, I will help you to write it down." She said, grinding ink and laying paper with a smile.
Nanny Qi could only go down the steps with this, and said in a swallowed voice: "Concubine Huishi, Madam needs a set of blue and white porcelain tableware, a pair of blue-glazed plum vases, a picture of Avalokitesvara holding flowers, a ruby Meishou Changchun bonsai... "
Huamei quickly wrote down one by one for her, then dried the ink and asked her to press her fingerprints, and then presented the list to Nangong Yue.
After Nangong Yue looked at it, she asked Huamei to get the C pair, and handed it back to Nanny Qi along with the list.
Nanny Qi took the pair of cards and the order, blessed her body casually as a thank you, and walked away with her head held high.
After Nanny Qi walked away, Huamei sighed with some distress: "It seems that Madam dropped a lot of things last night..." Otherwise, why would I need to take so many things!
Que'er said with a smile on the side: "Anyway, it belongs to the prince, if the prince doesn't feel sorry for him, why should we feel sorry for him?"
Nangong Yue glanced at Que'er with a smile, but that's not true. Anyway, it's the Zhennan King's stuff, Xiao Fang can smash it if he likes it!
Thinking of this, Thrush also smiled.
Nangong Yue pondered for a moment, and then said: "Mae'er, you can go to the warehouse to make statistics later. In the past few months, how many things have been taken from the warehouse in the main courtyard, and how much has been returned?" Didn't Xiao Fang say that Do you want to change the decoration? Since it is "changed", it must be that there is an entry and an exit.
"Yes, Shizifei." Que'er immediately smiled knowingly, responded crisply, and went to work. After smashing so many things, I am afraid that there is nothing to gain!
Half an hour later, Que'er came back with a list, with a smile on his face, and it seemed that he had gained something.
After she saluted Nangong Yue, she presented the list and said in a funny way: "Concubine Shizi, madam has used fifteen sets of tableware, teacups, and twelve large and small vases this year. There is no return, or the original complete set of tableware is either missing a bowl or a plate, and finally it can only be left in the warehouse to collect dust. In addition, ten pieces of calligraphy and paintings were received, and six pieces were returned. The screens, Xiangfei bamboo curtains, tortoiseshell incense burners, cool bamboo mats, jade brush washers, etc. are basically returned once they are used... "
Obviously, those things that can be dropped and torn have the highest damage rate.
Que'er couldn't help laughing, Madam is such a prodigal, but fortunately Zhennan Wang's family is rich enough to make her troubles!
Nangong Yue squinted her eyes slightly, glanced at the list casually, and almost knew it in her heart.
At this moment, Baihui opened the bamboo curtain of Concubine Xiang and entered the room, then bowed her knees and saluted.
Nangong Yue casually put down the list in her hand and looked at Baihui.
"My concubine, Steward Zhu just called his servants and told him about the investigation results of the Li family medicine store." Baihui reported in an orderly manner, "Butler Zhu has inquired, and this boss Li is a bit money-loving. Deliberately lowering the price, the medicines sold are also more expensive than others, but they have never sold fake medicines or passed them off as good ones. In addition, Master Hu in his shop is really good at making medicines, so the business of the medicine shop has always been good. Zhu The housekeeper also specifically inquired about Mr. Hu, saying that Mr. Hu got a unique copy of pharmaceuticals from Boss Li, and for this reason, Master Hu has to work for Boss Li's shop for three generations..." Speaking of this, Baihui's There was also a bit of a sigh on the face, then Master Hu is really a drug addict, for a book, not only sold himself, but also sold two generations of children and grandchildren.
After a pause, Baihui continued: "Butler Zhu also said that although Boss Li is greedy for small profits, he occasionally does some 'good deeds'..."
"A good deed?" Que'er frowned. The first time Shi Zifei met Boss Na Li at the small market outside the city, she was there. do good things
Baihui's expression was a bit strange: "The housekeeper Zhu told the servants about a few things. They said that once, there was an old woman who was poor and was short of two copper coins to buy medicine, but her grandson was seriously ill and knelt down in her medicine shop. At the door, I begged Boss Li bitterly to ask if I could owe some... Later, Boss Li asked the old woman to work in his pharmacy as a maid for two days." How should I put it, two copper coins to order people for two days is too much, But at least it solved the other party's urgent need and saved his life. "The old woman is very grateful to him, and she still sweeps the floor and wipes the table for him from time to time."
All in all, although Boss Li is a profit-greedy businessman, he still has a bottom line.
Nangong Yue nodded slightly, she was not afraid of businessmen being greedy for profit, she was afraid that she would ignore her conscience for the sake of profit, the boss of this profit is still acceptable, it depends on how well the medicine is prepared.
Forget it, it's time to get the medicine today, so why not go there yourself. Nangong Yue thought about it, so she ordered Huamei to ask Fu Yunyan and Xiao Fei if they wanted to go together.
Huamei hadn't gone out yet, but the two came here together. Fu Yunyan said with a smile: "Ah Yue, you are going to get the medicine today, and we are going too! You can go shopping with me again, I want to buy some gifts." Go back to the capital and give it to others." She said while calculating in her heart, Ah Xin, mother, father, brothers and sisters, and sister Xi, cousin Yi...there are quite a lot of gifts to buy.
That's right, Liu Niang and Grandmother Yong Yang will be going back soon... Nangong Yue resisted the sorrow of parting in her heart, and responded with a smile: "Liu Niang, where do you want to go, sister Fei and I will accompany you where!"
Not long after, two green-covered horse-drawn carriages left the East Street gate of the palace, and headed south of the city first.
Along the way, Fu Yunyan lifted the curtain to look out from time to time, and when he saw an interesting shop, he stopped the carriage and bought some here and there...
When their carriage arrived at Lijia Pharmacy, another carriage with a green cover that was empty was half loaded by her.
The three of Nangong Yue got out of the carriage, and the waiter greeted him immediately with a smile on his face, his attitude was much more attentive than before.
Nangong Yue had already guessed that the shrewdness of Boss Yinali would surely guess her identity, so it was no surprise that the guy led her into the inner hall.
"Shi... madam," Boss Li warmly rubbed his hands and greeted him, and squinted his eyes flatteringly, "please, please, the medicine is all ready. In fact, madam, why do you need to come in person, send someone to let me know, careless ... I'll send it to you myself!"
While talking, Master Hu came holding a box of pear blossom wood. He didn't say much, but opened the box in front of them, and saw ten blue and white porcelain vases neatly placed inside.
Baihui took out one of the porcelain vases and presented it to Nangong Yue.
Nangong Yue opened the porcelain bottle, first sniffed it, then poured out a few pills, looked at the color, showed satisfaction on her face, smiled and said to Master Hu: "Master Hu, you have a specialty in surgery, your medicine Well made."
Master Hu knew that Nangong Yue was an expert in medicine, and he was overjoyed, as if he had received a great compliment.
He hesitated for a moment, but still clasped his fists and asked: "Concubine Shizi, your prescription for heat-relief medicine is really wonderful, and I don't know who created it? Can the grass people also use this prescription to make medicine?"
Boss Li's face on the side froze for a moment, and he said in his heart: Although my master Hu is good at craftsmanship, he really doesn't understand the world. The concubine of the family goes on tour in disguise, so naturally she wants to conceal her identity, so Master Hu insists on revealing her identity! ... and the matter of begging for a prescription. Although he heard Master Hu mention it once before, after he figured out the identity of the Shizi Concubine, he gave up this idea a long time ago. He didn't expect that Master Hu would dare to talk to the Shizi Concubine. carry!
Boss Li looked at Nangong Yue nervously. Nangong Yue smiled slightly and said, "It's just a prescription, and it's something that benefits the people. Master Hu, just use it."
"Thank you, Princess Concubine." Master Hu thanked him sincerely.
Boss Li secretly breathed a sigh of relief, he just said, there are a lot of concubines, so she will definitely not care about a villain like him!
After Nangong Yue checked them one by one, she asked Baihui to put away the porcelain bottles, then looked at Boss Li, and said, "Boss Li, it's this kind of anti-heat medicine, how long will it take for you to make another 10,000 pills for me? "
"Ten days is enough."
Nangong Yue thought about it: "Then it's okay for me to get someone to pick up the five thousand pills in five days?"
Boss Li hurriedly responded, "Of course!"
The two quickly agreed on the details of the next batch of anti-heat medicines. Baihui settled the balance of the previous order and gave the deposit again for this order.
Afterwards, the few people got into the green-covered carriage while being sent off by Boss Li.
The wheels of the car rolled slowly, and Fu Yunyan said excitedly: "Ah Yue, Ah Fei, what shall we buy next? I haven't bought Pu'er yet! By the way, I remember that the purple-skinned dendrobium and ham in southern Xinjiang are also very good Right?" The more she said, the more excited she became, and her honey-colored face was full of energy.
Xiao Fei was also emotionally infected, and suggested: "Liu Niang, let's go to Xiangnan Street next? There are many shops there, food, clothing, housing and transportation are all available."
Fu Yunyan nodded naturally.
While speaking, the carriage turned around and headed towards the southeast of the city... The surrounding area became more and more lively, the flow of people was panting, and the street was also noisy.
At Fu Yunyan's suggestion, the three simply got out of the carriage and started strolling along the street. Cloth, silver jewellery, tea, ham, all kinds of dry goods... If it wasn't for some things that were inconvenient to store, they almost thought that Fu Yunyan would move half of Luoyue City back to the capital.
The second carriage was filled up in a short while, but Fu Yunyan was still unsatisfied, and ordered the owner of a shop to send a box of woven carpets to Zhennan Prince's Mansion. When the boss heard that it was the palace, he quickly responded, nodded and bowed and sent them out of the shop.
Looking at the sun starting to set outside, Fu Yunyan was about to propose to go back, but saw something wrong with Xiao Fei's eyes, followed her gaze, and found out that the next door was a quiet bookstore.
"A Fei, how about we go to the bookstore?" Fu Yunyan was very considerate, she smiled and took Xiao Fei's arm with one hand, and Nangong Yue with the other, and strode towards the next door.
"Liu Niang..."
Before she finished speaking, Xiao Fei's attention was attracted by the movement in the bookstore.