After sending away a few maids, Zi'an put Chun, Xia, Qiu and Dong in the yard to do some cleaning work, and strictly ordered them not to enter his room.
Thinking back to the time when the noble concubine left, this mansion has not been tidied up, and it is indeed rather untidy.
The Queen Mother's move attracted Zi'an's attention.
Wang Jun found a man and sent a group of people in.
Zi'an picked a few smart ones to stay by his side, and asked Nanny Yang to teach them how to serve in the house and help Xiaosun.
As for the accounting office, they also had to re-check the accounts. The Empress Dowager drove away all her people except the maids, and then she asked Wang Jun to call back the previous accountant. Before the new servants moved in, Zi'an ordered Wang Jun to check the warehouse and record everything.
Now, there are only two masters in the mansion, her and Murong Jie. Although they don't need many servants, it would be difficult to manage such a large mansion without enough people.
Zi'an asked about the princess's mansion, and was told that there were about eighty servants in the mansion. As for Prince Li's mansion, there were more than sixty people.
As for when the noble concubine was in power, there were more than a hundred servants in the mansion.
Now that a group has been sent away and some have been recruited back, there are about seventy people in total.
Zi'an made arrangements for each courtyard. As for her room, he left four maids, two servants, and Xiaosun to serve her personally.
As for Nanny Yang, Zi'an asked her to help manage the affairs of the mansion with Wang Jun. Wang Jun was responsible for the purchase of compradors and the management of the manor, while Nanny Yang was in charge of all the affairs of the mansion. In order to make her feel at ease, two maids were specially sent to serve her in personal affairs. In this way, Nanny Yang was considered half the master of the mansion.
Nanny Yang was a decisive person and very strict with rules. Her previous loose style was completely gone, and the entire mansion was tidy and well-behaved by her.
The arrangement of each position is very appropriate, there is no extra manpower and no one is too tired.
However, she arranged two more people in the kitchen, who were specifically responsible for taking care of Zi'an's health. She felt that the princess' health was too poor, and she had been fed safflower when she was seriously injured. If she was not properly taken care of, it would be difficult for her to have children.
Zi'an asked Wang Jun again and he said that the names of the courtyards in the mansion had not changed since the previous emperor bestowed the mansion upon her. She thought it would not be a good idea to change the names of other places, so she changed the name of the house she lived in to "Hexu Pavilion". This name simply, roughly and directly expressed her inner desire.
It only took a few days to sort out these things.
Next, she asked Wang Jun to pick Guiyuan up.
Guiyuan lost a lot of weight and looked darker.
"Princess, it's great that you're back." Guiyuan said with a sob.
Zi'an said softly, "Guiyuan, you've suffered."
"My life is not hard. I am happy to serve the princess." Guiyuan said sincerely.
Zi'an nodded, "Tell me everything that happened in the manor."
The master and servant talked in the room for nearly an hour, telling each other all about the oppression of the tenants in the farm.
Zi'an also had some thoughts in his mind.
Money must be kept in one's own hands, and the people under one's control must be managed to avoid making mistakes and causing harm to others.
So, she found Hu Huanxi and asked her to find someone to manage the farm for her.
Hu Huanxi is good at management and the people under her rarely make mistakes, so it is ideal for her to make the selection.
After Zi'an quickly dealt with his affairs, he went to the palace to meet the emperor.
After returning for so many days, the emperor did not summon her, and she did not go to pay her respects. As the daughter-in-law of the royal family, if the emperor did not summon her, she did not need to pay her respects to the emperor. She only needed to pay her respects to the empress dowager on time.
However, as the emperor's former attending physician, she could go and say hello.
She waited outside the imperial study for almost an hour before the emperor summoned her in.
Meeting the emperor was actually just asking for grace to see his mother and brother, because they still lived in the Xiwei Palace, which was the emperor's bedroom and outsiders were not allowed to enter.
Unless the emperor allows.
Before entering the imperial study, Eunuch Lu said softly, "Princess, don't ask questions that you shouldn't ask."
Zi'an knew that Eunuch Lu had good intentions, and was afraid that she would ask about the Empress Dowager and the Queen in the harem, so he said, "Thank you for the reminder, Eunuch."
Although the weather in July and August was hot, the imperial study was unusually cool. Upon closer inspection, I saw cold air seeping out from behind the screen. I guess ice was taken from the ice cellar to cool down the room.
The emperor was sitting behind a huge ebony desk, wearing a bright yellow dragon robe and his face was rosy. Zi'an took a look and knew that he was not wearing human skin, but the color of his skin.
The emperor looked at her with a smile. Although he was majestic, his hatred was not as deep as before.
There were many memorials placed on the table, like a small mountain, somewhat messy, but neatly arranged in different categories. A young eunuch was serving in front of the hall, and on the incense table next to him was a gilded lotus pedestal and hollow copper lid incense burner, emitting wisps of fragrant mist.
Zi'an didn't dare to look anymore and bowed respectfully, "Your Majesty, I am Xia Zi'an!"
The emperor's voice came slowly, "Princess, please get up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Zi'an stood up to express his gratitude.
"You are back. I haven't had time to talk to you yet. I wanted to summon you to the palace in the past two days, but I didn't expect you to come here by yourself." The emperor's voice was as warm as a spring breeze, which made Zi'an feel that the man sitting behind the imperial desk was really like her brother.
"Your Majesty is very busy and I have nothing else to do but to ask you how your Majesty is doing."
If anyone else asked this question, it would probably be inappropriate, but Zi'an was his doctor, so even though it felt abrupt, it was reasonable for her to ask.
The emperor said, "Princess, you are so thoughtful. Since you have come to the palace, please check my pulse. I only trust you. The imperial doctors in the palace are all useless."
"Your Majesty, you are too kind. The imperial physician is very skilled. I am not comparable to him. I only know a few rural prescriptions."
"Princess, please be modest. Come up and feel my pulse," said the emperor.
Zi'an stepped forward, and the young eunuch took a handkerchief and placed it on the table. The emperor stretched out his hand, and Zi'an felt his pulse and listened carefully.
After listening for a while, Zi'an smiled and said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty. Your pulse is normal and you have recovered."
The emperor smiled with satisfaction, "It is also thanks to the prescription you prescribed before. I have been taking it continuously. I didn't expect that I would really get better."
Zi'an knew in his heart that her prescription was not effective. His illness was already at the end of its strength. If he took the medicine according to her prescription, it would indeed prevent the condition from getting worse and would improve slightly, but it would be impossible to cure him.
"Your Majesty's great fortune is due to the blessing of God, not my own merit."
The emperor waved his hand and asked, "Has the epidemic in the northern desert been cured?"
"In reply to your Majesty, I have developed a prescription and the epidemic has been brought under control."
"Princess, you are the people's lucky star, and also my lucky general. It is a blessing for the seventh brother to marry you."
The emperor kept praising Zi'an, but he found it more and more creepy the more he listened.
And even though she lowered her head, she could always feel that his gaze was very sharp.
(End of this chapter)