Zi'an felt that this person was someone who could go with the flow. At least, she didn't complain about the world or feel unwilling to suffer injustice. It seemed that she would calmly accept whatever fate gave her.
A young lady from an official family was reduced to a slave. Was there not a trace of humiliation on her face
Either the play is good, or she really accepts her fate.
Zi'an said, "The Empress Dowager sent you out of the palace and into the Prince's mansion so that you could be by the Prince's side. Are you willing to just be a slave?"
Wan Jing still did not raise her head, and said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "Since I have entered slavery, I will abide by my duty and will not have any other extravagant hopes."
"Yes." Zi'an nodded, "I also heard from the prince about your matter. Does literacy count?"
"In reply to your princess, I know a few words and a little bit of math," Wan Jing said.
Zi'an said to Xiaosun, "Ask Guiyuan to bring over this month's account book from the mansion, and also bring over the abacus."
Xiaosun responded and left.
Wanjing didn't know what she was going to do, so she didn't ask and just waited with her hands hanging down.
After a while, Guiyuan and Xiaosun came in panting. Guiyuan held the account book in one hand and the abacus in the other, and bowed as soon as he entered the door.
"Wanjing, please calculate the accounts for this month." Zi'an said.
Xiaosun's face turned pale and he looked at Zi'an in surprise.
Wanjing was also stunned for a moment, but did not dare to ask. She went forward and took Guiyuan's account book and abacus, squatted on the ground, and started to calculate on the low table.
Zi'an said, "You sit down."
Wan Jing said: "It doesn't matter, it will be fine soon."
Guiyuan said: "This is the account of the mansion's expenses this month. It's not much, but it's trivial."
What Guiyuan meant was that these trivial accounts could not be settled in a short time.
Wanjing gave Guiyuan a grateful smile, but her fingers were dialing quickly on the abacus.
Her fingers were very slender and her movements were graceful and swift. In the room, the crisp sound of the beads was endless, making people feel like a beautiful piece of music.
Guiyuan's eyes widened with excitement. Although he had only been doing the accounting for a short time, it had been some time, and his speed was not even half as fast as others.
Moreover, she was using an abacus while flipping through the account book. She didn't need to count each thing with her fingers at all. She just glanced at it and typed it quickly.
After a cup of tea, she stood up and wrote down the numbers with the charcoal pencil on the account book, saying, "Princess, the calculation is done."
"Guiyuan, check!" Zi'an said.
Guiyuan leaned over to look at the beads on her abacus, her eyes widened even more, "Princess, it's basically correct."
Guiyuan has not settled this month's accounts as it is not the end of the month yet, but he will account for every day's expenses first. So he has a total amount of daily expenses, and the account calculated by Wanjing is not different from his own daily account.
Zi'an smiled with satisfaction and said to Guiyuan, "Starting tomorrow, you will take care of Wanjing for a while and let her take over from you."
Guiyuan and Xiaosun's expressions changed slightly. Guiyuan's lips trembled and his face turned pale. "Yes!"
"Wanjing, are you willing?" Zi'an asked.
Wan Jing then raised her head, tears welling up in her eyes, "Princess, no woman would settle accounts."
"The palace doesn't have so many rules. Just tell me whether you are willing or not."
"Wanjing thanks the princess for her support." Wanjing knelt down, her voice no longer as calm as before, but much more excited.
Zi'an said: "You have to have the ability, go first."
"Wan Jing, take your leave!"
She stepped back out, and as she reached the door, tears began to fall.
If she said she accepted her fate, she would be helpless. If she didn't accept her fate, what could she do? Being a slave, although she would be looked down upon, she could still survive.
Although the accountant is also a servant in the mansion, he does not have to do the work of serving others. This is the grace of the princess.
As soon as Wanjing left, Xiaosun couldn't help but say, "Princess, you asked her to do Guiyuan's work, what about Guiyuan? You are biased!"
Guiyuan quickly said, "Xiaosun, don't talk nonsense."
Zi'an glared at Xiaosun and said, "Girls are extroverts, you're right."
Xiaosun blushed, "What? I just feel it's unfair for Guiyuan. He tried very hard."
Zi'an snorted and looked at Guiyuan, "Guiyuan, if you do accounting in the mansion, the best you can do is to be an accountant. Are you willing to go to the manor?"
"Zhuangzi?" Guiyuan raised his head suddenly, "What are you going to do in Zhuangzi?"
"Of course it's the manager." Zi'an said with a smile.
Xiaosun exclaimed, her round face unable to hide her joy, "Does the princess want to promote Guiyuan to be the manager of the manor?"
"That's right, isn't being a manager better than being an accountant in the mansion?" Zi'an said with a smile.
Gui Yuan said excitedly: "But, but I'm afraid I can't do it."
"I believe you. The prince has understood everything that happened in the manor. Don't worry. Before you go, the prince will definitely clear the way for you. Those evil-hearted and greedy people will be driven away first. Now you will take over the several manors in the palace temporarily. It will be very difficult for you in the future."
"Guiyuan is not afraid of hard work, but is afraid of doing a bad job." Guiyuan said.
Xiaosun couldn't help but think that he had to manage several farms, and couldn't help but ask: "Can he calculate so many accounts by himself?"
Zi'an laughed, "Silly boy, Guiyuan is here to manage things, not to do accounting. Every manor has an accountant. What Guiyuan has to do is to summarize, check the accounts, and be the general manager. In the future, he must have a few people around him to help him. You can promote the trustworthy people in the manor yourself, but they must be trustworthy."
"Guiyuan knows, thank you, Princess!" Guiyuan wiped his tears. He had never dreamed that he could be the manager of a manor, and not just the manager of one manor, but the general manager of several manors.
Xiaosun asked with a smile: "How much will Guiyuan earn in the future?"
She earned one tael of silver a month in the mansion, which was already very good. In other mansions, most people earned two cents of silver, and at most five cents.
"One hundred taels a year!" Zi'an said.
"Ah? Ah!" Xiaosun screamed and looked at Guiyuan excitedly, "You have to treat us."
Guiyuan felt like he was dreaming. One hundred taels of silver a year? That was too much. Even the current manager of the manor didn't make one hundred taels of silver a year.
"Princess... this is too much, too much!" Guiyuan quickly declined.
Zi'an said: "This salary is reasonable. You should gain more experience. As long as you do well, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future."
Xiaosun also said earnestly: "Yes, Princess, you should just thank her for her kindness. Why are you saying so much?"
Zian rolled his eyes, Xiaosun...
Guiyuan went out thanking him profusely, while Xiaosun just kept smiling foolishly.
"What? The one hundred taels of silver are yours?" Zi'an snorted.
Xiaosun said with a smile: "No, I am happy for Guiyuan."
"Are you happy for yourself?"
Xiaosun's face flushed like fire, "Princess, you are talking nonsense."
Zi'an said in a leisurely voice: "Speaking of which, Guiyuan is not young anymore, it's time for her to get married. I'll have to ask the nanny to keep an eye out for some virtuous girls, and then..."
Xiaosun stamped her feet anxiously, her eyes turning red, "Princess, you are bullying me."
Zi'an laughed, "Okay, I'm just kidding. Everyone knows that you have been missing me for a long time. When things are settled, I will do the big thing for you, okay?"
Xiaosun said coyly, "I'll do whatever the princess says. I've always been an obedient servant."
Zi'an was so happy that he bent forward and backward!
(End of this chapter)