Lucky Farmer Girl: I rely on metaphysics to support my family

Chapter 835 Open-minded
Madam Wang glanced at the accounts briefly, then said to her personal maid, Hongyu, "Go and invite the eldest young lady over."

After Hongyu left, Madam Wang said to Tang Wan, "Starting today, let your sister help manage the household. You can also observe and learn from her if you don't understand anything."

"Yes, Mother, I understand," Tang Wan replied with a smile.

Tang Jing arrived shortly afterward.

When Wang saw her daughter coming over, she gestured for her to sit down beside her: "Jing'er, sit down. Now that we're back in the capital, we need to get everything sorted out again. From now on, you and Wan'er will help me manage the household every day."

Wang handed the thin register of existing servants to Tang Jing.

She explained the current servant situation: "The first thing to do at home is to hire people. There are only nine people brought back from the northern desert. The War King left six to help, but it's still not enough, especially since Jing'er doesn't even have a personal maid. Take a look at those three maids now and see if you like any of them. If you do, I'll give you two of them."

If the master's prediction is correct, he might be reinstated to his original position, or he might be demoted but retained in his post. But in any case, the current state of the household is dire. People are needed everywhere – sweeping, gatekeeping, kitchen work, laundry, shopping.

With so many people like my mother, we simply don't have enough.

Tang Jing listened attentively and nodded, saying, "There's no rush for my daughter to find a personal maid. We've gotten used to not having maids in the northern desert, and having a maidservant now isn't a problem. We'll decide after we've made the purchase. However, we need to be careful when buying servants. Although there are many slave traders in the capital, we must guard against those with impure intentions or questionable backgrounds who might sneak in."

Madam Wang gave her eldest daughter an approving look and said with a smile, "That makes perfect sense. That's why I called you all here to discuss this together. You're not young anymore, and you should learn some skills in managing the household and assessing servants. That way, you won't be caught off guard when you get to your husband's family."

Tang Jing blushed slightly, but she was not embarrassed. She replied softly, "Your daughter will obey your mother's teachings."

The mother and her two daughters then had another long discussion.

While they were busy arranging household affairs, the War King did not rest even after returning to his residence.

He first summoned Zhan Yi and handed him the five concealment talismans made by Tang Wan, instructing him: "Select five of the most skilled and determined undercover guards to infiltrate several suspicious estates under Feng Yongnian's name. The primary objective is to ascertain the internal layout, the distribution of sentries, and the patterns of personnel activity; secondly, focus on investigating whether there are any isolated courtyards, cellars, or places with exceptionally heavy guard. If you find any observers, be extremely careful and do not alert them."

After a brief pause, the War King continued, "The talisman can conceal one's presence for an hour, but one must still be careful when encountering guards and plan one's advance and retreat routes carefully."

Zhan Yi accepted the talisman with both hands and replied in a deep voice, "Your subordinate understands! I will certainly not fail Your Highness's trust!"

"Furthermore," the War King added, "we will send people to Feng Yongnian's ancestral home in the southwest to investigate the changes in his family over the past few decades, paying particular attention to whether any family members died young or mysteriously, or whether they were involved in local shamanistic rituals."

"Yes!"

Zhan Yi accepted the order and withdrew. Zhan Wang tapped the table lightly with his knuckles, his mind replaying Tang Wan's solemn expression when she mentioned "feeding demons" and "core feed".

His gaze turned cold; Feng Yongnian had to remove it as soon as possible.

After finishing his urgent official business, the War King changed into his princely robes and went to the palace to pay his respects.

Inside the imperial study, the emperor was reviewing memorials when he heard that the Prince of War was requesting an audience, which surprised him slightly.

The War King bowed and said, "Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."

"Get up. What brings you here today? Is there something going on with the Southern Desert delegation?" The emperor put down his vermilion brush and rubbed his temples.

The War King straightened up and said in a calm tone, "Your Majesty, I have come here on a private matter. I wish to propose marriage to Tang Bojun's second daughter, Tang Wan, and have come to inform you of this."

The emperor narrowed his eyes slightly, scrutinizing his son. He was well aware of his son's intentions, especially given that the second young lady of the Tang family had rendered meritorious service to the country, and he wanted to directly bestow a marriage upon them.

But the stubborn son wanted to win the heart of the beauty through his own efforts, and the father naturally had no reason to hinder his son.

So much time has passed, I hadn't thought of it until he mentioned it.

However, judging from today's situation, good things are on the horizon.

The Emperor's lips curled slightly as he asked, "Is this settled? Have you asked a matchmaker?"

The War King was taken aback by the question; he hadn't expected it.

The Emperor could tell from the Prince of War's appearance that he hadn't thought of this issue, so he smiled and said, "You! Why don't I just bestow a marriage upon you? That way you won't have to worry about it."

This time, the War King did not refuse. After thinking for a moment, he slowly said, "How about I ask someone to act as matchmaker before I ask Father Emperor to grant me the marriage?"

Logically speaking, asking the emperor to grant a marriage should be considered a favor, but he didn't know if Wan'er would like it.

Moreover, he didn't know what the Tang family's attitude was now, and he felt that it was inappropriate to rashly grant a marriage.

Knowing that his son had no biological mother to help with the arrangements, the Emperor said, "Go and find your Princess Changqing. She is your elder. Tell her that I have specifically asked her to help with your wedding arrangements. I think she will not ignore it."

After thinking it over, I realized that my son probably didn't have much contact with Changqing, and I was still worried, so I said, "Never mind, I'll have someone deliver an imperial edict! You can go and pay him a visit later."

Changqing was his biological brother, one of his closest relatives in the world. He had always been on good terms with his elder brother, who hadn't caused him any trouble over the years. Changqing was one of the people in the royal family that he trusted.

His son had suffered since childhood, and now that this was such an important life event, he had to make sure it was handled perfectly. He felt most at ease entrusting it to Changqing.

Once the preliminary matters were agreed upon, the Ministry of Rites would proceed according to established procedures.

The emperor acted immediately, summoning his personal eunuch and whispering a few instructions.

The chief eunuch accepted the order, bowed, and withdrew, then arranged for someone to deliver the oral message to Princess Changqing's residence.

Seeing how thoughtful his father's arrangements were, the War King felt a warmth in his heart and bowed again, saying, "Thank you for your trouble, Father."

"Alright, go ahead. Talk to your imperial aunt properly. She's straightforward and dotes on the younger generation. With her helping you manage things, I can rest assured." The emperor waved his hand, picked up his vermilion brush again, but his eyes held a hint of a smile. "Propose marriage, but keep a close eye on things in the Southern Desert as well."

"Your subject obeys the decree," the War King hurriedly replied.

The Emperor looked up at the Prince of War and waved his hand: "Alright, if there's nothing else, you can leave now. Go and discuss your marriage with your imperial aunt."

The War King bowed and left the Imperial Study.

After leaving the palace, the War King returned to his residence and ordered his men to open the storeroom. He carefully selected several gifts: a set of rare ancient books from the previous dynasty, a box of high-quality South China Sea pearls, and two bolts of newly made Yun brocade.

Princess Changqing is his aunt, but he has been stationed in the northern desert for many years and they do not have much contact. However, she is reasonable and open-minded and has a lot of prestige in the royal family. He should be more serious about her, both in public and private.

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