Quickly wear salted fish, she won by lying down

This approach not only dealt with the two treacherous individuals but also drove away Consort Wu and Second Master Jiang, who harbored ill intentions. This was naturally a good thing for the household. After all, one can only be a thief for a thousand days, not a thief for a thousand days. Keeping these two ill-intentioned people in the household would inevitably bring trouble sooner or later, so it was better to drive them away.

Prince Qinghe was not bothered by the fact that his two maids were trying to seduce his younger brother. Well, in a wealthy and powerful family, it was not unusual for strange things to happen.

Of course, the main reason was that Prince Qinghe didn't like those two maids, so he didn't care whether they seduced anyone or not.

Otherwise, if those two maids were his own servants, he probably wouldn't have remained so calm.

However, if they were truly his concubines, those two maids wouldn't have tried to seduce Master Jiang, since following the Prince of Qinghe would have offered them a brighter future.

This matter also benefited Prince Qinghe, since it was something he and Princess Qinghe would handle together. Therefore, Princess Qinghe couldn't keep the two thousand taels of compensation for herself; she simply put it in the public treasury.

Although it's nothing compared to what the Dowager Princess Qinghe took from the public funds for her youngest son, it's still better than nothing to make up for some of the deficit.

Having dealt with these two treacherous individuals, Linlang wanted to deal with Third Master Jiang, the younger brother of Prince Qinghe, but she also knew that as long as Prince Qinghe remained inactive and the Dowager Consort Qinghe continued to manage the household, she would be unable to take action. The reason she was able to deal with Second Master Jiang's family was because they had conflicts with the Dowager Consort Qinghe.

Therefore, Linlang is not yet able to resolve the issue of Third Master Jiang's encroachment on the Qinghe Prince's Mansion.

This is also why, even though the two are clearly brothers, Linlang said that Third Master Jiang was sucking the blood of Prince Qinghe. As mentioned before, after the old prince passed away, the brothers divided the family property. However, Princess Qinghe was still alive, and Third Master Jiang had not yet married, so he continued to live in the mansion.

He was different from Second Master Jiang. Second Master Jiang had completely separated his household, with his clothing, food, housing, and transportation completely separate. Third Master Jiang, because of the Dowager Princess Qinghe, naturally did not completely separate his clothing, food, housing, and transportation. He always ate from the public treasury and used public treasury items—that is, the Prince of Qinghe's.

If we're talking about the eldest brother being like a father, then giving Master Jiang a bite to eat and drink wouldn't be a big deal. But is supporting Master Jiang something that can be done with just a bite to eat and drink? He spends money extravagantly, buying women, keeping women, and indulging in various luxuries. I don't know how much money he spends, all of which comes from the Prince of Qinghe.

Of course, the Dowager Consort Qinghe also knew that there were fixed rules for the public funds to be given to the two brothers, and it was impossible to give them to her younger son indefinitely. So she took advantage of the public funds and added her own private savings to give to her younger son.

It's a pity that Third Master Jiang spends money too extravagantly. Even though the Prince's Mansion has an income of over 100,000 taels a year, it still can't keep up with his spending. Linlang saw that he spends several thousand or even tens of thousands of taels a month, as if he owns a silver mine and money comes from thin air. So, no matter how much income the Prince's Mansion has, it can't support his spending. After all, if he doesn't know how to make money, he certainly knows how to spend it. No matter how much money he has, he can still spend it all. That's exactly the situation Third Master Jiang is in now.

Prince Qinghe was far too frugal, spending less than a thousand taels a month. He saved for himself, but didn't save any for the household; on the contrary, the household was living beyond its means because all the money was spent by Third Master Jiang. Sometimes, Linlang felt that Prince Qinghe was a bit of a sucker. After all, if it were her, knowing that the Dowager Princess Qinghe was so exploiting the Prince's household for Third Master Jiang's benefit, why would she be frugal? She would have spent even more than Third Master Jiang, spending all the money without leaving anything for him. She figured it was better to enjoy it herself than for Third Master Jiang. She didn't understand what Prince Qinghe was thinking, saving money for Third Master Jiang.

As for Consort Qinghe, she is even more speechless. Doesn't she understand that spoiling a child is like killing him? Knowing that her son only has the title of General of the State and a meager salary, she still lets him spend money extravagantly. Does she want her youngest son to fall from the heights of success to the depths of despair after she dies?

Not to mention that she knows her youngest son's title is too low and he won't have much money in the future, which is why she's taking money from him now. If she doesn't keep an eye on Third Master Jiang, no matter how much money she takes from the Prince's Mansion, Third Master Jiang will spend it all and won't save the money she gives him for future use when he divides the mansion.

Do you really think that even after she passed away, the Prince of Qinghe would continue to support her youngest son?
Although Prince Qinghe did not ask the Dowager Princess Qinghe for the right to manage the household, it was clear from his lack of objection to the servants' complaints that he actually had objections to Third Master Jiang constantly exploiting the Prince's mansion. However, due to the importance of filial piety in ancient times and the fact that the Dowager Princess Qinghe was still alive, he could not speak up. But once the Dowager Princess Qinghe passed away, she would certainly not continue to give Third Master Jiang the large sums of money she had saved.

Leaving aside the fact that Third Master Jiang has always treated the money of the Prince's Mansion as his own and squandered it recklessly, let's talk about how Linlang's investigation into the cause of the original owner's death has still made no progress.

Prince Qinghe had no contact with Consort Ding, nor did anyone contact those who spread rumors. Among the girls who had dealings with Prince Qinghe's household, none appeared suspicious.

In the past, if she encountered such a suspenseful situation, she could always find some clues by monitoring all parties. It is very rare for her to be in such a situation as this one, where she has been in there for so long and there are no clues at all.

If the original owner's death wasn't an accident, then the murderer was quite well hidden.

In fact, considering that Li San Niang died twice and the original owner died once, the original owner's death was definitely not an accident. After all, there can't be so many coincidences. In a royal mansion, someone could die three times. It can only mean that someone was secretly committing the crime.

The murderer was never found, but soon enough, the Dowager Princess of Qinghe arranged for Third Master Jiang to marry a woman to manage his household.

Grandma Jiang is three years younger than Linlang, but she appears very composed, which is normal. After all, she was married by the Dowager Princess of Qinghe. A person who can control her son naturally has to be composed. Otherwise, she would be fickle and unable to control Master Jiang.
It seems that the person chosen by the Dowager Princess Qinghe for Third Master Jiang was the right one. After Third Master Jiang entered the household, she didn't seem to mind at all seeing Third Master Jiang surrounded by women, having lovers outside, and having ambiguous relationships with other maids and wives in the mansion. Unlike some of the more frivolous women, who might be furious and start arguing with Third Master Jiang if they saw him like this.

However, this doesn't mean she's completely ignoring Third Master Jiang and letting him continue his extravagant spending. After all, the Dowager Princess Qinghe entrusted Third Madam Jiang with the important task of restraining Third Master Jiang. If Third Madam Jiang doesn't do a good job, the Dowager Princess Qinghe will definitely be unhappy. Therefore, while Third Madam Jiang didn't stop Third Master Jiang from continuing to find women, she did keep an eye on his spending habits. (End of Chapter)