The most dissolute couple in the capital

The Analects says, "Observe what a person does, examine the reasons behind it, and scrutinize what a person is comfortable with." To investigate these old, messy accounts, it is foolish to look directly at the account books. Asking the lowest-ranking servants, who don't even get a taste of the good stuff, will often yield the most truthful answers.

Xiao's mother had been in charge of the laundry room in the Cui family for more than ten years, and she knew this routine very well—chat a few words with the maids, hand them an embroidery needle, and then sigh, "Oh dear, it's getting cold. Are the cotton-padded clothes issued by the mansion thick enough?" and the conversation would begin.

On the evening of the third day, Xiao's mother brought a bowl of red date soup to the main courtyard to give a reply.

"Your Highness, I've found out everything these past few days." She lowered her voice, placing the bowl on the table as a cover. "The fabrics in our household are delivered through the 'Jinyunfang' shop in the East Market, twice a month, on the 10th and 25th."

Cui Qingyi put down her embroidery frame and looked up at Mama Xiao: "What kind of fabric did you send?"

"This servant went to check on the newly issued winter clothes in the servants' quarters." Mama Xiao shook her head. "Your Highness, this servant has touched the fabric. It's at most medium-grade Songjiang cotton cloth. It's woven fairly tightly, but it's definitely not top-grade. But this servant heard from Granny Liu in the laundry room that the manager always says the clothes are 'top-grade tribute cloth' every time they're issued."

Cui Qingyi nodded, her expression remaining calm.

The account book listed the price as "superior tribute cloth," but what was actually delivered was medium-grade Songjiang cotton. The price difference per bolt was at least three or four taels of silver. With nearly a hundred servants in the mansion, and needing to change their clothes twice a year, this alone cost several hundred taels of silver.

"Where's the charcoal?" she asked again.

"This is even more obvious." Madam Xiao leaned closer. "I found an excuse to go to the woodshed and saw with my own eyes that it was piled with ordinary willow charcoal, which produces a lot of smoke and a pungent smell when burned. But the account book says it's silver bone charcoal."

Cui Qingyi smiled and said, "Silver bone charcoal costs sixty coins a pound, while willow charcoal only costs fifteen coins a pound. There's a difference of four times."

The Liang Prince's Mansion has only one master. As long as you can fool the Liang Prince, the rest is up to you.

The report stated that the servants were well cared for and fed with the finest charcoal. Li Chengjing, being of good nature and with a large income in his household, naturally did not care about such things.

He only told his subordinates that they were of different statuses, and that they had already given him food and drink, so how could he possibly ask for anything else?

She had seen this kind of thing many times in her past life. The less the master interfered, the bolder the servants became.

"Mom, you've worked so hard." Cui Qingyi pushed the jujube soup back to her for a drink. "There's something else. Have you been looking at the warehouse?"

Madam Xiao took the soup bowl and hesitated for a moment: "The storeroom... I would like to take a look, but there are guards there, and outsiders can't easily get close."

Cui Qingyi pondered for a moment: "It's alright, there's no need to take any risks. You've done enough these past few days, so rest for now."

Madam Xiao responded, but before leaving, she turned back and cautioned, "Your Highness, that Steward Sun has been operating in the manor for many years; he's very powerful and influential. If you want to take action against him, you'll have to..."

"I know," Cui Qingyi smiled. "Don't worry, Mom, I know what I'm doing."

Not long after Xiao's mother left, Su Xin also returned from outside.

She was carrying a food box, which contained the main courtyard's dinner for the day.

"Your Highness, I have been following your instructions these past few days and have carefully inspected every meal." Su Xin put down the food box and said as she opened the lid, "The dishes are quite complete, with four dishes and a soup plus two desserts at every meal. The ingredients used are also quite fresh, with no signs of inferior ingredients being used."

Cui Qingyi raised an eyebrow: "Is there a problem with the meals in the main courtyard?"

"No problem." Su Xin nodded firmly.

Cui Qingyi chuckled softly.

Naturally, they wouldn't dare skimp on what was for their master. Li Chengjing grew up in the palace and had only been living in the palace for a few years. Everything he ate, drank, and wore since childhood was tribute. If it were replaced with inferior items, he would naturally notice.

"Suxin, what was the attitude of the people in the kitchen when you were investigating?"

Su Xin thought for a moment: "At first they were very polite, but on the third and fourth day, Granny Zhou, who was in charge of the kitchen, became a little impatient and asked me if I felt there was anything wrong with the food, or if the princess was dissatisfied with anything."

"What did you reply?"

"As you instructed, I said that the Princess Consort is new here and wants to know the tastes of the household's food so that I can arrange the menu for the future," Su Xin answered honestly.

Cui Qingyi nodded in satisfaction. This excuse was perfectly acceptable; it was only natural for the new princess to want to understand the household's dietary habits.

The problem is that even such "self-evident" things still reach the ears of Steward Sun.

As she was thinking, she heard light but hurried footsteps from outside.

A young maidservant lifted the curtain and entered, reporting, "Your Highness, Steward Sun is outside requesting an audience."

Cui Qingyi and Su Xin exchanged a glance.

They arrived quite quickly.

"Please come in." Cui Qingyi calmly sat back in the main seat.

Butler Sun, dressed in a clean, dark blue robe, entered the room and gave a deep bow, displaying great respect.

"This old servant greets Your Highness."

"Steward Sun, no need for formalities." Cui Qingyi raised her hand in a gesture of support, her smile gentle. "It's so late, what brings you here, Steward?"

Steward Sun straightened up, his face full of smiles: "Your Highness, this old servant has heard that the nanny by Your Highness's side has been moving around the mansion these past few days, and that Your Highness's maids have been checking the meals in the kitchen every day. This old servant is filled with apprehension."

He paused for a moment, his tone filled with worry: "I wonder if this old servant has failed to serve you properly and caused Your Highness any trouble? If there is anything amiss, Your Highness, please feel free to give your instructions, and this old servant will correct it immediately."

"Steward Sun, you're overthinking it." Cui Qingyi smiled gently. "I'm new here and not familiar with many things in the manor yet. I'm letting Mama Xiao walk around to learn about the daily lives of the servants, so that I won't be clueless when someone asks me questions in the future, and I won't be laughed at for no reason."

"As for Su Xin going to the kitchen, that's a minor matter. His Highness has a discerning palate, so I want to make a note of what he likes and dislikes to eat, so I can make arrangements for the future."

Steward Sun breathed a sigh of relief and nodded repeatedly: "I see, I was overthinking it. The Princess is virtuous, and His Highness is blessed. But if the Princess wishes to know anything, she can simply give the order to this old servant. Why trouble your servants to come personally?"

Cui Qingyi smiled and waved her hand: "The housekeeper is busy with so many things, how can she bother with such trivial matters? Besides, Aunt Xiao has been in charge of the laundry room at home for more than ten years, she can't stay idle, it's good for her to come out and stretch her muscles."

A flicker of something crossed Steward Sun's eyes, but his smile remained unchanged: "Your Highness is right. Then this old servant will take his leave now. Your Highness, please rest early."

"Take care, butler."

After Steward Sun left, Su Xin immediately approached and whispered, "Your Highness, he's here to sound out what's going on, isn't he?"

"Hmm." Cui Qingyi put down her teacup and tapped her index finger lightly on the table twice. "Have you asked Steward Sun about his background?"

Su Xin nodded: "Steward Sun, like Liu Lu, has been by Prince Liang's side since he was a child. After the prince established his mansion, he brought the two of them with him. Liu Lu works for Prince Liang, while the affairs of the mansion are handled by Steward Sun."

A bond forged since childhood...

This is troublesome.

Just as I was tidying up, footsteps sounded again from outside. This time, there was no need to guess; it was a hurried, bustling sound accompanied by the clinking of jade pieces.

"Qingyi!"

Li Chengjing strode in, holding a small porcelain bottle in his hand, his face beaming with excitement: "Smell this! It's a new fragrance I blended today, with benzoin as a base and a touch of ambergris—hey, you don't look too good? Are you tired?"

He suddenly stopped mid-sentence, his eyes sweeping over her face before he leaned closer with concern.

Cui Qingyi was taken aback by his sudden thoughtfulness.

"It's nothing, I just looked at the ledgers for a while and got a little tired."

"Oh, then don't look!" Li Chengjing waved his hand confidently. "Just leave the money to Butler Sun. He's been managing it for so many years, he won't cause any problems."

Cui Qingyi's lips twitched slightly.

Your Highness, the amount of money that slipped through your fingers this year is enough for an ordinary family to live on for a lifetime.

But she just smiled, took the small porcelain bottle, and brought it to her nose to smell it.

The sweet and warm base of benzoin is wrapped with a faint hint of ambergris, creating distinct layers that are not overpowering, a truly ingenious blend.

"It smells wonderful," she said sincerely. "The blend Your Highness made is far superior to those from the incense shops on the market."

Li Chengjing immediately beamed with joy, like a large dog that had been patted on the head: "Of course! I also added sandalwood; those common folk on the market wouldn't use this proportion—"

He talked on and on about the intricacies of the recipe, completely immersed in his own world.

As Cui Qingyi listened with her chin in her hand, a thought suddenly popped into her mind.

This person's talent for cosmetics and perfumes is truly genuine. If only they could make good use of that talent...

Forget it, I'm thinking too far ahead. Let's deal with things one at a time.

We should first find out about Steward Sun's background before making a long-term plan.

"Your Highness," she suddenly interrupted his long-winded explanation about the origin of sandalwood.

"Um?"

"Which shop did you buy those spices—benzoin, ambergris, and the like—from?"

Li Chengjing thought for a moment: "There is a Baihe Incense Shop in the East Market that specializes in this business. I have been getting my goods from them for many years. The shopkeeper and I are very familiar with each other, and he personally entertains me every time I go there."

"Did the butler settle the bill?"

"Of course, I don't carry any money with me when I go out," Li Chengjing said frankly.

Cui Qingyi nodded and silently memorized the information.