After being forced into a marriage with a wealthy family, the virtuous wife caused a huge uproar.

The old lady also began to suspect that this girl might be from a merchant family, since she didn't even understand the saying "if the water is too clear, there will be no fish."

"These account books are from when I was in charge of the household. Even if we try to trace them now, that old woman is no longer alive," the old lady said with a smile. "Kitchen purchasing has always been a lucrative job, and the mistress of the house usually assigns her own trusted confidante to do it."

There were two purposes for doing this: first, the mistress wanted to line her own pockets; second, she wanted to use this method to give her people more money and make them more loyal.

The woman who was doing the purchasing at the time was one of my trusted confidantes. Her husband was seriously ill and needed a lot of money to cure him, so I arranged for her to be the kitchen purchasing agent, giving her this opportunity.

After her husband recovered, she stopped doing it.

She did not disappoint me, which shows that I manage my subordinates well.

"If she had continued doing that, I certainly wouldn't have let her off the hook." The old lady recalled the incident with a look of reminiscence on her face.

"Grandmother, I understand." Rong Yingluo immediately understood what the old lady meant.

To manage subordinates effectively, a combination of kindness and strictness is necessary to ensure their obedience and loyalty.

After studying all morning, Rong Yingluo prepared to return to Yinliu Courtyard to have lunch with Gu Ce, who said he would be back today.

But as soon as she left, Aunt Feng also left.

After spending the morning together, Rong Yingluo and she became quite familiar with each other.

"Young Madam, I went back to my parents' home and brought back some local gifts. I'll bring some to your courtyard this afternoon. I hope you'll like them," Aunt Feng said gently.

"Alright, thank you very much, Aunt Feng," Rong Yingluo replied.

Back at Silver Willow Courtyard, Granny Zhu was setting out the meal.

Gu Ce happened to be returning from the front yard.

The two sat down at the table.

Rong Yingluo habitually ladled him a bowl of fresh soup.

Gu Ce rarely said thank you.

He hadn't felt anything before, but last night she was still thinking about leaving the Gu residence, and he felt like he was taking her service for granted.

No wonder she hasn't developed any feelings for him yet.

"I have a day off tomorrow, would you like me to go out with you?" Gu Ce offered.

"You've only just taken over as prime minister, how dare you slack off?" Rong Yingluo felt like the sun had risen in the west.

"I'm young and quick to handle things. My reputation as a top scholar is well-deserved, and besides, I've been an official for five years," Gu Ce said confidently.

"Now that you're the Prime Minister, if you don't dare use the servants in your household, can you use other people?" Rong Yingluo looked at his confident appearance, but unfortunately he didn't have many of his own people.

"The Prime Minister's residence that the Emperor bestowed upon me is very close to the Duke's residence, just on another street behind the Duke's residence. If you walk along the side road, it only takes a quarter of an hour. I can leave some manpower there."

I plan to find some staff members, and each of them will be accompanied by servants.

"Do you have any good suggestions?" Gu Ce knew that she must have something on her mind when she asked this question.

"Do you know how the Fourth Prince became crippled?" Rong Yingluo asked a question that was completely unrelated to the previous topic.

"I don't know. The Emperor doesn't like the Fourth Prince, so he doesn't pay much attention to him. Five years ago, he suddenly left the capital and I didn't keep track of where he went," Gu Ce said truthfully.

"Actually, he concealed his identity and joined the army. He was betrayed on the battlefield and became disabled."

He had already risen to the rank of guerrilla general before he was injured.

Having witnessed the cruelty of the battlefield, he was particularly concerned about the wounded and disabled soldiers.

He has now gathered a number of remnants of the army and wants to give these people a way to survive.

"If you need people, could you consider using these people?" Rong Yingluo looked at Gu Ce with pleading eyes.

Gu Ce frowned. It turned out that the Fourth Prince had gone to the border to join the army during those years and had crippled himself.

Surprisingly, no news of this matter spread at all in the capital.

This shows how much the emperor neglected him.

"Of course, these wounded soldiers are not the kind who cannot take care of themselves; they are all people who can still work."

For example, a limp, missing an eye, or missing an arm or hand.

They all have a certain fighting ability, and they can fight off enemies if danger arises." Rong Yingluo added when he didn't speak.

She had accompanied her master to a wounded soldiers' camp for a period of time to provide medical treatment, and she had sympathy for them, which is why she suggested that Yuwen Zhang do so.

But recently, Yuwen Zhang has brought in another group of people, bringing the total to over three hundred, which the escort agency can no longer accommodate.

These people need to eat and drink every day. If he can't earn money, he has to support them. Yuwen Zhang doesn't have the ability to support so many people.

"I didn't expect Liuli to have such a kind heart. Since my wife has a request, it's only natural for me, as her husband, to help. Why don't you select some people and send them to the residence bestowed by the Emperor? They can help me tidy up and put them to use as soon as possible." Gu Ce readily agreed.

Rong Yingluo was very happy and took the initiative to serve Gu Ce a few bites of his favorite dishes as a reward.

Gu Ce ate the food with a gentle smile in his eyes.

"By the way, can you tell me why the Emperor dislikes the Fourth Prince?" Rong Yingluo had only met the Emperor twice, but she felt that he was a wise ruler. How could he be so indifferent to his own child?

"It's a long story. At that time, the emperor was still a prince and had already married a princess and two concubines. He was so angry when a noblewoman plotted against him that he preferred to take the noblewoman's maid rather than touch the noblewoman who had schemed against him."

Later, the maid became pregnant, and the noblewoman used this to blackmail the emperor. As a result, the emperor directly took the maid into his mansion as a concubine.

"But that maid was neglected, and she suffered a difficult childbirth, ruining her health. She died a few years later." Gu Ce didn't know about this. It was only because Rong Yingluo was close to the Fourth Prince that he asked An Yi to investigate. In the end, there was no need to investigate at all; An Yi knew everything.

"So he was born after being framed. No wonder the Emperor dislikes him so much. He is a stain on the Emperor's life, but the child is so innocent." Rong Yingluo felt even more sorry for Yuwen Zhang.

Imagine how difficult his life must have been for an unwanted child born into royalty.

"That's why he was able to grow up safely. Even Consort Cao disdained to harm him," Gu Ce said.

"I understand. You mean the reason the Emperor only has one son, the Crown Prince, to inherit the throne is because Consort Cao did it." Rong Yingluo understood immediately.

"This is just speculation. Even the Emperor can't find anything out. We're just chatting." Gu Ce looked at her with admiration. His wife was very clever and understood immediately.

After having lunch, Gu Ce went to the front yard.

Not long after, Aunt Feng actually came in person to deliver the gifts.

"Young Madam, these are just some worthless trinkets. I hope you won't find them offensive." Aunt Feng took a small bundle from the maid, placed it on the table, and opened it.

When Rong Yingluo took a look, she saw that they were all small toys that girls liked, such as chubby dolls, bamboo ornaments, and wooden fan surfaces, which were very unique.

"Aunt Feng, did you share some of the things you bought for Third Sister with me?" Sure enough, Rong Yingluo really liked these things, picking them up and playing with them one by one.

"Young mistress is only sixteen years old, still a young girl." Aunt Feng took out another food box and opened it, inside which were four neat rows of dried persimmons. "There are also dried fruits. There's no fresh fruit to eat this time of year, so eating some dried fruits can make up for it."

Each one was a dark yellow color with a layer of white powder on the surface, making them look very tempting.

"Wow, I haven't had dried persimmons in ages. Aunt Feng, does your family produce a lot of these?" Rong Yingluo exclaimed happily.

It's late autumn now, and most fruits are out of season, so eating dried fruit is definitely a good way to satisfy your cravings.

"Yes, before my family moved to the county town, there were several persimmon trees in front of and behind the house. My grandmother would dry the ones we couldn't eat into dried fruit to save for winter." Aunt Feng said, taking one out of the box and handing it to Rong Yingluo.

Rong Yingluo accepted it without hesitation and took a bite.

But as soon as her tongue touched the dried fruit, she froze, her face turned pale, and she spat it out.

A faint bitter and spicy taste spreads on the tip of the tongue.

If you're not very perceptive, you might not be able to tell the difference because the sweet aroma of the persimmon is masked by its fragrance.