How could my childhood sweetheart be the current empress?

The biggest problem facing the Xiangguo Mansion at present is the chaotic management.

This reminded Yan Jixue of the same situation she faced when she first took over the wild goose from the previous emperor.

But at that time, any decision she made was like walking on a tightrope. Any carelessness would lead to irreversible consequences.

A big reason why the Xiangguo Mansion became like this was because Xu Chengling didn't like to be in charge of things and was very indulgent to his servants on weekdays. Over time, the Xiangguo Mansion had no rules.

After finding out the reason, Yan Jixue used her experience to ask the housekeeper to gather all the servants in the Prime Minister's Mansion.

The first step is to reprimand all the servants and establish prestige.

Then, he picked out some servants with good performance and gave them rewards.

The palace and the government are one, and promotions, punishments, praises and criticisms should not be different.

After that, Yan Jixue began to give clear division of labor to the servants, each of them performing their own duties and fulfilling their own responsibilities.

It only took her one day to arrange all the work in the mansion without any mistakes.

At first, the servants were naturally unconvinced, but no one dared to show it.

But everything is under Yan Jixue's control. If she wants to achieve the fastest results, she must use intimidation and the means must be very tough.

There are many servants in the Xiangguo Mansion, and items often get lost or are misappropriated by servants, resulting in additional expenses every month in the mansion.

If this money could be saved, it could add a lot of items to the mansion every month and be used to repair old houses.

Alternatively, confiscating it and donating it to the national treasury is also a good option.

Yan Jixue was, after all, a very patriotic person, and every donation she made was recorded as a contribution made by the Prime Minister.

When he is convicted in the future, maybe it can be used to mitigate his crime.

Thinking of this, Yan Jixue couldn't help but smile on her pretty face. Being able to marry a woman like her who cares about the family is definitely the greatest blessing in this guy's life.

So, in order to solve the problem of lost objects, Yan Jixue established a rule.

The rule is that the items distributed to servants every month must be returned on time the next month. If items are stolen in the area a servant is responsible for, the amount will be deducted from the servant's monthly salary.

At the same time, Yan Jixue also set up a patrol agency in the mansion, wearing white hats, who were specifically responsible for patrolling the work situation of the servants every day.

"If anyone is lazy, gambling, drinking, fighting or quarreling, report to me immediately."

This is what Yan Jixue said to the inspection agency and asked them to carry out the order.

If a servant was lazy, he would naturally be beaten and his rice and silver for that month would be deducted.

But if a servant makes a mistake and the inspector fails to find it, the inspector’s wages will be deducted.

At the same time, Yan Jixue would set an example by personally inspecting the work of the servants in the mansion every day.

When she was not free, she asked Shadow to supervise for her, and the servants were not allowed to slack off.

Yan Jixue quickly subdued the servants of the Prime Minister's Mansion with her strict and enlightened methods.

Soon, under her strict and enlightened discipline, the entire Xiangguo Mansion became orderly, and even the atmosphere in the mansion changed greatly.

In general, the Xiangguo Mansion is also thriving.

……

In the elegant courtyard of the Xiangguo Mansion.

A pretty and graceful figure was sitting in the pavilion, with her eyebrows slightly raised and a sad look on her face, as if she was missing something.

"Your Majesty, when do you plan to return to the palace?"

The shadow appeared silently behind Yan Jixue and leaned over to ask.

The country cannot be without a ruler for a day. Your Majesty has been away from the palace for nearly a month. If this continues, something big will happen sooner or later.

Although the second princess also has the talent to govern the country, she lacks the determination. The energy required to maintain the operation of a country is unimaginable.

If one day the second princess can no longer hold on, Your Majesty will need to go back to take charge of the situation.

"Returning to the palace?"

Yan Jixue raised her eyes slightly and looked at the familiar courtyard in front of her, the leaves rustling.

The warm sunlight poured down, casting mottled shadows of trees on the ground through the gaps in the leaves. A breeze blew, and the flowers and trees swayed in the wind. Petals fluttered down and landed on the hair and shoulders, emitting a faint fragrance.

However, there is still a familiar figure missing here.

How long has it been since he came back?

"I'll go back right away once I've dealt with things here."

Yan Jixue couldn't help but sigh softly, and an unforgettable figure flashed through her mind.

He hasn't returned to the Prime Minister's Mansion for more than ten days since he went to the palace.

When she heard the news that he had been attacked, her heart inexplicably tightened, as if a huge rock was blocking her chest. Only until she heard that he was fine did she feel relieved.

When did I start to care so much about this bad guy?

What does his life or death have to do with her? It would be better if this traitor were dead.

Yan Jixue felt a little uneasy and she tried hard to forget about this person.

But for some reason, the more she tried to forget him, the more his image lingered in her mind.

When I see him, I want to eat him, but when I can't see him, I miss him all the time.

Yan Jixue couldn't help biting her lower lip, and she parted her lips slightly, muttering to herself:

"What's wrong with me..."

Chapter 47: Here to snatch someone away

Volume 1, Chapter 47

The shadow stood behind Yan Jixue, saying nothing.

Shadow wore a tight black dress all day long, a black scarf on his face, and his hair was tied up. Only a pair of dark and deep eyes were exposed.

Her voice is usually neutral, and if it weren't for Shadow's slim and well-proportioned figure, it would be impossible to tell her gender.

She is His Majesty's shadow, following him everywhere. Wherever His Majesty is, she is there.

"Shadow, how long have you been following me?"

"Your Majesty, it has been ten years."

"Until now, I still don't know your name."

"I am your majesty's shadow, I don't need a name."

Shadow hesitated for a moment, then spoke out the name that was buried in her memory.

Back then, the owner of Yujingfang trained two masters for the imperial court, one was named Yuan and the other was named Chan.

"My name is Xia Chan."

"Xia Chan, what a nice name."

Yan Jixue nodded slightly and wrote down the name.

"Xia Chan, you have always been my shadow, operating only in the dark. From today on, why don't you follow me as my personal maid so that you can protect me more easily."

"As ordered."

Xia Chan nodded. Since it was His Majesty's order, she had to obey.

On this day, a new maid came to the Prime Minister's Mansion. She was beautiful and had an extraordinary temperament. It was said that she came from the imperial palace.

Soon, this maid was chosen by the lady and became her personal maid.

Xia Chan looked at the green gauze skirt on her body. It fit her perfectly but was a little inconvenient to move around in.

"Qingchan, from now on, you will be my personal maid."

"As you command, Madam."

……

at dusk.

A graceful figure sat on the desk by the window, the brush in her hand moving and stopping on the rice paper, a little absent-mindedly.

Yan Jixue looked at the rice paper on which she had scribbled and completely forgot what she wanted to write.

Today she was inexplicably upset and couldn't calm down.

"Madam, are you practicing calligraphy?"

Xia Chan appeared behind Yan Jixue, looking at the rice paper scribbled on by His Majesty with some confusion.

What's wrong with Your Majesty today? It seems like you are taking out your anger on paper?

"I don't want to practice anymore."

Yan Jixue crumpled the rice paper in front of her into a ball and threw it into the trash can next to her.

Before I knew it, the trash can was already filled with crumpled waste paper.

"Has he come back today?"

Yan Jixue looked at the night scene outside the window, and her expression couldn't help but reveal a hint of sadness.

"No."

"Well, I understand. You can leave now."

"Yes."

Xia Chan nodded slightly and left the room consciously.

She discovered that His Majesty seemed to be a little abnormal these days.

After Xia Chan left, Yan Jixue suddenly felt a little sleepy. After putting down her pen and ink, she returned to her bed.

Looking at the empty room in front of her, for some reason, she felt a sense of emptiness in her heart.

These days, she has been sleeping alone, even before coming to the Prime Minister's Mansion, she always slept alone.

“Is this bed so big?”

Yan Jixue turned over in bed and lay flat on the soft big bed, her eyes a little dazed.

There seemed to be something missing on this bed, just like the girl who always slept with her pillow in her arms, but one day her pillow suddenly disappeared.

As a result, the girl couldn't sleep every night. All she could think about was her pillow. She could only fall asleep peacefully by hugging him.

The bed was supposed to be for two people, but now she was the only one sleeping alone.

Looking at the suddenly empty bed in front of her, Yan Jixue couldn't help herself and suddenly felt empty in her heart, as if something very important was missing.

This feeling made her feel a sense of loss, but she couldn't find any way to fill it.

Yan Jixue hugged his pillow and buried her face in it, looking shy as she murmured:

"You traitor, when will you come back..."

Although this person always makes her angry, she is always helpless and wishes she could bite him to death.

However, when she was with him, Yan Jixue felt unprecedentedly relaxed.

This traitor...

……

The palace is quiet at night.

Two black figures took advantage of the cover of night to shuttle across the eaves of the palace at a brisk pace.

Both of them had extremely high martial arts skills, and their toes only made a slight sound when they stepped on the bricks and tiles.

From time to time, patrolling soldiers holding torches passed by below, but they did not notice the figures passing by above.

Before they knew it, the two had sneaked deep into the palace.

At the same time, patrols around them became more intense, forcing them to proceed more cautiously.

If they were discovered by mistake, they would be unable to escape from this heavily guarded palace.