Phi-Fic Chapter 403 Moving into Yancheng!
Chapter 403 Moving into Yancheng!
Officials of all ranks and wealthy gentry from Yanzhou City all came out, and their numbers were naturally quite large.
Helped down from the carriage by Duanmu Chuze, Mu Xin Nuan was genuinely surprised to see so many officials in front of her.
Duanmu Chuze pressed the veil on her head down even further, afraid that others would see the beauty under the veil again, before striding forward and looking at the officials kneeling on the ground, "Get up, all of you. I have just arrived in Yanzhou, and I will inevitably have to rely on you for many things in the future."
"We wouldn't dare."
"Alright, please rise. Which one of you is the prefect of Yanzhou City? Come out and speak."
Upon hearing this, a middle-aged man who was around forty years old and slightly overweight stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Greetings to Your Highness, I am He Jiajun, the Prefect of Yanzhou."
"Yes, I have long heard of Lord He's profound learning and talent. Today, I am fortunate enough to meet you in person."
"Thank you for your kind words, Your Highness. Your Highness, we have prepared a banquet for you and Her Highness the Princess at the largest restaurant in Yanzhou City to welcome you both. What do you think?"
"No need. We've had a long and tiring journey, so let's skip this. My wife and I are exhausted; we should go back and get some rest first."
He Jiajun smiled slightly awkwardly, lowered his head, and said respectfully, "In that case, I will obey Your Highness's command."
"Well, lead the way."
He Jiajun naturally knew that the prince's suggestion to lead the way meant heading to Yanzhou City and then directly to the Chang Le Prince's Mansion.
The two boarded the carriage again, and this time, the carriage was moving much faster.
"What do you think of that Lord He?" Mu Xin Nuan said, then looked at him with a smile, "Don't tell me you don't know! I don't believe you didn't send someone to investigate him."
"Hmm. You are indeed clever. He Jiajun is a man of real talent and learning, but the affairs of Yanzhou are too complicated, and it is not easy for him, a mere prefect, to handle them."
"So what are your plans?"
"Let's wait and see, there's no rush."
The carriage traveled for nearly two more hours before finally arriving at the main gate of the Prince Chang Le's residence.
Mu Xin Nuan knew that as a princess, she was naturally responsible for handling matters such as resettlement. Moreover, she had heard a lot about Yan along the way. Duanmu Chuze was focused on all the people's hunger and cold, so it was best not to disturb him with trivial matters in the mansion.
“Your Highness, this servant is De’an, the head steward here. I previously served in the Prince’s residence in the capital. After the Emperor’s intentions were revealed, I was sent to Yanzhou by the Prince. I have been here for more than half a year now. It is a great regret of this servant that I was unable to attend the two masters’ joyous occasion.”
"It's Uncle An. Get up quickly. I often hear the Prince mention you, saying you are one of his most capable assistants."
"This servant is unworthy of such praise."
"Have all the arrangements been made for His Highness's study and other facilities?"
"Your Highness, everything is arranged."
"Alright, those carts over there contain the prince's books and writing implements, you can arrange them. You've served the prince for many years, you know his preferences, I'm at ease with you taking care of them."
"Yes, Your Highness. This servant will take care of it immediately."
As De'an spoke, he glanced at a nanny beside him and said, "This is Song, the wet nurse of the prince. She came with me to take care of things here."
"Oh? So it's Granny Song."
"Greetings to the Princess. The Prince instructed that once the Princess arrives, all affairs of the Prince's residence will be handled by the Princess, and the specific personnel arrangements will also be decided by the Princess."
"Well, how are the manpower in our Prince's manor now?"
"Your Highness, I don't know anything about the matters in the front courtyard. I only heard Steward De'an mention them before. They are all the prince's confidants. As for the back courtyard, the prince said that Your Highness has many close confidants around you, and they are the most convenient to use. Therefore, he only selected sixteen third-class maids. As for the rest, please give your instructions, Your Highness."
"Okay, let's go, let's go check out the backyard first."
"Yes, princess."
As Mu Xin Nuan walked, she secretly grumbled to herself. There were only two masters, yet they had prepared sixteen third-class maids, not to mention the many servants they had brought. How could they possibly use them all? However, she also understood that as a prince's residence, having too few servants would be seen as disrespectful. The royal family had its own rules, and they couldn't be broken!
You have to follow the rules of whichever seat you're in. It's a good thing Duanmu Chuze isn't the emperor, otherwise there would be thousands of palace maids alone!
"Your Highness, His Highness visited here before and immediately took a liking to Yijing Garden. He said that the scenery there was beautiful and quite spacious, and that the flowers in the garden were in season. Therefore, he decided to make it the main courtyard for Your Highness to reside in."
"Okay, let's go straight to Yijing Garden then."
Mu Xin Nuan hadn't taken it to heart at first, but when she arrived at Yi Jing Garden, she realized that Duanmu Chu Ze's description of the beautiful scenery was simply a euphemism for treating the place as his back garden! As she walked further in, she was even more shocked to discover that it was actually a three-courtyard complex, a courtyard within a courtyard!
In his eyes, this courtyard was merely spacious? It was probably more than twice the size of his main residence in the capital!
"The Prince said that you prefer quiet and love reading, so a small study has been set up for you in the east wing of your bedroom. This is where you usually receive guests. The east side is your study, where you can practice calligraphy and painting, or have a game of chess. Of course, it's also convenient if you want to listen to music."
Mu Xin Nuan's lips twitched. He even thought of these things? Should she say that Duanmu Chu Ze was too meticulous, or that he was meddling too much?
After placing all the trunks and baskets in the designated courtyard, Mu Xin Nuan felt a headache coming on. This Granny Song was clearly an old servant of the Prince's mansion and also the Prince's wet nurse. It seemed that she should avoid offending her for the time being.
"Granny Song, from now on you will continue to be in charge of managing the backyard of the Prince's Mansion."
"Yes, Your Highness." Granny Song nodded in agreement. Mu Xin Nuan did not miss the smug look in her eyes, nor did she miss the defiant glance she gave towards Aunt Fang.
Mu Xin Nuan lowered her eyelids, pretending not to know.
“Aunt Fang, I’ll be entrusting the management of Yijing Garden to you from now on. You’re an old-timer in the palace, and the rules must be followed for all the maids, whether they are my dowry maids or newly bought into the household. If you see any of them behaving improperly, you should reprimand them more. If it still doesn’t work, you can hire someone else to teach them the rules.”
"Yes, Your Highness."
“Our Chang Le Prince’s Mansion is a Prince’s Mansion. Whether it’s the master or a lowly servant, no one can break the rules and allow others to speak ill of the Prince behind his back. Have you all remembered what I said?”
"I will heed the Princess's teachings."