Chapter Ten: Naughty Child Loves Martial Arts

  The next morning, the mansion returned to its usual calm, but some people had disappeared without anyone knowing where they went. The vacant positions were quickly filled by others, and except for a sense of dullness, it was as if nothing had ever happened in the mansion.

  Zhao Yi got up as usual, came to the yard, and found that the yard was full of new faces. "Jian Xi, where did these people come from? What about the original ones?" he asked Jian Xi beside him.

  "Your Highness, these are all high-ranking officials brought back from the capital. Some are from the palace of Her Majesty, and some were selected from the new little eunuchs who just arrived. They are all from good families!" The experiences of the past two days had been like a dream, with great ups and downs that made him realize that although the prince was young, he was not someone to be trifled with. Hearing the question, he hastily stepped forward to answer.

  "You blind fools! The prince is out, and you don't come forward to pay your respects. Are you asking for a beating?" Jian Xi shouted at the group of little eunuchs who were busy in the courtyard.

  "Good morning, Master!" Hearing Xi's shout, the people in the courtyard all rushed over to pay their respects to Zhao. The most numerous people in the inner courtyard of the mansion were the eunuchs, also known as the palace attendants. This time, almost all the small yellow gates in the inner courtyard had been replaced. Huang Jingchen was a transcendent existence in the mansion, and all matters in the mansion were under his jurisdiction, but he rarely intervened, and miscellaneous affairs all fell on Xi's shoulders, who dared to slack off.

  Zhao Shu waved his hand and let them disperse. "Huh, have the people from the outer court also been replaced?" Zhao Shu asked again.

  "Yes, from the steward to the miscellaneous servants, they are all personally selected by Guo Zhang himself and have been arranged!" Jing Xi replied.

  Zhao Zhe felt relieved after hearing that, even if someone wanted to infiltrate and reassign their agents, it wouldn't be something that could be done overnight. He should be safe for the time being. At the same time, he also gained a new understanding of Huang Jingchen. This old man wasn't as simple as he seemed. In just a few short days, not only did he handle the assassination attempt calmly and without incident, but he also took the opportunity to thoroughly purge from within and reassign personnel.

  After dinner, Zhao Zhan went to the main hall with Huang Jingchen's accompaniment, where he met the new manager and was greeted by him. This is equivalent to a meeting between leaders and new employees in modern times, so as to avoid misunderstandings when the leader arrives at the door. First, three senior managers from outside institutions came to talk, who were respectively responsible for finance (financial management), gold department (money and silk storage) and warehouse department (grain storage). Then there were several junior managers under them, including accountants, craftsmen, shepherds, cooks, etc., who were all salaried personnel with positions.

  The last to arrive were the most numerous, men and women, old and young, with over a hundred people kneeling in the hall below. They were all servants who fed horses, tended flowers, drove carriages, carried sedan chairs, cooked meals, kept watch, and worked as carpenters and blacksmiths. The kitchen was the focus, with over ten people working there, divided between the large and small kitchens. The large kitchen was a public, authentic kitchen, while the small kitchen was generally a private one. The tea house also had four staff members, whose task was to serve tea and water to visitors, and to prepare medicine for patients within the mansion and make nourishing food.

  This time, the most people were assigned to the watch house, and it was also the most important. There were about twenty people, all of whom were young and strong. They were divided into two groups, east and west, taking turns on duty at night, patrolling and sweeping the inner and outer courtyards every other day. Inside the mansion, they were responsible for cleaning and hygiene, tidying up warehouses, and doing other physically demanding tasks that could be ordered at any time. These people all belonged to the contract system, with a minimum of five years or more. Normally, they had to take care of food and clothing, and also give them some wages. They were the lowest level of people in the mansion, and also the most miserable and tired group of people.

  One by one, people respectfully bowed before him, and Zhao Chu smiled slyly at these people. He felt a sense of emotion in his heart - this was the wonder of power! Although he was just a small child, as an imperial prince, he could control the fate of these people and decide their fortunes. This was the wonder of being a second-generation official!

  "Your Highness, what's wrong? Is something not to your liking?" The crowd dispersed, leaving only a few attendants in the room. Huang Jingchen suddenly noticed that the king, who had been beaming with joy just moments before, now looked worried and anxious, so he hastily asked.

  "Good heavens, with so many people to feed, I'll be bankrupt!" Zhao Yan sighed and said. The few people in the room were taken aback by his words, but then couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  "Your Highness, so that's what was troubling you!" Huang Jingchen rubbed his nose vigorously before regaining his composure. He thought to himself, "I didn't expect Your Highness to be a miser despite being young." "Your Highness, don't worry about this. The monthly allowance for the inner court is issued by the palace, and the expenses for food, clothing, and other necessities for the outer court are also allocated together with your salary from the Ministry of Revenue. You don't need to spend a single penny!"

  "Is that right? I'm relieved now. You're not allowed to squander my money, otherwise I'll spank you!" Zhao Yan said seriously, pointing at the three managers of the outer courtyard.

  "Don't worry, Your Highness, we will spend money only after getting your approval, and absolutely won't be extravagant!" The steward, although amused by the childish words of the prince, didn't dare to slack off, and bowed his head to say.

  "Alright, I'm tired of talking about these trivial matters, you all discuss it!" Zhao Ye jumped down from the couch and said, "Jian Xi, didn't you say that Grandfather brought me some good things? Take me there!" After finishing speaking, he jumped down from the couch and ran out, in front of a group of people pretending to be a child wasn't a pleasant thing. "Prince Wang, slow down, don't fall!" Jian Xi shouted as she hastily followed up.

  "Zheng, take care of things. The young master is still very young and likes to run around everywhere. Arrange for two skilled men to follow him, so nothing else happens!" Huang Jingchen said to Zheng Xu as he saw Zhao Che off from the main hall.

  "Don't worry, Master has specially sent two experts this time. They have all been through the rivers and lakes, and their kung fu is very strong!" Zheng replied.

  "Kung fu is one thing, but what's most important is being reliable!"

  "They two had offended the local tyrant a few years ago, were hunted down and killed. The master took them in, changed their names and hid them, they have been following the master ever since. They are loyal and know how to repay kindness, you can trust them!"

  "Hmm, these days the mansion is not very peaceful, and the weather will soon cool down. You send someone to tidy up Xiaoyuan, and King Wang's residence you change according to his wishes, or he will get angry!" Huang Jingchen nodded and said.

  "Yes, I'll arrange for someone to do it right away!" said Zheng the manager.

  "The autumn harvest is over, and the tenants will soon have to pay their rent. The granary and personnel must be arranged properly, don't make a mess!" Huang Jingchen reminded again.

  "General Manager can rest assured, Second Manager has been managing the estate all along, and it's all familiar to him!" Zheng Guan Shi said, pointing at Er Guan Shi Zheng Yang.

  "All right, the Duke has thought it through, so I won't worry about it anymore. You all discuss and handle the matters of the mansion!" Huang Jingchen said with a smile, he was still very satisfied with the people sent by Duke Zheng Zong.

  Huang Jingchen returned to his own room in the inner courtyard, where a small yellow gate servant hastily poured him tea and retreated to one side. "Shunzi, send a message to the people in Beijing to investigate the backgrounds of Sai Guan Suo Mengtao and Chuan Yun Shou Yang Feng. It must be done quickly, the prince cannot afford to make another mistake!"

  Zhao Yi was eagerly expecting what good things his grandfather would bring him, and he hurriedly urged a small servant to send the things to Dongyuan. As the items were moved down one by one, he almost fainted from exhaustion! The number of things brought was indeed not small, with food and toys galore, truly fulfilling the proverb: "A foolish grandmother spoils her grandson."

  Let's not mention the food, but the toys were all the rage at the time - bamboo horses, swings, kites, shuttlecocks, mud dolls, and all sorts of things that little kids like to play with. Of course, there were also living creatures - two small dogs, two small cats, a parrot, a tank of goldfish, and even two small turtles covered in green hair, as well as several jars of crickets. Zhao Yi furrowed his brow, searching for half the day without spotting a single pen or sheet of paper. All the things Grandpa had sent were just for eating, drinking, and having fun - truly, rich families spoil their children rotten! With this kind of upbringing, it's hard not to become a spoiled brat. No wonder there have been emperors who are clueless about governing but expert at indulging in sensual pleasures.

  "Master Sun, our master has also bought two eagles for you, but they haven't been trained well yet. We'll send them over to you after a while!" Zhao Ke, the steward of the Zheng household who was delivering the goods, seemed uninterested in these things and hastily came over with a smile.

  "Oh dear, I've troubled Grandpa again!" Zhao Chu said with a mixture of laughter and tears, but couldn't blame others, after all, she was just a kid now.

  "To find these things, the old master has spent a lot of effort. These two little cats are famous lion cats, which were exchanged by the old master for a genuine work of Cai Zhen's calligraphy. Those two green-haired turtles cost 500 taels to buy, and that parrot also cost a lot." The steward of Zheng Fu hurriedly spoke up to curry favor with his master.

  "What, these two turtles are worth 500 yuan?" Zhao Ze's surprised eyeballs didn't fall off, he kicked the jar containing the turtles and said. Two green-haired turtles could be worth 500 yuan, which is equivalent to 10 taels of gold, but these two little guys don't even weigh 10 taels, in the previous life's pet market they were only 200-300 yuan each, equivalent to 1 gram of gold.

  "Sir, have mercy on your feet! That porcelain vase was bought from a Persian merchant for 200 taels!" The steward hastily picked up the vase and said.

  Zhao Che was speechless this time, that face basin-sized, translucent but not transparent broken 'glass fish tank' could be worth two hundred yuan, put it in the previous life to sell pots for ten dollars and he would be delighted, "See joy, find a stable one and give me this glass tank, if there's any mistake, I'll starve him for two days without dinner!"

  "Alright, Second Master, rest assured that I'll personally take care of these two precious ones. If a single hair on them is harmed, you can starve me for a day!" Xixi said with a smile as she took the crystal jar from the steward's hands and held it in her arms.

  "This is a good thing!" Zhao suddenly found a dagger in a pile of objects, excitedly picked it up and said, fiddling with it in his hand. The dagger, including its scabbard, was about half a foot long, with a white jade handle wrapped in gold thread, and a small ruby the size of a thumb on the pommel. The scabbard made of rhinoceros skin was exquisitely beautiful. He pressed the spring, pulled out the knife, and under the sunlight, it shone brightly, with cloud-like patterns on the blade appearing and disappearing, making one reluctant to let go.

  "Master Sun, be careful not to hurt your hand. This is a Xixia-made sword forged from the best steel, sharp enough to cut through iron like mud and slice gold and jade! The steward of the Zheng estate hastily took over the dagger and handed it back to Zhao Yi, who hung it at his waist."

  "Thank Grandfather for me and just say that I really like this dagger!" Zhao Che said with a smile, touching the dagger at his waist.

  "Definitely, definitely!" The manager of the Zheng estate hurriedly said, secretly curling his lip. It's not easy for Master Sun to say thank you, with so many good things gone, and he didn't even hear him mention a word of gratitude. Master Sun is someone who likes martial arts, if only I had known earlier, I would have sent him some swords and spears instead.