Chapter 448: Chapter 444: Little Fool_1
Upon seeing Xuanwu, Chu Wuyang’s eyes lit up, and he energetically reached out with his little hands trying to get over.
However, being only six to seven months old, he wasn’t really able to crawl yet.
Yingbao positioned her hand under his feet and, to her surprise, the little fellow stepped on her hand, swiftly propelling himself towards the small turtle and started gnawing on it.
Xuanwu flapped around in astonishment and promptly retracted its head and limbs into its shell, leaving Chu Wuyang to his devices.
“mandery Princess, that couple is here,” Magnolia walked in and informed. “Would you like to meet them?”
Yingbao sat up and adjusted her skirt. “Bring them in.”
“As you wish.” Magnolia left to fetch the visitors.
...
In a short while, a man and a woman entered, bowed before Yingbao, and greeted, “We pay our respects to the mandery Princess.”
Yingbao asked Magnolia and others to leave, stood up, and took a seat on the throne and inquired mildly, “What are your names?”
“This servant’s name is Anrou, previously a palace maid in Zichen Palace.”
“I am Gu Shun, formerly a personal guard of His Majesty.”
Yingbao raised her eyes to examine the two. The woman seemed to be in her early twenties, solemn-looking. One glance revealed her to be a person of grave and steadfast character.
The man was under thirty, with a very ordinary appearance, someone who would disappear in a crowd.
“What will you do when people discover the King of Chu is missing from the palace?” Yingbao asked.
Anrou lowered her gaze and replied, “His Majesty has made arrangements to ensure that no one will know that the King of Chu is no longer in the Imperial Palace.”
In other words, there must still be a baby in the palace serving as the stand-in for the King of Chu.
Yingbao nodded, “From now on, you will stay in my courtyard to take care of Chu Wuyang.”
Anrou promptly replied, “Yes.”
Then Yingbao turned to Gu Shun, “From now on, you will be called Chu Shun. Continue with your current duties, and when the king returns, you can revert to your original surname.”
Gu Shun saluted and said, “I obey the mand!”
Afterward, they both took their places. Anrou worked with several palace maids to tidy up the small kitchen, and Chu Shun went to the outer courtyard to familiarize himself with the surroundings.
The next day, when Jiang Sanlang and his wife said they were returning to Qinchuan County with their parents, Yingbao sent guards to acpany them.
Spring mother held her daughter’s hand, “Baobao, once things are settled here, return to Qinchuan County. Now that our whole family lives in the county town, you will have a place to stay when you e back.”
“Okay, when the weather cools down, I’ll e back, and make a trip to Dongchen Village too.” Yingbao handed over several bottles of medicine to her parents and several more to her grandparents, urging them to take care of their health.
“Cousin, you must indeed e back.” Since the incident, Jiang Dali was full of guilt towards his cousin, not knowing how to make up for it. “When you e back, I… I will catch fish for you to eat.”
Yingbao patted his head, “Hmm, Dali, after you return, you must study hard and then go to Beijing and bee a general like your uncle Jiang Wu.”
Jiang Wu was appointed the deputy mander-in-chief by the Emperor, responsible for protecting the Emperor’s safety.
Jiang Dali scratched his head, “I will surely study hard.”
“Good boy, get in the carriage now and take good care of your great grandparents on the journey.”
“Okay!” Jiang Dali got into the carriage and waved back at his cousin.
Yingbao watched the carriage grow distant and then turned around to speak to Wei Zhan, who was standing nearby, “You go to the County Government and get the records of last year’s tax collection for me to check.”
Now that Zhouhe County was hers, she had to know the exact tax returns of the past years.
Not only that, but she also needed to see the salary records of all the officials in the county office, so she could keep track.
Wei Zhan nodded, “Let the Chief Historian and Storekeeper of your mansion e with me, as they understand some records better than we do.”
The mandery Princess’s residence also has a Chief Secretary, along with two junior clerks. They not only serve as the Secretaries of the Princess’s Residence but also as the Emperor’s spies.
Nevertheless, this did not prevent Yingbao from having them work.
“Go fetch Secretary Song and his men,” Yingbao ordered one of the Palace Attendants.
An eunuch plied and set off to locate Secretary Song.
In no time, Secretary Song, with his three-streak beard, arrived, he made a respectful gesture towards Yingbao, “May I know the reason why the Princess has called upon me?”
Yingbao: “Mr. Song, go with the guest of honor to the County Government, audit their accounts, and also visit the Charity Granary to check how much grain is stored.”
The most valuable modity in Zhouhe County at present was grain, so she had to clarify this.
Secretary Song gave a nod, “Yes, I will leave immediately.”
So Wei Zhan left for the County Government office along with Secretary Song and others.
A few days later, Secretary Song brought the consolidated accounts of the County Government for Yingbao’s review.
With a grave look on his face, he reported, “The Magistrate of this county has the surname Mei, the accounts presented by them seem irregular. I and the guest of honor visited the Charity Granary; the grain there not only fails to meet the required quantity but is mostly moldy and rotten.”
“Falls short?” Yingbao frowned, “Summon the Magistrate Mei to see me tomorrow.”
“Yes.” Secretary Song plied.
Wei Zhan returned in the evening after a day’s work.
Yingbao helped him take off his coat and asked the maid to bring him water for washing.
As Wei Zhan washed his face, he said, “Indeed, there is a problem with this county. Most of the city residents live in abject poverty. I visited some villages and they were in worse condition, almost all village folk were scantily dressed, resembling beggars.”
Yingbao passed him a towel and asked, “What about the crops? Is there any instance of abandon cultivation?”
“Yes, but I am not sure if it was deliberately or not.” Wei Zhan accepted the towel to wipe his face, and gently kissed Yingbao’s forehead, “I will go look into it tomorrow.”
Yingbao gave a slight slap in jest, indicating there were maids around.
Wei Zhan did not care, he laughed and escorted his wife to their chamber.
In the room,Anrou, who was watching baby Chu Wuyang, saw this and quickly left the room.
Wei Zhan bent down to play with Chu Wuyang, who was kicking his legs and then sat down by the bed.
“My darling wife, stress left me with dead legs after days of running around and sorting out unruly louts. You have to reward me well.”
“Alright, I’ll arrange to have a sumptuous meal prepared for you later.” Just as she was saying this she unexpectedly got pulled into his embrace.
Wei Zhan, clutching his wife, chuckled, “What I want is not that, you are playing dumb when you know what I desire.”
Yingbao could only hug his neck and kiss him on the lips, “Is that enough?”
Wei Zhan grinned and was about to return her kiss, when he heard Chu Wuyang making babbling sounds.
Yingbao looked down and saw baby Wuyang, who had rolled over, grabbing at Wei Zhan’s robe, made effort to lift his head towards her and called her, drooling all over Wei Zhan’s robe.
Wei Zhan pulled a face, quickly turning the baby over and took off baby Wuyang’s clothes to wipe his mouth. Looking quite annoyed he said, “Let someone take him out to play.”
“It is too hot outside; he was out playing earlier.” Yingbao picked up the baby and handed him to Wei Zhan, “He wants you to hold him, so just do it.”
Wei Zhan seemed helpless, holding Wuyang, he went to the window and pointed at the persimmon tree outside, “Little fool, do you want to climb trees?”
Wuyang blinked at him, then wrapped his small arms around his neck, leaning his head against him and closed his eyes.
“So, you were actually tired and wanted to sleep.” Wei Zhan patted him a few times, walked in circles around the room. Seeing the baby had indeed fallen asleep, he put him down on the small wooden cot and covered him with a small blanket.
He then came to his wife, bringing her into his embrace while she was examining the account books.
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