In the morning, the kitchen staff were grumbling, thinking that no matter how proper the eldest gongzi was, the household management was still in the hands of Liu Yiniang. Who would have thought that before nightfall, the household management would be transferred to the eldest gongzi: and it wasn’t even something he wanted. Boye personally made a trip to force it on him, promising many benefits!

The kitchen staff were trembling. Even when the eldest gongzi wasn’t in charge, the people from Ganlin Courtyard were already acting like bandits. Now, what would happen? They had hoped Liu Yiniang could keep things in check and reclaim what had been taken, but now they didn’t dare to think about it. They could only continue preparing meals for various places, and fortunately, others were also shocked by the news and weren’t in the mood to be picky.

The other stewards who had previously neglected the eldest gongzi were also sweating, fearing old accounts would be settled.

A middle official came to the residence, and it was as if the world had changed. As they say, thunder and rain are both the emperor’s grace. No matter how long Liu Yiniang had controlled the household, when the thunder struck, she had to endure the emperor’s grace!

Only the servants of Ganlin Courtyard were the happiest. Although the gongzi had expressed that he didn’t want to manage the household, with their limited knowledge and vision, they still thought it was a great thing.

Li Xun looked at the courtyard full of cheerful faces and felt a bit infected, his mood not as gloomy. However, having him, the dignified crown prince, manage Duke Fuchang’s household was giving Shen Yi’an too much face, and Li Xun didn’t plan to do it himself.

He waved Zhan’er over and asked, “You used to serve by the side of the boye’s furen, so you should know which of her people are useful for managing the household, right?”

Zhan’er nodded, then said sadly, “After Liu Yiniang took over the household, she used the excuse that the maids in the residence were getting old and sent away those who served by the furen’s side. Only I and Zhu’er were young enough to stay by the gongzi’s side.”

This pairing wasn’t necessarily with the stewards or servants of the residence. As the saying goes, it’s better to marry a maid from a big family than a girl from a small family. The servants released from noble families are in high demand. When they reach a certain age, the master grants them freedom to marry, often without needing to pay for their freedom, and they are often sought after by well-off commoners or merchant families to become the main wife.

After the furen passed away, Zhu’er was originally in charge of Ganlin Courtyard. Zhu’er was more assertive than Zhan’er and had conflicts with many steward wives in the residence to protect the master. Last year, Liu Yiniang accused Zhu’er of being dishonest and drove her out, sending Pan’er to fill the vacancy.

Speaking of Zhu’er, everyone in the courtyard felt a bit sad and downcast: “Sister Zhu’er is definitely not that kind of person.”

“Go find her and bring her back,” Li Xun said. “Bring back those who were good at managing the household by the furen’s side, as many as you can.”

Li Xun was too lazy to manage, but he didn’t want to let Duke Fuchang’s residence fall into chaos. He could set up a small “cabinet” in Duke Fuchang’s residence to manage the internal affairs: in the past, there were emperors who didn’t attend court for decades, and the country still ran smoothly with a well-established cabinet system, let alone a mere duke’s residence.

As long as he held the power of personnel appointments and arranged suitable people in various places, managing the affairs of the residence would be much easier. This way, when the wise self leaves, the original cowardly owner wouldn’t be overwhelmed by the complicated affairs, which would be a good deed.

Hearing this, Zhan’er was deeply moved, and the others who had served by the furen’s side before were teary-eyed, feeling like they had finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel, almost wanting to cry out loud. Immediately, a group of them went to find Zhu’er.

When Shen Qian returned, there was hardly anyone left in the courtyard.

“Hua Tongling assigned two accountants for me to bring back, and they’ve already been sent to Quzhu Courtyard.” Quzhu Courtyard was where the accountants stayed to do the accounts: “This is Hua Tongling’s reply for you.”

Shen Qian took the letter from his bosom and sneaked a glance at Li Xun’s expression.

But Li Xun’s face showed no trace of affection, only a faint glance at the letter’s content, and after a while, he frowned.

Li Xun hadn’t revealed his identity to Hua Xiangming, so with Hua Xiangming’s caution, he didn’t disclose any secret information, only mentioning that the regent’s remaining party had been executed, and the witch who harmed the crown prince had been beheaded and displayed. Although the crown prince hadn’t woken up yet, his physical condition was still good.

These were public information, known to high-ranking officials in the court, so it didn’t matter to mention them. Besides, in Hua Xiangming’s eyes, this eldest gongzi wasn’t considered an outsider.

The witch’s head was still hanging at the city gate, and Emperor Jiawen had posted notices seeking experts, regardless of whether they were Buddhist, Taoist, or witch, but he hadn’t specified it was for the crown prince.

So it was the regent’s remnants who used witchcraft… but the spellcaster was dead, and the spell hadn’t been broken… Li Xun’s brow furrowed.

The fortunate thing was that the cowardly soul hadn’t possessed him, which was a blessing in disguise. Li Xun sighed, but when he looked up, he saw Shen Qian staring at him blankly, lost in thought: “What are you thinking about?”

Shen Qian was daydreaming, and when suddenly asked, he blurted out, “Gongzi, do you want to marry Hua Tongling?”

Li Xun had just taken a sip of tea and spat it out far away: “Pfft—what nonsense are you talking about!”

He and Hua Xiangming?? How could this little guy have such dangerous thoughts??

Shen Qian awkwardly smiled, but since he had already said it, he might as well ask: “Isn’t gongzi always talking about marriage?” He feigned a confused look, “Hua Tongling listens to you… isn’t there something… some private dealings we don’t know about?”

He even winked at Li Xun: “It’s a good match, I won’t tell anyone.”

Li Xun: “………………”

“I… I’m not…” Li Xun said with difficulty, this topic was terrifying. Because his mind was too active, with Shen Qian’s words, a few images of him and Hua Xiangming flashed in Li Xun’s mind, ugh…

A wave of nausea surged in his heart, and Li Xun said painfully, “I won’t mention marriage again… there’s absolutely no possibility…”

Eh? Really not? Shen Qian was a bit surprised, it seemed this Ye Gui couldn’t accept Hua Xiangming at all, even though Hua Xiangming wasn’t bad-looking.

However, after Li Xun finished speaking, he looked at Shen Qian with suspicion: “How old are you?”

Shen Qian thought Li Xun often brought up marriage, but to Li Xun, wasn’t it the same that every time he unintentionally mentioned marriage, this little guy would come over to chat for a bit?

Generally speaking, when the eldest gongzi marries, the maids and attendants around him would accompany him to the husband’s family, with a certain probability of becoming the gongzi’s concubine, or being paired with the husband’s stewards or servants.

Both times, it was Shen Qian who went to deliver the letter to Hua Xiangming… could it be that this little guy had a crush on him?

After all, Hua Xiangming… Li Xun thought gloomily, although far inferior to this crown prince, he was still somewhat presentable. Li Xun recalled that Hua Xiangming had a few attendants, whose appearances he couldn’t remember, but they were generally tall and strong.

Shen Qian was a bit confused, not knowing why he suddenly asked: “Um… sixteen, I think.” He wasn’t too sure about Xiao Die’s age either.

Li Xun looked him up and down several times, finally snorting from his nose: “No taste.”

It’s just these little guys trapped in the back courtyard, who have never seen a truly handsome and noble person, that they would easily fall for someone just passable. Li Xun thought this, casually adjusting his collar.

Shen Qian: ???

Why attack people, this Ye Gui is so hard to please.

Shen Qian picked up a couple of snacks to nibble on and then went back to his room. He had gotten up too early today and had been busy all day, even running to Hua’s residence twice. Li Xun allowed him not to serve by his side and to rest early.

Now that the room was empty, Shen Qian took out the things he bought on the street today.

The common people didn’t know the crown prince was harmed by witchcraft, but as soon as the city was unsealed, a witch was executed at the market, and her head was hung at the city gate, causing the people to be very scared and panicked, speculating that there was a witch causing trouble.

When Shen Qian brought the accountants back from Hua’s residence, he saw several shamans on the street performing rituals, using mugwort or willow branches to sprinkle water on passersby to ward off evil, and some Taoists selling peace talismans.

Shen Qian had an idea. He didn’t buy ready-made peace talismans but bought some blank talisman paper and cinnabar to bring back.

Since he knew there was magic, Shen Qian wanted to test the level of spiritual energy in this world to plan his future cultivation.

He closed his eyes, focused, adjusted his breathing, and tried to sense the presence of spiritual energy, then let it enter his body, circulating with his breathing… There was indeed spiritual energy, but it was very thin. And since Xiao Die’s body was encountering it for the first time, the circulation of spiritual energy was very sluggish.

Shen Qian meditated for about half an hour, and the spiritual energy barely completed a small cycle, his forehead already covered in sweat.

He opened his eyes and quickly drew on the blank talisman paper. Almost without thinking, he smoothly completed a talisman. This time, he didn’t draw a peace talisman with effects difficult to measure; he drew a basic dust-removal talisman.

Then he found a relatively dirty table, held the talisman paper between two fingers, circulated his spiritual energy, muttered incantations, and pressed the talisman paper onto the table.

A barely visible weak spiritual light flashed across the surface of the talisman paper, then faded. Shen Qian carefully observed the table and felt that an area about half a square meter around the talisman paper was slightly cleaner than the rest.

It was actually better than Shen Qian had imagined, considering it was his first time drawing. However, to reach the level of exorcising spirits or soul-swapping, who knows how long it would take to practice.

Shen Qian wasn’t discouraged. He made the worst-case plan, that if… if he could never return, knowing some magic could still allow him to make a living as a shaman, which was better than being a servant, eating leftovers.

Shen Qian bit his fingertip, thinking of that Ye Gui in the main room. In just a few days, they were already partners fighting side by side. If his progress was fast, he could also teach that Ye Gui a thing or two… he could become a ghost cultivator, avoiding the fate of soul dispersion.

The next day, Shen Qian got up early and found a place in Ganlin Courtyard with flourishing flowers and abundant spiritual energy to meditate. Unexpectedly, after completing a small cycle, he saw Li Xun also coming out of his room, holding a very thick and long firewood stick.

He found an empty spot in the courtyard and started practicing martial arts.

Shen Qian: ? What kind of routine is this, could it be that the letter from Hua Tongling yesterday contained some martial arts secrets or an ultimate stick technique?

But knowing to strengthen exercise and improve physical fitness is a good thing! Not to mention, the martial arts looked quite good… Shen Qian silently watched for a while from behind the flowers.

The other maids in the courtyard were also stunned by this surprising scene, what was the gongzi doing??

The physical foundation was too poor, and Li Xun felt tired after practicing for a while. He didn’t force himself, stopped to rest while leaning on the stick. At this time, someone came to report: “Eldest gongzi, someone from the palace has arrived.”

Eunuch Zhang, Shen Yi’an, and others thought that the first to send someone to reprimand would be the guifei, given her high status. But unexpectedly, the first to come was a female official from the side of the fifth prince’s birth mother, Rong Guiren.

Emperor Jiawen didn’t have many people in his harem, and even fewer high-ranking concubines, which had a lot to do with his childhood experiences and plans for the crown prince.

Emperor Jiawen was originally the youngest son of the previous emperor, who was not favored, and his birth mother was not of high status, with no possibility of succession. It was the regent who deposed his elder brother, the young emperor, and chose him as the new puppet, putting the young him on the throne.

Originally, Emperor Jiawen was quite obediently being a puppet until the time for marriage discussions, when the regent wanted to make the regent’s wife’s niece the empress. But Emperor Jiawen had someone he loved and wanted to make the granddaughter of Duke An, his childhood sweetheart, the empress.

This was Emperor Jiawen’s first rebellion against the regent, and he was very persistent. Eventually, the regent compromised, agreeing to make Duke An’s granddaughter the empress, but the regent’s wife’s niece still entered the palace as a shufei.

Shufei was arrogant and domineering, and she resented the empress greatly, believing that if not for the empress’s interference, the empress position should have been hers. So she targeted her everywhere, oppressing other concubines as well, causing constant turmoil in the harem. After shufei gave birth to the second prince, the regent even planned to poison the increasingly uncontrollable Emperor Jiawen and make the second prince born of shufei the emperor.

After brutal fighting and bloodshed, Emperor Jiawen, with the help of Duke An and other ministers, counterattacked and killed the regent’s party who intended to assassinate the emperor and rebel. During this period, the empress accidentally drank the poisoned tea meant for Emperor Jiawen, dying suddenly, leaving behind only one son, the crown prince Li Xun.

Emperor Jiawen, in deep grief, ordered the death of shufei and confined the second prince, establishing the crown prince Li Xun. He then brought the empress’s sister into the palace, making her the guifei to raise the crown prince. To eliminate the possibility of other princes competing with Li Xun for the throne, there were no new princes born in the harem for many years. Until Li Xun was fifteen, Emperor Jiawen prematurely crowned him, allowing the crown prince to enter the court to oversee the government, teaching him how to handle state affairs, solidifying his position. Only then did the harem occasionally see the birth of new princes and princesses.

In recent years, newly promoted concubines who gave birth to princesses might be promoted to high positions, while those who gave birth to princes could only reach the rank of guiren at most.

Rong Guiren was the “unlucky” guiren who gave birth to a prince. The fifth prince was not yet three years old and couldn’t speak clearly. She was a beauty selected from the common people, and her father was just a bricklayer who couldn’t even read. To say she had the intention to harm the crown prince and seize the throne, wasn’t that a bit far-fetched?

What did she have, just her father who only knew how to lay tiles and plaster? Life was peaceful, but because of the actions of Duke Fuchang and Liu Yufu, she was dragged into this mess.

Rong Guiren was angry but didn’t dare to vent it on the emperor, so she directed it at Duke Fuchang and Liu Yufu. If it were other nobles, it might be different, but what was there to fear about Duke Fuchang? The female official came in with a sarcastic tone, refusing the money Shen Yi’an offered, and made Liu Yufu kneel in the wind to recite the “Admonitions for Women” for two hours.

Liu Yufu had already cried several times after being reprimanded by the middle official yesterday and hearing that Shen Song’s title was hopeless. Last night, she heard that Shen Yi’an and the eldest gongzi had brought in six accountants to do the accounts, and she was so scared she couldn’t sleep. In her fear and anxiety, she caught a cold and soon had a fever and fainted.

Shen Yi’an’s heart was breaking, but the female official was ruthless, splashing water to wake Liu Yufu and forcing her to recite for two hours before letting her go.

Li Xun, with Shen Qian and Zhan’er, watched from a distance for a while, but it got boring after a while: “Let’s go, let’s take a stroll outside the residence.”