Acting like a pig to eat a tiger, the queen is really majestic and powerful.

  After returning from Fang's mansion, the sky was already late. Jing also felt that staying at her mother's house for a whole day was indeed not good, so as soon as she returned to Wang's mansion, she hurriedly went to serve in the empress dowager's quarters, hoping that the empress dowager would see her cleverness and gentleness and not be angry.

  The empress was indeed somewhat angry, this daughter-in-law stayed at her mother's house for a night and that's it, but she also took her son with her, and didn't return until the next afternoon, which really made her lose her temper. Moreover, Princess Qing'an was also present, and she had many good words to say, knowing that this concubine was not kind-hearted, but the empress was still provoked into a fierce anger.

  "You're already someone's wife, why do you keep running back to your mother's house? Those who don't know the situation would think that I, as a mother-in-law, am mistreating you." The Empress Dowager had been holding in her anger since last night when her son personally went to pick up Ruoxi but didn't return and instead stayed at the Fang residence. Now that she saw Ruoxi arrive, she finally seized the opportunity to scold her with a cold face.

  "Looking around the entire capital city, which daughter-in-law returns to her parents' home and still needs to stay overnight? Only you are so pampered!"

  With a humble expression, she bowed her head and said softly: "The Empress Dowager's teachings are correct, it is the daughter-in-law who does not understand things, and has angered Your Old Ladyship." Then she raised her head, sincerely and wholeheartedly looking at the Grand Empress Dowager, with complete sincerity in her eyes. "Last night, the daughter-in-law did not return for the entire night, causing Your Old Ladyship to worry. It was all the daughter-in-law's fault. Next time, the daughter-in-law will definitely not make the same mistake again."

  The princess originally wanted to scold her severely, but seeing how sincere she was, she felt that she had made a big deal out of nothing. When the brother left, as his sister, she should have seen him off and bid farewell. So she scolded her for a few sentences and then waved her hand, "Forget it, let's just drop this matter, you can go now, don't do it again next time."

  As if with affection and respect, he bowed his head and backed out.

  After the room was quiet, Empress Taifei turned her head and asked Song Jiang's servant who was waiting beside her, "Observing these days, what do you think of this child?"

  Song Jiang massaged the queen's shoulders while whispering: "I'm afraid it's a case of 'dressing up as a pig to eat the tiger'."

  The princess's eyes flashed, "You also think so?"

  Song Jiang's family laughed and said: "The queen has a good temper, knows how to make people happy, and can put down her dignity. Looking at you in front of the empress dowager, with lowered eyebrows and cautious words, even if the empress dowager wants to pick faults, she can't find any. A daughter-in-law who can usually coax her mother-in-law is not simple either."

  The empress nodded, thinking that she would scold her daughter-in-law a bit, but unfortunately, the daughter-in-law was too virtuous and had a good temper. When scolding her, she would sincerely accept it without refuting, and even if intentionally trying to find fault, she would still wholeheartedly endure it, seemingly very willing to be scolded. Giving her some criticism, she would still handle things properly, making it impossible to pick out any flaws. Although there were a few instances recently where she was not very tactful when handling matters, before even opening her mouth to reprimand, this girl already had an expression of "having done wrong", putting on a sincere and fearful appearance, making it difficult to say anything further, and instead turning around to comfort her.

  Let's take today's matter, for example. Actually, the daughter-in-law returning to her mother's home was not a big deal, and she wasn't a cruel and calculating evil mother-in-law. I had thought of putting on a show of authority, but unexpectedly, she had an honest attitude and admitted her mistakes with a good attitude. How could I continue scolding her? If I continued like this, even I myself would feel unbearable.

  The empress sighed, "This stinky little Rong is born to be my nemesis. Look at the kind of daughter-in-law he's found for me." Indeed, as Song Jiang said, she was a wolf in sheep's clothing, although occasionally dissatisfied, but not hateful. However, it was also impossible to treat her too well, a daughter-in-law was not a daughter, being overly good would not do either.

  Song Jiang's family smiled and gently rubbed the queen's forehead, advising: "Queen, don't be insincere. Although Wang Fei's status is a bit humble, there's nothing wrong with her in other aspects. Moreover, King Wang likes her, so Queen, please turn a blind eye for King Wang's sake."

  The empress hummed softly, thinking of the rumors she had heard recently, her tone sour. "It's really true that once you have a wife, you forget your mother. I ask him to do something and it's like shouting at a wall. His wife says one word and he runs off faster than a rabbit."

  Song Jiang's family burst out laughing, "Oh my, my empress! How can this talk be so sour? Can it be that when being a mother-in-law, one really has to eat the vinegar of a daughter-in-law?"

  The empress dowager glared at her with a scowl, "You're talking nonsense. Are you also saying this? As for Ruo Xue, I naturally like her from the bottom of my heart, but when I think about what happened between her and the Xiang family before, and the Jiang family... Alas, it's like having a thorn stuck in me that's hard to bear." The empress dowager considered herself an open-minded mother-in-law who wouldn't intentionally make things difficult for her daughter-in-law. Even if she had thought about being a bit strict with her, it was just a slight warning. However, thinking about Ruo Xue's past dealings with the Xiang family and the Jiang family made her feel uncomfortable no matter what.

  Song Jiang's family quietly said: "The queen still has to thank Mrs. Jiang and Auntie for their influence, otherwise, if the princess had really married into the Jiang or Xiang family back then, would the queen have been able to marry such a wonderful daughter-in-law? Look, the princess is not only respectful to you but also capable of managing the concubines, and she has even charmed the king so much that he is overjoyed. Just look at how the king has become more steady and composed since marrying his wife. The queen should be delighted."

  The empress dowager's eyebrows relaxed, thinking about Ruo Xue's ability to coax people, and she couldn't help but smile. "This child is indeed skilled at coaxing others. She knows that Xi Er can be won over with softness rather than force, so she uses all eighteen of her wiles to please him. If I were a man, I would have been charmed by her too." When it came to Ruo Xue's way of dealing with her unruly son, the empress dowager felt both envy and admiration for her daughter-in-law's ability to be flexible and yielding. At the same time, she couldn't help but regret that if only she had done things differently back then, there wouldn't have been so many troubles afterwards.

  Song Jiang's family saw the empress dowager with a light and quick tone, seemingly not angry, so he spoke boldly: "The empress dowager is right, the king's vision is indeed good, our queen may be young, but she is capable, look at Meng Ge, previously by the original side concubine, three days a small illness five days a big illness, doing things speaking was also yes yes no no, where did you have half of the boy's spirit? But in the queen's place for just over half a month, there wasn't even half an illness, and he grew taller and more robust, last time when giving the old king and empress dowager greetings, the empress dowager also saw it, not to mention one day a thousand miles, but also made rapid progress."

  Thinking of the time when Meng Ge first saw himself, he was timid and hid behind his wet nurse's back, calling out to his grandmother in a mosquito-like voice. Now, in less than half a month, not only has he become bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, but also has a hint of a handsome young man's demeanor. He speaks and acts without any restraint. The Empress Dowager sincerely said: "After all, he comes from a family of scholars, this child can indeed bear the responsibility of being the mistress of the clan."

  Song Jiang's family laughed and said: "Well, does the empress still want to continue testing?"

  "Anyway, this daughter-in-law, even if she's not satisfied, is still satisfactory." The Empress Dowager was not the kind of person who would turn against her daughter-in-law just because her son had been snatched away by his wife. Since Ruoxi married into the family, she too had felt the changes in her son, and this gentle transformation had also benefited her.

  That girl is a perfect wife material, natural and simple. All I can say is that these two kids are a match made in heaven.

  Song Jiang's family saw Tai Fei happily and also smiled: "The queen is indeed virtuous."

  The princess smiled: "This virtuous and wise thing, is nothing but a plaque for the ancestral temple, let people worship it. A woman being too wise is not a good thing either. Like this child, she can't be considered virtuous and wise, but she's indeed suitable for Xiao Er."

  Song Jiang's family stole a glance at the queen's expression, and carefully said: "However, what Princess Qing'an said also makes some sense. A dignified prince, actually spending all day surrounded by women, really doesn't look good."

  The empress coldly smiled and said, "As long as it's not about the women outside, then that's settled." Then she thought of something and turned to Song Jiang's direction, "You must have investigated clearly, did Rong Er really not touch other concubines?"

  Song Jiang nodded, "Xiao Shunzi and Xiao Zhu are the emperor's personal attendants, they know the emperor's whereabouts better than anyone else, it's really not possible."

  The princess smiled quietly and pulled out a complex smile, "This child is actually much stronger than me."

  Song Jiang's mother-in-law had a tone of disappointment and jealousy, so she quickly comforted her by saying: "Your Highness mustn't say that, Your Highness has a mother-in-law to deal with, but the princess doesn't. If we really count it, the princess is much luckier than you, she won't be bullied by her mother-in-law."

  The empress's expression relaxed, and she pretended to be angry: "What benefits have you received from Rourou that you speak for her like this?" Song Jiang's family was about to kneel down, but the empress sighed: "Forget it, I'm not blaming you. It's just that seeing that child makes me realize my own shortcomings. If I had been more cunning and flexible back then, and had yielded a bit more, I wouldn't have had to deal with that vicious mother-daughter pair, Feng Niang."

  Thinking of Feng Niang's viciousness and Anqing Gongzhu's arrogance, Song Jiang's family was also secretly resentful, but also advised: "Taifei, the matter has already passed, and the retribution for Feng Niang and her daughter will come again. Su Guifei has already been dealt with by Taifei's hands, so if you really hate them, you can use your own methods to deal with them, why bother to consider anymore?" Although Feng Niang's family had declined, she relied on her luck to enter the palace and was bestowed upon Old Wangye as a concubine by the former emperor. Because it was the former emperor's personal reward, she was more dignified than ordinary concubines. At that time, Taifei also had disagreements with Old Wangye, so Feng Niang took advantage of the situation to be promoted to concubine. With Old Wangye's indulgence and protection, Feng Niang became arrogant, and it is unknown what methods she used to get close to Su Guifei, who was then still a Qingfei. With Su Guifei as her backing, Taifei could not move against Feng Niang, and could only raise and support her illegitimate daughter with high standards, swallowing a bellyful of anger and resentment.

  Fortunately, Su Gui Fei finally got what she deserved and was sent to the imperial mausoleum by the current Empress Dowager for burial, and the long-standing control of the Imperial Concubine was finally completely eliminated.

  The princess stroked the golden tassels hanging from her hairpin, and a cold smile slowly spread across her well-maintained face. "Settle it immediately? Ha, that would be too cheap for this mother-daughter pair. I reckon Xiang'er's wife must have hated them to death. Now, we can sit back and enjoy the show."

  The imperial concubine wiped the sweat from her forehead and smiled: "What the imperial concubine said is right, it would be cheap for them to die from being beaten by sticks. Only when they are miserable will we feel relieved." Then she thought of something else and laughed: "At the end of the year, Concubine Feng had already been disciplined by the queen, it was really satisfying."

  Thinking of Madame Feng's gloomy face, the imperial concubine also burst out laughing. "This child is even more cunning than I am, a sharp knife cutting to the bone." She turned her head and instructed Song Jiang's family, "Although that child looks gentle and kind, she is also extremely protective of those close to her. You must restrain the people below you and not bully those maids who came with her dowry."

  Song Jiang's family had a slightly unexpected reaction, but immediately put on a smiling face again. "The princess is right, I will go and discipline them properly." After Song Jiang's family quickly ran out, they indeed found the lower-ranking wives and concubines and said: "The princess has ordered that from now on you must not rely on being by the princess' side to dare to show your faces to the newcomers, especially the king's consort. If you are exposed by the king's consort in the future, don't come crying to the princess."

  Those old ladies and daughters-in-law were mostly personally selected by the empress dowager, entrusted with important tasks, and were dignified figures. Now hearing Song Jiang's words, although unexpected, they didn't dare to be arrogant, and one after another expressed that they would not bring shame to the empress dowager.

  Song Jiang looked at this group of women and knew that they were used to being treated with respect, so he suspected that some of them still wouldn't give up, so he sternly warned them a few more times before going back inside.

  ……

  After the Lantern Festival, everything returned to calmness, and the Wang Mansion also started a new year in an orderly manner. Li Xiong had no external affairs at hand, so he went to his Xiong Riding Camp to preside over military training.

  With this, she finally had the time to manage the affairs of the Wang estate. The Wang estate, which was hastily managed before, was temporarily stable but also full of loopholes. After observing for a while during the New Year, Qing also summarized many problems. Now that there were no major affairs, it was necessary to thoroughly rectify them.

  Although the rules and regulations had been distributed earlier, those who followed them were few. After reading the "Record of Mistakes" presented by Yuan Fucui's family and He Mama, her pretty face sank, and she coldly laughed: "It seems that it is indeed a case of 'the slave bullying the master'. Well, after the New Year passes, no one will care about the festive atmosphere anymore." Then, she ordered Yuan Fucui's family to gather all the women in Longxianju, bring their belongings, and raid the kitchen. They caught several women who were bullying and beating the young maidservants, and punished them with 20 slaps each for "deceiving those above and below", and deducted a month's worth of silver rice from their wages. A chef in the third kitchen was found to be embezzling food to support his relatives, and was slapped 30 times, had all his property confiscated, and was expelled from the mansion. The second kitchen was also found to be cheating and bullying the lower-ranking servants, and they were also expelled. The king's kitchen was very large, capable of accommodating over a thousand people operating at the same time. After Rourou inspected it with her face covered, she also dismissed the manager responsible for cleaning and sweeping, deducting a month's worth of silver rice from his wages, and punishing him to go to Meilin to manage the weeding and watering.

  That housekeeper still didn't obey, loudly questioning her as if she was in the wrong. Like a gentle breeze, she said calmly: "Didn't Yuanfu come to your house several times before and remind you? You still don't repent. The kitchen is a critical place, it's related to the lifeblood of the entire household, but you're so perfunctory, everything is dirty and chaotic, the slop bucket hasn't been emptied in days, the stove is covered in ash, and the rags are extremely oily." As she spoke, she kicked over the slop bucket and threw all the rags on the stove onto her body. Fortunately, it was cold outside, so the oil and dirty water in the slop bucket had frozen, and didn't spill out. But the greasy rags were thrown all over the housekeeper's body, scaring her pale. Like a gentle breeze, she patted her hands together, and Yuedong quickly grabbed a handkerchief, wet it with water, and carefully wiped away the stains for her. "Do you still have the nerve to argue with me? Forget it, at this point, you still don't repent, just sell you off directly."

  The usually arrogant housekeeper was extremely humiliated, especially since she had been sold by the master's family. When outsiders heard that she had committed a crime and was being sold by the Wang family, they didn't dare buy her for another household, so she could only be sold far away to a distant place. Moreover, she was already old, and it was estimated that no one would want her. Even if someone wanted her, it wouldn't be a respectable job; some might even be sold to remote areas as laborers, with a miserable fate. The housekeeper quickly put aside her arrogance and begged for mercy, but Yuan Fugui's family knew his temperament - once he made up his mind, he wouldn't change it. Also, in order to intimidate the lower-ranking servants, they didn't dare let her speak again, so they stuffed a rag into her mouth and dragged her out on the spot.

  The fate of that busybody immediately intimidated everyone else, and they all lowered their heads, not even daring to breathe.

  As she glanced around the kitchen, she was indeed a bit angry. Although this palace's kitchen was large and well-equipped, with cleanliness that seemed to be spotless at first glance, there were actually some dead corners that had not been cleaned, and it was truly wasteful. The water buckets were filled with leftover food, which looked extremely extravagant. Thinking about the people outside who couldn't even afford to eat their fill, let alone sell their children, while here it was a true case of "the stench of wine and meat", she felt extreme disgust towards this feeling. However, as a newcomer, she didn't want to start by being overly frugal, so she could only start from small things, instructing the cooks to send less but more refined food to each courtyard, and trying her best to grasp the masters' tastes and preferences, minimizing the chances of food being thrown away.

  After walking around the kitchen a few times, she felt that this was where the waste was most severe. So, following her own train of thought, she ordered the head chef to be responsible for the food and drink of Jiaxin and Longxianju, while the second chef would serve the various madams and stewards, and the third chef and below would take care of the food for the other servants. She also let the head chef assign tasks to his subordinates, ensuring that the quality of the meals was guaranteed, as well as their cleanliness and freshness. Especially when it came to hygiene, she couldn't be careless at all. If there were any signs of dirtiness or disorderliness again next time, she would take action against the head chef.

  After settling things in the kitchen, Wang Fei was about to return to Longxianju when Yuan Fu came over and asked: "Your Highness, aren't you going to take a look at other places?"

  "As for Qing Dan, she said: 'Today, I'll just take the kitchen knife, others will definitely hear the news too, who would let me get a handle on it again? Forget it, I'll go another day.' Her purpose today was just to tidy up the kitchen. The rest is secondary, anyway, there's plenty of time in the future, no rush."

  On the second day, like emotions but Si woke up early, without disturbing anyone, only brought a few people to patrol around, and also found several maids who were disrespectful to Concubine Yuan in Huanxiang Courtyard, gave them a severe beating and drove them out. Also, the head of the cleaning department in Huanxiang Courtyard was removed from office and thrown into the outer courtyard to do hard labor.

  In the main hall of Huanxiangyuan, he sat upright and sternly scolded the kneeling servants below: "Although Yu Ce Fei has made a mistake and is being confined to her quarters, she is still the king's concubine, your master. How can you serve her so poorly and dare to bully and humiliate her? Do you think I am deaf and blind?" Then he ordered someone to beat several of them with a board and expel them from the inner courtyard, assigning Hong Dacheng, the manager of the outer courtyard, to take charge of dispatching errands.

  Then, as if feeling sorry for the original side concubine, he said, "Although you have made a mistake, after all, you are the king's side concubine, half of the master of the Wangfu, and the real master of Huaxiangyuan. Which master allows his servants to bully him? The king and I are annoyed by your usual behavior, but we can't let these slaves bully you like this."

  The concubine shrank to one side, her head hung low, and said in a low voice: "I have committed an offense and should be punished. However, these servants were given by the queen, I do not dare to be disrespectful."

  Chen Xiang's mouth twitched, and he glared back fiercely, grinding his teeth in anger. At this time, you still dare to play with your glib tongue, really not knowing life or death.

  He stared at her for a long time, then burst out laughing, "Do you think these servants were arranged by me to be in your courtyard? Then you are greatly mistaken."

  Yu Ce Fei suddenly raised her head, and with a clear and cold gaze, she saw the unhidden resentment on Wang's face. She calmly said: "The eunuch in charge of Huan Xiang Yuan, Wang Wen Cheng, was sent by the prince. He said that Wang Wen Cheng is experienced and steady, and with him by your side to take care of things, I believe you won't do anything foolish again. And as for you, Wang," she glanced at Wang, who was startled and quickly stepped forward, saying: "I am also serving Your Ladyship under the personal appointment of the prince." She looked at Yu Ce Fei with a tone that was neither humble nor arrogant, "Please forgive me, Your Ladyship, for my offense. I dare to speak out because the prince said that you often act without thinking, while I have always been diligent and responsible in my duties. That's why I was assigned to serve by your side."

  Unexpectedly, she gazed at Wang's nanny with a hint of admiration. Who would have thought that this normally unremarkable person in the Wang household, who had some ability but never took on any decent tasks, would actually have such a smooth side to her?

  The queen consort's face showed appreciation, and she felt a surge of joy in her heart. She became even more respectful and spoke even more smoothly: "Your Majesty had also told me that although you have committed a grave mistake, he took into consideration your service to him on one occasion and gave you the opportunity to reform yourself. Your Majesty must not disappoint His Majesty's kind intentions towards you."

  The original concubine's body swayed as if she was about to collapse, seemingly filled with resentment and incredulity, yet also despair. Upon hearing these words, it was as if a drowning person had found a lifeline, biting her lip to ask: "Really? Brother-in-law... Prince Wang really said that?"

  "Absolutely true, Your Ladyship! If you don't believe me, you can ask the master himself."

  Yu Ce Fei bit her lip, her face complex, and she didn't know whether to be happy or worried. She had done that thing, would Li Xiu still forgive her? Moreover, even if she had the chance to step out of Huanxiang Temple again, could...

  Hopeful eyes gazed at the young woman sitting in the front, who was looking back at her with a gentle and elegant expression. She wore a simple silver-gray mouse hair-pearl-inlaid gold necklace, with a loose bun on her head, adorned with a transparent jade pendant, and a rose-shaped hairpin with flowing tassels on the side of her bun. Her ears were decorated with jade-stone-inlaid gemstone earrings. The overall look was simple and refreshing, without any of the grandeur or majesty of a princess, completely overshadowed by the dazzling gold and silver adornments of Fang Ruyan in her heyday.

  However, for some reason, Fang Ruyan was different from the usual quarrelsome and violent woman. She had been in the Wang Fu for many days, but she had never seen her behave like a shrew. Yet every time she spoke or acted, it would make her angry and resentful. This young mistress, who had only entered the Wang Fu for less than a month, had already turned from being the proud and aloof wang fu's secondary wife to an object of ridicule for everyone. She had lost Meng Ge, her only support, and also lost her trusted confidant. The servants around her were all replaced by others, and without her monthly allowance, she no longer had the capital to order people around. Without a trusted confidant, she was like someone who had been cut off from both hands, unable to move forward.

  Everything she has today is thanks to her, she hates her but also fears her.

  And this fear, as Ru Xian gradually took control of the palace, showed signs of deepening with her increasingly strict and lenient treatment of the servants.

  As she gazed into the eyes of Yuanshi, although she felt sympathy for her, from her own standpoint, she couldn't afford to be soft-hearted. Usually, the struggle between the mistress and concubines wasn't about one side overpowering the other, but rather which side could suppress the other; what peaceful coexistence? That was simply a fairy tale. It was just men deceiving themselves.

  The original concubine is actually not pitiful. When the empress dowager made her a concubine, she probably had ulterior motives. Otherwise, she wouldn't have rushed to compete with her for favor as soon as she entered the palace, and eventually shifted her target to Alliance Brother when she found out she couldn't win against her. Such an unscrupulous concubine is also stupid, and her tricks for competing for favor are not even clever, only causing ridicule and getting herself into trouble, a case of losing more than gaining.

  Although she had cut off the original imperial concubine's trusted followers and replaced them with her own people, the original imperial concubine would not stir up any more trouble for a while, but it was hard to guarantee that the wildfire would be completely extinguished, and when the spring breeze blew again, it would grow back, so she still couldn't let her guard down.

  Then, Ru Qing cleared her throat and said, "I know you're resentful that I exposed your tricks for competing for favor, but you should understand that although Meng Ge is a illegitimate child, he's still the king's firstborn son. You can't just treat him as a tool for competing for favor. You've really disappointed the empress dowager. However, I'm not cruel or ruthless, and I won't completely destroy you." Ru Qing stood up, slowly walked down the steps, and came to stand in front of Yuan Ce Fei. She found that this woman was slightly taller than her by half a head, and she couldn't surpass her in terms of aura either. She could only take two steps back and said calmly, "As long as you behave yourself, I won't treat you harshly. I promise you that you'll get all the privileges due to a ce fei, but you must remember to follow the rules for a concubine carefully."

  The concubine clenched her lips tightly, she didn't know that this woman was scolding her, but she just couldn't help asking: "What rules does the princess want me to learn?"

  As she tilted her head, the pearl pendant on her temple swung gently, like a mischievous sprite.

  She stared at Yuan Ce Fei for a moment before speaking in a soft voice: "The rules of the inner palace, didn't your mother teach you before you entered the manor?"

  Yu Ce Fei bit her lip, her face pale and wan.

  Ru Qing said: "You don't understand, it's okay, I will let Wang Nai Nai come to teach you well." Then she turned her head, looking at Wang Nai Nai with warm and expectant eyes.

  The queen's maid quickly stepped forward and said loudly, "Your Highness, I was once taught by the flower maid and I know all the rules that need to be followed. Since the original consort doesn't understand these rules, I can take her place and teach them."

  Pretending not to see the darkened face of the original consort, he smiled with satisfaction and said: "In that case, I'll have to trouble you."

  ……

  After returning from Yuanyang's place, the sky had already brightened up. On the way back, the servant women who saw her retreated to one side, lowering their heads, and only continued walking forward after Ruoqing passed by. Some of the servants who saw Ruoqing hurriedly came forward, bowing their heads and complimenting her with respectful tones and humble attitudes. Ruoqing suddenly felt a sense of pride; if these servants truly respected her from the bottom of their hearts, then she, this princess consort, had succeeded in her role.

  Returning to Longxianju, I suddenly found that the courtyard was filled with many busy servants. I couldn't help but be stunned for a moment and asked: "What's going on? Why aren't you doing your own work properly, running to my place to do what?"

  Yuan Fula's servant said: "Your Highness, today is the nineteenth day of the Lunar New Year. According to the rules, it's time for you to manage the household chores."

  "What are they doing coming all the way here? Can't they just mind their own business?"

  Yuan Fula's family was delayed, and He Mama hurriedly explained: "Princess Wang, you are young and certainly don't know the rules of managing a household. Every day, when taking out accounts and items, they must be approved by the mistress, and a token is issued. At settlement time, the mistress can use the token to verify. These managers are mostly in charge of purchasing, and they must obtain a token from Princess Wang before they can go to the accounting room to withdraw silver to handle affairs."

  It was as if he had suddenly realized something, and as he walked, he said: "So it's just this, I thought it was some earth-shattering matter. This mansion has a special accountant, as long as each withdrawal of silver is carefully recorded and checked, isn't that enough? The card is just a formality, if you really want to prevent corruption, just let the accountants in the accounting room clearly record every single transaction."

  The Jia family in Dream of the Red Chamber is a large and prosperous household with many people and things to manage. Wang Xifeng gets up early and goes to bed late, but despite her hard work, the Jia family remains unstable and unpeaceful. She has worked tirelessly for the Jia family, which is evident to everyone in the household and even more so throughout history. However, her management style is far removed from modern enterprise management. Studying it would not only be useless but also misleading, as Wang Xifeng's approach relies on cunning rather than business acumen, art rather than science, with many drawbacks and hidden dangers.

  Specifically, the problems with her management include:

  * Having discipline without organization: rules and regulations are enforced without organizational guarantees.

  * Having assignments without supervision: this leads to a lack of accountability among subordinates, who only focus on avoiding mistakes rather than achieving results. As a result, laziness and dishonesty prevail.

  * Having arrangements without planning: there is no long-term strategic planning, and when problems arise, they are dealt with in an ad-hoc manner. Although Wang Xifeng appears to be efficient and capable, she ultimately fails to address the root causes of the problems.

  * Having centralization without democracy: decision-making power is concentrated in one person's hands, without any checks and balances or democratic mechanisms.

  As a result, the several thousand servants and slaves in the Jia household appear to be obedient and hardworking on the surface but are actually lazy and dishonest behind closed doors. The timid ones indulge in idle chatter and drinking, while the bolder ones embezzle public funds, gamble, and even bully their superiors, becoming increasingly cunning and deceitful.

  Wang Xifeng's style of housekeeping, if not recognized by her true heart, loves to take power and control, and works hard to the point of exhaustion, but it is all self-inflicted. And this kind of household management cannot be supported by just one person. She does not have the ability to manage things properly, only indulges in playing with power tactics, has divisions but no supervision, which leads to the emergence of arrogant and reckless servants. This is really unacceptable.

  The Wang Xifeng's household, with over a thousand people, was too much for one person to manage, and she didn't want to exhaust her own life just to manage the household. Just look at how Wang Xifeng every day, from dawn till dusk, is busy running around in circles, yet still can't make ends meet, and has to resort to embezzling and selling off family assets just to get by. And as a result, she's worn herself out with illness, having suffered miscarriages and hemorrhages, and all sorts of other ailments. Meanwhile, she can only stand by and let her husband indulge in his mistresses, which is really stupid.

  In order to avoid the tragic fate of Wang Xifeng, as I see it, the most important task is to accompany and nurture talent, followed by delegating power to subordinates, then establishing a supervisory committee, and bringing in several advisors. Promote and appoint a batch of diligent and capable maids, improve the organization, perfect the system, implement crisis management and democratic management. As for her, she can retreat to the second line, enjoy the leisure that a princess should have, occasionally assist with supervision and examination of the affairs handled by the lower-ranking officials, but let them handle the overall management affairs.

  Of course, her idea was right, but it's hard to implement. First of all, the relationship between Lian Yufu and his family and He Mama can't be passed through.

  "As I patiently explained to them, 'If everything has to be done with such courtesy and respect, wouldn't this vast palace exhaust me to death? When would I have time to pay respects to the empress dowager, take care of my brother-in-law, manage the concubines, and fulfill my duties as a wife?'"

  One sentence left the two speechless, and with a smile, he said: "So, my top priority now is to delegate power first." Then, except for withdrawing large amounts of valuable items and large accounts, only issuing receipts, all small amounts were uniformly handed over to the accounting house and the inner housekeeper for verification.

  After assigning the task, Mother Zhou worried again, "Princess Wang, you are so bold in delegating power. What if a treacherous and tyrannical person emerges? How will we deal with it then?"

  Yu smiled and put a piece of pear into his mouth, "So, I will set up another supervisory group to supervise. Of course,"

  "If this supervisory group is not up to par, I will definitely replace them." At present, the several madams of Longxianju have already treated Rujing as their master, and among her own dowry servants, except for Chen Mama who did not dare to give orders, the other three were genuinely considerate of her and naturally put them in supervisory positions. Let the two of them form a group, and every day they would randomly inspect and supervise. For low-ranking maidservants, minor mistakes would be warned first, and if there was another offense, they would be punished by deducting silver or rice. As for mid-ranking maidservants, it was not necessary to personally scold them, just remind their direct "superior" and that would do. If they were caught again next time, the "superior" would be questioned. Usually, the "superiors" of mid-ranking maidservants were the managers who took charge of the household alone, so Rujing had to take action to punish them.

  After assigning the task, they summarized some knots and loopholes or imperfections. Led by Zhou Mama, representatives expressed heartfelt praise, even Yuan Fulaicai's family felt unbelievable, looking at the relaxed and elegant King Wang, no longer dared to underestimate her.

  Although it took several days to formulate and improve the rules and regulations, assign tasks to each person, and then gather the managers together again for another motivational speech: "...... Now that the tasks have been assigned, let's take a break for half a year. If there are any unsuitable ones, we can adjust them later. In short, I want to know what you're capable of, so you need to show me first. Those who perform well will be reused, and those who don't should not be discouraged. Maybe they're not suitable for the task at hand, and it's okay to tell me and change to a more suitable task. In short, I want to use people, but I need to know your abilities and strengths first, so I can assign tasks accordingly. Don't learn from Li Ruijia's Wang Caijia, who takes my words as nothing. Also, don't learn from Liu Village's He Guan, who occupies the toilet without doing anything."

  Everyone's heart was chilled, thinking that the two of them would be beaten and thrown into prison, one would be sold as a slave, and He Guan Shi would also lose his position as the manager of the estate. The whole family would be exiled from the capital city, with an uncertain fate, probably ending their lives in this way. Furthermore, at public gatherings, the Empress Dowager openly supported the Queen, and the King didn't need to be mentioned. Since the grand wedding over a month ago, he had been staying at the Queen's place, without even setting foot in any of the other concubines' rooms. The Queen had managed to win over the old Emperor and the Empress Dowager, and the hot-tempered King seemed to dote on her alone. Who dared to show any signs of favoritism towards others? They all loudly declared that they would not let the Queen down.

  Immediately following, the leader had each of the officials write down their strengths on paper and present them to her. She would then store them away and observe how well they handled tasks in the future. Those who did a good job would naturally be promoted, while those who didn't would not be treated kindly - first, they would be fired.

  The officials thought carefully and found this to be a good method, so they all went to find Chen Xiang and others, each explaining their own expertise.

  Pinlan gazed at the elegant and majestic appearance of Ruqing, feeling very envious. She also saw Chenxiang, Lingluo, Yujin, Lanyin, Shushu, Xijiu, and others standing upright with an air of superiority in front of a group of servants, which made her even more envious. She didn't know when she could have such glory as theirs.

  ……

  The affairs of the outer courtyard were not managed by him, and most of them were ordered to be handled by the outer courtyard. Two eunuchs were assigned to supervise the work in the outer courtyard. Hong Dacheng indeed had a set of methods for managing the outer courtyard. He wore a veil, sat on a sedan chair, and inspected the entire place without finding any mistakes. He was rewarded again. His wife was reassigned to the inner courtyard supervision group with Yuan Fugui's mother, He Mama, and Zaichun's wife, forming an inner courtyard supervision group that supervised at irregular intervals.

  Hong Dacheng's family had been living a miserable life since Miao Yin was implicated and Li Xiu took away the fat job of purchasing, she would be scolded by her husband as soon as she returned home, and outside, she would be ridiculed by her sisters-in-law. This time, Ru Qing broke the rules and reused her, and it was still a supervisory job, although there was not much oil and water, but the key was that the power was in her hands. After being favored, Ruyi was grateful to Ruqing, but she didn't mention anything about her daughter's misfortune.

  That night, Li Xiu learned about this and was slightly surprised. When he came back from outside that evening, as his wife helped him change clothes, she asked him about it.

  As if trying to play the role of a perfect wife, she smiled and said: "Although this Hong Da Cheng's family is not very impressive, but he has a capable man, I've heard Wang Ye praise him several times before. This time, observing from the sidelines, this Hong Da Cheng indeed deserves Wang Ye's praise. So, with such a capable manager, it's worth giving him some face for his sake."

  Especially today, Li Tibo has taken care of Hong Dacheng's family. Hong Dacheng and his wife are not only surprised but also deeply moved, as if they have been treated with great kindness. This is probably what Zhiyi meant by "the art of governing people".

  Li Xue suddenly had an unexpected thought and stared at his wife's increasingly charming face, "Don't you mind that Miao Yin offended you like that?"

  With a soft hum, she cast a sideways glance at him, "I am a magnanimous mistress." Miao Yin was Li Xiao's concubine maid, and had also been driven out of the mansion. A maid who had lost her chastity and been expelled from the mansion, where could she possibly marry into? She didn't need to be ruthless to the end. It was also to set an example for the other servants, to correct mistakes, and to be kind and gentle.

  Li Xiu liked his young wife's affected mature and cute appearance, with an indescribable charm and allure. He couldn't help but gently pinch her small nose, laughing and scolding: "You dare to open a dye shop with just three points of color? You're not even ashamed."

  When the housekeeper gradually took charge and no longer had to stare at the servants all day, she finally had some free time to make clothes.

  She had promised to make him a coat, and she couldn't go back on her word. So, she had someone bring out the best muslin fabric from the warehouse, and personally designed an open-fronted coat with a turned-down collar. Most men's robes at home during the Daqing dynasty were closed-fronted, but this time, Rourou boldly innovated and made a turned-down design, using five-color embroidery to create intricate flower patterns on the collar. The waist adopted a tied-waist design, and there was also a silk ribbon tied around the waistline. This way, it could be worn open or closed. The cuffs and hem were also made of silk velvet as much as possible, as these two places couldn't stand to get dirty, and it was best to use easy-to-wash fabric.

  There is no professional sewing machine in the boudoir, and everything relies on Ruoxi's own cutting and sewing. Although there are people who can help with embroidery, other details cannot be handed over to others. Moreover, there are many things to do in the Wang Mansion, and guests often come to visit, either to chat or to ask for favors. Even with the protection of the imperial concubine, when encountering noble guests, one still has to go out and show their face, making the time for sewing even more crowded.

  Here is the translation:

  Moreover, Li Xiao was indeed overbearing. He didn't even have any skills, but seemed to harbor a deep resentment towards Zhiyi. Afraid of making him angry, she would often do things behind his back. As a result, she had even less time to make clothes. Sometimes, just as she picked up her needle, a servant would come to report that some guest had arrived and wanted to pay their respects to her in person.

  It has been more than half a month since then, and I still haven't finished making a single sleeve for the clothes of affection and righteousness.

  Just like today, a noble lady from the Lu State arrived, who is Li Xiong's aunt. As the new daughter-in-law, she had to hurry over to pay her respects. After finally sending off this honored guest, the wife of Lord Ling came to visit.

  It was with great difficulty that I managed to catch my breath in the afternoon, only to hear from someone below that Madame Chengchang and Lady Zhang of England had also arrived together.

  Yu Nu got up from her bed in the imperial concubine's quarters and asked: "Has Yang Tai Fu also arrived?"

  ……

  Digression

  Double update today, come and throw money at me, the more the better