Seeing that she had taken the list, Granny Chen got ready to take her leave. "Please take your time to look through it, Princess. I'll take these girls and get back to work."
"Hold on a moment, Granny," said Li Wanming, her voice trailing up slightly. Her eyes skimmed over the women standing with their heads bowed. She lifted the corners of her lips in a gentle smile.
"As luck would have it, I'm in the middle of planning the festival gifts. Since you've brought them here, we might as well get this over with. Qinglan, offer Granny Chen a seat."
As she spoke, she watched Granny Chen out of the corner of her eye. The old woman sat down without a hint of hurry, smiling. Her manner was completely calm, and there was even a faint air of smugness in the lines around her eyes.
Li Wanming's heart tightened. Her fingers were pinching the pages of the list so hard that they wrinkled.
Something was off.
It was already strange enough that Concubine Kang had sent Granny Chen over to help her with the festival gifts.
Now, when she deliberately asked Granny Chen to go through the old accounts right there and then, Granny Chen didn't even get angry?
This wasn't like Concubine Kang's style, and it definitely wasn't Granny Chen's personality. When things seemed too good to be true, there was always a catch. There must be some kind of plot behind this.
But what was it?
Could it be that there was something wrong with this list of past festival gifts?
Li Wanming's knuckles turned white from gripping so tightly. She took a deep breath and opened the booklet. She began to read through the items one by one, asking questions whenever there was something she didn't understand.
"Twelve bolts of the 'Flowers in Full Bloom' Sichuan brocade. Is this only for the Marquis of Xuanping's family? Why don't I see this item in the accounts of the other marquis families?"
Before her voice faded, a round - faced woman behind Granny Chen scurried forward.
"Reply to the Princess. This is because the wife of the Marquis of Xuanping is extremely fond of Sichuan brocade. She only wears clothes made of this brocade all year round. So our mansion always prepares an extra share for her every year."
There was a smile on her face, making her look amiable. But there was also a hint of smugness hidden in her smile, just like Granny Chen's.
"I see," Li Wanming said calmly, pretending not to notice. She pointed to another entry and asked, "What about this rosewood carved and jade - inlaid glazed screen and the red coral ruyi ornament? Why are they only for the Princess Dowager's mansion and not for the Princess Chengping's mansion?"
The woman's smile grew wider. She still gave a reasonable answer.
"Your Highness may not know. Princess Chengping doesn't like luxury items. She only has a passion for flowers and plants. So during festivals, our mansion sends fewer gold and jade items and only sends some rare flowers and plants instead."
At this point, another woman with slightly darker skin behind her stepped forward to explain.
"I'm in charge of growing flowers and plants in the mansion. For this year's festival gifts for the princess, we've prepared two pots of tulips from Lanling, two pots of snow - petaled white peonies, and a weeping crabapple tree shipped from Huzhou... The princess loves flowers the most. These are sure to please her."
After hearing this, Granny Chen added with a smile, "Although we have these rare flowers and plants, the princess is, after all, our own kin. The servants know we can't be too shabby. So besides these, we've also prepared a black fox fur cloak and two century - old wild ginseng roots... Your Highness can rest assured. We won't let the princess lose face."
Li Wanming nodded and continued to flip through the booklet, asking questions one by one.
She asked in great detail, almost covering the preferences of every noble family in the capital.
However, this time, whether it was the four housekeeper women or Granny Chen, they were all extremely cooperative. They answered every question clearly and straightforwardly, without the evasiveness and perfunctory attitude of the previous two days.
But the more reasonable their answers were and the more respectful their attitudes were, the more Li Wanming's heart tightened.
This was so strange!
If Concubine Kang really cared about the face of the Prince of Ning's mansion and didn't want it to lose face during this important festival, she could have just helped her sort out the storeroom generously a few days ago. Instead, she first evaded and refused to cooperate, and then suddenly did a 180 - degree turn and pretended to be a kind and considerate aunt!
What was this?
A slap followed by a sweet date?
The more Li Wanming thought about it, the more she was sure that there was a huge trap behind this, a really big one. But no matter how many questions she asked, she couldn't find any clues.
Granny Chen and the four housekeeper women all had kind smiles on their faces. They were extremely cooperative, and their answers were flawless, without the slightest mistake.
Li Wanming was anxious, but she also knew that she couldn't keep them there forever.
She tightened her grip on the booklet. Her fingertips turned white from the force. After a moment of thought, she slowly said, "The Dragon Boat Festival is approaching. Time is tight. I'd like to trouble you all to draw up a list of festival gifts according to the previous years' practices. If there are any items that need to be taken from the storeroom, please let Qinglan and Chuntao go with you to fetch them. However—"
She paused, her eyes like blades as they swept across everyone's faces in the room. Her voice was low and cold. "There's something I need to make clear to all of you."
She lifted her chin slightly and said seriously, "The items in the storeroom haven't been inventoried yet, and the accounts are still unclear. For every item you take, you must go to Qinglan to sign and make a seal. Everything should be recorded in the ledger. Most of the items in the storeroom are imperial gifts. We should be more careful. It's better to have clear accounts. We don't want any misunderstandings and false accusations later."
These words were very explicit.
I know you're Concubine Kang's people. I don't trust you! I'm on guard against you tampering with things! I'm specifically sending Qinglan and Chuntao to keep an eye on you. I want you to sign and make a seal for every single item you take!
Since Concubine Kang had sent these people to help, she thought she could take the opportunity of moving the festival gifts from the storeroom to test the attitudes of these housekeeper women.
But to her surprise, the round - faced woman in the lead agreed without hesitation, as if she had expected this. "Your Highness is meticulous in handling things. We servants have no reason not to obey."
However, in the shadows, the woman curled her lips slightly, and her eyes were filled with disdain.
Li Wanming felt even more frustrated.
It was obvious that there was something wrong with this!
But she didn't know where the problem was!
In the big families, when it came to taking items, usually only a token and a key were needed. There was no need to sign and make a seal. In their eyes, only selling oneself into slavery required making a seal.
Once the master mentioned the words "sign and make a seal", it meant a huge lack of trust, which was no different from an insult.
However, even though Li Wanming had "insulted" them like this today, these housekeeper women still had smiles on their faces and didn't show any reaction.
Something was off...
Very off!
The core conflict between her and Concubine Kang these days had been the storeroom of the Prince of Ning's mansion.
She wanted to check the accounts and inventory the storeroom, but Concubine Kang had evaded and refused to cooperate in every way.
So from every angle, it was impossible for Concubine Kang to send these housekeeper women over to help her out just when she was preparing the festival gifts for the Dragon Boat Festival. Heck, it would be a miracle if she didn't take the opportunity to step on her!