With their goal successfully achieved, the Second Lady and the Third Lady didn't stay any longer. They left triumphantly.
On the way back to the Western Garden, the Third Lady couldn't help but sneer, "I used to overestimate Lady Jiang!"
"After all these years, Lady Jiang is just a paper tiger with only an empty shell. She's no match for us at all!"
"She really has little ability," the Second Lady chimed in.
Whether Jiang Fuying was a match for them remained to be seen, but she did hire the decoration team they had recommended.
Since this decoration team entered the shop, she had heard Cai Pu and Cai Zhi report more than once, "Miss, they don't take their work seriously at all. They're perfunctory everywhere."
"Not only are they perfunctory, but they also cut corners. The wood they transported is only intact on the outermost layer. All the wood inside is rotten and moldy."
In response, Jiang Fuying just smiled and said, "Don't expose them. Just act as if you don't know. I'll go to the shop to supervise the work myself tomorrow."
With her words, although the two maids were puzzled, they still followed her instructions.
Even when Jiang Fuying was supervising the work in the shop, the decoration team still went their own way, being lazy, perfunctory, and cutting corners.
However, as a "kind - hearted" employer, Jiang Fuying never blamed them.
As a result, the whole decoration team became even more arrogant and lawless.
Lu Huaizhou happened to come to show her the materials for the latest style of glass mirror. As soon as he stepped into the shop, this was the scene that greeted him:
Several workers were sitting on the ground chatting. A few others were symbolically carrying wood into the shop. Three or five of them were huddled together, fumbling around and no one knew what they were up to.
The place was in a complete mess, and the whole shop was as noisy as a morning market!
When he took a closer look, the so - called wood they were carrying was nothing but junk that no one would pick up even if it was lying on the roadside!
When his gaze shifted slightly and he saw her tired face, a surge of anger welled up in his heart.
She trusted these workers so much, but they were actually deceiving her!
Furious, he was about to scold the workers when he saw her beckon to him.
Most of his anger subsided. He walked up to her side, suppressing his anger.
Before she could say anything, he whispered in a low voice, "I said, Miss Jiang, you're usually so smart. Why are you being deceived by them today? Can't you see..."
"Shh." Jiang Fuying leaned a little closer to him and secretly made a gesture for him to be quiet.
"Hmm?" Lu Huaizhou was completely confused.
"Your Highness, don't make a sound. I'm going to catch them all in one net."
Hearing her words, Lu Huaizhou immediately understood.
A hint of a smile appeared in his dark eyes. He knew that Miss Jiang was extremely intelligent.
The servant who followed behind him and witnessed his whole change of expression twitched the corner of his mouth and couldn't help but complain in his heart:
Whenever he met the Crown Princess, his own master seemed to have learned Sichuan Opera face - changing without a teacher. His face changed faster than turning the pages of a book!
In the following days, Lu Huaizhou used the excuse of coming to show her materials every day and followed her to the shop to supervise the work.
But although they were supposed to be supervising, both of them were extremely "kind and easy - going".
Watching the decoration team become increasingly arrogant and complacent, Jiang Fuying secretly winked at him and then deliberately asked, looking dissatisfied,
"Hubby, don't you think the materials in our shop are too shoddy?"
The workers who were having fun trembled. They almost thought she had seen the trickery in the materials.
Unexpectedly, Lu Huaizhou said seriously, "These woods are too ordinary. I think we should replace them all with better materials."
"You're right, hubby," Jiang Fuying nodded in agreement. "Since not much has been installed yet, let's replace the materials."
With that, she waved to Zhang Laoda, the leader of the decoration team, and said, "The current materials are no good. Please reinstall everything. I'll pay you double the wages."
Zhang Laoda's eyes lit up. "Crown Princess, what materials do you plan to use? I happen to have some connections and can help you purchase them."
Jiang Fuying and Lu Huaizhou exchanged a silent look.
The fish has bitten the hook!
"It's okay for you to go and purchase, but I don't know much about materials," Jiang Fuying deliberately showed an air of complete ignorance about decoration materials. "Anyway, just use the best materials. You can make the purchase as you see fit."
"Crown Princess, what about the cost..."
"Cai Pu, bring a thousand - tael silver note."
Taking the thousand - tael silver note, Zhang Laoda's eyes glinted with greedy light. "Crown Princess, this amount of money may not be enough to buy much material."
"It doesn't matter," Jiang Fuying waved her hand generously. "When you've used up these silver notes, just go to Cai Pu for more."
"I obey your order!"
In the Western Garden of the Zhennan Duke's Mansion.
After listening to Zhang Laoda's personal report on Jiang Fuying's instructions, both the Second Lady and the Third Lady were overjoyed.
Jiang Fuying had given them more surprises than they had expected!
Since she had offered them an opportunity to make a profit, why not take it?
The Second Lady directly said, "She wants the best materials. Then you go and buy ordinary nanmu and pass it off as golden - silk nanmu."
The Third Lady was even more ruthless. "Anyway, she has a lot of money. Quote her three hundred taels of silver for each piece of golden - silk nanmu."
Since Lady Jiang was ignorant and couldn't tell the difference in the decoration materials, they might as well embezzle this decoration money!
"After it's done, we'll give you a 30% share of the profit," the Third Lady added at last.
Zhang Laoda was overjoyed. "Second Lady, Third Lady, don't worry. I'll definitely handle this task well!"
Driven by profit or for some other reason, since Zhang Laoda was given the power to purchase decoration materials, the workers had been full of energy. In less than half a month, they had almost finished decorating the shop.
Poor Cai Pu. She was holding the account book with a bitter face. "Miss, you don't know. In just half a month, they've withdrawn fifteen thousand taels of silver in the name of purchasing materials!"
Fifteen thousand taels?
Their appetites were really big!
Jiang Fuying raised her delicate eyebrows slightly, and a cold sneer escaped from her lips. "Bear with them for two more days. It's time to close the net."
Two days later, it was the day Zhang Laoda had promised that the shop decoration would be completed!
Hearing this, Lu Huaizhou beside her offered voluntarily, "Miss Jiang, is there anything I can do to help?"
Jiang Fuying looked at him intently for a while, sizing him up and down.
Just when Lu Huaizhou started to feel uncomfortable under her gaze, she suddenly asked, "Your Highness, can you fight?"
"N - no."
"Then can you find someone who can fight for me?"
"Miss Jiang, are you planning to..."
Under his puzzled gaze, she gracefully raised her hand and pointed directly at the top of the shop.
Although there was a smile on her lips, it sent a chill down one's spine. "Find someone who can fight to pull out the cross - beam supporting the shop so that the whole shop will... collapse immediately!"
The decoration was almost done. It was time for her to settle the score with the Second and Third Branches!
Lu Huaizhou secretly felt a bit sorry for those two branches in his heart.
They had really kicked a hard iron plate by provoking her!
However—
He supported her!
"I'll definitely find someone who can fight tonight!"