This was a thought he shouldn't have had in the first place. But Xiao Tian knew that if he said so, Yi Qing wouldn't change her mind. So when the words reached his lips, they came out in a more euphemistic way.
Yi Qing waved her hand. "Don't worry. I'll only let my guard down in front of you. I won't be like this in front of others."
Come on. The immunity from punishment was hard to come by and needed to be cherished. She couldn't just squander it because of a momentary slip of the tongue.
The words "only let my guard down in front of you" made Xiao Tian's heart skip a beat. He felt touched and happy, but there was also a faint sense of guilt.
"That's good," he said, lowering his eyes. His long eyelashes hid the complex emotions in his eyes. "Why do you say the emperor is scheming against you?"
"I guess the emperor has encountered some problems recently, or maybe he's always been like this. He's constantly being interfered with by the empress dowager in some matters. He can't even object. So he thought of me and diverted the trouble to me, making me confront the empress dowager," Yi Qing said, pouting.
It wasn't that she was being paranoid. Given the emperor's behavior, it was entirely possible for him to do so.
Xiao Tian said, "I'll go and ask him."
"You're so stupid!" Yi Qing grabbed him as he turned to leave. "Even if that's what the emperor is thinking, he won't admit it."
Now that she was already in this situation, she didn't ask for anything else. She just hoped that the emperor wouldn't be a liability.
Xiao Tian couldn't go. After a long pause, he said sullenly, "You're not the kind of person who would let others take advantage of you. Since you know the emperor might be scheming against you, why did you still take on this task?"
"First, we've come this far. People have already returned, and there's no turning back. The emperor won't slap himself in the face and let the Earl of Yi'an return to Jinling. Unless I can find a proper reason to drive them away," Yi Qing said calmly. "Second, Xiao Tian, I'm not the kind of person who meddles in other people's business, but I'm definitely not afraid of trouble. I originally didn't want to get involved in the matters between Xiao Jinghan and the Yi'an Earl's Mansion. As long as we could coexist peacefully, that would be fine. But since they dared to come to my door, I'll dare to shut the door and beat the dog!"
Evil people will be punished by heaven. If heaven doesn't punish them, I'll do it on behalf of heaven!
After a long time, Xiao Tian said sullenly, "The general doesn't need you to avenge him. As long as you take good care of yourself and Baozi, he'll be very satisfied."
"It's precisely because of Xiao Jinghan's attitude that he indulged them in doing evil," Yi Qing said. "If you repay evil with kindness, how can you repay kindness? If Xiao Jinghan had been a vengeful person back then, they would never have dared to be so arrogant."
"Maybe he just didn't want to waste his time on them. They're not worth it."
Yi Qing thought that might indeed be the case. Xiao Jinghan must be an extremely proud person.
So what was the result? If you don't cut the grass at the roots, it will grow back when the spring breeze blows. Now this mess has been handed over to her.
Yi Qing sent someone to call Jushuang. The latter had been busy in the accounting room these days.
Looking at her red, rabbit-like eyes, Yi Qing said with a smile, "I hired you to work, not to buy your life with money. Others are afraid they can't be lazy, but you're afraid you can't do more."
Jushuang felt a bit embarrassed by her words. She rubbed her eyes and said, "Reporting to the madam, my eyes aren't like this because of staying up late. It's because I was looking through old accounts and flipping through account books."
Was her eyes infected by something dirty?
Yi Qing quickly said, "Don't rub your eyes! Come here and let me take a look!"
After checking her, it was indeed an eye infection.
Yi Qing said, "You're not allowed to touch the account books for the next few days. I'll write you a prescription. Go back and boil the medicine to wash your eyes. Just rest your eyes."
"Thank you, madam, for your concern. It's not a big deal."
"That won't do. Such a pair of beautiful almond eyes would look so ugly if they became like rabbit eyes." In the end, Yi Qing wrote her a prescription.
She sent someone down to boil the medicine. Then Yi Qing asked again, "What old accounts were you looking through?"
Jushuang said, "Reporting to the madam, I've been idle these days, so I've looked through all the accounts of the general's mansion from its establishment to now, which is about six or seven years."
Yi Qing: "..."
She was really a talented person.
"Jushuang, it's a waste of your talent to be here."
Hearing this, Jushuang was greatly shocked. She hurriedly stood up and said, "Madam, are you going to drive me away?"
"Of course not, silly girl." Yi Qing pressed her back into her seat. "I think you should find a job in the Ministry of Revenue. That would be worthy of your talent."
Jushuang lowered her head and blushed with a shy smile. "Madam, you're joking."
"I'm not joking. Let's see if there are any young officials in the Ministry of Revenue later," Yi Qing counted on her fingers. "Good-looking, capable, reliable in character, with easy-to-get-along-with parents at home, and who don't look down on women. I'll find you a husband then. You can play your part behind the scenes with your husband and wife working together. Don't let your talent go to waste."
Jushuang blushed and then laughed.
"Madam, you said such a person would be good enough to marry a princess. How could I ever have a chance? As long as I can stay by your side and share some of your burdens to repay you for saving my father's life, I'll be satisfied."
"Don't underestimate yourself," Yi Qing said. "A princess only has a good background, but you earn your living by your own skills. Mountains may collapse, and people may leave. In this world, only your own skills are the best reliance."
Xiao Tian behind her was immediately speechless. He thought he didn't know where she got so many strange ideas from.
"I called you here today because I want to ask you about the general's mansion's assets. Do you have an idea?" Seeing Jushuang's competence, Yi Qing didn't hold back and immediately checked on the "balance sheet".
Jushuang was more reserved in her words, but her eyes were full of confidence. "I have some understanding."
"Tell me."
"Reporting to the madam, there are 236,000 taels of silver in the mansion's treasury. These are the ones that haven't been used. In addition, for daily expenses, there are still 832 taels and 9 cents left in the account. There are a total of 22 pieces of farmland in the mansion. Among them, 4 are in the capital, and 18 are in the south of the Yangtze River, totaling 1,211 hectares. There are 42 shops in the mansion. Among them, 24 are in the capital..."
Listening to Jushuang clearly reporting the accounts, Yi Qing could only think "Oh my god" in her mind.
You can get rich by going to war! She never thought that Xiao Jinghan was so rich!
All this money was now hers!
She knew she was rich, but she never thought she was this rich!
Yi Qing looked at Xiao Tian with a surprised and inquiring look in her eyes, as if asking if the source of Xiao Jinghan's assets was legitimate.
Xiao Tian naturally understood what she was thinking. He said angrily, "General Xiao doesn't care about these things at all. They're all rewards from the emperor over the years."
That dog emperor. He really had something. Yi Qing said she would never say bad things about him again.
Just his generosity was enough. Being rich could cover up a hundred flaws!
"... There are six warehouses full of gold and silver jewelry, ornaments, calligraphy, paintings, antiques, brocades, and silk. I haven't counted them yet," Jushuang finally finished her report.
Yi Qing waved her hand. "Let's talk about it after your eyes get better."
So the question was, how could she transfer her assets, which were richer than a nation?
It was simply impossible to transfer them!
She originally thought that she would transfer some of the assets before the locusts from the Yi'an Earl's Mansion came, so as to avoid being taken advantage of by the empress dowager if she really made a stupid move. But now it seemed that this way was obviously not feasible.