Chapter 136 - It's a Gift from Someone else
The lively atmosphere of the Crown Prince's wedding gradually calmed down after half a month. It had been a long time since the Ye City was this lively. Even though it was snowing heavily and the cold wind was bone-piercing, it did not dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd.
However, after the enthusiasm, many practical problems had to be put on the table.
Tang Yue stood in front of the carved window and lifted the thick cotton curtains to look outside. It was still a vast expanse of white.
According to the old man in the manor, this year's heavy snow was rarely seen in a hundred years. Ever since he was born, he had never seen such a large amount of snow. It made people very nervous.
The butler knocked on the door and came in. He saw Tang Yue, who was wearing thin clothes, standing by the window. He quickly put down the things in his hands and walked over to close the curtains. “young master, the wind is strong outside. Be careful not to catch a cold.”
As he spoke, he ran over to get Tang Yue a cloak. Tang Yue rubbed his cold hands and asked him, “When did His Highness go out? Is the disaster serious?”
The snow continued to fall for a few days, and news of houses collapsing came from many places. There were many people who froze to death every day. As the number of people who died increased, the wedding atmosphere of their newlyweds gradually faded.
Ever since they received gifts from each other, Tang Yue and Crown Prince Zhao had fallen into a busy state. One was busy going to Pulp Farmer, and the other was busy using centrifugal experiments to separate the bleeding. They might not even be able to meet each other once in two or three days.
As the end of the year approached, They put down what they were doing and decided to take a few days off.
After Tang Yue came back from the courtyard, he immediately fell asleep and slept for a day and night. It was almost noon before he got up from his bed.
Crown Prince Zhao originally wanted to accompany him until lunch, but after a few orders, he had no choice but to enter the palace to discuss the disaster relief matters with the ministers.
“His Highness entered the palace right after dawn. As soon as news came, lunch was served in the palace. You can have your own meal.”
“Then prepare the meal.” After sleeping for so long, he is indeed hungry.
The food in the Crown Prince's Palace was as exquisite as ever. The plates were served to fill the entire table. The dishes were of all colors and flavors, but Tang Yue was not that bold. He instructed the butler to prepare three dishes and one soup for him alone in the future.
The butler did not dare to make the decision on his own. He only said that he wanted to report to His Highness for his decision. Tang Yue did not make things difficult for him. He had eaten less and slept less in the courtyard these few days. Now, he felt that everything he ate was fragrant.
After eating, Tang Yue went to the courtyard for a walk to digest his food. There were people cleaning up the snow in the residence. The passageway was clean. There was only a layer of snow on the grass on both sides of the road.
“By the way, which courtyard did the people I brought stay in? What do they do on a daily basis?” Tang Yue remembered that he still had more than a hundred people. He had neglected them during this period of time.
“In Chrysanthemum Garden, His Highness had instructed us to settle the people from Marquis's Mansion well. Do you want to summon anyone?” The butler served them personally, afraid that he would not do well enough.
He saw how good His Highness was to this newly married Crown Princess. Seeing their husband and wife's relationship and beauty, their family harmony, the butler was also happy to see it happen.
He was really afraid that His Highness would marry a troublemaker.
“No need, bring me to see.” Tang Yue searched the Chrysanthemum Garden in his mind and found that it was not far from where he was living now. He walked out first.
He was still thinking about what to do when he saw Mr Xuan Jing's dead face turn around and leave. However, when he entered the Chrysanthemum Garden and saw the young man sitting in the pavilion listening to the zither and making tea, he instantly felt that it was too easy for him to turn around and leave.
“Sir's life is really carefree!” Tang Yue walked to the opposite side of him and sat down, indicating for him to pour himself a cup of tea.
Tang Yue stole a glance at the young man playing the piano. He looked familiar, as if he had appeared in the band on his wedding day.
There were no women in the Crown Prince's Palace. Even the musicians he raised were male. It was said that many high-ranking officials and nobles had sent their dancers and beauties, but they were all sent to the front line by Crown Prince Zhao to comfort the warriors.
After a few times like this, the crowd decided not to send their beauties away. They did not want the ladies who were as beautiful as flowers to be bullied by a pack of hungry wolves at the border.
“How can it compare to young master being a busy person?” Mr Xuan Jing elegantly poured a cup of tea for Tang Yue. The fragrance of the tea was overflowing. He smiled and said, “It is said that this is the brewing method invented by young master. The fragrance is far away. It is indeed much better than the usual brewing of tea.”
Tang Yue did not have a deep understanding of tea, but the tea leaves that could appear in the Crown Prince's residence must not be that bad. He felt that it was too much of a loss for him to raise an idle person with a high salary.
“I was busy a few days ago and forgot to visit you. Seeing that you are so bored, why don't I find you something to do?” Tang Yue smiled kindly.
“Sure. young master can do whatever he wants.” Mr Xuan Jing looked at him calmly, as if he could accept it even if he had to clean the toilet.
Tang Yue asked the butler to bring the light wedding ceremony over. There were also a few boxes of books. He stuffed them all into the butler's hands. “Sir is the person Father trusts the most. The more he trusts, the more trust he has. These money will be handed over to Sir to manage. Among them, there are fifty-six shops and three mineral deposits. Sir will be responsible for the monthly income and settling accounts.”
Mr Xuan Jing's slender fingers flicked on the list. He smiled and put it away. “I will do my best to accomplish such an important task.”
Tang Yue felt a little relieved when he saw Mr Xuan Jing accept it. He did not know much about this young man and did not know how capable he was in handling matters. It would be rude to leave the dowry to him like this, but if he did not try, he would never know his background.
However, the person that his cheap father respected must not be that bad.
“Thank you, sir,” Tang Yue said. Tang Yue bowed again. “I don't think so,” he said. “This is what I should do.”
“If you need any help, you can tell the steward to arrange it.”
“Yes, sir.”
Tang Yue took a sip of tea and stood up to look at the other rooms. Most of the people Tang Yue brought were skilled craftsmen. He did not need to arrange these people. Crown Prince Zhao dug them out immediately.
Just like this time, all the craftsmen and carpenters Tang Yue brought were involved. Only a few blacksmiths were left to help Tang Yue forge medical tools.
Tang Yue's nurse team could not go in empty-handed. They needed all the necessary tools. These people were the first ones to forge tools for Tang Yue. After that, they helped him make a lot of things. They did not stop making pots and pans. It could be said that they had developed a tacit understanding.
Tang Yue walked out of the Chrysanthemum Garden and walked around the house. The butler followed behind him and occasionally gave him a stove and a cup of hot tea.
After he left, he returned to the study room that he shared with Crown Prince Zhao.
Through the circular door, he could see a messy desk and a few large bookcases on the other side. It was said that when he was not at home, Crown Prince Zhao spent all his time studying his paper making technique.
After reading the books in the study for a while, the butler knocked on the door and came in with a stack of books. “young master, these are the recent expenses of the manor. I need you to look through the large amount and sign it.”
Tang Yue looked at him in surprise. “Who was in charge of these things in the past? His Highness said he was going to hand it over to me?”
“His Highness basically doesn't care about the income and expenditure of the manor. It is the responsibility of Protector Wang. When he is not around, this old servant will take care of it. But these guards of Prince Wang are busy at work. His Highness has ordered that you take a look when you are free.”
“Protector Wang is referring to Wang Dingjun?”
“Yes.”
Tang Yue nodded. He was indeed not an ordinary guard. It seemed like he was one of the people Crown Prince Zhao focused on training.
However, it was understandable when he thought about it. As the son of a city lord, it was impossible for him to simply come and be a guard. He definitely had to fully develop and entrust a heavy responsibility to him in the future.
Tang Yue took over the ledger and asked helplessly, “Then let's just find a reliable person in the manor to take care of it.” Were they not afraid of chaos?
Tang Yue only had a preliminary understanding of the prices of goods in this era and was not proficient in them. He only flipped through the books and found that they were all purchases during the new year. There were many and miscellaneous items during the new year. He looked at a few items that he knew the prices of goods and did not find any major problems.
Thinking about how modern companies usually had better goods than the other three companies, he casually mentioned a few words. The corner of the butler's mouth curved up. “You're right. This is the best.”
“The consignment in the manor…” Tang Yue hesitated to ask if he should ask more clearly. This kind of work was the most profitable. Tang Yue did not believe that he did not get anything out of it.
“The servants in the manor are all wounded soldiers who have retired from the front line. His Highness was kind to them, so he found them a job in the manor.”
Tang Yue raised his eyebrows. This kind of arrangement had its advantages and disadvantages, but he had just entered the house. There were some things that were hard to say. There were some things that he couldn't rush to do, so he had to take a good look first.
He suggested to the butler that he prepare more New Year goods. As employee benefits, even slaves who sold themselves as slaves could receive some extra cloth and food during the New Year as a reward.
Such a reward system was common in modern times, but it was still very rare in this era. The butler hesitated for a moment and estimated the value before nodding in agreement.
Crown Prince Zhao could even give the entire family to Tang Yue. Naturally, he did not care about him buying more things.
“Young master is a kind person. The servants in the prefecture all know about this.”
Tang Yue waved his hand. “It's just a show of generosity.” If he was poor, no matter how kind he was, he would not be able to do good.
People had to take care of themselves first before they could take care of others.
And now, as long as he leaked a little bit from his fingers, he could make the servants in the residence live a better life. Why not?
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