Too high to reach

Chapter 267 Always Being Used
Prince's Mansion.

Today is the fifteenth. The Crown Prince and Crown Princess have finished washing up and are preparing to retire for the night.

The couple chatted casually about everyday things.

By the standards of a crown princess, the crown prince was quite satisfied with his wife.

Her family had a close relationship with her mother.

She was entrusted with almost all the affairs of the household, and she handled them all to her satisfaction.

Therefore, on the first and fifteenth of the lunar month, they would definitely stay overnight in her room.

Whether she's going out for social events or entertaining guests at home, she's always given the respect due to her.

Even though Consort Zhang was arrogant and domineering both inside and outside the mansion because she had given birth to two sons.

But the Crown Prince still had his bottom line and wouldn't allow her to go too far.

However, judging from romantic love and physical desire, he seemed somewhat uninterested in the Crown Princess.

He dislikes those who are dignified and docile, lack personality, are too reserved, not bright, and too inhibited, which makes him feel bored.

He enjoys all sorts of things: wild, delicate, exciting, clandestine, tense, even married women...

As the crown prince, no matter what he likes, there will always be people flocking to him.

He didn't restrain himself too much and would accept things as long as it didn't affect his reputation.

However, once such a gate is opened, the threshold for arousing his lust becomes very high.

Ordinary people and fancy things don't arouse my interest.

This is especially true for wives.

The Crown Princess's grandfather was a prime example of someone who favored his concubine over his wife. However, she was the beneficiary of this arrangement.

The father, as the eldest son born out of wedlock, seized the title and sidelined the legitimate son.

But her mother was a proper lady from a respectable family.

Deeply influenced by her mother, she was raised from a young age to be a proper matriarch.

She has beautiful handwriting, can read accounts, and plays chess. But she has a deep-seated aversion to playing musical instruments.

She couldn't stand her great-aunt (her own grandmother) for being so old yet still acting coy, frivolous, and having a tacky demeanor.

From the very beginning, she had no desire to use her looks to please men.

Even in bed, she remained perfectly proper in front of the Crown Prince. Even knowing he disliked this... she had no desire to change.

Therefore, the Crown Prince slept most often in her room. But the two of them mostly talked about family matters and palace affairs, and then slept peacefully as friends.

The Crown Princess has no son, and the Empress has been urging her to have a child repeatedly. How could she not be anxious?

But she was anxious, and there was really nothing she could do. At best, she could only snuggle closer to the Crown Prince when she slept, or breathe near his neck…

But her husband would simply turn away, roll over, and go back to sleep, leaving her alone with a bitter smile…

As the days went by, it had been at least a year and a half since they had last been intimate.

The Crown Princess thought sadly that perhaps she would never have a son in this lifetime.

"Your Highness, why has the matter of Miss Mo been dragging on for so long? Are we just going to let it go like this?"

The Crown Prince smiled bitterly, "I risked my life to save her, and then kindly offered to take responsibility by letting that girl into my household. Is it beneath her, a commoner, to become my concubine? Yet, that bastard Li Jing insists that I slapped him in the face by hiding the girl. Tell me, what does this have to do with him?"

The Crown Princess smiled helplessly, "This wasn't done intentionally by anyone. Now that things have come to this, we should just find a solution. What's the point of all this fuss?"

“That’s right! Do you know what Liu Su said to Father about that bastard Seventh Prince? Hmm…” the Crown Prince pondered.

"One, to grant that girl from the Mo family a title. The other, the seventh prince wanted Father to grant him special approval for a few things, all of which required money. Father ignored him, so he said he wanted me to help him with one or two things. Tell me, do I owe that scoundrel something?"

"Husband..." the Crown Princess scolded playfully, "You always say things like that. What if you say it to his face one day?"

The Crown Prince laughed heartily, "He deserves me to treat him like this!"

The Crown Princess lay down. "How about I go to the palace tomorrow and tell the Empress Dowager about the matter of the imperial title?"

"What?" The Crown Prince lay down as well. "What? The Crown Princess isn't jealous, but actually wants that girl to come to the manor?"

"I see that you seem to like that girl. Besides, given this matter, it would be good to let her into the manor."

"You're going to handle the matter of the silver too?!" The Crown Prince turned to look at the Crown Princess.

Under the candlelight, the Crown Princess, with her flowing hair, gentle eyes, and a bright smile, said, "Well, I can't do that! The Crown Prince has to do it himself. Why don't you try to find out what Father Emperor wants the money for, and choose something that will cause the least trouble and cost less money, and see if Father Emperor will approve it?"

"Hmph! No matter what, it's because you don't care about me..." The Crown Prince said, looking around, and suddenly became aroused.

He rolled over and pinned his wife down.

Although he didn't last long, before the Crown Princess even got interested, he hastily withdrew his troops.

But the Crown Princess still thought to herself, "It's good enough if we can have it at all, what if..."

……

The next morning, Mo Yi had someone bring back the account books that Zhao Mama had prepared.

He didn't ask everyone to pay their respects, and even sent a maid to tell Mo Yuan that he had something to do and asked her not to bother him.

After breakfast, we started working.

Granny Zhao was very meticulous in her work; she had made a list and notes for all the things that needed to be done.

I went through the ledgers line by line.

These are almost all businesses in the capital, covering aspects of daily life such as clothing, food, housing, and transportation. There are also some rented shops, with rent collected quarterly. Currently, there isn't much to do; it's only at the end and beginning of the month that I need to reconcile accounts and monitor the inflow and outflow of funds.

There are two other things that are still under discussion but haven't started yet. Let her look into them when she has time; there's no rush. We can wait for Granny Zhao to return.

As she looked around, she pondered: Granny Zhao managed many different businesses. Some of the businesses that Manager Zhao had mentioned before were not among them. It seemed that they had a division of labor.

Steward Zhao in the front courtyard should also have some, as well as some personally managed by the prince, and possibly some in cooperation with others, or hidden away.

The prince is really rich... It's exciting just thinking about it.

However, while the income was substantial, the expenditure was equally significant, starting at tens of thousands... tsk tsk. It feels like this isn't even money anymore, but just a number.

What does it feel like to scratch your scalp?

He was so engrossed in watching it that he only ate a bite of lunch in his room.

As a result, not long after, a maid rushed in to report: "Your Highness, Miss Zhou Jiu asked me to tell you that Miss Mo Si is arguing with Mama Song in the dining hall."

Mo Yi frowned. What was Mo Yuan up to?
She stood up, then sat down again...

"Let them come over!" He continued looking at what he was holding.

Not long after, they heard noises coming from the living room outside. A maid came in and said, "Your Highness, they've arrived."

Mo Yi threw down his pen and left the study.

Only Consort Feng, Mama Song, Mo Yuan, Consort Tian, ​​and a few others were present. The children and Zhou Jiu were not there.

Mo Yi walked over slowly, sat down, and everyone bowed to her.

"Sit down and let's talk. What happened?"

Her attitude conveyed annoyance at being interrupted by trivial matters while she was doing important work.

This made Consort Feng very uncomfortable.

She sat down and said to Song Mama, "The Princess is asking questions, you may speak first!"

"Your Highness, this matter today is truly unjust. Miss Mo, Miss Zhou, and our Princess went to the dining hall for breakfast together. The maids were serving them very well. Miss Mo..."

"She probably doesn't have a good appetite today; this is too salty, that is too bland, and she's keeping the maids running around like crazy. The woman couldn't bear to watch and was about to say a few words in defense of the maids when, however, Miss Mo launched into a tirade of abuse!"

Mo Yi turned to Consort Feng and asked, "She refers to herself as a woman, and with that tone... what is Song Mama's status?"

Consort Feng was surprised that Mo Yi didn't ask about the reason for the argument, but instead asked this question.

“Your Highness, Song Mama is someone I hired; she’s not a servant in the manor. She’s about the same status as the steward in front,” Consort Feng replied gently.

"I see... What is she doing in the manor?"

"Help me with some chores, and manage the servants or something."

"Oh. How much silver would it cost to hire her per month?"

"...Seven taels of silver." Consort Feng became a little wary.

"Oh, what did Song's mother do before?" Mo Yi asked Song's mother.

"..." Song's mother glanced at Consort Feng, "She used to be the housewife of the family."

Mo Yi understood: "They must have been a wealthy family. They know how to manage a household and its people... So how did they end up in the Prince's mansion?"

Consort Feng was quite frank: "Your Majesty, I am related to Mama Song. She was mistreated by her mother-in-law in her husband's family and sought my help. I thought it was only natural to help a relative." After speaking, she glanced at Mo Yuan.

Mo Yuan sat there quietly, showing neither anger nor joy.

“I thought Mama Song was quite capable, so I hired her into the household. She had my guarantee, so she didn’t sign a contract of servitude.”

Consort Feng was quite assertive, thinking to herself: You've invited your unmarried cousin from your maternal family to stay here, so you can't criticize me, can you?

Mo Yi nodded: "It's only natural to help relatives. But seven taels of silver a month... Even a fully-fledged maid from the palace wouldn't earn that much. My shopkeeper..." She stopped halfway through her sentence.

"Consort Feng, the Prince instructed me to manage the household long ago. But as a princess, I cannot be completely ignorant of all household affairs. Here's what I'll do: have me copy the personnel roster you have."

Especially for those like Madam Song, who didn't sign a contract of servitude, or those with short-term contracts of three to five years, I, as the Princess, need to know where they are placed. Furthermore, submit an account of their expenses to me every month.”

Consort Feng is a bit silly; wasn't she supposed to be here to resolve a quarrel?

Why did she choose to use this?
But her request wasn't exactly wrong...

"This... Your Highness, I must first ask the Prince about this matter."

"Hmm. Go ahead and ask. I'll tell the prince when I see him. Cousin, if you have any preferences, just tell the canteen manager in advance. Don't make it too salty or too bland, or it will be difficult for the staff to cook."

"Oh." Mo Yuan felt she had been used and was somewhat listless.

"And such a trivial matter, why bring it to my presence? Go back to your work!" Mo Yi said coldly.

Consort Feng was the first to stand up and curtsy. She turned and walked away with a gloomy expression…

Consort Tian, ​​who had come to watch the spectacle, couldn't help but admire Mo Yi greatly. Despite her young age, Mo Yi possessed a sharp eye and didn't concern herself with trivial matters!
It all comes down to people and accounts...

"Wow, impressive! I think I'll have to make a run for it..." She smiled, bowed, and ran off.

Mo Yuan sidled up to her triumphantly, "How was it, Your Majesty? My sister is quite useful, isn't she? Please don't ignore me!"

Having lived in the Prince's mansion for so many days, how could she not know that Mama Song was Consort Feng's lackey?
Today, she deliberately stirred up trouble. To disgust Consort Feng, to put Mo Yi against Consort Feng…

If I anger the prince and he sends me home, that wouldn't be bad either.

I just didn’t expect that…

"You're so cruel! You used me and didn't even try to get justice for me..."

There were quite a few words, and the chapters weren't properly broken down. That's why it's a bit late.