nycdaug Chapter 447: The First Snow in the North
Chapter 447: The First Snow in the North
"But Your Highness, how could I dare to deceive you?" The nanny said quickly, "Even if you give me three times the courage, I would not dare, let alone! I have already investigated clearly. The owner behind that store is our Prince Consort, and he has more than one property. I also found out that he bought several courtyards around Ximoxuan a few years ago. Now they all belong to our Prince Consort."
She took out a piece of paper from her bosom, on which were drawn the locations of several houses in the west of the capital.
Ximoxuan was located in the west of the capital. As expected, several places around Ximoxuan had been bought by the prince consort.
"This Ximoxuan was bought by the prince consort in the name of the prince, but I haven't heard that the surrounding properties belong to him." The princess frowned as she looked at the map presented by the nanny and said.
"But our prince consort is a nobleman, so it's nothing for him to buy a few properties." Seeing that the princess fell into deep thought, the nanny said quickly.
"It's really no big deal. But his salary is all in my hands, and his shops and land are also in my hands. How do you think he got the money to buy them?" The princess muttered to herself. "He said he gave all his money to me! Is he deceiving me?"
Nanny Qian didn't dare to respond and just lowered her head.
The eldest princess Su Lai is arrogant and has the final say in the princess's mansion.
Logically speaking, the son-in-law was also granted the title of Prince Cheng'en, and according to Daxie's regulations, he could also build a prince's mansion.
But the eldest princess was not happy. She felt that the reason why her husband was consort was because of her, and it was her family who gave her husband this honor. So she did not allow her husband to build a prince's mansion. Her husband did not argue with the eldest princess about this matter. He just went along with her and lived with her in the eldest princess's mansion in the capital.
Even His Majesty had mentioned this matter to the eldest princess. After all, the eldest princess married the prince consort, not the royal family bringing the prince consort back as a son-in-law.
According to the regulations, when the prince consort has a title, the princess should live with her husband's family. That is to say, according to the rules of the Daxie Dynasty, the princess should live with her prince consort in the Cheng'en County Prince's Mansion.
But the eldest princess was not happy about it. The eldest princess's mansion was hers and she had the final say. If she really lived in the prince's mansion, then the prince's mansion would belong to Prince Cheng'en, and she would feel that she was being controlled!
She would become inferior to her husband.
The prince consort agreed with her, and she did not feel that he was wronged. Instead, she felt that it was as it should be.
The eldest princess also saw that the prince consort was very obedient to her, and that the prince consort became weak after being injured while saving someone. In addition, her two children were gradually growing up, so the eldest princess was very lenient with the prince consort. The prince consort said that he wanted to buy Ximoxuan for his literary and artistic friendship, so she took money from the eldest princess's mansion and bought Ximoxuan for the prince consort.
The eldest princess remembered it clearly. She went to Ximoxuan several times after it was bought and renovated. Later, she felt that the people there spoke in a very flowery way that made her sleepy, so she was unwilling to go there anymore.
She only bought Ximoxuan. As for the houses and yards in front and behind Ximoxuan, she didn't spend a penny.
Furthermore, the land in the west of the city was not cheap. The construction of Ximoxuan and its renovations had cost the princess nearly twenty thousand taels of silver. And how much more would it cost for the prince consort to buy so many more mansions in the surrounding area?
The princess looked at the mansions around her. They all covered a large area, and together they were about the size of six or seven Ximoxuan houses. According to the price of Ximoxuan, this amounted to nearly 100,000 taels of silver!
The prince consort gave her all his fortune, where did he get so much money?
Is this how much money a stable can make?
The more the princess thought about it, the more she felt that her familiar husband had become a stranger.
She thought about it carefully again. Recently, when she didn't summon the prince consort, he was basically in Ximoxuan. How could he have so many friends to meet? He must be doing something behind her back!
The princess felt something was wrong the more she thought about it, so she quickly asked someone to turn the carriage, which was originally heading home, around and head towards Ximoxuan in the west of the city.
The stable belongs to the prince consort, so what else is the prince consort hiding from her?
We are already an old married couple, what can't I say to her?
The more the princess thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. For so many years, she had managed his business well, and he only needed to be a hands-off boss. Why did he have to run another business outside behind her back?
Is it that the Princess's Mansion is short of food and drink for him, or short of clothes for him?
The eldest princess ran to Ximoxuan in the west of the city, while Wei Ling took Su Jixiang and officially set out on the road to the royal hunting ground.
The weather in early autumn is a bit chilly in the mornings and evenings, except for some lingering summer heat at noon. However, this kind of weather is most suitable for traveling because the sky is high and the clouds are light. Although the sun is still a bit scorching, there is a cool breeze, and any place that is not exposed to the sun is very cool.
Su Jixiang sat in the carriage, watching the surrounding scenery quickly pass by. He couldn't help but smile at Wei Ling who was sitting beside him, "The first snow should have fallen in the north by now."
"Yes." Wei Ling nodded. He had just received news from the north that the first snow of the year had arrived and the grain in the fields had been harvested and stored in the granary.
"This year's harvest is much better than last year," Wei Ling said. "Those potatoes and sweet potatoes you obtained from the people of the Western Regions have all yielded a good harvest. Even if the next two years are years of disaster, the food stored in our Black Tiger Army's granaries will be more than enough to last."
"With food in hand, there's no need to worry." Su Jixiang smiled as he opened the carriage's secret compartment, took out some honey water, poured a cup for Wei Ling, and handed it to him. "We've had a good harvest, but are the Turks jealous?"
"They do seem to be stirring up trouble." Wei Ling took a sip of honey water, feeling the sweetness and soothing effect on his throat. "They also know I'm not in the North, so they'll probably make some moves. But don't be afraid. The North is a completely different place now. The roads you've built will allow our Black Tiger Army to quickly support villages throughout the North. Anyone who dares to come here will die!"
"I hope so." Su Jixiang smiled so sweetly that Wei Ling's eyes lit up.
Even though they have been married for so many years, Su Jixiang's smile can still make Wei Ling's heart beat fast.
"It wouldn't be a bad thing if they launched a large-scale attack this winter," Wei Ling said. "If the border remains peaceful for too long, His Majesty will forget why I'm guarding the north."