"Little brat, don't pin the blame on your second brother! I'm being sincere. If the Prince returns victorious soon, can't you and he get married sooner?"
"See? Three sentences and you're talking about marriage. As expected, a grown child can't be controlled by their mother."
A jujube nut tapped Feng Jinyao on the head, and Feng Er said fiercely.
"Don't take advantage of me. When you get married, I'll see how the Prince deals with you to make your mouth obedient."
Mentioning Xiao Tingyi, Feng Jinyao actually missed him a little.
This was the first time they had been apart for so long since they confirmed their feelings for each other.
Before leaving, Xiao Tingyi had specifically come to tell her. She had acted very worried, saying that swords and sabers were blind on the battlefield, and who knew what insidious tricks the enemy might employ.
However, Xiao Tingyi was confident and capable, even saying that the battle might not even happen and that she shouldn't worry.
She had always trusted Xiao Tingyi's judgment, so while outsiders considered this campaign extremely dangerous, she still had the leisure to joke with her second brother to alleviate everyone's worries.
To prevent her from overthinking, Xiao Tingyi had given her some troublesome tasks.
The household assets of the Ding Prince's manor had never been properly sorted out since he was born until now.
One reason was that Xiao Tingyi was not very keen on managing this matter, and the other was that there was too much to handle.
Therefore, Feng Jinyao, the future Princess Consort, was assigned to sort out the household assets.
In the past few days, Feng Jinyao had been so bothered by these matters that she had lost her temper.
She had managed state affairs before, but compared to the Ding Prince's manor, it was like a drop in the bucket.
The Feng family had always been managed by her mother, and everything was in perfect order, so she just had to follow suit.
But the items in the Ding Prince's manor, the ledgers were thick, not to mention it. When the stewards sent the accounts, she thought she had misread them. A total of ten boxes made her dizzy.
Organizing and cataloging so many items was a huge undertaking.
It was possible that Xiao Tingyi would have already returned from his campaign, and she would still not have sorted everything out.
However, these days passed by much more easily. She tallied accounts from dawn till dusk and rested at night, having no time to worry about anything else.
Poor Feng Jinlin, having just emerged from the high-intensity environment of Jinling City, was now so idle he was almost growing moss.
He wished he could find someone to fight with and work up a sweat.
But Su Cheng, who usually hung out with him, was now on duty in the palace every day. Even if he wanted to fight, he couldn't go into the palace.
So he was extremely bored.
Feng Jinyao had once suggested that he help her review the ledgers, but Feng Jinlin clearly stated that he would rather perform knife-breaking tricks under a bridge than look at such messy accounts.
"Forget it. Your situation isn't much better than Big Brother's. I might as well go to the academy to play with Fourth Uncle and see how Yunhe's studies are going."
As he said, so he did. Although it was already afternoon, he immediately mounted his horse and left the capital, heading straight for Yunqi Academy.
Feng Jinyao, accustomed to his unrestrained nature, did not stop him.
Stretching her neck, she glanced at the half-filled box of ledgers, feeling a deep resentment towards Xiao Tingyi.
But what she didn't know was that, in order for her to have something to do, the Prince had ordered the old accounts from over a decade ago to be brought out.
Originally, the steward had a very detailed set of ledgers that recorded all past transactions. Feng Jinyao only needed to spend ten days or half a month reviewing them. But now...
The steward felt that the Prince's love was truly...
Perverted...
In the Bai manor, Bai Siruo had returned to her maiden home for a visit.
Since Xiao Muqian was promoted to Commander of the Capital Garrison, he had been much busier than before, often leaving early and returning late. Therefore, Bai Siruo would visit the Bai family when she had nothing to do, playing cards with the elders to pass the time.
She was now a young woman with considerable charm, much more radiant than when she was a maiden.
Doted on by her husband's family and welcomed by her own, among all the married women in the capital, she probably had the most comfortable life.
"Your current life is the envy of many. Be more low-key. I heard from my sister-in-law that you had an argument with someone at the Liu family's banquet a few days ago?" said Madam Lin, the First Madam, while playing cards.
"Auntie, please don't mention it. My husband is currently in a position of power, and many people are eager to offer me concubines!"
Upon hearing the word "concubine," Princess Wenyi's expression turned serious.
"Who? How dare they! They're making trouble for my daughter. She's only been married a few days, and she hasn't even conceived yet, and already they're having wicked thoughts about Muqian!"
"It's no one in particular, mostly just distant relatives or illegitimate daughters. Mother, don't get angry and harm your health. My mother-in-law and husband are shielding me, so I'm not afraid."
"You are simply too naive. The old saying goes, 'There are a thousand years for a thief, but not a thousand years for a guard.' You are newly married and naturally unafraid, but I fear that after some time, someone might find a loophole, especially the maids in the household, who are full of schemes."
The First Madam could not speak directly. Wasn't Bai Sanlang born in this way?
And Feng Jinxu's former concubine, they all used similar methods.
Whether to take a concubine or not, for the legitimate wife, sometimes it was to maintain favor, sometimes it was for procreation, but the starting point was often in her own hands.
However, if someone were to interfere inadvertently, it would not only damage the marital relationship but also cause unrest in the household.
Bai Siruo naturally understood these principles, so she tentatively said,
"If only we could leave this capital. If I could follow him back to Liangzhou, let's see who would dare to send concubines to suffer!"
Princess Wenyi glanced at her sideways, as if she were speaking foolishly.
"You, wouldn't officials in Liangzhou send them?"
"Exactly, it all comes down to Muqian. Have you discussed this matter with him in detail?"
"Don't worry. Before I could even speak, he had already reprimanded several subordinates who wanted to send him concubines. Now my ears are clear."
Princess Wenyi was finally relieved. The matter of taking concubines was decided by the man, and no one could influence it.
Rather than constantly guarding against this and that, it was better to address the root cause.
"I was right about this nephew. He has principles."
"You are happy now. Your daughter is living well, and your son-in-law is filial. I don't know when I will be able to hold my grandson. When Siming returns from the southwest, the first thing I will do is make him get married. Otherwise, he will drag it out, not only getting older but also missing out on good marriages. I heard that Madam Su is very troubled now. She eagerly seeks a match for Su Cheng, but she doesn't like any of the candidates, and the ones she likes have objections to Su Cheng. It gets worse every day. I don't know which family's daughter he will eventually be matched with."
Madam Lin was very well-informed. There was no gossip or trivial matter in the capital that she couldn't find out.