C42

The sky darkened as night gradually descended.

Tonight, however, the inside of the manor was destined to not be peaceful. It was as if even the lamps were flickering, unsettled and jumping about.

Little Chunzi was standing behind him, while the servants on all four sides were working in an absent-minded manner. Someone was wiping the floor, someone was covering the door, someone was waiting outside the room, and there were even some who were checking the candles outside. They were in a state of absent-mindedness, quietly calculating their positions, their ears pointed up as they listened to the activity in the main hall.

"Mistress, I beat up that drunkard in the afternoon and then stripped his clothes and hung them on the clothes pole. I was prepared to bask in the sun for three days and then drive him out of the manor so that I could make an example of him."

Little Chunzi looked nervously at Hong Yu and continued, "However, that drunkard also seems to have some background. He's the long-distance nephew of Chief Steward Zhao, what do you think?"

"It's alright, you did well!" Hong Yu waved his hand, "I don't believe that they don't know about the matter of the manor changing hands. Since they know about it and they're drinking all day, they're trying to make a move on me. This kind of person should be the first to be killed. Otherwise, where would their dignity come from?"

"Mistress is wise!" "Mistress," Little Chunzi flattered without revealing anything, "I gathered all the servants and checked the amount. There were originally seven to eight hundred servants in the mansion, but most of them were paid idlers, and they were all relatives sent in by that Housekeeper Zhao. In fact, there was a pile of bad debts in the mansion and not a single cent of the gold and silver money was left behind. However, these people are probably going to cause trouble. With Housekeeper Zhao instigating them, they definitely won't be able to leave so easily. "

"So arrogant?" Hong Yu frowned: "It's winter and there's not much output from the fertile fields and orchards. There are indeed seven to eight hundred people, and if we support them, we might not be able to make ends meet. Don't be afraid, you've done well, just do what you can, if there's anyone who isn't satisfied, we can beat them up and hand them over to the government. As for that Housekeeper Zhao, let me deal with him."

"Alright!" With these words from his master, Little Chunzi would be ready to do whatever he wanted. In the past, it was still okay to say that masters were not allowed to move, and they still dared to bully their masters. But now that their master was Duke Yu and had gained the favor of the emperor, these people were still holding onto their previous life; it was simply a dead end. "The great slut is a great crime of disobedience. Even if you hand him over to the government, he will still be exiled nine hundred kilometers away."

"However, that butler Zhao is indeed a little tricky. He was sent directly by Thirteen to run the business in the Manor for a long time, and it is deeply ingrained."

"En, just go and do it. This manor is our foundation for the future, it can be said to be very important." Hong Yu said slowly.

Yes!" "Mistress, in a few days we will officially open the mansion, and we still need to hold a feast. After all, opening the mansion will be a joyous occasion, and the ministers, officials, and even princes will all come to attend the banquet. This will require a large sum of money to purchase. We cannot act too rashly, or it will become a joke.

"In addition, Master has moved out of the palace. I've looked at the guards in charge of the palace, they are all useless people, you can't neglect this. We'll need to hire at least forty to fifty experts to look after the house and protect it, which is also a small expense, as well as to repair the house …" In short, our Duke's Mansion is operating, and needs a large amount of money and grain every day. Although the Emperor gave us five hundred thousand, it won't be able to hold on for long.

Hong Yu also nodded inwardly when he heard this and knew that he was right. The other princes were born with the protection and guidance of their mothers. They also had powerful parents who helped them build their own power, built their own manors long ago, and had all kinds of experts like Old Eighth and Old Thirteen who trained and trained their men every day. Their masters were like the clouds, spending money like running water, and there were no problems with their money.

As for Hong Yu, he had to spend a great deal of time and effort to go up and down in a dilapidated old house with dozens of mouths.

"Yeah, anything that is out of money doesn't work. But you don't have to worry, I have my own methods. " Hong Yu thought for a while and thought of Jiang Lisha. Previously, he had made some deals with Jiang Lisha deep within the desolate mountain in the outskirts of the capital. Now that he had established his residence, it was naturally time for Jiang Lisha to fulfill his promise and provide resources.

As a descendant of the Martial God, he had existed in the realm for an eternity, so naturally he had accumulated countless resources. With his vast wealth, it was likely that he would not have any problems at all if he had only asked him to provide ordinary wealth.

"Mistress is preparing to raise some money from Young Cave Master Jiang?" Xiao Chunzi carefully probed, "I see that young master Jiang and the imperial government are not in conflict, it's a force of the martial arts world. If it is discovered that master is colluding with them, then there will be great trouble. As long as his master's brothers carefully checked, they would be able to find the problem and make use of it. "I'm afraid …"

"It's fine, I'm a noble duke now, who dares to look for me? Even if you can see that something is wrong, what can you do to me? " Hong Yu didn't make a sound at all.

If they found out, they might cause trouble, if Hong Yu was still the same 'fool' then there would be a lot of scruples, but his status had risen greatly, as a noble duke, he was extremely famous, even if people found out that he was colluding with the martial institutions and sects, the power he had to build would only be a piece of fur, it would not hurt anything, not to mention that the prince recruiting the experts from the martial arts world, no one dared to lift the lid.

The twenty-eighth brother of the Hundred Bones Demon Sect dared to collude with a sect that could destroy the common people. The Li Que Wonderland that Hong Yu had befriended was a righteous force since ancient times, so naturally he wasn't afraid of being impeached by others.

"Indeed, if it's any ordinary official or official who makes friends with the forces of the martial arts world, it would be a heinous crime. If they are caught and forced to reveal the secrets of those sects, it would be normal for their entire family to be exterminated. "But with master's current status, he doesn't care at all. As long as the emperor doesn't open his mouth, who would dare to investigate us?" Little Chunzi had thought it through and calmed down, saying, "However, we still have to be careful. Jiang Lisha is one of our backup, there are many problems that we can ask her for help. We can't let others find out who we are directly."

"You seem to have thought it through." Hong Yu looked at Little Chunzi in surprise, he did not expect Little Chunzi to have such a plan: "You can't rely too much on Jiang Lisha, her intelligence is not shallow, I can't figure it out, she must have other reasons for getting close to me, right now I am borrowing her resources to eat a little more, at that time, I will become enemies with her, and I won't suffer any losses."

"Master is right, we have to be on guard against other people. If that woman Jiang Li Shuo really has some tricks up her sleeve, not to mention master, even Little Chun Zi will not let her go." Xiaochun Zi remained calm and expressed her loyalty once again.

"Yes!" Hong Yu nodded. "Alright, have that Housekeeper Zhao come to see me."

In a moment, an old man with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks was brought up by Xiao Chunzi.

He wore a wide green brocade robe, embroidered with golden threads of a pine crane. He wore a fur hat with a full head of fox fur, pure white without any other colors, and was extremely expensive and exquisite. His boots were also made of bearskin, and there were even large jade gems embedded on them.

He was small and skinny, like a skeleton, curled up in his loose robe as he looked at Hong Yu. His rat eyes were rolling around, and no one knew what he was thinking, but he was playing with a pair of green jade beads in his hands.

"Yin Yang Jade Bead?" Hong Yu immediately recognized that the pair of green jade pearls were not ordinary, but a precious Yin Yang medicine bead. It was produced in the mountains above the sea, accompanied by elixirs, it naturally contaminated the aura of elixirs, and after being played with by others, it would exude a rich medicinal aura, gradually changing the user's body aptitude.

His robes, leather boots, and hat all seemed to come from the Hundred Treasures Pavilion in the capital.

This set of clothes would cost at least several million in banknotes to purchase.

Even a wealthy family with countless of wealth would be reluctant to dress up like this. To think that this manor manager would be so luxurious, who knew how much wealth he had, how many public goods he had coveted, and how he did not hide anything. It was obvious that he had someone backing him and his backing was strong.

"This lowly one, Zhao Jiang, greets Duke Yu." When Chief Steward Zhao saw Hong Yu, his eyes flickered and he didn't bow in greeting. His tone was loose, clearly showing that he didn't place Hong Yu in his eyes.

"How dare you!" Are you still not paying your respects? " Xiao Chunzi's face turned cold as he shouted.

"It's fine." Hong Yu waved his hand and didn't mind. He jumped up from his chair and asked, "Zhao Jiang, are you comfortable with what you do as a manager?"

"This little one dares not, all these years, this little one has been taking care of the huge and small affairs of the household, maintaining the livelihood and expenses of several hundred people in the household." This little one dares not, all these years, this little one has taken care of the huge and small affairs of the household, maintaining the livelihood and expenses of several hundred people in the household. Chief Steward Zhao bowed and continued, "In the past, I helped Thirteenth Prince manage the household for so many years. Now that the household has been transferred to Prince Yu, I will naturally take care of the household's businesses for him in the future."

"In that case." Hong Yu's expression did not change as his tone suddenly changed: "Then let me ask you, why is the manor so dilapidated that it hasn't been repaired? And why were there people drinking all day? There were also thousands of acres of fertile land, orchards, and flower beds. Why was it that despite not having a single cent in the accounts, he was instead losing money annually? Is this the result of your hard work? "

"Duke Yu, you don't know the difficulty of managing your own household. When this mansion is in operation, how could it not require money? Hundreds of people were waiting for their meals with their mouths wide open. Those farmland industries were too powerful for them to afford due to the lack of gold and silver. As for the renovation of the manor, a large amount of funds is needed. Lord Thirteen has never stayed in this manor before, so he has never drawn out any money. Chief Steward Zhao did not panic at all when faced with Hong Yu's series of questions.

"Zhao Jiang, don't be so officious, I know that you've become a lot more private in the past few years, but now I'll give you a choice. Spit out all the money you have on your account, hurry up and get out of here, otherwise, if our master can spare you, I, Little Chun, will not forgive you!" Little Chun laughed coldly.

"Elder Xiaochun, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want." Housekeeper Zhao was not afraid at all. "Although I, Zhao Jiang, am a nobody, I am not someone who can be framed. If you go to the mansion and ask around, who would dare to say that I'm greedy? I plead for Duke Yu to observe the situation clearly. "

"Forget it, who doesn't know that this manor is filled with Third Aunt and Sixth Aunt that you planted in?" They naturally speak to you. " "This is the drunkard whose body was covered in alcohol during the day that my master mentioned. I heard that he was your distant nephew who was hung on a clothes-drying pole by a gust of cold wind and admitted everything. He is your nephew after all, and he even told me a lot of false accounts in the residence. As long as I check and understand everything, you will not be able to deny it."

Chief Steward Zhao's nephew was dragged into the house, and the sudden warmth caused him to gradually wake up. Looking at his uncle, his teeth chattered, "Uncle, don't blame me. They took me off and hung me on the clothes pole.