All the members are good people, only the host is a pervert

Beijing is both familiar and unfamiliar to Lin Ruan.

The eldest princess and her husband were stationed in the northern border year-round, returning to the capital only for the emperor's birthday. Tensions had been high on the border in recent years, and the original owner had last visited the capital three years earlier, when she was ten years old. As for Lin Ruan, she had only seen her in memories, but now, stepping into her presence in person, she felt a mixture of emotions.

The shops on both sides of the street were bustling with people. Lin Ruan suddenly thought of a famous painting - "Along the River During the Qingming Festival".

She studied Chinese medicine, so she inevitably had a natural love and curiosity for ancient culture, but she couldn't just carelessly lift the curtain of the carriage and watch on her own.

Even though her memories of the capital were few and vague, Lin Ruan knew that women were more restricted in ancient times. She thought of Lin Daiyu when she first entered the Rongguo Mansion, and couldn't help but feel funny. Now she wanted to be like Lin Daiyu, unwilling to say a word and unwilling to take a wrong step.

Unfortunately, Lin Daiyu still has a grandmother who cares about her, but her uncle, huh.

"Princess, we're here." A voice came from outside the carriage. Lin Ruan looked out from the gap in the curtain. The door of the princess's mansion slowly opened in front of her, and she was greeted by a plain scene.

A group of old women gathered around Lin Ruan's carriage and a sedan chair, separating the butler from the servants behind him.

Lin Ruan found it amusing. She was only thirteen, not even of marriageable age. The strict rules of gender separation went beyond that. After all, she, Lin Ruan, was the sole mistress of the Princess's residence. How could she not even be allowed to look at the head steward? Wouldn't she be drowned in a pond if she fought alongside the soldiers on the battlefield like her mother, the Princess Zhenguo?

She took a deep breath, got out of the carriage but did not move, and asked in a deep voice, "Where is the butler?"

The old women looked at each other in bewilderment. Before they could say anything, Lin Yuan had already squeezed past them and bowed deeply to Lin Ruan. "I, Lin Lu, pay my respects to the princess."

Lin Ruan remembered him. He was the attendant who had grown up with her father. After being given the surname Lin, he became the chief steward of the Princess's Mansion in the capital and stayed there all year round. He was still the chief steward, so it seemed those people hadn't gone too far.

"Uncle Lin, please stand up," Lin Ruan said, "Have you cleaned up the mourning hall?" Seeing Butler Lin nod, Lin Ruan ordered, "First, invite the eldest princess and her husband into the mourning hall, and wait for the Ministry of Rites to choose a time so that my parents can be buried in peace." After saying that, he ignored the look of the old woman next to him and walked to the sedan chair.

Lin Lu straightened up in response. His face was filled with the sorrow of his former master's passing, but also with respect and loyalty for Lin Ruan, his only master. Lin Ruan watched. Though the butler's figure was hunched, his steps were steady, clearly someone who had weathered wind, frost, rain, and snow. He walked to the carriage, gently lifted the curtain, and respectfully invited Lin Ruan to enter.

Lin Ruan wore a pale blue dress, the hem of which swayed gently with her steps. It was embroidered with delicate cloud patterns, giving her a solemn yet youthful air. Her hair was tied up in a simple bun, secured with a jade hairpin, giving her a sophisticated yet elegant look.

"Uncle Lin, I'll leave these people to you from now on. Let Luo Mei and Rou Ju help you share the burden, and you should also give them more advice." Lin Ruan said: "Roumei has a soft personality, so you should give her more advice in the future."

Lin Lu nodded in agreement.

As for the servants who gathered around, Lin Ruan ignored them and said directly to Steward Lin: "This princess is just going home. How can so many people gather together like this? Do you think this princess should stand here for a while longer to let them see her?"

Without waiting for the butler to reply, Lin Ruan continued, "Uncle Lin, remember these people and fine them one month's salary as a warning. This princess dislikes servants who don't follow the rules the most."

After Lin Lu nodded in agreement, he turned his head and looked at the servants who were lowering their heads and wishing they could shrink into quails. He snorted in his heart. He remembered clearly who was blocking him just now. It was too late to pretend to be a quail now!

He said to the maids and servants beside him: "Why don't you go down quickly? Didn't you hear what the princess said?"

The old women and servants finally woke up from their dreams, nodded their heads and nodded yes, then hurriedly dispersed to do their own things.

Lin Ruan sat in the sedan chair, and the bearers lifted it and slowly walked towards the mansion. The curtain of the sedan chair was lowered, isolating the noise from the outside world. Only Lin Lu was left standing there, watching the sedan chair gradually move away, a deep worry flashing in his eyes.

Lin Ruan's show of power was neither good nor bad. Even though it temporarily prevented the servants from bullying their masters, he fined so many servants their monthly wages at once, which might cause resentment among the servants. For so many years, the princess had often been in the northern border, and the servants had already developed complex ties with each other.

Little princess, you are still young after all.

Lin Ruan sat in the sedan chair, feeling the steady rhythm of it. She closed her eyes. The scene in the mansion was more solemn than she remembered, but also a little more desolate.

"Princess, you're back." The maid at the door came forward with a slightly reserved smile. Lin Ruan nodded without saying anything, and walked straight to the study that once belonged to her parents. The study remained unchanged, the dusty atmosphere mingled with the scent of ink and wood, as if everything had just happened again.

"Move these boxes in." She pointed to a group of boxes behind her, which contained books and materials she had carefully selected, as well as Buddhist scriptures she had copied for the eldest princess and her husband.

She looked around and then led Luo Mei and the other four into the study. Then she said to Rou Ju beside her, "Make a list of everyone in the mansion and their responsibilities. We haven't been back to the capital for a long time, so now is the time to get to know the people in this mansion again."

Rouju took the order and left, while Lin Ruan began to browse through the old items in the study. Her eyes fell on a yellowed volume. It was the military strategy book that the eldest princess loved to read when she was in Beijing. She had once held the little original owner in her arms and tried to teach her, but the original owner was too young and unstable at the time. After listening to a few words, she refused to listen anymore. After a while, the eldest princess could no longer bear to restrain her and let her go.

Lin Ruan gently turned a page, her fingers sliding across the handwriting, as if she could feel the elegance of the eldest princess back then.

"Rou Ju, you have to guard this place well and keep a close eye on the maids and servants in the mansion. If there's anything unusual, you don't have to point it out. Just remember it and tell me when you have the chance. It's the same as in the Northern Frontier."

"Princess, I understand." Rouju echoed softly from the side. Her voice was gentle, and her eyes revealed her trust and heartache for Lin Ruan.

Her little princess, still so young, had to shoulder the burden of the Princess's residence at such a young age, bearing the temptations and malicious intentions from all sides. For example, the princess knew she was suffering from a chronic poison, but to prevent others from noticing the signs, she not only refused to call for treatment from her trusted physician, but also swallowed the poisoned food mouthful by mouthful without realizing it. Every time she thought of this, Rouju hated her own weakness and incompetence.

Lin Ruan looked up at the row of bamboos outside the window, their greenness already fading. An inexplicable emotion welled up in her heart. "Tell Uncle Lin I'll give him seven days to find out all the connections to the servants whose monthly wages were just fined."

She never thought of using those people again. First, she brought a lot of people from the Northern Frontier, and it would be enough to get rid of them. Second, there were informants among the people brought from the Northern Frontier. The capital city might have been infiltrated like a sieve, so she had to clear them out as many as possible.

It would be fine to do it under the guise of praying for the eldest princess and her husband's afterlife.