My husband is pure and has few desires, but I gave birth to three children in a row

"Over the past month, I asked Madam Ye to carefully sort out the servants. I thought we had sorted them out completely, but now it seems that there are still some fish that have slipped through the net."

"How else could the information about where the owner of this house lives have gotten out? And how could it have even reached the ears of merchants with ulterior motives?"

"Not to mention, the schemes of those families were a little laughable when I first heard about them. I felt that these people were even close to being able to climb up the social ladder and seek wealth and status."

"But if you think about it, this might be another kind of cleverness. Knowing that you and I are difficult to approach, this scheme has a low success rate, so we've found another way and started with the Third Master."

"I think he also knows some of the ways the Third Master behaves in society."

Fu Zhiyi was thinking the same thing: "I've just arrived in Nanwu Prefecture, and everything has been going so smoothly. Something's not right. I was promoted too quickly, and now I'm also in charge of the Maritime Customs, overseeing all the affairs of Nanwu Prefecture. The people's livelihood, the economy, and the military are all under my control."

"These people know that His Majesty has taken a liking to us, so they naturally show respect on the surface. However, I'm afraid they are not as convinced in their hearts as they appear to be."

"Whether it's a test or a provocation, we know what's going on. Let's wait and see."

Lu Zhenzhen knew that Fu Zhiyi knew what was going on, so she didn't say much.

"I'm going to go through this mansion again and get rid of anyone who has ulterior motives. In the past, leaving one or two people as bait wouldn't have been a bad idea. But now that we have those two little ancestors, we can't take such a risk so easily."

Fu Zhiyi was naturally very relieved about Lu Zhenzhen and just smiled: "Thank you for your hard work these days, Madam. Once your husband has sorted out the affairs at the front and established a firm foothold, you will naturally not have to be so cautious about everything."

After the couple finished talking about serious matters, the two brothers Doubao and Tangyuan were teased by the third master for a while. They laughed so hard that they were exhausted and sleepy, and were taken away by their wet nurse to sleep.

The third master was confessing his feelings to Lan.

Lan was getting impatient with the perfunctory response. Seeing that her son and daughter-in-law had finished their business and that it was getting late and she was getting sleepy, she went straight to the backyard.

The third master was not angry. He was counting in his mind. Today, Lan said five "hmm" and three "good" to him more.

It's much better than before, and he is already satisfied.

Humming a little tune, the third master said goodbye and went back to his study with his hands behind his back.

Lu Zhenzhen and Fu Zhiyi looked at each other. Although they didn't know what the old couple's current rules were, they both thought it was good. As their children, they could only respect it.

Beijing.

The Palace of the King of Shu.

The Shu Princess was admonishing Princess Qingning: "This time you enter the palace, stay with the Fourth Princess until her wedding, then it's time to return and prepare for marriage. Look, the Fourth Princess is about to get married, and you're still making excuses."

"Let me tell you, that date was carefully chosen by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory. Don't mess with me again!"

"Also, when you go to the palace, just tell the Fourth Princess that you all should behave yourself. Le An is going back to the capital, just in time to attend your wedding."

Princess Qingning had originally ignored the princess' words and replied perfunctorily, "I know, I know."

After hearing the last sentence, he was stunned for a moment, and a look of surprise appeared on his face: "Mother, is Le An really coming back to attend the wedding of the Fourth Princess and me? You didn't lie to me?"

The Princess of Shu poked her forehead and said, "Of course. Le'an and your cousin have been in Nanyue for over five years now. Now that your cousin has made great contributions, His Majesty has summoned him back to the capital, naturally to entrust him with important tasks. Once the affairs over there are settled, he will naturally return."

"Besides, Le An has a deep bond with you and the Fourth Princess. Knowing that you two are getting married, he naturally rushed back to attend. This is human nature. Why would he lie to you?"

"Estimating the time, I'm afraid we'll soon reach the capital."

Princess Qingning clapped her hands and ran out immediately: "Mother, please tell them to pack up slowly and send it to the palace. I will go in first and tell the Fourth Princess the good news."

After saying that, he ran away without looking back.

The Princess of Shu looked at Princess Qingning running away, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and shook her head.

The nanny next to her smiled and said, "They say everyone has their own destiny. Our princess has a good relationship with the Fourth Princess and Princess Le'an. Princess Le'an is finally back. Not only is she happy, but we servants are also happy to hear about it."

"That's right. If Le'an and Yi Ge'er can come back, Xiuyun can come back with them. We haven't seen each other for years. Although she said in the letter that she was happy, I just didn't see her. I don't know if she was just trying to comfort me because she didn't want me to worry."

The nanny smiled and advised: "Third uncle's wife has a close relationship with the princess, how could she tell lies to please the princess? What's more, Princess Le'an and the prince are both filial children. Third uncle's wife now has grandchildren, I'm afraid she is very happy and doesn't want to leave."

This made the Princess of Shu laugh, "Isn't it that you are so happy that you don't miss your homeland?"

After laughing, he continued, "They say good things come late. Brother Yi got married late, but this child came along at the right time. Now he has both a son and a daughter."

"That's right. It shows that Princess Le'an and the Duke are both very blessed and lucky." The nanny flattered.

The Princess of Shu's face lit up when she mentioned Fu Zhiyi and Lu Zhenzhen.

After thinking for a while, he instructed: "Send someone to the house where Brother Yi and his friends used to live tomorrow to clean it up carefully so that they can live comfortably when Brother Yi and his friends come back."

The nanny smiled and agreed, then hesitated for a moment before asking, "Then, should we notify the Ningping Marquis' Mansion?"

After all, the news that Fu Zhiyi, Lu Zhenzhen and others were coming back was revealed by the King of Shu.

Although His Majesty spoke vaguely, the King of Shu still understood it. He was afraid that when Fu Zhiyi returned this time, he would be promoted again.

After all, Fu Zhiyi has been in Nanwu Prefecture for the past few years. Not only has he governed strictly and earned the respect of the common people, he also spent three years building an official road.

It connects Lingnan and the Central Plains.

In recent years, due to the construction of official roads, all kinds of imported goods from Southeast Asia and the West have been continuously transported to the capital.

Nowadays, every wealthy family in Beijing has a few imported Western items.

In the capital, there are countless shops selling imported goods from Southeast Asia and the West.

The price is almost half of what it was before.

I also heard that they set up a workshop there, which took apart those exquisite Western gadgets and learned how to make them.

The Imperial Household Department could produce everything from floor-standing clocks, to mercury mirrors as tall as a person, to music boxes.

I heard the King of Shu mutter a few words, saying that the Maritime Customs and the Imperial Household Department have made a lot of contributions to the national treasury and your Majesty's private treasury in recent years.

In previous years, it was said that taxes from the Jiangnan area accounted for almost half of the national treasury.

Now I heard that because of the Maritime Customs and the Imperial Household Department, the tax revenue in Lingnan is almost catching up with that in the Jiangnan area.

Because the national treasury is full, the military salaries and rations in the border areas are always distributed in sufficient quantities, so no matter what disasters occur in other places, there is no need to be short of money.

The imperial court has been harassed by foreign Tartars in the northwest for the past two years. Previously, due to the lack of funds in the treasury, it could only defend the city and fight back.

After the national treasury was filled, I heard that the calls for war in the court have been getting louder and louder in the past two years.