Chapter 198: Chapter 162: You Handle External Affairs, I Handle Internal Affairs

Pan Jiaojiao paced back and forth in front of Song Yan, back and forth. Perhaps due to her frequent dancing, her ordinary steps somehow had an unusual rhythm.

Song Yan tilted her head and watched for a while, thinking Pan Jiaojiao truly deserved to be a dancer. If only she could dance too, then the Princess would praise her as well.

Although the Princess often praised her even though she couldn’t dance, well… the more compliments the better.

Seeing Pan Jiaojiao’s anxious but clueless expression, Song Yan finally spoke, “Do you know why Prince Jing, with a different family name, can uniquely earn the Emperor’s trust?”

Pan Jiaojiao was stunned; she had never thought about this question before. She only knew her status was more prestigious than other noble women…

Song Yan didn’t expect Pan Jiaojiao to know, so she continued, “Prince Jing is making money for the Emperor. Most of the silver earned from the Prince Jing Mansion goes into the National Treasury. Over the years, 80% of the treasury comes from Prince Jing Mansion.”

Pan Jiaojiao’s eyes widened. What? Her mansion was this wealthy? She wasn’t just heaven’s favored daughter; she was as rich as a nation?! Why had her father never mentioned this to her! If she had known she was this rich earlier, she would have bought the Princess the most expensive toys!!

Song Yan glanced at Pan Jiaojiao and cruelly woke her from her dream, “The industries under your care belong to the Emperor. Prince Jing is just a custodian. The earned silver goes to the National Treasury, and if something goes wrong, Prince Jing is the one who suffers.”

Pan Jiaojiao: Oh, high-risk custodianship, well, that’s fine.

Upon hearing this, Pan Jiaojiao actually breathed a sigh of relief, thinking how could the Prince Jing Mansion truly be that wealthy and still survive until now.

Her father in the palace probably wouldn’t even have a life left.

“Pan Jiaojiao, given the current situation, don’t you have anything you want to do? Do you plan to just be a Commandery Princess for life, and when the time comes, marry off with your ample dowry?”

A sudden memory of what the Princess had once told her flashed in Pan Jiaojiao’s mind, and she recalled seriously contemplating how she could inherit the Prince Jing Mansion… What was the answer she had come up with then?

Oh, she remembered. She couldn’t think of an answer, was about to ask the Princess, and then the Princess just left for the north. When she finally returned, her body was taken over by a demon.

After the Princess returned to normal, the day she went to see her, she initially wanted to ask, but when the Princess called her Jiaojiao, she couldn’t help but burst into tears, her brain flowing out with her tears, and she forgot again.

But, if she couldn’t ask the Princess, maybe she could ask Song Yan?

Would Song Yan tell her?

“Song Yan, just tell me directly. I don’t understand all these twists and turns.”

Pan Jiaojiao’s skills were in household intrigue. If you asked her to discern whether a woman had sinister intentions, she could sense it immediately, but when it came to state affairs, she was clueless.

Song Yan looked at Pan Jiaojiao and seriously asked, “Are you loyal to the Princess?”

“Of course, are you doubting me?”

“If one day, the Prince plotted to kill the Princess for the throne, would you stand by the Princess’s side?”

Pan Jiaojiao was terrified at heart, but she answered without hesitation, “Yes!”

After replying, she added, “But I don’t want the Princess to die. I want to save the Princess. What should I do to help her?”

Song Yan leaned closer to Pan Jiaojiao, speaking each word clearly yet softly, but it struck Pan Jiaojiao like a revelation, “You need to take over all the enterprises of the Prince Jing Mansion during this time, and in the absence of the Prince Jing, you must perform even better than him.”

Song Yan lifted a strand of hair by Pan Jiaojiao’s ear and leaned in, “You need to become the next Prince Jing, to support the Princess. If I enter the court in the future, you must manage the National Treasury for Her Highness so that no matter who’s in power, Her Highness won’t be bullied.”

Pan Jiaojiao was filled with a warm feeling from Song Yan’s words. She knew with Song Yan’s abilities, as soon as she entered the court, she would definitely make a difference. Although she didn’t like Song Yan as a person ordinarily, she had to admit, Song Yan was naturally suited for the court, speaking appropriately to the situation.

Even these current words might just be flattering her, but… she was moved.

Every time she thought of possibly becoming someone who could protect the Princess, she felt so excited!

Moreover, if she were managing the National Treasury, wouldn’t she be the one to pay Song Yan’s future salary? Just the thought made her happy!

Pan Jiaojiao was ecstatic, but she suddenly thought of one problem.

“I don’t know how to do these things, my father never taught me.”

Song Yan replied calmly, “I’ll teach you, I know how.”

Pan Jiaojiao: “You know?” What could a bookworm like you know?

Song Yan still maintained her composed expression, “I founded Jinyan Bank.”

Pan Jiaojiao froze.

She didn’t understand.

How could someone be so scholarly and also so skilled at making money?

Shen Jingxian didn’t understand either, why was she sneezing so much staying quietly in Yi Fen Village.

They say one sneeze means someone’s thinking of you, two sneezes mean someone’s cursing you, and three sneezes mean you’re catching a cold.

So in her case, sneezing every moment and then again occasionally, is it that many people are thinking of her, or is she severely ill?

This question perplexed Shen Jingxian, so she stopped thinking and engrossed herself in reading the new book her mother bought for her, “After the Divorce, I Was Pampered by the Emperor.”

Strange, how could such a talented book be written in this era, it would be explosively popular even in the contemporary online literary circles.

As Shen Jingxian ate watermelon and read, she suddenly realized that the new maids seemed very interested in this book too?

So Shen Jingxian generously lifted the book in her hand and asked, “Do you want to read it too?”

The maids nudged each other for a while, and finally, Xiao Qi was pushed forward. She smiled shyly and said softly, “I can’t read, Your Highness.”

“Then I’ll teach you.” Shen Jingxian blurted out.

After all, staying idle in Yi Fen Palace is just staying idle.

Shen Jingxian didn’t know what was happening outside, nor did she ask, knowing very well her level; she was useless.

So when her father and mother had important matters, she wouldn’t mess things up.

Anyway, she had checked, neither Pan Jiaojiao nor Song Yan would be in danger, and as for Wen Ranchen, there would certainly be no danger.

Those against Wen Ranchen were the ones at risk.

Fu Xuan seems to have been taken back to Xingyang, likely apprehended back home.

Poor Fu Xuan, a minute of silence for him.

Then Shen Jingxian asked the maids what they wanted to learn first.

To her surprise, these women trained predominantly for assassination were most eager to learn about love poems.

One maid even eagerly shared, “I once had a scholar read a poem to me, I memorized it.”

“Oh——” they cheered.

Shen Jingxian joined in the cheering too.

Encouraged by the crowd, the maid bashfully recited the only poem she knew, “Hold your hand, and grow old together.”

Shen Jingxian: …

It’s here, the essential line of romantic literature.

But… although… yet, still, she wanted to point out, this poem wasn’t about love! It’s about war!!

War!!!

Good grief, everyone go learn “Beat the Drums” from the Classic of Poetry!!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep