Chapter 10: The Mischievous Child Loves Armor

The next morning, the mansion returned to its usual tranquility, but some people had disappeared, and no one knew where they had gone. The vacant positions were quickly filled by others, and the mansion seemed as if nothing had ever happened, except for a slight air of solemnity.

Zhao Cheng got up as usual and went to the courtyard, where he found many new faces. "Jianxi, where are these people from, and what happened to the previous ones?" he asked Jianxi, who was by his side.

"Your Highness, these are all people the Grand Official brought back from the capital. Some are from the Empress's palace, and some were selected from the newly arrived eunuchs. They are all from respectable families!" The events of the past two days had been like a dream to Jianxi. The ups and downs had made him realize that although the Prince was young, he was not to be trifled with. Hearing the question, he quickly stepped forward to answer.

"Your Highness, these blind ones, the Prince has come out, and you haven't come forward to greet him. Do you want to be beaten?" Jianxi shouted at the group of eunuchs who were busy in the courtyard.

"Good morning, Your Highness!" Hearing Jianxi's shout, everyone in the courtyard hurriedly gathered around to greet Zhao Cheng. The inner courtyard of the mansion was mostly filled with eunuchs, and this time, almost all the young eunuchs had been replaced. Huang Jingchen was a transcendent figure in the mansion, responsible for all affairs, but he rarely interfered, leaving the miscellaneous tasks to Jianxi. No one dared to be disrespectful to him.

Zhao Cheng waved his hand to dismiss them, "Hmm, have the people in the outer courtyard also been replaced?" he asked again.

"Yes, from the managers to the laborers, they are all personally selected by the Grand Official and have been properly arranged!" Jianxi replied.

Zhao Cheng felt relieved. Even if someone wanted to infiltrate and set up spies, it wouldn't be easy to do so in a short time. He should be safe for the time being. He also had a new appreciation for Huang Jingchen. This old man was not as simple as he seemed. In just a few days, he had not only handled the assassination attempt without a ripple but also used the opportunity to thoroughly clean house and reassign personnel from the inside out.

After breakfast, accompanied by Huang Jingchen, Zhao Cheng went to the main hall to receive the greetings of the new managers. In modern terms, this was like a leader meeting new employees to avoid misunderstandings. First, three managers from the outer courtyard came in to speak. They were responsible for the finance (managing expenditures), the treasury (managing money and silk storage), and the granary (managing grain storage). Then came the managers of the treasury, workshops, stables, and kitchen, who were considered to have positions and received annual salaries.

Finally, the largest group entered, consisting of men and women, young and old, numbering nearly a hundred. They knelt in a dense crowd in the hall. They were the stable hands, gardeners, coachmen, sedan bearers, cooks, night watchmen, carpenters, blacksmiths, and other laborers. The kitchen was the most important, with over ten people working in the main kitchen and the private kitchen. The main kitchen was for public use, while the private kitchen was for special needs. The tea room had four staff members whose task was to serve tea and water to visitors and to prepare medicinal and nourishing foods for the sick in the mansion.

The night watchmen were the most numerous, with about twenty people, all young and strong. They were divided into two groups, the East and West, and took turns on duty, patrolling, and cleaning the inner and outer courtyards in the morning. They were responsible for cleaning, organizing the storerooms, and any other tasks requiring physical labor. They were on contract, with a minimum of five years, and were provided with food and clothing, as well as a small wage. They were the lowest and hardest-working people in the mansion.

Seeing the people bowing respectfully before him, Zhao Cheng smiled and looked at them, feeling a sense of power. Despite being just a child, he was a prince and could control the fate of these people, deciding their fortune and misfortune. This was the advantage of being a second-generation official.

"Your Highness, what's wrong? Is there something inappropriate?" After the crowd dispersed, only a few managers remained in the room. Huang Jingchen noticed that the previously cheerful Prince now looked worried and quickly asked.

"Grand Official, so many people need to be fed. Won't they eat me into poverty?" Zhao Cheng sighed, and the few people in the room were taken aback, then couldn't help but laugh.

"Your Highness, you're worried about this?" Huang Jingchen rubbed his nose and regained his composure. He hadn't expected the young Prince to be so concerned about money. "Your Highness, don't worry. The monthly salaries of the inner courtyard are paid by the palace, and the expenses of the outer courtyard are covered by the Ministry of Revenue along with your salary. You don't need to spend a single coin!"

"Really? That's a relief. You're not allowed to spend my money recklessly, or I'll beat you!" Zhao Cheng pointed at the three managers of the outer courtyard and said seriously.

"Your Highness, rest assured. We will only spend money with your approval and will not be reckless!" The chief manager, though amused by the Prince's childish words, did not dare to be disrespectful and bowed to say.

"Alright, talking about these trivial matters is boring. You discuss it!" Zhao Cheng jumped off the couch and said, "Jianxi, didn't you say my grandfather brought me something good? Take me to see it!" He jumped off the couch and ran out, finding it difficult to act like a child in front of so many people. "Your Highness, be careful, don't fall!" Jianxi shouted and hurried to follow.

"Manager Zheng, the Prince is young and likes to run around. Arrange for two skilled people to follow him to prevent any accidents!" Huang Jingchen watched Zhao Cheng leave the main hall and said to Manager Zheng Xu.

"Rest assured, Master. The Lord specially assigned two experts who have experience in the world. They are skilled and loyal!" Manager Zheng replied.

"Skill is one thing, but they must also be trustworthy!"

"They were pursued by a local salt smuggler a few years ago, and the Lord took them in. They have been loyal and grateful, and can be trusted."

"Hmm, these days the mansion is not peaceful, and the weather is getting cooler. Have the summer courtyard cleaned up, and make changes to the Prince's residence according to his wishes, or he will get angry!" Huang Jingchen nodded and said.

"Yes, I will arrange it immediately!" Manager Zheng said.

"The autumn harvest is complete, and the tenants will soon pay rent. Arrange the storerooms and personnel well to avoid any problems!" Huang Jingchen reminded.

"Rest assured, Second Manager Zheng has always managed the estate, and he is experienced!" Manager Zheng pointed to Second Manager Zheng Yang.

"Good, the Grand Official has thought of everything. I won't worry too much. Discuss the matters of the mansion!" Huang Jingchen smiled, satisfied with the people chosen by the Grand Official.

After finishing his instructions, Huang Jingchen returned to his room in the inner courtyard. A young eunuch quickly brought him tea and bowed to the side. "Shunzi, send a message to the capital to investigate the backgrounds of Meng Tao and Yang Feng. Do it quickly; the Prince cannot afford any more mistakes!" He took a sip of tea and said slowly.

Zhao Cheng was very excited about what his grandfather had brought him. He and Jianxi urged a young manager to bring the items to the winter garden. When the items were brought down one by one, he almost fainted from the effort! There were so many things, including food and toys, truly embodying the saying: "A doting grandmother spoils her grandson."

The food was not worth mentioning, but the toys included the most popular bamboo horses, swings, kites, cuju (ancient football), clay dolls, and various other toys that children liked. There were also living things: two puppies, two kittens, a parrot, a tank of goldfish, two green turtles, and several jars of crickets. Zhao Cheng frowned as he looked at them, but after a long time, he didn't see a single pen or piece of paper. His grandfather had sent him only things for eating, drinking, and playing. This was truly a case of "rich families producing spoiled children." With this kind of upbringing, it would be hard not to become a wastrel. No wonder his father, who was clueless about governance, was skilled in all kinds of indulgences.

"Master, our Lord also bought you two eagles, but they haven't been trained yet. They will be sent to you after a while!" The manager from the Zheng family, seeing that Zhao Cheng seemed uninterested in the items, quickly came over with a smile.

"Oh, I appreciate the effort of my grandfather!" Zhao Cheng said, feeling somewhat amused but not wanting to blame the other person, as he was just a child.

"To find these things, the Lord really put in a lot of effort. Look at these two kittens; they are famous lion cats, which the Lord exchanged for a genuine painting by Chancellor Cai. The two green turtles cost 500 guan, and the parrot also cost a lot," the manager from the Zheng family quickly boasted.

"What? These two turtles cost 500 guan?" Zhao Cheng's eyes nearly fell out in surprise. He kicked the tank holding the turtles. Two green turtles costing 500 guan would be equivalent to ten taels of gold. These little creatures didn't look like they weighed ten taels. In his previous life, they would have cost only 200 to 300 yuan, or about one gram of gold.

"Sir, be careful with your feet. This glass tank was bought from a Persian merchant for 200 guan!" The manager quickly picked up the tank.

Zhao Cheng was speechless. A fish tank the size of a basin, which was translucent but not transparent, could cost 200 guan. In his previous life, a tank like this would have cost only ten yuan, and the seller would have been overjoyed.

"Jianxi, find someone reliable to take good care of this glass tank. If anything happens, don't let him eat for two days!" Zhao Cheng said.

"Sure, Second Master, rest assured. I will personally take care of these treasures. If they lose a single hair, I won't eat for a day!" Jianxi laughed and took the glass tank from the manager, holding it in his arms.

"This is a good thing!" Zhao Cheng suddenly found a dagger among the items and picked it up happily. He played with it in his hands. The dagger, about half a foot long, had a white jade handle wrapped in gold thread and a small ruby on the pommel. The scabbard was made of rhinoceros leather, making it look exceptionally exquisite. He pressed the spring and drew the blade, which gleamed in the sunlight, with cloud-like patterns on the blade that were almost invisible, making it hard to put down.

"Master, be careful not to hurt yourself. This dagger is made of steel from the Western Xia and can cut through iron and jade!" The manager from the Zheng family quickly took the dagger, put it away, and hung it on Zhao Cheng's waist.

"Thank my grandfather for me and tell him I like this dagger very much!" Zhao Cheng touched the dagger on his waist and smiled.

"Sure, sure!" The manager from the Zheng family hurriedly said, secretly thinking that it was not easy to get a thank you from the young master. There were so many things, and many were better than this dagger, but he didn't hear a thank you. It seemed the young master liked weapons and martial arts. If he had known, he would have sent more weapons and martial arts equipment.

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**End of Chapter 10**