Counterattack of the Cannon Fodder Chambermaid

Untitled Part 123

The next day, the Jing Prince gave Xiao Hua a key before he left.

When he placed the key into her hands, Xiao Hua was a little surprised. Only after asking did she know this was the key to his personal storage.

She thought that he probably wanted to compensate her. He made what should have been a serious matter kind of cute.

Actually Xiao Hua really didn't need this because all the good things in the Jing Prince Estate had already been slowly migrating over to her place without her realizing it. This would happen even without her instructions. Before she got pregnant, this was already the case. After she got pregnant it was even more so, and there was no need to mention the situation after the children were born. Even the children's food and clothing weren't brought up by her, but had already been appropriately arranged.

But since it was his intentions that counted, she felt that she should accept it.

Xiao Hua didn't say anything, merely putting the key away and giving the Jing Prince a very sweet smile.

The Jing Prince's gaze immediately softened, and he stroked her hair.

Xiao Hua thought that would be the end of it, but when Eunuch Chang sent over an account ledger after the Jing Prince left, she realized it wasn't that simple.

The Jing Prince Estate's affairs were divided into internal and external. The revenue and expenses of external affairs were handled via the external storage. Internal affairs, which included the Jing Prince and his harem, as well as the palace maids and eunuchs' salaries, and the daily expenses of the various offices, were all handled via the internal storage, which was actually from the Jing Prince's personal storage.

Every year, a large amount would be transferred from the external storage into the Jing Prince's personal storage. This included the revenue from the Jing Prince's personal businesses. Similarly, the Jing Prince would put a portion from his personal storage in the internal storage. The internal storage was only used to pay out expenses, and every six months they would go over the account ledgers to make sure everything matched.

This was to say, the financial authority was now in her hands. If she refused to hand the money out, even the Jing Prince would have to go hungry, let alone the Jing Consort.

Of course, this example was a little far-fetched. What it meant was that internal expenditures now required Xiao Hua's approval.

This pleasant surprise was a little big, making Xiao Hua blank out for a long time.

"Madam, this isn't actually that complicated. The internal affairs area has a department dedicated to handling expenses. They report directly to Auntie Qi who verifies the accuracy of the information before reporting it to you. Normally highness doesn't bother with all this, and leaves it to Auntie Qi and her subordinates. Only when the key is required would she come find his highness. Now that his highness handed the key and the account ledger to you, feel free to go through it if you have time, but if you don't it's also fine."

Xiao Hua let out a small breath of relief and smiled: "That's fine then. I also don't have time to do this. How about leaving this ledger to Eunuch Chang? In any case, I don't understand all this."

"Madam, this servant is busy every day. To be honest, there wasn't anyone this matter could be entrusted to in the past. His highness is busy with things on the outside, forcing this servant to worry about this matter."

Xiao Hua was aware of this, and said: "Fine then, just leave it here."

Eunuch Chang put it down and took his leave.

Xiao Hua thought about it and had Ding Xiang put it away for now.

She wasn't being careless. She just knew that Eunuch Chang and Auntie Qi were both trusted by the Jing Prince. Those that earned his trust naturally wouldn't cause any problems.