After breakfast, Nanny Qi typically taught Lian Hua the etiquette rules not mentioned the day before, also casually discussing the precautions for pregnancy care.
This young girl had too little experience and it was her first time being pregnant, so it was certainly not wrong to elaborate more.
When Nanny Qi finished speaking, Lian Hua nodded seriously, indicating that she understood.
Nanny Qi glanced at her, somewhat skeptical, and stated lightly, "Since Master Lian knows now, please repeat it once for this old servant to hear."
"Oh~" Lian Hua felt that Nanny, in this way, really resembled her childhood teacher.
In her childhood classes, every time the teacher finished a section, he would ask if everyone understood, and she always cooperated by nodding, but the teacher almost always called on her to repeat it, and she never knew why.
This always annoyed her because she loved to daydream excessively; listening attentively to a lesson for a while was okay, but if it continued too long, she would either get sleepy or start thinking about what to do after school.
Lian Hua mumbled to herself, could it be that Nanny Qi had met her teacher? The resemblance in their actions was uncanny, but this time she really had listened attentively.
Although she mumbled in her heart, she seriously summarized what Nanny Qi had said, "...must not run too quickly, certainly not hop and jump, must not be without someone nearby, if there is discomfort in the abdomen immediately call for the Imperial Physician, be cautious with food from outside, stay away from improper smells in time, and be careful and cautious in all actions..."
Nanny Qi was satisfied, recalling how puzzled and confused this young girl was yesterday, yet today she seemed quite good.
It seemed this young girl was not stupid, but rather it was a matter of whether she wanted to learn and was willing to make the effort, today’s compliance showed that the past two days’ teachings had been effective.
Nanny Qi’s brows unconsciously relaxed.
Seeing this matter concluded, Lian Hua, fearful that Nanny Qi might lecture her again, quickly interjected, "Nanny, could you help me manage the storeroom? I usually don’t have many things, need not manage, so I lack the experience, His Majesty said that from today onwards many people will bring me gifts, I don’t know how to manage, could you help me?"
Nanny Qi was a bit surprised, as managing the storeroom in each palace generally required a highly trusted person, and she had arrived only two days ago, yet this young girl had entrusted her with this task?
This was indeed possible, she nodded, "Master Lian commands, this old servant naturally will help."
Lian Hua cheered up, she couldn’t help but stand up and quickly take a few steps, suddenly remembering something, she promptly straightened up and slowly walked towards the inner chamber.
Watching, Nanny Qi’s eyelids twitched, at least this young girl still remembered what she had been taught, not forgetting everything completely.
When Lian Hua entered the inner chamber, she waved to Nanny Qi, pointing towards the window sill behind the dressing table and said, "Nanny, look, how should this Gold Ingot be placed, should it be stored?"
Nanny Qi walked over and clicked her tongue, this young girl was rather vulgar, who kept Gold Ingots out as decorations.
A mirror blocked the view, and she hadn’t noticed it all day yesterday, otherwise, she would have helped her put it away then.
Nanny Qi shook her head inwardly, thinking that this young girl still needed thorough teaching. The road ahead was long indeed, sigh.
She called out, "Yuan Yuan, bring a tray in."
Outside, Pang Ya replied, "Alright, coming right now," and soon, a round figure appeared in the Side Hall.
Nanny Qi directed Pang Ya to place the Gold Ingots onto the tray and carry them away one by one.
Lian Hua stood by, blinking her eyes as she watched Nanny Qi bustling about, and seeing the Gold Ingots made her hands itch to touch them, but with Nanny Qi present, she didn’t dare for fear that Nanny Qi might slap her hands.
Meanwhile, Xiao Jizi, Xiao Qing, and Xiao Linzi peeked around outside but didn’t dare to come in, afraid that Nanny Qi would spot them and say they were unruly and needed to carry water basins; currently, the three were in distress together.
Since entering the palace, Xiao Qing had never been punished , and he had found yesterday’s punishment particularly hard to adapt to, with his arms still aching slightly.
Xiao Linzi fared even worse; he spent the afternoon carrying water basins and went to Chief Steward Zhang in the evening to receive his punishment, getting whipped in the process. Now he still walked with a bit of difficulty.
Xiao Jizi was in the best condition, his thick skin making him adapt the fastest, like a meat rolling on a butcher’s block.
After all the silver ingots were placed on the tray, Pang Ya, carrying the Gold Ingots, walked out of the Side Hall, her plump arms barely concealing the veins from the effort, as carrying five hundred taels of Gold Ingots by hand was indeed a bit heavy.
Nanny Qi walked behind Pang Ya, and Lian Hua followed at the back, all of them walking out of the Side Hall.
Once they had exited the Side Hall, Nanny Qi looked toward the direction of the Main Hall, which was already barricaded and set apart from the Side Hall, so as not to disturb the people of the Side Hall.
Side Halls are generally located on the sides of the Main Hall, but Canglan Court was somewhat unique; the Side Hall was built afterward and, due to its secluded location and spacious courtyard, was quite a distance from the Main Hall. At this moment, they could only faintly hear the sound of renovation at the Main Hall.
At the barricades, there were guards stationed every dozen steps to prevent the craftsmen working on the palace renovation from wandering around and causing accidents, while staff from the Interior Work Department also monitored and directed operations with strict supervision.
This was not according to the rules; when the Main Hall was under repair, the concubines who resided in the Side Hall were supposed to move out. However, the Emperor truly didn’t want Lian Hua to move to another palace in the Harem—too close to the other concubines, unnecessarily adding to the disturbance.
Moreover, since the structure of the Main Hall was solid and mostly intact, needing only minor repairs rather than a major overhaul and being at a distance, the two areas were separated. Guards were deployed, a separate entrance was created at the back for the workers, and the craftsmen started at dawn and left at sunset, with the whole process under the watch of the Interior Work Department according to the rules.
Nanny Qi felt emotional inwardly, thinking how much care the Emperor put into this young girl.
After her reflection, Nanny Qi turned her head back, her stern eyes fixed on Lian Hua as she asked, "Do you have the ledger for the storeroom yet?"
Lian Hua shook her head. Canglan Court had nearly always been short on funds in the past, so there was no need for a ledger; only wealthy people needed ledgers.
Nanny Qi thought as much; it was only a casual question. She nodded and looked at the three original servants of Canglan Court, her eyebrows furrowing once again.
The three servants were worse than the other— one looked like a buffoon (Xiao Linzi), another was tall but not mature (Xiao Qing), and only the servant nicknamed Xiao Jizi seemed to have some wit.
Altogether there were four people in Canglan Court, and none of them were suitable; no wonder the Emperor had called her here. Looking at the situation, it was difficult. It was fortunate she had come; otherwise, considering how the young girl was handling things, it would be strange if she could properly nurture her child.
She pointed at Xiao Jizi and instructed, "Go get a ledger. From today, all items entering the storeroom must be recorded and logged."
Xiao Jizi hurriedly responded with a "Yes" and dashed off.
Xiao Qing and Xiao Linzi shivered, having jumped when Nanny Qi looked their way, and they both stepped back in unison.
Nanny Qi didn’t bother with them anymore and asked Lian Hua, "Where is the storeroom to be set up? Take this old servant to see it."
Upon seeing Nanny Qi so methodical, Lian Hua constantly nodded, feeling enlightened; Nanny Qi was indeed exceptional. She herself wouldn’t have thought of these things. Although His Majesty had also mentioned it to her last night, she still didn’t quite understand how to do it.