Chapter 144

Tan Weixin said slowly, "According to the agreement between our two countries regarding the procedures for this marriage ceremony, the Chun Nan delegation will return home one month after the wedding. A great many people will remain in the Jin Gu Garden to serve Your Highness. Work deserves pay, that's only right. From that time on, the expenses of these people will be covered by the internal treasury. Does the princess know how many people that will be? It's best to have an understanding beforehand."

Chang Hongquan, who was eavesdropping outside, was stunned. This was a question that even he might not be able to answer immediately, let alone Chang Ling, who never cared about such matters. He only vaguely knew that there was a list of people who would remain, but it was in the hands of some subordinate official.

Chang Ling was taken aback and said, "How would I know that?"

Tan Weixin said playfully, "Alright, we can discuss this matter later. There is another thing I want to tell the princess. The expenses of the Dongping royal family are roughly divided into several parts: first, the maintenance of the residence; second, the expenses of the personnel; third, the daily living expenses; and finally, a sum of cash that can be freely spent. Since it is expected that Your Highness will reside permanently in the Jin Gu Garden, the expenses will actually be handled in a manner comparable to that of us children, including the Crown Prince of Dongping. A sum of money will be divided into annual and monthly allowances and deposited into the account of the Jin Gu Garden, and everything will be decided by Your Highness. Whether it is the renovation of the courtyard or the expenses of the personnel, it is up to Your Highness to allocate them. I am here today to ask what level of expenses Your Highness intends to draw from this fund."

Chang Hongquan looked at Tan Xiaopei in surprise, and Tan Xiaopei nodded helplessly. Chang Hongquan now understood that there was no better way to deal with Chang Ling than this. Chang Ling was completely ignorant of these matters. With Chang Ling's extravagance and lack of restraint, she would probably spend a year's worth of expenses in half a year. At that time, in the hands of Tan Weixin, who was in charge of the internal treasury expenses, she would be dealt with severely.

Chang Ling had never worried about such things. When she was in Chun Nan, if she took a fancy to something or wanted to do something, she would use the money in her own residence if she had it. If she didn't, she would ask her parents, and a sum of silver would naturally be deposited into her account. Faced with Tan Weixin's question, she could only widen her eyes, not knowing how to answer.

Tan Weixin seemed to have anticipated this situation. She smiled and said, "The annual expenses of the Dongping Palace, including the king, queen, and two imperial concubines, are slightly less than one million taels. Of course, the expenses of the Imperial Guards are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War, which is not very useful for reference. The Crown Prince's total expenses last year were a little over five hundred thousand taels. Although I take a lot of medicine, my residence only costs a little over three hundred thousand taels. The remaining two younger brothers and my younger sister spend less than five hundred thousand taels a year combined. In this case, how about I prepare an annual allowance of six hundred thousand taels for you?"

To Chang Ling, this seemed like a very large number, especially since it exceeded that of the Crown Prince of Dongping. She thought it should be enough. Without thinking, Chang Ling nodded.

As soon as Chang Ling nodded, Chang Hongquan secretly cried out in his heart. The expenses of the Dongping royal family were low because they did not like extravagance and had no extravagant hobbies. The Crown Prince Tan Weiming's residence had only a little over a hundred people, and Tan Weixin's princess residence was even more streamlined, with only forty or so people, which was fewer than even some wealthy merchants. But Chang Ling would be living in a place like the Jin Gu Garden in the future, and the servants, female officials, and guards who would remain in Dongping would number more than two hundred. The expenses were definitely not on the same level.

Sure enough, Tan Weixin's tone changed abruptly and said, "Does Your Highness know that with this nod, you will owe me at least three hundred to five hundred thousand taels of silver a year?"

Chang Ling was taken aback and said, "How is that possible?"

Tan Weixin was not in a hurry. She smiled and said, "Let's just say that what I just said was a joke. Please give me the exact amount of expenses you plan to have each year before the Chun Nan delegation leaves. Of course, don't be excessive. If there is anything presumptuous, I will definitely be ruthless in cutting unnecessary expenses. Or... all the expenses of your Jin Gu Garden will not follow the rules of Dongping, and everything will go through me. I will not skimp on the money that should be given, but don't expect any inexplicable accounts to pass through my hands. In other words, what kind of life you can live depends on me."

Tan Weixin's confident tone instantly made Chang Ling angry again. She stood up abruptly and said, "Is this all that Your Highness has come to say today—these irrelevant things?"

Tan Weixin said lightly, "Irrelevant? I was afraid of hurting your self-esteem, so I beat around the bush for a long time without making myself clear. Besides acting spoiled, you should really have some other skills. Let me be blunt, you can naturally do what you want in your Chun Nan, and no one will care about you. But in Dongping, in Danyang, things are not so easy. Before you want to establish your authority, you had better consider carefully. The marriage between the two countries is due to the interests of the states. In this situation, whether you live well or not will not have any impact. If you want to show off your princess ways on others, I will use the same methods on you to get back at you. I'm telling you this in advance, so don't blame me for not giving you face when the time comes. Of course, if you feel that you are not living well, go back to your king and queen and cry to them. You are allowed to return home to visit your family once every five years, and I will not skimp on the travel expenses. At that time, you might as well not come back."

Hearing this, Tan Xiaopei sighed and pulled Chang Hongquan away. With his understanding of Tan Weixin as her father, this show of power was about to end, and Tan Weixin could come out at any time. It would be interesting to meet her in this place.

Walking away silently for a while, Tan Xiaopei said to Chang Hongquan, "...My daughter was born into a noble family and has been pampered since she was a child, and her health is not good, so everyone inevitably spoils her a little. In fact, if you spend a long time with her, you will find her quite interesting..." As he spoke, Tan Xiaopei and Chang Hongquan both felt that this sentence seemed a little off, as if it was just a slight alteration of what Chang Hongquan had said to Tan Xiaopei earlier. The two looked at each other and then burst out laughing.