Yun Shang was at a loss for words. She stared at them, but the two maids were not fazed. Frustrated, the Princess turned away.
Seeing that, Qian Yin giggled and approached Yun Shang, "But you have to be vigilant, Your Highness. What if those people turned to you when they fail to deal with the Prince? There is an old saying, go after low-hanging fruit."
Yun Shang raised her eyebrows at the words. She pretended anger, "Do I look like an easy target? Do I?"
Her question gave the maids yet another occasion to burst into laughter.
Prince Jing had served at the frontier for a long time. But he still had great influence in the Imperial Capital. As he had sent invitations, people flocked to pay respects to him. In no time, Prince Jing's Mansion was crowded with guests, gifts, and people asking for invitation letters.
The Prince's chamberlain was a capable man. Though he had never experienced such a situation, he was able to handle it.
Fortunately, the invitations had been carefully sent. But still, when Prince Jing's birthday arrived, for the first time in history, the Prince's Mansion was so lively.
Normally, a lady in a house would administer the internal affairs, but the Prince was not married, so his chamberlain played the role. Thus, when Yun Shang arrived at the mansion, the chamberlain hurried to her for help. After having heard the chamberlain's brief, Yun Shang was almost amused, if not angry. She cast a glance at Prince Jing, who lay idly on his bed, "It's already late. Don't tell me you've not prepared anything yet. And I had a look along the way. There's no maid serving in your mansion. Do you really want to have male servants attend to the ladies?"
The chamberlain coughed to conceal his discomfort, "It's all my fault. I've been too inconsiderate. After all, I've never taken care of a birthday party before, and His Highness had given his instruction in a hurry...It's hard to make a thorough plan in such a short time..."
The Prince was extremely calm. He put away his books, glanced at the angry Yun Shang, and smiled, "But I don't need any maids. And I don't want to hire some just for today's event. It's troublesome to fire them again."
"Why didn't you come to me earlier?" Yun Shang felt frustrated.
Prince Jing cleared his throat, "I forgot."
Although she didn't want to, Yun Shang started the work with assiduity. She asked Qian Yin and Qin Yi to help her with the preparations and sent for Ning Qian. Ning Qian would take care of the entertainment. She ordered Qian Yin to care for the ladies, and Qin Yi to arrange for the food. Yun Shang used to manage a household in her previous life. She wasn't unfamiliar with the affairs. With her arrangement, each servant was busy with his or her task. And everything was getting in order.
The chamberlain watched as Yun Shang gave her orders to the servants. He massaged his whiskers with a hand and said to Prince Jing, "Your Highness, you truly need a lady. In your years away at the frontier, it was okay for you to ignore etiquette. But now that you're back in the Imperial City, you have a lot of internal affairs that need to be taken care of."
Prince Jing shot a glance at Yun Shang. A gleam flashed in his eyes when he watched her set everything in order. He paused for a while, and nodded, "I see. How old am I now? 28? I'm a little old."
The chamberlain glared at him, "Not just old, Your Highness. Most men have already fathered their own children at your age. And some of their children have come of age."
The Prince coughed to conceal his feelings. "But Shang'er told my brother that she shouldn't marry for at least another two years. I have to wait."
The chamberlain wanted to say more, but Yun Shang entered. He stopped, and grinned to the Princess, "Thank you so much, Your Highness. I can't imagine how things would have been without you."
Yun Shang nodded to him. Without being polite, she turned to Prince Jing and said with a frown, "I can host the ladies for you. But you still have to host the male guests. And your wound..." Yun Shang had noticed that Prince Jing's face was pale.
Prince Jing smiled. He stood from his bed, and paced back and forth unhurriedly. Yun Shang watched him. The Prince looked all fine, but...
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