Wrapped In Golden Branch - Chapter 27

Chapter 27
Li Kangning was shocked
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In the late autumn and early winter, the morning dew gradually condensed into a thin layer of frost and mist. The Princess feared cold and heat, so the earth dragon was already burning in Qingxue Courtyard, warming the room.

Li Kangning was nestled on the rosewood bed, holding a gilt stove in her hand. She felt sore and weak, unwilling to move.

“Princess, the village managers delivered the earnings this morning. Do you want to take a look at the account book?” Pei Lan asked softly.

Li Kangning did not respond but looked at the painting “Snow on Yan Mountains” hanging on the wall in a daze –

Mountains, peaks, and the rising sun shone brightly. Red clouds reflected the snow, and the bluestones wrapped in silver, making it magnificent. This scroll was her proud work, but she racked her brains and could not rem*mber the scene in which she painted it. Empress Mother said she did not hesitate to climb a mountain in the snow to paint this clear and snowy picture. She caught a cold and developed a high fever and couldn’t rem*mber it. But last night, she inexplicably remembered a few fragmentary scenes. After piecing it all together, it turned out that she secretly took Zhi Lan out but got lost at the foot of the mountain and met an extremely thin and tall boy. He dressed in coarse linen clothes, and his black eyes were as bright as obsidian. Just when she was about to see the boy’s appearance clearly, the man behind her suddenly lifted her, sending her to the top —

Li Kangning’s face turned red when she remembered last night’s charming scene. It’s all that terrible Pei Yizhi’s fault! It caused her thoughts to stop!

Seeing her dazed for a long time, Pei Lan couldn’t help but worry, “Your Highness, are you catching a cold?”

“Ah?” Li Kangning finally came to her senses, “What did you just say?”

Pei Lan said: “The village managers came to the Princess Mansion today to pay their annual rent, which totaled more than 60,000 taels of silver. Does the Princess want to check the account in person?”

Li Kangning shook her head. “There’s no need. Just distribute it to various schools as usual. It’s getting cold, so let the girls wear thick clothes.”

The dowry the Emperor prepared for his beloved daughter included dozens of manors and thousands of hectares of farmland, so the annual rent collected was tens of thousands of taels. In addition to the yearly rent, Li Kangning also received a salary of 20,000 taels from the palace every year. According to the rules, the Princess’ annual salary was six hundred taels when she lived in the palace and one thousand taels after her marriage. The Prince’s salary was 2000 taels when he lived in the palace. After opening the palace, Jun Wang would receive 6000 taels, while Qin Wang would receive 10000 taels. But Li Kangning was the only Princess in the dynasty and the apple of the Emperor’s eye, so naturally, the rules didn’t apply to her.

While in the palace, she received a prince-level annual salary of 10,000 taels. After leaving the palace and opening a mansion, she received a double salary comparable to that of the crown prince. In addition, the palace was responsible for the servants’ food, clothing, and monthly wages in the Princess Mansion. The annual rent and salary received by Li Kangning became her pocket money. But she still had not saved much private money over the years because she had opened dozens of girls’ schools in the Zhili area around the capital. As the name suggests, the girls’ school only admits girls aged four to twelve and provides food and clothing. The school only allowed girls to learn literacy, simple arithmetic, and accounting but did not teach them complex poetry, songs, and eight-part essays for scientific examinations.

Li Kangning’s original intention was only to hope these girls would have more opportunities and at least be able to find their livelihood when they grew up.

“By the way, wasn’t the Capital North School just renovated not long ago? Is it full already?” Li Kangning asked suddenly.

“Yes. Princess, would you like to take a look?” Zhi Lan smiled.

The Princess had been distracted since morning. The city’s north was close, so it would have been a good idea to go and unwind.

Li Kangning nodded, “Okay, prepare the carriage.”

She occasionally visited the various schools in disguise and even participated in teaching when interested. About half an hour later, the master and servants arrived by carriage in the northern suburbs of the capital. The several guards accompanying them dressed as ordinary servants. As soon as she exited the carriage, the wind blew Li Kangning’s skirt, and she almost couldn’t open her eyes. The guards hurriedly formed a wall to block the wind so that she could walk steadily into the school.

This school in the north of the capital was originally a large courtyard. Li Kangning ordered people to purchase it and renovate it slightly. Now, it was no different from an ordinary school. Hearing the girls’ recitation, Li Kangning smiled knowingly, and warmth surged in her heart. She strode to the school’s back corner door and poked her head inside. But she soon found something wrong. Why did several children in the school look particularly weird?

“Zhi Lan, go and call the big kid with a beard in the back row.” She whispered.

“Yes.” Zhi Lan hurriedly responded and led the child out in a coaxing tone.

“Can you tell me how old you are?” Li Kangning squatted down and asked softly.

The child spoke in a thick and rough male voice, “I am twelve years old this year.”

Li Kangning was stunned. This was a boy!

Then, she looked at the nearly 100 children in the school individually, and most did not look like girls.

Zhi Lan whispered: “Maybe the people below did dirty things for profit.”

The Princess pretended to be the daughter of a wealthy businessman to open a school; otherwise, those people would not dare act so recklessly if they knew it was run by the Princess.

“Why can we make money by recruiting boys?” Li Kangning didn’t beat around the bush for a moment.

Zhi Lan hurriedly explained: “Not only does our school not charge a penny, but we also provide everything for food, clothing, and daily necessities. Many families are eager to send their boys to our school, but isn’t that just giving benefits to the people in charge of recruiting students?”

Li Kangning understood and immediately became angry. She opened a school for girls because there was a trend of favoring boys over girls among the people. Now, these people are blatantly bringing boys into her school; isn’t that a provocation to her?

“I want to see the school’s manager.” After that, she ordered the guards to call the person.

Pei Lan was shocked when she heard this. “Princ– Miss, how can you worry about such a thing? The subordinates will take care of it.”

However, before the school manager arrived, another “old acquaintance” walked into the school slowly…

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