Chapter 88: Admitting Mistakes (I)

Xu Junying took the teacup handed to him by Zhuang Yulan, took a sip and put it down, saying that he had some official documents to read. He said goodbye to the old lady and his brothers and sisters-in-law and left.

If we stay any longer, we won't see anything special happen with the tea. It's better to leave quickly so as not to spoil everyone's fun.

Everyone? It seemed that only Mei Niang was heard making a fuss, which led to the old lady speaking, and then she was the one who ran the fastest.

Xu Junying left the upper room and just walked down the stairs with Baoju when Zheng Meiyu chased out from inside. She wanted to shout "Cousin Ying, wait for me", but the door curtain was lifted and Zhuang Yulan jumped and ran to her, covered her mouth with one hand, and dragged her back to the room, her voice soft but powerful:

"Why are you in such a hurry? I will arrange for someone to take you back to Qiuhua Courtyard. If you ask Lord Hou to take you, wouldn't it be a long detour and delay his business?"

Zheng Meiyu lowered her head and said, "I want to go back and help my aunt take care of Heng'er."

Zhuang Yulan sneered: "If you don't come, will there be no one to help the eldest lady take care of Heng'er?"

She stared at Zheng Meiyu for a long while, and suddenly said, "If you want to go back, then go back. I heard that when Mei Niang was ill, you were in charge of Tsinghua Courtyard for her. Maybe Heng'er likes to be with you... Wait, I'll go find Mother Ji."

Soon, Mother Ji came out and assigned three or four maids to take Zheng Meiyu back to Qiuhua Courtyard, but she saw a few lanterns floating in the darkness. It turned out to be a few maids from Qiuhua Courtyard who came to pick her up. Mother Ji thought, this saved her trouble. Zheng Meiyu and Zhuang Yulan said a few polite words of farewell, and then left with the maids.

The brothers and sisters in the room had no interest in the first place, and when they saw that the people who were distributing tea had left, they had no intention of sitting down anymore. They chatted with the old lady for a while, then said goodbye and went back to their rooms.

In the upper room of Qinghua Courtyard, Mei Niang came out of the bath, wearing only a pink midi with embroidered edges. Cui Xi asked her to put on a willow yellow silk cotton robe. Cui Lian dried her hair with a large handkerchief, combed it with a peach wood comb, and then sat on the couch with her hair loose. Cui Si had already placed two piles of account books on the low table, one for the Xu family and the other for Xianke. Mei Niang smiled: taking care of both public and private affairs, this workload is considered small and it is relatively easy to do.

Just as I opened the account book, Mother Wang came over and said, "I asked Cheng'er and Ping'er to go to the kitchen. Mother Cai cooked the food herself and said she would bring it back in a while."

Mei Niang looked up and smiled at Wang Mama: "Mom, you are so nice. I didn't eat enough tonight. I only had a dumpling, a piece of chicken, a small ball of rice, and no soup."

Mother Wang reached out her hand and lovingly tucked the hair that Mei Niang had hung on her face behind her ears, sighing, "Poor grandma, every time she comes back from Jinhua Hall, she always looks for food everywhere. She only serves the old lady, and it's not as good as the way we eat at home... This is the filial duty of the younger generation, but grandma is not as healthy as others, so she always needs to eat more when she comes back."

Cuixi and Cuilian brought over their needlework baskets, and Cuisi also took out the half-crocheted wool. Seeing that Wang Mama was still talking nonstop, Mei Niang couldn't bear to look at the account book anymore, so Cuisi gently pushed Wang Mama:

"Have Orange and Apple taken anyone with them? They haven't come back yet. Why don't you go to the kitchen and take a look?"

Mother Wang slapped her and scolded her with a smile: "Who are you going to send, lazy girl? What's the use of me? My old bones are getting more and more flexible. But Mother Cai wanted to make a few delicious dishes and stew a good soup, but she was too impatient and failed to make delicious food."

Mei Niang said, "Mother Cai is very efficient in her work. She doesn't need to be urged. By the way, those mothers in the kitchen are used to taking tips. If they don't get any, they will procrastinate and not cook carefully. There are only so many people in the mansion, and they are all masters. Is it the duty of servants to distinguish between the rich and the poor based on the tips? I thought that the Qinghua Courtyard suffered this loss before, but I didn't expect that the Fourth Master's Courtyard, the two concubines in the first house, and the Second Miss's Courtyard were also like this. I didn't know until Gan Shi told me the day before yesterday that this mansion is supported by the salary of the Marquis, but the master of the first house is not as good as the second house? The second house has more money, right? They are generous, so they should praise the second house more. Starting tomorrow, mother will go to the kitchen more often and catch someone in the act. After the first month of the year, we will tidy up the kitchen. Whoever dares to accept tips, delay work and neglect the master will be dragged out immediately, and he doesn't even have to stay in the inner courtyard."

Madam Wang nodded and said, "I heard from Madam Cai that the Hou Mansion was not like this before. The servants were never asked for extra money for their work. They only got their original monthly salary. After the Second Madam got married, she always liked to give out tips for everything. Others followed suit and gave money as well. Gradually, it became like this. Madam Liang is the one in charge of the kitchen. Tips have to go through her hands and after peeling off a layer, they are distributed to the mothers who do the work."

Mei Niang said: "The time to collect the reward money should be chosen. During the twelve hours of the day, the kitchen is divided into two shifts to cook. The reward money must not be collected in the middle of the night to ask people to cook food. That is what should be given. Mom can secretly tell Mama Cai to make preparations. Starting from February, she will replace Mama Liang."

Mother Wang's face changed and she waved her hands: "Grandma, you can tidy up the kitchen, but don't touch Mother Liang. Mother Liang was the little girl that the old lady brought as a dowry."

"What about Mama Cai?"

"Mother Cai is the daughter of the Hou family, and she is married to Qi Dongsheng, who manages the carriages and horses in the front yard. Mother Liang is married to Liu, the housekeeper."

Mei Niang was amused by Wang Ma's words and said, "Who cares who they marry? I don't dare to offend the old lady, so what does housekeeper Liu have to do with her?"

"Butler Liu used to be your father-in-law's long-time attendant. When the Lord Hou saw him, he had to respectfully call him Uncle Liu."

Mei Niang was confused for a moment: "My father-in-law? Who is he?"

"Can you forget my big tits? It's the old Lord Hou, the father of Lord Hou now."

Mei Niang closed the account book and said lazily: "I'm hungry. I don't care about the branches and leaves. My home is not my home. It's a waste of energy to worry about it. No one will reward me if I take care of it."

Cui Si said quickly: "Just don't worry about it, grandma. It's none of our business, even if the mansion is in chaos."

Before Wang Ma could finish her scolding, a voice came from outside the tent, frightening everyone so much that they almost fainted.

"If it's none of your business, whose business is it?"

Xu Junying walked in, pulling aside the curtain. Cuisi lowered her head and leaned on the low table when she stood up. The crocheted wool sweater covered the cymbidium tent. Cuixi, Cuilian and Wang Mama were so scared that they knelt on the ground. Cuisi quickly slid down from the couch and knelt behind Wang Mama, but no one cared about Mei Niang. She had no choice but to put on her shoes, took two steps, bowed and said:

"Who is standing at the door when Master Hou comes back? Why didn't you announce it?"

Xu Junying looked at her calmly and said, "There is no one at the door."

Mei Niang was stunned for a moment: "Impossible"

Xu Junying twitched the corners of his lips: "I asked them to go away. Aren't you dizzy? I was afraid of disturbing you, but I didn't expect to hear such bold remarks from you master and servant."

He walked around Cui Xi and Cui Lian, went to the edge of the couch and sat down, reaching out to flip through the account book that Mei Niang had just read: "Aren't you dizzy? Can you still check the accounts?"

Mei Niang was afraid that he would touch the pile of wool, so she quickly sat on the couch and held the account book: "This is a running account of daily expenses, it's very messy, and Lord Hou can't understand it."

Xu Junying stared at her. Mei Niang thought that she shouldn't question his cultural level, so she quickly changed her words: "The Lord Hou needs to read the official documents, there's no need to bother with this."

Xu Junying said: "I'll just take a look."

Mei Niang also felt that she was too nervous, so she withdrew her hand. Xu Junying slowly turned a few pages and closed the book.

Mei Niang smiled at him: "It's boring, right? I watch this every day."

Xu Junying said calmly, "Do you find it boring? You were the one who made a fuss about this. I just listened to what you said about the kitchen. I did what you said. Madam Cai replaced Madam Liang. She is very suitable. Madam Liang is the old lady's person. What she did was not taught by the old lady. When the old lady asked about it, you only said that you asked me."

"Oh, okay." Mei Niang looked at the people kneeling on the ground and responded absentmindedly.

Xu Junying did not follow her wishes and let them get up. He just looked at Cui Si and said, "Cui Si, explain to me why this mansion is in chaos but it has nothing to do with you?"

Cui Si lowered her head to the ground, not daring to breathe or make a sound.

Mei Niang smiled and said, "Cui Si, she is just a simple girl, she doesn't understand anything and she always says the wrong things..."

Xu Junying looked at her and said, "She's not the only one who said something wrong tonight."

Mother Wang kowtowed on the ground and said, "It is you, my old slave. I am wrong. Please punish me, Master."

Mei Niang felt sorry for her. Mother Wang always complained about back pain. How could she bear kneeling like this and kowtowing? She frowned slightly and got down from the couch helplessly: "Mom, stop kowtowing. Get up. I said something wrong. I should be the one to be punished. Cui Xi and Cui Lian, it's none of your business. Get up too and make room for me."

Xu Junying gritted his teeth and managed to hold it together. This person, she wouldn't admit it unless it was pointed out, and she was still acting arrogant after admitting her mistakes.

Seeing Mei Niang kneeling down, Xu Junying felt relieved and asked casually, "What did you say wrong?"

Mei Niang bit her lip and said: "I said: if I manage the family well, no one will reward me."

"The previous sentence"

Mei Niang closed her eyes and said: "This is not my home, it's a waste of time to worry about it"

Xu Junying was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Everyone get up."

Mei Niang stood up first, then bent down to help Mother Wang up. Xu Junying had been watching her. She was flexible and straight, with her hands clasped at her waist and abdomen. She knelt down and stood up without help. Her movements were quick and steady, without any shaking.

Gradually, I recalled that when she had just recovered from a serious illness, when she kowtowed to the elders, she didn't need help to stand up. Even if she supported herself with her hands, she couldn't stand up so quickly.

I noticed that Mei Niang was not wearing a skirt, only a pair of pink linen shorts. I wondered if it was because of the lack of a skirt to tie it down.

While Mei Niang was daydreaming, she had already returned to the couch and told Cui Lian to help Wang Mama go to the next room to sit by the fire and warm her knees to prevent the pain in her legs from coming back tomorrow. She asked Cui Xi to make some tea, and Cui Si moved the account book on the low table to the rosewood cabinet behind her.