Chapter 9 Chapter 9 How can Li Che support this family? ...
"Second Master, help me! The eldest lady wants to deduct your share of the courtyard. I couldn't stand it any longer, so I said a few words to retort. Now the eldest lady wants to sell me. I have watched you grow up, so I beg you, second master, to have mercy on me!" The old woman started to slander Zhao Qingyi.
Li Heng was just passing by and was stunned for a moment. He subconsciously looked in the direction of the octagonal pavilion.
Zhao Qingyi did not look back, but was still checking the accounts with the manager item by item. The sun was at its highest point in the sky, and she was standing in the pavilion in a dazzling rosy gauze dress. Every step she took was like smoke and mist, as elegant as a fairy, and the half of her face that was exposed was as beautiful as a peony.
Li Heng didn't dare to look at her too much when they were face to face before, but now that he was at a distance, he looked at her in a daze, until Qiao Yue put her hands on her hips to block Zhao Qingyi's figure and glared at the old woman who was talking nonsense in front of him.
Li Heng suddenly came to his senses, thought for a moment, and walked towards the octagonal pavilion.
It was a crowded occasion, so Li Heng's appearance was not out of line. He bowed to Zhao Qingyi at the bottom of the stairs, "Sister-in-law."
"Is there something wrong?" Zhao Qingyi raised her eyelids with a hint of nonchalant beauty.
At that glance, Li Heng seemed to hear the beating of his own heartbeat. He tensed up and said awkwardly, "No, nothing. I just heard the old woman crying, so I wanted to ask, has my sister-in-law, the housekeeper, encountered any difficulties?"
The old woman thought he was here to help her, but she was startled when she heard his words and was about to cry again, "Second Master..."
Zhao Qingyi glanced at the old woman. "It's not a problem. I just reduced unnecessary expenses in your courtyard, and this old woman started jumping up and down and making a fuss. Now that my uncle is here, it's a good opportunity to confront her face to face. May I ask, in the past three years, have you ever seen bird's nest, milk, or any other alcoholic beverages in your courtyard?"
Li Heng shook his head, "No." His eyes fell on Zhao Qingyi's face without blinking.
Under the scorching sun, her skin, as delicate as cream, was flushed, adding to her charm, but her expression and behavior were completely different from her troublesome appearance.
She said in a cold tone, "That's it. The daily accounts are reported, but the master has never seen them. This is enough to prove that this woman has deceived her superiors and subordinates and embezzled money. Now she still denies it. Qiaoyue, have this woman tied up, beaten with twenty sticks, and sent to the government office."
First courtesy, then force. Zhao Qingyi gave her a chance. Whether she left or not, she could just stay in the yamen.
The old woman finally realized that no one in this house would speak for her, and Zhao Qingyi was a decisive and ruthless person, so she cried and begged for mercy.
"Grandma, please spare me, Grandma, please spare me!"
At this point, Zhao Qingyi's last bit of patience was exhausted. "Drag him away! Beat him!"
The servant dragged the old woman out of the yard, and then there was the sound of a wooden stick hitting her buttocks, accompanied by shrill cries, which reached everyone's ears, and the servants in the yard were silent.
Zhao Qingyi slammed the pile of account books on the table and said, "I'll give you a chance to confess and I'll forgive you. If you confess what you took, I'll forgive you. If I find out, you can all go to the government office together and explain to the officials."
After these words were spoken, coupled with the problems pointed out by Zhao Qingyi earlier, no one dared to look down on her or fool her anymore. A maid had already stepped forward to admit her mistake. Tan Yue Qiaoyue took the account books and checked them one by one. All those who confessed were retained. As for those who were hard-mouthed but black-hearted and had embezzled too much, they were all tied up and sent to the government to be punished.
As for the power of the chief steward of the inner house, Zhao Qingyi handed it over to Tan Yue, assisted by the housekeeper. She redefined the purchasing process, rotated the tasks, and made public reconciliation at the end of the month. She also promised to reward those who exposed corruption in order to clean up the family tradition. She also finalized the expenses of each courtyard, including everyone's monthly allowance and daily expenses, and made sure that the accounts were clear. As for servants who exceeded the regulations, they would be dismissed.
When the trivial matters were dealt with, it was almost evening and the sky was setting in the west.
After Zhao Qingyi finished her last cup of tea, she realized that Li Heng was still in the yard. He had been standing in the scorching sun for half a day and was sweating all over. She gestured to Tan Yue to hand him a handkerchief.
Meeting Zhao Qingyi's gaze, Li Heng seemed to react. He took the handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He said something else, "Sister-in-law is good at managing the household. I admire you."
Zhao Qingyi slightly raised the corners of his mouth.
Li Heng could hardly stand the silence. He clutched his handkerchief, his throat moving slightly. "In the past... my sister-in-law helped me like this before, but I never had the chance to thank her."
It's nothing for a servant in the courtyard to bully his master. If Zhao Qingyi hadn't mentioned the matter of his studying when she married him, he would probably still be suppressed by the Luo family, without even the opportunity to go to the provincial school, let alone take the imperial examination and be proud in front of everyone.
Zhao Qingyi was a life-saving grace to him.
then……
If he hadn't had his brother back then, he would be the one to fulfill the engagement and marry his sister-in-law, right?
The more Li Heng thought about it, the more distracted he became.
Zhao Qingyi obviously wouldn't remember these little things. "It's getting late. I'm going back to my room first. Please do as you please, uncle."
She walked without hesitation, and soon, the only fragrance left in the air was the faint fragrance she brought with her.
Li Heng looked at the place where her back disappeared, and his hand holding the handkerchief tightened little by little.
After returning to Cuizhuxuan, Li Heng opened the low cabinet in the bedroom and took out an ebony box with cloud pattern. He carefully folded the handkerchief given to him by Zhao Qingyi and put it away carefully. This ebony box was a relic left to him by his biological mother, and it contained things that he considered precious.
In the past, the box only contained my biological mother's belongings, but now, there is also this handkerchief.
Li Heng was silent for a long time. Then a servant knocked on the door. "Second Master, the old lady asked us to leave as soon as possible to pick up the master and bring him back to the mansion."
"I understand." Li Heng closed the box reluctantly, put the things back into the low cabinet and locked it.
Zhao Qingyi was not aware of this. He had a lot of important things to do right now and was too busy to handle them all. For example, right now, he had a bad debt.
After taking a bath, Zhao Qingyi put on his coat and sat at the desk, his fingers stroking an account recorded on it. This was Luo's personal account. Perhaps when the power of the family was handed over, the servant accidentally mixed this one in with the account book and sent it to Lanyue Pavilion.
There was an account for raw silk income, with an irregular amount each month, ranging from dozens to hundreds of taels, and increasing every month. However, Zhao Qingyi went through all the account books of the dowry shops and did not find any shop doing raw silk business.
The income of Luo's family was really strange. I was afraid that they collected money from other places under some false pretenses.
Since Luo didn't have any shops under his name, there were only two ways for him to collect money: to take advantage of Li Che's official career to accept benefits, or... to simply lend money to the people at high interest rates.
If Luo really has the courage to do this, she will undoubtedly be digging her own grave. By then, the entire Li family will be implicated by her. If it comes to that, her divorce from Li Che will be a natural outcome.
Zhao Qingyi raised his eyebrows calmly and put the account book away in a locked box.
As soon as the harvest was finished, the mother in charge came to ask for instructions.
"Grandma, I have followed the court regulations and reduced the number of personal servants around the old lady and the young lady from three to one, and the number of menial servants from six to three each. Now each person is only assigned four servants, and the rest have been dismissed. As for the Second Master's room, there has always been only one personal servant and one book boy. I have not touched the people in the Second Master's courtyard. Add the six people in your courtyard, Grandma, and I, the maid, and there are a total of seventeen servants in the mansion. Do you think this is okay?"
“Well done.”
Zhao Qingyi is always easy to talk to people who know the current situation, such as the housekeeper in front of her. When the Luo family was in charge, she was loyal to the Luo family. Now that she is the head of the family, she knows whose orders to obey. At least it shows that she is smart.
"From now on, you must constantly supervise my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law. Everyone in the courtyard must adhere to the rules of respect and hierarchy. There are rules for dining order and dress. If you interact with other officials or merchants, you must report to me. I will handle all matters such as invitations and returns. You must not overstep your bounds. Do you understand?"
This was to completely sever Luo's personal relationships with outsiders. From then on, Zhao Qingyi would be the only one in charge in the mansion.
The housekeeper understood it in her heart and felt that she should be blessed.
"I will remember your achievement today. At the end of the month, go to your account and collect your reward."
The housekeeper smiled happily and praised the mistress a few more times before leaving.
Zhao Qingyi took off her hairpins and rings with the help of Tan Yue Qiaoyue. Just as she was about to blow out the lights and go to bed, Li Susu stormed into the courtyard. She was stopped at the door by the servant, "Sister-in-law, aren't you going too far?"
"Let's just say we have simple meals every day. Now, my mother and I only have eight people to work with in our courtyard. You still want to cut our expenses. How can four or five taels of silver a month be enough?"
Zhao Qingyi had been working hard all day to keep the house in order and was exhausted. She didn't get up to leave, but just sat in front of the dressing table and said, "Don't be angry, little sister-in-law. Everything is done according to the rules. Why can the women in other families live well, but you can't?"
"Rules are dead, but people are alive!"
Li Susu was tired of the rules. Why hadn't she seen Zhao Qingyi be such a polite person in the past?
Zhao Qingyi nodded in agreement. "My aunt is right. People are living beings. My husband's monthly salary is only so much. It's better for my mother-in-law and my aunt to live within their means."
"But you have so much money!"
Li Susu didn't know whether she was so angry that she blurted out what was in her heart. By the time she noticed the surprised looks of the servants in the yard, it was too late.
Zhao Qingyi was taking off the last gold hairpin. When she heard this, she paused, then slammed the hairpin on the table with a "pa" sound, stood up and walked to the door, her eyes calm.
"How much money I have? That's my dowry, my private property. I've already bought a house for your Li family since I married in. The monthly wages for the servants in the mansion are all paid from my dowry. I'm doing this out of kindness, and no one can criticize me. I have no obligation to cover your and your mother-in-law's daily expenses. If you want to blame someone, blame your mother-in-law for not being good at business and not leaving a small fortune for her children. Now, you can only rely on your brother's salary."
After Zhao Qingyi finished speaking, Qiao Yue stepped forward and chased Li Susu out. "Our grandma has done enough, don't push your luck! If you anger grandma, you and the old lady will have to go back to your old Li family residence!"
As the last words fell, the gate slammed shut.
Li Susu was met with disapproval and was so angry that she jumped up and down on the spot, "When my brother comes back in a few days, you will be dead!"
Zhao Qingyi curled the corners of her lips. She wished Li Che would come back soon. She wanted to see how Li Che could support the family with two prodigal women in the mansion, a concubine, and a child born out of wedlock.
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