Chapter 15 The Flying Catkins That Came to the Door in the Middle of the Night
Min Rong gave Wu a sharp sidelong glance, "Are you trying to say that the old lady's illness shouldn't be treated? Or are you trying to say that the old lady can't eat precious things like ginseng and deer antler?"
Madam Wu quickly explained, "Your Excellency has misunderstood. That's not what I meant, and that's not what I was trying to say."
Min Rong grew increasingly impatient. He stopped looking at the ledger in his hand, casually tossed it onto the table, and coldly asked, "So what do you want to say?"
Madam Wu quickly said, "After the old lady recovered, she gave all the servants of Songhe Hall a month's salary as a reward for their hard work in taking care of her."
Is it really such a small matter?
Min Rong frowned slightly, when Wu Shi hurriedly said, "There's more. After that, the old lady bought twelve maids into the mansion on the grounds that Songhe Hall was short of manpower. This was another considerable expense. But there are plenty of maids and servants in other parts of the mansion. The old lady didn't say she would move people from elsewhere when she was short of people, and insisted on spending this extra money unnecessarily."
Madam Wu muttered to herself, but seeing that Min Rong didn't seem to care, she quickly moved on and continued, "That's fine, but the old lady sent someone to tell me that from now on, the monthly wages of the maids in Songhe Hall will be increased by 30% according to their rank. That's another expense. There are twenty maids in Songhe Hall now! Their monthly wages are already quite high, and now each of them will have to pay an extra 30%..."
Hearing Wu's innocuous complaint, Min Rong's lips unconsciously curled into a sarcastic smile.
Is that stupid woman Wu only concerned with the fact that the maids at Songhe Hall earn more money than others?
Didn't they realize that if this were actually implemented, wouldn't the other servants in the Marquis's mansion become dissatisfied? Aren't they worried that the servants in the Marquis's mansion might cause trouble?
Min Rong immediately saw the crux of the problem, but he had his own plans and therefore did not intend to remind Wu.
Then Wu continued, "Also, during the day, the old lady hired two storytellers from somewhere to come to the mansion, which cost her another ten taels of silver."
"All things considered, in just a few days, the old lady has spent more than thirty taels of silver. Adding to the old lady's illness, she has spent more than three hundred taels of silver in total!"
Madam Wu said earnestly, "My lord, our manor is truly in dire straits. We can't even come up with a hundred taels in our accounts right now. Please persuade the old lady to be more frugal."
Min Rong was shocked. Such a large Marquis's mansion couldn't even produce one hundred taels of silver from its accounts?
Min Rong was somewhat skeptical. But when he thought about Min Qiao's background and the hardships the Marquis's family had faced in the past, he understood.
After thinking for a moment, Min Rong said, "The end of the year is approaching, and the income from the various estates and shops should be arriving soon."
Upon hearing this, Madam Wu's face lit up with joy, but she still insisted, "What about the old lady..."
Min Rong waved his hand impatiently, "Thirty taels isn't a large sum. The old lady doesn't manage things anymore and is happy to spend some money on entertainment. Just go along with her. Do you expect the old lady to manage the household?"
“What the Marquis says is true,” Madam Wu said awkwardly. “Then I will follow the old lady’s wishes. At worst, we children will have to make do.”
These words clearly imply a plan to withhold money from the second and third wives.
Min Rong curled his lip in disdain, thinking that was all the Wu family had to offer.
Min Rong turned to go into the inner room, but just as he lifted his foot, he turned back. "Get Xi'er's engagement annulment settled quickly. I ran into Minister Yu today, and he mentioned his little grandson to me again."
Upon hearing this, Madam Wu's face lit up with joy, and she quickly replied with a smile, "Don't worry, my lord, I'll take care of it tomorrow."
Min Rong didn't reply and went straight into the inner room.
Wu then began to consider breaking off the engagement.
***
At midnight, when all is quiet.
Feixu came to Songhe Hall alone and secretly knocked on the courtyard gate.
The maidservant Ajiu, who was in charge of guarding the door, opened her eyes the moment she heard the door open.
Ajiu was one of the twelve newly purchased maids.
Because the Dowager Madam hadn't given individual names to anyone except Wei Jia, Wei Jia arranged them in order of age.
The name Ajiu came from this.
The previous gatekeeper maid was sent to work elsewhere. She took over the gatekeeper's job.
She got the job of a gatekeeper because she was a vigilant sleeper and liked to sleep fully clothed.
So she woke up as soon as the doorbell rang, and without even getting dressed, she threw off the covers, slipped on her shoes, and went out to open the door.
Upon opening the door, A-Jiu saw a thinly dressed, shivering stranger outside. She couldn't help but ask, "Who are you? Why are you knocking so late?"
Ah Jiu had never seen Fei Xu before, so she didn't recognize her.
But before Feixu could reply, Ajiu realized what was going on and tentatively asked, "You're not Feixu, are you?"
Feixu was already shivering from the cold and wished she could go inside to warm up. She immediately nodded subconsciously and said, "I, I am Feixu. Please let me in. I have, I have something important to report to the Grand Madam."
Feixu was so cold that she could barely speak, but as she spoke, she tried to go inside.
Ajiu pouted and reached out to stop the person, "The Grand Madam has given the order that you are not allowed to enter."
"I...I really have an urgent matter to attend to, I need to see the Grand Madam!" Feixu gritted her teeth and reached out to push Ajiu aside and force her way in.
She believed that as long as she told the old lady what had happened, the old lady would surely forgive her and let her return. Therefore, the important thing now was to see the old lady.
In her eyes, Ajiu was just a little girl of eight or nine years old, thin and small. Could she really stop her?
However, the reality was that when she reached out to push Ajiu, Ajiu remained unmoved. Once she relaxed her strength, Ajiu gave her a gentle push, which sent her stumbling back several steps and falling to the ground with a thud.
Feixu looked at Ajiu as if she were a monster.
Ah Jiu looked at Fei Xu as if she were trash, "Trying to get past me? Dream on!"
"You can't be unaware that one of the gatekeepers at Songhe Hall was kicked out of the hall because he let you in with the Lady of the Marquis, can you?"
Ah Jiu said impatiently, "Isn't the Grand Madam's attitude obvious enough? Why did you have to come? You're just causing trouble!"
After saying that, he slammed the door shut.
Feixu sat blankly on the ground, staring at the tightly closed courtyard gate, her heart churning with turmoil.
But she still didn't want to give up! The lady said this was her last chance!
Just as she was wondering whether she should shout loudly to attract the Grand Madam's attention, the door suddenly opened again.
Ah Jiu peeked out and looked at her fiercely, warning, "If you dare knock on the door again, I'll throw you into the lake. You try me if you don't believe me!" She waved her arm as she spoke.
After making those harsh remarks, Ajiu closed the door again.
Feixu sat on the cold ground for a long time before slowly getting up and walking towards the Begonia Courtyard.
After taking a few steps, she suddenly stopped, turned back to look at the gate of Songhe Hall, and muttered resentfully, "Grandma, you forced me into this! You are so cruel and heartless to me, so don't blame me for not showing any mercy to you as your servant!"
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