In the living room, Zhao Shuhua bowed respectfully to Zhao Yiming and timidly called him, "cousin."
Aunt Xu interrupted her quickly, "Shuhua, you should call the head of the family."
Zhao Yiming raised his hand and said, "It's okay, it's not wrong for her to call me cousin."
Aunt Xu was stunned, and she felt a little more happy in her heart, and also a little more looking forward to what she asked for.
Without saying much, he took out the account book in his arms and handed it to Zhao Yiming.
But Zhao Yiming didn't respond. "Since I gave you the account book, it means I want you to continue to manage the household. What does Aunt Xu mean by this?"
Aunt Xu first stepped forward and placed the account book in front of Zhao Yiming's desk, then stepped back and knelt directly in front of Zhao Yiming.
Seeing this, Zhao Shuhua also hurriedly knelt down with her mother.
Zhao Yiming remained silent, waiting for Aunt Xu to speak.
Aunt Xu lowered her head and leaned to the ground, saying, "I, a humble concubine, have failed the master's trust. Although I bear the title of housekeeper, I am unable to carry out the responsibilities of a housekeeper. I have watched the evil servants act tyrannically, but was unable to stop them. I am truly unfit for this position. I beg the master to revoke his order."
Zhao Yiming sighed, then stood up and said, "I thought Auntie was a smart person, but it turns out I was wrong.
I originally thought that since An An hadn't entered the house yet, it would be difficult for her to interfere in the affairs of the mansion. I was also too busy to handle everything, so I could only ask Aunt to take over the housekeeping duties temporarily. Since Aunt is in a difficult position, then..."
Before Zhao Yiming could finish, Aunt Xu hurriedly said, "The master of the house has ordered me to obey you wholeheartedly. However, I have no power and am powerless!"
Zhao Yiming stood up and glanced at her, knowing exactly what she was thinking.
But if you want the horse to run, how can you not let it eat grass! He didn't want to leave this mess in the mansion to Tian An. Aunt Xu was a suitable knife. As long as the request was not excessive, it was not impossible to satisfy it.
"What do you want?"
Aunt Xu lowered her head even more. "I have no other requests. I only hope that when the mistress enters the mansion one day, she can choose a good match for Shuhua."
Zhao Yiming smiled and asked, "What is a good match?"
Although he didn't understand Zhao Shuhua, no matter how well she was trained, she was just a concubine's daughter. If her standards were too high, he would be unable to help her.
Aunt Xu said, "I don't seek wealth and glory, I just want to be the mistress of a mansion and have no worries about food and clothing."
She knew herself well and did not expect too much. She only hoped that Zhao Shuhua could be her wife in the future and that she could live a decent life without worries about food and clothing.
Zhao Yiming nodded secretly, and when he walked to Zhao Shuhua's side, he casually said: "Although women are not allowed to go out of the main door or the second door, you should not stay in the house all the time. When you have time, you can go to the general's mansion to talk to An An. Go out more often, get in touch with more new things, and broaden your horizons."
"Thank you, cousin."
"Thank you, Patriarch."
Knowing that Zhao Yiming had agreed, Aunt Xu was happy from the bottom of her heart and pulled Zhao Shuhua to kowtow and express her gratitude.
Zhao Yiming handed the account book on the desk back to Aunt Xu and made his first request since entering the mansion: "The expenses in this mansion are too chaotic. Let's get everything back on track starting tomorrow!"
Aunt Xu knew that this was referring to Zhao Ningsong and his wife and his mother. They were obviously just concubines and illegitimate children, but their food, clothing and other expenses were still the same as before, according to the regulations of the old lady and the head of the family.
After quickly agreeing, Zhao Yiming said, "Mrs. Xu has been in the mansion for a long time, so she is more adept at doing some things. I'd like to trouble you to check this account as well!"
As she expected, Zhao Yiming indeed knew about the account books.
Aunt Xu quickly calmed down and replied, "I will do my best."
Finally, Zhao Yiming said, "Since the master's status has been lowered, the number of servants should be reduced. Although the Duke's Mansion is not short of money, if it continues to be extravagant and wasteful, even mountains of gold and silver will be emptied. Madam Xu can handle these matters. Don't ask me again."
Aunt Xu knew that she was asked to clear out the people, so she agreed immediately. Seeing that Zhao Yiming had no other instructions, she took Zhao Shuhua and left.
Unexpectedly, just as they reached the door, a guard stopped them and saluted them, saying, "In order to facilitate your affairs, the Duke has specially sent a subordinate, Chi Wei, to assist you. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask."
Aunt Xu didn't think that Zhao Yiming was sending someone to monitor her. After all, if he wanted to monitor her, he would have done so long ago.
He then bowed towards Zhao Yiming, thanked him, and then left with Chi Wei.
At that moment, she felt that her surrender to Zhao Yiming was an extremely correct choice.
When they were halfway there, Aunt Xu sent Zhao Shuhua back to the yard first, and she took the maid and Chi Wei directly to Wang's yard.
The indentures of the servants in the mansion were still in Wang's hands. If she didn't get them back, she would have no way to clear them out.
This was also her fault for being inexperienced at the time. She only knew that the housekeeper needed to take the account books and the warehouse keys, and had never thought about the indenture contract. This led to her inability to control the servants.
Soon, they arrived at Wang's yard.
Because of the incident that happened during the rain when the house was demolished, there are very few people in Wang's yard now.
Apart from her dowry nanny, there was only a housemaid who swept the floor and a young maid.
When they arrived, Wang's dowry, Nanny Zhang, was scolding the little maid. Her hands were almost swollen. The little girl had pimples on her face. She was obviously in great pain, but she didn't dare to cry out.
Aunt Xu directly asked someone to bring the little maid to her side. Although she was only an aunt, she treated the servants well on weekdays. At least no one in her yard had ever been beaten.
When Aunt Xu came in aggressively, Nanny Zhang was about to run in to inform Wang.
As a result, Aunt Xu waved her hand, and two maids immediately grabbed her, pulled her apron and blocked her mouth.
Leaving the servants outside, Aunt Xu went into the house alone.
Wang was beaten quite badly by Zhao Ningsong last time, and because she lay on the floor all night, she caught a cold and was still lying in bed in a coma.
Seeing someone come in, she thought it was Aunt Zhang, "Fuyu, please ask the doctor to come and see me. I feel like I'm burning again."
Aunt Xu moved a stool and sat in front of her bed.
Looking at Wang Shi lying weak and unable to take care of herself on the bed, she felt no sympathy in her heart. She curled her lips and said, "It is of course fine if Madam wants to see a doctor. But before that, I would like to ask Madam to return something."
Wang rubbed her brows dizzily and looked carefully for a long time before she realized that the person in front of her was Aunt Xu and not her confidante, Aunt Zhang.
As the saying goes, enemies meet and their eyes become red. Wang forced a trace of disdain and sarcasm from her pale and frail face. "Humph! Return the things? You've already taken the housekeeping power. What else do I have that's worth your concern?"
Aunt Xu paid no attention to the expressions on her face. She stood up and walked around Wang's new room before saying, "I left in a hurry to help Madam with her funeral arrangements, and I forgot about the indentures of the servants in the mansion. I've come here today to retrieve them."
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