Chapter 101 Becoming a Monk (Part 2)

Mother Tao's face suddenly turned red, and she could not help but say, "Madam, I am worried about my aunt and you. She is so reckless in saving money, I am afraid she will tamper with the accounts. Then, she will either blame our aunt or leave the rotten stall to you? She gets the good income, but we have to take the blame for her!"

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "The money for the inner courtyard should have been transferred from the outer courtyard office, right? The office should not have two managers who are in charge of the inner courtyard's accounts! How much was transferred? How much was used? How much was left? There are rules to follow. Even if the accounts are not clear in the past two or three years, the eldest sister has been in charge of the family for more than one or two years. The accounts of the early years should have been deposited in the treasury. She should have done something a long time ago, but it was only a few years ago that she wanted to turn over all the previous accounts. I'm afraid her hands are not yet so sharp. "It's so long that it can reach the office." At this point, she smiled and said, "Besides, she is so impatient to reform, and it's not just our interests that are affected. If no one else says anything, why should we take the lead? Even if we take a step back, the third lady is the housekeeper, and it was decided by the old lady. Even if there is a big mistake, it was the old lady's intention. Can she still shout and kill so that everyone knows about it? Isn't the third lady relying on this little talent to give orders? Just sit there and manage it!"

Mother Tao looked at Eleventh Lady, who looked calm and composed, with shock in her eyes.

Didn't the first wife say that she was young, quiet, but also a little cowardly? How could she know all this!

The thought flashed through her mind, and she immediately realized that the eldest wife had mistaken the person.

Mother Xiang was confused. If she was confident about what she had said before, now she was full of doubts. She knew the importance of "being prepared". Many times, it was because of being prepared that she could escape unscathed. But now, how much did this Eleventh Lady reveal, and how much did she hide in places they couldn't see? What was her real purpose? Would she embarrass Brother Zhe? Everything made her sweat down her spine as soon as she thought about it...

For a moment, she looked at Shiyi Niang with a look of caution. "Madam is right! We need to think about this matter carefully."

Eleventh Lady watched as Mother Tao's expression changed from shock to confusion, from confusion to worry, and from worry to trying to calm herself down... She couldn't help but smile slightly.

It seemed that her goal had been achieved. The Xu Mansion was so complicated that the only people she could use, and who were allowed to use them, were the people left by Yuanniang. She wanted to cooperate with these people, instead of being used by them or being used as a shield. She had to show them her ability. Otherwise, no one would take her words to heart.

So she took this opportunity to ask Mother Tao some more important questions.

"...Do you know how many properties the Marquis has?"

Mother Tao hesitated for a long time, with a frown on her face, as if she was not sure what to say.

Eleventh Lady looked at him without any haste to ask, but said, "Don't you think it's strange that the Third House is in such a hurry to save its fortune?"

After hearing this, Mother Tao's expression changed, and she said hurriedly, "Speaking of which, in order to support the emperor's succession, the old marquis sold most of the family's property. After the second master died, the old marquis felt that things in the world were unpredictable, so when he was alive, he divided the remaining property of the Xu Mansion - including the deceased eldest master, one share for each person. Later, the old marquis died, and the marquis inherited the title. The family was in chaos due to internal and external troubles, and the eldest lady was still alive, so no one mentioned the matter of dividing the family. As a result, the family became better and better, and no one mentioned it anymore."

Eleventh Lady pondered and said, "Do you know who is in charge of the deceased master's share?"

Mother Tao said: "At that time, I took it out to buy sacrificial land. The old marquis said that future generations would also remember the merits of the great master."

"How many acres in total?"

Mother Tao's forehead was already slightly sweaty: "There are two thousand acres in total."

Two thousand mu. When the eldest wife bought the land for her as a dowry, it seemed that one mu of land was five taels of silver. Based on this conversion, each family can get 10,000 taels of silver. In other words, the Xu family has no more than 50,000 taels of silver. This should also include real estate, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, which will be discounted once they are sold. What they actually get may not be 10,000 taels of cash... Looking at the Xu family now, the embroidery in the Fairy Silk Pavilion in the Qingwei Xiaoyouche is worth a lot of money, not to mention the furnishings in Yuanniang's room and the green flowers and trees in the Taifu's yard all year round. And Xu Lingyi received three salaries. The Marquis of Yongping received 1,300 taels of silver and 522 shi of rice per year, the Junior Tutor of the Crown Prince received 720 taels of silver and 288 shi of rice per year, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Five Military Commands received 522 taels of silver and 210 shi of rice per year. Even so, sometimes the silver would be converted into silk…

She couldn't help but look at Mother Tao with a smile: "That is to say, not a lot!"

Mother Tao's face changed slightly when she listened: "Why haven't I thought about this in detail... I've always wondered why the Third House is such a smart person, but she's jumping around so anxiously. It turns out that the so-called public treasury money is all the property of our Marquis... And the Second House wants to buy a painting today, and a vase tomorrow, and she doesn't feel sorry at all for spending hundreds or thousands of taels. I'm surprised that the eldest aunt has never been a stingy person, so why did she get angry with the Marquis over money two years ago?" As she spoke, she was already confused.

Eleventh Lady's eyes flickered as she listened. She smiled and said, "Don't worry, mother. Since there is no money in the house, all we are using is the dowry of the old lady. Maybe the second lady is also using her own dowry!"

"Oh, what do you know?" Mother Tao was a little excited. "You" also became "you". "When the Second Madam married, she only had a small farm of 400 mu and a dowry of 36 kg. I heard that some of the 36 kg dowry was filled by the Tai Madam with her own money to save face for the Second Madam. Later, the Second Madam became a widow and had no children. The Tai Madam was afraid that she would have no one to rely on, so she divided her dowry. The Second Master, the Fourth Master, and the Fifth Master each got one portion. The Second Master's portion was given to the Second Wife, and the The Fifth Master's account was taken out when the Fifth Lady was engaged, but our eldest aunt never saw the account of the Marquis. When you got married, it was not written at all how much land and property should be allocated to you... and the Marquis got the 10,000 taels of gold and 10 mu of good land. At that time, the eldest aunt was no longer alive, and you had not yet entered the house. Where did this account go? No one knows!" As he said this, he turned around and said, "No, I have to ask someone in the office to inquire about this matter. These properties, but Chun Ge also has a share!"

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but sigh secretly after listening to this.

The beauty of the silk moved people. Xu Lingyi was not dead yet... It was no wonder that someone was willing to kill and burn people for the sake of property.

"Don't worry about this." She understood what she wanted to know and said with a smile, "Don't make a fuss about something that didn't exist."

Mother Tao thought what she heard made sense and suppressed her excitement. Eleventh Lady saw that it was getting late, so she sent Mother Tao away and went to the Lady Dowager's place.

The Fifth Lady had not arrived yet. The Third Lady was holding the account book and talking to the Dowager Lady. When she saw Eleventh Lady come in, she stopped talking and saluted Eleventh Lady with a smile.

She thought of what Mother Tao said about the Third Lady wanting to reform the kitchen system!

This should be what you are talking about!

Eleventh Lady returned the gift with a smile, then walked forward to greet the Dowager Lady, and said with a smile: "Mother and Third Sister-in-law are settling accounts, right? Then I'll go help Wei Zi and the others to prepare the chopsticks." Having said that, without waiting for the Dowager Lady to speak, she turned around and went to the west room.

The third wife continued the previous topic: "... This way, we can save those people from arguing over meals. It will save a lot of trouble."

The lady smiled and asked, "Who is the chief manager of the kitchen?"

The third lady's smile was somewhat forced: "It's Gan Laoquan."

The lady looked at her and said with a smile, "In that case, let's do as you say!"

"Yeah." The joy could not be concealed on the third lady's face.

"However..." The lady changed the subject.

The third wife immediately showed a nervous look: "But what? Just tell me what to do, mother!"

The lady took a sip of tea slowly and said calmly, "However, let each room come up with the menu of what they like to eat, and then let the kitchen match it accordingly. Don't make your own decisions and cook whatever you want."

The third wife quickly responded with a "yes", but her expression was somewhat disappointed.

"Since everything is fine, why don't you help Eleventh Lady set the table?" The lady said calmly, "She is young and just got married, and you are her sister-in-law, so you need to behave properly."

The Third Lady was even more suffocated in her heart. She took a deep breath, then stood up with a smile and said "yes". Mother Du, who was serving the Lady Dowager, couldn't help but sigh.

The lady sighed as she listened: "You want to ask me, I clearly knew that she wanted to save money, why did I let her do it?"

Mother Du smiled and said, "You have always been kind-hearted. You are pitying the Third Madam and are worried that she will have a hard time in the future."

"I don't pity her." The lady looked a little lonely, "I pity Qin'er and Zang'er." She added, "Speaking of which, she must have put a lot of thought into it to come up with this idea. It's a pity that her mind is focused on other things!"

Eleventh Lady had dinner at the old lady's place, helped her to sleep, and then went back to sleep.

Dong Qing was already waiting there anxiously: "Madam, the grandmother said that she will find time to come and see you later."

Well, it's done, there's no going back. Since we can't tear each other apart, everyone has to discuss how to persuade the first wife and how to tell Shi Niang about this.

She woke up from her nap, but her grandmother hadn't come yet.

Eleventh Lady was afraid that the eldest lady would not be able to find her when she came, so she left a message and went to the lady's place first, arriving at the door just in time.

The lady just got up and said with a smile: "This child is on time!"

Mother Du was helping the lady put on her shoes and said with a smile, "That's right. This morning was the same as yesterday. Chen Zheng was still a quarter of an hour away."

The lady said "Oh" and raised her eyebrows.