Mrs. Zhou listened and laughed softly: "Didn't I tell you to save a seat for me? Now you know it's a headache, right?"

Eleventh Lady smiled awkwardly.

Madam Zhou looked at her and smiled, nudging Eleventh Lady with her elbow: "We are all mothers. Others may not know your concerns, but I should know them. What's more, Zhen Jie'er is the only daughter of the Marquis and has been raised in the Madam's house since she was a child. If you agree, I will find a time to bring her to you to see!" As she said that, she covered her mouth and laughed, "She is not one of those people who are selling dog meat under the guise of selling mutton!" With these words, the other families were thrown into the gutter.

When I looked up, I saw Mrs. Li coming towards me.

"You guys are here!" she laughed, "I was just about to go and see what's going on."

Madam Zhou and Eleventh Lady said nothing more, and smilingly went with Madam Li to the back room which was used as the bridal chamber.

Madam Li leaned close to Eleventh Lady's ear and said, "Speaking of which, our Lord Chen is also the head of all officials, but look at this house..." Then she laughed, "Speaking of which, it's not as good as ours. At least our master knew to buy some property for his children. Not to mention his daughter's dowry, he bought a three-story house for each of his two sons in Guishu Hutong. They have different entrances and exits through the same gate, but the houses are close to each other. They don't create any rifts in small matters, and they can help each other in big matters." There was something else in her words.

Eleventh Lady didn't know what to say, so she smiled and praised General Li for his vision.

"...I'm not bragging. Although our master is not very good at being an official, he lives a reassuring life. If there is an inheritance in the family, it is given to the eldest son. But we are more careful with our second son, and we supervise him more strictly than the eldest son in terms of academics and martial arts." Madam Li said with a bit of pride on her face, "He passed the military examination at the age of twelve and will take part in the military provincial examination this autumn!" She added, "I can't say anything else, but if he lives alone, we, as parents, don't worry at all that he won't be able to make a difference!"

Eleventh Lady had not asked about the situation of General Li's second son before, because she was afraid that it would be difficult to refuse if she got in touch with him. Now, she was secretly surprised when she heard what Madam Li said. Just as she was about to exchange a few pleasantries, a little maid came in and invited everyone to the flower hall: "...start to set up the table."

The people in the room returned to the hall in twos and threes.

When she got home, she first asked about Xin Jie'er's condition. After learning that she had stopped coughing after taking medicine, she talked about going to Chen Ge Lao's house to attend the wedding banquet.

The lady was also surprised to hear that the second son of the Li family was going to take the martial arts examination this autumn. She pondered and said, "Send someone to inform Chief Steward Bai and have him investigate the background of the Li family."

Eleventh Lady nodded.

The lady said again: "As for Madam Zhou, it is easier to go quickly than to go slowly. We can go and see her while the fourth son is not at home. We can wait until he comes back to reply."

Eleventh Lady discussed with the Lady Dowager: "How about we set it for two days later - the Dragon Boat Festival is coming soon."

The lady nodded and said, "Send Madam Song to give Madam Zhou a reply tomorrow!"

Eleventh Lady replied "yes", and the lady-in-waiting smiled and urged her to go down and rest: "... You have been busy all day, and you still have to run around for Sister Zhen's affairs."

"This is my job." Eleventh Lady smiled and exchanged a few polite words with the Lady Dowager, then returned to the Chui Lun Water Pavilion.

The foot-high account books were neatly stacked. Amber whispered, "It only took one afternoon for Madam Wen to check the accounts." Then she took a piece of plain paper and gave it to Eleventh Lady, saying, "This is what Madam Wen wrote. It lists the expenses that were too large and the expenses that did not have the signature of the person in charge." Then she sighed, "Madam Wen is really good at calculating. I think few of the managers in the outer courtyard of our mansion can compare with Madam Wen."

"Really?" Eleventh Lady took the account book with a smile and started flipping through it.

Every detail, every item, was recorded clearly.

She nodded slightly and asked Amber to send someone to invite Madam Wen over.

Mother Song came in and replied, "...the things have been delivered. Mrs. Jiang said thank you for your concern. Mrs. Jiang and Miss Nine will be here before the Dragon Boat Festival."

Only then did Eleventh Lady realize that Jiang Song's daughter was the ninth child in the family.

She nodded slightly and asked Mother Song to go to Princess Fucheng's residence tomorrow: "... Tell Madam Zhou that the Dragon Boat Festival is in two days, and only the day after tomorrow will be free. Otherwise, we will have to wait until June 6th to dry the clothes before we can rest."

Although Mother Song didn't know what it meant, she still said "yes" respectfully and stepped back.

Eleventh Lady sat down and drank tea while carefully flipping through the account book.

The little maid came in and reported: "Madam Wen is here!"

Eleventh Lady invited her in and sat down.

She was a little uneasy: "I just calculated the bill according to the signed deposit form, and I don't know if it's correct?"

It means that if there are still some bills to be settled, Eleventh Lady has to find someone to get the signed form.

As expected of someone who comes from a merchant family, he is well versed in the unspoken rules of the accounts.

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "I took a look and there's nothing wrong with it." Then she told Amber to put it away and said, "I'll check it with the housekeeper's mother tomorrow morning and then hand it over to the account office."

Madam Wen was a little surprised.

What Eleventh Lady did was equivalent to paying the actual amount.

She couldn't help but remind him softly, "Every year, the money allocated to the Outer Court is based on our consumption in the previous year. If there is too much surplus this year, I'm afraid the money allocated to the Inner Court in the future will be lower than in previous years. If there is a year of flood or drought and the harvest is poor, the prices of grain, rice, melons and fruits will rise, and I'm afraid we won't be able to make ends meet. If we ask the Outer Court for money again, others will think we are spending too much!"

If the expenses are too high, then Eleventh Lady is no longer capable of managing the household!

In his words, he was thinking about Shiyi Niang wholeheartedly. But Shiyi Niang felt that instead of being so lavish and letting the managers below take advantage of their own abilities, it would be better to put this matter on the table. This was not something that could be decided by just discussing it with Madam Wen.

"You have a point." Eleventh Lady smiled, "It's just that this is a serious matter. I think it's better for the Marquis to come back. It won't be too late for me to discuss this matter with him before we make any plans."

Madam Wen seemed to want to say something but stopped herself.

Eleventh Lady changed the subject and told her about her visit to the Chen family.

Madam Wen listened carefully and said, "Then, Madam will meet with the Wang family the day after tomorrow!"

"Yes." Eleventh Lady said, "I have to take a look at Madam Zhou's place anyway."

Madam Wen also knew that this matter had to be handled with caution, so she refilled the cup of tea for Eleventh Lady and handed it to her: "Madam, you have worked so hard!" Her tone was very sincere.

Eleventh Lady took the teacup and said, "There is just one more thing I want Madam Wen to help me with."

After hearing this, Madam Wen hurriedly said, "Madam, please give me your orders!"

"I've heard that Madam Wen is good at calculating. I want you to help me check the accounts of the inner house in the past few days, and then see how much each expenditure accounts for? Is there any change every year?"

As soon as Madam Wen heard this, she knew that Shiyi Niang was talking about insider talk. But these were all matters for the mistress of the house. Today was Shiyi Niang's wedding banquet, and she was in a hurry to reconcile the accounts with the outer courtyard, and to check the accounts of the inner courtyard for several years... She looked a little confused.

When Eleventh Lady saw this, she whispered, "A single tree cannot make a forest. Besides, this is Madam Wen's forte." She said it very sincerely.

Madam Wen thought for a long time and said resolutely: "Since Madam thinks highly of me, I will do my best."

Eleventh Lady nodded with a smile. The next day, after checking the accounts for that month with the housekeeper, she asked Amber to move the account books of the mansion for the past three years back to the water pavilion. She asked Madam Wen and Amber to check the accounts in the east room while she did needlework with Zhen Jie'er in the east room of the water pavilion.

Zhen Jie'er looked up several times and wanted to say something to Shiyi Niang, but when she saw Shiyi Niang's calm and peaceful face, she held back.

Eleventh Lady saw it all but pretended not to know.

People should learn to play to their strengths and avoid their weaknesses.

Mathematics has never been Eleventh Lady's strong point. Otherwise, she would have chosen to study accounting.

Instead of using such a good accountant as Madam Wen, she just uses the abacus herself... She should just do some embroidery and drink some tea.

As the thought flashed through her mind, Yan Rong had already instructed the maid to bring up peaches, plums, cherries and cut melons.

The peaches are nectarines that were gifted from the palace. Each one is as big as a small fist, and you can’t find such good quality ones anywhere else.

Eleventh Lady asked Yanrong to deliver some cherries to Madam Wen and Amber who were doing the accounts in the east room, and then she and Zhenjie washed their hands and ate cherries.

The Bin Daisy is here.

Eleventh Lady hurriedly called her over to eat some fruit.

Bin Ju had her hair combed into a bun, and wore the pearl flower and lilac-colored Hangzhou silk jacket given by Shiyi Niang. She walked forward to pay her respects to Shiyi Niang and Zhen Jie'er, and sat on a small stool beside them.

"How is your embroidery going?" Eleventh Lady handed over a peach.

Bin Ju thanked her and took it with a smile: "I just started embroidering it. It's a painting of plum blossoms, and I just finished embroidering the twisted branches of the plum blossoms."

"This will be quick." Eleventh Lady said with a smile.

Bin Ju smiled and nodded, "There is free lunch in the mansion. I just need to cook one in the morning and one in the evening."

The two were chatting.

Sister Zhen ate a few pieces of cantaloupe and went to embroider.

Eleventh Lady then said to Bin Ju: "I want you to come to the mansion to help me teach Sister Zhen and her children how to play red."

"Me?" Bin Ju was very surprised. "I'm not as skillful as Madam."

"I have too many trivial matters to teach her wholeheartedly." Eleventh Lady said, "I want you to give some advice to Zhen Jie'er. Come after breakfast and leave at noon. I will also provide a meal for her at noon. You can also bring your embroidery work to do. This way it won't delay your family affairs. One tael of silver a month. What do you think?"

"Madam, what you asked is very strange." Bin Ju laughed and said, "If you have anything to ask, just tell me. But I haven't learned even one tenth of your skills, so I'm afraid I'll delay the young lady."

After all, Bin Ju was married and was someone else's daughter-in-law. My original intention was to help her and solve my own difficulties.

Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "You should go back and discuss it with Daxian..."

But before she could finish her words, Bin Ju said with a smile: "What is there to discuss? Of course, I'll listen to you, Madam!" This made Shiyi Niang speechless.

Bin Ju returned home and told Wan Daxian.

Wan Daxian was a little worried: "Can you do it? Don't embarrass Madam. The eldest daughter is the daughter of Yongping Marquis Mansion, not our Xier."

Bin Ju smiled and said, "Although I am not as good as Madam, there is no one else in the mansion who wants to surpass me except Sister Dongqing!" As soon as she finished speaking, her expression was a little embarrassed.

Wan Daxian was stunned when he heard this, his lips twitched slightly, he wanted to say something, but he looked like he didn't know what to say.

The room fell silent. Both of them felt a little uncomfortable and the atmosphere seemed a little weird.

The two looked at each other at the same time and asked each other in unison: "Have you eaten?"

After the words fell, Wan Daxian and Bin Ju couldn't help but smile at each other.

The slight embarrassment just now disappeared.

Bin Ju hurriedly said, "I'll go cook!"

"I'll light the fire." Wan Daxian followed his wife to the kitchen.

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