She was not surprised to hear that the lady said that she would give Yuanniang's concubine to her. After all, Luo Yuanniang's concubine was brought from the Luo family. After Yuanniang's death, Zhun Ge should inherit her. Now Zhun Ge was young, and if she gave her to someone else, gossip would inevitably spread. Since she was Zhun Ge's stepmother and her aunt, it would be better for her to give her to anyone else, which would save her trouble.
She smiled and nodded in response, and said, "I will go back and meet my eldest sister's companion later. I will ask you for advice on how to arrange it."
The lady nodded.
A little maid came in and reported: "The third lady is here."
"Let her in!" The lady responded with a smile, and Eleventh Lady went to lift the curtain herself.
The third lady came in with a maid wearing a blue silk boa, who was holding a few account books in her hands.
Eleventh Lady couldn't help but take a look at the maid. The pretty girl turned out to be Qiu Ling who asked her if she was tired in the back garden that day.
"Third sister-in-law!" After greeting the Third Lady, Eleventh Lady nodded towards Qiu Ling.
Qiu Ling looked embarrassed and lowered her eyelids uncomfortably. Was it the change in her status that made her like this? But she felt that Qiu Ling was not that kind of person. Otherwise, she would not have chased after him that day to ask him!
Eleventh Lady was surprised, but Third Lady had already taken her hand and said, "Oh, how dare you trouble Fourth Brother's wife!"
I'm a new employee, so it would be better for me to do more things like serving tea and water, and lifting the curtain to welcome guests.
"You're too polite, sister-in-law!" She replied to the Third Madam with a smile, then stood behind the Grand Madam and gave the east kang seat where she had just sat to the Third Madam.
The third lady hesitated for a moment, but did not sit down and stood in front of the old lady.
The old lady smiled and asked the third lady, "What's the problem?"
The Third Lady looked at Eleventh Lady, seeming to want to say something but stopping herself.
Eleventh Lady smiled and said to the Lady Dowager, "If you have nothing else to do, I will go back first."
The lady nodded and said with a smile: "If you have nothing to do, come over to my place in the afternoon to play cards."
There is always money involved in playing cards, and money involved means profit... It is unwise to fall into another circle of right and wrong before you have figured out the family relationship. Moreover, once you start, you will probably have to accompany the old lady to play cards frequently, delaying your own business. But she couldn't refute the old lady's words, so she could only act stupid at the card table and let the old lady give up on her own initiative.
The thought flashed through her mind, and Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "Okay. I don't know how to do it yet. It's a good opportunity for me to ask Madam for advice."
The lady smiled and said, "Go ahead! I'm sure there are still a lot of things waiting for you in the courtyard."
Eleventh Lady knelt down and bowed, and was about to leave.
The Third Lady stopped Eleventh Lady and said hesitantly, "Speaking of which, this matter is also somewhat related to Fourth Brother's wife... You just came in, and I'm afraid you'll be unhappy if I tell you, but if I don't tell you, I don't know what to do..."
Eleventh Lady saw a flash of surprise in the lady's eyes.
Obviously, the lady didn't know about this.
Eleventh Lady smiled slightly and said, "Just as Third Sister-in-law said, I just came in and don't know many rules. If I violated them unintentionally, please give me more guidance."
The lady nodded slightly after hearing this.
When the Third Lady saw this, a look of embarrassment appeared on her face: "It's like this. Fourth sister-in-law, you also know that Fifth sister-in-law is pregnant. The Imperial Astronomical Observatory calculated and said that the child is incompatible with those born in the Year of the Ox. I asked Qiu Ling to make a list of all the people in the mansion who were born in the Year of the Ox. And as for Fourth sister-in-law..." As she spoke, she glanced at the Old Lady.
Eleventh Lady smiled slightly. Before the engagement, the two families would discuss the betrothal gift, the man would draw up a list of the property that was divided for him and give it to the woman, and the woman would also draw up a list of the dowry for the man. I guess the Third Lady had checked her people... Dongqing was born in the Year of the Ox!
If all the heads of the family had to avoid it, she naturally couldn't stand out, but if she was the only head of the family, this would probably not be so easy.
She glanced at the lady.
I noticed that the lady looked hesitant.
She had a clear idea of the attitude towards the lady. Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "But where do I find people born in the year of the ox?"
The Third Madam smiled and nodded, and took the account book from Qiu Ling: "It seems there are four. One is Dong Qing who serves my sister-in-law, one is Chang Jiuhe's companion, one is Wan Daxian, the eldest son of Wan Yizong, and one is Liu Shengchun, the second son of Liu Yuanrui."
In other words, four out of her five groups were involved.
Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "Offspring is a big deal, and we should avoid it according to the rules. Sister-in-law, give me the list, and I will hand the people over to you." She added, "I just don't know where these people are distributed? Speaking of which, I also have two dowry courtyards. If you can use them, Sister-in-law, just ask."
The Third Madam laughed and said, "It's not necessary to move the courtyards under the names of the daughters-in-law..."
"Eleventh Lady's words reminded me of this." The old lady suddenly interrupted the third lady, "Yizhen also has a maid who was born in the year of the ox. Although we asked them to stay away because of the fifth child, if the news gets out, people will think that our family is chasing them away."
"Mother!" The Third Lady looked anxious, "That's not what I meant..."
The lady shook her head and said, "You don't have to worry. This was originally my idea, and you just followed it. It's just that I didn't think it through at first, and I didn't expect so many people to be involved. I think that the people in each room should be settled in their own rooms. This way, each room will not be short of people and can't handle it."
At this point, no one dared to refute. The Third Madam immediately smiled and said "Yes", and ordered Qiu Ling: "Give the Fourth Madam the name of the person born in the Year of the Ox in her room."
Qiu Ling replied "yes" in a low voice, but her eyes looked at Shiyi Niang differently.
Eleventh Lady remained silent, and took the note that had been written long ago and clipped into the account book with a smile, then said goodbye to the lady-in-waiting: "...This is a top priority, I will go and settle these people first."
Seeing that she didn't say anything, not only obeyed, but also acted vigorously, the lady smiled with satisfaction: "Go!"
Eleventh Lady took Amber out of the lady's yard.
Amber then spoke up: "Madam, did you really send her away? The fourth room's maid originally came from Yuhang, and we don't know her at all. If we act like this, I'm afraid that others will think we are afraid of the third room's people..."
"I know!" Eleventh Lady smiled, "But things always have their good and bad sides. Maybe this is a good thing!" As she said that, she looked at where the Fifth Lady lived and smiled.
* * * * * *
They returned to the house and Mother Tao was still waiting there.
Shiyi Niang simply ignored her and asked Hubo to call her chambermaids.
Amber responded and left, calling the fourth room's chambermaid to come.
Since there were four rooms, that meant four families. They all came in together and the room was immediately full.
Except for Jiang Bingzheng and a woman in a parrot green Lu silk jacket who were secretly looking around, everyone else kept their heads down and did not move at all.
Eleventh Lady asked Amber to select people according to the list.
Knowing that the woman wearing the parrot green Lu silk jacket was Liu Yuanrui's wife, he kept it in mind.
She also noticed Wan Daxian, the eldest son of Wan Yi Zong - a young man who looked very energetic and honest, and was the same age as Dong Qing.
Eleventh Lady kept Jiang Bingzheng and the other three to talk.
"…So those born in the Year of the Ox must temporarily retreat to the farm."
Jiang Bingzheng immediately said, "Madam, this won't do. If we let them control us like this, how can we handle things in the future?"
Eleventh Lady smiled and nodded slightly: "So what do you have in mind?"
Jiang Bingzheng immediately laughed and said, "I am a fool, I don't have any ideas. I listen to my wife in everything. If my wife tells me to go east, I will never go west. If my wife tells me to go west, I will never go east." He then asked the three people behind him, "Do you think this is the truth?"
Liu Yuanrui and Chang Jiuhe nodded repeatedly, but Wan Yizon just lowered his head.
Eleventh Lady asked Jiang Bingzheng, Liu Yuanrui and Chang Jiuhe to leave, and left Wan Yizon to talk.
"What do you think?"
Wan Yizong was very surprised. He was silent for a long time, then showed a determination to cut off his arm, and whispered: "We are new here, so it's better to follow the crowd."
The fact that he knows how to wash his nails clean shows that he is a person who is very strict with himself; the fact that he can say what he just said shows that he is a very pragmatic person.
Eleventh Lady was very satisfied with him. She asked, "Why do you want to be my companion?"
She saw that Wan Yizong's family was dressed neatly and elegantly, and she believed that he should be doing well in his original place.
Wan Yizong said respectfully: "There are more opportunities in Yanjing!"
"Oh? What opportunity are you referring to?"
Wan Yizong said, "There is little land in Jiangnan, and even fewer families can hire people to help manage the crops. I have three sons, and they will inevitably become registered as farmers if they learn a trade. It's different in the north, where there are many large farms with thousands of acres... so I followed them."
His voice was calm, but the beads of sweat on his forehead betrayed his nervousness.
Eleventh Lady smiled and asked her, "I only know that I got two farms as a dowry, one with more than 500 acres and the other with more than 300 acres, both in the Wanping area. But I don't know what these two farms grow? What is the harvest each season? Which families' fields are they next to? Please report to me within five days. Is there any difficulty?"
Wan Yizong raised his head and looked at Shiyi Niang in astonishment. After a long while, he said, "I obey your command."
Eleventh Lady brought the tea and he retreated respectfully.
"Don't I have a courtyard with four entrances in the north of the city?" She instructed Amber, "Ask Dongqing to bring some money over there and temporarily place everyone there. We'll make specific arrangements for who goes where in a few days!"
Amber hesitated and said, "Why don't you call Jiang Bingzheng and others in to ask them? Otherwise, I'm afraid that the Wanyi Sect will become the target of public criticism..."
I want to make him the target of public criticism so that he will know that the only way to survive is to follow me.
Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "Not for now. Let's see how the Wanyi Sect behaves!"
Amber naturally didn't dare to say anything else. She called Mother Tao in, and then went to Dongqing to tell Eleventh Lady what she had said.
According to the Madam's tone, the people left behind by Yuanniang were temporarily handed over to Mama Tao. First, she was not a proper mistress, and there were some things she could not make decisions on; second, the Third Madam was now in charge - unlike before, when Yuanniang was watching, now she was in charge of the household affairs independently. A new emperor has new ministers, and a good job like a comprador must have been replaced by her own people long ago - people like Mama Tao only had a monthly allowance of two taels, let alone others. Without other income, it was hard to live on the monthly allowance alone.
It goes without saying why she was in a hurry to find herself!
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