"Don't worry, kid. Since you've asked for help, I certainly won't ignore it. I'll keep an eye on this matter and help you see how it goes."
She responded gently and gave the other party an affirmative answer to show her support.
Wen Zhu then brought up a more practical topic. "The weather has been getting increasingly hot lately, and several servants have fallen ill or are feeling unwell due to overwork. To improve this situation, the young lady has suggested that we place refreshing drinks like mung bean soup and plum juice in various corners for everyone to drink to cool down. I wonder if this measure would be too extravagant?"
Upon hearing this, the Duke's wife's face instantly lit up with a brilliant smile. "It's truly rare to find someone so thoughtful and considerate! Our family has always had the good habit of taking care of our people. Preparing some cooling drinks for everyone on a hot summer day is both reasonable and meaningful, and definitely worth a try. Besides, spending this little money to keep everyone comfortable all summer long is truly a steal!"
After receiving a positive response, Wen Zhu immediately bowed, his gratitude overflowing with words. "Thank you, Madam, for your generous help! I believe everyone can feel your deep kindness and care."
"Don't be so formal! By the way..."
At this moment, the Duke's wife suddenly thought of something and casually reminded him, "Wen Zhu, when you go back, remember to tell your young mistress that starting tomorrow, you can let Shuyan and Shulan learn some knowledge and skills about handling household chores. After all, they will need to support the family independently in the future!"
Wen Zhu understood that the second young lady, Fu Shuyan, had recently been following the lady's guidance and trying to participate in various household management affairs, but she often used the excuse of being unwell to participate for a while and then stop to rest, which made the lady very disappointed with her attitude.
Now, the third young lady is fourteen years old and it is time to talk about marriage. It is obviously not conducive to her personal growth for her to stay in her courtyard all day, so she should start learning how to manage the family and handle relationships with others.
"Okay, I'll go tell her now."
Wen Zhu replied, his tone gentle but firm.
The Duke's wife continued, "According to the original plan, your young mistress was responsible for teaching them some specific ways to handle household chores, but as you know, her health has not been good. I'm afraid it will be more troublesome for you then. You will need to be more careful in raising these two children. Of course, it would be ideal if I could teach them myself, but my main focus right now is on taking care of Bao-ge'er, so I really can't distract myself from other matters. So you must pay more attention than usual and do your best to do this well."
Given that the Duke's wife had always been particularly careful and attentive in taking care of Baoger, Wen Zhu was naturally happy to help her solve her problems. After hearing the lady's arrangements, he nodded in agreement without hesitation.
The next morning, when the first ray of sunlight shone into Qi Fang's yard, the atmosphere in the entire courtyard seemed much heavier than usual.
Su Xiawei looked haggard and in poor spirits because just the night before, after she had taken great pains to sort out the accounts of some of the shops she had brought as a dowry, she unexpectedly discovered some problems - not only had the profits of these shops been declining continuously, but some of them had even begun to make losses.
The most chilling thing is that when she was unable to follow up on the business situation in a timely manner for more than half a year due to health reasons, those old shopkeepers who had once vowed to her that everything was fine now became lazy, and some even began to deceive her about the true status of their own business.
Thinking of this, Su Xiawei barely slept a wink last night.
As soon as the dawn broke, he could not wait to order his servants to bring all the people involved in the matter to his house immediately.
Hongye reported to her in an extremely weak and nervous voice, "Young Madam, regarding the place called Jinxiu Cloth Shop you asked about, the owner said they are returning to their hometown to visit relatives. It will probably take at least a few days for them to return to the capital..."
“The cloth shop that’s losing the most money!”
Su Xiawei was furious, her eyes almost spitting fire. "The person in charge is not here, so where is the deputy? Did he also disappear without a trace?"
"Deputy boss Liao went south to purchase cloth."
Hongye answered cautiously, in a low voice, as if afraid of triggering her master's anger.
Hearing this, Su Xiawei was stunned at first, then a sneer appeared on the corner of her mouth: "Oh, he said he was going to buy cloth? Then he must have taken a lot of money with him, right? I guess even his family went with him? I don't think these two people are going to the south to do business, but are running away with a lot of money!"
After saying that, she slammed the table hard, making a deafening sound.
The maids serving on the side were so frightened that their faces turned pale. They dared not say a word and could only lower their heads and remain silent.
"Immediately send reliable personnel to track them down! No matter what, we must capture these two who have escaped the net!"
Su Xiawei gritted her teeth and gave the order, her voice filled with uncontrollable anger.
Following the instructions, Hongye hurriedly went to find a man to handle the matter.
When the housekeeper stepped into the courtyard, Su Xiawei didn't even want to hold up the screen that blocked their way. She sat directly on a chair by the corridor with a gloomy face and began to ask questions to the person in charge of each store one by one.
At this moment, Wen Zhu led the two young ladies into Qifangyuan.
Since there were male managers on the scene, it was extremely inappropriate for unmarried girls to appear in public, so they had to follow Wen Zhu to retreat to the side hall and peek at the situation outside through the carved window panes.
From time to time, the sound of sticks hitting bodies could be heard outside the yard, which was creepy.
Watching all this, Fu Shuyan smiled contemptuously and asked in a sarcastic tone, "Is this how sister-in-law handles things on weekdays?"
"Young Madam is not usually so harsh. She is usually very gentle and considerate to others. It seems that these people did something very excessive this time, which made her so angry."
Wen Zhu lowered his eyes and explained softly.
Shu Yan looked at Su Xiawei venting her anger with a playful look on her face, with a hint of gloating in her eyes.
Wen Zhu brought a pot of fragrant tea and several jade-white cups from the tea room, and carefully filled the two young ladies' cups with drinks. Her hands seemed particularly steady and delicate at this moment.
At this moment, she inadvertently turned her head and noticed that the third young lady's face was pale, as if she had been extremely frightened, and her face became pale and bloodless.
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