Gu Tingye looked contented. His strong arms lifted Minglan, along with the quilt, and he kissed her warm, soft face. Minglan, too tired to open her eyes, murmured a few times, and slid her head back under the quilt. Gu Tingye found this amusing, called for someone to change into court clothes, and then left. The ground outside was still wet. The rain had been pouring all night, only gradually stopping at dawn. The March weather was refreshing and pleasant. Raindrops drew transparent arcs along the window sills, and the eaves dripped with a light sound of water.
Another hour and a half passed before Danju came in. He vigorously dug out the petite body curled up in the quilt, helped her bathe and change clothes, and tried hard not to look at the bruises on Minglan's snow-white waist and legs, and the blue and red kiss and bite marks covering half of her body. He just opened the window to dissipate the ambiguous smell in the room.
Minglan endured the burning face and tried her best to ignore Danju's eyes full of pity. It is said that labor is the most glorious, and physical labor is as glorious as mental labor!
After sorting out the personnel matters yesterday, it is time to assign the affairs of the mansion.
The staff at the Gu Mansion was more than enough to serve Minglan and her husband, but it was insufficient to manage the vast Governor's Mansion. The flowers, plants, pond, and vast forest in the back garden alone required at least a dozen people to look after them. The entire mansion, including the main courtyard, side courtyards, and guest rooms, contained numerous rooms. Even if no one lived there, they would still need maids to look after them, lest they become deserted.
In the future, Rong Jie'er, Gong Yi Niang, and Hong Xiao Miss will come, and they will also need to be equipped with all kinds of servants, as well as storehouses, night guards, needlework, laundry, shopping, six or seven kitchens, maids of the first, second, and third ranks in the upper room, maids in the other courtyards, miscellaneous boys, old women, managers of the inner courtyard, managers of the outer courtyard, stables, gatehouses, errand offices, servants... Minglan counted on her fingers twice, but it was still not enough, so she wrote a letter to Hai yesterday, asking her to recommend a reliable boy.
Hai was about to give birth and couldn't move much. She was feeling restless and anxious, so she immediately started working after receiving Minglan's letter. Early that morning, two servants arrived at her house, carrying Hai's name card and leading a large group of people. Minglan had someone open a side hall in the outer courtyard and asked them to wait in the hall while she slowly walked over.
These two girls were women in their thirties or forties, dressed neatly and cleanly, and spoke politely and respectfully. They were used to dealing with dignitaries and officials, so they were very measured in their conversation, neither shouting too much nor looking around. Behind them stood two or three rows of boys and girls, of different sizes, mostly between ten and thirteen or fourteen years old, all standing respectfully with their heads bowed.
Minglan was quite satisfied. She knew that for a prominent family in Beijing like the Hai family, the stewards around the Hai family could recommend some good people.
As the saying goes, every profession has its top talent. In ancient times, there were different levels of prostitutes. The lower-class ones specialized in the shameful brothel business, while the more unscrupulous ones even kidnapped and sold lost children from decent families (the unfortunate Ms. Zeng Yinglian). The children sold by these prostitutes often had unclear procedures and unknown pasts, and if they were not careful, they would cause trouble (the even more unfortunate Mr. Feng).
When truly wealthy families want to buy people, they will have fixed servants to arrange the business. They require that the source of goods be clean, the procedures be simple, and there be no worries at all. The more advanced servants will even pre-train the boys and girls bought from the wasteland in the disaster area, and teach them to behave themselves before selling them. Among the children standing here today, there are basically no particularly naughty and wild ones.
So Xiaoyanzi really can only perform to make a living, and she is afraid that even young men will not look down on her.
Mother Cui pursed her lips tightly, and scanned the boys and girls one by one with a stern look, asking a few questions. She didn't want those who were too eloquent, too charming and pretty, or too timid and sneaky. She only wanted those who were articulate, nimble, and good at sewing. The most important thing was that they were honest and hardworking, as long as they were not too ugly. She picked nine girls and five boys in one go.
Minglan watched with a smile, pretending not to notice the flattering, fawning, or inquiring glances directed at her. Although there were a few pretty and docile girls whom she quite liked, she still had to follow the rules. She asked Mother Cui to take them away, and together with the original children or servants in the mansion, they had to start from the periphery, and train them first before distributing them to different places.
After this was done, Minglan gathered the women and wives and went to the back garden to assign tasks. The assignments ranged from lucrative to lucrative. In theory, the lucrative ones should go to "their own people," but Minglan disagreed. She felt that the truly important task was to tighten control over key departments. And what exactly did "their own people" mean? Heshen was naturally loyal to Qianlong, but that didn't stop him from making a killing; it's clear that loyalty and corruption aren't strictly related.
Let's be honest. We should try to identify the available people first and then assign them according to their strengths.
Minglan sat in an open bamboo sedan chair carried by two people. Danju, who was beside her, led two little maids holding books. They were surrounded by a large group of people. They walked through the territory of the mansion and started to assign tasks. She had done her homework yesterday. According to what she had planned, she clearly divided the garden and pond into contracted areas, and then assigned people to manage and take care of them one by one.
Those who used to grow bamboos will continue to take care of the bamboo forest. The bamboo forest should be tall and elegant, and grow some fresh bamboo shoots and mushrooms. It is best to create a shady area, so that they can use the bamboo to build a small courtyard to escape the summer heat. Those who used to grow flowers will continue to take care of the garden. In addition to providing supplies to the owners of each room in all seasons, they also need to tidy up the garden beautifully. Except for winter, the garden should be full of fragrant flowers on other days... The rest, such as the pond, plum grove, and the back house, have also been assigned people one by one; then there are the guards of the empty houses, the night watchmen in the storehouse, the inner and outer courtyards, and other important places.
After these distributions were made one by one, not only were those who had received the gifts greatly surprised, but even the people of Lai Huatian and Diao Sifang were secretly alarmed.
To be honest, Minglan's appearance and behavior really don't seem to have anything to do with adjectives like "smart and capable" - you know, the powerful mistress starts managing things before dawn, issuing matching cards, checking accounts, delivering silver and money, inspecting various affairs, etc.
Minglan, on the other hand, clearly acted like a wealthy and idle person. This beautiful lady, as pretty as a flower, was charming and gentle, spoke slowly, and treated people with a pleasant face. She even had a bit of laziness in her daily life. She slept for five hours every day, took a half-hour walk after meals, and had her own way of making seasonal soups and stews. She paid attention to health-preserving methods such as eating and resting. She kept herself in good health all day long, with smooth skin, fair complexion, and a rosy glow, and she felt comfortable and refreshed all the time. All other matters were put aside for later.
Faced with such a "lazy" mistress, the maids were not only careless, but also somewhat negligent, and some even had ulterior motives. But when Minglan came forward that day and carefully checked everyone's background, and punished Lai Mama on the spot, everyone began to realize that this lady was not easy to fool.
Today, Minglan assigned tasks in a very logical and reasonable manner, according to everyone's strengths, without any bias due to personal relationships. Only Liu Mangui, who came with the dowry, was appointed to be in charge of the outer courtyard. For tasks such as looking after the gardens, she even kept a surplus of profits in advance as an incentive.
Minglan clearly reiterated the family rule that "the inner and outer courtyards cannot both be in charge". Since Mother Cui was in charge of the inner courtyard, the Cui family was still taking care of Minglan's dowry, the farm and the forest outside. Ji Qiang, who was honest and dull, helped to take care of the carriages, sedan chairs and stables.
Everyone was impressed for a moment.
"As the saying goes, time reveals a person's true character. Slowly everyone will get to know each other's abilities." Minglan leaned against the carved and painted corridor, smiling lazily. "I'm young, so the assignment I'm given may not be entirely appropriate. I'll try for a year and see how it goes. If it doesn't suit you, you can change it. Otherwise, you can tell me..."
The wives and old women were shocked and dared not underestimate Minglan anymore. They were even more awed. They each took up their assignment, patted their chests and made promises, then retreated respectfully.
However, the people from the four families of Lai Hua, Tian Diao were probably the most shocked. They had thought that Minglan was young and fresh-faced, and there was no elder in the mansion who could keep the people in check. The slaves of the guilty ministers might not be reliable, and the newly bought ones were not yet available. It was obvious that they were short of manpower, so they thought they could firmly occupy the important positions. Who knew that although Minglan looked very "decorative", useless and delicate, she was not in a hurry. She had already made calculations in her mind and assigned and coordinated all the affairs in an orderly manner. She did not show any fear or panic from beginning to end.
If they didn't understand, they would ask, and then verify after asking. After verification, a complete plan would be available within a day, and they didn't need to intervene or help at all. Seeing Minglan gradually sorting out the affairs of the mansion, everyone doing their job, and the servants busying around, the huge Gu Mansion was managed in an orderly manner, they began to panic.
All the positions were taken, so what were these old hands to do? Especially Mama Lai and Mama Diao, who deeply regretted offending Minglan right from the start. Now Mama Hua was in charge of sprucing up Kouxiang Garden, where Rong Jie'er would live, and Mama Tian had a small but not insignificant job. So, with only the two of them, one unemployed and the other "recruiting her health," what was going to happen?
Minglan ignored their resentment and led the men straight to the storeroom. She first catalogued the items inside, entered them into accounts, and sorted them into categories. After completing the list, she unpacked a long list of items, such as tripods, furnaces, porcelain, goldware, jade, enamel, bronze, screens, jade basins, and other ornaments. She also took twenty or thirty bolts of fine material and handed them over to the sewing room to make two new summer clothes for everyone. When word spread, the servants in the mansion were all delighted. Unfortunately, their clothes for the four seasons last year had all been bought from ready-made clothing shops. Not only were the materials inferior, but they also didn't fit them well—ready-made clothing wasn't common in those days.
Speaking of the warehouse, Minglan was furious again. When she opened the warehouse to check yesterday, she smelled a faint smell of medicine. She walked around several large houses before she found a large pile of precious medicinal materials in a secluded corner, such as ginseng, angelica, rhinoceros horn, bezoar, musk, deer antler, cordyceps, tiger bone, leopard bone, monkey gall, sea lion kidney, bear bile... There were so many things, it was like a grocery store, and half of the room was filled with them.
Minglan's eyes widened as she watched. Some of the herbs had lost their potency due to improper placement. Faced with such waste, she angrily questioned Gu Tingye. Unexpectedly, Gu Tingye said cheerfully, "...Do you have any tiger bones and bear gallbladders left? Excellent! Brother Cheng Qian will be stationed in Miao territory soon. He's injured his knee and hasn't fully recovered yet, and there's also the malaria and poison in the south. I was thinking of making him two doses of the best tiger bone ointment. Come with me to find them tomorrow!"
Minglan was speechless. This guy completely missed the point of her words. She wondered if he felt the same way when listening to the emperor speak.
While sighing and shaking her head, Minglan sorted out all the herbs and recorded them carefully in a book. Although she was exhausted, she did gain something. She found several very fat and strong old mountain ginsengs and gave the largest one to Mrs. Sheng. She also found some herbs and supplements for mothers and newborns and gave them to Hai and Hualan.
This busy schedule led to the time for beheading. Minglan was shocked to realize that she would have to eat lunch late today, which was a big violation of her health regimen and would affect her nap afterwards. She couldn't help but feel deeply resentful and immediately announced solemnly: Today's work is done, and we will discuss it next time if there is anything else.
After washing up, Minglan sat at the small round table, looked at the table full of dishes, and drank a mouthful of soup. Only then did she feel a little relieved. She put down the spoon, and Xiaotao led a maid in with a food box.
The old woman was about forty years old, tall and strong, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and fat and greasy skin. Her clothes were relatively clean and tidy, and she looked straightforward. She came in tremblingly, greeted Minglan, and then took out a dish from the food box and placed it on the table. The octagonal round plate made of thin blue and white porcelain was covered with emerald green lotus leaves. As soon as the lotus leaves were removed, the room was filled with a rich fragrance.
"Madam, the steamed pork ribs with lotus-flavored glutinous rice are ready. This old servant followed your instructions and first used boiling water with ginger soup to remove the blood and fishy smell, then marinated it with seasoning for an hour, then lightly stir-fried it with boiling oil, and finally put it into a large steamer together with the softened glutinous rice and lotus leaves soaked in rice wine. It was steamed for a full hour and kept warm in the steamer. I just took it out now." The old woman had a rough voice, but she lowered her voice, appearing very flattering.
Minglan first looked at the color and shape, and nodded slightly. The old woman seemed to be slightly relieved. Then Minglan took up her chopsticks and took a sip. A satisfied smile slowly appeared on her face, and the old woman finally relaxed her shoulders.
"Thank you for your hard work, Madam Ge." Minglan put down her chopsticks and smiled. "The key to this dish is the word 'translucent'. The glutinous rice needs to be fragrant with the meat, the meat needs to be fragrant with the rice, and the whole dish needs to be fragrant with the lotus leaves. The seasonings must be thoroughly marinated, and the spareribs and glutinous rice must be steamed thoroughly, so that they are tender and flavorful. If you make it well, the glutinous rice on top of the spareribs will slowly collapse along with the meat soon after they are served."
Mother Ge smiled broadly and said, "Thank you for your advice, Madam. I am a rough person, and I hope you will not despise me."
"It doesn't matter if I'm a rough person or not." Minglan took the teacup and took a sip, rinsing the taste from her mouth with a graceful and elegant gesture. "The place where we cook is a crucial place. I'm entrusting my kitchen to you now. I only hope that you will do your best and not neglect it."
Mrs. Ge smiled and bowed repeatedly in response. Minglan continued, "I have nothing else to say, except this: cleanliness. The food must be clean, the hands must be clean, the accounts must be clean; especially the food between me and the master. If there is anything wrong with it, don't come and complain to me, or I'll start with you!"
Minglan's face was cold and solemn, while Mother Ge looked loyal and made promises loudly, her voice almost shaking the porch down.
"Forget it. I'll assign some wives and maids to help you later. You can go down now. This dish is good. I'll make another portion for the master to try in the evening." Minglan waved her hand, and Mrs. Ge bowed repeatedly and left.
After watching Mrs. Ge walk away, Xiao Tao stepped forward to serve Minglan the dishes, whispering, "She's grown quite plump." Minglan laughed, "All cooks are like this. Even if they don't eat fat, the cooking fumes will make them fat."
"However, her cooking skills are quite good." Xiao Tao was quite moved when she saw the glutinous rice and pork ribs. "No matter what dish you ask, she can make it almost perfectly."
Seeing no one around, Minglan switched to a different pair of chopsticks and stuffed a piece of glutinous rice and pork ribs into Xiaotao's mouth. She smiled and said, "The deposed Duke Ling's Mansion was originally known for its extravagance and luxury. She was straightforward and impatient to argue with others, so she was pushed out to the kitchen. Now I don't have anyone better, so I'll use her for now. After all, her whole family is under my control."
Xiao Tao's mouth was full of delicious food. She mumbled, "Don't worry, Madam. Sister Cuiwei will be coming up from Jinling soon. Then you'll have more people to help you. You won't have to bother with those old guys!"
"Time flies so fast! It seems like only yesterday she got married, and now I'm a mother myself." Minglan thought of Cuiwei, her mind drifting off into the distant past. Then she calmed down and said, "Where were we talking last time? Go on."
Speaking of Xiao Tao, people immediately became excited. She was born with an honest and simple appearance, so many people were willing to talk to her, and they were often not on guard when talking, so that she could often collect a lot of gossip; when it comes to the ability to inquire about information, no one can match her; in the past two days, she has been in frequent contact with the people from the four houses and got a lot of news about the Ningyuan Marquis Mansion.
"Mother Hua is a servant of the Gu family. She has a straightforward temper, but she is willing to talk when I ask her. However, she says very little and refuses to gossip about the host family behind their backs. Mother Tian is very easy to talk to. Before I even open my mouth, she tells me everything as if we were chatting. However, she also speaks very... tactfully. But the other two are not very willing to talk." Xiao Tao reported, and Minglan listened attentively as she ate slowly with her chopsticks.
"That's all right. I've assigned you tasks today. I'll see after a while, and I'm afraid there'll be more to discuss. Just tell me the few things I asked you to ask."
"Oh, okay." Xiao Tao quickly began to recall, "First, there was that Concubine Gong. She wasn't an ordinary maid. She was originally the daughter of a scholar and had some kind of relationship with Madam Yu's mother's family. Later, when her family fell into trouble, she took refuge in the Yu residence. She was said to be Madam Yu's maid, but in fact, they were like sisters, even sharing the same name. Later, Madam Yu decided to raise the concubine—all of this was said by Hua Mama."
"What did Mother Tian say?" Minglan asked with great interest, leaning her chopsticks on the bowl.
Xiao Tao's retelling was absolutely authentic, and she laughed excitedly: "Mother Tian said that she didn't know anything else, she only knew that after Madam Yu went out to make a scene, her husband came back and demanded a divorce, and it was only after the old marquis suppressed him that Concubine Gong was promoted to Concubine."
Minglan said "Oh" - Yu Yanhong wanted to beat Maiman Niang and her son, Gu Tingye was angry, so Yu Yanhong took Gong Hongxiao as compensation.
Xiao Tao's legs were sore from standing, so Minglan kindly pulled her to sit down beside her. She continued, "Later, the son-in-law left the capital, and Madam Yu also passed away. Everyone else in the house left, and only this concubine Gong and a woman named Qiu Niang stayed, saying they were waiting for the son-in-law to return. The Madam then allocated a small courtyard for them to live in."
Minglan listened quietly, her eyes flickering slightly; she had noticed a long time ago what would happen to those women who were taken in by men but failed to achieve a happy marriage.
Generally speaking, if the master is kind, he will give a large dowry and choose an honest and reliable woman to marry. However, if she cannot marry, it is very good. She can either marry a servant in the mansion, or a farmer or a commoner outside the mansion, and of course there are also actors (Jiang Yuhan).
If the master is cold-hearted and cruel, or if she was kicked out because she provoked a suspect, then her fate would be unpredictable.
Gong Hongxiao is a smart person, and as for Qiu Niang, perhaps she is deeply in love with him - Minglan smiled slightly.
"Now about Sister Rong." Xiao Tao, noticing Minglan's relaxed expression, continued, "She was sent to the Ningyuan Marquis's residence nearly three years ago. At that time, the old Marquis had just passed away, and her son-in-law had left the capital. The Marquis's wife and the Dowager's wife were kind-hearted, so they kept her. Originally, she was kept by the Marquis's wife, saying she would keep Xianjie company. About a year ago, the Dowager's wife suddenly asked Concubine Gong and Aunt Qiu to take Sister Rong with her, and all her food, clothing, and other expenses were allocated to Xianjie. This is all what Hua Mama said."
Minglan laughed again. This Hua Mama was a wonderful person and her words were very interesting.
"Oh, and about the other houses." Xiao Tao was talking thirstily. Minglan smiled and poured her a bowl of soup as encouragement. "That Fifth Old Lady really doesn't like Madam Yang. This daughter-in-law was originally betrothed to her since childhood. She is the Fifth Old Master's daughter of the same age. She was originally a housekeeper. But more than ten years ago, her father got into trouble and lost his official hat. Not only did he have a lot of property fined and confiscated. As a result, the Fifth Old Lady is unwilling to enter into this marriage."
Minglan took back the empty soup bowl and said with a smile, "I see. It must be because the Fifth Old Master insisted on keeping his promise that this marriage was arranged."
Xiao Tao gave a thumbs up: "Madam is so smart!"
Minglan pouted and shook her head. This kind of marriage was not easy. Even if she got married and gave birth to a son, the Fifth Old Lady still didn't like her.
"The Fifth Old Master really values Madam Yang. Many times when Master Yang got into trouble outside, it was Madam Yang who begged the Fifth Old Master to forgive him. However, although Master Yang was not very ambitious, Madam Yang's eldest son was a very good man. He was well-educated and sensible, and was highly praised by several gentlemen." Xiao Tao squeezed out the last bit of memory.
Minglan held the rice bowl, licked the chopsticks and smiled - behind every bastard's father, there is usually a successful son; Ami Tofu, I hope the reverse of this law does not hold true.
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