That afternoon, Minglan wrote a letter of recommendation to Brother Changbai, attached an immediate homework, and immediately sent it over to see if Changbai had time to meet with the children.
Then, Minglan started to count on her fingers until they felt sore.
In ancient times, civil servants paid great attention to working hours, but their off-duty times were quite relaxed (Note 1). However, Changbai was still working in the Hanlin Academy. He was afraid that the emperor would suddenly summon the scholars to make reports, so he never dared to leave work early. Therefore, even if Changbai had time to meet people, he could only wait until his day off (Note 2). Then he would look for a suitable school and recommend people there... which would take several days at most.
Then Minglan called all the housekeepers and servants in the mansion and gave them some instructions, asking them to fulfill their responsibilities and give them instructions. She announced that she would be away for a few days and that any difficult matters would be handled by Madam Cui. If necessary, she could send an express horse to report to the suburbs of Beijing.
"You are all experienced people, so I think it won't make much difference whether the master is here or not." Minglan smiled and sat at the head of the table. "I'll take a look at how it goes when I get back."
The male and female stewards standing below knew it all too well. Many of their positions now had the word "temporary" in their names. If Minglan did not perform well while she was away from home this time, she might be kidnapped immediately. So everyone nodded in agreement.
Minglan asked Hua Mama and Liao Yong's family to stay alone and talk.
"You only have one job, and that is to keep an eye on Kou Xiang Yuan." Minglan whispered softly to Hua Mama, "Especially Sister Rong. If she has a headache or a fever, go to Xuancao Hall and ask for Doctor Zhang, and report to me at the same time."
Mother Hua secretly thought it was a good trick. She had specially asked the Dowager Lady to send her to look after the three masters of Kouxiangyuan. If anything happened to them, the Dowager Lady would not be able to escape the blame. She glanced at Liao Yong's wife next to her, thinking that the Dowager Lady must have had countless spies here. If she made any move, she would probably be punished like Mother Lai.
At this point, it would be better to follow Mother Tian's example and vote for the Second Madam. She immediately agreed solemnly.
"I won't say much more." Minglan looked at Liao Yong's family with a smile, "Just take care of what you need to be careful of."
Liao Yongjia's face darkened and he lowered his head, saying, "I've taken note of Madam's instructions. I've already taken care of the stables. If there's anything else, Madam will be informed within two hours at the latest."
She had known for a long time that these people were not like hereditary servants who had long-standing relationships and respect. If they made mistakes, they would simply be sent back to their hometown. They were originally servants of convicted officials who were sent here with the mansion, and their reputation was already bad. If they made any more mistakes, they would be sold off immediately, and no one would say that Minglan was mean and unsympathetic.
Besides, when Minglan married into Chengyuan, she had limited staff around her, so she had to recruit new people. Whoever could perform well at this time would be promoted immediately. Moreover, Madam Cui was old and not energetic, and Cuiwei was too young. If she could do her job well and gain the trust of the lady, she would have at least ten years of dignity.
She secretly made up her mind to keep a close eye on the mansion.
They were busy like this until dinner time, and Danju was still directing the maids to pack up the boxes and baskets, from clothes and valuables to tripods, incense burners, and even the wooden tub for bathing, all had to be packed and put into the car.
Gu Tingye was very surprised when he saw it, and said with a smile: "You are so straightforward, you leave as soon as you say you will. I thought you would not be able to leave until the day after tomorrow." In his mind, most women are slow and procrastinating.
"I'll leave at 11:00 AM tomorrow morning. Danju will stay here to continue packing, and I'll leave when it's almost done." Minglan held a pen and carefully marked the surface of the paper. "I'll probably be at Xiaoyu Manor before lunch and spend the afternoon there. By then, Heishan Manor should be ready. We'll stay there tonight. Have Ah Meng escort Danju and the gifts directly there. We'll go to Guyan Manor in a few days."
Xiaoyu Manor was her dowry manor, managed by Old Cui. Old Madam Sheng would visit it twice a year, and she herself had been there several times. It had always been running well. This time she was just going to visit it after the marriage to indicate the handover. However, the other two manors not only covered a very large area, but Minglan also didn't know anyone from the manager to the tenants, so it would be necessary to put in some effort.
"It's just a farm. It won't make much money throughout the year. You don't have to worry too much about it." Gu Tingye frowned slightly, as if he didn't think much of the harvest from the fields.
Minglan strongly disagreed. The essence of household management was that any income other than fixed assets such as land could not be counted as normal income. The expenses of a large family should be equal to the fixed assets, so that the extra surplus could be used widely.
However, she had other reasons for wanting to revamp the two farms. She shook her head and said, "I'm not concerned about the money, but I'm worried that if we neglect management, something bad will happen and we'll have to bear the consequences. We might even be blamed."
When she was a child, she accompanied Old Lady Sheng to inspect the farm and saw the children of tenant farmers begging on the roadside. At that time, Old Lady Sheng taught her to be careful of having her reputation tarnished by treacherous servants; if she met a mean master or a deceitful manager who did not treat the tenant farmers as human beings, and bullied men and women, not to mention causing deaths, the case would be covered up hastily.
Minglan took note of it carefully at that time.
Gu Tingye's strong back was leaning leisurely against the headboard, flipping through a thick stack of booklets in his hands. Under the dim light, he was eager to look at Minglan's delicate face like white jade. She was wearing a white satin lingerie, which made her look petite and fragile. However, she was holding a purple-haired jade pen with a serious face and writing on the paper. The fingers holding the pen were as white as rice paper, and the fingertips seemed to be dyed green by the jade. She looked as cute as a doll pretending to be an adult.
He didn't take it seriously and said with a smile: "Every tree and grass is an enemy."
Minglan wrinkled her upturned nose at him, put down her pen, stood up, and sat on the edge of the bed. She slid down Gu Tingye's arm and leaned against his chest. Suddenly, she asked, "You're right. Farming doesn't bring much. So what kind of business can make the most money?"
Gu Tingye was stunned for a moment, then laughed and said, "You've got me stumped by this question. Killing pigs? Robbery?"
Why was the slaughter of the pig followed by robbery? Minglan was puzzled, but she didn't dwell on the question. She still shook her head and said, "No, I once heard Mr. Zhuang say that the most profitable businesses in the world are nothing more than five: salt administration, mining, grain transport, border trade, and maritime transport. In other words, they are all businesses that can only be carried out with the approval of the court."
Gu Tingye slowly put away his smile.
Minglan continued, "Then who is in charge of these large-scale transactions now?" Gu Tingye's face was a little grim. Minglan looked at him and said word by word, "I don't know who is in charge, but it shouldn't be the emperor's."
Gu Tingye looked solemn, and after a long while, he nodded.
"I didn't think anything of it at first, but that day Mr. Gongsun let me know that the treasury was empty. That's when I realized something was amiss," Minglan whispered. "Although I'm a woman, I can see that the Emperor has great ambitions."
What usually accompanies great ambitions is the recovery of power. To rule in a centralized manner, the most important thing is the purse and military power. There is money, but it is not in the national treasury. There are soldiers, but they do not obey the emperor's orders.
Then the next thing is simple. Either they are willing to hand over their money and power honestly, or the emperor "asks" them to hand it over.
"The great victory in the Northern Frontier years ago was a fortuitous success, allowing you to open a gap. Since the military there isn't doing its job, the Emperor can legitimately reduce personnel. This will put fear in the hearts of those involved in border trade." Minglan twisted herself to climb off the man's body, kneeling upright on the bed, and said sternly, "Didn't you say that the Emperor originally intended to send Lord Geng to garrison the Northern Frontier? Then, he was implicated."
Gu Tingye frowned and said solemnly: "It's his own fault." The implication was that Minglan's guess was half right.
Behind each censor is a group of censors, and behind a group of censors is the entire clean-minded literati community. They have formed a solid network of relationships with their fellow teachers and students and classmates. Under the benevolent rule of the late emperor for more than 20 years, many of them have gradually been connected with powerful and aristocratic families, and are comparable to cliques. They have money, power and connections, and they have influence in the inner palace, the court, the army, and the local prefectures and counties.
When it rains, it flows onto the ground, and the crops suffer. Minglan doesn't want to be a cannon fodder.
"Mr. Gongsun is right." Gu Tingye paused for a long moment, looking at Minglan quietly, and then said, "He said that you are good at thinking and judging, and have an open mind. Although you are a woman, you are worthy of advice."
"Thank you for your compliment, sir." Minglan blushed.
"But you never ask me about court affairs?" Gu Tingye asked curiously.
Minglan hugged her knees, curled up her small body, and said embarrassedly: "Grandmother said not to ask men about official matters. If you think I should know, you will tell me." There were many times when she really wanted to ask.
Gu Tingye looked at her for a long time, his eyes dark and unfathomable, before he slowly said, "When I was young, my father once told me that it's easy to dodge an open spear but hard to guard against an arrow from the dark. Many generals who were skilled in marching and fighting died in times of peace. If I ever have the opportunity to go into battle, I must be careful about my behavior, so as not to be caught by anyone."
Minglan was shocked when she heard this, and her fingers suddenly clenched the man's arm. Gu Tingye comforted her and hugged her, pressing her into his arms, saying softly: "Don't worry, although the censors love reputation, they are not stupid. They know who can be reported and who cannot be reported. The emperor is in need of people now. Not to mention that I have nothing to do, even Old Geng is fine."
He put his arms around Minglan, their bodies pressed tightly together, and they lay quietly for a while, each heartbeat audible. Gu Tingye smiled and kissed Minglan's little face: "I'll tell you what you want to know in the future."
"Yeah!" Minglan smiled and nodded. She leaned forward and kissed his nose hard. She blinked and said, "You're working so hard outside. I can't help much, but at least I won't cause any more trouble for you at home!"
Gu Tingye was touched. He rubbed Minglan's head and whispered, "Father-in-law is far-sighted and has raised his children well."
Minglan stuck her head out of his arms, looking quite proud: "Mr. Zhuang once said that if I were born a man, I would definitely achieve something." As the two of them struggled, the collar of Minglan's clothes had come loose, revealing a curve of snow-white powder mark, half of which was connected to her bellyband embroidered with light yellow and emerald green lotus petals, and her plump breasts were trembling slightly inside.
Gu Tingye stared at her for a while before sighing, "You'd better be a woman."
…
The next morning, Minglan went out with the Tu brothers, accompanied by servants and guards. There were about three or four carriages, and Minglan sat in the second one. Xiaotao beside her was so excited that she couldn't sleep all night and kept chattering all the way.
"You've never been out of the house in your entire life!" Luzhi couldn't help but taunt, "It's not like we haven't been to Xiaoyu Manor before." She turned to Minglan and said, "Madam, you should get some more sleep so you don't feel tired when the time comes."
Minglan nodded dazedly. She always liked to sleep late and get up late, so she hadn't woken up yet. Xiaotao quickly made the quilt and let her lie down half-leaning. Then she turned to Luzhi and whispered, "Sister Qinsang and Xiao Cuixiu can't come this time. They're so sorry. Xiao Cuixiu's eyes were red when I left."
Luzhi glanced at Minglan and saw that she seemed to be asleep. She lowered her voice and said, "We can't all come out at once. We need someone to watch the house! Sister Cuiwei can't stay here all day. You have to trust others!"
"Of course I know that, you said it!" Xiao Tao bit her ear, "But doesn't Ruomei want to stay this time? Why do you have to bring her out? She looks so reluctant."
Luzhi pouted and said with a slight disdain, "That girl is restless now. Madam is afraid she might do something wrong, so she brought her out here. Maybe... she can find a son-in-law for her in the manor?" As she spoke, she changed the subject and deliberately teased Xiaotao, "And find a marriage for our sister Xiaotao as well!"
Unexpectedly, Xiao Tao thought about it blankly for a while, then nodded: "That's not bad."
Luzhi smacked her lips and turned her head away speechlessly.
【Author has something to say】
Note 1: The Yuan Dynasty's "Zhiyuan Xin Ge" states: "All government offices must conduct their affairs at dawn. All matters that should be discussed and dispatched on the same day must be completed before they are dispersed."
Note 2: This article tentatively states that this group of ancient civil servants had one day off every ten days.
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