The hall beside the Inner Ceremonial Gate was very lively. There were three groups of people questioning. The teenage girls were all under the supervision of Xiao Cuixiu and Bisi, while the rest of the people were questioned by the two groups of Danju Ruomei and Qin Sang Luzhi. The length of time each person was questioned varied. The younger ones had simple experiences and could finish their stories in just a few words, while the older ones had a lot of stories to tell.
Danju was careful and took out a few screens from inside to separate the people. In this way, if the questions involved personal privacy, others would not be able to hear them. For example, the wife of Hao Dacheng, who worked in needlework, was a second-married man. The previous husband was beaten to death when the master's house was confiscated many years ago. Hao Dacheng, the manager of the outer courtyard, was also a slave of a criminal whose wife had died. So the widower and the widow got together and had children.
The grandeur of Chaohui Hall resonated with Minglan, who felt it resembled a museum exhibition hall. So she moved to a side hall adjacent to the hall to listen to Mr. Gongsun's accounting. Gongsun Baishi appeared relaxed, stroking his long beard in a more refined manner than Sheng Hong. Several stewards and accountants stood below him. Minglan pointed at the account books and asked a few questions, and they all responded with respect and courtesy.
"Sir, you've worked so hard," Minglan said in thanks. "Sir, you are such a great man, yet you have to deal with such trivial matters now. It really makes things difficult for you!"
Gongsun Baishi looked at the account book Minglan was pointing at and smiled bitterly, "I am a carefree person. These are not my strengths. Since the governor established his office, I have been suffering terribly."
Minglan pointed at Xiaotao and asked her to bring her tea. She smiled and said, "Sir, why do you need to say that? Even if the governor were to take care of these trivial matters himself, I'm afraid it would be the same. They say you can kill a chicken with a butcher's knife, but if you really use a butcher's knife to kill a chicken, it usually doesn't kill it well."
Gongsun Baishi's mouth curled up, and he couldn't help but smile: "That's very true!"
During the conversation, he found that Minglan had an elegant manner of speaking and active and unique ideas, which he found quite interesting. However, there was a difference between men and women, and he was not a servant in the Gu family. After a while, he got up and said goodbye, leaving a servant to take Minglan to the inner study.
"My name is Gu Quan, Madam, you can just call me Little Quanzi." Gu Quan was about thirteen or fourteen years old, with a round face and narrow eyes. He smiled with a quick wit and looked very clever. He walked in front, leading the way for Minglan, and spoke with a smile, "...You are my benefactor. Back then, I was begging on the streets. If it weren't for you, not even a bone would be left."
Minglan really wanted to say, it’s not certain, maybe you can become the leader of a gang.
Following an east-west passage outside Chaohui Hall and passing through a hanging flower door with a screen of flowers and trees, Minglan arrived at the door of the inner study. It was two large rooms connected on the left and right, with ear rooms on the left and right, and two small greenhouses and porches in the front and back, all for rest. Minglan nodded secretly. If Gu Tingye and herself quarreled in the future, she could sleep here out of spite.
Stepping inside, she saw a complete library, a painting table, a zither table, an altar, and a desk. The six south-facing windows were clean, evidently freshly swept. Two large, iron-clad beechwood boxes sat on the floor. The four bookshelves lining the walls were bare. Minglan scanned the boxes, then, with a wry smile, instructed Gu Quan to open the boxes and take out the books, one by one. Then, following the pattern of Changbai's study, they briefly sorted and categorized them. Under Minglan's direction, Xiaotao and Gu Quan, sweating profusely, moved the books one by one onto the shelves.
Her fingers caressed the brand-new book covers. "The Analects," "The Great Learning," "The Doctrine of the Mean," "Mencius," "Huainanzi"... the study was perfectly equipped. Minglan was even pleasantly surprised to discover a few rare copies. However, judging by the dust accumulated on them, all these books served only one purpose: display. So, she didn't bother rearranging the shelves. It was rather unsightly to leave so many empty shelves. She'd better go out and buy some interesting historical and literary pieces tomorrow.
After arranging the bookshelf, Minglan began to tidy up the desk. There were the purple stone inkstone from Huzhou, the Yunyan inkstone from Southern Jiangsu, the white jade brush washer with ink from Qionglin, a rack of purple rhinoceros hair brushes from Doubi to Xiaoqing, and three stacks of snow-white and delicate swallow-shaped paper with gold mud on the side of the table. Minglan arranged them one by one with her own hands, sighing as she did so - Oh, tender flowers, why do you only love cow dung?
After tidying up the study, Minglan had just returned to her room to rest, massaging her legs and back, when Gu Shun, another of Gu Tingye's servants, rode back to the mansion and announced that Gu Tingye would not be returning for lunch that day, leaving Minglan to eat alone. Actually, Minglan didn't mind. In fact, apart from childbirth, women could do most things alone, and eating lunch alone didn't affect their appetite.
But as a good wife, Minglan still had to ask a few questions to show her respect: "Where is the master going to eat?"
Gu Shun wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve and panted, "I heard that the court was very lively today. It lasted until the end of the 4th hour before it was adjourned. As soon as the court was over, the emperor summoned me and several other generals to the palace for a meeting. He said that they had dinner there as well."
Minglan said softly, without any expression. Instead, she looked at Gu Shun who was very tired, and asked Xiaotao to wring out a cool wet towel for Gu Shun to wipe his sweat. Xiaotao also offered a buy-one-get-one-free deal and poured him a bowl of tea.
Gu Shun gulped down the tea, took a deep breath, and thanked Minglan with a smile. Seeing Minglan's gloomy expression, he added, "Madam, don't worry. This kind of thing has happened before. Sometimes the emperor summoned him, and sometimes he asked other generals to take him away."
Minglan was just a little tired, not surprised. Hearing this, she smiled and said, "Look how tired you are. If this happens again, you will be so tired all the time. You have to go back to find the master later."
"Madam, what are you talking about?!" Gu Shun's voice was loud and clear, his face full of excitement. "My life was given by the master, so what's the point of talking about being tired? If the master and the lady say a word, I will run my legs off without a murmur!"
Minglan laughed: "You'd better keep your leg! Xiaotao, quickly give Xiaoshun some fruit to eat, and grab some money to buy him some snacks."
Xiao Tao ran in quickly, and when she came out, she was holding a whole plain porcelain plate of candied golden dates in one hand, and a handful of copper coins in the other. She poured them all into Gu Shun's pocket. Gu Shun thanked her with a smile on his face and went out.
Danju was quite smart and knew to ask the kitchen staff first. After she finished her questioning, she sent them off to start cooking. This way, lunch was not delayed. Minglan looked at the table full of dishes and said softly, "Tell Ruomei and the others to eat first and take a break. It won't be too late to ask them later in the afternoon."
Xiao Tao folded her sleeves into three layers in a polite manner, raised her wrist to serve Minglan rice, soup and vegetables, and said, "Don't worry, Miss. Luzhi is very smart and won't starve herself."
Cai Huan, who was standing by, also smiled and said, "Don't worry, Madam. I just asked the little girl to ask, and I heard that several ladies in the kitchen personally carried the food trays to deliver the food."
Minglan then picked up her chopsticks and said with a smile, "You are quite clever."
Cai Huan looked a little embarrassed. "I'm new here, and I'm not very smart. I don't know the rules here, Madam. I can only watch and learn. I hope Madam won't dislike it."
Minglan swallowed a mouthful of fish politely and smiled, "Don't worry, just take your time. A journey of a thousand miles tests a horse's strength, and time reveals a person's true character."
Cai Huan smiled respectfully and flatteringly, then continued, "When I was with Madam, I always heard her praise her as the most outstanding of the girls. She was smart and discerning, knew how to use people, and was the most carefree and well-behaved of the sisters in the courtyard."
Minglan put down her chopsticks, picked up the spoon and took a sip of soup. She glanced at Caihuan and smiled faintly, "As long as you're not hopelessly stupid and are willing to work hard, you can always improve your manners. What's important is our relationship. They've been with me for almost ten years, so we're naturally close. I know you're a good person, so take it slow and let's spend more time together. Now, go have dinner too. I'll ask Xiaotao to watch the gate this afternoon, and you can accompany me to the front to take a look."
Caihuan's face suddenly brightened and she went out happily.
After she left, Minglan put down the spoon, pondered for a moment, and asked in a low voice: "...What do you think of this person?"
"She's talkative and nosy." Xiao Tao pouted. "But she's good at sewing, and she's hardworking. She's always eager to do anything."
Minglan poked at the rice with her chopsticks. "It's normal for people to be nosy. Newcomers always want to know more, but I'm afraid... Never mind. We can't be so paranoid. Xiaotao, remember, don't let her into my room. There's plenty of work outside for her to do."
Xiao Tao responded seriously: "If she is smart, she won't act on her own; if she is good, the young lady won't treat her badly."
"I hope so..." Minglan lacked confidence, a common problem among legal workers.
After dinner, Minglan touched her pitiful little bones and thought it would be more reliable to have a good sleep to gain weight so that she would be more resistant in bed in the future. So she rolled into the bed with a yawn. In a daze, her mind was full of thoughts and thoughts about the past two days.
The capital city was awash in rice and laurels. Since Hai came into the family, there were ten masters, three concubines, and four maids in the Sheng Mansion, a total of seventeen people, with fifty-eight people including maids, servants, and managers. After Hai gradually took charge of the affairs, Minglan often went to help take care of Quan Ge'er, and sometimes she heard a few words from them. She learned that the annual expenses of such a family, including general social interactions, were about four thousand taels.
Wang was smart and Hai was frugal, so their household income was quite sufficient and they still had some left over. Taking into account the surplus from the farm and shops, as well as the share from their hometown in Youyang, they could save a lot of money every year to prepare for the marriages of their children and grandchildren.
As for his new home? Gu Tingye, a second-rank official, received an annual salary of 150 taels and 61 dan of rice. However, even the servants in the Sheng Mansion didn't eat this aged rice; it was usually exchanged for silver at the rice shop. As a military officer, he also received 220 taels of military supplies, bringing his total salary to about 500 taels. According to custom, there should also be ice and charcoal tributes.
The land register Minglan has currently obtained indicates that Gu Tingye owns two farmlands in the Yanmao River area outside Beijing. One is called Heishan Farm, which has more than 80 hectares of fertile land, and the other is called Guyan Farm, which has over 100 hectares of fertile land. The emperor also granted him half a mountain in the west mountain of the capital and a hot spring farm. All in all, the total income is about 5,000 taels.
Piers: There doesn't seem to be a commercial sex industry yet.
That day, when Minglan asked Gu Tingye how much money was available in the mansion, Gu Tingye did not explain it clearly. He only said that in addition to these fixed assets that Minglan could use, he also put 50,000 taels of silver in the accounting office, and asked Minglan to use it for the time being and ask him again if it was not enough.
From a concubine's daughter with a monthly allowance of only one and a half taels to a rich woman who could control so much money, Minglan suddenly felt like she was hooking up with a rich man. She wanted to order three bowls of bird's nest porridge every day, eat one bowl, look at one bowl, and then throw away one bowl.
There are only a few people in the Gu Mansion, how can they use so much? Minglan repeatedly reminded herself that she only had the right to use the money, not the ownership, and could not use it indiscriminately... However, could she take a small amount, um, for management fees?
Minglan despised herself, thinking that she had the potential to be a corrupt official.
Gu Tingye, Minglan and Rong Jie'er are the main masters, and there are two concubines and one Miss Fengxian. According to the distribution rules of Ningyuan Marquis' Mansion, Minglan belongs to the level of Madam, with a monthly salary of 30 taels (her salary increased twenty times after marriage). If she is at the level of Young Mistress (Minglan's future daughter-in-law), the monthly salary is 20 taels, and Rong Jie'er and the concubines both get 2 taels.
The trouble is Miss Fengxian. If she were a concubine, she would only receive one or two taels of silver per month, but Gu Tingye has no intention of dealing with her at all. When Minglan asked him about it that day, he was actually at a loss for a moment, but after reminding her, his face became gloomy.
Later, Minglan secretly asked Xia He and found out that this Miss Fengxian was originally a family member of a criminal who was imprisoned in the Music Bureau (Qin Sang's knuckles cracked for a long time after hearing this). Because she was still a prostitute, she was brought to the Gu Mansion by General Gan more than half a year ago (it was said that there were legal procedures).
Initially, she boasted a mastery of all arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. After being forgotten by Gu Tingye for seven or eight days, she finally couldn't resist and played "Clear Water Flowing Cup" one night until midnight. Unfortunately, her refined talent met a dandy young man. Gu Tingye, trained in martial arts from a young age, excelled at street brawling and killing enemies on the battlefield, but lacked any cultural literacy (Minglan secretly thought that if she had sung "Eighteen Touches," perhaps Gu Tingye would have been able to keep time). Furthermore, he was extremely tired at the time, and being woken from his sleep made him even more enraged. He immediately kicked down two doors, his roar echoing for half a mile.
Early the next morning, Gu Tingye asked someone to move her to the most remote western corner of the mansion.
After another month or so, Miss Fengxian finally realized that for men, vision might be more intuitive and more important than hearing. So one night, she came to deliver midnight snacks in a thin white dress. She was unlucky. She did not meet Gu Tingye who was working by candlelight, but ran into Nanny Chang who happened to be cleaning the house.
How well-educated could a wet nurse in a salt merchant's family be? Nanny Chang had a bad temper and a sharp tongue. It was rumored that she had wielded a butcher's knife in her early years. She immediately made sarcastic remarks, insulting Miss Fengxian's ancestors for eighteen generations and her descendants for eighteen generations. She also made a vivid comparison between her skills and those of the prostitutes in brothels, which attracted all the servants in the mansion to come and watch and laugh.
Nanny Chang scolded her till her saliva was flying, but she still felt unsatisfied and continued scolding all the way to Jingfei Pavilion. Miss Fengxian was completely defeated now, and cried out of shame and anger, almost wanting to hang herself (she didn't hang herself in the end, and she didn't commit suicide in the Jiaofangsi, so she must have been very strong-willed). Minglan guessed that was why she changed the name of the house to Lingding Pavilion.
Minglan seriously suspected that Nanny Chang did this at the behest of Gu Tingye. This guy had been through all kinds of tricks, and his mind was far more sinister than those of the other rich and powerful men. He could not fight poison with poison from his senior boss, so he simply found a senior nanny to humiliate her and make her too embarrassed to go out.
After that, Miss Fengxian rarely went out, and half a year passed in the blink of an eye.
How much monthly allowance should she be given? The more Minglan thought about it, the more dizzy she became. Soon she fell into a deep sleep. The sun gradually set and became warmer. Minglan didn't know how long she slept. Finally, Xiaotao woke her up.
"What's wrong?" Minglan still squinted her eyes and glanced sideways. It was already past noon.
Xiao Tao, however, looked excited. She leaned close to Minglan's ear and whispered, "The Fifth Old Lady is here!"
"So soon?" Minglan's eyes widened, and she regained consciousness. "She's the only one?"
"And her two daughters-in-law, Madam Yang Da and Madam Di Er." Xiao Tao lowered her head and whispered in her ear, grinning. "Young lady, you're so smart! I asked a few doormen to check, and they found out that someone did go out. It was that Diao family member!"
Minglan sat on the bed blankly and sighed slightly: "We live so close, how can I not come to visit?" - She figured it out, since she works so hard, she should collect some management fees no matter what!
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