After seeing off the three mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, it was already early afternoon. Minglan didn't want to sleep anymore, so she went back to her room to change her clothes. Xiaotao brought her a bowl of warm three-fresh cat ear soup, and Minglan ate while slowly flipping through the servants' file that had just been delivered.
"I see that Madam likes this kind of soupy food." Cai Huan followed Xiao Tao to the back room to clean up and said with a smile, "It's a good thing you know how to cook."
Xiao Tao bent over and gathered the scattered clothes that had just dried at noon, folding them one by one. "Speaking of this, the best ones are made by Madam Qiu from our Yuan Mansion. The ears are rolled out very firmly and have a nice texture. I've only learned the basics."
"I'm afraid I still have a lot to learn." Caihuan brought over the charcoal-filled charcoal stove. "Is it hot here?"
"No, let's go out and iron them." Xiao Tao lowered her voice, and tiptoed out with a pile of clothes in her arms, stopping only in the ear room.
At this time Cai Huan said, "We are all out now. It would be bad for Madam to stay there alone."
Xiao Tao picked up a snow-white satin blouse and slowly spread it out: "This is our girl's rule. Unless there are guests around, she doesn't like others walking around the room when she is alone."
Caihuan took note and asked, "What if she wants tea or something?"
Xiao Tao took the iron and began to iron the clothes, saying, "So on weekdays, one of us always stays in the next room. If the girl needs anything, she will call us. Let's finish ironing the clothes quickly and then go to the back room."
Cai Huan hesitated for a moment, feeling that this rule was a bit strange: "Then...what does Master Ru want?"
Xiao Tao looked up curiously: "What does it have to do with us what the master wants?"
Cai Huan was pushed and smiled awkwardly: "That's right, we are the lady's maid first, and then the people of this mansion."
It was almost evening when suddenly dark clouds rolled in and half of the sky darkened for no reason. Then a loud thunderclap sounded in the distance and raindrops as big as beans came pouring down. The heavy rain was like pouring water, soaking the ground in an instant.
Watching the heavy rain outside, Minglan turned around, patted Xiaotao on the shoulder, and praised her repeatedly, "Thank goodness you put away the clothes this afternoon. You're truly as foresighted as ever." Xiaotao, not knowing how to be modest, actually nodded and said, "I think what you said is very right, Madam."
Minglan patiently taught her: "No, you should say 'This is all because of your good teaching'."
Xiao Tao was very impressed and even applied what she had learned to other situations: "It's all thanks to Madam's teaching. It's mainly because Madam is so good at foresight!"
Minglan smiled and nodded in appreciation.
"Did you expect your man to get caught in the rain?"
A teasing male voice sounded at the door. The master and servant turned around together and saw Gu Tingye standing at the door, soaked all over. His court robe made of scarlet silk gauze and a Qilin patch was still dripping with water, which had wet a patch on the ground.
Minglan was startled and looked the wet man up and down, and said in surprise: "I knew it! I felt very bored today at noon, so I asked Xiao Shunzi to bring an umbrella over." She felt that she was so virtuous.
Gu Tingye's face darkened, and he stared at her for a long time before mumbling, "...I rode a horse to court."
Minglan blinked, her mind turning for a moment before she realized that riding a horse wasn't like riding a bicycle. Holding the reins with one hand and an umbrella with the other wasn't the norm. She blushed, muttering a low "oh," and then kindly suggested, "How about... next time, you take a sedan chair. We won't be afraid of wind or rain."
After hearing this, the other half of Gu Tingye's face turned dark.
He stopped talking and walked into the inner room. Minglan immediately ordered, "Xiaotao, go call Xia He..." Gu Tingye turned around with a dark face and pulled Minglan up: "Can't you serve your own man? Why are you shouting? Come in!" As he spoke, he dragged Minglan into the inner room.
Minglan was speechless and had to turn around and say, "Xiao Tao, prepare some hot water for the bath. Also, go get the ginger soup!"
After entering the inner room, Gu Tingye was waiting with his arms open behind the screen. Minglan touched her nose, bent down to unbutton his clothes, and took off his wet clothes, revealing his strong and upright body. He took the long robe handed to him by Minglan, put it on, and went into the bathroom to take a bath; there was a sound of splashing water, and soon he came out in a clean undershirt made of snow-white satin, sitting upright on the edge of the bed, his slender ten fingers resting on his knees, as heavy as a mountain, and looking at Minglan coldly without saying a word.
Minglan looked back ignorantly and stayed for a while. Her instinct to avoid harm and seek good finally awakened. Minglan held a dry towel and went over to wipe his thick black wet hair. Gu Tingye could smell the faint fragrance at the tip of his nose, like orchid and musk, but clean. He put his arms around his wife's slender waist and pressed his half-wet cheek against hers, feeling comfortable and soothed in his heart.
"Don't be angry." Minglan gently rubbed his hair through the dry flannel.
Gu Tingye put his arm around Minglan's waist and let her sit on his lap. He wrapped his strong arms around her and looked at her with his dark eyes: "Why do you think I'm unhappy?"
Minglan cautiously probed, "I should have someone drive a sedan chair over to pick you up, right?"
Gu Tingye looked into Minglan's confused eyes and sighed imperceptibly, "Never mind, a few drops of rain won't kill you. How are you today? Is everything okay at home?"
Minglan breathed a sigh of relief after the troublesome topic was over. She quickly picked up a stack of papers from the desk, held them in front of Gu Tingye, and said, "Look, this is good. Am I smart?"
Gu Tingye flipped through a few pages and couldn't help laughing: "You actually thought of that." He looked up at Minglan, feeling quite amused.
Minglan knew he must be secretly laughing at her, so she pouted and argued, "I don't like to order people around without knowing their background."
Gu Tingye casually flipped through the top few documents and laughed, "Haha, our mansion is really full of hidden talents. We even have the procurement and craftsmen of the Duke Ling's Mansion. Oh, these cooks are a bit inferior, they are all from the second kitchen... Have Lai Mama's sons already escaped their indentures? Hua Mama is getting worse and worse; Fourth Aunt is very generous, she sent Tian Pozi and her family here..."
After reading a few, Gu Tingye gradually stopped laughing. He had to admit that Minglan's approach was very targeted. A simple resume could reflect many things, including her background, rewards and punishments, the whereabouts of her family members, and her past assignments. In just a few words, it was clear and concise, but contained deep meaning. Many things on and off the stage were revealed.
"That's a good idea!" he said briefly, his eyes gleaming with sternness. "This house must be kept clean. There must be no mess. If anyone speaks or acts dishonestly, you can punish them, beat them, or even sell them off. It doesn't matter! If anyone goesssips, just blame it on me! I don't know who dares to plot against me!"
Minglan heard something strange in his words and knew that there might be some disturbance in the court today, but she didn't ask too much. She just nodded repeatedly and asked softly, "Someone... wants to plot against you?" Be mentally prepared first.
Gu Tingye frowned, slightly dissatisfied with Minglan's last word. He said with a sullen face, "If you're not careful, what you said the night before will be spread out the next day. There are many things going on outside right now, and we can't let a fire start in the backyard."
Minglan looked at him with great interest. In fact, her biggest gain today was not the details of these servants, but the behavior pattern of this man. Well, it was very interesting.
As early as a few days ago, Minglan felt that the operations in the inner house of the Gu Mansion were quite disorganized, the personnel were chaotic, the servants were lazy, and the management was very disorganized. After Minglan made some inquiries, she found that it was more of Gu Tingye's problem than the servants' problem.
Over the past year since he established his mansion, he seemed completely disinterested in its affairs, appointing only a few stewards to oversee its daily operations. He then dispatched a squad of personal soldiers from the military camp to strictly guard the gates, and treated the servants like prisoners. As long as they didn't make mistakes, cause trouble, or behave suspiciously, he didn't care about anything else, including their food, clothing, and quality of life.
He put several heavy locks on the door of the warehouse. Even though there were mountains of rewards and boxes full of pearls and jade inside, he was too lazy to display them. He let the decoration of the mansion be as simple as a run-down house, and guarded Mr. Gongsun's courtyard very closely. There were people guarding the door day and night, and they just needed two secret codes. It was harder to enter the outer study than to visit a prisoner in the dungeon, and he had to be searched twice when entering and leaving.
Minglan pondered for a long time and suddenly thought of her brother Changbai.
Changbai's caution seems to be innate. He doesn't need any reminders and will naturally be careful in his actions. Yang Hao has served him for more than ten years and is very familiar with it. But as long as the paper is slightly turned, Changbai will immediately know. This is probably a compulsory course for a successful civil servant. Meticulousness and caution are the skills that Old Man Sheng also acquired after some training in his youth.
But Gu Tingye is not a naturally cautious person, and many things are hard to guard against, so he has to find another way.
This style of action may seem crude, but it is actually very clever, its methods are tough and straightforward, but very effective. Gu Tingye knew that his mansion was not peaceful, that there might be spies, and even that the people sent by the Ningyuan Marquis Mansion might not have good intentions, but he had neither the time nor the inclination to care, so he simply resorted to this trick.
Anyway, someone else will eventually take over this glorious task - thinking of this, Minglan felt a little itchy.
"Don't worry, I know how tough it is." Minglan supported the man's chest, trying to appear calm and experienced. "I'll sort out the staff first and then assign tasks. If there's anything I don't understand, I can ask you, okay?"
Gu Tingye nodded slightly. Seeing Minglan's behavior in the past few days, he knew that she was a trustworthy person. Looking at the situation of the Sheng Mansion, he found that it was well managed and had a good reputation. Miss Sheng, who married into the Yuan family, was also quite capable as a housekeeper. Minglan should not be able to find out anything. If she really couldn't find out, he was still there.
At this time, Xiao Tao came over with a tea tray. Minglan hurriedly stood up and brought the ginger soup to Gu Tingye: "Drink it quickly to get rid of the cold!"
Gu Tingye took a sip and immediately tasted that this ginger soup was definitely made with brown sugar and ginger, and it was cooked to perfection. It was rich and mellow on the mouth, and after entering the stomach, the whole body felt like it was gently roasted over a low fire, and the warmth in the stomach was very comfortable. He couldn't help but praise: "This ginger soup is quite strong!"
Minglan smiled and said, "Of course, I personally looked at the ingredients and cooked them for two hours! You should drink two big bowls and sweat a little. I've also sent the guards who went out with you today, so don't worry."
Looking at Minglan's delicate and gentle chattering, like a thoughtful and busy little hen, the room was filled with warmth. Gu Tingye raised the bowl to his lips, drank it all in one gulp, and wiped his lips with his left wrist. He suddenly wanted to ask, "Do you know that you should care about me, or do you really care about me?", but he felt that he was really stupid today, and he actually had these childish thoughts, which was quite funny.
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