Chapter 49 Are you treating me like Ta Xue?: I heard you, I heard you! My earlobes were practically red from being pinched, how could I not have heard? Yu Lang's original intention was to avoid Shen Wan…
She heard it, she heard it; her earlobes were practically red from being pinched, how could she not have heard? Yu Lang's original intention was to prevent Shen Wanqing from being too busy with both home and outside, but seeing her eagerness to roll up her sleeves and get to work, he knew he shouldn't have said anything.
In the time it takes to eat a meal, he's become the spendthrift Shen Wanqing describes, with money flowing out like mountains and seas the moment it enters his hands. He says that his intuition, which came on the second day of their marriage, was right; his wife is indeed stingy.
Not only is she stingy, but she's also incredibly stoic. They've been married for so long, and she can spend money however she wants. Except for the first time she returned from Yuqing Palace and counted her purse, she hasn't said a word since. It seems she was waiting for him here.
After today, when Yulang goes to the accounting office to withdraw money, it won't be from the public funds anymore; it will be like taking money out of Shen Wanqing's pocket. Dai Jia's words from before are still ringing in his ears. Were those words only directed at Akdun? Anyway, no matter how Yulang listened, he felt that every word was directed at him.
"Grandma is so clever. She doesn't want to say it herself because she thinks I spend money too much. She has to use other people to point it out to me, doesn't she?"
"Nonsense, it's clearly the old man who's petty. You're taking what Sister-in-law Dai said about Akdun to heart, it has nothing to do with me."
Shen Wanqing would never admit that she was using someone else's words to remind Yulang to think more before spending money, and not to always think that just because he is not married and has no wife, he can spend eighteen out of ten taels of silver. She is not living with him just to eat the wind and drink the dust.
Fine, she insisted that he was being petty, so he was being petty. On the way back, Yu Lang, who didn't ride a horse again, just sluggishly squeezed into Shen Wanqing's carriage, refusing to come out no matter who called him from outside.
One moment he would straighten his back and reach over her to rummage through the pastry box in the carriage compartment, and the next he would snatch the folding fan from Shen Wanqing's hand and fan himself idly until the carriage passed Xizhimen. Only then did Yulang casually look up at Shen Wanqing.
"So, are we still going to Tianbaozhai tomorrow?"
"Go, of course you'll go. If you don't go tomorrow, you'll have to go to the palace to work again, and you'll be away from home for five days. Who knows what will happen at home when you come back next time?"
"If I go to Tianbaozhai, I'll have to go to the accounting office to withdraw money again."
"The old man had to go to the accounting office to get the jewelry he bought for me? Doesn't he have any savings of his own?"
See? See? I knew she'd ask that. One trap after another, she's determined to drain you dry.
Yu Lang used his back strength to jump up from his lazy side-lying position and pounce on Shen Wanqing, putting on a fierce look.
"I knew the eldest mistress was waiting for the master here. Does she really think the master is a fool? Why didn't she just tell me directly instead of going through all these roundabout ways?"
Shen Wanqing's actions reminded him of what happened before the Mid-Autumn Festival. She had handled the matter in the West Courtyard similarly, going there alone without mentioning it. And now it was the same. Yu Lang couldn't tell how much of his emotion was anger and how much was helplessness. He just couldn't understand how this person could be so stubborn.
"How can I say that directly? What if the old man doesn't like being restricted in how he spends money? If I say it so bluntly, won't you dislike me?"
The man who pounced on her looked like a big dog, and Shen Wanqing could even faintly smell the dog's scent on him, though she wasn't sure if it was just her imagination.
"By taking this roundabout way, if the old man is willing to listen to me, there will be some restraint in the future. If the old man is not willing to listen to me, he should pretend to be stupid right now, and I will not mention this matter again later, and no one in the family will control the old man's spending."
Shen Wanqing's eyes sparkled, and she spoke with complete composure. Yu Lang couldn't understand why this person was like this. One moment she had set a trap for him, and the next she had proactively explained exactly how and why she had set such a trap, leaving him in a dilemma of whether to get angry or not.
"Grandma is so cunning, you say whatever you want, I can't argue with you." Like a deflated balloon, Yu Lang moved away from Shen Wanqing and sat down to the side. Feeling Shen Wanqing's hand on his head, he couldn't help but turn his head to look at her.
"Grandma is treating me like I'm being touched in the snow."
"Um."
Ta Xue was Yu Lang's favorite and most frequently ridden black horse. It was entirely black except for the white hair on its four hooves, hence the name Ta Xue.
In truth, Shen Wanqing said he wasn't nearly as handsome as Taxue; he was just a reasonably pleasing big dog. But since he'd misunderstood her, Shen Wanqing naturally wouldn't explain. As long as he was happy to be Taxue, that was enough for him.
"I really don't have any other secret savings."
“That’s all. The five hundred taels was left over when the banner land under the Zuo Ling was allocated money at the end of last year and it was casually left over when it was distributed to me.”
Once it's left behind, it's forgotten. The eldest son always hands over the three thousand five hundred taels of silver to the public treasury, even though he knows exactly who will end up with it. Young Master Yu is in a bad mood, so he goes to the accounting office three times a day to withdraw silver. Before long, he forgets about the five hundred taels, which is how the five hundred taels became Yu Lang's private stash.
Shen Wanqing could tell that her dog wasn't lying, and she didn't intend to keep a close eye on Yulang. After all, she was just his wife, not his mother. She would just give him some pointers so he would be aware of things.
"When we get back, I'll take 1,000 taels out of those 3,500 taels and give it to you. It'll be September soon, and the New Year is just around the corner. When you collect the money from all over the place, you'll have to pay me back, sir."
"You're giving me so much? I don't need that much. Just give me some loose change."
“Even if I don’t give it to you, I can’t keep it. The rest might have to be sent to the public school in a few days.”
“This money was returned to us by the West Courtyard. Since you are in charge of our household, you don’t need to hand it over to the public treasury anymore.”
Upon hearing this, Yu Lang thought Shen Wanqing was a shrewd but honest person who didn't even know how to handle the money she had just received. He immediately forgot that she had fooled him like a fool.
"Have you forgotten that the Second Madam's money is still at Guangyuan Bank and hasn't been withdrawn yet? Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, the monthly wages for the servants in the house couldn't be paid. Even if the Second Madam brings back a sum of money after the Mid-Autumn Festival, it's hard to say whether she has used all of it to replenish the public accounts."
Whether the silver from Guangyuan Bank can be recovered depends on His Majesty's will. If he's willing, then so be it; if not, where will the money come from for the household's charcoal fuel and the expenses for the Winter Solstice and New Year when the weather gets cold?
Now that Shen Wanqing is in charge, she can no longer reason with the servants. They serve as servants all year round for this little bit of money. They don't care who embezzled the money or what their masters' reasons were.
Whoever is in charge should pay the bills to settle things; it's that simple. Back when Shen Wanqing was transferred to be in charge of a project that almost failed, she deeply understood that complaining and seeking retribution were the most useless and foolish things. Now that she is the matriarch of the household, these matters are her responsibility.
Shen Wanqing hadn't had time to go to the accounting office to check the accounts and storerooms yet, but she had already received the keys and account books for the East Courtyard and the Main Courtyard from Tongjia Shi a few days ago.
If the public treasury were not short of money, those shrewd accountants should have shown up before me. The fact that they didn't come means that the public treasury's money and my accounts definitely don't match.
"Hey, what a mess this is. It turns out that the money just went through our hands and we still have to spend it. My second uncle is definitely smarter than me."
“You don’t need to wrong your second uncle this time. He still needs my father to arrange his trip to Fuzhou, so he won’t deliberately make things difficult for me. He probably didn’t even think about it. Why would the second master of the Hesheli family care about whether the family’s accounts are short or not? He’s only thinking about his future.”
Despite saying that, Yu Lang's face was still grim when he got off the carriage. He took a thousand taels from Shen Wanqing, and the next day the two of them went to Tianbaozhai and spent six hundred taels on her headdress and jewelry.
One of the phoenix hairpins inlaid with kingfisher feathers and colored gemstones cost 250 taels of silver. There was also a pair of jadeite bracelets and an 18-bead coral bracelet. The colors and materials were particularly outstanding, and Yulang bought them all in one go.
I bought silver-plated and gold-plated hairpins instead. Silver is harder than gold, and some delicate craftsmanship is less prone to deformation when forged in silver. Hairpins are something you want to change every day; it's so much fun to pick out a few pretty but inexpensive ones and wear a different one each day.
Having spent money happily at Tianbaozhai, Shen Wanqing was cheerful all day. Even when Yulang whined and pushed her towards the side room that evening, she didn't resist. Until this person, sweaty and exhausted, got off her, he suddenly seemed to understand and turned over to stare at Shen Wanqing.
"Grandma said that the thousand taels of silver has to be repaid at the end of the year?"
"It will still be repaid with interest. The amount of interest depends entirely on your conscience. If you have a good heart, you can give me more, but less is fine too. I won't mind any amount."
Shen Wanqing pulled the blanket over most of her face to prevent him from seeing her big front teeth that she couldn't hide when she laughed. But how could she hide her smiling eyes that were crinkled with laughter? Yu Lang was both annoyed and amused.
“I borrowed a thousand taels of silver from my eldest mistress, and before the silver was even warm, I spent six hundred taels of it on her. For the past few months, she hasn’t let me withdraw any silver from the accounting office, and she’s told me to be careful and save money.”
"When the year comes, I'll have to pay back this thousand taels to my grandmother, principal and interest. If I pay too little interest, it means I don't care about her. I've already invested so much in all of this."
“Lord Yu is a man, how could he argue with me about such a small amount of money?”
Shen Wanqing couldn't help but laugh, so she could only raise her arms and hug him tightly, taking the opportunity to bury her face in his heart and refuse to look up.
"Jiyun, stop laughing, or the bed will collapse."
With his face pressed against Yu Lang's chest, he could clearly hear the vibrations coming from Yu Lang's chest. The man was also laughing; he was indeed a generous dog.
The next morning, Shen Wanqing dressed her generous dog up nicely and sent him off to work, feeling a sense of relief. Spending five days together every day, aside from the annoyance, her back was really starting to give way.
"Grandma, are we going to pay our respects to the old lady and the first lady this morning?"
"Of course we have to go. Your grandma just got back the keys to the account books for the east and main courtyards, and she's already forgotten about her mother-in-law and great-grandmother. She's just asking to get scolded."
Shen Wanqing sat down in front of the dressing table and let Chunxian style her hair into a bun. The newly bought coral and gemstone-inlaid hairpin had a particularly novel design. Shen Wanqing picked it out and gave it to Chunxian. She would also style her hair into a double bun today because of this hairpin.
Since the hairpin is made of coral, there's no need for excessive accessories on the head. A pair of plum blossom silver hairpins and two silk hair flowers are enough.
While choosing jewelry, she glanced at Biyun, who was standing to the side, seemingly wanting to say something but holding it in, through the mirror: "Miss Biyun, what is it that you want to say? Hurry up and say it, or you'll make yourself sick."
Biyun breathed a sigh of relief at Shen Wanqing's deliberately sarcastic tone. She could tell that Shen Wanqing already knew why she was there, and if she continued to act all warm and friendly, she would feel uneasy.
“Last night and this morning, no fewer than five old women have come to ask me what the procedure is for reporting matters to the eldest mistress. They all want me to say a good word for them to the eldest mistress.”
He Yi's affair happened so suddenly that Shumulu Shi didn't have time to sort out the accounts that should have been cleared up before being sent to her. The accounts in the East Courtyard appear to be balanced on the surface, but they can't withstand close scrutiny.
Putting everything else aside, the fact that the purchase price listed eggs at forty wen per jin was pure deception. Forty wen was the price two years ago, when a chicken plague broke out in the capital and its surrounding areas, killing seven or eight out of ten chickens in and around the city.
Those that didn't die were also culled and buried on the spot by the Five City Garrison and officials from various county governments for fear of the chicken plague spreading to other poultry. During that time, the prices of chicken, duck, and goose eggs in the capital all rose, but soon merchants from other places brought chickens and eggs from other regions to the capital, and the prices quickly fell back down.
Two years have passed, and the Hesheli family's account books still dare to list eggs at forty coins per catty. Shen Wanqing found it somewhat amusing. She wondered if Shumulu was simply audacious or genuinely thought the whole family was fools.
“Go and tell them that the rules should be followed as they were before. The family has been building its mansion for so many years and the rules are all established. Why should they be changed when it comes to me? I just haven’t had time to see them these past few days. Wait a few more days until I finish these things and then I will see them.”
Shuai Yanbao is the legitimate son of a branch family of the Viscount's mansion, which means that the servants in the mansion are also descendants of the Viscount's mansion. Passed down from generation to generation, they understand the rules for disciplining servants better than we do, so why should we presume to be clever and set our own set of rules?
Leaving aside whether others will listen to the rules you set, just considering how much needs to be considered when setting a set of rules and regulations, and how many things need to be changed and adjusted after they are set, these small things alone can exhaust you.
The saying goes, "A new broom sweeps clean," but the biggest challenge is getting things back. As long as they stop following the rules of the Shumulu clan, the way things were done in this household five years ago will continue as before; there's no need for major changes.
"Yes, this servant understands." Biyun was a very clever person; she immediately understood what Shen Wanqing meant. She turned around, came out of the room, nodded to Granny Zhou, and gestured for her to go away to talk.
"So, what did Grandma say?"
"From today onwards, we will follow the old rules that the old lady and the first wife used to use for managing the household. If there is anything that is not done well, then we will report it to the first wife."
Granny Zhou thought that since Madam Shen had finally gotten control of the household, she should at least show off her power as the head housekeeper. Unexpectedly, she didn't do anything at all. When the old master passed away, the first wife took over the household management. Two years later, when the master passed away, the first wife handed over the management to the west courtyard.
Now they're saying they'll do things according to the old lady's and the first wife's rules, but isn't that just the old lady's old way of managing the household? The first wife was even thinking of helping the eldest mistress steer the ship while she was changing her mind, but look what happened, they didn't even give her that chance.
“Granny, some things are annoying if you say too much.” Biyun looked at Granny Zhou’s not-so-happy face and couldn’t help but sigh in her heart. “But I was taught by you since I was a child, so there are some things I have to say even if you are angry.”
"From now on, you must remember this: you are the nanny of the East Courtyard, and we are all servants of the master and mistress."
These words were blatantly implying that Granny Zhou was getting too close to the First Madam. Upon hearing this, Granny Zhou nodded but remained ambiguous and didn't express her opinion. Watching her retreating figure, Biyun's expression gradually turned cold. She already guessed that it wouldn't be long before Granny Zhou would have to go home to retire.
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Yu Gouzi: Do you think I'm Ta Xue?
Grandma: You're not that handsome.
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