Chapter 72 Don't Be Too Arrogant: With the Laba Festival over, the New Year is just around the corner. Even with Shen Wanqing's competence, this is the first time she's managed such a large household, and she still has to…
After the Laba Festival, it's almost Chinese New Year. No matter how capable Shen Wanqing is, this is the first time she's managed such a large household. She also has to take time out to attend to matters concerning the Shi family. It's impossible for her not to be tired.
She had been holding on by sheer willpower, and now that she was certain that she had earned her a ticket to the future Crown Princess through her own efforts, she watched as Chunxian carefully put away the note that Shi had personally written for her. Only then did she let out a soft sigh and lean back on the soft pillow behind her, not even wanting to move a finger.
“Why does Madam have to work so hard? This morning I suggested we send someone to the Shi family to tell them that you’ve been working too hard and are sick and can’t come. Wouldn’t they remember Madam’s kindness even more if they knew?”
"If we really do that, then all this hard work is worthless."
Of course you're tired, but you have to make sure everyone knows you're tired. But if you've already taken all ninety-nine steps and are just one last step away, why ask for a break to let others know you're exhausted? Isn't that just asking for a reward?
You have to walk all 100 steps. Those who care will naturally see how tired you are. Those who don't care? Even if you die of exhaustion in front of them, they won't think anything of you. They'll just think you're useless.
"I don't know what's valuable or not, I just feel sorry for you. There were so many things to do at home yesterday, and today you came to the Shi family. Tomorrow is Laba Festival, and you'll be even busier. In a couple of days, when Master comes back from the palace, you said you would take him to visit the widows, orphans, and children who have no one to care for them under our command. When will this end?"
"If you don't want to be busy, then don't take the money they offer as tribute. Miss Chunxian, our family made another round of new clothes after the winter solstice. I don't care whether the people below are doing well or not, where did you get these new clothes from?"
As the year draws to a close, because of the image that Shen Wanqing had cultivated for herself—that of a capable, shrewd, and considerate subordinate—the people under the command who used to go to Daijia's clan whenever they had a problem in previous years are now coming to Shen Wanqing one after another.
Yesterday, Lady Daijia brought several female relatives of the leaders and scribes under her command to pay their respects and present gifts, which is the annual custom.
Previously, Daijia would lead them to Tongjia's place for a short visit, but Niohuru wanted them to go to her place. However, once they arrived, Niohuru would act all aloof and detached, even though she wasn't even a lay Buddhist at home, she insisted on putting on the airs of a living bodhisattva.
During the Lunar New Year, everyone wants to have a festive atmosphere. If you keep doing this, who can stand it? Besides, who doesn't believe in bodhisattvas and shamans? But belief is belief, and it doesn't interfere with people's daily lives.
The women couldn't stand Niohuru's behavior but didn't dare say anything, so they always made excuses not to come to the east courtyard. Now that Shen Wanqing was in charge, it was natural to want a fresh start for the new woman.
Dai Jia told Shen Wanqing three days in advance that she was going to bring people to pay her respects and give gifts. She also specifically instructed that since she knew Shen Wanqing was a lively person and young, she should bring young wives.
Fu Chang had already gathered the leaders under the Zuo Ling together to discuss the matter and decided that starting this year, the younger generation of wives who were capable of managing affairs should visit the Zuo Ling's wife more often, instead of the older generation visiting as in previous years. Otherwise, if Grandma Shen wanted to get closer to everyone, no one would be able to say anything.
Shen Wanqing understood that both Fu Chang and Dai Jia's intentions were good, so she found someone to hire a theatrical troupe so that they wouldn't have to take on any other business from today until the fifteenth of the first lunar month.
As for the price, she could ask the troupe leader to give her a figure based on how much money he made during the Lunar New Year in previous years, and she would then book the troupe according to that figure. In any case, since Shumulu had already returned 10,000 taels to the public treasury, it wasn't unreasonable for her to spend a little money to enrich her entertainment and cultural life.
Yesterday, Dai Jia and her family came to Shen Wanqing's house to hold a winter party. Not only did they bring Dai Jia to stay with the head of the Cui family, but they also sent other people to invite the old ladies and wives of these families to come.
After all, she had served her family diligently for so many years, and it wasn't just a glamorous and successful public display of kindness. When she was exhausted, her back ached, her legs were sore, and she was irritable and frustrated, there was no one to take her place.
You can't just assume that because you've taken over the Hesheli clan's household, other families should also undergo a change of dynasty, with new people replacing the old. Even if a change is necessary, you can't completely disregard the feelings of retired leaders.
And with the Lunar New Year approaching, this year marks the first time He Yi has spent the holiday away from home. Fu Xuan's marriage to the Dong E family has already been arranged, and Fu Xuan will be married off to Jingzhou next autumn.
This means that even if He Yi returns from Fuzhou to report on his duties three years later, it will be difficult for Lady Tongjia to have two children with her at the same time. Adding to this the loss of the Second Master's West Courtyard and Lady Shumulu, she is, to say the least, somewhat pitiful.
Shen Wanqing was too busy to comfort them herself, so she invited all the old ladies from the Zuo Ling area to her home to have some fun. Once people are in a lively atmosphere, they don't have time to be sad.
The winter festival lasted from morning until evening. A stage was set up in the main courtyard for Tongjia Shi and the old ladies of the subordinates and stewards under Zuo Ling to enjoy themselves. Shumulu Shi and Niu Hulu Shi were also there. In the east courtyard, Shen Wanqing chatted with Daijia Shi and several young wives while listening to ballads.
With the New Year approaching, there was a lot to do under the command of Zuo Ling. Shen Wanqing set out the fruit, melon seeds, duck products, and honey water and listened to their conversation, from which family was getting married before the New Year to which old man was saying that if he could make it through the New Year, he could still endure another year.
Then I heard that a man was keeping a mistress outside the city, far away, and was afraid his family would find out. A few days ago, I missed the curfew to return to the inner city. I originally planned to sneak in when the Zhengyang Gate opened at midnight, but I was caught red-handed by the patrol of the Five City Garrison, and that's how the matter was exposed.
This was originally just a trivial family matter, but this family must have had some bad luck this year. In the autumn, the man's brother went hunting with some friends, but not only did they not catch anything, they also ran into Suo'etu's son, Algishan, who was also hunting with his men.
Soetu was an arrogant man, and none of his sons were more domineering than him. Arjishan was no saint either, and once he was on horseback and with a bow at his side, he knew no bounds.
The person who had the accident was also surnamed Hesheli. In other words, at that time, most of the people in Shen Wanqing's East Courtyard were Hesheli people. Even if they were not surnamed Hesheli, as a bannerman under Yulang's command, they were basically related to the Hesheli family.
However, their Hesheli were completely different from Algishan's Hesheli. When the people here realized that it was Algishan in the distance, they tried to avoid him. But Algishan became more interested when he saw that they wanted to avoid him, and followed them at a distance with his men.
At first, no one realized what was going on, but the Manchus were raised on horseback, and being stared at like that for so long, how could they not know what was happening? The lord of the Suo family was treating them like prey, chasing them around for his amusement.
Even a clay figure has some earthy qualities, let alone the fact that we all share the same ancestor. You can look down on poor relatives, but you can't treat them like human beings.
They stopped trying to avoid him, turned their horses around, and went straight to ask Algishan what he meant. When had the master of the Suozhongtang mansion ever been questioned so bluntly? Before long, the two sides were arguing.
He was no match for her in a fight. Having broken curfew again, the man's brother fell from his horse in the chaos, and the startled horse broke his leg with a single hoof.
Algishan wasn't really going to kill anyone; he was just a scoundrel who thought it would be fun and did it. Having caused real trouble, he didn't dare stay any longer, and after shouting a few times with bluster, he left with his servants and guards.
There was no follow-up to this matter. Not only did the commander's office not hear about it, but even Yulang only heard about it ten days or so after it happened. It is said that when Algishan returned, he was slapped by Suo'etu. That very evening, his household sent a steward with silver and a lot of medicine, and that was the end of it.
This was just a casual conversation; compared to the brother who had broken his leg, the young women in the room were more concerned about what to do when the younger brother's mistress had been exposed.
Everyone chatted excitedly, and the conversation eventually turned to themselves. They all said that if their men dared to keep mistresses, they would do this and that.
The more Shen Wanqing listened, the more her heart sank. Suo'etu was too outrageous. It was one thing for him to be arrogant, but he also indulged his family members. This guy was using the Crown Prince as a banner to show off his power every day. Not to mention that Kangxi couldn't tolerate it later, even Shen Wanqing herself was very angry when she heard about it.
Because of this, Shen Wanqing heard several more stories about the difficult lives of the families under the command of the Zuo Ling. These were families where the men had died, leaving only orphans and widows, or families where the men had returned from war injured or disabled and could no longer earn money.
Therefore, Shen Wanqing has instructed Wuergun to prepare a batch of rice, flour, vegetables and meat in the next few days. Once Yulang is off duty and leaves the palace, the two of them must make time to visit these people.
When Shen Wanqing made this decision, Lord Yu was unaware that his day off had been requisitioned. He was busy working with the Crown Prince in the palace.
Not long after the Seventh Prince almost fell off his horse, the Crown Prince resumed his daily routine of paying respects at the Qianqing Palace and then attending court with Emperor Kangxi.
Other princes, because they are princes, can stand in front of civil and military officials regardless of whether they currently hold a title, to show their different status. This is both imperial grace and the rule of hierarchy. The princes' honor and treatment are all because of the emperor.
Even though the princes stood before the officials, and even other royal relatives, princes, and beiles were ranked behind them, in the end they were all subjects and servants, and were all among the civil and military officials. The only difference was who was in front and who was behind.
The Crown Prince was different from everyone else; his social position was aligned with that of Emperor Kangxi. The Crown Prince participated in political discussions and deliberations from the imperial throne. Even though Emperor Kangxi was seated while he was standing, in the end, he was the sovereign to the other princes, while Yinreng looked down upon his brothers from above.
Therefore, ever since Yinreng resumed his duties at court, Yinzhi had not had a single good day. The eldest prince always felt as if something was pressing down on his head, making it hard to breathe.
Before going to court today, Yu Lang happened to run into Yinreng outside the Qianqing Palace. The way Yinreng looked at him, both resentful and forced to bow, made Yu Lang's eyelids twitch. He wondered why the eldest prince, who was clearly a prince raised in the palace, was not as good at recognizing his place as he was, a wild boy.
As a second-class guard, Yu Lang had to stand outside the palace and wait. Occasionally, if there were any matters to attend to during court sessions, the Crown Prince would send a message to Yu Lang to handle them.
Guards have their place, and for Yu Lang, this position is quite good. He is sheltered from the wind and rain, much better than those officials who stand outside the palace with nowhere to hide and can only grit their teeth and endure it.
However, it was only after he began to follow the Crown Prince closely that Yu Lang gradually understood why his second uncle was unwilling to even serve as a bodyguard in front of the emperor, and instead was fixated on the path of taking the Manchu civil service examination to enter officialdom.
Guards were close attendants, confidants, and servants, while ordinary officials who entered officialdom through the imperial examinations were subjects, but they possessed their own valued integrity and backbone.
Yu Lang stood in a sheltered spot, watching the officials whose faces had turned purple from the cold wind and snow. He neither envied their integrity nor thought their behavior was bad.
When he gets bored standing there, he thinks that one day his second uncle might be transferred back to the capital. If his rank isn't high enough, he'll have to stand outside the palace in the cold wind. He wonders if he'll still be able to recall what his mindset was when he was a second-class imperial bodyguard and looked at those officials.
Everyone has their own path; it's interesting to think about it. Once you've thought it through, it's over. After court, the Emperor would summon the ministers of state and the heads of the six ministries for a small meeting. Yinreng would return to Yuqing Palace first. In the morning, there would be a tutor giving the Crown Prince a lecture at Yuqing Palace. This matter could not be taken lightly.
"Master, it's still warm."
"It must be cold outside, your face is all red."
Before entering the Qianqing Palace, Yinreng casually handed the bronze hand warmer he had been carrying all the way to Yulang. As a guard, Yulang rightfully carried the hand warmer for his master all morning without getting cold at all.
"Replying to Master, it's not cold today, it's just that the wind is a bit strong and it hurts my eyes."
"That's right, young master Yu, with your delicate skin, it's tough for me to bring you out in this weather."
This was said purely for amusement. Of course, Yinreng knew about the Shi family's return to the capital. He was also fully aware of everything that had happened along the way. He hadn't expected that the task he had given Yulang would actually come in handy, and he certainly hadn't expected the Shen family to be so thorough in their work. Naturally, he was extremely satisfied with Yulang.
It's often said that a person's character is a reflection of their character, and that's absolutely true. Yinreng also has a tendency to see the good in everyone. He's like that with Yulang right now; even if Yulang has some minor flaws, he thinks they're all good.
Despite the freezing weather, Yinreng didn't want to ride in the palanquin; he would warm up after walking for a while. Sitting in the palanquin wasn't tiring, but with the cold wind howling, it was even more unbearable for someone sitting there like that.
Yinreng led his guards and eunuchs back quickly, while Yulang followed with his head down, not paying any attention to where he was going. When they returned to Yuqing Palace, Gao Laixi pulled him aside as soon as they entered the palace gate: "Lord Yu, Suo Zhongtang just sent someone to tell me that he wants you to go to his place when you are off duty this time."
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