Lady Yang was a woman of her word; after several investigations, she dealt with some of the gossipy people in the household and established her authority.
It was all just hearsay anyway, so who would dare to spread it further? That would be to offend the Lord, the Queen Mother, and the future Crown Prince's wife.
Several long benches were placed in the flower hall. Several maids were held down tightly, and the servants behind them were hitting the maids hard with templates.
After a few strokes of the paddle, the maid, who was being held down, was sweating profusely and unable to move her limbs. Her initial cries for mercy gradually subsided.
Li Shiyue sat to Yang's side. The last maid was also motionless, her head drooping limply, as if she could not breathe.
"Take the indenture and find a slave trader to settle things."
At Yang's command, several maids were dragged away unconscious, leaving only a few benches to stimulate their brains to remember the scene just now.
Madam Wei sat on the other side with Wei Yujie. Wei Yujie had already heard the rumors about the mansion, but seeing the situation, she dared not speak.
She has always been like this, afraid of implicating the third branch of the family. Although the second branch is the closest in blood, the couple is not good at dealing with people. She is also afraid of being resented and having an unpleasant life in the Duke's mansion in the future.
Wei Yujie, who was standing beside her, usually dressed elegantly and simply. Perhaps she had never seen such a scene before, as her face was pale, whether from fright or guilt was hard to tell.
However, Madam Yang smiled slightly, quite satisfied with the attitude of the aunt and niece. She put down her teacup, resumed her usual dignified smile, and said, "I only managed to find the time to deal with the rumors circulating in the mansion these past few days."
"Don't be afraid. It should have been taken care of long ago, but it's been delayed until today. You're still unmarried, and this almost ruined your reputation. I have a piece of brightly colored Shu brocade that I can cut out to make you a new dress."
“Young lady, you are still young, so it would look better if you dressed in brighter colors.” As Madam Yang spoke, Wei Yujie’s face paled a little, especially against the backdrop of the pomegranate red Shu brocade, her face looked particularly pale.
“I have a pair of pomegranate and begonia gold hairpins. I don’t really like gold jewelry, and they’ve been gathering dust in the storeroom. My aunt gave me a pair of Shu brocade, so I took out a pair of gold hairpins, which match the Shu brocade perfectly.”
Li Shiyue smiled, and after she finished speaking, Chunling behind her walked over with an exquisite box.
He walked up to Wei Yujie and opened it. The gold hairpin inside was made of pure gold and was purchased at the end of the year.
Li Shiyue learned this trick from Yang Shi: giving a slap followed by a sweet treat.
Wei Yujie had never seen anything like it before and was momentarily dazzled. Suddenly, her sleeve was tugged, and she saw the signal in Wei Shi's eyes.
She stood up, clasping her hands together: "Thank you, Duchess, thank you, Princess."
Madam Yang smiled and looked meaningfully at Madam Wei: "This child is not young anymore. Does he have any plans for this trip to the capital?"
Unaware of the emotions in Wei Yujie's eyes, Madam Wei nodded apologetically: "Yujie came to the capital because my brother wanted me to find her a marriage match there, as he didn't want her to stay in that desolate little place."
Madam Yang was not surprised and smiled, "It's not difficult. There are plenty of good families in the capital. Take your time to find one. If you find a suitable husband, it won't be difficult for him to marry into the Duke's family."
“My sister-in-law is also the matriarch of the Xu family, so she should still maintain some dignity. When the day comes, I will decide to take out one thousand taels from the Duke’s mansion as a dowry for Yu Jie.”
Wei was both surprised and delighted. She wanted to say something, but when she saw Yang shake her head, she understood that her elder sister-in-law was giving her face so that her family wouldn't look down on her.
Wei Yujie was someone whose emotions were easily visible on her face. Upon hearing "one thousand taels," she looked up at Yang Shi in surprise, and then at the joy on Wei Shi's face, which seemed genuine.
You should know that the Wei family can only give her five hundred taels of silver now, which is the family's savings accumulated over many years through frugality.
She has no younger brother, and now the Wei family is counting on her to marry well through the Rongguo Duke's mansion, so that she can have a noble son-in-law to help the Wei family.
But with a mere flick of Yang's lips, she gave one of her cousins a thousand taels of silver as dowry, no wonder she was surprised.
A full thousand taels was enough for her to buy quite a few things. Even if her dowry wasn't a grand procession, it would at least include everything she needed.
This tactic of making an example of someone first and then offering a reward was very effective. For the next few days, there was not a single word of gossip, and the people from Chun Jin Xuan dared not make any rash moves.
The heavy rain lasted even longer, falling intermittently for seven or eight days, but the rain showed no signs of abating, and the Duke of Rong and Xu Yunci seemed even more anxious at their residence.
"If this rain lasts for seven or eight days, I'm afraid the soil will become flooded."
Standing under the corridor, Granny Chang came over at some point and spoke of the worries that Duke Rong and Xu Yunci had been having these past few days.
Li Shiyue looked up, the dark clouds overhead showing no sign of dissipating: "After a year of hard work, we're just waiting for the harvest. I hope it stops soon; too much rain isn't a good thing either."
“Miss is much more composed than when she first arrived in the capital.” Granny Chang smiled slightly, but if it were someone else, they wouldn’t understand what she meant.
However, Li Shiyue learned a lot from Yang's side. As long as she had managed the accounts, she knew how useful a tael of silver was, not to mention the most indispensable food.
"You don't know the cost of firewood, rice, oil, and salt until you're in charge of the household. The Duke's mansion has a hundred mouths to feed. My uncles and cousins need money to take care of them when they're away from home. During festivals, we can't avoid giving and receiving gifts, not to mention the clothes and jewelry we buy."
"These alone are far beyond what my uncle and cousin could earn on their salaries. My aunt manages the shops and estates, putting in so much effort to maintain the current prosperity of the Duke's mansion. While my uncle and cousin are away, my aunt is also busy in the inner quarters."
Li Shiyue sighed softly, recalling the densely packed numbers on those account books. She hadn't known them from the beginning either; it had taken Yang Shi quite some time just to teach her.
If you use your fingertips to manipulate the abacus beads for a long time, the skin in that area will become different. Applying perfumed balm every day can also reduce the soreness and numbness.
However, she did not regret it. Since she had chosen Xu Yunci, she did not want to be his concubine. She also knew that as a woman, she could not get involved in the affairs outside. At least she could help him in the inner quarters.
Just like the Duke of Rong and Lady Yang, they respected each other's ideas, could solve problems together, and did not suspect each other.
"Don't you think the previous rumors are too coincidental, Miss?"
When Granny Chang met Li Shiyue's gaze, she remained calm and smiled, saying, "This old servant just has some doubts. Miss Wei has only just entered the manor and doesn't know anything. It just so happens that the imperial decree for marriage was issued that day."
"This is Miss Wei's first time entering the manor. She hasn't met many of the young masters. How could she be so bold as to set her sights on the young master?"
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