On December 30th of the eighth year of the Xuanli reign, heavy snow fell in Nanjing City again.
White elves fluttered in the sky, whitening the treetops and branches, the eaves of the roofs, but turning the snow-proud plum blossoms red.
Yu Wenjun stood alone in the plum garden, letting the snowflakes fall on her hair and brows. She pouted her lips and looked at the plum blossoms that had already bloomed on the branches. She thought that the plum blossoms in the house by Xuanwu Lake should also be in full bloom.
There are many royal etiquettes, and there are even more during the Chinese New Year period. I went to see the Empress Dowager yesterday and chatted with her for the whole day.
I had planned to go out for some fresh air today, but my mother said that it was New Year's Eve and there was no point in going out, so... that person was alone in Shangjing, how would he spend New Year's Eve?
Will he be lonely?
Can Shulan come out and keep him company?
Alas... the Empress Dowager said that she would let him come to the palace someday. This was not a good thing, because the Empress Dowager just wanted to ask him why Lin Daiyu did not marry Jia Baoyu?
Yeah, why?
Yu Wenjun had also finished reading A Dream of the Red Chamber, and she didn't understand. If it was because Lin Daiyu was frail and sickly, and the Jia family was worried that she wouldn't be able to have children, then wouldn't it be the best of both worlds if they married Lin Daiyu and took Xue Baochai as a concubine?
The Empress Dowager seemed to be aware of what had happened between her and Fu Xiaoguan, and her words contained some indirect warnings, as if the Empress Dowager did not like Fu Xiaoguan, but she had never met him.
Could it be because of that book?
Yu Wenjun was puzzled and thought that he could only wait until he met the Empress Dowager and hope that the Empress Dowager would like him.
…
At the Fu Mansion on the shores of Xuanwu Lake, Dong Shulan and Fu Xiaoguan stood side by side in a hall.
Fu Xiaoguan asked Chunxiu to call everyone in the mansion over. In front of him was a box full of red envelopes.
This was made by Chunxiu and him last night. Of course, Su Rou also joined in later. She was just curious and didn't know what this thing was used for.
Each of these red envelopes contains a silver note worth ten taels of silver. The young master said that since it is the New Year, he has to give everyone some bonus - which I guess is reward money.
Under the management of Dong Shulan and Yu Wenjun, the Fu Mansion now has a total of 180 servants and maids, and another 30 guards from Xishan. These people gathered in the hall, and no one knew what the young master was going to do.
"Today is New Year's Eve. We have witnessed everyone's hard work over the past few days. My fiancée, your future mistress, is a kind-hearted person. She feels that everyone has worked very hard, and she believes that you deserve some reward during this festive occasion. Therefore, I have summoned you here today so that your mistress can personally present this reward to you. I hope that you will devote yourselves to this mansion in the days ahead."
Fu Xiaoguan told Dong Shulan about this last night. She found it quite curious. The people in this mansion never lost a penny of their monthly allowance, so why did they still need to be given red envelopes?
After Fu Xiaoguan's explanation, she finally understood what it meant to spur on.
Now the Fu family was not short of money, so she agreed after a moment's silence.
The crowd below was in an uproar. Many of them were hand-picked by Dong Shulan herself. The monthly wages they received were higher than those given by most of the masters in Shangjing. Now the mistress actually wanted to reward them. This was undoubtedly an unexpected surprise.
Dong Shulan smiled, as cheerful as a spring breeze. She was delighted because Fu Xiaoguan said she would be the future mistress!
She opened her mouth slightly, "I'm here to reiterate the rules of the Fu Mansion. I will not hesitate to reward everyone who has done their best. However, if anyone is cunning or even harms the interests of the Fu family, I will not tolerate him. The time we have spent together is short, and the future is long. I am not a mean person, but I hope you can exercise self-discipline."
"This thing is called a red envelope. Since there's no assessment this year, everyone gets the same thing. Each person gets one red envelope with ten taels of silver inside!"
The crowd was suddenly in an uproar, and everyone looked excited. Ten taels of silver!
Their monthly salary is about nine hundred coins, and these ten taels of silver...isn't it equivalent to a year's income!
No family head in Shangjing City is so generous, not even the six major families can do that.
So… “Thank you, mistress!”
"I will go through fire and water for my mistress!"
"Oh my god... How could this villain be so lucky to have met such a kind and generous mistress!"
“…”
Dong Shulan finally understood the joy in it, and she laughed happily. It felt so good to be complimented by these people, especially the calls of "mistress", which made her very happy.
"Alright, alright!" Dong Shu raised his hand and lightly pressed, and the crowd finally quieted down. "With rewards, there are naturally punishments. Next year, you will be evaluated, and the year-end bonus will be determined based on the evaluation. Those who do well will naturally get a bigger bonus, but if there are those who do poorly, the reward will probably be less. As for those who harm the interests of the Fu Mansion... not only will there be no reward, but depending on the severity of the offense, I will either expel them from the Fu Mansion or hand them over to the authorities for investigation. You... must understand this!"
Su Rou sat embroidering in the distance, listening to everything here, and found this couple quite interesting.
Su Jue was sitting aside reading a book. Suddenly he looked up at Su Rou and asked, "Third Junior Sister...do we have any red envelopes?"
"You don't even know how to spend money, so why do you need that red envelope?"
Su Jue felt a little embarrassed, so he looked away and started reading again.
Su Rou raised her eyebrows, opened her thin eyes and looked at Su Jue. This idiot, all he does is read books!
Dong Shulan paused for a few breaths and continued, "Okay, that's all I have to say. It's a bit long-winded, but I hope you can remember it. Now come one by one, get your red envelopes and leave. Today is also a day off for you, so go out and buy anything you want."
The crowd was in chaos for a while, then lined up in an orderly manner. One by one, they took the red envelopes from Dong Shulan's hands, bowed and said thank you to the mistress.
After the red envelopes were distributed and the crowd left, various cheers were heard from the yard outside, all of which were praises for the mistress.
Dong Shulan took out a big red envelope from her sleeve pocket and waved to Chunxiu: "Chunxiu, this is a little gift from me."
"Ah..." Chunxiu waved her hands quickly: "I dare not, please take it back, Madam."
Dong Shulan grabbed Chunxiu's hand, stuffed the red envelope into her hand, and said, "I know you've served the young master since you were a child. No one has made greater contributions than you. You also know that the young master is very busy. You have to take care of the affairs of this mansion. After all, I don't know the other people in this mansion very well. Only you will truly care about the young master and the Fu family."
Chunxiu's tears flowed down her face. She was very scared because the young master had grown up.
Today, the young master announced that Miss Dong is the mistress, and Miss Dong also began to exercise the rights of the mistress. Suddenly, she seemed to become unimportant, and the young master seemed to no longer need her in the future.
"Why are you crying, little girl? The reward given by the mistress is a recognition of you. Shulan is right. She and I are both very busy, and there will be some omissions in the family affairs. You are needed to help keep an eye on them. Otherwise, you can be the housekeeper of this mansion."
Chunxiu waved her hands when she heard this, "I don't have that ability. I will serve the young master and the young mistress. As long as the young master and the young mistress don't mind... I will serve you for the rest of my life!"
Dong Shulan smiled. "Girl, we hope you can serve us for the rest of your life, but you'll have to get married eventually. See if you have found someone you like. If so, tell me and I'll make the decision for you."
"This servant, this servant, I don't want to get married."
"That's because you haven't met someone you like yet. Okay, we have to go."
Fu Xiaoguan and Dong Shulan left the Fu Mansion and went to the Dong Mansion. Chunxiu was at a loss for a long time, then went to the main house and cleaned it up by herself, thinking that this would be the residence of the future young master and mistress. Thinking of the former young master and the current young master, she couldn't help but burst into tears again.
The young master has really grown up. He left Linjiang and settled down in Shangjing City. He has two beautiful fiancées. However, the young lady of the Dong family has become the mistress, and the other one is Her Royal Highness the Ninth Princess. It is impossible that Her Royal Highness the Ninth Princess is a concubine, right?
In the hall, Su Rou took the embroidered mandarin duck and looked at it, then placed it on the table. She sighed, "They're in love, and yet I have to wait in the dark... Senior Brother, what the hell is going on? Why do I feel like we've been trapped by Junior Brother?"
Su Jue raised his head, his face serious. "Third Junior Sister, please don't blame others. This isn't just Junior Brother's opinion; it's also Master's. Also, Master wrote to say that Sixth Junior Sister Su Su left the temple on December 20th to travel around the world. I'm afraid she'll come to the capital to meet us."
Su Rou was slightly startled. "This little girl can't stay here any longer?"
"It's not that I can't stay here. Master said... all the birds within a hundred miles of the temple are gone."
Su Rou laughed, "It's good for Su Su to leave for a while. Second Senior Brother is getting fatter and fatter."
"What I'm worried about is what will happen if Susu comes here?"
Su Rou thought about it and realized that this was a problem. When she played the piano, hundreds of birds would come to pay homage to her in the capital city. Wouldn't that attract other people's attention?
"How about...I go and chase her away?"
A delicate and graceful figure walked in leisurely, carrying a huge black box on his back.
It was a musical instrument case, wider than her body, with the top extending at least halfway beyond her head. It looked quite strange, but she seemed to have gotten used to it.
She had two pigtails and wore a thin gray linen dress. Her bare feet seemed whiter than the snow. In one hand she held a pair of embroidered shoes and in the other she held a string of candied haws, licking them as she walked. She didn't feel cold at all and didn't care about her image at all.
She doesn't need an image. No matter what image she has, she is the best image in the world!
"Third Senior Sister, who are you trying to kick out?"
Su Su walked into the hall while licking her candied haws. Su Jue suddenly woke up and asked, "How did you get in?"
"Oh, I knocked them all out and then I walked in."
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