Chapter 3: Chaos in the Marquisate
Chu Xinrou's face turned pale and she almost broke her nails.
She deliberately wore plain clothes in order to arouse the sympathy of Marquis Jingning so that he would feel sorry for her, but now it seems that she has shot herself in the foot.
The glaring look of disdain from Marquis Jingning was like a knife stabbing into her heart.
Chu Xinrou's body swayed and she fell into Ji Jinglan's arms beside her, sobbing softly, but before she could open her mouth, she was interrupted by Chu Mingyi.
"I didn't scold you, who are you crying for?" Chu Mingyi took Jingning Hou's arm and shook it lightly in displeasure. "Dad, do you think big sister doesn't like us? Otherwise, why would she wear plain clothes and cry as soon as you and auntie appeared?"
Aunt Liu, who was sitting beside her, spoke at the right time, "Okay, Mingyi, your elder sister just returned home, so it's normal for her to not know the rules. Just ask someone to teach her in the future."
As she spoke, Concubine Liu gently picked up a piece of food for Marquis Jingning with her chopsticks, speaking in the tone of a mistress of the house, "My Lord, the Nanny Qin who is by my side is the most knowledgeable about etiquette and rules. Why not let her teach the young lady the rules?"
Marquis Jingning had no feelings for Chu Xinrou to begin with, and the fact that she was wearing plain clothes and crying at the dinner party only ruined his mood. If someone didn't know better, they would have thought someone had died in their mansion.
He immediately dropped his chopsticks in displeasure and said, "Just you can make the decision on these little things. This young lady really has no manners and needs to be taught a lesson."
Concubine Liu raised her eyebrows slightly, put down her chopsticks and followed Marquis Jingning, "My Lord, you didn't eat much for dinner. Please go to my courtyard and have some. Mingyi has been thinking about you a lot these days."
Haha, she thought Ji Jinglan didn't want such a capable daughter like Chu Shuwei, and the person she found was nothing more than this.
This time, Ji Jinglan lost more than she gained. Chu Xinrou was petty and could never compare to Chu Shuwei who was kicked out of the house.
When Chu Xinrou heard Marquis Jingning say that the young lady was indeed unruly, her face turned pale. She clutched Ji Jinglan's clothes tightly and sobbed, "Mother, how can father say that to me? I am his biological daughter."
Moreover, even when a concubine took advantage of her, my mother did not say a word to refute her. She looked tongue-tied and did not even speak to defend her.
What she didn't know was that Ji Jinglan was also angry at the moment. She wanted to open her mouth to argue, but in the past, whenever Aunt Liu started to argue, Shu Wei had always easily repelled her, and she never had to bother.
This was the first time she had suffered a loss in all the years since she married into the Marquis's Mansion.
"Okay, Xinrou, they're just illegitimate children. They can never compare to you." Ji Jinglan suppressed her anger and comforted her. "The most important thing for you now is to take over the household chores and mother's shops and farms. You can't lose your grandmother's favor, understand?"
Chu Xinrou wiped her tears, and the mother and daughter returned to their respective rooms without eating.
In the glazed courtyard, Chu Xinrou looked at the treasures and antiques left by Chu Shuwei, clenched her fingers, and ordered people to light candles to find the account books in the mansion.
Whatever Chu Shuwei can do, Chu Xinrou will definitely do better than her.
However, after reading the booklet for only half an hour, she felt dizzy and had to call the housekeeper to ask for advice.
When she heard the steward report that there were only eight hundred taels of silver available for withdrawal from the mansion, her eyes blurred and she almost fainted.
"Marquis Jingning has more than sixty people and countless fields and farms, but how come he only has eight hundred taels of cash? Are you deliberately deceiving me because I'm a newcomer?" Chu Xinrou gritted her teeth and threw away the account book in her hand.
She had just seen Chu Mingyi wearing gold and silver, and the dishes at the dinner were all delicious game. A whole meal would cost a hundred taels of silver. How could there be only this little money in the account?
Manager Liu was already unhappy about being called by Chu Xinrou in the middle of the night, and now she scolded him without saying a word. How could he tolerate it?
He is an old man in the mansion. Even when Miss Shuwei was around, she would never speak to him like this. This new Miss Xinrou is really unruly.
Manager Liu's words were filled with sarcasm. "Young lady, don't you know how to read the accounts? This account book clearly records every expenditure and income. You can tell with just a glance."
"It's really interesting that the girl comes to question me without understanding it."
Chu Xinrou was scolded by a small manager. She turned pale with anger, but she tried hard not to lose her temper.
She had already displeased her father, and if she scolded the servants in the middle of the night, she was afraid that her father would be even more angry with her.
Chu Xinrou clenched her fingers tightly, her sharp nails digging into her flesh.
Her mother asked her to prepare her own family recognition banquet, at which all the important figures in the capital would come, and this would be a great opportunity for her to show herself.
But there were only 800 taels of silver in the treasury, how could it be enough for her to hold a grand family reunion banquet!
Chu Xinrou was feeling upset when she caught a glimpse of the account book showing the fee for Chu Yunlan to attend the White Deer Academy. It was a full three hundred taels. "Didn't Big Brother already receive an invitation from the White Deer Academy, asking him to enroll tomorrow? What are these three hundred taels for?"
Manager Liu glanced at the account book and said contemptuously, "Miss, you don't know this, but this is Miss Shu Wei's order. Those who can attend Bailu Academy are all powerful and wealthy. This money is used to bribe the eldest young master."
Upon hearing Chu Shuwei's name, Chu Xinrou's eyes flashed with displeasure. Before the steward could finish, she interrupted him, "Cut this expense. Big brother was able to enter the White Deer Academy because of his own talent, not by relying on these crooked ways."
There was a sense of contempt and disdain in his words for money.
Manager Liu was stunned and looked at Chu Xinrou in disbelief.
Where did the eldest son's talent come from? Wasn't it because of Miss Shu Wei's daily guidance, and the money, treasures, and face she gave him that he got the chance to enter the Bailu Academy?
Without the money to bribe, the eldest young master will be kicked out of Bailu Academy with his mediocre skills!
He opened his mouth to persuade Chu Xinrou to reconsider, but Chu Xinrou pointed at several more places in succession, "And here, Grandma, it's just a common headache, common among elderly people. I'll personally make a calming soup and send it to you later, and the doctors in the mansion can go back. As for the Ganoderma lucidum and ginseng, there's no need for that."
It was just a minor headache, but Chu Shuwei spent nearly five taels of silver on it every month. She must have embezzled some of it.
From then on, she asked the kitchen to prepare a bowl of calming soup every day, and then she would deliver it to her grandmother personally. This not only pleased her grandmother, but also saved money for her family recognition banquet.
"The monthly salaries of Concubine Liu and Chu Mingyi have also been cut in half. Since the family is in financial difficulty, there's no need to make new clothes for them this season."
Chu Xinrou felt a pang of pain in her heart when she thought of the way the mother and daughter looked at her at the dinner party.
Why should a concubine, a illegitimate daughter, have to eat, wear and spend the same as a legitimate daughter?
Now she is the housekeeper, and she wants these two to recognize their own status.
Manager Liu felt dizzy after hearing this and hurried to Ji Jinglan's yard with the account book.
This girl Xinrou not only doesn't know how to read the account books, she is simply doing things recklessly!
If she were allowed to do this, the whole house would be in chaos.
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