It was said that Aunt Mei assisted in the housekeeping, but she was very dutiful and never overstepped the line, which earned her some reputation. When Madam Tang came over, she said, "No wonder the Marquis loves her so much, she is a dutiful person."
"Even you praise her so much, which shows how capable she is." Mi Niang seemed to be thinking about something.
Mother Tang smiled and said, "Speaking of which, the Marquis is willing to love her, and our wife is also willing to give her a decent treatment, otherwise people will think that our wife is abusing her power in the mansion. You don't know that because of the matter of cutting expenses, many people in the family complained to the Marquis, and the old lady also had some complaints about our wife."
The spending cuts were happening everywhere, so Mi Niang and Fang Wei Yan didn't care. Neither of them were extravagant or greedy people. In fact, Mi Niang's living conditions at her parents' home were even worse than the current ones after the spending cuts, so she didn't feel anything.
Moreover, although Fang Weiyan handed over all his salary to the palace, he was very diligent on weekdays. He would take back the income from writing fees from time to time to supplement his income. He would not take a penny for himself, but give it all to Mi Niang. Mi Niang had a dowry and money from her mother-in-law. She herself was not materialistic and was not particular about what clothes she wore. Her biggest expense on weekdays was buying books.
But they were used to extravagance elsewhere, and even those who came to beg for money were overpaid. For the Fang family, the Marquis' Mansion was enough to support everyone. However, Xu came from a merchant family, so she knew the real situation. If this continued, they would probably not be able to make ends meet.
By that time, Old Madam Weng will be gone, and Marquis Dong'an will be over 50 years old. Can he just leave at any time and leave a shabby stall to his son?
She couldn't wait, so she had to resort to drastic measures.
But any reform will be accompanied by backlash. Xu originally wanted to use the New Year's Eve to pretend to be sick to reduce everyone's hatred for her, but unexpectedly, Mei concubine would be pushed to the forefront. Dong'an Hou couldn't say that Xu was wrong, and he wanted to help Xu, but he also wanted to promote Mei concubine and give her some status in the mansion.
"Actually, ma'am, you did the right thing. It's just that if you do something that hurts someone, there will definitely be people who will have opinions. But if you just break someone's bones, no one will object. So, cutting costs and living frugally should not be done from the bottom up."
Old Madam Weng had the most servants serving her, including four first-class maids, six second-class maids, and ten third-class maids, not to mention several maids who held the dogs, as well as those who raised cranes and grew flowers for the old lady. But among these people, only a few actually did any work, and most of them were kept there for spare money.
Not to mention Fang Furong, or even the grandmothers. Even the most low-key Yu would eat a few ginseng roots and drink bird's nests as water in a month. Not to mention the brothers and sisters in the second room were all rich and powerful, and had a lot of servants. Mi Niang occasionally did the math and found that the second room alone would cost at least a thousand taels of silver a month. Moreover, Yu did not seem to be a wasteful person, and others thought she was quite frugal.
This time it was only slightly trimmed, but the rebound was already very large, so large that Xu's illness might take a few days to recover, so she had to pretend to be sick.
Mother Tang didn't expect Mi Niang to say such a thing. She thought to herself, I originally wanted to express that Aunt Mei is very popular, but I didn't expect Fourth Grandma to attribute this to the expenses for cutting.
What she said was true, but it was easier said than done.
Mother Tang sighed, "With the Fourth and Fifth Grandmas around, our wife will always have a helper."
"You can't say that. The wife is the hostess, Madam Tang."
One should be able to govern according to one's ability. As the mistress of the house, Xu should first discuss with Marquis Dong'an about how the people in the mansion should live, see what he thinks, and then persuade the whole family. This is the right way to do it. Otherwise, her reform will be short-lived, and the retaliation will be even more severe.
Mother Tang knew that Fourth Madam was a very insightful person. If she had not been pregnant, she would not have needed to win people's hearts as the housekeeper this time. How could Aunt Mei, a concubine, be pushed out?
But the Fourth Master was determined to pursue a career in politics and declined all the titles that were offered to him. Otherwise, how could the Madam have ended up in this situation?
Capable people are not sought after, but rather do not want to be constrained. It is a joke to see mediocre people fighting desperately for things.
"I understand what Fourth Grandma means, but how did she arrange the green dress in your yard? I think you mean to take the initiative to cut it."
Mi Niang nodded: "Of course, I have enough manpower here. Chuntao is married and Haoxue is here. What is Bichang doing here? Pixiu is married and she is not young anymore. Whether she gets married or not, it is up to you to arrange it."
Pingxiu and Bishang belong to the old lady and the mistress respectively. Pingxiu knows the current situation and asked to get married a long time ago. As for Bishang, Mi Niang would naturally send her away before the New Year. Since ancient times, girls should not be kept at home when they grow up, otherwise they will become enemies. There is only one man in this courtyard, but too many women, especially the girls with high aspirations. They don't want to go out to marry a servant or marry outside.
The girls in this courtyard live a better life than the fifth-rank official in Mi Niang's family.
But this life does not originally belong to them. Some people will resort to any means to stay in this courtyard. Mi Niang sympathizes with them, but she will not give up her husband.
Mother Tang nodded.
Mi Niang added, "It's best to get rid of her within three days. Mother Tang, you know, she was sent by Madam, and I gave her this respect. If she does something bad, it will not only bring shame to Fengwuyuan, but also to Madam."
"You mean she's restless?" Mother Tang asked in surprise.
Mi Niang smiled and said, "I don't want to say anything more, but if you can't do it well, I will do it myself."
Mother Tang understood immediately that it was difficult to find fault with the way this Fourth Grandma spoke. Although it seemed like she said nothing, she actually said everything.
What she meant was that if she climbed into the bed or something, she would not only be kicked out, but also charged with the crime of stealing. What could Xu do? It would still be embarrassing.
Just because I'm your daughter-in-law doesn't mean I will stand by you unconditionally.
"I'm not kidding."
At this time, Bichang still knew nothing. Moxiang had mentioned it to her last time, but she thought that she was a maid in Fengwu Courtyard after all. If she got married, who could she marry? Like what Pixiu said, she wanted to marry a merchant family. But she heard that the difference between them and the Dong'an Marquis Mansion was too great. They couldn't even ride in a carriage. They could only ride in a donkey cart when going out. They couldn't wear many colors, and merchant families were very unruly.
Mi Niang doesn't care about her so much. She has already given her half a year of chance. She is going to give birth to a baby in the early spring of next year. She can't keep such a careless person around her any longer.
Bichang left the house silently. It was said that she was married to a certain manor owner as his legal wife. By the time everyone realized what was happening, Mi Niang had already delivered twenty taels of dowry to Bichang's house. Only then did everyone realize that Bichang had left.
Afterwards, she also told Fang Weiyan about it. Fang Weiyan thought that this was consistent with his impression of Queen Mother Ruan's behavior. What she really wanted to do was always done silently.
Fang Weiyan just nodded slightly: "I understand. We already have a lot of servants in our yard. It won't matter if one or two go."
He knew in his heart that Mi Niang was definitely not a truly vicious person. In her previous life, she had always been pampering Queen Ruan, and in the end, because of her son, she was only deposed as queen. Unlike the concubines today who directly harmed people, this showed that she was definitely a person with bottom line and skills.
Therefore, he didn't think Bichang's whereabouts would be very bad.
Should I sympathize with them and make them concubines, thus making my own baby angry?
Fang Weiyan is obviously not that stupid.
At the end of the year, the Hanlin Academy also paid monthly salaries and silver in exchange for spices and cloth. Mi Niang was pregnant now, so these spices were sent everywhere, and a portion was also sent to Concubine Mei.
Aunt Mei returned a small bellyband embroidered with lotus seeds. The needlework was very skillful and delicate. Aunt Mei smiled and said to Fang Weiyan, "She is really thoughtful."
Fang Weiyan was very surprised by Mi Niang's attitude: "Didn't you say that Aunt Mei had some problems?"
Mi Niang snorted coldly: "If you say it's nothing, then it's nothing. I don't care about your family's affairs."
Fang Weiyan laughed: "Are you still angry about this? And your family and my family are becoming estranged."
"Humph, you look down on me and women, and I don't want to talk to you anymore."
"You are a person who knows everything. How can you not understand this? No matter how much she makes trouble, how much she is favored, and how much she whispers in our ears, the biggest conflict in the family now is nothing more than the position of the crown prince. Since we are not prepared to fight for it, why should we enter this vortex?"
"But don't you care about your mother and brother the most?" asked Mi Niang.
Fang Weiyan looked up at her: "What do you think?"
ah?
In Mi Niang's heart, Fang Wei Yan is definitely a person of extreme benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and trustworthiness.
That's why Mi Niang would protect his family. She had no idea that Fang Wei Yan was thinking this way. She looked him up and down: "You... aren't you fine?" How come you suddenly became so dark.
Fang Weiyan waved his hand: "This is a test for Weijun. I will not be partial to either of them. At least the old man will listen to me in the future. If Weijun can't make it on his own, I will have my own arrangements. Although he is my younger brother, I can't always help him."
"Are you saying that you might also want that title?" Mi Niang looked at him.
Fang Weiyan pointed at Mi Niang's belly and said, "If he can, he can also take the imperial examination like me. If he fails, he can always get a title. Of course, I don't want Weijun's title. Since I said I won't fight for it, I will retreat completely. If you want to talk about calculations, who doesn't have calculations? If he is given the opportunity, he must seize it. If he doesn't, even if he becomes the prince, I think he will become the target of public criticism, which is even worse. At that time, it will be even more difficult to guard against. Can I still take care of him for the rest of his life?"
It's not that Fang Weiyan is cruel, but that virtue and talent must match the position. He gave way to Xian and pointed out the way for Weijun. However, if he was asked to protect Weijun like an old mother, he thought Weijun was not suitable for this position.
This position would definitely not be given to Fang Weichang. Even Aunt Mei, like Daji, could not change it. This involves the meaning of the eldest son. Fang Weichang was appointed before because the Marquis of Dong'an did not remarry, and he was the eldest son.
If there is a legitimate heir, the heir will be made the heir; if there is no legitimate heir, the eldest son will be made the heir.
When he and Mi Niang had no children, it didn't matter to him and he might help Weijun, but when he had his own children, he had to think about it.
As an elder brother, he has done his best because he is confident that he can make his own life better and give his younger brother a better future. But if his younger brother fails, even if he has cleared so many obstacles for him, he still won't be able to seize the opportunity.
He was an official through the imperial examination. In both his past and present lives, he passed the imperial examination at the age of 20. He could be said to have achieved success at a young age. When he took the examination for the title of Tongsheng, he saw many old men with white hair taking the examination with them with ingratiating smiles on their faces. Some of them even lived a life of depression and were bullied. Although he was young, he already knew what cruelty was.
Later, when he entered officialdom, he realized how disastrous it would be for an unsuitable person to be in an unsuitable position.
Sometimes, not having that much ability and being mediocre can actually help you protect yourself.
Therefore, he felt that Fang Weijun should grow up and deal with these things on his own.
Mi Niang was very touched that Fang Weiyan had thought so far ahead. She nodded and said, "That's true, but how did you know that Aunt Mei is from the Shen family? I haven't found out yet."
"I used my brain to think about it." Fang Weiyan rarely joked.
"Then the lady..."
"Silly girl, how can you be so kind-hearted? It's not necessarily a bad thing to take a step back in everything. Madam wants to cut down on expenses. As her own son and daughter-in-law, we certainly don't mind and raise our hands to support her. But there are so many people in the family, all of whom are doing trivial things. Fifty taels of silver can be done, but they are given two or three hundred taels. Madam did this for fame. Now that things are handled in an impartial manner, or if they have to cut down, who is willing to do so? In this world, blocking someone's financial path is like killing their parents. Madam is sick and it's a good opportunity for her to recuperate."
After he said this, Mi Niang understood everything. After Xu came into the family, in order to maintain her reputation, she probably would not spend her own money, and many of her accounts were paid into the public treasury. Now she is afraid that she will not be able to make ends meet in the future, so she has to cut back, but the clan members, servants, and people in the mansion are not happy with this.
Because Fang Weiyan has always believed in the law of natural selection and survival of the fittest.
If Weijun was really that outstanding, the Marquis would have considered him a long time ago and would not have left him hanging like this. Similarly, Fang Weichang's talent was not irreplaceable. The Marquis of Dong'an has abandoned him now. If Fang Weijun was great, he would naturally let Fang Weijun take over. If Fang Weijun was not good enough, he would consider Fang Weichang.
In the past, Xu had so many people in her orbit, and those people always got things done for money, but they couldn't change the Marquis's mind. It wasn't that the Marquis of Dong'an loved Fang Weichang so much, but that he hadn't completely replaced him.
Fang Weiyan said seriously, "Besides, Aunt Mei has just entered the mansion, so she must first gain a firm foothold. Next year, I will be officially appointed as an official. Aunt Mei, let me tell you, there may be men who value loyalty, but there are very few such people. Most of them value power more than anything else. There are not as many men who are blinded by lust as you think."
Why do these words sound so familiar? Mi Niang scratched her head, as if Second Mistress Ding had also said them to her.
But, is it okay for you to say that about your father?
Mi Niang nodded: "My mother told me that men value their future more than anything else and are much more rational than women. Why are you telling me this? You are different from others."
"Well, probably because I never find rights difficult."
In a nutshell, I am more capable and I don't need to sacrifice women or weigh anything to get what I want.
"Shameless." Mi Niang smiled. She didn't ask what she would do if he really faced the situation where he needed to make a choice, because she was not a fool and would not wait for herself to be in a passive position.
Seeing Mi Niang's smile, Fang Weiyan also became happy: "We can't have a banquet this year, so we can spend a quiet New Year. Let's go to the library and stay there from morning till night every day, and eat there, how about it? I'll also have someone set up a couch there, so you can rest there when you're tired, how about it?"
"Of course, but you can stay until noon and come back. We can read in the room in the afternoon. Sometimes my legs cramp and you can give me a massage."
"good."
Since then, Mi Niang has stopped asking about Aunt Mei. Chun Tao still finds this strange, but Mi Niang said, "It doesn't matter if she wins once. She will win next year."
Chun Tao didn't understand, so Mi Niang asked her, "What do you think Madam relies on in this mansion?"
"Of course it's the Fourth Master and the Fifth Master." Chuntao blurted out.
It was because she gave birth to two sons and one daughter, and because the eldest son was exceptionally intelligent, that others did not dare to look down on her. Otherwise, how could Xu live so freely and arrange all the marriages of her sons and daughters by herself?
Mi Niang nodded: "So, even if Aunt Mei spent all her efforts with the Marquis, what's the use? After our Fourth Master leaves the academy next year, we will have already appointed her as an editor. How does Aunt Mei compare to the Fourth Master?"
"There's a world of difference." How can they be compared? One is a concubine in the backyard, who has not even stood firmly on her feet, but has some favors, while the other is a Hanlin master.
Mi Niang spread her hands: "So, if you figure this out, you don't have to worry about her. On the contrary, the more she does, the more mistakes she makes. We still have to bury the nails, but we should lay the long line to catch the big fish. When she gets into trouble in the future, it will be revealed that she was sent by the Shen family. That would be really amazing. Now let her be proud for a few days."
But Chuntao couldn't help but ask: "You are right, but isn't the Marquis too snobbish?"
"You, there are few men in the world who don't consider their future and personal interests more important than women. Li Guan used to be so infatuated with Guan Huiqing, and he rejected many marriage proposals. But you want him not to come to Beijing to take the imperial examination, and give up his future for Guan Huiqing, just to stay with her. Do you think he is willing?"
Chuntao understood what was said.
Even if the Marquis of Dong'an dotes on his concubine, Fang Weiyan is of high status and has great potential. He will be able to revitalize the Fang family in the future. Just for the sake of this son, no matter how rebellious Xu does, the Marquis of Dong'an will cover up her crime. How could he offend Xu for Aunt Mei?
Just like in her previous life, Mi Niang was able to ascend to the throne, but fortunately Queen Ruan had no children. If she had a legitimate son, it would not be easy for her to reach that position. Even if Queen Ruan was incompetent, the prince would not be incompetent, and it would be extremely difficult to get rid of them both. Besides, Xu was not a person like Queen Ruan. She was quite calculating.
Even if the Marquis of Dong'an really lost his mind because of lust, Fang Weiyan was a Hanlin and a close minister of the emperor. No matter what the Marquis of Dong'an wanted to do, the emperor might ask Fang Weiyan, and Fang Weiyan might say something he shouldn't say. Then his title would be stripped, and Xu could still rely on her son to become a royal consort, but the Marquis of Dong'an would be a sinner for all eternity.
Mi Niang didn’t say anything further after this.
Aunt Mei assisted in the management of the household very smoothly, all thanks to Xu's arrangement. Xu also praised her in front of Marquis Dong'an. Seeing his wife and concubine getting along so well, Marquis Dong'an naturally felt it was a good thing.
Shen was not so happy. She knocked on the table and said, "I knew Fang Weiyan's wife would lose her temper. Now seeing Aunt Mei like this, she didn't react at all."
If she had any reaction, it would mean that Fang Weiyan was not so indifferent to fame and fortune, and he would not have the face to pretend to be fair in front of the Marquis in the future.
In that case, let’s just keep our eyes on Fang Weijun.
Fang Weichang also agreed: "Now we have planted some people there, just like Xu used to keep an eye on us, we also need to have people keep a close eye on Fang Weijun, and make a big fuss if he does anything wrong."
After finishing his words, Fang Weichang asked Shen: "Is this Aunt Mei reliable?"
Shen smiled and said, "Don't worry. Her parents are in the hands of our Shen family. Before, Xu deliberately didn't give money to my second brother, so he took the risk. This time, we will let her and her son suffer a little."
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