Chapter 31
The Tao family's steward hurried through the alley between the main hall and the main house, ascending the steps to the main eaves. Maids and servants stood guard at either side of the door. Standing at the doorway, he bowed and clasped his hands together, saying, "Master, there's a letter from over there."
Tao Tou Ren was discussing with his wife how many bamboo sedan chairs they should make for offering banners tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. Hearing this, he called out to let him in.
The butler entered the room and knelt down first, then came to the side of Tao Tou Ren and whispered to him the news he had just received.
The pottery headman was nonchalant at first, then gradually frowned, and finally, with increasing rage, he swept the tea set off the table. Broken pieces of porcelain flew far away, and the housekeeper quickly sent in the maids, who served the master and mistress personally, so it was no big deal to hear a few words from what followed.
Tao Tou Ren was so furious that his chest was heaving violently. He said bitterly, "This wicked woman, who was raised by this poor family in Mengding Prefecture, doesn't even know whose child this is? She probably wants everyone in Mengdingba to starve to death. Her family eats my food, but she is trying to hinder my granddaughter. Her whole family is a bunch of ungrateful people. Even a scabby in a muddy pond is three times more respectable than her family, and yet she is still showing off!"
Although she didn't hear what the housekeeper said to Tao Tou Ren, she could guess from what Tao Tou Ren said. She pretended to be confused and asked, "What is it that makes you so angry?"
Tao Tou Ren didn't answer her. He leaned his hands on his legs and said to the housekeeper, "Send two of our maids who can speak Chinese to the Tusi's mansion, and get a carriage. Choose a mute son from the Lahu family who knows some martial arts for the coachman. Tell them that if the young lady is happy, they will be happy too. If the young lady is not, then the whole family will be in trouble."
Before the housekeeper could reply, Mrs. Tao could no longer pretend. She frowned and said, "There are only a few maids in the mansion who can speak Chinese. What will happen to Boman if you send two away at once? She will be marrying into the Mengmeng Mansion in a few months, and these maids are all reserved for her."
Boman is the daughter of Mrs. Tao's eldest son. When she was eight years old, she was engaged to the grandson of Mengmeng Tusi and would be married in a few months.
Tao Tou Ren's face was calm. "It's not like we're giving them all away. There are still two left. If you think it's not enough, you can just choose a few more to teach. Didn't you also say we still have a few months?"
"Choose a few and teach them later?" That's easy to say. These maids had been trained since Portman's engagement, from cooking to dressing up to reading and writing. It took so much time and effort; it couldn't be trained in just a few months.
Tao Tusi always had the final say at home, so she didn't dare to challenge him openly and said no. She forced a smile and said, "It's not that I'm stingy and reluctant to give it to you, but Mengmeng Mansion is close to Mengning, and Boman will inevitably have to deal with Han Chinese wives. How can he survive without reliable people around him? Why don't I ask the housekeeper to pick out a few smart ones, train them well, and then send them to Tusi Mansion. It doesn't matter if they are perfect, as long as they can speak Chinese, are attentive, and can serve people, isn't it enough?"
Hearing this, the Tao headman looked Mrs. Tao up and down with an unfathomable look in his eyes. Mrs. Tao was frightened by his gaze and smiled softly in discomfort, "Master, why do you look at me like this?"
Tao Tou Ren said sarcastically, "You can't even bear to give your two daughters to other people's daughters, so how can you have the nerve to let other people's caravans help your mother's family to carry salt?"
Mrs. Tao's face froze when she heard this. She didn't expect that Chief Tao cursed Lan Yingde three times a day, saying that he was a bastard and that his daughter was a little debt collector, but now he was protecting her again.
She was dissatisfied and said, "The caravan is paid by our family, so how can it belong to Lan Yingde? Can't I use my own caravan to transport the salt?"
Tao Tou Ren sneered, "Are you really stupid or are you just pretending? How much can you earn by following Lan Yingde? How much can you earn by helping our family smuggle salt? They have big money to earn, but they stay in my little Mengli. Is it because of your face, Madam? It's obvious that Lan Yingde is secretly feeding them. If Lan Yingde hadn't said that, would the price of imported salt be so low? Would the government's salt tax be 30% lower than before?"
Mrs. Tao was speechless. She was feigning ignorance even though she knew the truth. She also resented Lan Yingde's contempt for her. She was clearly the mistress of the mansion, and her son was clearly the future leader of Lishengmeng. Yet, Lan Yingde gave his cash cow to the son of his concubine. Wasn't it because he and Tao Mannu were born of the same mother? He treated her so lightly while she was still alive. If she were gone, wouldn't Lan Yingde support the son of his concubine?
Although she was unwilling, she was also afraid that if she really couldn't bear to part with the two maids, Lan Yingde would feel resentful and take over the caravan, and instead secretly help the son born to the concubine. That would be hard to guard against, and her and her family's income would be cut off.
She sighed and said, "Aren't they just two maids? Just send them over! Master, why do you have to say such hurtful things? The third son is filial and cares about me and his grandparents. But you make it seem like we are deliberately taking advantage of him."
What the steward admired most was the mistress's ability to turn a bad thing into a bad one, her ability to bend and stretch. He'd heard her threaten and bribe the Third Master, threatening that if he helped her family, she would provide a dowry for the Lan family's daughter, following the clan's custom of marrying off a young lady. If he refused, she would expel Miss Mannu and the Second Madam from the family tree. After all, the Second Madam had raised a shameless, family-disregarding daughter, and removing their names was only natural. The Third Master had agreed with tears in his eyes and gritted his teeth. Now, it seemed as if the Third Master was being filial, actively helping the mistress's family.
Tao Tou Ren and his wife had been married since they were young and had lived together until old age. He knew her temper well and didn't believe a word she said. He warned her, "Whether you like it or not, you'd better not play tricks on me and try to fool me with just two random people. I'm talking about maids, coachmen, and carriages. I want the best of them. If the ones you choose make a fool of themselves or something goes wrong at the Tusi Mansion, you can leave this household to my eldest daughter-in-law!" With that, he swept out of the main house, and the housekeeper quickly followed.
Mrs. Tao was so shocked by the words of the Tao headman that she didn't come to her senses for a long time. When she relaxed, she found that her back teeth were painful from biting them. She stroked her face and cursed softly, "Old man."
Yueming's meals these past two days can only be described as delightful. Yunkai came to see her at dinnertime, and she was eating a bowl of fragrant rice with braised pork until her mouth was dripping with oil. As she ate the fragrant braised pork, she felt a bit like she had gotten away with it and said, "Oh! When you're sick, you should eat lighter. You really shouldn't eat such greasy food."
Yun Kai hated her hypocritical attitude the most. He reached out to take the bowl of braised pork and said, "Okay, I'll help you eat it. I haven't eaten yet."
Yueming quickly defended him: "It's okay, it's okay. It's good to replenish nutrition when you are sick." Then he complained to Feng Xiaosai: "That's not right. You didn't even tell me that your young master didn't eat." He turned and walked to the coat rack. From the velvet bag hanging on it, he took out four half-opened dishes that he hadn't had the chance to use before and handed them to Feng Xiaosai: "Tell the kitchen to add more dishes. Pick out the ones that suit the second young master's taste. You can order whatever you want. If you don't have enough money, we can make up for it tomorrow."
Feng Xiaosai didn't dare to take it. He looked at Yunkai. Yunkai nodded and then he took the money with a smile on his face. He put his hands together and thanked Yueming, "Thank you Miss Lan for the food."
Feng Xiaosai went to the kitchen to add more dishes. Yunkai asked the maid to bring a set of tableware and he and Yueming started eating together. Looking at Yueming's eating, Yunkai felt that she must have been starving recently, as she was eating in a hurry and chaos.
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