Chapter 78: White Jade Stove Screen

  Although Zhang felt that Lu Dajiu's behavior was a bit strange, she had originally intended to let the couple return south. Now it was just a little ahead of schedule, and it wasn't unacceptable. There was only one thing: "You both followed us south, so what about this house?"

  Lu Dasou hastily said: "There are still others in the house, my wife and I will escort Old Lady and Brother to the south, after meeting Father and Mother, we will naturally return. Coming and going, it's just a matter of two or three months, leaving a few servants in Beijing is enough."

  Zhang, however, was not as optimistic. The family members who had been allocated to the Xia'erfang household except for Lu Mama's family were all gone, and now in the Beijing mansion, only Lu Dashou was left, and the rest were all bought from outside in recent years. She hadn't trained them before, and it wasn't very convenient to use them either. Thinking that she would only be staying in Beijing for a few months, she had made do with using them. Seeing that Lu Dashou could keep these people under control, she didn't worry too much, but if Lu Dashou really left, entrusting such a large mansion and the things inside to maids who weren't well understood, she truly couldn't put her mind at ease.

  She had been in charge of the household chores at the Jiangnan Marquis's residence for many years, so she was well aware of some of the shady dealings that went on among the servants. When the master and mistress were not around, and the steward was not paying attention, it was possible for the lower-ranking servants to steal things and sell them outside, pocketing the money as their own private stash. If questioned by the authorities, they would just make up some excuse about something being broken or damaged, and the matter would be swept under the rug. Although most of the items in this mansion were old, cumbersome things that had been left behind when the family divided its assets, including furniture and decorations, the gold, silver, and other precious items had all been taken back to the south. However, there were still many valuable antiques and decorative items here. Even a single vase or a set of tea utensils could be sold for dozens of taels of silver outside - wasn't that just giving something away for free? Although these things were just material possessions, they had been used by her family for years, so how could she bear to let a few servants with unknown backgrounds squander them?

  "Shake your head, Zhangshi rejected Lu Dasou's request: "You two should stay and help take care of the house, don't worry about going back. The Duke's former prestige still exists, his old subordinates are still in the court. With their help, who would dare to move us on the road? Moreover, we are taking the water route, the officials of the Transportation Department also have a good relationship with the Duke. The long-following brought from Fengxian is still useful, no need for you to follow. If you really miss your family, I'll send someone to replace you after I return, and you can take your wife back to the south to reunite with your parents and siblings." She looked at Lu Dasou with a few hints of kindness in her eyes: "It's also my fault that I wronged you, making you separate from your parents at a young age, living alone in Beijing, I know you've suffered, but there will be times for enjoyment later."

  This was her promise, and Lu Mama had been her confidante. When she was at her most difficult time, Lu Mama and her family did not abandon her. They even abandoned their own son to rush to her side, and this kindness she would remember for the rest of her life. Whether or not her grandson Zhao Wei could inherit the title of Duke of Jianan in the future, this family business was still in her hands, and she would never mistreat Lu Mama's family.

  Lu Dazhou's face turned red and white, as if he had suddenly thought of something: "The house in the capital is actually nothing, just some cleaning and tidying up, it doesn't matter if I'm not here to watch over it. It's only a matter of two or three months. I really miss my parents, Madam, please let me..."

  Zhang shook his hand and smiled: "I know your filial piety, you can stay in the capital for a few more months, I'll send someone to replace you when I go back."

  Lu Dajiu wanted to say something else, hesitated for a moment, and felt that as long as he could go back, it was not impossible to delay for two or three months, so he reluctantly nodded and left.

  In Zhang's view, this conversation was just a trivial matter. He only thought that there were many things in the house in the capital, and only Lu Dashi was reliable to guard them. It was really a pity for the child. But he was alone, how much could he watch? Those big things in the warehouse must have been covered with dust, maybe some had even rotted. If that's the case, it would be better to pick them out early, so as not to spoil the good ones after a long time.

  Zhang thought for a moment and called Qiuye over to take the warehouse key, lit the lantern, and went to check on some things in several large warehouses.

  It's just a rough check, shouldn't take much time. In those years, everything was recorded in a list of names and ledgers, with two copies of each ledger. One copy is at my old home in Fengxian, and the other is kept by Lu Dasou.

  Lu Dasou arrived with the booklet, his face slightly pale: "The old lady was fine, why did she suddenly think of clearing things up? It's too late tonight, it's tiring for the eyes, let's look again tomorrow morning?"

  "Never mind, my eyes are good enough. Tonight I'll just take a look at some of the furniture and antique decorations, those small things packed in boxes, and I'll examine them more closely tomorrow when it's light."

  Qiu Ye stood beside the candle holder, pursing her lips and smiling: "Old lady, this is an oversight. Beforehand, she didn't think about clearing things up, but after a few days when they were about to leave, she suddenly remembered this matter. If she doesn't hurry, she's afraid it will be too late."

  "Zhang's wife gave her a sideways glance: 'You little girl, following your man around, you've even learned to tease people.'"

  Qiu Ye smiled and said softly to Lu Da Shou, "Don't worry, I have everything under control. The old lady is just sitting there listening to the noise, it's me who's doing all the hard work, not her."

  Lu Dasou forced a smile: "Why bother Autumn Aunt?"

  Lu Mama and Qiuye had both been Zhang's senior maids, although they were far apart in age, they were of the same generation, so Lu Mama's son should address Qiuye as "Aunt". However, Lu Mama was quite senior and old, and the younger maids in the Zhang household all treated her as an elder, so few people actually followed this generational rule, and when they met, it was just a jumbled mess of "mother" and "sister". Qiuye was several years older than Lu Dashi, and he had always called him "older sister", so calling him "aunt" was a first. Qiuye found it novel and took another look at him, discovering that he seemed distracted, and couldn't help but feel a little strange inside.

  The items in the warehouse, on that day, were personally overseen by Lu's mother as they were moved in. They were arranged neatly in rows, without any signs of disorder, and were numbered according to the catalog. It was very convenient to find them. Lu Dasou personally held a candlestick and followed behind, while Autumn Leaf walked ahead, holding a clear register. With one hand holding the register and the other touching the items, they compared each item one by one and actually found that two chairs and a multi-layered cabinet had signs of termite damage. They quickly made a note of it, planning to have Lu Dasou bring people to move the items out early the next morning. The remaining intact furniture also needed to be protected against termites. However, most of these pieces were made from precious wood materials that were naturally resistant to termites, so there was no need to worry. In the future, they would only need to inspect them once a year in spring and autumn.

  The furniture inspection is done. It's still early, so Qiuye starts checking a few large antique decorations. Lu Dasou sees this and advises her: "Madam, you might get tired, why not come back tomorrow morning?"

  Zhang sat beside the chair in the main room of the warehouse. Upon hearing this, he raised his voice and said: "I'm not tired. You guys add a few more items, it's still early now. Come back tomorrow, we can count those small items then, they're just scattered around, can't finish counting them in two days."

  Akira smiled and continued nodding. Although she was worried about her son, with her husband around, she had nothing to worry about.

  Antiques under Xiao Er Fang's name. Many were left in the Beijing mansion, and quite a few were made of precious materials. The craftsmanship was exquisite, but they were not convenient to move, so they weren't taken back to Fengxian. Among them were things that Xiao Er Fang's family used to use, as well as items from County Master's lifetime, and many were Zhang Shi's private belongings, most of which were given to his wife by County Master during his lifetime.

  Autumn leaves this clear point, just pointed out the problem, she found that a purple sandalwood screen inlaid with white jade carving landscape was gone.

  She described the Kang screen in her memory to Zhang: "The frame is made of purple sandalwood, without any carvings or patterns, just a simple frame. In the middle is a whole piece of sheep fat white jade, pure and clean without any impurities, it's extremely rare. On top of the white jade is carved an old lady's youthful landscape painting, it's a...Guo Xi's Song Dynasty landscape painting..."

  Zhang immediately remembered: "It was that one, my father used to collect a landscape painting by Guo Xi, he treasured it like a precious gem. When he passed away, he took the painting with him into his tomb. I grew up watching that painting, and later when I learned landscape painting, I would often copy it from memory, and I painted many versions of it."

  "Really?" Autumn Leaf smiled, "The Duke saw how much you liked it, so he secretly had a piece of white jade made, and had someone steal one of your copied paintings, and had it carved onto the white jade to make a screen, which was given to the old lady as a gift. I still remember, my sisters followed the Duke's orders, after they stole the painting, I was the one who took the painting to the outer study and handed it over to the Duke. At that time, I was only just turning ten years old, and was still just a little maid who swept the floor and watered the flowers."

  Zhang also remembered, thinking of the past, she smiled and had a deeper impression of the kang screen: "That kang screen, I would take it out as soon as winter arrived and put it in the warm pavilion. When County Master left, it was already summer, and in the chaos, I forgot about it..." She stared blankly for a while before coming back to her senses: "Is this thing gone? Could it have been placed somewhere and forgotten? That piece of jade is very delicate, and if you're not careful, it's easy to damage. Maybe Lu Mama put it away in a box?"

  Qiu Ye thought that this was also possible, so he advised Zhang Shi: "Let's take a look again when we open the box tomorrow, it's late at night, and Old Lady should rest early."

  Zhang nodded and, supporting Autumn Leaf, left the storehouse. The night was already deep, but neither of them noticed that Lu Dasou, walking ahead with a lantern, was drenched in sweat.

  Qiu Ye returned to the guest house, Lu Yunpeng had already coaxed their son to sleep, and couldn't help but whisper complaints to his wife: "What were you and Old Lady Zhao talking about? You're back so late."

  Autumn leaves smiled and quietly told him about tonight's events, especially mentioning the white jade screen: "Lu Ma has always been very organized in doing things. She numbered the items, and the items with consecutive numbers should be placed together. However, tonight, only this white jade screen can't be found, it's really strange."

  Lu Yunpeng furrowed his brow: "What you just said... what landscape is carved on this white jade screen?"

  "It's a landscape painting by an ancient artist named Guo Xi, said to be from the Northern Song Dynasty. He was very famous for his mountain and water paintings. The father of Old Madame's family used to collect one of his works, treasured it like a gem, and even taught Old Madame to copy it. When the Duke found out, he took Old Madame's copied painting and had this screen carved." She turned back to ask her husband: "What's wrong? Is there something not right?"

  Lu Yunpeng narrowed his eyes: "The 'Zi Tan Bai Yu' kang screen, the landscape painting carved on it was done by this person. Such a kang screen is unlikely to have a second piece. Coincidentally, I saw one at someone else's house just the other day."