The 113th time

  The room next to the inner gate was very lively, with three groups of people asking questions. The young girls in their teens were all asked by Xiaocui and Bisi, while the rest of the people were divided into two groups, one led by Danju and Meiyu, and the other by Qinsang and Lüshi. Each person's questioning time was different, with younger ones having simpler experiences that could be finished in just a few words, while older ones had a lot of stories to tell.

  Tan Juexin carefully took out a few screens from inside and set them up to separate the area, so that if they were asking about personal matters, others wouldn't be able to hear. For example, Hao Dacheng's wife was a remarried woman whose previous husband had been beaten to death by the master of the house many years ago during a robbery. Hao Dacheng himself was also a slave from a family guilty of killing his former master's wife. The widower and widow got together and even had children.

  The grandeur of the Dawn Hall was too overwhelming, and Minglan always felt like she was in a museum exhibition hall. So, she quietly slipped away to the side chamber next to the Dawn Hall to listen to Mr. Gong Sun's account. Gong Sun Baishi had an air of elegance about him, stroking his long white beard with an even more dignified demeanor than Sheng Hong. Several stewards and accountants stood below, and Minglan pointed to the ledger, asking a few questions in a soft voice. They all responded one by one, appearing very obedient and respectful.

  "Thank you, sir," Minglan said with a bow. "A person of your stature shouldn't be bothered with such trivial matters, it's really an imposition on you!"

  Gongsun Baishi looked at the account book pointed by Minglan, with a bitter smile: "I was originally a carefree person, these are not my strengths. Since becoming the commander of the garrison, I have been really suffering."

  Miss Lin pointed to Little Peach, who was serving tea, and smiled: "Sir, there's no need for such words. Even if the governor were to come and manage these trivial matters himself, it would probably be the same; as they say, 'killing a chicken with an ox knife', but in reality, when one actually uses an ox knife to kill a chicken, it often doesn't work well."

  Gongsun Baishi's mouth crooked, and he couldn't help but smile: "These words are indeed true!"

  As they chatted, he found Minglan's conversation to be elegant and refined, with a lively train of thought that was quite different from others. He felt rather pleased, but after all, men and women were different, and he couldn't linger as a guest in the Gu household. After a short while, he stood up to take his leave, and as he left, he instructed a young servant to escort Minglan to the inner study.

  "My name is Gu Quan, and you can just call me Xiao Quanzi. I'm thirteen or fourteen years old. I have a round face and small eyes, and when I smile, my whole face lights up, making me look very clever. As I walk ahead of Minglan, leading the way, I chat with a grin, '...Master is my benefactor, if it weren't for him, I would've been reduced to nothing but a beggar on the streets years ago.'"

  Minglan really wants to say, but it's hard to see, maybe you can become a leader.

  Along the east-west path outside Chuihuai Hall, passing through a flower-wood screen door with hanging flowers, Minglan arrived at the entrance of the inner study. This was two large rooms that were connected into one space on both sides, with ear houses on either side and two small warming rooms and embracing halls in front and back, all for resting purposes. Minglan nodded secretly to herself, if she and Gu Tingye quarreled in the future, she could completely sleep here in a huff.

  As soon as she stepped inside, she saw that the room was fully equipped with a desk for writing, a desk for painting, a table for playing the guqin, and an altar, all facing south. The six windows were spotless, indicating that they had just been cleaned. On the floor stood two large iron-bound camphor wood chests. The four-sided bookshelves built along the wall were empty. Minglan smiled wryly as she instructed Guquan to open the chests and take out the books inside. Then, following the example of the Longbai Study, they roughly organized the books by category under Minglan's direction. Xiaotao and Guquan, sweating profusely, carried the books into the bookshelves one by one.

  Her fingers stroked the brand new book covers, "Analects of Confucius", "The Great Learning", "The Doctrine of the Mean", "Mencius", "Huainanzi"...... The bookroom was extremely well-equipped, and Minglan was delighted to discover several rare books. However, judging from the thick layer of dust accumulated on them, it seemed that all these books were only for decoration. So, there was no need for her to bother rearranging the bookshelves, but leaving so many empty spaces looked bad. It would be better to go out and buy some interesting unofficial histories and miscellaneous writings to fill them up.

  After arranging the bookshelves, Minglan began to tidy up her desk. The purple stone inkstone from Huzhou, the cloud and mist inkstone from Sunan, the white jade pen washer from Qionglin, a set of pens ranging from thick to thin in a uniform purple color, three stacks of snow-white fine-grained paper with gold trim were placed beside the desk. Minglan personally arranged each one, sighing secretly as she did so - Ah, delicate flowers, why do you love cow dung with all your heart?

  After tidying up the study, Minglan had just returned to her room to rest and massage her waist and legs when Gu Tingye's other personal servant, Gu Shun, rushed back to the mansion on horseback to report to Minglan that Gu Tingye would not be returning home for lunch today and told Minglan to eat by herself. In fact, Minglan didn't mind at all; apart from giving birth, most things women could do on their own, and eating lunch alone wouldn't affect her appetite either.

  "But as a virtuous wife, Minglan still had to ask a few more questions: 'Where did the old master go for dinner?'"

  Gu Shun wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve and panted: "I heard that today's court was quite lively, arguing until the end of the hour of Si before dispersing. As soon as the court was dismissed, the Emperor summoned Master and several other generals to enter the palace for discussion, saying that they would also have dinner inside."

  Minglan softly hummed in agreement, her expression unchanged. However, she couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for Gu Shun's pitiful state. She instructed Xiaotao to hand him a cool, damp cloth to wipe away his sweat, and Xiaotao promptly did so while also pouring him a bowl of tea to drink.

  Gu Shun took a sip of tea, composed himself, and smiled as he thanked her. Seeing Minglan's gloomy expression, he added, "Madam, don't worry about it, this kind of thing has happened before. Sometimes the Emperor summons him, sometimes other generals take him away."

  Minglan was just a bit tired, not unwilling. Hearing this, she smiled and said: "Look at you, tired like this. If this thing happens again, won't you be constantly so exhausted? Later, I'll have to go back and find Master."

  "Where did the lady get such words?!" Gu Shun's voice was loud and clear, his face excited. "My life is given by Master, what's the talk about being tired or not?! As long as Master and Madam hum a tune, I'd run my legs off without making a sound!"

  Minglan lost her smile: "Keep your legs then! Xiaotao, hurry up and give some fruit to Xiao Shunge, and grab some money to buy him snacks."

  Xiao Tao rushed in and came out with a whole plate of golden silk dates in one hand and a handful of copper coins in the other, pouring them all into Gu Shun's pocket. Gu Shun left with a smile on his face, thanking him.

  Danju's brain was still quite bright, she knew to ask the kitchen staff first, and after finishing her questions early, she quickly sent them off to cook lunch, so as not to delay the meal. Minglan spoke softly in front of a table full of dishes: "Let Ruomei and the others eat first too, take a break, it's not late to ask again slowly this afternoon."

  Xiao Tao neatly folded up her sleeves in three layers, lifted her wrist to serve Minglan rice, soup and dishes, and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Miss, Green Branch is clever and won't starve herself."

  The colored hoop beside her also smiled and said, "Don't worry, madam. I just asked the little girl to ask, and it's said that the big ladies in the kitchen personally carried the rice containers to deliver food."

  Minglan then picked up her chopsticks and smiled: "You're quite clever."

  Cai Huan's face was somewhat embarrassed: "I just arrived, and I'm clumsy, and I don't understand the rules here, so I can only learn by watching; I hope you won't despise me."

  Ming Lan swallowed a mouthful of fish meat and smiled: "No rush, it's better to take it slow. A distant road tests the strength of a horse, and time reveals a person's heart."

  Cai Huan smiled and said, "In the past when I was with Madam, I always heard her praise you as one of the most outstanding among the young ladies. You are intelligent and wise, knowing how to treat people well, and the sisters in the courtyard are all very obedient and well-behaved."

  Minglan put down her chopsticks, picked up the spoon and took a light sip of the soup. She glanced at Caihe and smiled faintly: "As long as you're not stupid and willing to learn, you can slowly practice and improve; what's important is your attitude. Those few have been with me for almost ten years, so they are naturally closer to me. I know you're a good person, take your time, we'll get along well after a while; alright, you go eat too, this afternoon ask Xiaotao to watch the door, and you come with me to take a look at the front."

  Cai Huan's face lit up instantly, and she happily went out.

  After she left, Minglan put down her spoon and pondered for a moment before asking in a low voice: "What do you think of this person?"

  "She talks a lot and likes to gossip." Xiaotao pouted, "However, she's quite skilled with needlework and is diligent. She volunteers to do everything."

  Minglan poked at her rice with her chopsticks: "It's normal to be curious, newcomers always want to know more, it's just that... never mind, can't be too careful. Xiaotao, remember, don't let her into my room, there's plenty of work outside for her to do."

  "If she were clever, she wouldn't have acted on her own; and being a good girl, she wouldn't have wronged her either."

  "I hope so......" Minglan was a bit short of confidence, a common problem among legal workers.

  After dinner, Minglan touched her poor little bones and thought it was more reliable to hurry up and sleep to gain weight. Later, she would be able to endure the cold in bed; so she rolled into bed with a sigh. In a daze, her mind kept turning over the things she had seen and thought about in the past two days.

  In the capital, rice and millet are like pearls and jade. After Hai Shi entered the house, there were ten masters in the Sheng household, three aunts, four concubines, for a total of seventeen people. Including servants, maids, and attendants, there were fifty-eight people in all. As Hai Shi gradually took charge, Minglan often went to help take care of her brother's son. Sometimes she would hear snippets of conversation and knew that this household spent around four thousand taels per year on social expenses.

  The Wang family is frugal, the Hai family is thrifty, and their household expenses are quite sufficient. They still have a surplus, and after calculating the profits from their fields, shops, and other businesses, as well as the share of the old house in Rao Yang, they can save up a considerable amount of silver each year to prepare for their children's marriages.

  As for his new home, Gu Tingyan was a second-grade official with an annual salary of 150 taels and 61 stones of rice allowance. However, this kind of old rice was not even eaten by the slaves in the Shengfu mansion, and it was usually taken to the rice shop to be exchanged for silver. As a military officer, he also received additional military subsidies of 220 taels. His total annual salary was approximately 500 taels. According to custom, he should also receive ice money and coal money.

  Minglan currently has the deed to the fields, which indicates that Gu Tingye has two estates in the suburbs of Beijing near Yanmu River. One is called Heishan Zhuang, with over 80 hectares of good land, and the other is called Guyan Zhuang, with over 100 hectares of good land. The emperor also gave him half a mountain head in the western mountains of the capital, a hot spring villa, all together, the total annual income is about 5,000 taels.

  Pierce: It seems there is no commercial industry yet.

  That day, Minglan asked how much time she could spend in the household, but Gu Tingye didn't give a clear answer. He only said that apart from these fixed expenses managed by Minglan, he had also left 50,000 taels of silver in the account house, telling her to use it first and ask him again if it was not enough.

  From a poor girl who only had one or two taels of silver to a rich woman who could dispose of such money, Minglan suddenly felt like she was dating a wealthy man. She couldn't help but want to order three bowls of bird's nest congee every day, eat one bowl, watch one bowl, and then throw away one bowl.

  The Gu household only has a few people, why do they need so much?! Minglan repeatedly reminded herself that she only had the right to use this money, not ownership, and couldn't use it recklessly... But, could she take out a little bit, hmm, management fees?

  Minglan despises herself, it seems she has great potential to be a corrupt official.

  Gu Tingye and Minglan, along with Rong'er, are considered the main masters. There are also two aunts, one being Fengxian, and according to the Ningyuan Marquis's household rules, Minglan belongs to the level of Madame, with a monthly allowance of 30 taels (her salary increased by 15 times after marriage). If it were the level of Young Mistress (Minglan's future daughter-in-law), it would be 20 taels. Rong'er and the aunts each receive 2 taels.

  It's troublesome that Feng Xian is a maiden, if it were a concubine, the monthly allowance would be one or two taels, but Gu Ting Ye doesn't even take care of her meaning, that day Ming Lan asked him and he was actually bewildered for a moment, after being reminded, his face turned gloomy.

  Later, Minglan secretly asked Xiahe and only then did she learn that this Miss Feng was originally a member of the family of an official who had been convicted of a crime and had not yet entered the government brothel (Qin Sang's finger joints cracked for a good while). Since she was still a virgin, more than half a year ago, she had been brought over by General Gan and sent to the Gu household (it was said that there were legal procedures involved).

  At first, she who was known for being proficient in all four arts of the zither, Go, calligraphy and painting, couldn't bear it after being ignored by Gu Tingye for seven or eight days. One evening, she played "Clear Water Flowing from the Jade Cup" on her zither until midnight. Unfortunately, her elegant music fell on deaf ears as Gu Tingye was a rough and unrefined young master who had learned martial arts since he was a child and excelled at street fighting and killing enemies on the battlefield, but lacked cultural refinement (Minglan thought to herself that if she sang "Eighteen Touches" he might have been able to beat out a rhythm). Moreover, he was extremely tired at the time and being woken up from his sleep only made him angrier. He immediately kicked over two doors and shouted loudly, his voice carrying for half a mile outside.

  On the second day, early in the morning, Gu Tingyan had someone move her to the most secluded western corner of the mansion.

  After another month or so, Feng Xiangjun finally realized that for men, visual might be more intuitive and important than auditory. So one evening, she came to deliver supper again, wearing a thin white dress. Unfortunately, she didn't meet Gu Tingyan who was busy with official business, but instead ran into Chang Mama who happened to be cleaning the house.

  The wet nurse in the salt merchant's house was so arrogant, often with a bad temper and a sharp tongue. It was said that she had even wielded a butcher knife in her younger years. She immediately began to mock and ridicule, tracing back to Feng Xiangniang's ancestors eighteen generations ago and extending to her descendants eighteen generations later, while also making vivid comparisons between her skills and those of the courtesans. This attracted all the female servants in the mansion to gather around and laugh.

  The old lady scolded and splashed saliva, still feeling unfulfilled, and continued to chase after the Phoenix Fairy Maiden to the Jasmine Pavilion to continue scolding; this time the Phoenix Fairy Maiden was completely finished off, ashamed, angry, and crying so hard she almost hanged herself (in the end she didn't hang herself, none of the courtesans in the brothel took their own lives, presumably they had strong nerves), Minglan guessed it was because of this that she changed the name of the house to Lingbi Pavilion.

  Minglan strongly suspected that Granny Rong was acting under the instructions of Gu Tingye, this guy had mixed with all sorts of people and his mind was far more cunning and sinister than those of other wealthy families; as for the "gift" sent by her superior, she couldn't hit or scold it, so she used poison to attack poison, finding an older and more qualified granny to humiliate her, making her lose face and not dare to go out.

  After that, Feng Xian indeed rarely went out, and in the blink of an eye, half a year had passed.

  How much money should I give her? The more Minglan thought about it, the dizzier she became. Before long, she fell into a deep sleep. As the sun rose higher in the sky and warmed up the room, Minglan didn't know how long she had slept until Xiaotao shook her awake.

  "What's wrong?" Minglan's eyes were still narrowed, and she glanced sideways at the crack in her eye, already past noon.

  Xiao Tao's face lit up with excitement as she leaned in close to Ming Lan and whispered: "The Fifth Elderly Lady has arrived!"

  "So soon?" Minglan's eyes widened instantly, and she became sober, "Is it just her?"

  "Also, her two daughters-in-law, Tai Tai and Er Niang. Little Peach lowered her head and whispered in my ear with a smile, 'Miss is really insightful, I asked the doormen to keep watch, indeed someone had gone out, it was that Jia family!'"

  Minglan sat stupidly on the bed, softly sighing: "Living so close, how can you not come to visit?" - She had figured it out, working so hard, no matter what she should collect some management fees!

  Today's word count is a bit less, the unit has work to do, I'll make up for it next time; everyone reading this article shouldn't be like a duck pear, half dead and warm, that's what kind of Tian Wen is.