Chapter 112
Translator: NovelMultiverse | Editor: NovelMultiverse
The two women were shocked. One knelt down on the ground quickly, and the other hurriedly followed.
“Fifth Lady, forgive us, we wouldn’t dare think so.”
Yu Qianyun snorted softly, and said: “Then what should I think? You two only recognize Concubine Mei as a master. I am just a mere Fifth Lady. You don’t pay attention to me but you should...”
The two women were so scared that they knelt on the ground and didn’t even dare to lift their heads.
Lady Wu’s position was not easy to dismiss. If they accidentally disobeyed the master, Concubine Mei might not be able to keep them.
Wu Zhuang, who was on the side, couldn’t understand the twists and turns. He only heard that the Fifth Lady was speaking, so he stood beside her with interest and didn’t say a word.
Seeing that the two women were restrained, Yu Qianyun said to the personal servant, “You take Wu Zhuang to find the housekeeper, and just say that I said that to let him put things in the warehouse. As for the accounts...”
Seeing Yu Qianyun glanced at him, Wu Zhuang said hurriedly: “It’s the accounts of the mansion, it’s the same as any master’s report.”
When he came last year, Concubine Mei hadn’t been to the Yu house. In fact, she was not convinced by this Concubine Mei. Now that there were serious masters like the Fifth Lady, she was naturally willing to flatter her.
Yu Qianyun smiled slightly, seemingly satisfied with this knowledge.
She stood up and said, “You go find the housekeeper first, and see me in the small study outside.”
Wu Zhuang was here most of the day, and finally got a good word, and quickly laughed and said, “Yes, yes, I’m going.”
The two ladies had just been squeezed by Yu Qianyun’s words. At this moment, seeing Wu Zhuang happily following Yu Qianyun’s maid out, they didn’t dare to stop them.
This was a matter between the masters. Those of them who were subordinates should be more obedient and shouldn’t wade into the muddy water, lest they are beaten to death without reason.
Yu Qianyun got this chance so easily and naturally used all her energy to prepare the accounts properly. When Concubine Mei came back from the front in the evening, Wu Zhuang had put on a carriage and hurried back to the village, Xijiao.
When she heard about the report of the two women, Concubine Mei was frightened for a while and was shocked that why Yu Qianyun had inserted a hole in this knot and was so angry that Yu Qianyun had respected her as manager of the house at all. In her eyes, she just closed the accounts on her own terms.
Knowing that the harvest from this village was the bulk of the Yu family’s income, Concubine Mei wanted to take this opportunity to make good use of her private pockets, but she was disturbed by Yu Qianyun. How could she make money from it?
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She didn’t even care about sitting for a while and turned around to look for Yu Qianyun.
At this moment, Yu Qianyun was sipping tea while listening to the list of new year’s goods from the housekeeper.
“30 black pigs, 20 boiled pigs, 20 wild boars, 30 blue sheep, 20 domestic boiled sheep, 20 deer, 20 roe deer, 50 pheasants, and 50 rabbits. 100 catties of cured meat, 100 catties of miscellaneous fish, 100 live chickens, ducks, and geese, 50 chickens, ducks, and geese each, two pairs of bear paws, 50 beef tongues, 20 pounds of japonica rice, 20 pounds of white glutinous rice, 50 pounds of variegated grains, 500 catties of fine charcoal, 1,000 catties of medium-quality, 5,000 catties of firewood. Four pairs of live white rabbits and four pairs of live black rabbits. The outgoing grains and animals are two thousand and two hundred taels. ...”
When Concubine Mei came in, she saw this scene. She heard in her ears that so much income had been collected by Yu Qianyun into the treasury, and she was distressed and annoyed.
Seeing that Concubine Mei entered the room, Yu Qianyun put down the teacup in her hand and gave up her seat with a smile, but did not leave.
Concubine Mei saw her eyes, and the anger in her heart could not help but rushed upwards. She suppressed the anger in her heart and said: “Why is the Fifth Lady free today, and why does she manage the village’s affairs?”
As if not hearing the irony in Concubine Mei’s tone, Yu Qianyun smiled faintly and said: “I just happened to be passing by. I heard Wu Zhuang arguing with the two ladies, and I went in and asked about it. Since you were busy, I took care of it for you. It’s such a trivial matter, and I assumed my aunt would not take it to heart.”
Concubine Mei didn’t expect this response. Her face sank involuntarily, and she reluctantly said, “That’s really helpful, Fifth Lady.”
While talking, Concubine Mei kept glancing at the new year’s goods list in the hands of the housekeeper. She pretended to inadvertently walk to the housekeeper and smiled at Yu Qianyun, “What’s the status of the Fifth Lady? How can she interfere like this? Since I have time to spare, I might as well leave the rest to me. The Fifth Lady has been tired for a long time, so you should go back and rest early.”
Before finishing speaking, Concubine Mei reached out to take the list from the housekeeper, but Yu Qianyun said, “Wait.”
Concubine Mei was shocked. She saw Yu Qianyun smile: “I will show this list to my father in a while. The matter has been almost handled, so you don’t have to worry about it.”
There was always a calm and polite smile on her face, but Concubine Mei felt her heart sink slowly.
It took her so much effort to gain the power of the household manager, but today’s events made her feel threatened.
The Fifth Lady took it so lightly. Collecting the annual rent was such a big thing, and seeing what it meant, she didn’t want her to continue to interfere.
Once everything started, there was no room for a maneuver. The Fifth Lady was silent most days, but she managed such a big event abruptly. Did she want to get involved in the Yu house, to get a share of the pie?
Concubine Mei’s fingers were secretly clenched, and then slowly she let go. The smile on her face seemed to be a lot more distant: “It’s not a problem for the Fifth Lady. When the master comes back tonight, I will naturally mention it.”
She could feel that the Fifth Lady was a smart person, and since she was a smart person, she wouldn’t fail to hear the meaning of her words.
General Yu came back at night to go to Concubine Mei’s place to rest. Concubine Mei took this list, which was convenient and fair, not to mention that she said that a lady who was not married would not be able to continue to ask questions to her.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “
Unexpectedly, Yu Qianyun just lowered her head, slowly stroking the teacup in her hand. Her voice was not loud but very clear: “Let me say something I shouldn’t say, auntie, you have to remember who you are and what this is. People with your status can only do so much. I think my aunt should know better than me.”
The smile on Concubine Mei’s face suddenly disappeared. She subconsciously wanted to refute, but she just opened her mouth and couldn’t speak anymore.
Yes, although she had the favor of General Yu and controlled the house, she was not just a bad name, but a little aunt. What compared with a serious lady?
Yu Qianyun cornered her with her status, and even if she was clever, she had nothing to say.
Yu Qianyun paused for a moment. Seeing that Concubine Mei never spoke, she ignored her and raised her eyes to the housekeeper: “For the eight pairs of rabbits, remember to send two pairs to each lady. I remember that my second sister liked them the most when I was a child. If we have rabbits, she must be very happy to see these.”
The housekeeper hurriedly responded, and the two men talked about the distribution of goods for the New Year in each room, and they even left Concubine Mei aside.
Concubine Mei saw that Yu Qianyun’s instructions were methodical, and the details were not inferior to hers. She couldn’t help but feel chills in her heart.
The Fourth Lady was already difficult enough to deal with, how should she deal with this Fifth Lady?
...
On this day, Yu Linglong was invited by Shi Huiru to visit the Shi house. It had been more than a day since the two had seen each other. It was not surprising that Yu Qianjiao also received an invitation to go with her.
The invitation was sent in the name of Lady Shi. Yu Qianjiao was panicking at home. She was naturally very happy when she received the invitation. She dressed up and went out.
Naturally, Yu Linglong would not go out with her, so although the two Yu ladies had the same destination, they went their own way and arrived at the Shi house separately.
Hong Lian had been waiting at the gate for half a day. Seeing Yu Linglong coming, she immediately greeted her and said with a smile: “Good morning, Fourth Lady Yu, you are finally here, our lady has been talking about you a lot these days!”
Yu Linglong nodded as a response. Hong Lian led her and Ling’er to the inner house and said: “It’s okay to be outside for a while. Our lady asked Fourth Lady Yu to sit in her room first. Good tea and fruit are ready. I’m here, just waiting for you!”
Yu Linglong smiled silently. She had known Shi Huiru for so long. It was the first time she had come to the Shi house. This mansion was not very big, but it was very elegantly furnished. Although it was a cold winter, there was no scenery, but she could see small bridges and water everywhere. The surroundings looked very quiet.
Shi Huiru’s residence was a bit more spacious than Pinlan Garden. There were seven or eight little maidservants in the corridor talking about something. Seeing Hong Jian leading the guest, they all stood up and saluted. Some of the more courageous even lifted their eyes up and looked at Yu Linglong curiously.
It seemed that Shi Huiru often talked about Yu Linglong, and even led her followers to become curious about what kind of character this Fourth Lady Yu was.
Walking outside the room, Hong Jian stopped at the door and said: “Miss, Fourth Lady Yu is here.”
As soon as her voice fell, she heard Shi Huiru’s excited voice: “Hurry up and invite her in!”
Yu Linglong entered the room, Shi Huiru walked over quickly and said with a smile: “I haven’t seen you for several days. You seem to be a little taller, almost half a head taller than me!”
Without waiting for Yu Linglong to answer, she took Yu Linglong’s hand: “It’s cold outside, come in, I will show you something.”
Ling’er helped Yu Linglong get rid of her cloak, and Yu Linglong sat next to the fire, and Hong Lian on the side hurriedly offered hot tea.
Shi Huiru walked out of the inner room, holding a scroll carefully with both hands, with two shiny eyes and a blushing face, and said with a smile, “Guess what this is?”
Yu Linglong guessed it just by looking at her expression, and she couldn’t help but purse her lips: “What else can it be? Naturally, it is the painting that Prince Yang gave you.”
Last time Yang Huanian tore Shi Huiru’s painting, Yu Linglong asked him to paint another one and to repay Shi Huiru, but she did not expect him to paint it so soon.
Seeing Yu Linglong’s guess, Shi Huiru’s face became even redder. She stood far from the fire as if she was afraid that the charcoal fire would damage the painting. Holding both sides of the scroll with her hands, she smiled and said, “Then you must guess, what did the Prince paint?”
Yu Linglong didn’t want to distract her, and smiled: “I can’t guess, what is it?”
Shi Huiru slowly unfolded the scroll. She saw a plum grove on the scroll, snowy in winter, with red plum blossoms. Under the plum tree stood a young girl in a pink satin cloak with a round face and pure eyes. His lips were about to open, and his face was not smiling. She looked very lively and looked like Shi Huiru.
It’s just that this bright girl, with this chilly scenery...
Yu Linglong was moved a little in her heart, but she didn’t want to speak directly, but said faintly: “He painted you very well.”
Shi Huiru’s smile became sweeter and his eyes brightened with excitement, and she said: “You can see that it’s me? He really painted me, right?”
Yu Linglong nodded, and said with certainty: “Yes, exactly like you.”
Shi Huiru closed the scroll inch by inch with a happy expression on her face: “I didn’t expect him to paint me so beautifully and observe me so carefully.”
Yu Linglong has become accustomed to Shi Huiru’s idiotic behavior. When she mentioned Yang Huanian, her face shone brightly. She listened to Shi Huiru’s words absently, sipping her tea, and her body gradually became warmer.
Shi Huiru was talking about the last time she went to find Yang Yunzheng and saw Yang Huanian. Suddenly the topic changed and she said: “By the way, have you heard? The emperor wants to choose a bride for His Royal Highness Lord Xu!”
Her slender fingers involuntarily tightened slightly. Yu Linglong suddenly retracted her mind, and raised her eyes to Shi Huiru: “What did you say?”
Shi Huiru looked at Yu Linglong with a little sympathy: “I heard Yunzheng say that Lord Xu will be twenty years old. Ordinary princes should have been married at this age, but Lord Xu had a special status, and he was very popular with the emperor, so it has been delayed until now. Now it can’t be delayed anymore. The emperor had already expressed his opinion, and he will decide the marriage of Lord Xu before the end of the year!”
After hearing this news, Yu Linglong didn’t know what it was like in her heart. She felt that she should be thankful that she could finally get rid of such an annoying guy, but in her heart, she couldn’t be happy.
Yu Linglong silently took a kumquat, put it in her palm, and slowly peeled it. She told herself that maybe she was just used to his existence, maybe she just wanted to understand what was behind Lord Xu’s mask. Secretly, maybe she just had too many questions to find answers to, so she was surprised when she heard this news.
She put the kumquats in her mouth, tasting the sweet and sour taste, and Yu Linglong said faintly: “This is good.”
Shi Huiru did not expect that she would be so calm as if she was talking about a person who was nobody and that one thing had nothing to do with her. She paused and carefully comforted her: “Perhaps Lord Xu can go to the emperor to ask for grace, so he can make you a concubine...”
Yu Linglong couldn’t help laughing. A concubine? Not to mention that she didn’t like Lord Xu, even if she did like Lord Xu, she would never ruin herself for feelings.
It’s definitely not her character to ask for perfection.
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