Chapter 64

◎Men with money become bad◎

Tomorrow is the princess and prince's full moon banquet. Jiang He had just finished sorting out the gift list at noon when she heard a lot of laughter outside the courtyard. It sounded very cheerful.

Few servants were seen near Liushui Xiaozhu. Jiang He's courtyard, which already had few servants, was now extremely deserted, rarely bustling like this. She looked up and asked, "What happened?"

Yuan Ge glanced outside and saw several familiar servants gathered together, surrounding a smiling middle-aged man, handing out wedding candies. She understood and truthfully reported to Jiang He.

"Miss, it's Steward Zhou's son getting married. He's handing out wedding candy to everyone in the courtyards, hoping to share in the joy and have some fun."

Steward Zhou was an old man who had worked in the mansion for many years and was trusted by the master of the mansion. His son was good-looking, but unfortunately, he came from a lowly family and was not young. He would have been more than a match for an ordinary, honest woman. However, Jiang He thought that Steward Zhou had done a good job, so she introduced a small merchant to Steward Zhou's son. Unexpectedly, the two of them actually got married.

"So it's a happy occasion." Jiang He realized then, remembering that Steward Zhou had told her about it.

Jiang He waved his hand and gave Steward Zhou a month's leave, and also ordered Yuan Ge to send a generous gift to Steward Zhou's newlywed son.

Steward Zhou was extremely excited and said he wanted to come in person to thank the master for his grace. Jiang He told Yuan Ge to go back and say that there was no need to make such a big fuss. Just consider it as adding a lucky charm and sharing in the joy.

While Jiang He was congratulating the newlyweds, she was unaware that someone was working hard to arrange her marriage.

Everyone in the manor envied Steward Zhou's son for having such a good life. Who among the slaves and servants didn't yearn for a normal life? Unfortunately, not everyone is so fortunate.

Although the Jiang family treats their servants well, when they get old, they have no one to rely on and will eventually live a lonely life. If the master is kind enough to arrange a marriage between them and one of the guards or stewards in the mansion, that would be the best outcome.

Many more were reduced to slavery, spending their entire lives serving in the mansion, only to die alone in old age.

Xue Lingyu listened for a long time to the worries and plans of those young embroiderers. These embroiderers were not like the ordinary servants in the mansion; they were all free. However, most of them came from poor families and started learning their craft when they were young.

Training a master embroiderer requires a considerable amount of time and money, and only a family like the Jiang family could afford to support a group of master embroiderers.

The monthly salary given by the Jiang family was not small, even comparable to that of a third-class servant in the courtyard. However, this was a job that required youth. When the embroiderer reached the age of twenty-five or twenty-six, his eyesight and hands were not as good as those of the newcomers, and he would be eliminated. Unless he was a master like Fang Xiulang, who was valued by his master and specially kept to train newcomers.

Most young embroiderers plan to save up a dowry first, and then leave the mansion to get married when they can no longer work.

Xue Lingyu overheard their discussion, saying that although the monthly allowance was substantial, it would still take three to five years to accumulate enough. He couldn't help but wonder, did Xiulang also receive a monthly allowance? Then why didn't he?

He hasn't received a single copper coin since entering the Jiang residence.

Faced with his overreaction, the embroiderers were somewhat surprised, but they all confirmed that the embroiderers did receive a monthly allowance, and quite a considerable one at that.

Xue Lingyu wanted to ask Fang Xiulang, but Fang Xiulang had been called away by the young lady, so he had to ask later.

Fang Xiulang was summoned to Liushui Xiaozhu. Jiang He showed him the latest popular patterns from Jiangnan and specified which one he wanted to make. After looking at it, Fang Xiulang looked somewhat troubled. The patterns from Jiangnan were indeed novel, but they were also extremely complicated to make. He couldn't help but ask, "Miss, are you sure you want to make four pieces? And whose master in the manor will the dimensions be based on?"

Jiang He specifically requested that the clothes be made for young men. Given enough time, they should be able to be made in time, but there are no specific measurements to refer to, which is a bit of a problem.

The design is so vibrant; it couldn't possibly have been made for the lord.

“That’s right, let’s make it according to the size of Chunxiao in the embroidery room.” Jiang He said casually, but in fact, she had already calculated everything in her heart.

Fang Xiulang complied and said, "Yes."

Chunxiao was chosen by Jiang He to study under Fang Xiulang, but this surprised Fang Xiulang greatly, who even wanted to groom him as his successor.

Fang Xiulang assumed that Chunxiao was a close relative of some young lady, which was why he was taking such good care of her; otherwise, he couldn't find any other reason.

“Miss, Chunxiao’s skills are superb, and he is no ordinary person. I also think the child is very honest and well-behaved. What do you think about letting him receive the same monthly salary of two taels of silver as the others in the embroidery room?”

This was also what Fang Xiulang found most strange. Since the young lady wanted to protect someone, why did she specifically instruct that no monthly allowance be given? It seemed rather harsh.

As the saying goes, money corrupts. Jiang He still remembered how Xue Lingyu almost turned against her for repaying a debt of ten taels of silver. If he really had his own money, he might become arrogant. However, since Fang Xiulang had already made the offer, she didn't want to make her intentions too obvious, so she said, "Two taels is too much, so let's just have one tael."

Fang Xiulang was speechless for a moment. The Jiang family was not short of money, and the young lady was certainly not short of money either. Why had she suddenly become so calculating? He did not dare to raise any objections. After all, having a monthly allowance was a good thing for Chunxiao.

The child always wears the same few clothes. Once he gets his monthly pay, he can buy new clothes and dress up more playfully, so he won't lose the charm of a boy his age.

Unbeknownst to Fang Xiulang, he had come to regard Xue Lingyu as his own child and was thinking of taking out one tael of his monthly allowance to subsidize him.

This is the last day that Xin Yan will live with Xue Lingyu. The master will return as early as tomorrow night, and Xin Yan will move back to the main courtyard tomorrow.

Xin Yan had been sweeping the yard all day and was so tired that he kept rubbing his back. Xue Lingyu thoughtfully tried to massage his shoulders.

Although it was Xue Lingyu's first time giving someone a shoulder massage, her technique and strength were just right. Xin Yan immediately felt half of her fatigue disappear and felt extremely comfortable.

"I heard that Miss is going to the palace to attend a banquet tomorrow, and the Lord will definitely come back with her. I cleaned the courtyard very well today, hoping that the Lord won't find anything wrong with it."

Xin Yan had almost gotten used to the days when her lord was not around, and now she felt a strange fear when facing him, afraid of making a mistake in front of him.

"Didn't the Phoenix Lord give birth to twins? The Lord should be very happy and probably won't easily blame the servants," Xue Lingyu comforted him.

The words "Phoenix Lord" were particularly distant to him, and the imperial palace was an even more unattainable existence. Xin Yan had mentioned them to him before, and the embroiderers in the embroidery room would sometimes talk about them, so he remembered them.

His words indeed comforted Xinyan. The entire Jiang family was now immersed in joy, and the lord would surely be exceptionally lenient. Xinyan believed that as long as she did her duty, she would not be easily punished.

"You're right, even the lord might not know who I am."

Xue Lingyu's hands started to ache from massaging, so he stopped and rested for a while. Knowing that Xin Yan was popular and knew many people, he asked curiously:

"The brothers in the embroidery workshop said that many of the female stewards in the mansion are not married. Do you know if the female steward in Miss's courtyard is married?"

“Sister Yuange,” Xinyan thought for a moment, “it seems she’s not married, but I’m not sure.”

Although many servants in the manor liked Yuange, she was only focused on serving her mistress and rarely smiled, so many people hesitated to express their feelings.

"What's wrong? You saw that Steward Zhou's son got married these past few days, are you thinking of getting married too? When I become successful, I'll introduce you to someone like Miss Zhao from the east of the city, and you can marry into a wealthy merchant family and become their master," Xin Yan teased.

"I don't want to get married for the time being," Xue Lingyu said, waving her hand.

He shook his head seriously: "Besides, I don't know this Miss Zhao from the east of the city you mentioned."

Seeing that he actually took it seriously, Xin Yan almost burst out laughing. She then pulled Xue Lingyu aside and explained clearly who Miss Zhao was.

In short, it boils down to two words: rich and young.

This is probably every young man's dream wife, but unfortunately, it only exists in dreams.

After Xue Lingyu got up, she went to find Fang Xiulang and received her monthly allowance. She was overjoyed, thinking that she could finally save money like everyone else, instead of only spending and not earning.

He carefully put away his monthly allowance. Fang Xiulang originally wanted to ask him to make some new clothes, but seeing his greedy appearance, she didn't say it.

Remembering what the young lady had told him yesterday, Fang Xiulang took Xue Lingyu's measurements and wrote them down.

Xue Lingyu wanted to introduce a husband to Jiang He, but Xin Yan didn't know whether she was married or not. To be on the safe side, Xue Lingyu decided to ask her in person. However, when he passed by Liushui Xiaozhu on his way there, he found that there seemed to be no one inside, so he asked Fang Xiulang without much hope.

"Miss is going to the palace for a banquet today, and Miss Yuange will probably be accompanying her. She's probably busy in the storeroom right now, checking the gifts," Fang Xiulang guessed.

After thanking Fang Xiulang, Xue Lingyu decided to try her luck in the storeroom.

The full moon banquet will begin in the evening, and Jiang He will set off for the palace in the afternoon. Yuan Ge has already arranged everything in advance, and the carriage is waiting at the gate of the mansion. All that is needed is to move the prepared gifts out of the storeroom and wait for the young lady to return before setting off.

Jiang He went to the shop early in the morning to handle some matters, saying she would be back by noon at the latest.

Yuange personally oversaw the storeroom to prevent the servants from carelessly damaging the precious porcelain. These were gifts to be presented to the princesses and princes, and no mistakes could be tolerated. Otherwise, it would be considered a failure on her part as the manager, and it would also displease her mistress.

Xue Lingyu found the warehouse and saw the people busy at work. She thought to herself, no wonder there was almost no one at Liushui Xiaozhu. They had all come here to help.

He casually stopped a person who was empty-handed and politely asked, "Excuse me, is Manager Yuange here?"

The man nodded and pointed inside, saying, "Sister Yuange is inside."

Xue Lingyu thanked him, and as soon as he reached the door, he saw a graceful woman standing inside, methodically directing the servants to move things. But just by looking at her back, it was clear that she was not the person he was looking for.

He was somewhat puzzled.

As soon as Yuange turned her head, she saw Xue Lingyu frowning and observing her.

Xue Lingyu recognized Yuange and stepped forward to ask, "Do you know where Yuange is?"

Just then, a servant stepped forward to report: "Miss Yuange, everything has been moved."

A note from the author:

Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2022-02-14 21:42:39 and 2022-02-15 22:32:21!

Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: jyxsxlyjh 3 bottles;

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!

◎Latest Comments:

[Oh no, your identity is about to be exposed!]

Oh ho!

Sigh…

[If I water the author with nutrient solution, will it grow into a massive, 10,000-word novel?!]

[That farewell scene really broke my heart, please update soon!]

Oh wow!

【Host's identity revealed】

[Her identity has been exposed?]

[You stopped right where I was most excited, you naughty thing!]

-over-