After noon, Li Yue lay on the beauty couch flipping through the storybooks he had bought from the bookshop a few days ago, waiting for the secret guards to deliver today’s message. At this time, a servant came in to report that Concubine Sun was asking for an audience.
Li Yue was absorbed in reading and didn’t respond much. Qingping was already indignant—now that the Old Madam had let Sun Yulian manage the accounts, what good could she want from the Madam? She must be here to show off to the Madam!
Li Yue finished the chapter he was reading before allowing Sun Yulian to come in.
When Sun Yulian entered the room, she saw Li Yue half-lying on the beauty couch, holding a storybook in his hand. On the small side table, there was a plate of fruits and pastries. Because the weather had gotten hot lately, Qingping was standing behind him fanning him.
Was this lifestyle too comfortable or what?
Sun Yulian suddenly thought of how in the past few days she had risen early and stayed up late for account-checking, unable to eat properly, her form gaunt and haggard. Her heart felt both sour and bitter. The joy and pride she had felt when she first heard that the Old Madam wanted her to take over managing the household had almost entirely vanished.
Even though everyone—including herself—still thought that managing the accounts was a good job, she faintly felt that something was off.
What had she gained? And what had the Madam lost?
She got a pile of account books, and then every day was scorched-head and burned brow [焦头烂额 — idiom for being extremely busy and troubled], sleepless with eyes never closing, her appearance withering, even her hair had started to fall out.
And the Madam lost a pile of account books, and now spent every day eating, drinking, playing, with not a single worry.
So…
What was so good about these account books?
Sun Yulian couldn’t help but start to question her life. What exactly was she pursuing?
Always appearing to be understanding, gentle, and perceptive, Sun Yulian at this moment couldn’t help but say sourly: “Madam, these past few days your life seems very comfortable, ah.”
Li Yue didn’t even lift his head, flipped over a page of the storybook in his hand, and gave Sun Yulian four words: “If you have something, say it.”
Sun Yulian choked for a moment—she didn’t expect the Madam to give her no face at all. She had come to Jixue Courtyard mainly for the matter of the accounts. No matter how she calculated, something felt wrong. There was no way the Marquis Manor only had this little bit of silver left. She had even heard that the Madam had bought a bunch of jewelry the other day when going out.
Sun Yulian pressed her lips together and said to Li Yue: “Madam, I went back and looked at the account books. I felt there were some places that weren’t quite right, so I wanted to ask you.”
Li Yue looked up at Sun Yulian and asked her: “Not right? What’s not right?”
How come he hadn’t noticed it when he looked before?
Of course, Sun Yulian couldn’t point out exactly what was wrong—she just felt the Marquis Manor couldn’t be this poor. She said: “I saw that the remaining silver in the accounts wasn’t much…”
Li Yue gave an “mm” but didn’t respond. Sun Yulian could only brace herself and continue: “How could our Marquis Manor only have this little bit of silver left? Could there be an error in the account books?”
Li Yue narrowed his eyes, feeling this girl in front of him was quite bold. He sneered and said: “You mean to say, I miscalculated the accounts?”
Sun Yulian quickly smiled apologetically and said: “Madam, I didn’t mean that.”
“Then what did you mean? Say it and let’s hear.” Li Yue asked.
Sun Yulian said: “I just thought, maybe the servants deceived the Madam.”
“Deceived? You take me for a fool?” Li Yue put down the storybook and sneered coldly. “How much silver do you think the Marquis Manor should have left? Just look at all of you, each and every one, doing no productive work all day, loving to eat, lazy, addicted to extravagance, spending money like flowing water—how much silver do you still expect? You think the silver grows little ones by itself, or runs to us from the money house on its own?”
Sun Yulian looked at the half-reclined Li Yue on the couch, and at the fruits and pastries on the table, not even knowing where to start speaking from. When Madam said these things, could she not at least touch her conscience a little?
“Madam, the daily expenses in the residence aren’t really that large…” Sun Yulian’s voice got lower and lower.
Li Yue said: “Not that large? Then only buying the entire capital would count as large? Take a proper look at those account books—Xie Wenzhao, that idiot, every time he acts it’s thousands of taels of silver. Hah, what kind of cause, what kind of effect—in the past, you people didn’t know thrift, now you think there’s not enough money. Too late.”
Sun Yulian furrowed her brows and swallowed all the dissatisfaction in her heart, asking Li Yue, a bit humiliated: “Then Madam, what do you think I should do next?”
Li Yue mocked: “What should you do? If you don’t have diamond tools, don’t take on porcelain work [没有金刚钻，别揽瓷器活 — idiom meaning don’t take on a job you’re not equipped to handle]. Did you really think it was some kind of great thing? Was your brain kicked by a donkey? Now you come ask me? Where’s your shame?”
Sun Yulian listened and wished she could immediately find a crack in the ground and crawl into it. If she shared her feelings with Xie Wenzhao, they might have a lot in common. Maybe their relationship could even get a bit closer. But now was definitely not the time to think about that. She hurriedly said: “Madam, I just wanted to say—”
“You don’t need to say anything more. I’m not feeling well right now, I can’t manage this matter,” Li Yue picked the storybook back up and lay down again, “You can leave.”
Li Yue thought he was already showing great restraint. If it had been Xie Wenzhao standing there, he would’ve told him to get lost.
Li Yue had already told her to leave, and no matter how thick-skinned Sun Yulian was, she couldn’t stay any longer. Coming to Jixue Courtyard this time, not only did she fail to get any useful answers, she even got scolded for nothing. Sun Yulian clenched her teeth hard and secretly swore—one day she would make this Madam look bad. She just didn’t believe it—a main wife who couldn’t even manage the household—could she really go on living so freely and happily forever?!
In the imperial palace, Meng Fu learned from the shadow guards about Li Yue’s daily activities. She didn’t think there was anything wrong with them. If it were possible, who wouldn’t want to live a life like that?
Xie Wenzhao held a sinecure post at the Ministry of Revenue—his annual salary was barely anything. But every time he went out to banquets with friends, he spent lavishly. On ordinary days he showed no hesitation in buying antiques and paintings. When he had no money, he would just draw directly from the household account. The Old Madam and Old Marquis had to have the very best in everything they ate and used. Whether there was a reason or not, they would even invite an opera troupe to the residence. Add to that the size of the residence, the number of servants, and all the social interactions they had to maintain—even though the residence owned some farmland and shops, the income only barely covered expenses. Sometimes Meng Fu had to rack her brain to juggle everything just to maintain a balance.
Meng Fu had once mentioned to the Old Madam that the Marquis Manor had little silver left in the accounts and needed to economize a bit. But the Old Madam thought she was eyeing a few shops under her control and didn’t take it seriously at all, saying, “Wait until we really run out of money, then come talk to me.” Everyone instinctively believed—how could a noble Marquis Manor possibly be without money? If it were out of money, then it must be that Meng Fu was bad at managing the household, or she had embezzled it.
Meng Fu had worked painstakingly to manage everything in the Marquis Manor, yet everyone treated her efforts as if they were naturally owed. That she was allowed to manage the household was a blessing bestowed upon her. If she did it well, that was her duty; if not, then it meant she was useless.
Meng Fu knew that managing this household was extremely difficult, and no one was willing to sympathize with her. But the education she had received since childhood didn’t allow her to simply let go.
This was fine now. Someone else had taken over and done it.
To repay peach for plum—[投桃报李, an idiom meaning to return a favor with another]—she must now do even better in her current position.
In the Marquis Manor, the Old Madam sat on a bench beneath the tree, calculating that after these past few days, Meng Fu should probably be unable to sit still anymore. She turned her head and asked the maid beside her: “How has the Young Madam been these past two days? What has she been doing? She hasn’t fallen ill again, has she?”
The Old Madam thought that without the household management power, Meng Fu must be feeling terrible. With such a dramatic shift, even if she wasn’t crying every day, she should at least be hiding in Jixue Courtyard, quietly reflecting and not daring to show her face. Letting her suffer a little would be good, so her ego wouldn’t float too high and her heart wouldn’t grow too big. She must’ve forgotten just who really called the shots in this Marquis Manor. Now she should have learned her lesson.
“Replying to Old Madam…” The maid looked into the Old Madam’s eyes, which were full of expectation, and didn’t quite dare to speak. She paused, then softly said, “If I may report, the Young Madam went out the day before yesterday for a stroll in the market; the day before yesterday she practiced boxing in the courtyard and played a round of madiao [马吊 — a traditional Chinese card game] with the servants; yesterday she hosted a pitch-pot competition in Jixue Courtyard; today she renovated the garden, listened to Concubine Hua tell stories, and in the afternoon took the maids out to the lake for a boat ride. She only just got back not long ago.”
Old Madam: “?”