Chen Defu handled matters very swiftly. The over twenty thousand taels of silver Yun Chu gave him, plus some revenues from the shop, were all used to purchase ice blocks.

Ordinarily in summer, ice cost about one tael of silver per catty. Buying ice in spring was cheaper, around five or six hundred coins. But this spring was too cold, and everyone believed summer wouldn’t be too hot. Therefore, the price of ice fell again and again. Chen Defu purchased extensively at three hundred and fifty coins per catty. All the ice cellars around the capital were rented out…

Yun Chu still remembered that in her previous life during that summer, because of the unbearable heat, the price of ice was driven up to almost the same as gold—as valuable as gold itself, prohibitively expensive.

The ice blocks she bought for over thirty thousand taels of silver could be sold for at least two to three hundred thousand taels of silver.

With money, she could resolve many future matters.

Having gone to bed late at night, she woke up a bit later in the morning. When Yun Chu emerged, the concubines had all arrived.

“Madam.”

“Mother.”

Everyone paid their respects in unison.

Yun Chu raised her hand slightly, and only then did the people in the room dare to sit down.

They didn’t want to be severely punished by the madam for not following the rules.

Yun Chu glanced around: “Why hasn’t Concubine Tao come?”

Concubine Jiang and Concubine Tao lived next door to each other. She quickly stood up to respond: “Last night Concubine Tao suffered from vomiting and diarrhea. Early this morning she said she felt somewhat unwell and would come to pay respects a bit later. Please don’t blame her, Madam.”

Yun Chu frowned: “When a woman is with child, she will indeed feel uncomfortable here and there. Concubine Tao still has three months before giving birth. If her body is too weak, the child won’t be easy to deliver.”

She looked at the maid beside her and instructed: “Tingxue, take some pregnancy-nourishing supplements from my storehouse and send them to Concubine Tao’s courtyard.”

Tingxue nodded and went to handle it.

Yun Chu’s gaze fell on the little girl beside Concubine Jiang. This was the Xie residence’s second miss, Xie Xian, who had very little presence in the Xie residence.

She vaguely remembered that before she died, when Xie Shiyun forced her to drink poison, it was Xie Xian who cried and rushed over, knocking the bowl containing the poison to the ground.

In the entire Xie residence, only Xian’er had wept inconsolably because of her death.

Seeing her look over, Xie Xian hid behind Concubine Jiang and called out softly: “Mother.”

“Xian’er’s courage is rather too small.” Yun Chu said with a smile. “At three years old, she can begin her education. Let Xian’er follow along to study.”

The Xie Family had hired a teacher to teach the children characters. After beginning their education, they would go to the academy run by the court’s Education Department to study, like Xie Shi’an.

Concubine Jiang had actually wanted her child to study for a long time.

But the eldest miss, Xie Ping, had only started learning to read and write at five years old. She feared that having Xian’er start school too early would displease the eldest miss…

However, since the madam had spoken, she naturally agreed wholeheartedly, pulling Xie Xian: “Quickly thank your mother.”

“We’re family, so no need for thanks.” Yun Chu waved her hand. “Don’t stand around in my presence. All of you, go back and attend to your business.”

Everyone withdrew.

Xie Ping stayed behind to continue learning household management with Yun Chu.

After teaching for quite a while, Yun Chu spoke: “Early this morning, Old Lady Li brought several carts of jujube trees into the residence. Take the accounts and go verify them. Handle small issues yourself as you see fit. Come back and ask me about major issues.”

Xie Ping stood up: “Yes, Mother.”

She took the account books and left.

As soon as she left, Tingshuang came over and said quietly: “Madam, the supplements you ordered have all been sent to Concubine Tao’s courtyard. The maid prepared bird’s nest soup. Concubine Tao had just taken a few sips when Nanny He brought several bolts of brocade, saying the master wanted Concubine Tao to make some new clothes.”

Tingfeng muttered: “In the past when our madam was pregnant, the master wasn’t this thoughtful…”

Halfway through, she realized saying this would make the madam sad and immediately covered her mouth.

Tingshuang lowered her head: “The master is busy with official duties and couldn’t possibly concern himself with such small matters. We should say it’s Nanny He who is thoughtful.”

Yun Chu took a sip of tea.

It seemed He Shi was already impatient to make her move.

She had already done her best to cooperate. She hoped He Shi wouldn’t disappoint her.

At this moment, the courtyard suddenly became noisy.

Immediately after, Xie Ping ran in with an ugly expression: “Mother, those servants completely disregard me as the eldest miss. They say all kinds of infuriating things. You must discipline them properly…”

The voices of the servants rang out from outside: “Madam, you must stand up for us! Though we’re menial servants, we’re still people. How can the Xie residence treat us so harshly…”

Xie Ping’s face flushed red with anger.

Yun Chu patted her hand, signaling her to remain calm for the moment, then stepped outside.

The servants spoke over each other, explaining the whole story clearly.

The matter was very simple. Earlier, Xie Ping had gone to verify the accounts. The jujube trees matched the ledger with no errors. After finishing the task, she was preparing to leave.

A servant suddenly said she was thirsty and asked if the Xie residence kitchen could prepare some tea to send over for everyone.

This servant had clearly heard about the cancellation of afternoon tea and was deliberately testing the waters.

How could Xie Ping think so deeply? Using this servant’s question, she announced the cancellation of the daily afternoon tea and refreshments.

These words were like pouring oil into hot water—the group instantly boiled up.

“Madam, we old servants do the hardest and most exhausting work every day, receive the least wages, and now we don’t even have tea to moisten our throats. It’s enough to break one’s heart.”

“The maids serving in the courtyards receive so much monthly allowance and can still drink tea rewarded by the masters and eat refreshments the masters don’t finish. Why not target the maids instead?”

“The eldest miss has only just started helping the madam manage the household, and our days are already difficult. What will we do going forward?”

“If you ask me, the eldest miss is simply unsuitable for managing the household!”

“The eldest miss was born to an outside woman. Only a concubine-born miss would torment us servants to save a few coins…”

“…”

Xie Ping clutched the handkerchief in her hand tightly.

What she was most sensitive about was servants saying she was born to an outside woman. This hurt more than being slapped across the face.

Yun Chu set her teacup down heavily on the table, and the servants finally quieted down.

“Your indenture contracts are still in the Xie Family’s hands, yet you dare to show such disrespect to the Xie Family’s masters?” She released a cold aura. “The Xie Family’s eldest miss is registered under my name, making her a legitimate eldest miss in every respect. If I hear you say such nonsensical things again, you’ll be sold off directly!”

The servants who had just been chattering noisily immediately fell silent as cicadas.

They weren’t afraid of the eldest miss because her status wasn’t presentable, but the madam was different—she was a proper legitimate daughter of a general’s household…

Xie Ping looked at Yun Chu with gratitude.

Mother had been quick to anger these past two days. She thought Mother would blame her, thought Mother would strip away her household management authority just like she had punished Shi’an and Shiwei…

“However…” Yun Chu’s voice softened. “I gave Ping’er the authority to manage the household. Since she proposed eliminating afternoon tea and refreshments, I naturally won’t oppose it.”

Disappointment filled the servants’ faces.

The madam wouldn’t stand up for them either. Did they really have to accept this…

“But you do work hard.” Yun Chu’s voice became gentle. “How about this—all menial servants’ monthly allowances will increase by fifty coins. Do you have any objections?”

Hearing this, the servants’ eyes widened in disbelief.

A few cups of tea each afternoon and some melon seeds and refreshments—once eaten, they were gone. Monthly wages were actual copper coins that, once in their pockets, brought real peace of mind.

“No objections! We old servants have no objections!” The servants beamed with joy. “Thank you, Madam! We’ll continue with our work.”

After they left, Yun Chu turned to look at Xie Ping: “The implementation of any new measure will encounter resistance. Don’t let those servants frighten you. Just go ahead and do it boldly with confidence. I’ll always be here.”

Xie Ping said gratefully: “I understand, Mother.”