Madam Jiang returned to her room feeling troubled. It was the height of summer, and with the long night ahead, she paced the corridor with a round fan in hand.
“Sister-in-law Hu, how did it go? Did you convince her?” Wang Yan’shi, who lived in the neighboring courtyard, approached and asked in a hushed voice.
Earlier, Madam Hu-Jiang’s suggestion to Madam Hu had been jointly planned by both the Hu and Wang families. Wang Yan’shi had been waiting impatiently, and upon seeing Madam Jiang return, she hurried over to inquire about the situation.
Wang Yan’shi was the eldest daughter-in-law of the Wang family’s second branch.
Wang Sifang’s branch was the third branch of the Wang family. However, both parents of the third branch had died early, leaving the two siblings to be raised by Great-aunt Wang.
After Wang Sifang made his fortune in Nanjing, the Wang family invested a considerable sum in Sifang Money House, which had become their main source of income. Now, seeing this investment about to evaporate and possibly leave them in debt, the Wang family was extremely anxious.
The Hu family found themselves in a similar situation, so the two families conspired together, eventually devising a plan to preserve Sifang Money House. Since Madam Hu-Jiang was closer to Madam Hu, they had chosen her to make the proposal.
However, judging by Madam Jiang’s expression, things hadn’t gone well.
“I was just getting to the point when your Great-aunt and Wan’er returned. Seeing your Great-aunt’s expression… I’m afraid this plan won’t work,” Madam Jiang shook her head irritably.
“Don’t get me started. That Great-aunt of our family is troublesome,” Wang Yan’shi replied crossly. During this crisis with Sifang Money House, Great-aunt Wang had focused solely on protecting Wang Sifang’s branch, disregarding the interests of the first and second branches. She wielded her authority simply because of her age, still managing Wang’s family affairs despite being a married-out daughter. Such improper behavior!
Wang Yan’shi looked at Madam Jiang’s troubled expression and asked, “So we just give up?”
“Unless you have a better idea?” Madam Jiang glanced at Wang Yan’shi.
“I do have a thought. But just hear me out—if you don’t like it, pretend I never said anything. Don’t get angry,” Wang Yan’shi said.
“What’s your idea? Tell me,” Madam Jiang replied.
“I’ve noticed that Young Miss Qing is quite decent, with proper looks too. Since Madam Hu won’t let Wan’er step forward, why not have Young Miss Qing do it? If she could succeed with Luo Jiu, then Sifang Money House would belong to your Hu family,” Wang Yan’shi suggested.
Hu Qing was Madam Jiang’s daughter by a concubine. Her mother had died early, and Madam Jiang had raised her, treating her quite well. She had come along this time mainly to accompany Wan’er.
“That’s easy for you to say! Why don’t you put forward someone from your Wang family?” Madam Jiang retorted irritably. Though Qing’er wasn’t her biological daughter, she was still a daughter of the Hu family, and such schemes felt shameless.
She understood Wang Yan’shi’s calculations. As long as someone stepped up to prevent the money house from failing, both the Wang and Hu families would avoid major losses, preserve their shares, and maintain their annual income.
Truth be told, Yan’shi’s thinking matched her own earlier approach with Madam Hu.
Though Madam Jiang was annoyed, she couldn’t deny feeling tempted. Qing’er was, after all, a concubine’s daughter, and the family had several legitimate daughters. Qing’er couldn’t expect too grand a marriage, but if they could somehow arrange for her to marry Luo Jiu, that would be quite good. More importantly, the Hu family might even gain control of Sifang Money House with Luo Jiu’s support—that would change everything.
“I just don’t have any suitable candidates. If I did, I’d certainly try,” Wang Yan’shi said, and seeing Madam Jiang’s displeased expression, she waved her hand, “Alright, alright, I was just saying. If you’re unhappy, forget I mentioned it. It’s late, I’m going to bed.”
With that, Wang Yan’shi left.
Madam Jiang returned to her room, feeling even more conflicted. Just then, Hu Weizhong returned from outside, reeking of alcohol.
“What are you doing drinking at a time like this?” Madam Jiang asked irritably.
“I’m just drinking because I’m troubled,” replied Hu Weizhong, who was Madam Hu’s eldest brother and Madam Jiang’s husband.
“By the way, what’s the situation with the money house now?” Madam Jiang asked.
“What situation could there be? The authorities are pressuring us to honor the merchants’ bills and deposits. The day after tomorrow is the deadline. If we still can’t pay, the authorities will take charge, liquidate assets, and let the merchant association invest to cover the bills and deposits,” Hu Weizhong explained.
“What about our shares?” Madam Jiang asked.
“What about them? Once assets are liquidated, our shares will be liquidated too. The money house has lost so much money—we should count ourselves lucky if we don’t have to pay extra,” Hu Weizhong said darkly, then waved his hand impatiently. “Enough, enough, don’t concern yourself with these matters. While you’re here, just help my sister and brother-in-law look after the household. Make sure no opportunists take advantage of the situation.”
With that, Hu Weizhong washed up and went to bed.
But lying beside him, Madam Jiang tossed and turned, unable to sleep. The situation was urgent, and the matter of Qing’er kept nagging at her heart like a cat’s claw.
…
Early morning.
Zhenniang finished washing up and eating breakfast, then especially changed into a duck-egg blue summer dress with a dark blue sleeveless outer garment. Though simple, her attire carried its own elegance.
After breakfast, she went out to find Luo Wenqian standing not far away, holding a horse’s reins and waving to her.
“Brother Luo,” Zhenniang smiled as she approached.
“The situation at the Wang household is quite complicated. Do you have a plan?” Luo Wenqian asked as they walked side by side, him leading the horse. The brush of their sleeves created a gentle breeze that warmed the heart.
“I asked Great-aunt Wang about the household situation in detail last night. It’s not that complicated. The main issue is unclear authority and responsibility. I just need to assign the servants’ duties, determine who’s in charge of what, establish clear rewards and punishments, and then let everyone do their jobs. That should settle things,” Zhenniang replied.
“Indeed,” Wenqian nodded, feeling reassured.
After all, this girl managed a large ink workshop with hundreds of people. Though household affairs were complex, they ultimately came down to authority, responsibility, and proper incentives. Once these were properly handled, there wouldn’t be major issues.
As for social graces, this girl was quite skilled. Otherwise, Great-aunt Wang wouldn’t have asked her to step in.
As Wenqian thought this, he secretly used his wide sleeve as a cover to hold Zhenniang’s hand.
Zhenniang smiled softly, turning to look at the boundless blue sky and white clouds. The Ming Dynasty sky was blue, the clouds pure white, the air unpolluted.
Soon, they arrived at the Wang residence.
After entering, Wenqian went to the front hall to continue discussing Sifang Money House matters with the Hu and Wang families and the merchant association representatives.
Zhenniang entered the inner quarters through the second gate, first going to see Madam Hu and Great-aunt Wang.
Upon seeing Madam Hu, Zhenniang truly felt the impact this incident had had on the Wang family. Apart from Wang Sifang’s serious illness, Madam Hu’s sallow, haggard appearance made her almost unrecognizable from before. Even Wang Wan’er seemed to have grown up considerably—compared to before, she had lost some of her gentleness but gained more strength.
“Sister Zhenniang, thank you for your trouble,” Wang Wan’er said with reddened eyes upon seeing Li Zhenniang. After the Yihousheng incident, when Wang Sifang had helped out, he had instructed Wan’er to visit Li Zhenniang at the Li family ink workshop when she had time. For some matters, Wang Sifang couldn’t lower his face, so he had to use his daughter’s position to maintain relations with the Li family and try to improve relations with Luo Wenqian.
For Wang Wan’er, Li Zhenniang was legendary—a woman successfully running an ink business was quite remarkable. Out of curiosity, she had indeed visited Zhenniang several times during that period, and they had developed something of a friendship and could converse easily.
“Sister Wan’er is too kind,” Zhenniang nodded slightly before offering some words of comfort. Afterward, she went with Great-aunt Wang to meet the household managers and servants.
The managers and servants had no objections to Li Zhenniang taking charge of the household. After all, she had quite a reputation in Nanjing, and she had been managing Li Ink for several years through various challenges. Now sitting before everyone, she carried an imposing presence, and the managers and servants dared not play any tricks before her.
However, while they dared not scheme, they were still uncomfortable with Li Zhenniang’s style of clearly defined responsibilities and area-based accountability.
Though they had always had their respective duties, there had never been such a strict division of responsibilities and clear accountability. Now the household was in chaos, and usually, when something went wrong, people could shift the blame around and move on. But now, under Li Zhenniang’s arrangements, if something went wrong in someone’s assigned area, that person would be fully responsible with no room for excuse-making. The problem was that the inner quarters were already in chaos, with members of both the Wang and Hu families, along with various female relatives and servants all staying there. Add to that the fact that everyone seemed to be acting like debt collectors, and how could the servants manage all these people? They felt Miss Li was putting them in a difficult position.
“I know everyone feels this is difficult, but as the saying goes, ‘soldiers are trained for a thousand days to be used in a critical moment.’ You all know how well the master’s family has treated you. Now that they’ve hit a rough patch, even if you can’t help with major matters, surely you can help eliminate their worries about household affairs? Besides, if we truly follow the rules, it won’t be too difficult. You just need to clearly explain the rules to everyone. If anyone disagrees or insists on their way, have them come find me or tell me about it, and I’ll handle it. That shouldn’t be a problem, right?” Zhenniang addressed the managers and servants.
Hearing this, the managers and servants felt relieved. Since Miss Li was willing to back them up, things would be much easier to handle.
“… In any case, do your best. I believe once the master’s family gets through this crisis, they won’t treat you poorly. Moreover, if the master’s family truly can’t hold on, you can come to me. I believe with my modest influence, I should be able to help find opportunities for everyone,” Zhenniang added finally.
Hearing these last words, the managers and servants became excited. During this period, not only had the master’s family been worried, but these managers and servants had also been anxious. Their fortunes were largely tied to the master’s family—even if the family got through this crisis, life in the household wouldn’t be as comfortable as before, and naturally, they wouldn’t need so many people. Dismissals and sales were inevitable, similar to modern-day layoffs.
Some people had been worried about their prospects, but now with Zhenniang’s words, they at least had another option. Li Zhenniang’s word carried great weight in Nanjing—as long as they worked diligently, surely she would keep her word.
Thus, the managers and servants settled their hearts and began working earnestly.