Zhen Jie’er stood before Shiyiniang with a bright smile, her fair cheeks touched with two patches of rosy color. Her voice was calm, but the excitement she could not quite conceal showed in her expression. “…They made silk flowers and bound them onto the winterberry trees with green thread, and each kind of silk flower had its own different fragrance to match. At a glance, you would think the Goddess of a Hundred Flowers had descended and made all their blossoms open in a single night.” She pressed her lips together in a smile.
“Was it Hui Jie’er’s idea?” Shiyiniang, wrapping a handkerchief around her fingers, peeled an orange and handed it to her. “They certainly didn’t make them all in one night — they must have prepared them beforehand, and only tied them on when visitors came.”
Zhen Jie’er nodded, received the orange, and quietly thanked Shiyiniang. She divided it into two portions and offered one to Shiyiniang. “Still, they are not as fresh and vibrant as the flowers we have here.” She added in a low voice, “And their home is not as large as ours either. It is quite cramped. Several of the Yiniiangs share the eastern side room of the main quarters.”
Shiyiniang laughed.
The nature of women — they all loved this sort of gossip!
“Marquis Lin has six sons, all living together — it must indeed be very crowded,” she said with a smile. “Do they not have a hothouse?”
Zhen Jie’er shook her head. “I did not see one.”
“Then you should ask the hothouse staff to cut a few fresh flowers and send them over.” Shiyiniang smiled. “Something like that would likely be rarer and more prized than anything made of gold or silver you could give her.”
Zhen Jie’er was very pleased. “That was exactly what I was thinking. I was planning to come back and consult with Mother.”
Shiyiniang smiled. “What I can do, you can do too. In the future, there is no need to consult me. Simply make the decision yourself.”
Zhen Jie’er was startled. “But… how could that possibly be appropriate…”
“Why not?” Shiyiniang smiled. “You are the First Miss of this household. What is there that is not appropriate?”
Zhen Jie’er fell silent at this, looking at Shiyiniang with a shy smile. “I…”
Shiyiniang wanted her to have more confidence in herself. She took her hand and said once more, with emphasis: “What I can do, you can do too.”
The corners of Zhen Jie’er’s eyes grew faintly moist. Remembering what Shiyiniang had said about not shedding tears carelessly, she blinked them away and held back. She smiled and asked Shiyiniang, “Mother, how did things go at Third Aunt’s?”
Shiyiniang felt a warmth spread through her heart.
Zhen Jie’er was thinking of her as well.
“Grandmother personally took me and introduced me to all the head stewardesses.” She talked with Zhen Jie’er as she would with a friend. “With that kind of reception, everyone was naturally very cordial toward me. Even so, I thought that since I was newly arrived, it would be best to respond to everything with constancy — staying closely by your Third Aunt’s side, watching how she handled things. Even when the head stewardesses came to ask me things, I did not take a position. I simply said I needed to consult with your Third Aunt first. That way, it maintains your Third Aunt’s dignity, and I am in no danger of saying the wrong thing or making mistakes because I do not yet know the household’s customs. You should know — those in authority must above all avoid issuing orders that are reversed the next day. Even if an error is made, it must, for the sake of maintaining authority, be followed through to its end. But even that kind of error has its limits — if it would lead to very serious consequences, then there is no choice but to change course. To avoid that situation in the first place, the best approach is not to make decisions rashly…”
She shared her thoughts and methods with Zhen Jie’er in careful detail.
This would serve Zhen Jie’er well when she eventually married into a new household and faced an unfamiliar environment.
Zhen Jie’er listened with full attention.
“In truth, the best approach of all is to look at the account books. All of a household’s income and expenditure is recorded there and can be traced. If you want to understand the customs of a household, examining the accounts will tell you everything. For example — once you know where the household’s income comes from, you will understand how it should be spent. Once you know where the money goes, you will know how the finances should be managed…”
Zhen Jie’er murmured quietly, “Does the outer court not transfer funds to the inner court every year? Why is it still necessary to understand how to manage expenditure?”
Seeing that Zhen Jie’er had taken her words to heart, Shiyiniang was pleased and explained further. “For instance — if a large part of the household’s income comes from the estate farms, you must bear in mind that a bad harvest year will not bring in the same returns. You should set aside a portion and only draw from the remainder.”
Zhen Jie’er immediately understood. “So — you ignore both the worst years and the best years, and only look at what comes in during ordinary years.”
Shiyiniang quietly nodded in approval.
Zhen Jie’er was not for nothing the daughter of Wen Shi — she had a gift for matters of this kind and grasped them at once.
She nodded. “That is exactly it.”
Having received Shiyiniang’s confirmation, Zhen Jie’er grew considerably bolder. “So knowing where the household’s money goes means one can follow established precedent in managing affairs.”
Seeing her draw these conclusions herself, Shiyiniang smiled and encouraged her warmly. “Yes, yes, exactly.” She continued, “Take the example of a trusted senior maid getting married and leaving — how much should the farewell gift be? What form should it take? There is a precedent for all of this. If the custom is broken, the servants will be resentful on the one hand, and future staff will not know what to expect on the other. In a situation like that, consulting the account books is the best approach. Follow the established custom, and no one can say a word.”
Zhen Jie’er nodded and said thoughtfully, “If you particularly like someone and wish to give more — do it privately from your own pocket, but never let it alter the official amounts drawn from the accounts.”
Hearing this, Shiyiniang let out an involuntary sigh and reached out to stroke her hair.
Zhen Jie’er truly had a natural talent for this!
“Do you know how to use an abacus?”
At this, Zhen Jie’er’s color faded slightly.
Shiyiniang immediately perceived that Zhen Jie’er was sensitive about her origins. This was certainly connected to the way people in the Xu household regarded Wen Yiniang. Yet she felt this was not a healthy attitude.
A person must face herself, not avoid herself!
“I was thinking of finding someone to teach me the abacus — would you like to learn with me?” she asked Zhen Jie’er with a smile.
Zhen Jie’er hesitated for a moment. “Second Aunt has told me how to do mental calculations and asked me to practice diligently!”
Shiyiniang was a little surprised to hear this. Thinking it over, it was rather in keeping with the Second Lady’s characteristic style of maintaining a composed and dignified bearing.
Not wishing their different approaches to create any conflict in Zhen Jie’er’s mind, she quickly said with a smile, “That is excellent as well!”
Zhen Jie’er visibly relaxed. “Second Aunt also told me that for a family like ours, women can engage in small business dealings for amusement, but it is best to keep away from larger ventures — because we have more advantages than ordinary merchants, and that might stir up envy among them and bring unnecessary trouble.”
This was also a well-reasoned point.
For a household like the Marquis Yongping’s, merely letting word get out that they intended to enter trade would be enough to start a business from nothing — they could even take a stake without putting up any capital. Yet there had never been such a thing in this world as something obtained without cost; to take another’s money, one had always to give something of equal value in return.
Shiyiniang smiled. “No wonder the Second Lady wanted to open a fragrance shop together with the Fifth Lady!”
Zhen Jie’er, however, shook her head. “Second Aunt is not in business with Fifth Aunt. Fifth Aunt is running the fragrance shop on her own. She asked Second Aunt for the formula, and Second Aunt gave it to her. Later, when Fifth Aunt said the shop was doing very well and offered to give Second Aunt a share of two portions, Second Aunt declined.”
Shiyiniang was taken aback.
She had not expected Zhen Jie’er to know about this. On reflection, since the Second Lady was something of a teacher to her, and the two of them surely spent a great deal of time together, it was not so strange that she would know such things.
Zhen Jie’er smiled. “Was it Third Aunt who told you that?”
Why would she think so?
Shiyiniang was candid with Zhen Jie’er. “No. I had been thinking of opening a fragrance shop myself, but when I discovered that the only two such shops in Yanjing both belong to the Fifth Lady, and had heard she ran them together with the Second Lady, I dropped the idea.”
Zhen Jie’er looked embarrassed. “Once, Third Aunt came and specifically asked me about it. I told her, but she didn’t believe me. I assumed it was she who had told you…” She added, “Though I truly do not know the formula itself — mainly because I had not paid attention to the matter before.” She glanced up at Shiyiniang with a touch of anxiety.
Naturally — unless you were watching for it, who would notice such things?
Shiyiniang quickly said, “I have formulas for fragrance-making as well, though I have never tried using them. And since there are already two fragrance shops in the family, one cannot undercut one’s own kin. There is no point in pursuing it from that direction.”
Zhen Jie’er let out a long breath of relief, then, as if to make amends, said, “Then — shall I speak to Second Aunt and ask her to tell you how to make incense? Second Aunt’s incense is very well known. The most celebrated single-variety incense at Ciyuan Temple was once given guidance by Second Aunt, who helped them refine the formula — it has been selling wonderfully ever since.”
Shiyiniang had no intention of letting Zhen Jie’er go asking favors of others on her behalf. She quickly smiled and explained, “You see how it was — when I got married, the betrothal gifts included two bottles of fragrance water, and I found them so lovely that I was inspired to make my own. And thinking that if I liked it, surely others would too — that’s when I had the notion of opening a shop.”
Zhen Jie’er nodded and smiled. “Then — when spring comes, shall I help you make fragrance water here at home? If that doesn’t work out, we can always ask Second Aunt!”
Shiyiniang equivocated. “We are so busy right now. What one thinks of and what one gets around to doing are two different things. We shall see.”
Zhen Jie’er agreed that this was reasonable, and went on to ask about the New Year preparations. “…Would you like me to help?”
Why not — they could learn about managing a household together!
“Certainly!” Shiyiniang welcomed it warmly. “Let us look through the account books together and sort things out so we have a clear picture. When you encounter similar situations in the future, you’ll have something to compare against.”
Zhen Jie’er’s cheeks flushed faintly at this.
Shiyiniang smiled, raising her sleeve to hide her amusement.
A little maid came running in. “The Marquis is back!”
Shiyiniang was astonished.
She quickly rose and looked at the self-striking clock — it was a quarter before noon.
Why had he returned at this hour?
She said a quick word to Zhen Jie’er and hurried out to receive him.
She had barely lifted the door curtain and stepped outside when she saw Xu Lingyi striding across the courtyard toward the main room with brisk, sweeping steps.
He looked somewhat fatigued, yet his expression was as calm as always, giving nothing of his true feelings away.
“My Lord!” Shiyiniang curtsied to him. Zhen Jie’er, who had followed close behind her, also dipped into a curtsy.
Xu Lingyi caught sight of Zhen Jie’er and seemed faintly surprised.
Shiyiniang quickly smiled and explained. “Zhen Jie’er is older now, and I thought to have her help me with some needlework. The Grand Madam suggested she stay here with us for the time being. Once Fifth Sister-in-Law’s situation has settled, I plan to find her a proper courtyard in the rear garden. The decision was made quickly and I did not have the chance to discuss it with my Lord…”
Before she had finished, Xu Lingyi had already waved his hand. “These matters are for you to decide.” Yet the look he directed at Zhen Jie’er carried a trace of hesitation, as though he had something to say but did not know how to say it. He lingered for a moment, then walked directly inside.
—