Madam Xu’s daily routine had finally approached somewhat closer to what people of Great Qin considered normal. She now rose daily at the hour of Chen. By the time the younger generation emerged from Leshan Residence, she had just risen and finished breakfast.
However, the old lady was truly carefree. When she said she was delegating authority, she truly never again inquired about matters large or small in the household. During daily morning greetings, she merely played with the three grandsons First Young Mistress brought out, spoke a few words with He Xian, and showed concern for several unmarried concubine-born sons and daughters to keep the atmosphere from being too cold before dismissing everyone. Even when Fifth Young Mistress proactively told her that she had handed the master keys to Seventh Miss this morning, Madam Xu merely waved her hand and said indifferently, “Just remember to tell your father,” and had nothing more to say.
Since she had spoken thus, Fifth Young Mistress naturally wouldn’t engage in meaningless delays. Right there in front of Madam Xu, she openly called Little Fuchun over and instructed her, “Go to the outer courtyard and find Stewardess Wang Yide to relay the message…”
Before long, Little Fuchun returned with Duke Pingguo’s reply. “The Duke and His Lordship are talking in the small study at Menghua Pavilion. Upon hearing our report, he only said, ‘Since it’s time, then proceed accordingly.’ He gave no other instructions.”
In front of Xu Fengjia, what more could Duke Pingguo say? Fifth Young Master and Fifth Young Mistress couldn’t help exchanging a glance, their faces showing a trace of awkwardness. They asked Seventh Miss with a smile, “Sixth Sister-in-law, why did Sixth Brother go to Menghua Pavilion so early this morning to talk with Father?”
Seventh Miss shook her head with a smile. “Men’s affairs—I’m not too clear about them. Fifth Brother can ask Shengluan himself later.”
First Young Master, however, showed no concern. After muttering a few words with First Young Mistress, the two stood to take their leave. “With the autumn harvest imminent, we need to send someone to admonish and remind the estate managers near the capital. I’ll take my leave first.”
Though the Xu family’s internal accounts were managed by the womenfolk, the external businesses and farmlands were all overseen by First Young Master. Madam Xu quickly nodded with a smile. “Good, our First Young Master works so hard.”
First Young Master choosing this moment to admonish the estate managers—his intention was obvious: he was paving the way for the sixth household’s assumption of household management. Each year after the autumn harvest, the estates and shops settled accounts with the main household—this was how annual income was generated. If Seventh Miss had only just taken over household management and income decreased, not only would she lose face, but managing the household would naturally become difficult.
Everyone could understand the meaning behind this. Some discerning people looked toward Fifth Young Mistress. Fifth Young Master’s face still showed some confusion, as if he didn’t understand these underlying complications.
Fifth Young Mistress’s face remained very calm, showing no displeasure at all. She looked inquiringly at Seventh Miss.
Seventh Miss also rose to bid farewell to Madam Xu. “Since I’m taking over the accounts, there are many matters to discuss with Fifth Sister-in-law…”
Everyone left the room in twos and threes. Fifth Young Mistress whispered a few instructions to Fifth Young Master, then quickened her pace and cordially took Seventh Miss’s arm.
“These several household account books have been kept rather confusingly in my hands. I’ll take this opportunity to thoroughly review them. Whatever errors or omissions emerge—what needs supplementing will be supplemented, what needs clearing will be cleared.” Fifth Young Mistress actually seemed quite happy. “That Sixth Sister-in-law can take over the account books is truly wonderful. From now on, I can enjoy leisure like Fourth Sister-in-law!”
As she walked, she carefully introduced Seventh Miss to the personnel configuration of Duke Pingguo’s household.
“In the household, starting from the Grand Madam down to the young grandchildren—we don’t manage the married male family members. For unmarried young masters, each has four senior maids, four governess nannies, eight junior maids, and two menial servants attending them.” Fifth Young Mistress counted on her fingers as she explained to Seventh Miss. “Not counting the young servants outside or the young grandchildren living with their parents in the inner courtyard—just Seventh Brother, Eighth Brother, Second Sister, Third Sister, and Fifth Sister—these five have twenty senior maids, sixteen governess mothers, forty junior maids, and ten menial servants. These are fixed numbers. Barring major events, they won’t be reassigned elsewhere—they’re dedicated to serving in the courtyards.”
In Great Qin, everything was expensive except labor. In great households like the Yang and Xu families, the number of servants was beyond counting. Seventh Miss was long accustomed to such arrangements. She nodded casually, not at all intimidated by this staggering number approaching one hundred people.
Fifth Young Mistress glanced at her and continued with a smile. “As for our four courtyards—Zhishan Hall, Shendu Hall, Shensi Hall, and Mingde Hall—Sixth Sister-in-law already knows the situation. Each courtyard has its own small kitchen, funded by silver from our own dowries for monthly wages and purchasing vegetables—unrelated to the official household. Additionally, each has four senior maids, eight stewardess mothers, eight junior maids, and four menial servants. Children under five stay with their parents and, aside from wet nurses, receive no special staff assignments. After age five, they receive the same number of attendants. Grandmother’s and Mother’s courtyards have double the staff… These are all fixed regulations. Even when individual courtyards are understaffed, the monthly accounts still record the same amount of silver. The official household doesn’t manage who gets more or less in monthly wages.”
“These are the designated personnel for each courtyard. Besides these, there are various stewardess mothers Sixth Sister-in-law has met. Stewardess Lin Shan…”
Entering Leshan Residence, the two sat down separately. Fifth Young Mistress continued speaking without pause, introducing the household composition for the duration of a stick of incense before completing her overview of Duke Pingguo’s entire personnel structure.
Perhaps because Duke Pingguo’s household had many members and complex relationships, the personnel composition was far more complicated than Seventh Miss had imagined. Previously at Baifang Garden, after deducting servants from each courtyard, the empty rooms in Baifang Garden had one woman per pavilion dedicated to cleaning and sweeping. Repair needs were reported to the stewardess mother in charge of coordinating repairs and painting. Beyond this, gatekeepers and storehouse managers each had one post, each in their proper place. Duke Pingguo’s household was different—often one person held multiple positions, while many had no regular duties and simply wandered about, only being called up when the household had needs.
Seventh Miss listened while taking mental notes. When Fifth Young Mistress finished, Little Fuchun and Little Luowen brought up two thick stacks of personnel registers and placed them before Seventh Miss. Fifth Young Mistress smiled, “Here is a register of all household members, whether they have duties or not—all recorded inside. Sixth Sister-in-law can review them slowly after returning. If there’s anything unclear, just send someone to ask me.”
As she spoke, many stewardess mothers entered the small flower hall. Fifth Young Mistress called over two middle-aged mothers to introduce to Seventh Miss. “This is Stewardess Cai Le and Stewardess Wu Xun. One specifically manages silver income, the other specifically manages expenditures. Sixth Sister-in-law surely used them when managing the household in the fourth month? In our small accounting office, these two mothers hold the keys. Several other mothers specifically keep records but don’t handle silver…”
She stood up, smiling as she patted nonexistent dust from her skirt, gesturing to Little Fuchun and Little Luowen. “You stay here and follow Young Mistress’s instructions for account reconciliation.” Then she bid farewell to Seventh Miss. “There are still some household trifles outside. You attend to your business, Sixth Sister-in-law. I’ll come back to see you after handling them.”
She led a group of stewardess mothers out of the small flower hall in a grand procession, destination unknown.
Fifth Young Mistress’s briefing could be called exhaustively detailed, instantly giving Seventh Miss a rudimentary understanding of Duke Pingguo household’s personnel composition. Yet she emphasized trivialities while avoiding substance, not mentioning a word about how Duke Pingguo household’s account books were actually kept. Seventh Miss couldn’t immediately determine whether Fifth Young Mistress never concerned herself with account books due to her elevated status, or whether she was deliberately avoiding the topic.
She frowned slightly, pondering for a moment before raising her eyes to smile courteously at the two stewardess mothers.
Both mothers were not young—women in their fifties who looked thoroughly shrewd. Their attitude toward Seventh Miss had always been lukewarm. Though they had visited Mingde Hall a few times recently, they mostly just went with the flow, showing no eagerness to curry favor with Seventh Miss. Although at this moment they stood before Seventh Miss with lowered heads and folded hands in a submissive posture, their attitude still maintained a certain dignity.
Indeed, Stewardess Cai Le’s own mother had been part of the Grand Madam’s dowry and the former head stewardess. Her mother-in-law had been Duke Pingguo’s wet nurse, and she herself was the wife of Duke Pingguo’s milk brother—if Cai Le hadn’t died early, he would probably be the household’s head steward now. Though Stewardess Wu Xun had no nepotistic connections, she was renowned in the household for excellent accounting skills and fair strictness. Even under Madam Xu’s management, these two had firmly held their positions in the accounting office. Seventh Miss, newly arrived, could suppress them but might not be able to dismiss them. Putting on some airs before this young mistress was within reasonable bounds.
“Please sit, both of you.” Seventh Miss first waved her hand, then asked with a smile, “Speaking of which, Fifth Sister-in-law has managed the household for nearly ten years, hasn’t she?”
The two mothers couldn’t help exchanging glances, both pausing. Stewardess Cai Le finally smiled, “Fifth Young Mistress hasn’t even been married in for ten years! However, speaking of when Fifth Young Mistress took over household affairs, it has been five or six years.”
When Madam Xu went south to Jiangnan, her illness wasn’t yet severe. Only by the end of the Zhaoming era, when her health truly couldn’t support it anymore, did she let Fifth Young Mistress take over household management. This timeline made perfect sense. Seventh Miss nodded thoughtfully and asked with a smile, “When the person in charge changed, the accounting methods didn’t change, did they?”
Stewardess Cai Le’s brow immediately relaxed. She spoke before Stewardess Wu Xun could. “Those haven’t changed. Since I took over the account books over twenty years ago, we’ve used the same methods.”
Seventh Miss first asked about the duration of Fifth Young Mistress’s management, giving the impression she wanted to make an issue of the account books from Fifth Young Mistress’s years in charge. When those above suffer misfortune, those below inevitably suffer collateral damage. The two stewardess mothers’ concerns were reasonable. Her follow-up clarification that she only wanted to know about changes in accounting methods clearly put Stewardess Cai Le at ease. It seemed this old mother had little resistance to her assuming power…
Seventh Miss glanced at Stewardess Wu Xun and stared at her, asking, “These account books are all still available now, aren’t they?”
Stewardess Wu Xun glanced at Seventh Miss, then turned her gaze away, answering in a low voice, “They are. Does Young Mistress wish to review them?”
A person’s thoughts naturally leak into their external expressions. Even deeply scheming individuals like Seventh Miss and Fifth Young Mistress inevitably reveal their preferences. Otherwise, why wouldn’t Yu Qiao and Yu Ping like getting close to Seventh Miss? No matter how deep Stewardess Wu Xun’s scheming, under Seventh Miss’s intense gaze, she ultimately revealed her attitude.
A truly submissive subordinate like Stewardess Lin Shan would never dare make eye contact with Seventh Miss from the start. A subordinate who didn’t care about leadership changes and only thought of her own position, like Stewardess Cai Le, would brighten completely once assured her position wouldn’t be easily threatened.
Only someone who harbored dissatisfaction and resistance toward Seventh Miss would first test her with a glance, then look away after sensing her presence, refusing to hold her gaze too long.
Just this one glance already showed that Stewardess Wu Xun’s heart was far from as calm as she appeared.
Yet she wasn’t particularly close to Fifth Young Mistress, had no friction with Madam Xu, and Xu Fengjia was away constantly, making conflict impossible. Why was Stewardess Wu Xun so hostile?
Seventh Miss made a mental note before smiling, “Of course I need to review them. Please trouble both mothers to spread the word—within these few days, we’ll be verifying accounts against actual assets. Everyone should prepare to avoid last-minute panic, which wouldn’t be good.”
Verifying accounts against actual assets was a major undertaking. Each household’s gold and silver vessels, porcelain and potted plants—over the years, some had been gifted away, some broken or lost. Though recorded continuously, there were bound to be omissions. When transferring to new management, everything needed verification. Then there were the servants in each household—over the years, some dismissed, promoted, rewarded, released, or deceased—the personnel registers might not list everyone completely. This was standard procedure when new management took over. Seventh Miss asking them to notify everyone in advance was doing the stewardess mothers a favor: those with shortfalls could hurry to make up the difference and avoid the embarrassment of being discovered, sparing everyone awkwardness.
Stewardess Cai Le immediately smiled. “Young Mistress is truly amiable—I’ll relay the message!”
Her attitude toward Seventh Miss had already become much warmer. Even Stewardess Wu Xun echoed praise for Seventh Miss. “Young Mistress understands the difficulties we people below face.”
Seventh Miss propped her face, smiling faintly. When these stewardess mothers had nothing to do, they embezzled and enriched themselves at public expense. What they feared most were the two words “account verification”… If she was willing to be lenient in this matter, they would naturally be grateful.
Understanding gratitude was good. Understanding gratitude meant they wouldn’t oppose her at every turn—expecting one capable person or one competent management team to instantly change Duke Pingguo household’s management status was nothing but pipe dreams. In great families like these, everything emphasized stability. Taking over household management didn’t mean she could immediately secure this position firmly.
She casually instructed Stewardess Cai Le, “When you return shortly, still send the accounts to Mingde Hall first… I’ll review them casually on my side. Three or four days later, we’ll reconcile the accounts.”
Stewardess Cai Le smiled knowingly and respectfully agreed.
Seventh Miss’s gaze wandered, and her eyes inadvertently met those of Little Fuchun and Little Luowen in the corner. The two young maids were also watching her, both with somewhat peculiar expressions.
Even Fifth Young Mistress probably hadn’t expected Seventh Miss’s first move to be so steady. She was the one proposing account verification, yet she was also the one giving the stewardess mothers leeway, not making an example of anyone or rushing to establish authority… Between tightening and loosening, the stewardess mothers would naturally understand Seventh Miss’s meaning: she was crystal clear about the twists and turns of great households, but had a kind temperament and wouldn’t hold things against everyone. Whatever private matters or difficulties existed shouldn’t be taken too far.
This one move alone was enough for Fifth Young Mistress to ponder.
Seventh Miss smiled contemptuously to herself.
When it came to workplace tactics, she truly feared no one.
She stood up and beckoned to Little Luowen with a smile. This vivacious young maid hurried over in small steps. Her usual bold laughter seemed suddenly restrained into shyness. She only glanced timidly at Seventh Miss once before lowering her head again, her voice like a mosquito’s buzz. “What instructions does Young Mistress have?”
“I haven’t seen you in so long. Let me look—the little girl has become even prettier. No wonder Fifth Sister-in-law refuses to let you out to see me. Could it be she’s afraid I’ll eat you up?” Seventh Miss teased Little Luowen for a few sentences. Seeing a trace of unnaturalness flash across Little Luowen’s face, her heart stirred even more. She said, “Tell your Young Mistress that I’ll return first to review the accounts and won’t disturb her up front. You two return to her side to assist. If there’s anything I don’t understand, I’ll naturally send someone to call you.”
Little Luowen and Little Fuchun exchanged glances and said in unison, “As Young Mistress commands.”
Seventh Miss looked at them thoughtfully once more, repeatedly reciting in her mind the names of Stewardess Wu Xun, Little Luowen, and Stewardess Zhang from the accounting office, before turning to lead her own people out of the small flower hall.