dognovel Chapter 100 Year-End
Chapter 100 Year-End
Without the two aunts causing trouble, the old lady's birthday celebration went extremely smoothly. If there was anything worth mentioning, it was that Madam Fan sent a generous birthday gift under another pretext.
In the evening, the old lady asked her daughter-in-law to stay and talk.
"What do you, as the mother of Lin'er, think about the intentions of Prefect Fan and his wife?"
Madam Yun had never considered the eldest daughter of the Fan family, so she personally poured a cup of pear drink for the old lady. "Mother, our branch only has one house. Apart from the remote Marquis's mansion and the Yun family, Lin-ge has no other help, so his marriage is especially important."
"At the banquet today, Madam Fan mentioned that the Prefect's year-end performance was outstanding, and if he were to take up an official post in the capital, it would be a great help to Lin-ge'er. Moreover, Madam Fan comes from the Wang family of Taiyuan, and her eldest daughter is also well-educated and sensible..."
Madam Yun took a sip of tea, concealing the disdain in her eyes, and after a long while said, "In your last letter, the master said that the Fan family was not a good match. The prefect has been in office in Lin'an for six years, and his reputation is only so-so. Although he has been hoping for a promotion to Prince Zhan, who is not of the same surname, it is as difficult as climbing to the sky."
Furthermore, it's possible that Prince Zhan's instructions were directed at the Ninth Prince.
The old lady fell silent. She said wearily, "You and Xian'er have been planning this so carefully. I don't need to concern myself with Lin'er's marriage in the future. Speaking of which, Aunt Lu is already able to get out of bed, but Aunt Wen has been ill for some time. Have the family doctor take a good look at her. Xian'er isn't in the mansion, so you should take care of things in the backyard."
Yunyi Academy.
Hua Yan did not avoid Aunt Mei. After serving the second young lady her dinner, she spoke in detail about the arrangements for Huan Yun.
The second young lady didn't care about this; she was more interested in hearing Donggua's stories about the streets. That afternoon, Donggua stole the show at Yunyi Courtyard, after all, carrying that pillar of candied hawthorns was quite eye-catching.
After returning home, Donggua immediately tried making candied hawthorns with other fruits, but although the taste was acceptable, none of them had the same sweet and sour flavor as hawthorns, so he had to give up.
After a while of this commotion, the maids began to perform their duties: some made the bed, some helped the young lady change her clothes, and some prepared books and writing materials. In another day, the school would resume. The second young lady had been on a long holiday since the Mid-Autumn Festival, and she still had to finish Mr. Lin's lessons.
Next, it was Mingyue's turn to be on night duty, and Huayan and the others went to the backyard to listen to Aunt Mei's evening instruction.
Aunt Mei has been here for several days now, and the atmosphere in Yunyi Courtyard is almost as good as that in Yungui Courtyard.
The maids who were only given menial duties no longer dared to slack off. Because Jinshu had been dismissed, the second-class maids had no other thoughts. Even Ruizhu had been behaving herself these past few days. Not to mention the old women at the side gate, who were like gourds with their mouths sawed off, no longer daring to spread gossip about the concubines with the other old women in the courtyard.
This deprived Hua Yan and her maids of some of their fun, since everyone loves to hear gossip.
Aunt Mei's power in Yunyi Courtyard was second only to the Second Young Lady, and her daily duties could be summarized into three main tasks. First, she managed the servants, teaching them rules and regulations, down to the details of performance evaluation, rewards and punishments, and personnel allocation. Second, she assisted the Second Young Lady in managing household affairs, from major matters like accounting and financial management to minor matters like meal arrangements. Finally, she handled external affairs, such as preparing banquets, arranging itineraries, and coordinating relationships outside the household.
Evening training is an essential part of the first daily event. At that time, the servants of Yunyi Courtyard gather in the back room, Mengzhu assists Aunt Mei in taking attendance, and everyone listens to Aunt Mei's targeted instructions, finally understanding the arrangements for the next day.
Days passed by like flowing water. Apart from Aunt Wen seemingly falling seriously ill and being sent to the estate to recuperate, everything in the mansion was peaceful.
After several autumn rains, Lin'an grew cooler day by day, and before we knew it, it was the end of the forty-third year of the Qianyuan era.
Yongxiu Cloth Shop sent several shipments of thick fabrics and fine leathers to the mansion, and Madam Yun also began to help the second young lady arrange for New Year's gifts to be sent to various places.
Because the head of the family was not in Lin'an, the year-end meeting that the managers had been looking forward to the most was moved to the capital. However, the manor in Lin'an did not quiet down. It was time for the estates in various places to send their produce to the manor. After a year of hard work, the master had to see it, right? Various local specialties and rare wild game and mountain products were sent to the Tang manor in an endless stream.
This was also a rare opportunity for the estate managers to see their masters, and the young servants of marriageable age were all waiting for their masters to arrange marriages for them. As a result, the entire inner quarters of the Tang family were bustling with activity.
The maids in Yunyi Courtyard were still young, and there was only one vacancy for a second-class maid. After observing for a while, Aunt Mei did not promote one of the maids from the lower ranks, but instead took a liking to Yu'er, a little maid under Steward An. No one knows how she negotiated, but Yu'er came to Yunyi Courtyard, took Jinshu's place, and became the second-class maid by the side of the second young lady.
Hua Yan was busy learning how to do things from Aunt Mei, occasionally seeking advice from Steward Cui and Steward An, urging Dong Gua to learn to read, and sometimes taking advantage of the time when the Second Miss went to Muyunzhai for her studies, she would go to Yunguiyuan alone to see Madam Yun, often staying for more than half an hour.
On this day, Hua Yan accompanied the second young lady to Fu'an Residence to pay her respects. Unexpectedly, she met several old friends.