Chapter 95: Accompanying Room (Middle)

  Mrs. Tao walked in with a smile on her face, holding a stack of account books in her hands.

  She knelt down and paid her respects to Eleventh Sister: "Madam!" Her expression was extremely calm.

  The eleventh girl nodded and had her maid bring over a small stool for her.

  Tao's mother sat down, and the little maid brought up tea. She then handed over the account book in her hand to Eleventh Sister: "This is the account book that Madame gave me after Eldest Sister-in-law left. Now that you've come, I naturally hand it over to you. Please take a look."

  The eleventh girl did not take over the account book, but smiled and said: "Since Madam has handed it over to you to manage, just help manage it for now!"

  Tao's mother was taken aback for a moment, then understood what Eleventh Sister meant.

  She doesn't want to interfere with her brother's affairs.

  Tao's mother was so angry that her face turned red and she trembled all over. However, she didn't dare to argue with her, but instead spoke in a flattering tone: "Fourth Mistress, I'm just a lowly servant after all. Taking care of the things left behind by the eldest young mistress is not right, and speaking out of turn is not proper... You are the master, one word from you is more powerful than ten words from us..."

  Yuan Niang has been gone for over a year, and I've married into the family. Eleventh Niang had already suspected that Tao Mama couldn't keep the people below her in check. Now hearing this tone, she's even more certain of it.

  She smiled and said: "But who is gossiping? Or is there someone who doesn't accept it?"

  Tao's mother was taken aback and stared at Eleven Mama.

  Isn't the old lady saying that she's young and doesn't understand anything, so just coaxing her with good words will do? How does it seem like everyone knows about it? Or is there someone teaching her? This isn't right either. The old lady didn't arrange for a dowry mother to accompany Eleven in order to prevent those ignorant women from relying on their age and knowledge to bully Eleven... Did the old lady misjudge things?

  She was anxious in her heart, but saw Eleven Girl lift up her tea cup and slowly take a sip.

  Although her posture was elegant and her expression was pleasant, Tao's mother felt even more anxious when she saw it.

  Eleventh Sister seems to be fighting a battle of wits with her - it looks like she's figured something out!

  But the current situation is not what she wanted. Shiyi Niang can take over the stall left by Yuanni at any time, after all, things are in her own hands, and if something goes wrong, it's her own problem. But she couldn't wait... Wanxiang that stinky girl was getting closer and closer, with people below following suit, if they dragged on, it would be a small matter to alert the old lady, but if San Furen found out, being laughed at was a minor issue, what she feared was that she would use this incident to attack those who originally followed her elder sister.

  Anyway, there is still a big Mrs behind Shiyi...

  The idea had just flashed through her mind when Mother Tao had already made up her mind.

  "Madam is truly a sharp-eyed and keen-witted person." She smiled with a hint of flattery, "You've just arrived, by rights, I shouldn't be bothering you with these trivial matters so soon. But that little vixen, Wanxiang, has driven me to desperation. I have no choice but to come seek your help."

  That's about it.

  The eleventh girl nodded secretly in her heart.

  Before she got married, she had already heard about it. When Yuan Niang got married, there were four big servant girls, two mothers, four accompanying rooms, two courtyards, and two estates. The four servant girls got married early, one of whom was called Wan Xiang, who was most liked by Yuan Niang, and married Chen Xu, a young man from the Xu family who had no parents, and the couple took charge of the kitchen - Chen Xu was in charge of purchasing, and Wan Xiang managed things. One of the two mothers was Tao Mama, who was Yuan Niang's wet nurse, and the other had passed away ten years ago. The two courtyards were all three-bay, one on Fourth Alley, and one on Stone Tablet Alley, both around the Six Ministries, with an annual rent that could be collected of over 200 taels. The two estates were in Daxing County, one with 6,000 mu, and the other with 2,000 mu. The 6,000-mu estate was managed by Tao Mama's son Tao Cheng, and the 2,000-mu estate was managed by another accompanying room Gao Ji.

  It seems that Wangxiang and Gaoluo are dissatisfied with the things Tao's mother and son managed for Yuanniang, which cannot bring them benefits!

  Her expression was bland: "Tell me, what's going on?"

  Tao's mother carefully told the whole story to Eleven Girl.

  It's just as the eleventh girl guessed. Since the third lady took over, she first used the excuse of the previous carp incident to replace Chen Xiu, and then because of the shortage of incense during Yuan Niang's funeral, she removed Gao Jun, the eldest son of Gao Pan, who was working in the purchasing department. As for others, such as gatekeepers, night watchmen, and gardeners, even more were dismissed... But not a single move was made against Tao Shi and her son. Wan Xiang got mixed up with these people and quarreled every day to see the eleventh girl.

  The eleventh girl smiled: "Since you want to see me, let them come!"

  Mother Tao smiled and said: "By right, they should come to pay their respects to you. But there are a few things I need to tell you first, so as not to let you suffer in silence."

  "Mother, please speak." said Eleventh Sister with a smile.

  "I think that night, Xiang and Gao, along with those people, have probably made up their minds to get you to help them with a job. You must grit your teeth and refuse."

  Tao's mother's words made Eleven slightly surprised, she thought Tao's mother would try to persuade her to help these people.

  "Most of the benefits from the dowry are in Tao Chengguan's hands. No matter how hard those people try, they can't come up with anything new. Now you've just arrived, and the old lady hasn't given any instructions yet, but you're already going to compete with San Furen for those things. If you win, others will think it's only natural, after all, you are the wife of the Marquis. But if you lose, that would be a big joke." She then felt she had misspoken and laughed, "I'm not saying you'll lose, I mean, without the support of the Marquis and the old lady's approval, your chances of winning aren't great."

  "What Mom said makes sense."

  "So, your top priority is to serve Master Hou and Madame well. Other things can be planned later."

  She is indeed a powerful mother in front of Yuan Niang, with very delicate thoughts and careful consideration!

  The girl's eyes flashed with a hint of admiration: "Let's do it just like Mom said!"

  She then saw Tao's mother relax completely: "Then I'll let Wanxiang and the others come and kowtow to you!"

  Eleventh daughter agreed.

  "Here is the account book: this is the side of Big Aunt's family and the accounts I've been helping to manage for a year."

  Eleventh Miss had a little maid call Amber over and flipped through the account book herself.

  The handwriting is the same, it's obviously a rewritten copy.

  Just then, Amber came in. She handed the account book to Amber: "Take a close look and remember these names and their relationships with each other. See if there's anyone who can take on important responsibilities later."

  Amber closed the account book as soon as she was told to.

  The eleventh daughter leaned on her elbow and began to think deeply.

  To be fair, Yuan Niang has managed the household quite well over the past few years. The maids have all been married off to some of the more senior servants in the Xu family, and even the most lucrative purchasing positions are all held by her people. She's even placed two of her own people in the accounting room... Even if she were replaced with someone else, it's unlikely they would do a better job than her!

  After a while, Mrs. Tao brought over five or six women and two men.

  She introduced one of the sharp-eyed women: "This is Chen Xiu's family, with a nickname called Wanxiang, who is now in charge of the kitchen." She also pointed to a tall and thin man, "This is Gao Pan. Originally in the purchasing office, he was responsible for incense, candles, and charcoal."

  That means there's nothing wrong now!

  The eleventh girl was lost in thought.

  Tao's mother introduced her to several others. It turned out that they were all in charge of things on their own, and now they are idle at home.

  She bowed to the eleventh lady, and that tall servant hastily said: "Madam, you must take charge of us. We are people who have followed the Luo family for a lifetime. If we let the third house be replaced like this, it would not only slap the face of the eldest aunt who has experienced the world, but also your face."

  Several others also followed suit, and the crowd became excited.

  Eleven saw that the man named Yang Huizu and a woman called Wei Lü's wife did not make a sound. According to what Tao Mama introduced earlier, this Yang Huizu followed Yuan Niang to the Xu family when he was in his teens, originally in charge of buying rouge and powder for the maidservants, and Wei Lü's wife was in charge of guarding the doors at night in the inner courtyard.

  The eleventh girl comforted those people a few words, saying that she had just entered the door and was not quite clear about some things, and would talk again after getting a clear understanding of the situation, then drove them away.

  Those people couldn't help but show disappointment on their faces.

  Eleventh girl went with Tao's mother to Yuan's courtyard.

  Everyone thought she was still there, and everything remained as it was.

  It must be thanks to Tao's mom!

  She had Amber follow the booklet given by Tao Mama to dot the person.

  Yan Hong, Lu'e, Jiang Zi, Bao Lan four senior maidservants, Mei Qin, Zhu Xiu, Gui Fen, Shui Zhi four second-class maidservants, and then there are Fang Fei, Tao Rui twenty or so third-class and fourth-class maidservants, more than ten old women, all in all, adding up to forty or fifty people.

  Eleventh girl consulted with Tao's mother: "Help Yanhong find a good family to marry off the older ones, and keep a few clever and capable ones to take care of the house, don't let it fall into disrepair."

  Tao's mother nodded and thought of her late mother-in-law, Yuan Niang, and tears welled up in her eyes.

  The eleventh girl looked at the sky and saw it was getting late, so she went to Tai Furen's place.

  The three madams and five madams are all present.

  One was arranging chopsticks with the maidservants, while another was chatting intimately with the mistress on the heated brick bed.

  Seeing the eleventh girl coming in, the two of them greeted her one after another. The old lady also pointed to the opposite kang and said: "I heard you've been busy all morning, are you tired? Take a rest."

  I heard... who told you?

  Eleventh Young Lady smiled with a hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth.

  She smiled and paid her respects to the mistress, then sat down on the kang and told the mistress her plan: "...... Like Yan Hong and Lu'e, they are not young anymore. I've come to ask for your advice, is it feasible or not?"

  "That's great!" said the old lady with a smile, "Let's just do it then!"

  The eleventh girl responded with "yes", and on the other side, the three madams had already set out the chopsticks.

  Madam Tai didn't want her daughter-in-law to be too formal, so she called out for Niu Ge and Zhen Jie to come out. After the two had paid their respects to their elders, they sat down together to eat lunch.

  The old lady and the children have gone to take a nap, and the three daughters-in-law have withdrawn.

  The Fifth Mistress grasped the arm of Eleventh Sister: "Shall we come to Old Madame's place this afternoon to play cards?"

  Madam mentioned playing cards together in the morning, it seems that Madam often finds someone to play cards with in the afternoon...

  The eleventh girl thought for a moment and smiled: "I just won't."

  The three ladies politely declined: "I don't have such good fortune, and there's still a lot of things waiting for me!"

  The Fifth Lady smiled and looked at Eleventh Sister: "Don't worry, I'll teach you."

  The eleventh girl smiled and responded, and everyone dispersed on their own.

  On the road, Eleventh Girl instructed Amber: "You have nothing to do, just follow Tao's mother and take a walk around, see what those people are doing? Take this opportunity to see what kind of character these people have. Especially ask about what Yang Hui Zu and Wei Lu's wife did after they left our place?"

  Amber nodded and took note of it.