Misty Rain of the Old Times

They originally planned to just buy some things to tide them over at their temporary stop, but Chen Xuan and his group ended up buying three large truckloads of stuff.

The estate bought for five thousand taels of silver was very large, but almost everything that could be moved was moved away, leaving only an empty shell. Even if it's just a temporary place to stay, there must be chairs and benches, beds and bedding, and if you want to cook, there must be firewood, rice, oil and salt.
Anyway, nearly a thousand taels of silver were spent just like that. Although she was used to her master's extravagant spending, the little maid still felt a little heartache about the money.

There's nothing she can do. She could save money on many things by buying cheaper options, but her husband just doesn't like to compromise. He always picks the most expensive items and often doesn't even haggle. In this era where everyone is thrifty, he's clearly a sucker.

The goods were brought back, but it wasn't time to settle down here yet. They just found a small courtyard near the gate to settle in. After paying the deliveryman, the young girl couldn't help but sigh, "The prices in the capital are really expensive! This little bit of stuff wouldn't even cost fifty taels of silver in Yang County. You can't survive without some wealth."

The little girl looked somewhat bewildered. Her master didn't have any income in the capital. How much money would it take to maintain such a large estate every year? The income from that small restaurant in Yang County probably wouldn't even cover a fraction of it.

Chen Xuan didn't share her concerns, nor had she even thought that much about it. She wholeheartedly agreed, saying, "That's right, Roujia. You might not know this, but don't be fooled by the fact that everyone in the capital is a high-class person. In reality, many officials can't even afford to buy a house; many of them rent. Not counting corrupt officials."

"It seems that not everyone in the capital is living a glamorous life. Putting aside everything else, just take firewood and charcoal. They dare to charge three taels of silver for a cartload of several hundred catties. Why don't they just rob people?" The little girl was indignant as she sighed.

Back then, she spent several days in the mountains making charcoal, carrying over a hundred pounds of charcoal for dozens of miles to sell in the county town, but people wouldn't even give her a few dozen copper coins. Now, the price of firewood and charcoal in the capital has increased a hundredfold!
Chen Xuan understood, saying, "It's the dead of winter now, with heavy snow everywhere. And firewood is nowhere to be found within a hundred miles of the capital; it's all transported from even further away. So it's normal for the price to be higher. In this weather, without firewood and charcoal, I don't know how many people would starve to death."

"Wouldn't they freeze to death?" the little girl asked in astonishment.

With a laugh, Chen Xuan said, "Without firewood and charcoal, we won't even have a hot meal. We'll starve to death before we freeze to death. Alright, alright, stop worrying about that. It's getting late, go cook. Roujia, aren't you hungry?"

"I'll go right away. I've already checked the kitchen, I know where it is. Sir, you rest first, I'll tidy up the house after dinner." Without even tidying up, she dropped what she was doing and went to cook.

In a new environment, everything had to start from scratch. Fortunately, the little girl was very adaptable and quickly got the hang of it after a short while.

While waiting for the food to be fed, Chen Xuan carefully inspected the manor. After a round, he had to accept reality that it was almost an empty shell. There were no secret rooms or anything like that, and there was nothing to gain.

This was bought from the Ministry of Revenue. Those officials probably wanted to fleece the place, and if it weren't for maintaining the integrity of the estate, they would have taken everything, even the pillars and tiles. How could they possibly leave something cheap for later generations to pick up?

Having spent over ten years in the Gao family, although Chen Xuan ultimately did not take over the position of housekeeper, he still gained some understanding of how the large family operated through his presence.

Take this manor for example. Just the repair and maintenance alone would cost at least ten thousand taels of silver a year, not to mention the bottomless pit of adding items. If you were to staff the basic operations of this manor, you would need at least a hundred people, and that would be under the most streamlined circumstances.

In short, if the staff is fully staffed, the annual expenses for this manor, inside and out, will be at least 100,000 taels!
As for the upper limit, that's hard to say; it depends on what kind of dignity one wants to maintain.

Being a wealthy and powerful family sounds glamorous, but without real ability, you might struggle to even make ends meet.

Anyway, Chen Xuan had no such worries. Making money was easy; he could make a lot of money just by casually rolling a couple of pills.

"Currently, this is just a temporary place to stay, but its true purpose is clearly to be our wedding home. I promised Qian Ning I'd marry her next spring when the flowers bloom, so repairing, maintaining, and furnishing it is essential. As for staff, there's no need to hire anyone; Qian Ning will definitely bring a whole bunch as part of her dowry, so I don't need to worry about it at all. Um, does this mean I'm living off her?"

After a little thought, Chen Xuan had a plan in mind. Repairing and maintaining things should be left to professionals; he only needed to pay for it.

As for where to find professionals, is there anyone in the entire Jing Kingdom more professional than the Ministry of Works? With that kind of opportunity, why go to such lengths?

The master and servant ate a simple meal of three dishes and a soup, and it was almost evening by the time they finished.

The young maid was about to tidy up the room for the night when Chen Xuan stopped her, saying, "Roujia, there's no need to rush. Let's go say hello to the young master and madam, and then we can just tidy up a bit when we get back. I reckon the young master has already stepped down from his post by now."

Nodding, Su Roujia hesitated for a moment and said, "Master, now that you've established your own household, why do you still call me Young Master Gao? I don't mean anything by it, but if outsiders hear this, they might think you're still a servant of the Gao family, which is undignified."

"I'm used to it. It's just a name. Who cares what others think? Besides, one shouldn't forget their roots," Chen Xuan said nonchalantly. Then he added, "By the way, bring the array flags. They're useless to us. Let's just give them to Xiao Gao. It's bound to happen sooner or later anyway."

Although she felt it was a bit hasty, the little girl obediently listened and cautiously said, "I'll take the money with me too. There'll be no one home after I leave; if a thief breaks in, we'll starve."

"Haha, I'm not bragging, but even if I put the money here, anyone who dares to take it will have to obediently return it to me within the next day. Oh well, whatever you want. I'm leaving now, it's too late to be convenient," Chen Xuan said with a smile.

The two left the manor, closed the gate, and headed straight for Xiaoming's residence.

Such a grand house, yet there are only two people living there now; it's quite shabby. The place Chen Xuan bought is really far from Xiaoming Residence; you have to cross at least half of the capital to get there, and you couldn't even walk there in a day under normal circumstances. However, this distance is no problem for Chen Xuan at all.

When he brought Su Roujia to the entrance of Xiaomingju, he was shocked to find that the place was deserted.

They looked at each other in confusion, and the little maid asked cautiously, "Master, are you sure we haven't come to the wrong place?"

"How could that be? I lived here for a while," Chen Xuan shook his head, then smiled and said, "They must have moved away. After all, the young master is getting married soon, and this place is too small to be the proper wedding venue."

"Then what do we do?" the young girl asked helplessly, having just arrived in the capital and having no clue what to do.

Snapping his fingers, Chen Xuan turned around and said, "That's easy, just ask around and you'll find out..."

Only a few months have passed, and the once-glorious top scholar is naturally not forgotten so quickly. While his whereabouts may not be known to everyone, it is at least easy to find out where he is.

For a quarter of an hour, Chen Xuan and Su Roujia stood at a crossroads, looked to the left front, then to the right rear, and then looked at each other with strange expressions.

"Master, if what the people said before was correct, then this is Young Master Gao's new residence, right?" the maid asked hesitantly.

To their left and slightly ahead, about a mile away, stood a grand gate. The snow outside the gate had been cleared clean, and a dozen or so armored guards stood tall and proud on either side. Above the gate were the two characters "Gao Mansion," which looked quite impressive.

Nodding, Chen Xuan said, "That's right, that's it. I can feel the young master's presence, and look at that person seeing guests off at the door, isn't that Butler He?"

Blinking, the little girl glanced back to her right and said, speechless, "They're so close! Doesn't that mean they're neighbors? They weren't far apart in Yang County, and they were in the capital too."

Gao Jingming's new residence is just across the corner from Chen Xuan's manor.

Chen Xuan chuckled and said, "Saying we're neighbors doesn't quite fit the description, since we're several miles apart. It's my fault; if I'd paid a little more attention to the neighborhood beforehand, I wouldn't have had to make this unnecessary trip to Xiaoming's place. Let's go; if I'd known it would be like this, we would have just come over for a free meal."

"It seems that Young Master Gao also took advantage of the low housing prices to buy a big house," the little girl nodded and followed up.

Chen Xuan said, "That must be it. A top scholar should come from a family like this."

Young Master Gao's house is so lively! Unlike the old master's house, which is so deserted. There are a dozen or twenty guards at the gate. They must be guards from the royal palace brought by the princess to make up the numbers.

Thinking to herself, the little girl whispered, "Master, Master, I feel that Young Master Gao's new residence isn't as big as ours."

Why do you need to feel it? It's obvious. However, my house was deliberately arranged by Steward Hua to welcome the princess, so you can't generalize.

Chen Xuan reminded her, "What's the use of being big? As long as it's enough, that's fine. By the way, don't mention this to Roujia later."

"Don't worry, sir, I know what I'm doing," she nodded, promising to keep her mouth shut.

The young girl isn't stupid; she understands social etiquette. Her master came from a family of high-ranking officials and now lives in a larger residence in the capital than the Gao family. If she were to boast about it, what would the Gao family think? Even if the Gao family didn't mind, what would outsiders think?
You can't hide it forever. Sooner or later, the Gao family will find out. The former page is now more prominent than the master. How embarrassing would it be if word got out?

Chen Xuan didn't think it was a big deal. He figured that once he married the princess in a few months, this little problem would be easily solved.

Princess Fuyao is of such noble status, so what if she lives in a big house? No one will bring up Chen Xuan stealing the limelight from the Gao family; they will only think he is lucky to have climbed the social ladder and can only be envious.

"Young Master Chen has arrived! Why didn't you give us any advance notice? Please invite him in quickly; I'll have someone inform him right away."

When Chen Xuan and the little girl arrived at the gate of the Gao family's mansion in the capital, the guards of the Prince's Mansion recognized them at a glance and greeted them respectfully, even though they had never met before.

Just kidding. This guy is well-known at certain levels. How could anyone not recognize him? If you offend him, who could afford to take the blame?
...(End of chapter)