Binding Spring Love

"This old servant deserves to die. I was so blind that I made such a mistake. Fortunately, the eldest mistress has sharp eyes and found this reason."

The old woman slapped herself twice, the sound of the slaps making the others hunch over.

"Since there was a mistake, just make up the amount. Why go through all this trouble?"

Song Wan had Hengwu help the old woman up, then said to Zhang Changsheng's wife, "You're the wife of the steward of the outer courtyard's scribe's quarters, aren't you?"

"Yes, madam."

"Our Marquis's Mansion does not believe that a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent. Therefore, all the young ladies in the mansions are literate and have some interest in calligraphy and painting. However, the young ladies in the inner quarters do not study at the mansion during the day like the young masters, and they also practice their studies in the evenings."

"But I've noticed that the young ladies spend more on ink, paper, and inkstones than all the young masters in the manor combined."

"You alone have four pieces of antique-style Xueyitang ink that you purchased this year."

Zhang Changsheng's wife smiled awkwardly: "Madam was widowed before and didn't know anything about the affairs of the household. Our young ladies are not like those of other families in the capital. The young ladies of other families usually like needlework and spinning, but our young ladies prefer reading and painting."

"Take the third young lady of the second branch of the family, for example. She loves to paint fish, birds, and animals, so she uses more paper and ink than the men do."

Seeing that Song Wan did not answer, she raised her head even higher: "Madam is kind and benevolent, and she has never distinguished between legitimate and illegitimate children in the manor. She treats all girls and boys equally. These girls like calligraphy and painting and ask this old servant for some brushes and ink. It would be a shame not to give them to you, would it?"

"Now that the eldest mistress has spoken, this old servant will certainly pay attention in the future. I just don't know if the young ladies in the manor will think that the eldest mistress is acting a bit too wildly. After all, when the madam was in charge of the household, she would not cut back on the expenses of the concubine-born young ladies in the manor."

Her voice grew louder and louder, but Song Wan only said calmly, "The antique-style Xueyitang ink is of medium value. It is not the best in the mansion, but one ingot is worth thirty or forty taels of silver. But you probably don't know that this Xueyitang ink is made by burning tung oil and adding fragrance. The characteristic of soot ink is that it has a brighter luster but a slightly lighter ink color."

"Paintings by the young ladies of the manor..."

Song Wan took out two landscape paintings from the white porcelain painting jar, opened them, and handed them to the old woman.

"These two paintings have deep, heavy ink but lack elegance. However, due to the light amount of glue, they lack luster, which is typical of pine soot ink."

"Although neither of these two inks is sticky or astringent, and both are delicate and smooth, there are still significant differences between them."

"Perhaps...perhaps this old servant has made a mistake. This old servant will go back and check the receipts and accounts clearly."

Song Wan nodded: "Of course we must investigate thoroughly."

After she finished speaking, Liu Shun's wife couldn't hold back any longer: "Madam, you are very discerning. The accounts I submit have never had any flaws."

There are many unruly servants in the Marquis's mansion. The old lady suddenly lost her son and grandson six years ago, which ruined her health. Madam Jiang is a carefree person who rarely cares about such trivial matters.

With the old lady's lingering authority keeping them in check for a day or two, and after a while they figured out the First Madam's personality, they naturally couldn't resist the temptation.

Even those who acted prudently, seeing that the stewardesses of their rank were all making a good living and had never been caught, naturally began to have their own ideas.

I never expected that I would be caught red-handed by a young wife today.

Some of them had come to watch the spectacle, intending to see Song Wan's helpless predicament and then gossip about her to amuse the servants in the inner quarters. Little did they know that cold sweat had soaked through their undergarments.

"There are indeed no flaws."

Song Wan smiled slightly at Liu Shun's wife: "It's just that your receipt is written in a rather messy handwriting, and I had some difficulty deciphering it."

"Reporting to Madam, this old servant will definitely practice calligraphy more diligently in the future and will never do it again."

"Alright, you can go back now."

The group of people were trembling with fear, all listening intently to Song Wan's instructions.

She looked at the two people whose accounts had been in dispute and said softly, "One of you is in charge of miscellaneous repairs in the outer courtyard, and the other manages the various storehouses in the inner courtyard. You've really worked hard these past few years. It wouldn't be right for you to keep working so hard, so I thought I'd give you two easier jobs."

"After Zhang's daughter-in-law settled the accounts, she was transferred to Jixiangyuan as a manager, while Lin Lianggao's wife went to work in the tea room. The old women from Jixiangyuan went to the main kitchen to be in charge of purchasing, and Granny Sun went to..."

Song Wan reassigned several old women to replace the important stewards in the inner courtyard of the Marquis's mansion.

These old women always worked in the same place, so they knew all the flaws in the household and had taken care of most of the people, so they were almost certainly all in cahoots.

The current chaos can at least curb this unhealthy trend.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Changsheng's wife wailed, "Madam, this old servant was wrong, this old servant was indeed careless, but this old servant can guarantee that it will never happen again."

What kind of place is Jixiangyuan?

That was where the maids and servants of the mansion recuperated, and where concubines and unmarried young men held funerals. It was not only eerily gloomy all day long, but there was also no profit to be made.

She now manages the inner quarters' storeroom. Although she dares not touch the items in the accounts, she usually lets her husbands take some extra writing implements from the pen room and register them under the young ladies' names. This can earn her dozens of taels of silver a month, which is equivalent to two years' worth of her salary. How could she bear to part with that?

"Please forgive this old servant, Madam. I will do my utmost to serve you in the future."

Zhang Changsheng's wife cried incessantly: "This old servant is too old to go to Jixiang Garden. Please give this old servant a chance, considering how many years I have served the old lady."

Song Wan frowned: "What you said makes sense. You are too old to go to Jixiangyuan to manage things anymore."

"Yes, yes..."

The old woman was pleased with Song Wan's youth and her kind heart. She saw Song Wan take out a wooden box from the table, take out a contract of sale from it, and hand it back to her.

"You are old and it is time for you to go home and enjoy your retirement. Today, I will grant your grandmother's request and let you go home."

"Grandma..."

"Madam, this old servant was wrong. This old servant is going to Jixiang Garden. This old servant does not want to go home... Please, my whole family, including my children, are in the manor. We have been born into the Marquis's household for generations. Where do you want this old servant to go?"

Song Wanchao nodded to Hengwu, who then pulled out five or six more indentures: "You're practically an old servant of the Marquis's mansion. Since you're so reluctant to leave your family, why don't you go home with your children and grandchildren?"

In wealthy and respectable families, the sale of servants was never a matter of course. Even if someone committed a grave offense, they would simply have their indenture returned and be released on a lenient note. However, for servants who had lived their entire lives in the Marquis's mansion and held positions of power, this was worse than death.

The Marquis's mansion was lenient with its servants and never treated them harshly. Even the lowest-ranking housekeeper had a much better standard of living than the wives of officials in poor, remote villages.

Not to mention that their nephews and nieces can benefit greatly from the Marquis's mansion when they travel outside. If any of them catch the eye of the head of the family and are granted an official position, it is not impossible for them to change their family's allegiance and bring glory to their ancestors.

If a girl becomes a first-class maid like Hengwu or Hengzhi, it's like her ancestors' graves are emitting auspicious smoke; who knows, one day she might rise to become a concubine or mistress.

Thinking of her youngest daughter's bright little face, Zhang Changsheng's wife burst into tears, her sobbing much more sincere than before.

The old women in the room trembled with fear as they watched her being dragged away, terrified that Song Wan's clear gaze would fall upon them.