Binding Spring Love

"Does Aunt mean that Sister Huaisu is untrustworthy?"

Lin Jiayue shook her head: "She's trying to curry favor with me now, so what she says must be true, but who knows what will happen in the future."

Lin Jiayue made a bowl of shaved ice cream, a favorite of little girls, for Qianbi, and then pondered Huaisu's words.

She had embarrassed herself several times before because she didn't understand the current rules, etiquette, customs, and traditions. She didn't understand how important those formalities were to this group of people, which is why she repeatedly made mistakes in them.

Although Lin Jiayue felt that both Song Wan and Huaisu were hypocritical and pretentious, she had to admit that it was right to do as the Romans do.

"Today, sew me a purse and put some loose silver in it. Also, prepare one for yourself and put some copper coins or the like inside."

Qianbi blinked: "How much silver?"

"Just three to five ounces a day is fine."

Qianbi hesitated, "But there's not much silver left in Auntie's dressing case."

"How is that possible?"

Lin Jiayue opened the makeup box containing valuables and saw a few loose silver ingots inside, weighing only about fifty or sixty taels.

"Your aunt only receives one tael of silver per month. There was some silver in your dressing box before, but it's all gone now that you've been playing cards with the old lady these past few days."

Lin Jiayue frowned deeply, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

Since arriving at the Marquis's residence, her food and clothing have been provided by the residence, and she has been confined to the backyard every day. She has never gone out since she came in, so she has no place to spend money and has naturally forgotten the importance of money.

The silver and the bag of gold beans in the box were given to her by Jiang Xingjian when she first entered the manor. She never used to reward servants, but seeing that Huaisu was frugal, she generously gave her a handful of gold beans, simply because she felt there was no need to use silver in the Marquis's manor.

"I should have caught fewer."

Lin Jiayue bit her lip, feeling increasingly awkward.

She was busy all day long helping the Marquis's mansion run a rouge shop and an ice shop. The profits flowed into the public accounts like water every day, but in the end, she ended up with not a single penny.

"No, I need to open a few shops for myself too."

Qianbi asked, "How does Auntie plan to open a shop? I've never heard of a woman opening a shop before."

"Why can't women run shops?"

Qianbi nodded: "Opening a shop requires a contract, but how does a woman write a contract?"

Lin Jiayue asked, puzzled, "Why can't women write contracts?"

After thinking for a long time, Qianbi said with a puzzled look in her eyes, "This servant doesn't know why either. Perhaps it's against the law. Otherwise, this servant will find a head maid from the outer courtyard, and you can ask her, Madam?"

Lin Jiayue nodded, and Qianbi quickly brought back a middle-aged woman dressed in an indigo silk robe.

"Just now, Qianbi said that women cannot run shops. Is that true?"

The old woman laughed and said, "That's true."

"Women are expected to obey their fathers at home and their husbands after marriage. They are not allowed to have private property. Moreover, women are not supposed to show their faces in public, so how can they get involved in business? The only private property a woman can own is her dowry. Although dowries usually include some estates and shops, most of them are registered under the name of the manager."

"These shopkeepers are either servants or their indentures are held by their masters, so they are relatively safe."

Lin Jiayue bit her lip, feeling increasingly stifled.

dowry……

Of course she didn't have that kind of thing; she was a concubine!

"Besides dowry, is there no other way for a woman to acquire property?"

"Yes, that's possible. If you register as a female household in the government office, you can also do business. But this requires that the household has no male members, meaning that only widows without husbands or children can do it."

"..."

Lin Jiayue's delicate eyebrows furrowed deeply.

"So that means I have no way of getting my own property?"

The old woman looked shocked: "What are you saying, madam? How can a woman have private property? A woman hiding money is tantamount to theft, which is one of the seven grounds for divorce, let alone private property or shops."

No wonder those women in the inner quarters are fighting tooth and nail for the power to manage the household. If they don't have some family wealth or dowry, how can they survive in the inner quarters?

Lin Jiayue grew angrier the more she thought about it. The ice shop and the rouge shop had already been handed over, so how could she get them back?

The money went directly into the public treasury, and even Jiang Xingjian didn't spend a single cent, let alone her.

With a loud slam, Lin Jiayue slammed her hand on the table: "It seems I have no choice but to fight for this power to manage the household!"

After thinking for a moment, she took the bag of gold beans and led Qianbi to the mansion to find someone to exchange them for silver.

In the following days, Lin Jiayue changed her usual way of doing things, taking great care of everyone, and when she visited Jiang's mother, she always kept in mind the rules and conduct taught by Granny Li.

However, after five or six days of preparation, Jiang's mother happily handed over the gifts from the Marquis's mansion to her at the mahjong table.

"I misunderstood you before, thinking you were inconsiderate."

Jiang's mother happily accepted the silver from Lin Jiayue's hand, her face beaming with joy as she looked at the drawer full of her bounty.

"Yuanyang, bring those bolts of silk gauze that were bestowed upon us by the palace last year. Let Aunt Lin and Huaisu take a good look at them."

Jiang's mother grabbed a handful of loose silver from a small drawer and generously gave it to the maid in the room.

This amount of silver was nothing to her; even if it were multiplied a hundred or a thousand times, it wouldn't buy even half a bolt of the soft silk gauze that she wanted to reward the two of them.

But what you win from others brings you joy, and that is far more valuable than its intrinsic worth.

"Thank you for the gift, Madam. Since you're having a good time and luck with the game, I won't stand on ceremony with you."

Lin Jiayue confidently chose a piece of cloth she liked, and then pulled Huaisu to pick one out as well. The two of them carried the cloth out of Jiangxiang Courtyard, when she suddenly asked, "Do you have any plans for this cloth?"

Huaisu shook his head: "But what does Aunt Lin want to do?"

Handing the cloth to Lin Jiayue, Huaisu said, "If Aunt Lin likes it, please take it."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony with you."

Lin Jiayue didn't explain, and took the horse from Huaisu's hands as well.

The next day at noon, she carried two almost identical long dresses to Huaisu's room: "Yesterday I had Qianbi send them to the embroidery workshop in the manor to be made into dresses. Come and see which one you like?"

Huaisu stared at the floor-length dress for a moment, then, under Lin Jiayue's constant urging, casually chose another one.

The two changed behind the screen, and Lin Jiayue said with a smile, "It really looks good. Why don't we wear it and show it to Madam, so that she can be happy."

Before Huaisu could refuse, Lin Jiayue pulled her out of the house.

Just outside the Embroidered Smoke Pavilion, the two encountered Song Wan in the Lan Courtyard, where she was picking balsam flowers with Hengzhi and Hengwu, preparing to dye them with rouge.

Song Wan looked up at the two people dressed exactly the same, and smiled slightly. Huai Su, however, had lost all color in her face and lowered her head with a pale face.

Lin Jiayue glanced at her and said to Song Wan with a smile, "Madam, you seem to be in a good mood. I wonder if you'll be busy later? Yesterday, Madam entrusted me with the management of the household affairs. There are many things I don't understand, so I'll have to ask you for advice."

Turning her gaze away, Song Wan spoke gently, "No rush, I'm available anytime."