“In any case, I still want to thank you today. It is fortunate that you managed to soothe the wet nurse.” Whenever the wet nurse suffered any stimulation, her illness would flare up and act out, and he owed her this favor.
“From now on, if there is anything that requires me to step forward, just send someone to the front courtyard to find Shao Ke. If you need a carriage, tell Uncle Lu to drive it. Mother Zhang at the second gate is the most greedy for petty gains; finding her to pass along messages and news is definitely foolproof.”
Lin Yulan smiled and nodded. “Understood, Marquis. Your concubine has remembered it all.”
Shao Xun smiled and glanced at her, thinking to himself that he had misjudged her after all. The new Madam’s competence was even greater than he had originally imagined, and she probably didn’t need any help from him at all.
That was fine.
At least it saved trouble.
Shao Xun simply decided not to go out for the afternoon, and the two of them had lunch together.
After lunch, Shao Xun ordered Nanny Qi to summon all the large and small maidservants and old women serving in the courtyard to come pay their respects to the mistress of the house.
Lin Yulan did not decline either. As long as he sat by her side, it was equivalent to stating his stance. With his cold expression and an aura that seemed ready to find fault at any moment, it carried an even greater deterrent effect.
The various maidservants and old women were exceptionally well-behaved and could be described as utterly respectful.
A few sweet-mouthed ones even proactively uttered many flattering and pleasing remarks.
Lin Yulan instructed Xiao Qu to distribute the greeting gifts that had been prepared beforehand. Each person received a pouch, inside of which was a pair of hollow silver pastry tokens. The difference between what the errand-running maids and the senior maids received lay in their varying sizes.
Nanny Qi managed the affairs of the entire courtyard. Aside from her, there were four first-class maidservants—Cailian, Fenghe, Xiaoling, and Xiaoxing—who served inside the rooms.
In addition, there were four junior maids and four errand-running serving women responsible for other chores in the courtyard.
The chores of the errand-running maids were arranged under Nanny Qi’s discretion, while what each of the four senior maids would take charge of would wait for Lin Yulan’s instructions.
Lin Yulan smiled and spoke some conventional pleasantries, saying only that matters inside the rooms would be overseen generally by Xiao Qu, while the four of them could discuss it among themselves and do whatever each was best at.
“I don’t have that many rules here. Isn’t it better to make daily life a bit more relaxed? As long as you fulfill your duties properly and keep to your own bounds, you will always have a bright future ahead, and I will not treat you unfairly.”
“If there are any who eat inside and out, deceiving superiors and concealing things from subordinates—let me state the ugly truth in advance: I will not tolerate it. Have you all heard clearly?”
The four senior maids hastily nodded.
Cailian wore a full face of compliant smiles and, growing daring, said, “For the Madam to be so kind and merciful is our good fortune. If we maidservants do not serve the Madam well and fail to know how to cherish our blessings, that truly would be intolerable by the laws of heaven.”
Lin Yulan smiled and nodded at her.
With a “chi” sound, Shao Xun let out a cold laugh and scoffed, “This master doesn’t look at what is said, only at what is done. What use is there in the mouth spinning flowers? It’s best if you all remember today’s words. The road ahead is long; whoever says one thing and does another—hmph, this master will first kick her half to death, then drag her out to match with the manservants who raise livestock in the estate!”
The expressions of several senior maids turned alternately red and white.
Especially Cailian, who had just proactively stated her stance; she had an ungrounded feeling that these words were targeted specifically at her and meant to beat her into line, causing her to lower her head and tremble slightly.
Matched with a manservant—and a manservant who raised livestock in the estate at that—it was simply too terrifying…
Some had originally harbored stirring, romantic notions, thinking that since the Marquis had taken a wife, it would only be natural to take in one or two beautiful concubines. Would they themselves have a chance? Hearing his words, any such thoughts were instantly frightened right back down.
The Marquis simply wasn’t a normal man; one would have to be out of one’s mind to harbor designs on him.
Lin Yulan was left speechless for a moment, secretly holding back her laughter.
As expected of the infamous Marquis!
Such words were only something he could say.
However, hearing them, it felt quite satisfying in her heart.
“Madam, do you say that’s right?”
Shao Xun turned his head to look at Lin Yulan.
Lin Yulan smiled and nodded, gentle and yielding: “What the Marquis says is reasonable.”
That evening for the family banquet, Lin Yulan led Xiao Qu and Cailian over ahead of time, taking the opportunity to chat with Old Madam Shao and Madam Fu.
Regarding today’s events, Shao Zhixin and her two sisters all felt quite guilty and specifically apologized to Lin Yulan, saying they hadn’t expected things to turn out like that.
Lin Yulan didn’t bicker with them either, gently and amiably letting the matter pass.
Madam Fu and Shao Zhixin, mother and daughter, exchanged an imperceptible glance, secretly feeling pleased.
They had said this Lin woman wouldn’t dare to flare up, and sure enough.
Consider her sensible.
Madam Fu had always liked pushing her luck and smiled again, saying, “Why has the nephew’s wife come alone? Ah-Xun is truly something else—newly married in the spring dew and he doesn’t even know how to treat the nephew’s wife better! Although he was full of reluctance when the marriage was discussed earlier, since the nephew’s wife has already crossed the threshold, she is his proper, legitimate wife. For him to act like this is simply too disrespectful. You mustn’t spoil him, nephew’s wife; what needs to be said must be said, and what stance needs to be taken must be taken, so that he knows where he went wrong. Otherwise, he won’t feel he did anything wrong at all, and won’t that make the nephew’s wife suffer grievances in vain? As his aunt, even I can’t bear to watch!”
Lin Yulan was speechless for a moment.
With these remarks from Madam Fu, every single sentence hit the mark. Without even thinking, she knew how Lin Yuwei would have reacted upon hearing them.
However, she was not Lin Yuwei.
“Second Aunt speaks reasonably…”
“That’s right! You shouldn’t act like a shy new bride who finds it embarrassing to open her mouth about anything; you can’t go on like this. The days ahead are still long—how are you going to live them?”
Lin Yulan still smiled slightly. “Thank you, Second Aunt, for your concern…”
“What are you all discussing so lively? Second Aunt isn’t speaking ill of this master again, is she? Second Aunt, that simply won’t do. Lin’s has only just crossed the threshold; aren’t you giving this master, your nephew, far too little face?”
As he spoke, Shao Xun stepped inside, and his opening words made Madam Fu’s face turn white with anger.
Shao Zhixin bit her lip, shot him a fierce, rapid glare, and quickly lowered her eyelids once more. Whatever had happened in the past, she seemed quite terrified of this older cousin of hers.
The other two young misses were much the same, none daring to provoke Shao Xun.
Old Madam Shao frowned and rebuked unceremoniously, “Ah-Xun, you must not be disrespectful to your Second Aunt! Look at you—is there even a shred of decorum befitting a Marquis about you?”
Seeing Shao Xun supporting Nanny Zhang, Old Madam Shao was startled: “Why did you bring her here?”
Madam Fu had intended to stir up more trouble and entangle the matter further, but upon seeing Nanny Zhang, she too could not conceal her disgust and aversion: “Ah-Xun, why did you bring her here for?”
Shao Xun supported Nanny Zhang to a seat and sneered, “Such a major event as this master taking a wife—how could it possibly lack the wet nurse? For today’s family banquet, the wet nurse naturally must attend.”
“But she—”
“How is she?”
“…”
Faced with Shao Xun’s icy gaze, Madam Fu was momentarily struck dumb, muttering something fiercely under her breath.
Every time they saw Nanny Zhang, it felt like a fishbone stuck in their throats. But Nanny Zhang had already gone mad, and they didn’t dare do anything further to stimulate Shao Xun, so they could only turn a blind eye for peace of mind.
Upon seeing Lin Yulan, Nanny Zhang was exceptionally delighted, smiling brightly and insisting on sitting right next to her, holding her hand and calling out “Girl! Girl!” incessantly.
Compared to dealing with Old Madam Shao, Madam Fu, and the others, Lin Yulan actually preferred coaxing Nanny Zhang. She simply and openly set about coaxing Nanny Zhang, paying them no more mind.