Chapter 13: The Marquis's Deficit
Mother Ping looked at the woman in front of her, who seemed strong but was actually very delicate at heart, with her eyes full of love and understanding.
She smiled gently, "My silly girl, as long as I am here, no one in this world will dare to let you suffer any injustice."
Inspired by this warm power, Su Wanyu's body shook slightly. She could no longer suppress the surging emotions in her heart and turned around and threw herself into Ping's mother's arms.
There, there is the most familiar jasmine scent in my memory, which is the smell of childhood, pure and peaceful.
Being hugged by Ping's mother, Su Wanyu deeply felt the meaning of being reborn.
Time is like running water, it takes away many things and also leaves many behind.
They walked into the room together as Ping's mother gently combed her hair.
In Ping's mother's eyes, no matter how time changes, Su Wanyu will always be the little girl who needs her care.
Although she was only eighteen years old, and including the memories of her past life, she had only lived for about twenty years, but Su Wanyu's intelligence was far beyond that of her peers.
Most of her life passed quietly in the Zheng family mansion until her final death.
Behind those prominent families is the bondage of a golden cage. Those outside are eager to enter this glamorous world, while those inside dream of escaping day and night.
The next morning, a drizzle fell from the sky, gently falling on every corner of the Marquis of Changping's Mansion.
The palace was filled with mist, and the surrounding scenery looked blurry and hazy in the fog, like a painting in light ink.
After unloading the burden of managing household chores, Su Wanyu delivered the household account books to Wang's room early, and also quietly retrieved some personal belongings that had been hidden in it many years ago.
Those dowry originally belonged to her.
What remains are the accounts recording the Zheng family’s financial deficits in recent years.
Faced with these account books, Wang's expression suddenly became serious.
"Is the government's finances so stretched?" Besides being surprised, he was more worried.
The maidservant at the side hurriedly tried to persuade her, "Madam, perhaps we should consider handing the housekeeper's post back to Madam, so as to avoid unnecessary trouble."
Wang frowned and said firmly, "No, since I have taken over, there is no reason to give up. I want everyone to see that I, Wang, am not inferior to anyone else."
The maid looked embarrassed and hesitated to speak, but Wang had already picked up the pen and started sketching on the paper decisively.
"It's just a matter of money. Just reduce your expenses."
Her pen tip jumped on the paper, and she muttered a series of reduction plans at the same time: "The rouge of each courtyard will be reduced by half, the monthly salary will be reduced by half, the food will be reduced by half, and the clothing for each season will be reduced by half. This will be enough to support the next few months."
The maid reminded in a low voice: "Doing this might cause dissatisfaction between the master and the old lady."
Wang paused for a moment, then smiled. She had already made up her mind, "The master, the old lady, and the mistress cannot be offended, so let's start with the side room."
"The four concubines around the master will have their monthly salary reduced by half, while their food will remain the same. As for the four new concubines in the Second Young Madam's courtyard, their monthly salary and food will both be reduced by half, and as for rouge, it will be waived for the time being."
After hearing what her master said, the maid's eyes flashed with helplessness, and then she nodded slowly.
In the complicated family of Zheng's, those powerful elders are like dragon scales that cannot be easily touched. In comparison, it seems more wise to have friction with those concubines who have no status and depend on the master for survival.
As the new head of the family, Wang's order to cut spending quickly spread to every corner of the mansion once it was issued.
Jiang Yingying and Xiang'er, as Zheng Chengyan's favorites, naturally received more generous monthly allowance than other concubines. The two taels of silver pocket money each month was enough for them to occasionally choose a few feet of fine fabric to make clothes.
However, the sudden cuts cut their money in half, and the remaining one or two taels of silver were barely enough for daily expenses. Even the simplest purchase of cloth became difficult to maintain.
As for rouge and powder, those necessities that embellish women's appearance, like food, they were ruthlessly cut.
Their lives were never luxurious to begin with, and now they live an even tighter life, having to calculate every penny carefully.
In the Zheng residence, the scene at the dining table for the concubines was vastly different from that for the wife of the first wife.
Madam Su Wanyu had eight dishes and one soup every day, which was extremely sumptuous. But for Jiang Yingying, the meal was reduced by half, and she only had four dishes and one soup, which was barely enough to maintain her decency.
When it was halved again, there were only two dishes and one soup left, which was so poor that it made people feel cold.
Facing the food brought by the maid, Jiang Yingying's face was instantly shrouded in a layer of gloom. She had hoped to marry into a wealthy family to live a life of fine clothes and delicious food, not to have to compromise like this.
She stood up suddenly and said to Qingyue who was kneeling on the ground, "What's going on? There were four dishes and one soup yesterday, but today there are only two dishes and one soup?"
Qingyue put down the plate tremblingly, then knelt on the ground and explained carefully.
"From today on, all household chores will be managed by the eldest young lady herself, so the family's diet will naturally be adjusted."
Jiang Yingying initially thought that Su Wanyu was deliberately making things difficult for her, but when she heard that it was the eldest young lady's doing, although she was dissatisfied, she could only suppress it.
She took out a few copper coins that her mother had secretly given her from her purse and handed them to Qingyue, with helplessness flashing in her eyes. "Take it to the kitchen and ask the maids to add two more dishes."
Qingyue held the copper coin in her hand, her eyes full of hesitation. She swallowed the words back when they came to her lips, and called out softly, "Auntie..."
"What's the matter?" Jiang Yingying's eyes were cold and suspicious.
Qingyue lowered her head timidly, "With this little money, I'm afraid I can't even buy a decent dish in the Zheng Mansion..."
Jiang Yingying's face became increasingly uglier, her nose twitched slightly, as if she was about to cry.
As a concubine, she was well aware that her status was far different from that of the principal wife.
When a wife enters the house as a principal wife, she is not only accompanied by a generous betrothal gift, but also has a huge dowry from her parents' family as a backing, which is enough to ensure her dignity and wealth throughout her life.
On the other hand, for concubines, there is no talk of dowry, only the humiliation of being sold, not to mention any decent dowry.
Thinking about the dowry that the Jiang family had prepared for her, it all came to nothing because of Su Wanyu's disturbance.
Not only was she unable to take anything away, even the money she had saved privately was stopped from entering.
The only person by her side was Qingyue, a lowly maidservant who came with her as a dowry. This companionship was gained by her mother at the cost of her father's house arrest.
The copper coin in her hand seemed to be the best interpretation of her insignificant status.
In the Zheng family, this little bit of wealth is not even as much as a servant.
Jiang Yingying could only smile bitterly and force herself to swallow the bland soup. She felt powerless about the days in the future when she might not even be able to afford the cheapest cosmetics.
Her hand involuntarily covered her belly, which had not yet bulged, and she secretly made up her mind to give birth to a boy in exchange for a foothold in the mansion.