Song Wan was lost in thought when Heng Wu came in carrying a Xuanyao porcelain plate.
Behind her were the little maids who were setting out the meal. They quickly packed the table of food. Song Wan asked Heng Zhi to take care of the cat while he sat next to Jiang Xingjian.
On the table were six palm-sized emerald lotus leaf plates, two white jade soup cups, and sixteen pink and white small plates.
The six main dishes are hot and cold, including braised lamb tripe, roasted chicken with bamboo shoots, braised fish maw with ham, and stewed chicken with wild mushrooms. The cold dish kitchen prepares cold pickled vegetables and fresh bamboo shoots braised in red oil.
Song Wan had a light taste, so he made shrimp and fresh bamboo shoot soup for her separately, and the other one was Jiang Xingjian's scallop and pigeon soup.
Ruyao small plates were divided into two portions, with one portion of snacks, one portion of dried fruits, one portion of candied fruits, and one portion of side dishes with clear mouth.
Jiang Xingjian took a piece of crab dumpling and put it into his mouth.
The crab tastes fresh, sweet and elegant. Although it is only a small portion, you can still see the skill of the chef.
The two of them didn't speak a word while eating, and their actions were light and silent. Song Wan only took a few bites, and Jiang Xingjian knew that she had finished using it, but she was not allowed to put down her chopsticks first because of the etiquette.
The dignity and etiquette of the people around him were engraved in his bones. Jiang Xingjian looked at the table of delicacies and thought of Lin Jiayue's embarrassment that day at the Hou Mansion's family banquet.
Regardless of their family background, men and women have abided by etiquette, laws, etiquette and education since childhood. They are always different from the common people in terms of food, clothing, housing and transportation. Eat in limited quantities, eat small amounts, eat large amounts of food, and have good quality. This is a rule they have always followed since birth. Not to mention that Song Wan, who was born as a noble girl, was a first-class maid in the Lan Courtyard, and she also knew these... …
Jiang Xingjian suddenly lost his appetite. He put down his chopsticks and took the hand towel handed to him by the maid next to him.
After wiping their hands, Green Bamboo and Herbaceous Flower came in with a basin.
After the two of them rinsed their mouths, Jiang Xingjian walked to Song Wan's desk and flipped through the accounts of the mansion. There were about three to ten volumes in the Ling and Ling general categories. The more he looked at them, the tighter his brows became.
Song Wan said: "Since Lord Marquis and his husband left, the Hou Mansion has been in decline. Now six years have passed and there are many affairs in the Mansion. The expenses are still the same as before, but the income has been reduced by more than half."
"and……"
Song Wan paused, took out a red leather account book from under the desk and handed it to Jiang Xingjian.
"Since Concubine Jiang entered the palace, a huge amount of money has been spent on the palace's up and down management. Nowadays, the arrogance of the Hou Mansion is still there, but it is not easy to support it inside."
Jiang Man, the eldest daughter of the Jiang family, entered the palace as a concubine seven years ago. When Jiang Xingjian left for Beijing, she was pregnant with Long Zi. In the past few years, she spent just as much money on concubine Jiang's inner palace and funerals as the marquis. Most of the Hou Mansion has been emptied.
It's just that the Hou Mansion has some accumulation. Although it cannot be compared with its heyday, it is still pretty good according to other official families.
But it can only be said to be passable.
There are far more than a thousand masters and servants in the Hou Mansion, and just eating and drinking ordinary things is astonishing, not to mention there are two people in the palace who cannot be neglected.
On New Year's Day, when favors and filial piety are needed, money is flowing like water. If this happens for another three to five years, I am afraid that even the honor that I can barely hold on to now will not be maintained.
Song Wan guessed that the Hou Mansion would be difficult, but he didn't expect it to be so difficult.
Jiang Xingjian said: "How come the income of Zhuangzi in the mansion has dropped so much in recent years?"
"The most promising Zhuangzi, Tong Tiandi, has been in charge of Eunuch Duan, the eunuch and eunuch, in the past few years."
Song Wan said a little embarrassed.
Speaking of it, the relationship between the Chengyang Marquis Mansion and the Song Mansion has been a bit delicate in recent years. Her aunt is the current Concubine Yun and is being favored by the emperor. Jiang Xingjian's sister-in-law became pregnant with the fifth prince a year after entering the palace. After the news that the marquis and Jiang Xingjian were killed at the border came back to Beijing, the emperor promoted Jiang Man from Jieyu to Jiang Mansion in order to make up for the Chengyang Marquis Mansion. Concubine.
In the early years when the country's power was weak, the Holy Emperor appointed the second prince with the worst background as the crown prince. He was sent to a neighboring country as a hostage when he was less than five years old. He served as a hostage for twelve years. When he returned to the court, only a half-dead body was left. Now he is paralyzed. He has been in the East Palace for eight years. If he had not been deprived of his position as prince at this time, he would be despised by the world, and the Holy Emperor would have relegated him to a commoner.
The eldest prince is the direct descendant of the empress. If there is no proton, the position of prince belongs to him. Originally, he could sit on the throne as long as the prince dies of illness, but the eldest prince is too unbearable to be responsible for the important task.
The third prince was born to her aunt and had just passed her ninth birthday. The west prince died young, and the Song family...
Song Wan lowered his eyes and paused slightly while flipping through the account books.
Since ancient times, wealth has attracted people's hearts, not to mention supreme power. She doesn't believe that the Song family has no idea about that position, and it can be seen from her brother's name that her father is quite ambitious.
Song Wan glanced at Jiang Xingjian, and the two of them avoided each other's eyes.
After a while, Jiang Xingjian said: "I know that you like to be quiet and can't bear to care about these trivial things. It's just that the affairs of the house always make you nervous."
"As for the dealings outside... Now that I have returned home safely, there is no reason to continue to bother you with external affairs."
Song Wan said: "Thank you, husband, for your consideration."
Song Wan found several red leather account books one by one, sorted them out and handed them to Jiang Xingjian.
The so-called foreign affairs were only related to Concubine Jiang and the fifth prince Shen Qianshu, and she was happy to get rid of them.
The two were speechless for a while, but Heng Wu walked in with anger in his eyes: "Uncle, Aunt Lin from Xiuyan Pavilion has something to ask you for. She has sent her maid here three or five times to remind her. I think it's something urgent."
When Jiang Xingjian heard this, his eyebrows tightened, and he felt quite unable to get off the stage. The people in the room behaved in a dishonest manner, and he was ultimately disgraced.
"Go back to Aunt Lin and say that I have something important to discuss with Madam."
Heng Wufu saluted, waved his sleeves and walked out.
"Now that Aunt Lin is mentioned, I have something to talk to my husband about."
Song Wan said: "The concubine in the mansion has one or two silver coins a month. She is in charge of personal clothes, hairpins, and two other maids. She washes and washes the Westerners. Huai Su can enjoy this share. Miss Lin will be demoted according to the rank. Husband. Do you have any objections?"
“……”
If Lin Jiayue hadn't crossed the border again and again to look for him in the main room, he might have been able to say a few words, but now that Jiang Xingjian was asked to speak, he had no shame.
"My wife follows the rules of the house, so she has no objection to her husband."
Song Wan said: "Although there is still an empty courtyard in the Lan courtyard, it has to be repaired after being closed for six years before it can be inhabited. Huaisu's status is different from the past, so he can no longer stay in the servants' room and go in and out with the maids, so during this period I arranged for Huaisu to live in Xiuyan Pavilion, what does your husband think?"
"So inappropriate."
"Then I will give up Longxiangzhai to Huaisu."
"This is even more inappropriate."
Jiang Xingjian frowned.
Song Wan married into the Hou Mansion and lived as a widow for six years with her spiritual title in hand. No one in Beijing knew about it. It was extremely disgraceful for him to bring Jiayue back to Beijing, and it was no different from openly embarrassing the Song Dynasty.
Now if she is allowed to give up her former widow's place to other concubines, even if it is for the sake of the Song family's face, the Holy Father will have to hold him accountable even if he returns from summer vacation.
And he himself couldn't afford the reputation of being a doting concubine who destroyed his wife and was a coward and a lustful person.
"It's up to you."
After Jiang Xingjian finished speaking, he stood up and left.
Song Wan was so smart that he would not put down his body to argue with Jiayue. As long as she put the reputation of the Hou Mansion and the Song Mansion, as well as his reputation, he would abandon Lin Jiayue and leave.
However, she said that they would be together for the rest of their lives, so she placed a lowly concubine on Jiayue's head, and then sent Huaisu to Xiuyan Pavilion. In this way, Song Wan could easily separate the two of them without using any means.
She has been smart since she was a child, and is very skilled at hitting snakes within seven inches. She handles matters in the inner house like a fish in water.
Jiang Xingjian smiled helplessly, but quickly suppressed his smile.
