"Mother?"
After dinner, Lin Jiayue went to Jiang Mu's Jiangxiang Courtyard. She pushed open the door to Jiang Mu's bedroom and walked in quietly.
Jiang's mother was sitting in the gauze with her back to her, muttering something unknown. Lin Jiayue stepped forward and opened the gauze curtain, but was stunned by the scene in front of her.
Overnight, the few gray hairs on Jiang's mother's head were also dyed white, and there was no trace of black on her head.
Lin Jiayue felt a lump in her throat, and everything she wanted to say was stuck on the tip of her tongue.
After a long time, she said softly: "Skylark said that you haven't had any water in a day. If you go on like this, your body will collapse. What should you do?"
"How can I still eat? My Yi'er is gone, and Man'er is gone too. I can't even bring their bones back to Beijing for burial."
"How do you want me to eat it?"
Lin Jiayue pursed her lips, not knowing how to comfort Jiang's mother.
"You go out, I don't want to see anyone."
Jiang's mother covered her face and cried bitterly, looking like she had completely lost her will to live.
"I know my mother is sad, but you still have to put your body first. No matter what, you must see your grandson born and raise him."
After saying that, Lin Jiayue walked out.
Qingwei and the housekeeper's wife gathered in the main hall. When Lin Jiayue came out, everyone's eyes were filled with sadness. But there was also someone with evil intentions. He glanced at Xizhou with a pair of eyes, not knowing what he was planning.
Lin Jiayue stood in front of everyone, lowered her eyes and sighed.
When she first entered the Marquis Mansion, she looked down upon Song Wanzhang's family who carefully held the slaves, but now she can actually appreciate Song Wan's painstaking efforts.
Ordinary people couldn't afford such a large Houfu, and neither could she.
After suffering a lot, she finally realized her own weight, and she also developed a sense of awe for this era.
"The empress and the Marquis..."
As soon as these words came out, many servants in the Hou Mansion began to choke. They covered their faces and cried bitterly, all looking very loyal.
"Some time ago, there was trouble in the court, and a lot of money came out of the house. Everyone knows it. Now, the Marquis Suhe is in trouble again. I'm afraid the Marquis' house will be in trouble."
Nowadays, there is only one concubine, Jiang Ang, in the Hou family. In this era, a family without the support of a man has only one way to go, and Lin Jiayue doesn't want to wait until that time.
There are many people in the Hou Mansion, and these people have different thoughts. At the moment, they may not have any evil intentions, but as time goes by, they see that the house is full of women and children, and they don't know if they will kill the master.
She didn't want to take risks, and she didn't want to be wary of these people all day long.
"I'm looking for you all today because I have something I want to tell you."
"The mansion can no longer afford everyone's monthly allowance, so I thought of asking you if you could accompany the Hou Mansion through this difficult time."
Tongjiang Fu's daughter-in-law and Zhou Liang's second wife of Qishun's family both wiped away tears and said: "Not to mention that we can't issue monthly reports at the moment, but in the future I will go out and help earn money for the Hou Mansion. It's what I should do."
"We have been born and raised in the Hou Mansion for generations. How can we add insult to injury at such a critical moment?"
"Your words are enough, and the spirit of the Marquis in heaven will be greatly relieved."
In the past, they might not be willing to talk to Lin Jiayue so kindly, but who made her carry the golden lump of Chengyang Marquis Mansion in her belly? If she gives birth to a boy, the Marquis Mansion will be the domain of her mother and her son, who will feel uncomfortable at this time.
Therefore, although everyone criticized her, they did not dare to express it.
Lin Jiayue didn't care about this and just said softly: "Having said that, the more loyal you are, the more I can't let everyone's hearts fall."
"I'm not afraid of everyone laughing at me. The Hou Mansion has long been unable to afford such a big expense. When you go back today, tell the people below that if there are those who want to leave the house to get married when they reach the age, or who want to get married when they are older. Anyone who wants to go home and be raised in honor can come to me, and I will show mercy to the old lady and return the body deed."
After Lin Jiayue finished speaking, she dismissed everyone, leaving only Jiang Fu's wife.
"I'm keeping you here today because I want you to help me go to Pingcui'an and Haitang Garden."
The Hou Mansion kept a bunch of nuns and actors. She couldn't stand it for a long time, but she never had the chance to send them out of the house. Now that she had the final say, she could no longer support these people.
"Tell them the truth about the situation in the Marquis' Mansion. You can stay if you want, but I can't be a young lady anymore, so I can only pick up some menial jobs in the garden. If they agree, you can keep them. If they don't, You give two taels of silver to each person for travel expenses, and that’s it.”
The Jiang Fu family nodded silently, but they knew in their hearts that the Chengyang Marquis Mansion had been prosperous for hundreds of years and could no longer maintain it.
Jiang Fu's daughter-in-law, Mrs. Liang and others conveyed Lin Jiayue's intention. The maids, servants and even the elderly mother-in-law disapproved of it, but when the Hou Mansion really couldn't issue monthly regulations, and the master and servants were reduced. After the meal money was replenished, everyone realized that what Lin Jiayue said was not a lie.
At this time, people were looking for her one after another to get the body deeds and consciously wanted to leave the house.
Later, everyone saw that Lin Jiayue had sealed up all the uninhabited houses. Even the late old lady's Fuhe Hall and the second master's Yulingzhai were not spared. They were unwilling to admit that the Hou Mansion It was indeed to the point where they couldn't even maintain their airs, and everyone asked to leave.
"Aunt Lin, there was a servant in a stall yesterday. In the evening, he put two fellow villagers who were on duty at the stables in the mansion into the stall. They stole some treasures from the study room and now they were kidnapped and thrown into the outer courtyard. How do you think this will be handled?"
"Either be sent to prison or beaten to death on the spot, let them choose."
Lin Jiayue held the handkerchief with a solemn look on her face.
She knew that something like this would happen to the Hou Mansion one day, and she was just waiting to scare the monkeys.
"this……"
Jiang Fu's wife showed hesitation in her eyes.
Whether it was sending him to an official or beating him to death, it was not the style of a family of officials. She wanted to give Lin Jiayue some advice, but she was stopped by him.
"I know what you're going to say, there's no need to say anything."
"If I don't use some thunderous methods now, those unscrupulous slaves will climb on top of the master in the mansion in the future. The Marquis Mansion is different from before. Don't be soft-hearted."
The Jiang Fu family was shocked by the majesty in her eyes. It was the first time that they saw a bit of the majesty of the matron in her eyes.
She nodded and hurriedly dealt with the matter.
Although there were occasional disturbances in the Chengyang Marquis Mansion, it was relatively stable under Lin Jiayue's personal control of the well and his kindness and power.
A few months later, Jiang's mother still locked herself in the room all day long, and Aunt Zheng also restrained Jiang Ang every day to prevent him from going to Lin Jiayue. Lin Jiayue knew what she was thinking, but now she was too lazy to care about it because she was already three months old and was about to give birth.
Before giving birth, she went to the palace to meet Song Wan.
Song Wan will now be in good health and his face will be as rosy as before, but he will be even more taciturn than before.
As soon as Lin Jiayue saw her, she frowned and asked, "You don't look too good, but what happened to the border war?"
"I have been busy with trivial matters at home during this period, but I have not paid attention to the war. If you have anything, please tell me."
She picked up a piece of pastry and put it into her mouth, muttering softly: "We have been fighting with Prince Ning for three months now, how come we haven't drawn up a charter yet?"
