Generally speaking, the two sisters are relatively unfamiliar with each other and don't talk to each other much.
For Li Xiuning, it was roughly equivalent to raising an idle person in the house. Of course, there was more than one idle person in the house, Changsun Wujiu. As long as she didn't cause trouble with her, she could raise one, and it wasn't that she couldn't afford to raise one.
After a little preparation, Li Xiuning sat down on the collapse.
He picked up an account book, flipped through two pages, tilted his head and asked, "Did she go to Changsun Qingzheng's place yesterday?"
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A personal maid immediately replied: "Ms. Changsun went out in the afternoon yesterday and came back in the evening... A few days ago, Gao Yushi came to the house to see the lady..."
The women in the mansion have special status, and Li Xiuning is everyone's attention. There are records in the mansion when they come in and out. Li Xiuning also has to be aware of who they associate with.
It's not that they are afraid of colluding with someone and doing something big, but mainly because they are widowed and want to guard against any rumors.
The emperor must be particularly careful when he comes to visit and not allow them to act haphazardly.
These women were both old and young, and they were all experts at pleasing men, so she had to be on guard against them.
…………
After hearing the maid's answer, Li Xiuning thought to herself, is this something difficult?
Gao Shilian and Changsun Wuji were both members of the same family. Why would they come to look for their widowed niece (sister)? Humph, she was so sneaky, it would be better to come and talk to Li Sanniang directly.
Also, if you owe someone a favor, it's hard to pay it back.
Thinking of this, Li Xiuning smiled secretly. She had quite a few people at her disposal now, including her two uncles and nephews. And among the ministers in the court, who could not give her some face?
Li Xiuning stopped thinking about it and picked up the account book and looked through it carefully.
After watching for a while, several stewards and accountants from the mansion arrived.
"The renovation of the East Garden was completed last month, so there is no need to spend special money on other repairs... You should tidy up the warehouse next to the East Garden and move all the tea bags in the house there, so that it can be easily accessed.
"
Li Xiuning gave the order casually, and a steward bowed in response. The others also breathed a sigh of relief. Apparently there was no problem with the accounts.
This year is also a relatively important year for Mrs. Chu’s Mansion.
In the past two years, palaces were built in the palace, and various families in Chang'an followed suit and renovated the pavilions, pavilions, and gardens in the palace.
The labor force in Chang'an was very tight at one time, and the same was true for Madam Chu's Mansion. The expenses were relatively high, and it was barely completed this year. At the beginning of the year, Madam checked the accounts, and there were many unclear things, so they were all reprimanded.
There were also two people who had tampered with them and were driven out of the house. That is to say, Madam is kind-hearted, otherwise sending them to the official position would be enough to ruin their families.
"Steward Wang, go to the farm outside the city and take a look. The autumn harvest is coming soon. Is there anything that needs to be done?"
Manager Qiu, go to Luoyang.
This year's harvest should be more than last year, but it still follows the previous years. New grain is put into the warehouse, and old grain is sent to grain stores for sale. Forget about the new grain from Luoyang. Manager Qiu, take a look at the situation. If the farmers can take care of it, take care of it.
If it can be deducted, then deduct it.
We only have this few people in our house, which is enough. There is no need to stock up on grain like we did in previous years. The rest will be sold on the spot in Luoyang.
Well, you can also ask the government. If the treasury is tight, all the grain can be donated to the government. If they don't want it, just do as I said before."
Manager Qiu was in his thirties and in his prime. He first flattered his wife and said that she was compassionate, and also suggested setting up several porridge sheds in Luoyang to help the poor.
Li Xiuning did not agree. She knew very well what Luoyang was like now, and inviting people to buy reputation there was just to cause trouble for herself.
"Li Changshi is about to return to Beijing... He asked people to go to Chang'an Academy to recruit Wulang back, prepare gifts, and send them to Li Mansion. Then Wulang and Manager Qiu will go to Luoyang to welcome Li Changshi."
Several stewards in the study looked at him with envy. They were all old men in the mansion, so they naturally knew who Li Changshi was.
Li Jing, the current Commander-in-Chief of the Conquest Dynasty, is the same. The two families have a deep relationship, but they don't have much contact, which is a pity.
This time when I go to Luoyang to serve as manager Qiu, I will definitely get a lot of benefits. It is a serious job, but others can only look at it with envy and cannot snatch it away.
Guanshi Qiu was from Mayi, and he came to Chang'an with his elder brother. His elder brother was now serving in the Yulin Army. He didn't want his younger brother to live a life of licking blood with the tip of a knife, so he let him stay in the Lady's Mansion of the State of Chu.
Those in charge are the guards in the mansion, who are the former princesses and generals who are now the ladies of Chu. Otherwise, Manager Qiu would be the Sima of the mansion.
…………
After talking to the stewards and accountants, the servants came to report that the eldest grandson's wife had arrived.
Li Xiuning waved her hand and everyone left, and went out to greet her sister-in-law.
Changsun Wujiu looked outside at the stewards and accountants who filed out of the study. These people bowed to her one after another and then dispersed.
When Li Xiuning came out, Changsun Wujiu took the lead and said he had met Madam.
Li Xiuning bowed and returned the greeting, stepped forward and said with a smile: "Sister-in-law is always so polite, just call me Sanniang. In our own house, why should we be so invisible to outsiders?"
Changsun Wujiu replied softly: "In front of Madam, etiquette is always indispensable. Besides, there are many people in the house, and they are all observant of etiquette. How can I dare to make a mistake?"
Li Xiuning naturally disagreed with her statement. The temperaments of the two sisters were so different that it was no wonder that they could never get close.
After letting the eldest son Wujiu into the study, the eldest son Wujiu took the piano case from the steward lady Liu. This was no small gadget. Li Xiuning took a quick look and knew from the shape that it was a Yao Qin.
She immediately understood that this was a gift...
Changsun Wujiu placed the Yao Qin on the table in the study, untied the bag with his own hands, opened the box, turned to his sister-in-law and said, "I have kept this Qin until now, it's time to return it to its original owner.
"
Li Xiuning stared at the Yao Qin. The mark on the Qin was clear. She was very sure that it was her mother's old possession.
He frowned slightly and waved his hand to retreat.
Then he stepped forward to take a closer look, stretched out his hand to touch, and the immortal played the strings a few times.
The Yao Qin is very well preserved, the sound is as good as before, and not even a single piece of paint has fallen off the body. When she was a child, her mother used this Yao Qin to teach her the art of playing the piano.
Li Xiuning looked at things and missed people. Her mother's voice and smile could not help but appear in front of her eyes, and she was speechless.
Her mother, Dou, died in Hebei. When her third brother heard the news of the death, he fell ill and soon left with his mother, even injuring his close relatives. At that time, Li Xiuning was deeply grieved.
Together with his eldest brother Li Jiancheng, he went to Hebei to pick up his mother.
Her father, Li Yuan, was working abroad and could not take care of this at all. She went through the funeral with her two brothers and sent her mother and third brother back to Longxi for burial together.