Chapter 156

Chapter 159: Invitation (Part 2)

Zhenjie stood in front of Eleven Lady with a radiant smile, her fair cheeks tinged with a blush. Though her voice was calm, it couldn't hide her excitement: "...We made artificial flowers and tied them to the Dongqing tree with green threads, each flower having a different scent according to its style. At first glance, it seemed as if the Flower Deity had descended, making all the flowers in their house bloom overnight." She chuckled softly.

"Was it Huijie's idea?" Eleven Lady handed her an orange wrapped in a handkerchief. "They must have been prepared in advance and tied up when guests arrived." Zhenjie nodded, accepted the orange, and thanked Eleven Lady in a low voice. She divided the orange into two portions and offered one to Eleven Lady: "But they still can't match the freshness of the flowers in our house." She added softly, "Besides, their house isn't as spacious as ours. It's quite crowded. Several concubines live in the east wing of the main house."

Eleven Lady laughed.

Women naturally enjoy a bit of gossip!

"With six sons, Marquis Lin's household must indeed be crowded," she said with a smile. "Don't they have a hothouse?"

Zhenjie shook her head: "I didn't see a hothouse."

"Why not have the hothouse staff pick some fresh flowers and send them over?" Eleven Lady suggested. "That might be more valuable than sending gold or silver."

Zhenjie was delighted: "I thought the same. I was planning to discuss it with Mother when I returned."

Eleven Lady smiled: "What I can do, you can do too. You don't need to consult me in the future. Just make your own decisions."

Zhenjie was taken aback: "But... how can that be..."

"Why shouldn't you?" Eleven Lady replied with a smile. "You are the eldest daughter of our household. There's nothing you can't do."

Zhenjie remained silent, looking at Eleven Lady with a shy smile: "I..."

Eleven Lady hoped she would become more confident and took her hand, emphasizing again: "What I can do, you can do too."

Zhenjie's eyes moistened slightly, but remembering Eleven Lady's advice not to cry easily, she blinked back her tears. She smiled and asked Eleven Lady: "Did everything go well when you visited Third Aunt?"

Eleven Lady felt a warmth in her heart.

Zhenjie was also concerned about her.

"Grandmother personally introduced me to all the housekeepers," she chatted with Zhenjie as if she were a friend. "Given this, everyone naturally treated me kindly. However, I thought it best to be cautious since I was new. I stayed close to Third Aunt, observing how she handled things. When the housekeepers asked me questions, I didn't make any decisions but deferred to Third Aunt. This way, I preserved Third Aunt's dignity while avoiding mistakes due to unfamiliarity with the household rules. You see, those in authority must avoid frequently changing their orders. Even if a mistake is made, to maintain authority, it must be followed through. However, such mistakes are limited. If they result in serious consequences, they must be corrected. To avoid this, the best approach is to avoid making hasty decisions..."

She carefully shared her thoughts and actions with Zhenjie.

This would help her when she married and faced a new environment.

Zhenjie listened attentively.

"Actually, the best way is to review the account books. The household's income and expenses are all recorded. If you want to understand the family's rules, checking the accounts will reveal everything. For example, knowing where the family's income comes from will help you understand how the household should spend. Knowing where the money goes will guide you on how to allocate it..."

Zhenjie murmured: "Doesn't the outer court allocate funds to the inner court every year? Why do we need to know how the household should spend?"

Eleven Lady was pleased that Zhenjie had taken her words to heart and explained: "For instance, if a significant portion of the family's income comes from the estates, you must consider that in bad years, the income won't be the same. You should save a portion and only use part of it."

Zhenjie immediately understood: "So, we should ignore the worst and best years and focus on the average income."

Eleven Lady nodded inwardly.

Zhenjie indeed had the Wen family's genes; she grasped financial matters quickly.

She nodded: "Exactly."

Encouraged by Eleven Lady's affirmation, Zhenjie grew bolder: "So, knowing where the family's money goes allows us to follow established practices."

Eleven Lady, pleased with her reasoning, encouraged her: "Yes, yes, yes." She added, "For example, if a trusted maid gets married, how much should we reward her? What's the proper way to do it? There are precedents. Breaking the rules would upset the servants and confuse future decisions. In such cases, consulting the account books is best. Following the rules ensures no one can object."

Zhenjie nodded, pondering, "If one likes it very much, they can give it as a private gift, but they must not violate the rules by using funds from the account."

Eleven Miss sighed softly, patting her head.

Zhenjie is really talented!

"Can you use an abacus?"

Zhenjie paled at the question.

Eleven Miss immediately realized that Zhenjie was self-conscious about her origins. This must be related to how the Xu family viewed Lady Wen. But she thought this was not a healthy attitude.

People should face their realities, not run from them!

"I want to find someone to teach me how to use an abacus. Would you like to learn together?" she asked Zhenjie with a smile.

Zhenjie hesitated for a moment: "Second Aunt has taught me how to do mental arithmetic and asked me to practice well!"

Eleven Miss was a bit surprised to hear this, but upon reflection, it was consistent with Second Madame's usual elegance and nobility.

She didn't want to pressure Zhenjie or make her uneasy due to their differing views. She immediately smiled and said, "That sounds great!"

Zhenjie breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Second Aunt also said that in families like ours, women can engage in small businesses for enjoyment, but it's best not to get involved in larger businesses—we have more advantages in business than others, so as not to arouse jealousy from merchants and invite unnecessary trouble."

This statement also made a lot of sense.

For a family like the Yongping Marquis, simply announcing their interest in business could allow them to start with no capital, even taking a stake without putting in investment. But nothing in this world comes for free; if you earn someone else's money, you have to offer something in exchange!

Eleven Miss smiled, "No wonder Second Madame considered opening a perfume shop with Fifth Madame!"

Zhenjie shook her head, "Second Aunt didn't partner with Fifth Aunt to open a perfume shop. Fifth Aunt is the one who opened the perfume shop and requested the recipe from Second Aunt. Second Aunt shared the perfume recipe with her. Later, Fifth Aunt said the perfume shop was doing very well and wanted to give Second Aunt two shares, but Second Aunt declined."

Eleven Miss was taken aback.

She didn't expect Zhenjie to know about this. Thinking about it, Second Madame acted as her mentor. They must have spent a lot of time together, so it's not surprising that she knew these things.

Zhenjie smiled, "Was it Third Aunt who told you this?"

Why would she say that?

Eleven Miss candidly smiled at Zhenjie, "No. I had considered opening a perfume shop before, but later I found out that the only two shops in Yanjing were both owned by Fifth Madame, and I heard they were done with Second Madame, so I abandoned the idea."

Zhenjie flushed with embarrassment, "Once, Third Aunt even came to ask me for information. I told her, but she didn't believe me. I thought she was the one who told you." She added, "But I really don't know the perfume recipe—mainly because I didn't pay attention to it before." After saying this, she looked at her uneasily.

Of course, unless one is particularly interested, who would pay attention to these things.

Eleven Miss quickly said, "I have the perfume recipe too, but I've never tried making it. Since our family already has two perfume shops, how can we undermine our own family? Naturally, we can't consider this anymore."

Zhenjie breathed a big sigh of relief, then, as if wanting to compensate for something, said, "How about I talk to Second Aunt and ask her to tell you how to make incense? Second Aunt's incense is very famous. The most famous first-grade incense at Ciyuan Temple was improved with Second Aunt's guidance, and it's selling very well now."

Eleven Miss didn't want Zhenjie to ask for favors on her behalf. She quickly smiled and said, "Look at me, do I have time to do business? It's mainly because during the last wedding, two bottles of perfume were given as part of the betrothal gifts. I liked them very much and thought of making perfume myself. I also thought, since I like it, others must like it too. That's how I got the idea of opening a shop."

Zhenjie nodded and smiled, "How about I help you make perfume at home in spring? If it doesn't work out, we can ask Second Aunt!"

Eleven Miss was vague, "We're so busy now. Thinking of it doesn't mean we can do it. Let's talk about it then!"

Zhenjie thought it made sense and asked Eleven Miss about the New Year's affairs, "...Do you need my help?"

Sure. Let's all learn how to manage the household together!

"Great!" Eleven Miss said warmly, "Let’s review the account books together and sort things out, so we’ll have a better understanding. If you face similar situations later, you can refer to how we handle things at home."

Zhenjie blushed slightly at this.

Eleven Miss laughed softly, hiding her smile behind her sleeve.

A young maid hurried in: "Lord Xu has returned!"

Eleven Miss was startled.

She quickly rose to check the clock—it was almost noon.

Why has he returned at this time?

She told Zhenjie and rushed out to welcome him.

As she lifted the curtain and stepped out, she saw Lord Xu striding across the courtyard towards the main house.

He looked somewhat tired, but his expression was as calm as usual, making it hard to discern his true emotions.

"Lord Xu!" Eleven Miss curtsied to him, and Zhenjie, who followed closely behind, also knelt down. Lord Xu seemed slightly surprised to see Zhenjie.

Eleven Miss quickly explained, smiling, "Zhenjie is older now, and I wanted her to help me with some needlework. The elder madam has permitted her to stay with us for now. Once things settle down with Fifth Sister-in-law, I plan to find a place for her in the back garden to move into. This decision was made hastily, and I didn’t have a chance to discuss it with you..."

Before she could finish, Lord Xu waved his hand, "You can make these decisions." However, his gaze at Zhenjie showed a hint of hesitation, as if he had something to say but didn’t know how. After a moment of hesitation, he walked straight into the house.