Southern Song Dynasty Life Consultant

Chapter 33

Xiao Yuan tapped her head: "Young Master must be thinking of turning over a new leaf. Do you think everyone is as confused as you?" Cai Lian turned the lamp up a bit brighter and asked, "Which one does Madam want to choose for Little Copper Coin? Zhang San, Li Si, or Wang Wu?" Xiao Yuan laughed when she heard this string of names: "What kind of names are these?" Cai Lian didn't laugh, but sighed softly: "They must all come from poor families. It's good enough if they have a surname and a birth order. How would they know how to choose names?"

Seeing her sigh, Ayun laughed and said, "Why are you sighing over other people's names? If you don't like them, just ask the young mistress to pick one with a complete name for you." Cailian blushed and went to pat her, but Xiaoyuan nodded repeatedly, "It was my mistake. I should have asked the young master to make another copy of the list yesterday."

When Cailian saw that she was also talking, she became even more embarrassed, so she used the excuse of going to call Xiaotongqian to sneak out along the wall.

Madam Qian had just finished listening to Qian Shisan Niang's complaints yesterday, and her heart was still heavy. Suddenly, she heard Cai Lian calling for Xiao Tong Qian outside. She hurriedly called her over and said, "It must be that the young mistress has recovered from her injuries and has the strength to use you as a raft. You must be patient and wait for me to find an opportunity to take revenge on you in the future."

Little Copper Coin said, "I accidentally broke the young mistress's bowl, so it's only right that she hit and scolded me. I just hate Aunt Ding. If she hadn't turned her head to dodge, how could that bowl have hurt the young mistress?" Seeing that she made a lot of sense, Madam Qian put Little Round aside and called Aunt Ding over to scold her.

Afraid that her cursing would be overheard, Xiao Tongqian quietly closed the door and came out, stuffing a pair of bright yellow bracelets into Cailian's hands, and whispered, "Sister, I hurt the young mistress and deserve to be punished. I only hope that you sisters will be lenient and spare my life."

Cailian was both amused and exasperated by the way the girl called her "sister." No wonder Ayun hadn't dared to hit her before. She stuffed the bracelet back into Xiaotongqian's hand and said with a smile, "It's a happy occasion, don't panic."

Could it be that the young mistress is a smiling tiger? Little Copper Coin's heart was pounding. She followed Cailian to the small round room with small steps. Before she could speak, she knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly, begging for mercy from the young mistress.

Ah Yun went up and covered her mouth, scolding, "You're so quick to speak! The young mistress called you here with good intentions. If someone with ulterior motives hears this, they'll think we're being harsh on you."

Xiao Yuan flicked the paper in her hand and beckoned to Xiao Tongqian in a very friendly manner: "I have three candidates here. Don't be shy, come and see which one you like."

The Song people had a strong affinity for literature. Even in the remote corner of Jiangnan, most families who had enough to eat could read a few characters, not to mention the maids of wealthy families. Little Copper Coin cautiously climbed forward, took the paper, and looked at it with a mixture of surprise, joy, and disbelief: "Young Mistress, is this a selection of a husband for me?"

Cailian and the others covered their mouths and chuckled, "We thought she didn't understand what it meant."

Little Copper Coin said shyly, "When I was still in the Qian family, I was already very familiar with matchmakers coming to our door with these kinds of lists to ask for our young lady's hand in marriage." He then smiled bitterly, "When I was my sisters' age, I would feel ashamed for a long time if I accidentally overheard people talking about these things. But as I get older, I'm now in my early thirties. These days, as long as I can get married, that's good enough. I don't care about being ashamed anymore."

The mistress's refusal to marry has caused the maids to suffer as well. Xiao Yuan and the other maids who accompanied her felt a pang of sadness upon hearing this. Cai Lian rubbed her eyes and said, "We're younger than you, so don't call us 'sister' anymore." A Yun said, "You're quite reckless, trying to smash a bowl on our young mistress's head. Luckily, our young mistress has a kind heart and not only doesn't hold it against you, but she's even going to choose a husband for you."

A-Cai silently held out a cup of fruit to Xiao-Yuan's side, her eyes sparkling as she looked at her. Xiao-Yuan was amused by her and said, "Why are you looking at me like that? Tell her to get up. It wasn't me who told her to kneel. I wanted to have a happy occasion, but I don't want you all to look so sad."

Cailian walked over, picked up Xiaotongqian, pointed to the paper, and asked her, "These three were all carefully selected by our young master. They are all deputy stewards. Which one do you like? Just tell the young mistress."

Only then did Xiao Tongqian truly believe that Xiao Yuan was going to find her a husband. Overwhelmed with emotion, she burst into tears, knelt down, and kowtowed three times, laughing and crying at the same time: "I thought I would never get married in this lifetime. Young Madam is truly a living Bodhisattva. Thank you, Young Madam, thank you, Young Madam."

Xiao Yuan had someone help her up and said with a smile, "Don't just thank me, quickly pick one, and I'll choose an auspicious day to marry you off in a grand and glorious way."

Little Copper Coin, however, became hesitant and whispered, "It's all up to the young mistress to decide."

Ayun took the list and laughed at her, saying, "I think you're overwhelmed by the choices." She walked to Xiaoyuan's side, pointed at the list, and said, "Young Madam, don't choose any doctor. None of them are any good."

Xiao Yuan noticed that Xiao Tongqian's face clearly froze for a moment, so she quickly patted A Yun and said, "Don't assume that all doctors are bad just because Cai Mei married a useless man." Cai Mei also said, "To be able to become the deputy manager under the young master, one must be virtuous."

Little Copper Coin beamed with joy and said, "Young Madam, I'll marry that Li Si. His family has a doctor; medical treatment and medicine are extremely cheap."

Chapter Ninety-Five: The Thirty-Year-Old Girl (Part Two)

Xiao Yuan wasn't new to marrying off maids, so she was very experienced. Instead of rushing to find a matchmaker, she first inquired about Li Si's family background. The matchmaker, having received her reward, ran off quickly with her umbrella and returned in a flash: "Young Madam, although Li Si's family isn't wealthy, they are all good men. I wonder if the lady your family is to marry into is under a contract of marriage or a legal one?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuan realized that the family didn't want to marry a commoner. She asked Xiao Tongqian, who had indeed sold herself into servitude. Xiao Tongqian, having endured hardship until her thirties, finally found a good husband, only to be stopped by a contract of indenture. Tears welled in her eyes. Xiao Yuan comforted her, saying, "The lady surely desires a good home for you even more than I do. Go and beg her; she will surely return you."

Little Copper Coin thought the young mistress's words made sense, so she cheered up again and went back to Madam Qian's room to set up chairs and dust, busying herself non-stop. Madam Qian laughed at her, saying, "My daughter-in-law is only doing this for my sake, not only will she not punish you, but she's even found you a good family, and that's why you're so happy." Seeing how happy she was, Little Copper Coin put away the feather duster, moved next to her, and told her about how the Li family only wanted to marry a good man.

Madam Qian wasn't stupid. She immediately realized that this was a roundabout way of asking her for a contract of indenture. However, she had only brought this one personal maid with her from Quanzhou, so she naturally didn't want to let her go. She said, "Our Great Song Dynasty is different from the previous dynasty. Married men and servants can marry each other. Why must you be free? Don't worry, I will give you a generous dowry. I'm not afraid that the Li family will reject you."

That's true, but how can a servant girl be respected by her husband's family after marrying into a respectable family? Xiao Tongqian wanted to ask again, but when she thought about how Madam Qian had been scolded by the master and then insulted by Sister Cheng because of her accidental injury to the young mistress, she was too embarrassed to ask again.

She found Xiaoyuan and said sadly, "I don't have that kind of luck. Young Madam, you should go back to the Li family." Xiaoyuan hurriedly asked her why. When she learned that Madam Qian was unwilling to let her go, she wanted to help her. So, during a greeting, she advised Madam Qian, "Mother, even if Xiaotongqian gets married, she can still serve you. Just sign a contract. If she marries a good man as a servant, she will be looked down upon, which will also hurt your reputation."

Regardless of whether her words were reasonable or not, since Madam Qian's maid had injured her first, she had to give her some face. So, she did as she was told, returned Little Copper Coin's indenture, and had a new contract signed. Little Copper Coin never dreamed that such a day would come. She crawled down and kowtowed to Little Round before thanking Madam Qian.

Both of Cheng's eldest daughters were married off as respectable women, and the servants praised them highly. Even the young masters and ladies of Lin'an praised Madam Qian and her mother-in-law for their kindness and generosity. Madam Qian lost nothing and gained a good reputation for nothing. She was very happy and took out a thousand strings of cash to prepare a generous dowry for Xiao Tongqian, and married her off in a grand manner.

Xiao Yuan, who had been married to her mother-in-law's maid, thought of her own family again. She took out a list of servants she had asked Cheng Mutian for, and called a few maids to look at it: "I asked the young master to write down all the servants and managers aged eighteen to twenty-eight. There are also quite a few unmarried young men in the house. Tell me who you fancy."

Ayun didn't even look. She pouted and went to find Sun Shi; Acai tossed out, "I'm still young," and picked up the watering can to water the flowers; Cailian glanced at the little round hands a few times, but looked completely blank: "I don't know which one is which."

That evening, Xiao Yuan mentioned the girls to Cheng Mutian. She was extremely troubled: "I was afraid of making the wrong choice in matchmaking, so I let them pick their own partners. But I never imagined they would be completely clueless."

Cheng Mutian was used to her worrying about the servants. He said dismissively, "It's not like we can't look at potential wives during the 'matchmaking' process. What's the rush?"

Xiao Yuan was still worried: "You can only judge a wife by her looks. You can't tell her character from her appearance. I don't want them all to end up like Cai Mei." Cheng Mutian was too lazy to discuss the maids with her. While fiddling with her belt, he changed the subject: "I heard you married Xiao Tongqian. Is your stepmother treating you much more affectionately?" Xiao Yuan twisted her waist to avoid his hand. She said: "Xiao Tongqian is grateful to me. He often speaks up for me in private."

Cheng Mutian grabbed her hand and hung a love knot on her belt. He laughed, "I thought you were going to clash with your stepmother. All my worry was for nothing." Xiaoyuan fiddled with the love knot for a few moments: "I told you before, as long as she doesn't let you take a concubine, I won't care about anything. Hmm, who made this love knot?"

She clenched her fists, ready to strike Cheng Mutian at any moment. Before she could make a move, Cheng Mutian took the initiative, picked her up and rolled her onto the bed, pinching her a few times: "Even the women who sell soup on the streets know how to embroider a love knot to hang up, but you are the clumsiest. You don't know how to embroider a single stitch. I had no choice but to buy you a ready-made one so that people wouldn't laugh at me and say that my wife can't do anything."

Xiao Yuan held the love knot tightly, her heart filled with sweetness. Even when she went to pay her respects to Madam Qian the next day, a smile still lingered on her face. Xiao Tongqian, who had been helped by Xiao Yuan in her dowry, had become quite familiar with her. Seeing that Xiao Yuan's hand never left the love knot, she praised, "Young Madam, this embroidery is exquisite." Madam Qian, upon hearing this, also glanced at it and praised, "My daughter-in-law is indeed skillful. Embroider one for me sometime." Xiao Yuan was startled and quickly said, "How could I know how to do this? It was just something the maids played with. If Mother likes it, I'll have them send a few over later."

When Madam Qian heard that it was the maid's skill, she lost interest and only asked, "Your maids are quite good, do you have many suitable candidates?" Xiao Yuan said worriedly, "One of my maids married badly, which scared them away. Now they're all hesitant to choose anyone." Madam Qian used the lid of her teacup to stir the flower petals in the water, and asked casually, "It's not easy to train them to be so clever. Haven't you thought about leaving one for Erlang?"

Xiao Yuan fiddled with the love knot at her waist and said shyly, "Erlang doesn't like her, but Father did take a fancy to one, but I'm too stingy to part with him."

Madam Qian almost choked on her flower tea and quickly said, "Your father isn't very willing to take a concubine either; he rarely even visits Aunt Ding's room."

Xiao Yuan glanced at Aunt Ding, whose eyes were sunken and cheekbones high, sighed, got up to take her leave, and returned to her room to continue choosing husbands for the maids. A-Yun was simple-minded and determined to wait for Sun Da-lang to return; no one could persuade her otherwise. A-Cai was still young and didn't need any further attention. Cai-Lian wanted to get married but was also indecisive. Xiao Yuan read the list from beginning to end but couldn't figure it out. She called Cai-Lian over and asked, "Why don't you go and secretly take a look yourself?" Cai-Lian said shyly, "What can I possibly find out by looking? I'm not going." Xiao Yuan deliberately drew circles on the list with her pen, trying to scare her, saying, "Then I'll close my eyes, and whichever one is circled is the one."

Cailian sighed, “After seeing Caimei and the master, I wanted to marry someone who wouldn’t take concubines. But even a farmer who grows crops would want to buy a concubine to help with the work if he harvested two extra bushels of grain in the fall. After thinking it over, I decided that I should not marry and just stay with the young mistress for the rest of my life.”

Xiao Yuan tried to scare her, but was instead frightened by her: "You are the most capable person by my side. I deliberately let you choose a satisfactory place yourself, which is why I delayed your marriage until now. I didn't expect that you would have other ideas. It's all my fault."

Cailian quickly said, "I was just saying, young mistress, please don't take it to heart. Actually, I just didn't know which one to choose, so I talked nonsense."

Xiao Yuan gently shook her head and stuffed the list into her hand: "You're right. Even if it were me, I wouldn't choose my life partner based on just a few numbers. Keep this list for now. When the opportunity arises, I'll invite the people over to my house to do some work so you can take a look."

She spread the word, but couldn't find an excuse to invite people to her home. Suddenly she remembered Gan Shier and thought she might as well say that he was taking on apprentices and would pick a few to come to her home to test their spiritual energy. But before she could speak to Gan Shier, his page Gan Li came to the door first: "Young Madam, my young master is ill."

Xiao Yuan hurriedly asked Gan Shier what illness he had. Cheng Mutian, who was in the inner room, heard this and came out to call someone to fetch a doctor. Gan Li, however, rushed a few steps to block the doorway and said, "We have already consulted a doctor, but he was also helpless. That's why we came to find Young Master Cheng and his wife."

Upon hearing that even the doctors were helpless, Cheng Mutian exclaimed in alarm, "What exactly is this illness?" Gan Li replied, "It's..." Yuan Chao winked at Cheng Mutian, pulled him aside, and whispered with a smile, "It's only early spring; the mosquitoes haven't even come out of their burrows yet. Where would you get this illness? It's just that the imperial examinations are about to begin."

Cheng Mutian was both angry and amused: "You good-for-nothing! You're naturally afraid to go into the exam room if you don't even look at the book, but you still have to come up with the trick of pretending to be sick. Who are you trying to fool?" Xiao Yuan nudged him: "Anyway, it's not to fool you. He wants to use us to spread the word to his father so he can avoid a punishment."

Cheng Mutian said with a wicked smile, "We can't let him have his way." He then told Gan Li to lead the way, saying that he wanted to see Gan Twelve.

Gan Li was afraid that he wouldn't go, so he quickly led the way and brought him to Gan Shier's "sickbed". When Gan Shier saw him, his trembling became more intense. Cheng Mutian asked a few questions with concern, then rummaged in his pocket and took out a pill and stuffed it into Gan Shier's mouth: "Shier, this is a secret medicine from my family's pharmacy, which is specially used to cure ~ disease".

Gan Shier was feigning illness and naturally dared not swallow the medicine indiscriminately. He quickly grabbed Cheng Mutian's hand and asked, "Good brother, I have a problem; I need to know all the ingredients in the medicine before I can swallow it." Cheng Mutian hesitated for a long time before saying, "This is a secret recipe, and I can't tell you, but your illness is serious, so I'll make an exception—this pill is made by catching flies from a dog, removing their legs and wings, and then coating them with wax." After saying that, he called to Gan Li, "I almost forgot, go and bring some cold rice wine. This medicine is most effective when taken with cold rice wine."

When Gan Shier heard that there was a fly in the pill, he almost vomited up his breakfast from the previous day. He didn't dare to eat it anymore and hurriedly stretched his arms and legs, saying, "Brother Cheng, your pills are really effective. I'm better even before I've taken them." Cheng Mutian didn't bother with him. He picked up a book from the table, stuffed it into Gan Shier's hand, and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "It's good that you're better. Go back to your book. When the imperial examination comes, I'll personally escort you to the examination hall."

Chapter Ninety-Six: Selling

With the twelve imperial examinations approaching, Cheng Mutian strictly forbade his wife from taking on any apprentices for him. He wanted to allow Cailian to pursue her own love, but this approach was blocked. So, he would occasionally summon servants to do chores in the backyard or send Cailian to the front yard to fetch things. Unfortunately, the girl had very high standards, and half a month passed in a flash, and she hadn't taken a liking to any of them.

Cheng Mutian laughed at her for being busy with nothing, and tossed her a basket: "Gan Shier is going to take the exam tomorrow. As his sister-in-law, instead of preparing some writing materials and food for him, you're just worrying about the maid." Xiaoyuan tossed the basket back to him, laughing: "Don't waste that good ink. I think he wants to bring a bunch of wood into the exam hall to make toys." Cheng Mutian held the basket and tossed it around, quite troubled: "He's always nagging me, saying he doesn't want to go to jail in the exam hall. I'm just wondering how to get him there."

Xiao Yuan took Cai Lian's birth date and time, and gave him a flirtatious wink: "I think you're the one who's busy with nothing. He's such a grown man, why do you need to worry about him? I'm going to my stepmother's place now to inquire if the Qian family has any suitable servants or stewards. Please forgive me for not accompanying you."

Cheng Mutian had never seen his wife so alluring before, and he was completely mesmerized. The maids chuckled beside him, which snapped him out of his daze. He wanted to rush over and teach her not to give him those improper glances in the future, but he was also afraid that he would never enjoy such pleasure again. He hesitated and wavered between propriety and the pleasures of the boudoir, and he still hadn't made up his mind until he sent Gan Shier into the examination hall.

Seeing that he was preoccupied, Cheng Fu suggested, "Young Master, Jin Jiu's lotus-picking boat is on West Lake. Why don't you go for a stroll?" Cheng Mutian thought of his wife's "peach blossom eyes" and shuddered. Suddenly, he felt that his wife's flirtatious gaze was incredibly pure. He instantly felt relieved and his interest soared. He borrowed a fan from a roadside stall and tapped Cheng Fu on the head, saying, "If you want to see the Jin family's maids, go ahead. I'm going to browse the orange and pear markets to buy some fruit for Brother Wu to chew on. I'll also ask Azhu to pick you up by the lake on the way."

Cheng Fu was terrified of A-Zhu's beating, so upon hearing this, he dared not mention it again. He quickly took the fan, tapped it a few times, tossed some coins to the stall owner, and obediently followed Cheng Mutian to the fruit market. Vegetables to the east, water to the west, firewood to the south, rice to the north—this fruit market was right next to the vegetable market, overflowing with fresh fruits like green apricots and yellow pears. Cheng Mutian wandered around the fruit market, wondering what to buy for his teething son, Wu Ge, when he saw a broker carrying a basket of Yongjia tangerines walk by. He quickly called out to him, "How much are these tangerines?"

Cheng Fu picked up an orange and tossed it around, laughing, "His small business is probably going to be a gamble." The broker nodded, "That's exactly what I'm looking to do, sir. Would you like to try your luck?"

Cheng Mutian had never bought fruit himself before, but their mention of it reminded him that small vendors usually sold fruit by betting, taking one or a few copper coins as a wager and gambling on which side would face up. The side with characters was called "fork," and the side without characters was called "fast." He looked at the golden tangerines in the basket and thought, "If I could gamble on a couple to take back to Wu Ge, I could both amuse my son and tell stories to my wife. Wouldn't that be wonderful?" As he thought about it, a mischievous thought arose in him, and he asked with a smile, "How many coins do you want to gamble?"

The broker hadn't opened for business yet. Hearing him say he wanted to gamble, he grinned, "Three." He rummaged in his pocket, only pulling out two coins. Cheng Fu couldn't bear to watch. He tossed him one, and they finished their bet.

Cheng Mutian held the first coin in his hand. He asked, "If all three are 'crosses' or all are 'fasts,' it's a 'complete set'; if both 'crosses' and 'fasts' are present, it's a 'setback'. A 'complete set' wins, and a 'setback' loses. Is that right?" After the broker nodded, he shook his hand and gently tossed the coin. He was in a good mood and had good luck, easily rolling a 'complete set'.

The broker's face contorted in a grimace. He lifted the basket to Cheng Fu's feet and counted out another coin to return to him. Cheng Mutian had thought he'd only win one orange per gamble, but instead he'd won a whole basket. He hurriedly told Cheng Fu to give the broker a few more coins: "It's not easy for him to do business. Give him the market price."

The broker, clutching the money, thanked them profusely. He then suggested, "There's a gambling den for slaves over at the fruit market. Sir, you're so lucky. Why don't you give it a try?"

There's war going on in the north now, and many people are displaced. Even if you buy someone at full price, it won't cost you much. Cheng Mutian thanked the broker but didn't want to go. Cheng Fu thought to himself, "If I specially buy a concubine, Azhu will definitely throw a tantrum. But if I rely on luck, she probably won't have anything to say." He was itching to go, so he kept pestering Cheng Mutian. Cheng Mutian couldn't stand his nagging anymore and had no choice but to give in. They went together to the direction the broker pointed.

The two hadn't walked far when they saw a large crowd gathered ahead. Cheng Fu jogged over to take a look and excitedly waved to Cheng Mutian, "Young Master, this is it!" Cheng Mutian stood on the outside and saw that it was indeed a slave market. However, instead of throwing money, they were throwing darts. Next to the group of men and women being sold, there was a large round plate with sixty-four hexagrams drawn on it. Each hexagram had a small animal, no bigger than a soybean, pasted on it.

Cheng Fu explained from the side, "Young master, if you hit the tiger, you'll get a male servant; if you hit the lion, you'll get a female servant." Cheng Mutian glanced at it a few more times and said, "The lion is much smaller than the tiger." Cheng Fu chuckled, "Young master, those who come to throw darts all have the same idea as me. After all, those who are into male homosexuality are still a minority."

Cheng Mutian then realized that the maid being sold wasn't a proper servant. He frowned and was about to leave when he saw Cheng Fu staring in astonishment at the inner circle: "Young Master, isn't that Young Master Gan?"

"I took him to the exam hall, why are you throwing darts here?"

Cheng Mutian looked up and saw that the person holding a tiny dart, about the size of an embroidery needle, was intently throwing it at the disc—it was none other than Gan Shier. He was furious and shouted, "Gan Shier!"

Gan Shier was startled, and his hand veered off course. The "embroidery needle" went astray, heading straight for the maids beside the plate, grazing one woman's face. The seller immediately objected, grabbing the maid with one hand and Gan Shier with the other, demanding compensation.

Gan Shier glanced at the maid's face and saw that it was only a thin layer of oily skin scratched, without even a drop of blood. He immediately thought the seller was trying to extort money and started arguing with him. Cheng Mutian was anxious to ask Gan Shier why he hadn't entered the examination hall, so he quickly told Cheng Fu to give the seller some money and pull Gan Shier out.

Cheng Fu had long desired a concubine, and he wouldn't let such a good opportunity slip by. He squeezed through the crowd and secretly slipped a note to Gan Shier: "Young Master Gan, this maid is quite pretty, why not buy her?" Gan Shier glanced at Cheng Mutian outside the circle, assuming it was Cheng Mutian who wanted to buy her, so he took the note, exchanged it with the seller for the maid, and personally led her by the hand to squeeze in front of Cheng Mutian, smiling as he negotiated with him: "Brother Cheng, if you don't tell anyone that I didn't get into the examination hall, I'll tell my sister-in-law that this concubine is a gift from me to you."

Before Cheng Mutian could speak, Cheng Fuxian bowed to him and said, "Thank you, Young Master Gan, for sending me this beautiful concubine." He then laughed and said, "Our mistress dares to kick out the concubines that the young master sends. If you really say that to the young mistress, you'll be kicked out too."

Having lost the conditions for exchanging with Cheng Mutian, Gan Shier said dejectedly, "I, Gan Shier, will die here."

This wasn't his own brother, not even his brother-in-law. Cheng Mutian couldn't hit or scold him, so he said angrily, "Your father spent money to buy you a Juren degree so you could go to the capital to take the imperial examination. Why don't you cherish it?"

Gan Shier laughed and said, "Brother Cheng, it's my father who's confused, not me. Doesn't he realize that I can't even pass the provincial examination, let alone become a Jinshi?"

Cheng Mutian had never seen anyone so audacious as to say that his father-in-law was muddle-headed in front of outsiders. He was frightened by these remarks and was afraid that if he continued to argue, Gan Shier would say something even more outrageous. He quickly changed the subject: "Aren't you afraid that my father will find out that you didn't go to the examination hall if you go back to my house like this?"

Gan Shier picked up a large tangerine from the basket at Cheng Fu's feet, peeled it as he replied, "I've booked a hotel room near the examination hall. I'll return in a few days. I hope Brother Cheng can cover for me. I will definitely repay you in the future."

"Look at your nonchalant attitude, is that how you ask for favors?" Cheng Mutian couldn't help but scold him. Cheng Fu still wanted to use Gan Shier as a shield, so he quickly spoke up for him: "Young Master, everyone has their own ambitions. Young Master Gan has managed the toy store so well for the Young Madam, that's also a skill."

Cheng Mutian didn't say a word and started walking back the way he came. Gan Shier wanted to follow, but Cheng Fu stopped him, saying, "That's settled then, Young Master Gan, don't worry." Gan Shier smiled and patted his shoulder, "I'm giving this servant to you, so you can rest assured."

When Cheng Mutian returned home, he handed the tangerines to Xiaoyuan, omitting the part about Gan Shier and only telling her about his throwing money at the tangerines.

The women of wealthy families were not allowed to go out easily. Not to mention Xiao Yuan, even the maids listened with great interest. After listening, they pestered Xiao Yuan to do the same.

Seeing their interest, Xiaoyuan divided the oranges in half and let them gamble. She then had a maid deliver a few to Master Cheng, Aunt Ding, and Third Sister Cheng. She also packed a plateful and personally delivered it to Madam Qian's room.

Madam Qian broke off a tangerine, tasted it, and said it was sweet. Because of Xiao Tongqian's marriage, she found her daughter-in-law more agreeable and handed her the remaining half. Xiao Yuan took the tangerine with both hands and smiled, "The maids were clamoring to imitate the market fair, so they divided up half a basket of tangerines, leaving only these few for you, Mother." Madam Qian, being a young lady who had never been to a market, didn't even know what a market fair was, and hurriedly asked her for details. Xiao Yuan simply called over the maids who were playing happily and asked them to demonstrate in front of Madam Qian.

Madam Qian had spent over thirty years in her boudoir, passing the time with various forms of entertainment. Upon seeing such an interesting game, she was eager to try it out. However, she was too embarrassed to share the fun with the maids, so she discussed with Xiao Yuan the idea of inviting relatives to her home to play.

Xiao Yuan was very happy that her mother-in-law had something to do, and said, "Mother, this is a good idea, but we can't put things out to sell, otherwise people will say that we are making money under the guise of having fun; it would be better to be generous and put out tea and snacks, and also prepare a banquet, just saying that we invited relatives to come and play at home, and as for what they want to bring to sell, let them do it."

Madam Qian, adhering to the Qian family tradition, nodded repeatedly upon hearing this. She didn't ask Xiao Yuan to contribute any money, but instead took out her own dowry money and entrusted it to Xiao Yuan to handle.

Chapter Ninety-Seven: Giving a concubine is an elegant affair

The mother-in-law wanted to sell the game, so the daughter-in-law carefully planned it. The next day, Xiao Yuan had just finished writing when Xiao Tongqian brought in a box of coins. She took them out and saw two of each denomination: one guan, two guan, and three guan, for a total of six guan. She was surprised and said, "We don't have many relatives, how can we need so many?" Xiao Tongqian replied, "Coins are worthless now, and I'm afraid the young mistress won't have enough."

Xiao Yuan picked up the abacus and started turning the dial, laughing, "Madam is truly a lady of high birth. At the current market price, one string of cash can be exchanged for four hundred coins, so six strings would be two thousand four hundred coins. Even if relatives come to play all day, it's just some tea and snacks, and two banquets. Where am I supposed to spend so much money?"

Little Copper Coin thought for a moment and said, "Madam also said that prices are high these days, and she told the young mistress not to be frugal."

Xiao Yuan was increasingly amused as she listened. Just then, she saw the cook from the small kitchen passing by in the yard and called her over to ask, "How are the prices of rice and vegetables these days?"

The cook replied, "The price of rice has risen rapidly. It used to cost only twenty or so coins per liter, but now it costs forty or fifty coins. As for the price of vegetables, I only know that the young master and young mistress spend about five hundred coins a day on meat and vegetables."

Xiao Yuan laughed and said, "Look, we're still at war, and prices are soaring. Each person only needs about 300 coins a day to eat. When relatives come to visit, they can get snacks from my shop. I only need to cover two meals at home, and 1,500 coins will be enough."

Cailian took out a two-guan note and returned it to Xiaotongqian, saying, "If Tian Da hadn't sold all his sheep for the New Year, he wouldn't have needed 1,500 coins."