Yunchu’s Vengeance - Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Nanny He's Thoughtfulness

Chen Defu moved with remarkable speed. The twenty-something thousand taels of silver Yun Chu had given him, combined with some of the revenue from the shops, were all poured into purchasing ice.

In a typical summer, ice usually cost about one tael of silver per jin. Buying ice in the spring was naturally cheaper, hovering around five or six hundred wen. However, because this spring had been unusually cold, everyone assumed the upcoming summer wouldn't be overly hot, causing the price of ice to drop lower and lower. Chen Defu bought it up on a massive scale at the price of three hundred and fifty wen per jin, renting out virtually every single ice cellar in the surrounding areas of the capital...

Yun Chu still remembered that in her past life, due to the unbearable scorching heat of that summer, the price of ice had been driven up until it was nearly on par with gold—truly worth its weight in gold, making ordinary people recoil in despair.

The ice she was buying back with over thirty thousand taels of silver would eventually sell for at least two to three hundred thousand taels.

With wealth in hand, many problems in the future could be smoothly resolved.

Having gone to sleep somewhat late the night before, Yun Chu woke up a bit later than usual. By the time she emerged, all of the concubines had already arrived.

"Mistress."

"Mother."

Everyone paid their respects in unison.

Yun Chu raised her hand slightly, and only then did the people in the room dare to take their seats.

None of them wanted to suffer severe punishments from the Mistress simply for failing to observe proper etiquette.

Yun Chu glanced around and asked, "Why hasn't Concubine Tao come?"

Concubine Jiang and Concubine Tao lived right next door, and Jiang quickly stood up to report, "Last night Concubine Tao suffered from severe vomiting and diarrhea, and early this morning she mentioned feeling somewhat unwell. She will come to pay her respects later, and we ask the Mistress not to hold it against her."

Yun Chu frowned. "A woman carrying a child will inevitably experience various aches and discomforts. Concubine Tao has three months left until her delivery; if her body is too weak, the child will not be easily brought into the world either."

She looked toward the maid at her side and instructed, "Tingsheng, go to my treasury and select some prenatal tonics to be delivered to Concubine Tao's courtyard."

Tingsheng nodded and went off to attend to it.

Yun Chu's gaze then landed on the little girl standing beside Concubine Jiang. This was Xie Xian, the second young miss of the Xie family, whose presence in the household was typically very faint.

She vaguely remembered that right before her death, when Xie Shiyun forced her to drink the deadly poison, it was Xie Xian who had rushed over weeping bitterly and knocked the bowl of poison out of his hands.

Throughout the entire Xie estate, only Xian-ge'er had mourned her death with such uncontrollable grief.

Seeing Yun Chu look over, Xie Xian hid behind Concubine Jiang and whispered timidly, "Mother."

"Xian-ge'er's courage is far too small," Yun Chu said with a gentle smile. "At three years of age, she can begin her early education. Let Xian-ge'er join the others in studying."

The Xie family had hired a tutor to teach the children how to read and write. Only after completing this preliminary enlightenment would they go on to study at the academy run by the imperial court's bureau of education, just like Xie Shi'an.

Concubine Jiang had actually wanted her child to start studying for a long time.

However, Eldest Miss Xie Ping hadn't started learning to read and write until she was five, and she worried that enrolling Xian-ge'er too early might displease the Eldest Miss...

Yet since the Mistress had personally spoken the permission aloud, Concubine Jiang naturally agreed without hesitation, pulling Xie Xian forward and prompting, "Hurry up and thank your mother."

"We are a family, there is no need to speak of thanks," Yun Chu waved a hand. "Do not just stand around here in a daze; all of you, head back and attend to your duties."

The group withdrew.

Xie Ping stayed behind to continue learning household management under Yun Chu's guidance.

Once the instruction was nearly finished, Yun Chu spoke up, "Early this morning, Nanny Li hauled several cartloads of jujube trees into the estate. Take the ledger and go verify them. Handle minor issues yourself according to your own judgment, and bring any major problems back to me."

Xie Ping stood up. "Yes, Mother."

She took the ledger and departed.

The moment she left, Tingshuang walked over and lowered her voice. "Mistress, the tonics you ordered have all been delivered to Concubine Tao's courtyard. Her maid had some bird's nest stewed for her, and no sooner had Concubine Tao taken a few sips than Nanny He arrived with several bolts of brocade, claiming the master sent them so Concubine Tao could make some new clothes."

Tingfeng muttered under her breath, "Back when our Mistress was pregnant, the master was never this thoughtful..."

Midway through her sentence, realizing that such words would only cause the Mistress grief, she instantly clapped her hands over her mouth.

Tingshuang lowered her head and said, "The master is busy with official duties and could not possibly concern himself with such trivial matters. We should say that Nanny He is the thoughtful one instead."

Yun Chu took a sip of tea.

It seemed that Madam He was already growing too impatient to wait and was preparing to make her move.

She had already done her best to cooperate, and she truly hoped Madam He would not disappoint her.

Just at that moment, a commotion suddenly erupted out in the courtyard.

Immediately afterward, Xie Ping rushed inside with an unsightly expression. "Mother, those old maids completely disregard me as the Eldest Miss and are spouting all sorts of infuriating words. You really must put them in their place..."

The voices of the old maids rang out from outside, "Mistress, you simply must uphold justice for us! Though we are only menial servants, we are still human beings after all. How can the Xie family treat us with such harshness..."

Xie Ping was so angry her face had turned red.

Yun Chu patted her hand to signal her to remain calm, then stepped outside.

The old maids chimed in one after another, recounting the whole sequence of events in crystal-clear detail.

The matter was quite simple: a moment ago, Xie Ping had gone to check the ledger against the delivery of jujube trees. The numbers matched up with no errors, and once the task was finished, she prepared to leave.

Suddenly, one of the maids complained of thirst and asked if the Xie family kitchen could boil some tea and send it out for everyone.

This old maid had clearly caught wind of the cancellation of afternoon tea and was deliberately testing the waters.

How could Xie Ping have suspected anything? Seizing upon the maid's inquiry, she announced the permanent cancellation of the daily afternoon tea and refreshments.

These words were like pouring oil into boiling water; the entire group instantly erupted into an uproar.

"Mistress, we old servants perform the most grueling and exhausting labor while receiving the lowest wages, and now even our refreshing tea is gone. How can this not chill a person's heart?"

"The maids serving in the courtyards receive such hefty monthly allowances, and on top of that, they get to drink tea gifted by the masters and eat leftover pastries. Why doesn't the Eldest Miss take a knife to the maids instead?"

"The Eldest Miss has only just begun assisting the Mistress with household management, yet already our lives have become impossible to endure. What on earth are we supposed to do moving forward?"

"If you ask me, the Eldest Miss simply isn't cut out for managing a household!"

"The Eldest Miss was born to a concubine from outside; only a petty miss born of a concubine would torment us old servants just to save a few pennies..."

"..."

Xie Ping gripped her handkerchief so tightly her knuckles turned white.

Being reminded that she was the daughter of an outside concubine was her deepest taboo; it felt far more painful than being slapped across the face.

Yun Chu slammed her teacup heavily onto the table, and the chattering old maids finally fell silent.

"The slave contracts of you old maids are still firmly held in the hands of the Xie family, yet you dare to hold the masters of the Xie family in such utter contempt?" A chilling aura radiated from her entire body. "The Eldest Miss of the Xie family is registered under my name, which makes her a proper, legitimate eldest miss of high birth. The next time I hear any of you uttering such unbefitting nonsense, I will have you all sold off immediately!"

The old maids, who had just been chattering away all at once, instantly fell into a terrified silence.

They hadn't feared the Eldest Miss precisely because of her low background, but the Mistress was entirely different—she was a legitimate, high-born daughter of a general's estate...

Xie Ping looked at Yun Chu with eyes full of gratitude.

With the way her mother had been flying into fits of rage over the past two days, she had feared her mother would blame her, or perhaps strip her of her management authority just as she had punished An-ge'er and Wei-ge'er...

"However..." Yun Chu's tone softened slightly. "I granted Ping-ge'er the authority to manage the household. Since she has proposed abolishing the afternoon tea and refreshments, naturally I will not object."

Disappointment was plastered all over the old maids' faces.

So the Mistress wasn't going to stand up for them either; were they really just supposed to swallow this injustice...

"Still, your labor is indeed arduous," Yun Chu's voice grew mild. "How about this: all menial maids and crones will have their monthly allowances increased by fifty wen. Do any of you have objections to that?"

Hearing this, the old maids widened their eyes in sheer disbelief.

A few cups of tea and some melon seeds in the afternoon disappeared the moment they hit the stomach, but a monthly allowance consisted of solid, tangible copper coins. Tucking those safely into one's pocket brought an unmatched sense of security.

"No objections, we old servants have no objections at all!" The old maids beamed from ear to ear. "Many thanks, Mistress! We shall go right back to our work."

Once the people had dispersed, Yun Chu turned her gaze back to Xie Ping. "The implementation of any new policy will invariably encounter resistance. Do not let those old maids frighten you; go ahead and act with boldness and confidence. I will always be right here behind you."

Xie Ping said gratefully, "I understand, Mother.”