xymnovel Chapter 53 The mansion has a new owner
Chapter 53 The mansion has a new owner
"Hurry up, everyone! Get those rooms in the east wing tidied up first, change the locks on the storeroom, and carefully check everything inside!"
Moving is always a bit of a hassle. Liu Shi, dressed in a brand-new silk jacket, was followed by two old servants from the Han family. They were holding rulers and account books, measuring back and forth in the main room in the west wing.
"I'll get a new canopy bed made, and a display cabinet too. I'll be staying here anyway. That bastard must have been incredibly stingy in his past life; he didn't leave me a single thing!"
"What happened to the wool blankets in this room? Did he take them to Luoyang too? He even took a tattered sheepskin felt; he must be desperate to die of poverty."
The mansion left by Han Tong is among the top three in the entire city of Kaifeng in terms of area alone, and may even be the first. The four-courtyard complex is divided into east and west courtyards, which is equivalent to eight large courtyards. Each large courtyard contains some smaller courtyards. Wang Jun occupied the east end room of the third courtyard, while Liu Shi unceremoniously occupied the west end room.
She adopted the airs of a mistress of the house and started giving orders.
A maidservant said, "Fifth Mistress, this side room is nice, but it's really too spacious right now, and besides..."
Suddenly, Liu's eyes widened: "What did you just call me?"
"Five... no, Mother, this servant knows she was wrong."
"Who's your mother?! Guards, slap her across the face! Slap her hard, make this little bitch's mouth swell up!"
All of her close servants went to Luoyang with Han Tong. Apart from those in her own courtyard, most of the rest were lowly servants. She wasn't afraid that anyone would complain to Han Tong.
The two maids who had come with her from her own courtyard rushed forward, one on each side, and pinned the unfortunate girl down. She glared at the other servants who were still bewildered and shouted, "Which of you will do it?"
"I'll do it!"
A quick-witted, strong servant rushed forward, even taking off his own shoes. Without a word, he swung them around and slapped the unfortunate maid's face with the sole of his shoe. In no time, the maid's face was swollen and swollen.
Liu didn't tell him to stop, and kept smoking until her face and mouth were covered in blood.
"Alright, if you keep hitting him, you'll break him. This is just a small punishment to teach him a lesson. From now on, he can go to the outer courtyard to sweep and wash."
The servant quickly replied, "Your Excellency is so kind."
"What did you call me?"
"Sir."
In the early Song Dynasty, the term "Taijun" was not something that could be used casually. It was an honorific title for the wives of court officials. In name, Han Tong's first wife was Wang Jun's mother-in-law. As for Liu, not only was she not now, but she would never be able to truly be a Taijun.
However, upon hearing the title "Japanese officer," he beamed with joy, even straightening his back a bit. He looked around for a chair to sit on and show off, but couldn't find one; Han Tong had taken them all. Helplessly, he propped half his bottom up on the table and let out a happy hum.
"Good, good, good, clever lad. What's your name, and what do you do for a living?"
"Replying to Your Excellency, I am Han Daqi, formerly a gatekeeper at the Mingtang."
"You seem quite clever. I need capable people right now, so stay in the west wing and be my steward."
"Should we... tell the son-in-law and young master?"
"The son-in-law and young master are extremely busy with their affairs of state; how could they have time to concern themselves with such trivial matters within the household? This matter is settled then."
Upon hearing this, Han Daqi immediately bowed and kowtowed, saying, "This humble servant thanks you, Your Excellency. This humble servant thanks you, Your Excellency."
Seeing this, the other servants all lowered their heads, not daring to look up, but many of them clearly showed disdain on their faces, they just kept their heads down so that no one could see it.
Actually, although Wang Jun didn't arrange for this west-facing room to be occupied, it should have been left empty. What if Han Tong came back from Luoyang sometime later? We can't just let him stay in the guest room.
This is a principle that even the servants in the mansion understand, so there's no reason why Madam Liu wouldn't understand it. But no sooner had Han Tong left than she rushed over to claim the place.
"The east wing of the three-section courtyard where the young master wants to stay needs to be prepared quickly. Does anyone here used to work in the east wing?"
"Does the young master stay in a side room? Should we ask him first?"
Madam Liu glared at him: "What are you asking? Young Master is a grown man now. Even the Third Prince has granted him a mansion to live in. Do you think he's still living with his son-in-law?"
Upon hearing this, no one dared to speak.
Seeing this, Liu was even more satisfied, feeling as refreshed as if she had eaten ice on a hot summer day, and even felt a little damp.
He then instructed, "Han Daqi, tomorrow you will come with me to the market to buy furniture. We will also invite some brokers back and have them bring some good maids and servants to my son-in-law and young master to choose from."
Han Daqi hesitated upon hearing this, and said, "Does your household... have any money? I've heard that your family has recently had a lot of expenses and is quite strapped for cash."
Madam Liu, however, was quite self-righteous and said, "With our family's reputation, we can just pay on credit. How could we possibly refuse to pay?"
Go talk to those brokers, furniture dealers, and carpenters. Tell them that if they let us buy on credit now, not only will the price be easier to negotiate, but they'll definitely come back to us for any future purchases.
If they refuse, we'll never cooperate with them again. I'm giving them a chance to curry favor with us.
"Hehe, you're right, sir."
………………
Soon after, a servant left behind in the east courtyard reported what had happened in the west courtyard to Wang Jun and his son Wang Lu.
This servant was originally a former employee of Han Tong's household. He had always looked down on Liu's behavior and thought he could use this incident to show off in front of his new employer.
At this moment, the father and son were still lying on the floor of Han Tong's room, staring blankly at the empty ceiling. They didn't take what they heard seriously, after all, their situation was really special. In the vast Northern Song Dynasty, they really didn't have a single relative.
Maintaining a four-courtyard mansion is no easier than maintaining a small company, and there are no other trustworthy people. If not the Liu family, then who?
Wang Jun's biggest concern about Liu was that the rumors about their affair would be too offensive; he didn't care at all about whether she was trying to seize power.
Wang Jun asked with a puzzled look, "This mansion must have at least a hundred servants and laborers, and as for the furniture..."
Wang Jun glanced at the empty house and said with a wry smile, "How much can she get on credit? Will they even let her try? Oh well, let her try. If she can actually get it on credit, that would be great. This house does feel a bit too empty."
Wang Lu said, "They've already arranged for me to stay in a side room? I just checked over there, and it's even emptier. That old bastard Han Wei is even more ruthless; apart from the walls, there's nothing left in that room."
Wang Jun: "You should have gone to the side room already. How old are you? Living with me and your sister Ling'er, is that convenient? Not at all. Don't you know how old you are? Besides, you're about to go to the battlefield."
Wang Lu scoffed upon hearing this: "So you're in such a hurry to send me away? Then you'll have to provide me with maids, and more than just a few."
"That's a natural requirement."
"We need to buy a new one."
"Son, you've fallen into depravity. You've been corrupted by the evil feudal society."
"You talk as if you haven't been corrupted. If you're so capable, why don't you stop buying new maids and instead marry such a young wife?"
"Ahem, of course we need to buy maids."
"I want to choose for myself, I want the best, and I can't be stingy with money."
"I need to have money too. I don't even know if it will work out if I buy maids and servants on credit."