LF Chapter 43
by VolareThe bitter winter snow was the most common sight in the Northern Territory. Goose feather-like snowflakes fluttered, carried by the fierce northwest wind, making one dizzy.
Jiang Yinghua had been away for a long time, and her desk was piled with quite a few dispensable and unimportant official documents waiting for her to deal with. Jiang Yinghua was most annoyed by these superficial formalities, so she simply threw them all to Yan Wanzhi and ran to her bedroom, where she slept soundly under a quilt day after day.
Throughout the entire cold winter, apart from people from the Zhenwei Army coming to invite this ancestor, no one could get Jiang Yinghua to step out of the manor even half a step.
The pitiful Yan Wanzhi was busy, running around every day, her legs becoming thinner. When no one was around, she would also sigh to the moon, lamenting her miserable fate: having served that domineering ancestor in the Imperial Palace in the capital, she now had to deal with this little ancestor in the bitter cold borderland, who was just as troublesome as the one in the capital.
Jiang Yinghua, resentful of the ten thousand taels of silver that had slipped away for nothing, naturally did not feel sorry for Yan Wanzhi in the slightest.
Most outrageously, on this year’s New Year’s Eve, Yan Wanzhi felt something soft in the purse Jiang Yinghua gave her.
Yan Wanzhi returned to her room and opened it, only to find that it was actually an IOU written to her by that scoundrel Jiang Yinghua. It was clearly written in black and white that Yan Wanzhi owed Jiang Yinghua thirty thousand taels of silver. Jiang Yinghua would deduct it from her monthly salary in the future.
In other words, if Yan Wanzhi stayed in the manor, she shouldn’t even dream of seeing a single penny of her salary. Thirty thousand taels! Her salary as a poor adjutant was only six hundred taels a year; this was still the amount after Your Majesty had graciously increased it. How many years would she have to work her fingers to the bone to make up for such a big deficit?
While others were happily staying up to celebrate the New Year, Yan Wanzhi sat at her desk, tearfully counting on her fingers. When she thought about the day she would pay off the debt, her hair would probably be completely gray. She felt deeply aggrieved and felt that she was living worse than the servants in the manor, who at least had monthly wages. As for her, she had sold herself and was still counting money for Jiang Yinghua.
The next day was the first day of the New Year. According to custom, the officials of the fiefdom had to come to Jiang Yinghua’s manor to offer congratulations and pay their respects. Before dawn, stacks of congratulatory documents and requests for meetings had already been sent to Jiang Yinghua’s study, causing her a great headache.
Jiang Yinghua had always disliked these superficial formalities and polite greetings. Just as she was feeling a headache, Jiang Yinghua suddenly thought of Yan Wanzhi. Her actions were prudent and thorough, and she was most suitable to meet these glib old foxes on her behalf. Thinking of this, she directly ordered the steward to invite her to the study.
In the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the old steward returned, but there was no one behind him. Jiang Yinghua frowned and asked strangely, “Where is she?”
The steward cupped his hands, looking helpless, “Your Highness, Adjutant Yan must have had some wine last night. The whole room smells of alcohol, and she can’t be woken up.”
Jiang Yinghua was very surprised to hear this. Yan Wanzhi was not a greedy person. She would not crave alcohol at all unless forced to drink. Jiang Yinghua had not made her drunk at the banquet last night, so how could she have gotten drunk by herself when she returned?
Her little calculation had failed, and Jiang Yinghua helplessly waved her hand, “Let everyone disperse, and say that I am unwell and do not need to see them. As for the one in the backyard, have her come to see me when she wakes up.”
On New Year’s Eve, the snow fell silently, but the first day of the New Year was a rare clear day. The sky after the snow was particularly bright, setting off Jiang Yinghua’s good mood. She found a cloak, put it on, and wandered around the manor, admiring the snow.
It didn’t matter if she didn’t walk around, but once she strolled around, she realized that there were still thick piles of snow in many places in the large yard that needed to be cleared. Such a situation was absolutely annoying to the picky Jiang Yinghua.
Her mood was inexplicably spoiled. After returning to the palace, she summoned the steward, “Recently, go and find reliable matchmakers and buy more girls and boys from poor families with clean backgrounds. Place them wherever there is a shortage of people in the manor, and if you dare to be negligent again, be careful I’ll peel off your skin.”
The old steward acknowledged the order and retreated, the way Jiang Yinghua gritted her teeth made him break out in a cold sweat in the cold winter. After leaving the main hall, he quickly raised his sleeves to wipe it off.
Near noon, the groggy Yan Wanzhi finally got up and hurried to find Jiang Yinghua, just in time to see the old steward coming out of the hall, wiping sweat with his sleeves. She asked curiously, “Are you feeling hot or sick? It’s cold today, why are you sweating so much?”
Hearing this, the old steward raised his eyes and looked at the calm and indifferent Yan Wanzhi, helplessly shook his head, pointed to the main hall, left her with a look of wishing her good luck, and turned to leave.
Receiving the old steward’s hesitant gaze, Yan Wanzhi seemed to have guessed something. This one was becoming more and more like the one in Tai Zhang Palace, with unpredictable emotions, making people feel uneasy and difficult to serve.
Yan Wanzhi took a deep breath, tidied up her clothes, and then pushed the door in. At a glance, she saw Jiang Yinghua nestled on the soft couch, teasing a snow-white purebred Persian kitten in her arms, sizing her up with a fake smile.
In the current situation, Yan Wanzhi was quite envious of that cat, being held and caressed in Jiang Yinghua’s arms, easily avoiding angering that person. As long as it wagged its tail when it was happy, all kinds of delicious food would be delivered to its mouth, which was much easier than being her adjutant.
Yan Wanzhi stepped forward, respectfully greeted her, and then stopped talking, waiting for Jiang Yinghua to speak. Whether it was criticism or instructions, she could not go wrong with saying less.
“Adjutant has grown a year older, and I think she’s old, her mind is not good, and she has forgotten the rules. My cat gets up earlier than you. Did Adjutant dream of beautiful women in a gentle land?” Jiang Yinghua teased in a strange tone, not in a hurry to talk about business.
“I was drunk, and I fell asleep for a while. I hope Your Highness will forgive me.” Yan Wanzhi could not figure out her intentions and responded officially.
“I don’t remember Adjutant’s alcohol tolerance being so poor. Could it be that last night’s congratulatory gifts annoyed you, and you want to give me a warning before quitting?” Jiang Yinghua inserted her fingers into the kitten’s soft fur, teasing the cat with a contented expression.
“It seems that Your Highness is forgetful, my alcohol tolerance is indeed not good. Moreover, I am one with Your Highness, one prospers, all prospers. How can there be any talk of quitting? I really dare not.” Yan Wanzhi stubbornly defended, not wanting to give in.
Jiang Yinghua secretly poked the kitten’s ear in her arms. The cat “meowed” and turned its head away, instantly bristling.
Jiang Yinghua chuckled, “Heh, Adjutant is hoping that my memory is poor and that I will forget some things. But then again, I very much agree with Adjutant’s awareness. This morning, I dismissed all the officials and relatives who came to see me. I’ll trouble Adjutant to go on a tour of the fiefdom and meet them, what do you think?”
“How does Your Highness want me to inspect, how to meet those officials in the prefectures and counties? When will we leave? Please enlighten me.” Yan Wanzhi asked seriously.
Jiang Yinghua threw the cat in her hand away. It bristled after a few strokes, which was really boring. She stood up, walked to Yan Wanzhi, and said softly, “Go after the Lantern Festival. Adjutant naturally has a sense of proportion in doing things, I won’t say more. As for the money, directly submit a report to request allocation from the imperial court, don’t come to me, there is not a penny.”
Yan Wanzhi suddenly understood, this was not a tour of the prefectures and counties, it was clearly going to ask for donations, and also trying to get something for nothing from the imperial court. Pitting both the central and local governments was a bit too unscrupulous.
Although Jiang Yinghua complained repeatedly in front of her after being fined, the extravagant atmosphere in the manor never diminished. Jiang Yinghua still lived a comfortable and carefree life, spending money lavishly. Yan Wanzhi did not believe her nonsense about not having any spare money at all.
And Jiang Yinghua’s calculation was not how much savings she had, but how to get back what she had lost, with even greater interest.
Forced by Jiang Yinghua’s straight, unkind gaze, Yan Wanzhi reluctantly accepted the errand. Jiang Yinghua finally showed a hint of joy, beckoned Yan Wanzhi to lean closer, and she playfully whispered, “If Adjutant does well, this Prince can also consider changing the IOU for you.”
Well, this person was now holding her weakness and treating her like a three-year-old child.
After the Lantern Festival, Yan Wanzhi went out to inspect as ordered.
Inspecting was a serious matter, and generally the Prince would personally go, but now Jiang Yinghua had thrown the errand to Yan Wanzhi, and Yan Wanzhi did not dare to neglect it. She traveled around for nearly two months, visiting all the places under her jurisdiction. Every place she went, she had to deal with the local officials, doing her best to win some reputation and support for Jiang Yinghua.
While she was diligently busy, the Prince Zhao’s residence was a different scene.
In early March, the willows sprouted green and all things began to grow.
With a wave of her hand, Jiang Yinghua ordered people to find rare flowers, trees, insects, and fish, and anything that could add color and fun to the mansion would be accepted.
For a time, the people who saw the benefits almost broke down the threshold of the Prince’s mansion, wave after wave, bringing all kinds of novel, ordinary, and outrageous objects.
Jiang Yinghua actually never came forward to look at them, but ordered her subordinates to accept everything, and the subordinates were responsible for arranging the rewards.
So what was this little ancestor, Jiang Yinghua, busy with? Yan Wanzhi was charging forward, sorting out and reporting all the things she saw and heard and the performance of the subordinate yamen to her. She picked and chose from them, circled some rich households and yuanwai, and instructed people to “comfort and care” for them. After returning, they would always be fully loaded.
In addition, she also instigated her subordinates to buy thousands of acres of fertile land in the suburbs of the garrison in their own names, taking away large pieces of fat from the landlords without anyone knowing.
Yan Wanzhi, who was traveling outside, naturally became aware of these things belatedly.
In mid-March, she returned with a tired body. When she entered the city, she saw people from the Prince Zhao’s mansion wandering in the streets and alleys, seemingly clearing out merchants. Yan Wanzhi was very surprised and afraid that someone would cause trouble in Jiang Yinghua’s name, so she paid attention and listened a little more.
It would have been better if she hadn’t listened, but after hearing it, Yan Wanzhi was so angry that she almost blew her beard and glared. Jiang Yinghua had taken over several shops in the street, owning them for her own benefit, at a price that was a whole double the normal market price, directly monopolizing the business of taverns and foot shops in the city.
If such absurd behavior were to reach Your Majesty’s ears, Yan Wanzhi’s position as Prince Zhao’s adjutant would probably not be guaranteed.
Thinking of this, Yan Wanzhi frowned, flicked her whip down, and rushed quickly to the Prince’s mansion.
When she entered the main gate of the mansion, the scene before her was dazzling, as if she were in a flower, bird, insect, and fish market.
She was stunned for a moment, ignoring the surprised eyes of the servants, and went straight out, seriously looked at the high-hanging plaque outside the mansion gate, and after confirming that she had not found the wrong house, she frowned and glared into the mansion.
Walking further inside, along the winding stone path for no more than ten steps, a burst of laughter came from the courtyard. Listening to the battle, there must be one or two dozen young girls, all with bell-like laughter, piercing people’s ears.
Yan Wanzhi followed the sound and saw a group of young girls, no more than thirteen or fourteen years old, surrounding a woman dressed in crimson gauze, and from time to time there was some laughter, playing very lively!
Yan Wanzhi’s facial features were already twisted into a ball at this moment. She walked closer with a stern face, and shouted in a deep voice to a group of young maids she had never met: “All of you, step back!”