Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Private Property After the three of them finished discussing the cloth shop, Cui Lingrong asked about her two sons. "The day after tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Will Xuan-ge and the others be coming home half a day early?" Nanny Qiu said yes. "Last time you went to the Guozijian, did you see them?" Cui Lingrong had not seen her sons in over three months and missed them dearly. Nanny Qiu said she had not. "The Guozijian is strictly managed and does not allow people in or out. This old servant left the bundle at the guard post and could not even catch a glimpse of them from afar." Song Yu also missed her younger brothers. "Soon—they'll be back tomorrow. If only Uncle Yu could make it back by tomorrow, that would be wonderful." Cui Zeyu was not a proper member of the Cui family, and the Cuis were not pleased with him being addressed by their family name. After much deliberation, Cui Lingrong had the children call him "Uncle Yu." Cui Lingrong nodded. She was tired from reviewing the account books and asked Nanny Qiu to brew some plum tea. Song Yu had long wanted to slack off and happily followed her out. Before long, someone lifted the curtain and entered. Cui Lingrong assumed it was her daughter or Nanny Qiu, but it turned out to be Caixia, carrying an ornate brocade box. "Eldest Young Madam, it was sent by Young Master Yu." Caixia placed it on the table. When Cui Lingrong opened it, she found several bank drafts and a letter. The letter said that Cui Zeyu had encountered a landslide on the road, and the merchant caravan had to stop to rest and regroup, delaying his return to Bianjing by five or six days. The bank drafts were this quarter's dividends, totaling four thousand two hundred eighty-one taels of silver. The dividend split was fifty-fifty. Apart from the initial hundred taels, Cui Lingrong had also provided a shop front for Cui Zeyu to conduct business, and she did not need to worry about anything else. Originally, she did not want such a large share of the dividends, but Cui Zeyu insisted on the fifty-fifty split, so she kept a portion and set it aside for building Cui Zeyu's family estate. When Nanny Qiu returned, Cui Lingrong had her put away the bank drafts securely. Song Yu looked at her mother with pleading eyes. "Since Mother doesn't need to subsidize the household coffers, could you buy your daughter a ruby hairpin? Last time I went to the Su family, Second Miss Su wore one and showed it off for ages." A young lady growing up liked to adorn herself, and Cui Lingrong would not refuse. "Tomorrow, when your brothers return, I'll ask them what they want as well, then have Caixia go purchase everything for you all. Is that acceptable?" "Absolutely! You're the best!" Song Yu hugged her mother and coquettishly added, "Perfect timing for the autumn banquet in a few days—I'll wear it and go find Second Miss Su to see if she's still so smug!" Old Madame Song's maiden name was Su, and the Su family Song Yu mentioned was Old Madame Song's natal family. The two households were close, but Song Yu and Second Miss Su did not get along. They had been compared to each other since childhood and often bickered. Her daughter was charming and lovely, and Cui Lingrong watched her with delight. Early the next morning, Cui Lingrong had people prepare the foods her sons liked. After noon, she sent Nanny Qiu to wait at the main gate. But instead of her two sons, Huadie, who served Princess Rongjia, arrived first. "Greetings to the Eldest Young Madam. The Commandery Princess sent this servant to ask a question." Huadie had a pair of alluring eyes. She was already the Marquis's chamber woman and carried herself with some arrogance, glancing around without much regard for the mistress of Qiushuang Zhai. "Young Master Yu's letter arrived yesterday. This servant would like to know when this month's dividends will arrive. The household coffers are waiting on this money to host Old Madame's autumn banquet." "What dividends?" Cui Lingrong asked. "The dividends from the cloth shop. It's written in the account books that every quarter, the cloth shop sends dividends to the Marquis's household. Now that the Commandery Princess manages the household, surely the Eldest Young Madam doesn't intend to pocket this money?" Cui Lingrong raised an eyebrow slightly. "Just because it's written in the account books doesn't make it the Marquis household's money. The cloth shop is my private investment. In the past, when the household was in difficulty, and since I was managing the household, I subsidized it all along. Now that the Commandery Princess is in charge, I trust she is far more capable than I and certainly has other means of generating income—there's no need to touch my private property." "Impossible!" Huadie refused to believe it. Who would be so generous as to contribute so much silver to the household coffers? She glared at the mistress of Qiushuang Zhai, completely forgetting her respect. Caixia scoffed. "How dare you! Are you the master here, or is the Eldest Young Madam? Even if you belong to the Commandery Princess, it's not your place to interrogate the Eldest Young Madam. If you truly don't believe it, have the Commandery Princess investigate, or have her ask Old Madame directly—then everything will be clear!" At this, Huadie was stunned. She looked at Caixia, then at the Eldest Young Madam, and stormed off in a huff. Back at Wutong Yuan, Huadie embellished the story. "You should have seen it, Your Highness. The Eldest Young Madam kept saying the cloth shop was her private property. And that Caixia in her courtyard was utterly insolent—she said if you had the ability, you should earn that much money yourself. Your Highness, this servant doesn't believe it. That woman at Qiushuang Zhai must be holding a grudge against you. We should go to Old Madame and seek justice!" Princess Rongjia listened with growing anger. "Cui Lingrong truly refuses to give the money?" Huadie nodded vigorously like a pestle pounding garlic. "I refuse to believe that Cui Lingrong can get away with pocketing this money!" With that, Princess Rongjia rose to head to Shouan Tang. After two steps, she reconsidered—Cui Lingrong wouldn't be that foolish. Her thoughts turned, and she sent someone to summon Madame Jiang. After seeing Madame Jiang, Princess Rongjia sighed first, then brought up the cloth shop dividends. "I know Sister Cui holds a grudge against me, but business is business. We're all part of the Marquis's household—she can't just pocket the public funds, don't you think?" Princess Rongjia wanted to fish for information from Madame Jiang and, at the same time, urge her to file a complaint. Madame Jiang, however, looked troubled. "Princess, it's... it's actually true that the cloth shop is the private property of the one at Qiushuang Zhai—my eldest sister-in-law." The words "eldest sister-in-law" were barely on her lips when Madame Jiang quickly swallowed them back. If she called Cui Lingrong her eldest sister-in-law, then what about the one before her? Wasn't she also her eldest sister-in-law? Princess Rongjia's face immediately fell. Before marrying into the family, she had only known that the Song family had been doing fairly well these past few years, with Old Madame Song hosting banquets from time to time. Without family assets, they couldn't afford such spending. But she hadn't known that it was Cui Lingrong who had been subsidizing the household. "Princess, what if... we go to Old Madame?" Madame Jiang didn't dare suggest that Princess Rongjia also subsidize the public coffers, and carefully tried, "The one at Qiushuang Zhai has been subsidizing the household for years. If the money suddenly stops, Old Madame will certainly be displeased. Why not let Old Madame step in to demand the money? With the weight of filial piety pressing down on her, the one at Qiushuang Zhai wouldn't dare refuse." If she went to Old Madame over money, it would make Princess Rongjia look like she had no funds. She had just opened her private treasury to reward the household servants. If she now went to Old Madame to pressure Cui Lingrong, word would spread that she was putting on airs she couldn't afford. Over the years, her father the Prince had spent no small amount greasing palms in the court for the sake of the crown prince succession. And her previous dowry had been nearly squandered by her extravagance. This time's forty-eight loads of dowry had only been squeezed out by her mother pressing her brothers to contribute. If she had to give that much money to the household every year, how would she live herself? Princess Rongjia loved luxury and never hesitated to spend. Seeing Madame Jiang sizing her up cautiously, she put on a smile. "Since it's private property, how could I be so brazen as to ask Sister Cui to hand it over? But without such a large sum of money, the allowances for Old Madame and the Marquis can't be reduced. I'm afraid we'll just have to tighten our belts." Madame Jiang was displeased to hear this. She didn't like Cui Lingrong, but when Cui Lingrong managed the household, nothing was ever lacking for anyone above or below. What Princess Rongjia meant was that if she wanted to maintain her current good life, she'd have to be the one to play the villain. She could file a complaint, sure, but she wouldn't be a pawn for nothing. "I don't mind living a bit more frugally—at worst, I'll make fewer new dresses and buy less rouge and powder. What I worry about is the men losing their dignity and being laughed at when they go out. After all, we're a Marquis's household; it wouldn't do to look too shabby, don't you think?" Madame Jiang said with a smile, negotiating terms with Princess Rongjia. Princess Rongjia understood immediately. "You're right. Second Master works hard at his post. I have some fine ginseng and deer antler at my place—take some back to nourish Second Master. I also have two bolts of jade gauze. They're too bright for me, but they'd suit your complexion perfectly, Second Sister-in-law. Why don't you take them?" "How could I accept such generosity?" "We're family. No need to stand on ceremony." "Then I'll gratefully accept." Having gotten her rewards, Madame Jiang left Wutong Yuan and headed to Shouan Tang. She was always good at currying favor with Old Madame—massaging her legs one moment, pouring tea the next. After serving her for a good while, she finally brought up the cloth shop dividends. "Truth be told, if eldest sister-in-law doesn't want to pay, we can't really say anything to her. It's just that your allowance can't be reduced. I'm worried that Second Master and the others might not have decent clothes to go out in and would be laughed at." Old Madame Song's hand holding the teacup paused, then she understood Lady Cui's thinking—she was still nursing her anger, refusing to yield to Princess Rongjia. But the cloth shop was indeed Lady Cui's private property. Old Madame Song valued face greatly; she couldn't possibly open her mouth to ask Lady Cui for money. Yet she had only just managed to secure a life of dignity, and she couldn't go back to the lean years. Old Madame Song saw through the little schemes of the Princess and Madame Jiang at a glance. She looked down at Madame Jiang and said, "You make a fair point. The Marquis's household can't be made a laughingstock. Since the Princess is managing the household now, I'm sure she'll find a way to solve it. Pass along a message for me—tell her I trust she'll certainly find a way to generate income." After a pause, Old Madame Song smiled and patted Madame Jiang's hand. "You're capable too. There will come a day when you take charge of the household. Why don't you go offer the Princess some suggestions? Our household can't afford the reputation of misappropriating a daughter-in-law's private property, wouldn't you agree?" "I..." "Go on, I believe in you." Old Madame Song had a serving woman escort Madame Jiang out, not giving her a chance to speak. Trying to scheme against her—did they have the skill for it? Still, Lady Cui's actions did leave her somewhat displeased.