Steward Zhao immediately knelt, repeatedly kowtowing to Lady Bai. "Madam, Young Master requested those people in front of the Marquis, saying that some concubines' quarters were short-staffed and he feared they wouldn't be served well. The Marquis granted it on the spot, and I had no way to stop him!"
Lady Bai froze, her face turning even more livid, but she sat down, collecting her emotions and calming down slightly from before.
Although she was still beautiful, she was, after all, older and not as young and fresh as the concubines. The Old Marquis was never devoted. He always had concubines and maids around him.
While most of the Marquis's bed companions had been dealt with or gotten rid of by her, there were a few concubines who were from respectable families and had some background, making them difficult to dismiss easily.
Concubine Wen had a daughter and currently held the highest status among the concubines. She came from a wealthy merchant family in the capital, a respectable concubine with no shortage of money.
However, she usually kept a low profile and never contradicted Lady Bai. Furthermore, as she gradually aged, the Marquis visited her courtyard less often, so Lady Bai didn't pay much attention to her.
There were also two new concubines: one, extremely alluring, was sent by the Great Prince, and the other, pure and sweet, was sent by the Xue family's old residence.
Both these concubines had powerful backing, and Marquis Xue doted on them. Although Lady Bai was displeased, due to various vested interests, she could only pretend to be magnanimous.
However, she absolutely could not tolerate these young concubines having children. Therefore, she had tampered with their daily food and drink, causing them to be childless for two years after entering the household.
Gradually, these concubines seemed to have caught on, becoming less obedient to her, and had even caused a few commotions in front of Marquis Xue.
This time, Xue Fenglin used their names to request people in front of the Marquis, hitting exactly on the Marquis's soft spot.
With the Marquis having given his word, what more could Steward Zhao say? He could only hand over the deeds of these people.
"It seems this rascal had indeed prepared this move long ago," Lady Bai said, gritting her teeth.
She had Steward Zhao bring the roster and discovered that Jinzhi and Jin Gui's relatives had all been assigned to the various concubines' courtyards.
She then sent someone to inquire further and found out that Xue Fenglin hadn't given the deeds of these servants to the concubines at all, but was holding onto them himself.
---
## Chapter 64
Steward Zhao immediately knelt, repeatedly kowtowing to Lady Bai. "Madam, Young Master requested those people in front of the Marquis, saying that some concubines' quarters were short-staffed and he feared they wouldn't be served well. The Marquis granted it on the spot, and I had no way to stop him!"
Lady Bai froze, her face turning even more livid, but she sat down, collecting her emotions and calming down slightly from before.
Although she was still beautiful, she was, after all, older and not as young and fresh as the concubines. The Old Marquis was never devoted; he always had concubines and maids around him.
While most of the Marquis's bed companions had been dealt with or gotten rid of by her, there were a few concubines who were from respectable families and had some background, making them difficult to dismiss easily.
Concubine Wen had a daughter and currently held the highest status among the concubines. She came from a wealthy merchant family in the capital, a respectable concubine with no shortage of money.
However, she usually kept a low profile and never contradicted Lady Bai. Furthermore, as she gradually aged, the Marquis visited her courtyard less often, so Lady Bai didn't pay much attention to her.
There were also two new concubines: one, extremely alluring, was sent by the Great Prince, and the other, pure and sweet, was sent by the Xue family's old residence.
Both these concubines had powerful backing, and Marquis Xue doted on them. Although Lady Bai was displeased, due to various vested interests, she could only pretend to be magnanimous.
However, she absolutely could not tolerate these young concubines having children. Therefore, she had tampered with their daily food and drink, causing them to be childless for two years after entering the household.
Gradually, these concubines seemed to have caught on, becoming less obedient to her, and had even caused a few commotions in front of Marquis Xue.
This time, Xue Fenglin used their names to request people in front of the Marquis, hitting exactly on the Marquis's soft spot.
With the Marquis having given his word, what more could Steward Zhao say? He could only hand over the deeds of these people.
"It seems this fellow had indeed prepared this move long ago," Lady Bai said, gritting her teeth.
She had Steward Zhao bring the roster and discovered that Jinzhi and Jin Gui's relatives had all been assigned to the various concubines' courtyards. She then sent someone to inquire further and found out that Xue Fenglin hadn't given the deeds of these servants to the concubines at all, but was holding onto them himself.
"Flawless, as expected." Lady Bai scoffed coldly. "Steward Zhao, such an important matter, and you only tell me two months later? That's just wonderful!"
Steward Zhao was drenched in sweat, not daring to breathe or look up at Lady Bai.
Lady Bai glared fiercely at him but said nothing more. Instead, she spoke casually, "Since these people's deeds were taken by Young Master, then their monthly wages should also be given to Young Master. The public funds needn't cover them anymore."
"Yes," Steward Zhao immediately accepted the order and left.
After he left, Lady Bai looked at his retreating back and said, "Taking so many benefits from me, yet still trying to play both sides. These dogs truly can't be tamed."
"Madam, are you just going to let it go?" Mama You asked.
"He's still the head steward of the Xue residence, after all, and he's an old retainer of the Marquis. If I suddenly replace him, the Marquis won't be used to it and will surely call him in to question me, which would be detrimental to me," Lady Bai said.
"Wouldn't that be too easy on him? What if the servants below see this and follow suit?" Mama You added.
"I know what I'm doing," Lady Bai said faintly. She then asked Qiong Zha to bring paper and brush. After writing a letter, she had Qiong Zha send it to her elder brother, Bai Yan.
***
Three days later, Steward Zhao, the head steward of the Xue residence, unfortunately encountered bandits while out on official business and was found dead in the wilderness.
Lady Bai informed Marquis Xue of the matter and gave his family some silver for comfort, instructing them to return to their hometown to arrange Steward Zhao's funeral.
After the Zhao family left, Lady Bai said to Marquis Xue, "Originally, Steward Zhao and his family managed many important affairs in the residence, but now they've suddenly met with misfortune, and those matters are unattended."
"Why don't I first promote two capable people to handle things, and then replace them once Steward Zhao's family returns?"
Marquis Xue usually didn't have time to concern himself with internal household matters. Upon hearing this, he waved his hand and said, "Steward Zhao was also someone you promoted. Now that something has happened, you naturally need to replace him. I think he did quite well before, so just arrange someone with a similar standard."
Lady Bai, as expected, then promoted a new steward and arranged his family into the lucrative positions that Steward Zhao's family previously held.
Mama You heard about this in the residence and immediately shivered, unable to sleep well for many days afterward.
When the Zhao family returned, Lady Bai used the excuse that their duties had already been filled and sent them to a very remote manor belonging to the Xue family.
***
Lady Bai's blatant replacement of people could not possibly escape Xue Fenglin's notice.
The Zhao family was a group he had spent years cultivating and bribing. Now that Lady Bai had directly replaced them all, his actions within the Xue residence would likely become more difficult in the future.
After some thought, he specifically found Jinzhi and Jin Gui's deeds and had Wuxin deliver them to Shen Xuan.
Shen Xuan was very happy to receive their deeds, having long forgotten the annoyance of Xue Fenglin pressing him for "interest" last time.
So, he wrote a letter, asking after Xue Fenglin's well-being and specifically mentioning the operational status of his shop. He also took fifty percent of the profits, converted them into silver notes, and sent them to Xue Fenglin.
Xue Fenglin received the letter while staying in the Imperial Academy dormitory. To prepare for the spring imperial examinations, he lived and ate with other students in the Imperial Academy, diligently studying every day.
Most of the children from prominent families in the capital who were preparing for the imperial examinations studied at the Imperial Academy, but only a few actually lived there.
In contrast, many scholarly families and upright officials had a custom of having their nephews and sons live in the Imperial Academy. Xue Fenglin, a Young Master living among them, was somewhat of an anomaly.
This day, Xue Fenglin was debating classics with a classmate when Wuxin brought him a letter.
Just by looking at the handwriting on the letter, he knew it was from Shen Xuan.
Xue Fenglin smiled slightly, about to put the letter into his sleeve.
His face was joyful, and an uncontrollable smile played on his lips. His classmates, seeing this, couldn't help but tease him, "Young Master, looking at your expression, this letter must be extraordinary. Is it from a beloved?"
"Exactly! Fenglin, you're over twenty, and you still have no wife or concubines. Usually, you're as ascetic as a monk. Could it be that you've taken a liking to some young lady?"
"Fenglin has such good looks. The person who can capture his eye must be of captivating beauty. I wonder if we'll ever get to see her?"
These classmates were roughly the same age as Xue Fenglin. Although most were unmarried, many already had concubines.
Occasionally, on evenings without classes, some would even gather for literary parties.
Of course, although called literary parties, they often included singing and dancing for entertainment, with some even inviting courtesans from Zhijin Street to serve them.
Among the scholars in Great Jin, their behavior was the norm, while Xue Fenglin was an anomaly. Even when attending gatherings, he would sit alone and never indulged in pleasure with courtesans.
Of course, part of the reason for Xue Fenglin's self-restraint was Lady Bai's strict oversight. But a large part of it was also that he genuinely hadn't been very interested in such things before.
After all, he was so handsome, with many admirers. How could he easily be attracted to someone whose appearance was inferior to his own?
Rarely teased by his classmates, Xue Fenglin felt a bit embarrassed and annoyed. After putting the letter away, he coughed and said, "Enough of this nonsense. The debate ends here today. I'm going to rest." He then turned and returned to his room.
After he left, his classmates dispersed. Xue Fenglin closed the door, lit the oil lamp, and eagerly tore open Shen Xuan's letter to read it.
It had been over half a month since he last parted with Shen Xuan.
Xue Fenglin had always thought of himself as an ascetic, somewhat despising those impatient classmates. But now he realized that it wasn't that he was truly ascetic; it was simply that he hadn't met anyone who truly excited him before.
He opened Shen Xuan's letter, and a faint floral scent wafted out. Shen Xuan had spent more time in the fragrant soap shop lately, inevitably picking up some scent, and even the paper on which the letter was written had absorbed some of it.
The letter wasn't long, but the language was lively. Besides ordinary greetings, it also contained many interesting anecdotes from his shop.
When he reached the end of the letter, Xue Fenglin found several more pages underneath. Opening them, he discovered they were indeed several silver notes.
They were all one-hundred-taels silver notes, six in total. Shen Xuan explained in the letter that this was fifty percent of Xuanzi Fang's profits over ten days, sent to Xue Fenglin as "interest."
Earning twelve hundred taels of silver in just ten days, the profit from this fragrant soap was truly substantial.
However, Xue Fenglin's face fell upon seeing the silver notes; he wasn't pleased. After some thought, he folded the silver notes again. Then, he found a book on his desk, opened it to a certain page, and tore it out.
After casually writing a few small words, he put the book page and the silver notes back into the envelope and had Wuxin deliver it back to Shen Xuan.
***
The next day, Shen Xuan received the letter delivered by Wuxin early in the morning.
It was still early, and he hadn't yet gotten up, so he lay in bed and opened the letter to read it.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he opened the letter, the roll of silver notes fell out, followed by a book page that floated onto his face.
Shen Xuan took a closer look, and his face immediately turned crimson. He fiercely crumpled the book page into a ball and threw it away.
"Shen Ger, what's wrong?" Jinzhi saw this and moved to pick up the crumpled paper.
Shen Xuan quickly said, "Don't pick it up! Both of you, go out first!"
Jinzhi and Jin Gui were puzzled, not knowing what had happened. But seeing Shen Xuan's serious expression, they quickly retreated.
After they closed the door, Shen Xuan got out of bed again and picked up the crumpled book page.
It was deep winter, and there was a charcoal basin lit in his room. Shen Xuan felt an impulsive urge to throw it into the charcoal basin to burn it, but ultimately he couldn't bring himself to.
Instead, he sat on the edge of the bed and unfolded the page to look at it again.
On the page was a finely drawn erotic drawing (spring palace), with minute details meticulously depicted.
In the drawing, a ger was being pressed onto a table, with a certain part of his upper body being carefully fondled.
Next to this erotic drawing, Xue Fenglin had written a line of small characters: [I've returned the silver notes to you. You should prepare this interest well; I'll collect it next time we meet.]
Even Shen Xuan, a person who had experienced the baptism of the modern world, turned completely red from head to toe.
He thought to himself, How could Xue Fenglin be like this? I thought he looked so proper before, but now he has the nerve to send an erotic drawing directly to me!
Shen Xuan held the erotic drawing in his hand, wanting to burn it but feeling a bit reluctant. After going back and forth several times, he folded the drawing and put it into a small box.
Fearing someone might see the box, he finally stealthily hid it under his pillow.
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