Professional Ethics of a Concubine

The crisp sound of the teacup breaking to the ground woke Ye Qingzhi up completely from her nightmare.

"My Lord?" Ye Qingzhi raised her pale little face and looked at Xie Jin, whose face also looked very ugly, with her big red and wet eyes.

"What's going on? Are you having a child?" Xie Jin frowned.

Ye Qingzhi shook her head, it was impossible for her to be pregnant, her little life had just ended when she was on vacation some time ago.

She felt as if she had really drunk poison, which was why she felt nauseous.

"I just had a nightmare."

"Having been molested by a bully again?"

"No! He was poisoned to death by the ungrateful person he raised who fed him a bowl of poison." Ye Qingzhi gritted her teeth.

Xie Jin, ...

She was so cruel to herself in her dream, and the ending was so tragic.

"You just tend to overthink things. You must have had this nightmare because of what you said about the child yesterday."

Xie Jin no longer had any temper. He sat beside her, hugged her, and comforted her with rare patience.

"My Lord, I think so too. Otherwise, how could there be such a stupid woman who raised someone else's child and educated him into a talented person, but was eventually poisoned to death by the child? He then said that she should give up the throne to his biological mother."

Ye Qingzhi sneered, her face full of sarcasm, and it looked a bit sad no matter how you looked at it.

"It's just a nightmare, don't worry about it," said Xie Jin.

"Um……"

Ye Qingzhi closed her eyes and opened them again, suppressed her surging emotions, nodded, then took the initiative to kiss Xie Jin, thanking him for his comfort just now.

"I'll ask Doctor Hu to take your pulse and prescribe some tranquilizing medicine."

Seeing that she looked so pitiful, Xie Jin took her into his arms, rubbed her soft body, and said.

"Thank you, Grandpa. You are so good to me." Ye Qingzhi said with a touched look on her face.

Much better than the scumbag in the dream.

In a word, such a leader can be dealt with.

-

Xie Jin had to attend the morning court and had no time to hang out with Ye Qingzhi.

He dressed and left quickly.

Ye Qingzhi wanted to take a nap, but she couldn't, so she got up and did some yoga to relax.

After breakfast, Ye Qingzhi came back from paying respects to his wife. She asked Chunyu and Xiachan to follow her into the study, then took out an employee performance appraisal form and said to them,

“It has been more than a month, and the assessment for both of you has ended. Based on your performance, Xia Chan’s score was one point higher, and you were promoted to a first-class maid.

You two can read, so read it yourself. If you feel it's unfair, you can say so. Don't hold your anger in your heart and think about stabbing me in the back later."

"I dare not." Chunyu said hurriedly.

She was a little disappointed, but she was mentally prepared to lose to Xia Chan.

Chunyu took the score sheet and saw a lot of things written on it.

There is an analysis of her and Xia Chan's personalities, the skills they are good at, the contributions they have made in this month, and the minor mistakes they have made.

The rules and regulations are very clear.

After reading it, Chunyu was deeply touched by her aunt's careful assessment of them, and her eyes became moist.

Such fair treatment is not something they, the slaves, deserve.

It has always been the masters who decide their life and death based on their preferences.

She only lost one point to Xia Chan because she was not careful enough and made a small mistake, so she lost more points.

Her dressing skills are not bad at all, and are rated the same as Xia Chan's needlework.

Moreover, the final assessment form also stated that this kind of assessment would be conducted every three months, and the status and welfare benefits of a first-class maid would not remain unchanged.

She will have plenty of opportunities in the future to become a first-class maid if she behaves well.

Unlike Chunyu's enthusiasm, after reading the assessment form, Xia Chan's joy at being promoted to a first-class maid disappeared, and she was left with a sense of oppression.

I feel under a lot of pressure.

Ye Qingzhi said that it is absolutely right to have pressure!

This employee evaluation form is a curse in the modern workplace. It makes people hate it, but they can't get rid of it.

Who makes it so useful?

"You two's responsibilities will also change from today."

Ye Qingzhi redistributed their work scope.

"Ruyi is not considerate enough. From now on, Xiachan, you will be responsible for my dowry and the small storehouse in the yard, as well as some daily needlework. Chunyu will be responsible for my dressing, jewelry box, clothes matching, etc."

Xia Chan was a little surprised. She was asked to be in charge of the dowry?

She was a little panicked, afraid that something might go wrong.

"Aunt, I am in charge of the warehouse, what should Sister Ruyi do then?" Xia Chan was afraid that Ruyi would have an opinion.

"She is responsible for gathering information outside. You don't have to worry about Ruyi's opinions. She has wanted to hand over this job a long time ago." Ye Qingzhi said.

As her personal maids and the assistants she relies on the most, their mental state is still very important.

Ye Qingzhi would patiently answer their questions, resolve unnecessary misunderstandings, and reduce mental exhaustion and workplace suspicion.

Xia Chan was indeed relieved.

"Hand over the things you need to do, and don't forget to report to Madam." Ye Qingzhi reminded.

The spring rain and summer cicadas hurried down.

Really, I have never seen a concubine like my aunt!

I really treat my mistress as my boss.

-

In the evening, after Chunyu and Xiachan served Ye Qingzhi dinner, they took their assessment forms to report to the lady.

Zhang Jingyi took the assessment forms for both of them, and her eyes lit up after reading them. She felt that the forms were well done and would be of great use to her in managing the servants in the mansion.

Just like the imperial court also conducts two assessments of officials every year and determines promotions based on the assessments.

Although there is a lot of water behind this assessment, it is also a quantifiable tool.

"Aunt Ye is clever, capable, and meticulous in her work," Zhang Jingyi praised.

It's hard to find fault with it.

"Madam, looking at Madam Ye's behavior over the past month, it seems that she really doesn't hide anything from you."

Nanny Zhou spoke up, still finding it a little unbelievable.

Zhang Jingyi didn't believe that a concubine could be completely selfless and could be completely open to her, the mistress of the house.

"What are you two in charge of now? Are you in charge of her dowry book and storehouse? Do you know how much dowry money Aunt Ye has?"

Zhang Jingyi asked pointedly.

A concubine, who had no status and no favor, relied entirely on twenty taels of silver a month. It was impossible for her to survive in the backyard of a wealthy family.

In addition to the monthly salary, my aunt's share is just the standard for a low-income household. If she wants to live a decent life, she needs money.

There are too many things to take care of. If you want to wear nice clothes, wear nice things, eat nice things, use nice things, or get some information, all these require money to pave the way.

"Madam, Madam Ye asked me to take charge of the dowry and the storehouse. I spent the whole afternoon counting Madam Ye's dowry. Now Madam Ye has seven shops in the capital, all of which are well-known shops. I have heard of their reputations, so I believe the profits will not be small.

There aren’t many dowry items, but each one is a treasure, especially the silver, which is a total of 115,000 taels of silver notes!”

Xia Chan's voice trembled as he spoke the last part.

One hundred and five thousand taels!

It was the first time she saw so many banknotes, and she was stunned.

My hands were shaking when I was counting the banknotes, and I had to count them many times before I got them right.

No wonder my aunt built the shed and had a small kitchen. She used so much ice every day and was generous enough to provide ice for the lady, the young ladies and the young masters.

They really have money!

"...115,000 taels of silver." Nanny Zhou was so shocked that she lost her mind for a while before she whispered,

"As expected of the daughter of the Ye family, the richest man in Jiangnan."

I knew that Aunt Ye had money, but I didn't know she had so much money.

What is the concept of 115,000 taels?

Even if the daughter of the marquis's family got married, apart from the dowry of hundreds of taels for show, the money that could actually fill the daughter's pocket would not exceed five thousand taels of silver at most.

When Zhang Jingyi heard so much silver, her breathing changed slightly and there was a gleam in her eyes.

I heard from the Marquis that the Ye family gave him 200,000 taels of silver and obtained the status of a concubine for Ye Qingzhi.

In consideration of the two hundred thousand taels of silver, she arranged Yanliuyuan for Ye Qingzhi.

It was a wonderful large courtyard. In addition to the principal house, there were two wing rooms on the east and west sides. The small kitchen was actually ready-made. There was also a small flower bed and servants' rooms. The legitimate young masters and young ladies in the mansion had rooms of this standard.

The Ye family spent so much money on roads, and gave Ye Qingzhi more than 100,000 taels of silver as a dowry. They are really generous.

They look glamorous and out of reach from wealthy families, but they are far less wealthy than some tycoons.

As she was in charge of the household affairs in the mansion, she knew this better.

The annual income from the various shops and farms in the Marquis' Mansion was only 80,000 taels. It sounded like a lot, but the various expenses in the mansion were even greater, so the income and expenditure were basically equal, with not much surplus at all.

Moreover, as the young masters of the Marquis' Mansion grow up and reach marriageable age, the number of marriages will increase and the expenses will be even greater.

Just the betrothal gifts and dowry, if they come a few more times, would be enough to empty out half of the Marquis's family assets and a year's income.

When the Autumn Examination is over in a month, the eldest son of the mansion's main house, the eldest son Xie Mingqing, will be ready for marriage.

If Xie Mingqing passes the imperial examination and becomes a Jinshi next year, the noble lady he is going to marry will at least be the legitimate daughter of the Duke's mansion, and by then the betrothal gift will definitely be indispensable!

Although the eldest son is from the first wife's family, his betrothal gift has to be paid from the middle house, and she, the marquis's wife, needs to oversee the procurement. This matter should be put on the agenda now.

Of course, Zhang Jingyi would not covet the dowry of a concubine. Aunt Ye had already given her a lot of filial piety on a daily basis.

She thought of Aunt Ye's family, who were wealthy merchants from Jiangnan, running many shops and selling a wide variety of goods.

If she can get the betrothal gifts handled by the Ye family, she should be able to get a lot of discounts.

Not only the betrothal gifts, but also the banquets held in the mansion cost a lot every time. Zhang Jingyi was dissatisfied with the current purchasing agents and suspected that they had cheated Duke Zhong out of a lot of his money.

Because this purchasing agent has been used since the old lady was in charge of the family, who would believe that there is no trick involved?

She was unwilling to touch this area before because she wanted to give in and be patient, and not push the first wife and the old lady too hard.

However, recently, when Zhang Jingyi found herself becoming tough, the old lady and the others could only stare blankly and at most say a few unpleasant words.

But, they had said a lot of unpleasant things before, and I even paid compensation, so why bother?