Professional Ethics of a Concubine

Ye Qingzhi smiled and officially took over the first task assigned by the mistress.

"Madam, you have given me such a favor. Don't worry, I will never mess it up for you. I will have someone send the purchase list to my parents' house and let my father handle it personally. I will definitely buy the best quality goods at the most favorable price."

"Okay!" Zhang Jingyi nodded and asked, "Can I see the account books and items in three days?"

"No problem." Ye Qingzhi nodded.

"I think Aunt Ye is very good at checking account books, but not as good as Chen Nian's accounts..."

"Madam, I am just a concubine. There is no rule for concubines to interfere in the affairs of the mansion. If outsiders knew about this, the mansion would definitely be ridiculed, and Madam would lose face.

Madam, hurry up and find a few more accountants, and you can find out the truth in two days."

Ye Qingzhi waved her hands repeatedly to refuse, saying she would not do it no matter what!

Is there any job in the world that is dirtier and more tiring than checking accounts?

Yes, that is checking up old accounts, which is really exhausting.

She would be a fool to do such dirty and tiring work.

Seeing a problem with one or two account books and asking her to point it out is the limit of her job scope. Anything beyond this scope will not be accepted! Not accepted at all!

Seeing how resistant she was, Zhang Jingyi had no choice but to give up.

It's outrageous that she was taught what the rules are by a concubine!

"Madam, if you want to remove the old buyers, it's not enough to just settle the old accounts, because there are plenty of loopholes for them to exploit."

Ye Qingzhi finally gave a conscientious suggestion.

"Madam, you should also ask them to buy a copy of this shopping list. With a clear comparison, it will be easier for you to make trouble when the time comes."

"Okay." Zhang Jingyi nodded and accepted her suggestion, thinking to herself that she could keep Aunt Ye for a longer stay in the future.

It's such a waste for her to use such a smart brain only to think about how to serve the master!

She should be helped with some of these serious matters.

-

Ye Mansion.

Ye Yongyuan took the shopping list from Ruyi, and after listening to Ye Qingzhi's lecture, his face flushed with excitement.

What a good daughter she is to him!

Without making any noise, he managed to accomplish such a big thing.

It's done. From now on, the Ye Mansion is the purchasing agent for the Marquis Mansion. They don't need to think about how much money they can make from this kind of thing.

Because what they want is face and status, and it is also convenient to use the Marquis's Mansion as a protective umbrella when doing other things.

"Go back and tell Qingzhi not to worry. I will definitely take care of this matter." Ye Yongyuan vowed.

"My aunt is worried that the Madam and the Second Miss will do something bad again. I hope the Master will also pay more attention. This purchase is very important and must not go wrong."

Ruyi warned seriously.

Ye Yongyuan nodded vigorously.

If he had no ability and was easily controlled by a woman in the backyard, he would not have such a big family business as the Ye Mansion.

-

Three days later, Ye Yongyuan completed the task perfectly to Ye Qingzhi.

She also asked the accountant to make two account books according to her request.

One is the normal market purchase price. Even at this price, it is almost half cheaper than Zhang Jingyi’s previous purchase price.

Another one is the internal purchase price. The Ye Mansion only makes a small portion of the money, and the remaining profit is given to Zhang Jingyi. This is also a disguised way of offering filial piety to the Marquis and his wife.

Ye Qingzhi had the goods pulled to her yard and put into her warehouse. She personally took Xia Chan to count and check the quality of the goods.

very good!

Zhang Jingyi also took some time to come and check out the goods, and found that the quality was better than those she had used before.

After asking Ye Qingzhi these questions and finding out that the total cost was two thousand taels of silver even at the market price, Zhang Jingyi fell silent.

Normally, these would cost at least five thousand taels!

Regret! Very regretful. !

She was about to cry because of her own stupidity.

Although she was in charge of all the finances these years, she was constantly giving money to the first wife and the old lady!

They were obviously eating their fill and filling their pockets, but they still dared to accuse her of being harsh on them!

hateful!

Zhang Jingyi really wanted to throw the accounts in their faces right now, expose their ugly faces, and make them spit out all the money they had embezzled over the years!

"Well, Aunt Ye, you have done a great job this time."

Zhang Jingyi suppressed her resentment, looked at Ye Qingzhi, and asked with a smile,

"What reward do you want?"

"I don't have anything I want right now, so why not save it with Madam first and exchange it later?" Ye Qingzhi said after thinking for a while.

Zhang Jingyi laughed when she heard that, thinking that she just had the mentality of a child, because her sister Yan often said that.

"Okay, I'll write it down for you first." Zhang Jingyi said.

"Madam, the two thousand taels you mentioned just now is the market price. I also have an internal purchase price. It only costs one thousand five hundred taels to buy everything."

Ye Qingzhi gave Zhang Jingyi the internal price booklet again, and after she glanced through it, she smiled and said,

"We will not make this booklet in the future. Madam, just keep it in mind. All future accounts will be based on the market price, but we in the Ye Mansion will collect silver according to the internal price. Madam, you can keep the extra silver yourself."

"..." Zhang Jingyi was silent for a moment, but shook her head.

“I did have this plan at first, but two thousand taels is already below my psychological price, so I don’t need to be greedy for the five hundred taels.

If I do this, what difference will I make between me and the old lady and the first wife? I will just be looking down on myself for no reason.

Since you are favored by the Marquis, you cannot lose face in your mother's family. If you lose face, the Marquis loses face.

There is no need to do double-sided accounting in the future, just follow the market price, the Marquis' Mansion will not take advantage of your mother's family."

"Madam is very generous!" Ye Qingzhi praised sincerely, took back the account book with internal prices, and thought of having someone destroy it later.

It would be a relief for the concubines like them to have such a kind-hearted and generous mistress.

-

Zhang Jingyi left with satisfaction, and Ye Qingzhi was also very satisfied. Through this incident, he established a solid interest relationship with his wife.

Moreover, this incident proves that her scumbag father is not hopeless.

You can't just suppress this person all the time. Using a big stick and a red date can make it easier for people to submit to you psychologically.

Therefore, Ye Qingzhi asked Ruyi to send a message to the Ye Mansion to comfort Ye Yongyuan, affirm his contribution this time, and then continue to make big promises for him.

For example, becoming a good purchaser for the Marquis's Mansion, becoming a purchaser for the Imperial Palace, and doing business with the Imperial Household Department, wouldn't that be a matter of time?

By then, official salt, tea, and ironware would be the only things you would not dare to sell privately.

The Ye Mansion becomes the first imperial merchant of Da Zhao, and even the officials have to show some respect to them when they see them. The vision is not far away!

-

After Ye Yongyuan ate the cake drawn by Ye Qingzhi, he felt so refreshed that one could only describe himself as someone who is in high spirits.

His face was beaming with joy, and he walked with a breeze when he went out to inspect the shop.

Whenever he met a familiar business owner, he would invite him to have a few drinks and show off that he had a daughter who was favored in the marquis's mansion.

When he returned home, he urged his servants to tidy up the yard, put all the good things in it, and decorated it magnificently.

Ye Qingzhi's mother and brothers are already on their way to Beijing, and they will arrive in the capital in less than a month.

Gu Man was very anxious when she saw Ye Yongyuan's behavior, and she was looking forward to hearing the news from the Marquis' Mansion that Ye Qingzhi had fallen out of favor every day.

Unfortunately, she didn't receive the news that she had fallen out of favor, but she received the news that she had regained favor.

Moreover, not only did the Marquis dote on her, but even the mistress of the house gave her face, gave face to the Ye Mansion, and even allowed the Ye Mansion to serve as the purchaser for the Marquis Mansion.

This, this is simply unreasonable!

How could she be so easily controlled by a concubine?

"Yingxue, we really don't want to think of any solution. If we continue to endure like this, we will really have no place in the Ye Mansion."

Gu Man was anxious and couldn't help but ask Ye Yingxue for advice.

"Mom, the autumn examination is less than a month away, don't be so anxious!" Ye Yingxue comforted her impatiently.

Although she advised her mother not to worry, she herself was actually extremely anxious.

Especially the news coming from Ye Qingzhi was that she was always in favor, and even Zhang Jingyi gave her face.

Ye Yingxue couldn't help but get on the carriage to find Chen Yuankai.

Whenever she saw him, thought that he was about to graduate from high school, and that he would be the future Prime Minister, her anxious heart would immediately calm down.

However, when she found Chen Yuankai, she saw him being ridiculed by other students.

"Haha... You may not know that his fiancée is not only a merchant girl who reeks of money, but he and his fiancée have also been having an affair for a long time. He is morally corrupt and against etiquette. I really don't want to associate with such a hypocrite!"

"Because of his bad reputation, he was disqualified from taking the provincial examination by the Jiangnan Academy. However, his future father-in-law paid him enough money to buy him a place as an outer school student in the Imperial College."

"I see! No wonder he, a student from Jiangnan, didn't stay in Jiangnan to take the provincial examination, but had to come to the capital to grab a spot. Alas, I can only say that this villain is too arrogant!"

…………

Ye Yingxue could no longer bear hearing such ridicule. She got off the carriage, ran to Chen Yuankai, stood in front of him, and argued with the students,

"I think you are narrow-minded people who are jealous of others' knowledge, so you are slandering them here! When Chen Yuankai wins the title of Jieyuan in the imperial examination, you will definitely regret humiliating him today."

"Hahaha... Top scorer in high school? Great! We'll wait and see!"

"Chen Yuankai, did you hear me? When you pass the test, we will lie down and humiliate you!"

Those people shouted immediately, with mocking smiles on their faces.

Chen Yuankai could still bear it just now, but when he heard this, his face suddenly turned red, because he knew that he did not have the ability to win the first place in the provincial examination!

Chen Yuankai no longer cared about etiquette. He grabbed Ye Yingxue's sleeve and pulled her aside frantically, trying to escape from this place that was driving him crazy.

"Ouch, Chen Yuankai, let me go!" When they reached an empty alley, Ye Yingxue frowned, shook off his pull, and rubbed her arm in pain.

"Why did you endure those people humiliating you like this? Why didn't you fight back?" Ye Yingxue asked back angrily.

"Are you going to make such a ridiculous rebuttal like you did? It will only bring you greater ridicule!" Chen Yuankai sneered at her angrily.

"Ye Yingxue, it was you who insisted on getting involved with me in the first place. It was you who ruined my marriage with Ye Qingzhi and it was you who ruined my reputation. And today you are actually trying to flatter me in front of other students!

What grudge do I have against you that you really want to kill me?!"

"No, no, no, I didn't! I'm not flattering you! I'm serious! You can definitely get the top scorer in the exam! You have to believe in yourself!"

Ye Yingxue tried very hard to explain, trying to make Chen Yuankai believe her.

"What makes you say I will be the top scorer in the imperial examination?" Chen Yuankai sneered.

"You are just a woman, you have no idea how difficult the imperial examination is, yet you speak nonsense and tarnish my reputation, and you are so confident about it, you are really stupid!"

"I really know, I dreamed about it!" Ye Yingxue explained anxiously.

"Who is the chief examiner? What are the questions in the imperial examination?" asked Chen Yuankai.

"The examiner's surname seems to be Cai. I have no idea what the questions are. This has never happened in my dreams..." Ye Yingxue said embarrassedly.

Chen Yuankai sneered, didn't believe her at all, and turned away.

Ye Yingxue covered her face in pain. How could this happen?