【Quick Wear】My Years as a Mother-in-law

"Mother, I was negligent." Qi Wu's face changed and finally froze in a pale state, and he knelt heavily on the ground.

Yun Xi helped her up and soothed her gently, "What's past is past. Let's start afresh. This steady and strong maid is for you, and this clever and intelligent middle-aged woman is for you. Remember to protect the young lady." Then she said to Qi Wu, "When you get to your own room, you can give them names. From now on, they will be your personal servants. If there are any problems with their character, or if they don't serve you wholeheartedly, just tell me and I'll sell them all off."

Qi Wu nodded heavily, "Xiao Wu, I'll remember that."

Yun Xi rubbed her hair with satisfaction, turned around and began to make arrangements. Those with special skills were assigned to the young ladies, each with two servants, including the young Ninth Miss and the Tenth Young Master.

Seeing these people standing behind the four young ladies' respective bamboos, Yun Xi looked at the remaining servants and arranged them one by one, "There are six courtyards in the backyard for people to live in. Twelve servants, you will be divided into two groups and serve in the six courtyards. You will be responsible for passing messages between the inner and outer courtyards. Remember?"

The twelve children responded in unison, "Remember."

Yun Xi winked at Xiao Bei and said, "They are still young, you should pay more attention to them."

"Slaves save it."

"The remaining six people will go to the concubines' Qiulan Courtyard to serve. They will mainly help the concubines with some chores and will not need to serve them closely."

"The last twenty people will be assigned to clean the courtyard, corridors, and gardens in pairs. Xiaobei will assign you shifts. If you do a good job, you can be promoted to third-, second-, or even first-class maids. If you save enough money, you can buy your freedom and leave. The Qi family, as a family of good deeds, will not make things difficult for you."

As for the big kitchen, she didn't have to worry about it. The cooks and maids in the kitchen were hired, and the male servants who helped with chores were considered to be from the outer courtyard and were managed by her eldest son.

"As for the monthly salary, it will be calculated as a third-class maid, 300 coins a month. The salary will be gradually increased as the work is good."

"Thank you, ma'am."

Qi Wu and others were a little worried. There were eighteen concubines in Qiulan Courtyard, known to outsiders as the Eighteen Concubines. In the past, the favored concubines had at least one personal maid to serve them, but now there is none. Who knows if there will be trouble?

After arranging the servants to go down and perform their duties, Yun Xi asked someone to invite matchmaker Li in. Matchmaker Li, dressed in bright red, looked very festive and spoke pleasantly. When she came in, she began to praise the four concubines' daughters, and the four girls were so embarrassed that their faces were about to bleed.

After praising the child, he also greeted Yun Xi. Yun Xi was very satisfied and asked her to introduce her to a young man of the right age.

"As you can see, my four daughters are all beautiful, kind-hearted, and talented. For example, Xiaowu can play the piano, Xiaoliu is good at needlework, Xiaoqi loves reading and can write a few poems, and Xiaoba is learning to paint. Recently, I have asked them to learn how to manage the household finances from me." Yun Xi said, "I also hope that they can marry into a good family in the future and become a good wife who can manage the household."

Matchmaker Li was stunned and thought to herself that this was different from what Master Qi said before he passed away. Didn’t he plan to send several girls to be concubines in the homes of officials?

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Yun Xi couldn't help but ask after seeing her remain silent for a long time.

"No, no, I'm just expressing my gratitude for your thoughtfulness and kindness. There are many young men from good families here. Please see if there is a suitable one. If there is, I will talk to the man. If both parties are willing, the man and woman can go to Lingyin Temple to meet and then get engaged." Matchmaker Li took out a piece of red paper and handed it over.

Yun Xi took it, looked at it, and shook her head. "The children are in mourning right now, and these men are a bit old. I guess they can't wait three years to get married. Are there any younger ones?"

Matchmaker Li was stunned. Oh, right, they have to observe mourning. Thinking about it, she pulled out a list of younger boys from her pocket, aged between ten and fourteen. "These young men are also very good. Their parents want to settle them down first and wait until they are of the right age to get married."

"That's what I was thinking. Let's get settled first, and then complete the formalities of getting engaged and married after the mourning period is over. Xiaowu is fifteen this year, and will be eighteen in three years. It's a good age, and three years is just enough for them to learn how to manage the household finances. Don't worry about you laughing at me, but the children haven't attended a girls' college, so I plan to teach them to read."

What I mean is that I don’t want them to marry casually.

Matchmaker Li understood what she meant. Seeing her take out another booklet, Yun Xi couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. This matchmaker was quite professional. She had information on people of all ages. She flipped open the red paper and took a closer look. It was very comprehensive. They were all families of comparable status to the Qi family. There were merchants, scholars, some large landowners, and at the very least, there were farming and reading families. As for official families, there were some, but the highest was only a county magistrate who was marrying a concubine...

Without exception, they can all become the mistress of the house.

The county magistrate was not considered. He was almost forty years old, and the oldest, Qi Xiaowu, was only fifteen. Their ages did not match at all.

"Dongzhu, please copy down some of this information." Yun Xi took a quick look at the information and found that there was a lot that needed to be inquired about.

Matchmaker Li quickly asked, "Old lady, would you like to decide on a few candidates first?"

Speaking of this, Yun Xi had doubts in her heart and asked hesitantly, "Isn't the young master of the Guan family a bastard? Why is it written on it that he is a legitimate son? Can he become the head of the family if he marries?"

After recent familiarity and recollection, Yun Xi discovered that the inheritance system of Zhao State was similar to that of the Song Dynasty she was familiar with, with all sons getting equal shares and daughters getting half.

But in fact, the status of illegitimate sons and legitimate sons in the family is completely different. The head of the family generally attaches great importance to the eldest son and legitimate sons, and will focus on their training. The network resources and family property will be given to the eldest son. For example, Qi Xian used to follow his father to familiarize himself with the family industry, learn how to do business, and prepare to take over the family business in the future.

A rich family marries off their daughters, while a humble family marries their daughters-in-law. Yun Xi felt that if the concubines of the Qi family were well trained, they would be worthy of the position of mistress, so it would be best for her to marry the legitimate sons.

Isn't this better than having concubines become concubines for high-ranking officials and merchants? Not only would the children be unwilling to do that, but it would also be disreputable. Why bother? Marrying someone of equal status would also help the family.

Matchmaker Li thought for a moment and explained in a low voice, "Old Madam, this isn't a secret. Because the older sons of the Guan family are already married, in order for the young master Guan to have a good marriage, the mistress of the Guan family is willing to register him under her name. After the young master's marriage, the Guan family will split up, and the young master must give the mistress of the Guan family half of his family property as a filial tribute."

Yun Xi: "The Guan family has made a good plan."

Matchmaker Li nodded. "That's right, but the young master of the Guan family is not stupid. It's better for him to divide the family while the master is still alive than for his brother to just throw some rags at him after his father and stepmother die. After all, the master of the Guan family loves this son very much."

"That's true."