The cousin's family is extremely wealthy; she deserves to be a concubine.

"Okay, write out the invoice and let me take a look. If there are no problems, I'll write you a note, and you can go to the accounting office to collect the money." This happens every year, and Madam Shen just does it as usual.

"next."

"Madam, our eldest daughter's wedding is scheduled for May. Now that spring is here, merchants from all over the country will be bringing their best goods to the capital to sell."

"We stocked up on some things for the eldest daughter's wedding before the New Year, and we still need to buy more. This servant has come to ask the madam for the money." This is the second steward of the mansion, surnamed He, who is in charge of purchasing things for the eldest daughter's wedding.

"When the eldest daughter gets married, there is a special allowance. You can estimate the amount and go to the accounting office to collect the money for the purchases." This is also the first time Madam Shen has married off her daughter, but since the eldest daughter is an illegitimate child, the old custom can be followed.

As long as the procurement does not exceed the budget, the dowry and the food served at the banquet will be sufficient to maintain the prestige of the Marquis's residence.

"next."

"Madam, with spring approaching and the weather getting warmer, we need to quickly prepare the spring clothes for the household, especially the clothes for the master to wear when going out to banquets."

"I've heard that Jin Yi Fang will be receiving a new batch of fabric in a couple of days. I'm thinking of ordering some for the masters in the mansion in advance, so we don't run out of stock later." This was Steward Meng, who manages the mansion's embroidery workshop.

"I'll write you a note. Go to the accounting office and get twenty taels of silver. Take it to Jinyifang as a deposit. Once the good fabric arrives, come back to me to find out how much you're short."

Madam Shen knew that this money couldn't be saved; with the good weather in spring, many families would be holding banquets. Several of her daughters were of marriageable age and needed to go out and meet potential partners.

As the saying goes, clothes make the man, and a saddle makes the horse; we cannot tarnish the reputation of the Muqing Marquis's mansion.

Jin Yi Fang was a famous clothing shop in the capital. Not only were the designs of the finished clothes gorgeous, but the fabrics were also rare. Families of high status would rush to buy from them, and it was an honor to wear clothes from Jin Yi Fang.

But, in a word, it's expensive!

"What's wrong? Is twenty taels of silver not enough?" Seeing that Manager Meng was still standing there and wouldn't leave, Madam Shen assumed that Jin Yi Fang had released new products this time, and that the fabrics they brought were more expensive than last year's.

"No, no, twenty taels of silver is enough for the deposit. There is something else I need to tell you. It is customary for the household to prepare new clothes for the masters in the spring."

However, a new cousin has joined our household this year. I know that her status is inconvenient, and she cannot wear red or green. So, will her clothes be made by the household staff, or will she have them made separately in her own courtyard?

Steward Meng was a shrewd person. With an extra person in the household who wasn't really a master, the servants couldn't be sure what their master was thinking.

If this were the lady's family, they should have been meticulous and thoughtful in every way. However, the cousin was not from the Shen family, but came from a poor merchant family and was said to be disliked by the lady.

Although they were servants, they might know about any disturbances in the mansion even before the masters did.

The young lady had been neglected in her courtyard for several days; the madam couldn't possibly be unaware of this.

Do they need to make spring clothes for Miss Biao in their embroidery workshop?

As a servant, she couldn't ask directly, so she could only use the excuse that her cousin was in mourning and dressed in special clothes, in case the cousin wanted to make her own clothes, which would save the household some money on fabric.

In any case, it must not be revealed that the lady might not want to spend money on clothes for her cousin.

"Sister Rong needs to observe mourning, so she needs to dress appropriately. I'll just select a few bolts of fine fabric from the storeroom and send them over."

It wasn't that Madam Shen was unwilling to spend money; it was just that the Empress Dowager had been unwell last year, and the household had already secretly prepared a lot of materials. Naturally, the storeroom was not lacking in such plain-colored fine fabrics, so there was no need to spend any more money.

"Yes."

……

While handling the affairs of the Marquis's residence, Madam Shen also received a visiting card from her elder sister-in-law, Madam Min, who said she would come to the residence to talk the next day.

Shen knew exactly why Min had come.

After finishing the affairs of the Marquis's residence, it was almost noon. Thinking that his niece had been mistreated for several days, he figured she should have learned her lesson and corrected her attitude of being dependent on others.

So he asked, "Has anyone from Qingwu Courtyard come these past few days?"

"Reporting to Madam, Qingwu Courtyard has been quite quiet these past few days. The two maids who serve there are called out to work by the steward of the Grand Garden during the day and only return to Qingwu Courtyard to rest at night."

When I had a chance, I asked around and found that the young lady and the others were behaving themselves. They had already copied several thick stacks of scriptures in the west wing, so they must have been studying hard.

A report came from the main kitchen that the food for Qingwu Courtyard was collected daily by the maid named Chunyan on time, and the returned food boxes were always empty.

As she listened, Madam Shen nodded. "She is, after all, my niece. We're still blood relatives. I can't be stingy and get a reputation for being mean. From today onwards, let's resume the meals served at Qingwu Courtyard."

"Madam is very generous and is known for her kindness. Otherwise, why would she have taken in her niece who was in mourning and treated her like her own daughter? I will send a message to the main kitchen right away."

As for Qingwuyuan, there's no need for them to make this trip; they'll understand once they see the food.

Madam Shen remained noncommittal, but thinking about the money spent that morning, she couldn't help but frown. "You don't know the cost of firewood and rice until you're in charge of the household. I manage the food, clothing, and daily necessities of hundreds of people in the Marquis's mansion. If anything is missing, it must be my fault as the head of the household."

In the past, my third sister's husband would send money every year, which helped to supplement our income.

I manage the Marquis's mansion, patching up one problem by another, but I'm still able to maintain its dignity and don't find life too difficult.

But my third sister's husband left in a hurry before the New Year, so there was no one else to send New Year's gifts to our house.

During the New Year, social interactions involved money, and with the harvest from the various estates and shops in the mansion for the second half of the year, they managed to get by and have a good New Year.

But once the year was over and spring arrived, there were many places in the mansion where money was needed, so the silver became difficult to handle.

Just wait and see, when my dear sister-in-law comes tomorrow, she'll definitely be here to complain about being poor.

"Sigh, I didn't realize it before, but now I understand. It's such a waste that my third sister's husband is such a useful money bag." Madam Shen couldn't help but sigh, after all, her third sister's husband was family.

Unlike those merchants who depend on powerful families, he does business honestly, is not greedy, and doesn't clean up the messes left by the Marquis's family after they get money. He is really useful.

At this moment, Granny Zhang chimed in, "It's also because the eldest master of the Hua family is unlucky. Otherwise, with the power of our Marquis's mansion, he could have run his business so well, and it would have been even better in the future. It's a pity, it's all for naught."

Wenqin also said, "After one Master Hua leaves, there will be another, and another. How can our Marquis's mansion lack merchants who come to flatter us? Madam, you should also shift your attention to other people and give them a chance to give money."