Chapter 242 Tanchun Housekeeper
In Rongguo Mansion, the atmosphere changed after the news that the imperial court ordered Jia Cong to suppress the rebellion in Jiangnan came. Whether it was Baochai, Daiyu, Xiangyun, or Sanchun, they were all worried about Jia Cong's safety.
Almost every day, the women would gather together, as if only in this way could they give each other more courage.
Sometimes, Baochai would even stay in Daiyu's room, and the two of them would comfort each other and feel less worried.
In Daiyu's courtyard, Baochai, Xiangyun, Yingchun, Xichun and Baoqin gathered together, but everyone was lazy and didn't even have the interest to talk to each other.
"Ah, without my third brother and second sister-in-law, our home has become less lively." Xiangyun sighed.
"Why don't we go to the East Palace to play!" Xiao Xichun suggested.
"We just came back from the East Palace yesterday. If we go again today, the old lady will come looking for us." Baochai rejected the suggestion.
"Why don't we go and see how our third sister and eldest sister-in-law are doing?" Xiangyun said.
Because of Wang Xifeng's departure, the task of housekeeping fell on Tanchun and Li Wan again! However, Li Wan was not very interested in these things, and only showed up occasionally to help out, and most of the things fell on Tanchun.
The girls were actually bored in the room, so they all nodded.
On the east side of Fengjie's courtyard, next to Li Wan's courtyard, there are also three small rooms. Tanchun asked people to clean up these rooms and use them as temporary "offices".
Daiyu's courtyard was not far away , and soon they arrived at Baoxia.
Seeing the sisters coming, Tanchun showed joy on her face, "You are finally here, come and help me with some advice, my eldest sister-in-law didn't come to help, I am really too busy."
"I only saw my second sister-in-law's housekeeper's majesty before, but now I understand how difficult it is for my second sister-in-law."
"Third sister, if my second sister-in-law heard what you said, she would feel gratified." Baochai said with a smile.
Tanchun is indeed a capable person, but she is just a teenage girl after all. Faced with so many complicated things, it is indeed difficult for her to handle it alone.
Someone brought chairs over, and the girls sat down without hesitation to help Tanchun with some things.
Fortunately, both Baochai and Daiyu were quick-witted and it was not difficult to handle the situation! Xiangyun asked people to bring tea and snacks to the sisters. Yingchun was not in charge, so she could only help the sisters with momentum. As for Xiao Xichun, she couldn't even help with momentum...
After working for nearly two hours, they finally dealt with all the backlog of matters. During this time, they sent away more than a dozen waves of old women and maids, and everyone was exhausted.
On the contrary, Baoqin's performance impressed the other girls. When it came to handling some things, she was not much inferior to Daiyu and Baochai.
"I am grateful for the kindness of all you sisters today!" Tanchun said gratefully.
"Third sister, please don't talk nonsense. The proper thing to do is to treat the sisters to a meal in the evening!" Xiangyun said with a smile.
"It's just a treat, it's nothing." Tanchun replied, "When I'm done with my work tonight, I'll definitely treat you to a good meal. However, this treat is not for nothing. In the next few days, you sisters have to help me. I can't let you enjoy yourself every day while I suffer here alone."
"Look, sisters, you see, we are just hosting a banquet and yet you are ordering others around." Daiyu's words made all the sisters laugh.
As he was speaking, a maid walked in quickly.
"Greetings, ladies! Aunt Zhao's brother, Zhao Guoji from the back street, has fallen ill, so he came to ask the ladies for advice on what the rules should be."
Tanchun frowned, then asked the sisters, "I remember a while ago, there was a funeral at the home of Baoyu's servant. Do you know how much silver he was rewarded with?"
Baochai shook her head slightly. "I haven't noticed this kind of thing, but I remember mother mentioned that it usually ranges from twenty taels to seventy or eighty taels. Maybe it's because of the closeness of the relationship?"
The old woman said immediately, "In this case, Zhao Guoji is related to the third young lady after all, so we should give him the higher grade."
Having said that, he took the pair of cards from the secretary's hand and was about to turn and leave.
The old woman's words were not groundless. Tanchun was Aunt Zhao's daughter, and Zhao Guoji was really her uncle based on blood relationship.
However, the rules of this era were different, and illegitimate children had to be fostered in the mistress's room. Tanchun also had only one mother, Lady Wang, so she had no connection with Zhao Guoji.
"Wait a moment!" Daiyu called out.
"Third sister, why don't you go ask the eldest sister-in-law? It seems that the second sister-in-law said before that this is divided into those in the family and those outside the family."
When Tanchun heard this, she was immediately moved and looked at the old woman carefully. It seemed that this old woman had been to the second wife's courtyard several times recently...
It must be said that she has been very tight-lipped about the withdrawal of money and distribution of things in the house recently. Therefore, many maids in the mansion were secretly dissatisfied. Thinking about the expression of this maid just now... Could it be that this maid has something to hide?
"Return the pair of cards first, and then go get the old account so I can check it." Yingchun said.
The old woman's face changed slightly, "There are so many old accounts, how can I remember which one it is? Besides, they are all servants in the mansion. Whether it's a little more or a little less, it's all the master's favor. Who dares to say anything?"
"Go quickly. If you are late, it will not be my fault!" Tanchun's face turned cold.
Xiangyun, who was watching from the side, whispered something to Xichun for a while. Xichun nodded vigorously and ran out with Ruhua.
"Third sister, you are the housekeeper now, but it is just a temporary assignment. If you are so strict, you will offend too many people!" Baochai whispered to Tanchun.
Baochai didn't blame Tanchun, but was really thinking about her. Tanchun relied on Lady Wang, and the housekeeper was now Wang Xifeng. If she offended too many people, not only would the servants be dissatisfied, but even Lady Wang and Wang Xifeng would probably be dissatisfied. Moreover, she was originally a concubine's daughter, and it was not easy to live in this mansion. If she offended everyone, how would she deal with herself in the future?
Tanchun knew Baochai's good intentions, but still shook her head, her eyes filled with fatigue and grievance.
In fact, she had not been feeling well in the past two days. Because Baoyu had offended Jia Cong when he went to the East Palace a while ago, even the sisters had been dissatisfied with Baoyu these days. In order not to make Baoyu feel uncomfortable, Tanchun went to chat with Baoyu every day, so as to prevent him from feeling alienated by the sisters.
But the other day when I arrived at Baoyu's room, I heard Baoyu inside the room saying to the maid, "I don't have any brothers or sisters. Even though I have two, don't you know that they are from different mothers? I just think of myself as a loner."
