The disparity between this small courtyard and the main courtyard where Lady Yan resided was too great. Not only was it small and secluded, but it had also been neglected for many years and was now incredibly run-down. The people in the mansion feared Lady Yan, so nobody dared to help the mother and daughter repair the house. Luckily, Lady Cui’s family was quite wealthy and would often secretly assist them, preventing the mother and daughter from having to live in a dilapidated house with a leaky roof!
Upon entering the inner room, he saw that Lady Cui was already eating dinner at the table. Her daughter, Juhua, was beside her, not sure whether to sit or stand, coaxing her non-stop. Upon seeing her father come in, Juhua immediately went up to greet him, whispering, "Father, don’t blame mother. She ate very little at noon, and she couldn’t stand her hunger, so she..."
County Magistrate Shen interrupted his daughter and smiled kindly: "It’s okay. In the future, if your mother eats less during a meal, have the kitchen prepare her favorite foods and make another tableful. That way, she won’t go hungry and suffer!"
After speaking, he glanced at Lady Cui, with a flattering look in his eyes.
Lady Cui wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and responded with a scoff: "Thank you for your concern, old master. I have been eating frugally for many years, and I am used to it. According to the rules of the mansion, the lady is unwell and must not eat oily food. Instead, she can only consume rough food. This rule has been in place for more than a decade, I dare not disobey it!"
County Magistrate Shen felt a pang in his heart. He glanced at the simple food on the table and felt even more guilty. He awkwardly sat down next to the table, smiling as he said: "Shuzhen, I came today because I wanted to discuss something with you."
After he had spoken, his eyes swept around the room. The maid servants who were serving in the room immediately understood and bent their knees, quietly withdrawing.
Seeing this, Juhua knew that her father had something private to discuss with her mother. After giving her mother a deep look, she followed the maid servants and left as well.
Once everyone else had left, County Magistrate Shen hesitated for a moment, then moved the stool he was sitting on closer to Lady Cui. He chuckled and said, "Shuzhen, consider this. Lady Yan has made a major mistake, and there’s no one in charge of central distributions in the mansion now. Why don’t you take over? From now on, everything that happens in this mansion, big or small, will be up to you. How does that sound?"
Lady Cui took a sip of her soup, her eyelids not lifting a bit as she said indifferently: "There’s no need. Let another concubine take control. I’m old, I didn’t worry about these things when I was young, and now that I’m old, I even less want to bother. The rule of the concubines presiding over central distributions in our mansion is not new. Perhaps, the old master should pick a favorite concubine and hand over the central distributions to her!"
County Magistrate Shen knew his wife was disgruntled with him. He awkwardly coughed a few times and said bashfully: "Shuzhen, that’s exactly what I wanted to discuss with you. I think there are too many concubines in our mansion. These come at a great expense, I plan to give each of them some silver for their resettlement, and send them away. All the concubine maids should be sent away too. After that, our mansion will be quiet!"
Lady Cui looked up in surprise, a look of incredulity appearing on her face: "What’s wrong with the old master? Who will serve you if you send all the concubines and the concubine’s maid servants away? Don’t tell me you’ve grown tired of the old and want to bring in a new batch?"
County Magistrate Shen was startled and immediately shook his head to deny it.
"I just want to dismiss all these concubines and maids so that the three of us can live a good life. We won’t have any concubines left..."
As he spoke, he reached out and held his wife’s hand that was under the table, whispering, "I know I was very foolish in the past, and these years have brought you and our daughter much grievance. From now on, I will make up for you both. Please, as a considerate person, forget the past!"