Marquis's Residence

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Marquis's Residence
Original Name	侯府
Alias(es)	Jing'an Marquis Manor; Marquis Jing'an's estate 12 25 40
Type	Noble residence and extended-family household 19
Location	The capital; near the Fifth Princess's Residence 34 36
Affiliation	The Xie family, holders of the Jing'an marquisate 9 11
Occupation/Role	Home of Marquis Jing'an's family and administrative center for its household affairs and outside businesses 10 19 23
Status	Still occupied, but unable to pay servants' monthly wages at the latest documented appearance 50
First Appearance	Referenced in the supplied Chapter 2 passages during the dispute over adopting Huai Shan 2

Background / History

Before receiving a marquisate, the Xie family lived in a border town. The household later faced collapse when Marquis Jing'an was imprisoned. Its elders sought a marriage between his heir, Xie Jin'an, and Liu Wan, the legitimate daughter of the Minister of Rites. Minister Liu agreed because Marquis Jing'an had previously saved his life 9 11.

Liu Wan married into the family at fifteen, bringing a gold Death-Exemption Token inherited from her aunt. Her intervention saved the household and allowed Marquis Jing'an to petition to fight at the frontier and prove his innocence 9 12 40.

For five years, Liu Wan managed the residence's accounts, domestic affairs, and struggling businesses. She was still examining accounts the night before giving birth. Her dowry subsidized both the household and its shops while the court withheld the residence's stipend 4 10 23.

Layout and Notable Areas

Area	Description and use
Main gate and frontage	Guarded entrance where Qing Da rejects the soot-blackened returning family members. The frontage includes steps and stone lions, later covered in dung during the Zhong family's protest 18 37.
Front courtyard	Receives banquet guests and serves as the gathering point for announcements of imperial decrees 5 9 25 27.
Front Hall	Meeting place for the extended household and venue for disputes involving masters and servants 19 32.
Inner courtyard	Contains the setting for Xie Jin'an's banquet “surprise” and the planned water-rescue scheme. Zi Mu does not live here, helping him conceal his intervention 6 12.
Charity Hall	Old Madam Xie's quarters; hosts Huai Shan's adoption gathering and becomes her place of lifelong confinement 5 9 12 13.
Lotus pond and Love Evening Pavilion	A covered walkway leads beside the pond to the pavilion. Its newly unveiled plaque and festive ribbons form part of Xie Jin'an's display for Wanwan 7.
Liu Wan's courtyard	Her private quarters and the setting for confrontations over donations, household authority, and imperial rewards 22 25 26.
Second Courtyard	Qing Da's promoted steward post. Its proximity to the masters offers better opportunities for gifts despite similar pay 19 21.
Third Master's courtyard	Qing Sheng works here as a heavy-labor maid before Liu Wan asks about her strength 21.
Fourth Master's courtyard	Huai Shan is sent here under the household's claim that Xie Jinqiu is his father; Xu Rourou subsequently accompanies him 22 23 28.

Household Administration

Authority over the residence is contested between its senior women and male relatives. Account books, household keys, and the mistress's jade token mark control of domestic management 22 23 32.

Period	Management	Circumstances
Liu Wan's five-year tenure	Liu Wan manages the residence and its businesses	Restores order and supports operations with her dowry 4 9 10 23.
Old Madam's punishment	Old Madam loses her household authority	The emperor confines her to Charity Hall for life after the plot against the Fifth Princess is exposed 13 35.
Madam Li's takeover	Madam Li takes back household management	Demands the keys and Matriarch's Jade Pendant; Liu Wan hands over the accounts and jade token without resisting 22 23.
Departure for Anyuan County	Liu Wan is temporarily left in control	An imperial decree removes Xie Jin'an, Madam Li, and Xu Xinbo from the residence 27 28.
Fourth Master's temporary management	Xie Jinqiu manages household affairs	His elder brother challenges his authority because he is neither the heir nor holder of the Matriarch's Jade Pendant. Jinqiu asks Liu Wan to resume management, but she redirects him to Old Madam 32.

Finances and Businesses

• Withheld stipend: The court has withheld the residence's stipend during Marquis Jing'an's campaign to prove his innocence 23 32.
• Dependence on Liu Wan: Household expenses and losing businesses have been sustained by her dowry rather than sufficient income of their own 23 32.
• Jinxi Jewelry Store: Carries an enormous deficit and needs a substantial inflow of money to recover 23.
• Withdrawal of subsidies: After surrendering management, Liu Wan stops contributing her own money, leaving Madam Li with a large funding shortfall 23.
• Zhong marriage alliance: The family expects Zhong Youyan's dowry of shops and properties to revive its businesses and support the residence for more than a decade 32.
• Wage crisis: By Liu Wan's return, the accounts office cannot pay monthly wages. Servants protest, and Xie Jinqiu threatens to have several beaten to death 50.

Residents and Staff

The residence accommodates more than a dozen family households, including the marquis's concubines and their children 19.

Xie Family and Dependents

• Marquis Jing'an — Titled head of the family; absent on military service during the documented household conflicts 9 13.
• Old Madam Xie — Senior elder who promotes Huai Shan's status and schemes to secure a higher-ranking wife for Xie Jin'an; later confined to Charity Hall 5 7 13.
• Madam Li — Marquis Jing'an's wife and Xie Jin'an's mother; returns from Golden Mountain Temple and takes management from Liu Wan 16 18 22.
• Xie Jin'an — Heir apparent and Liu Wan's husband; conceals his longstanding relationship with Xu Rourou 6 11 13.
• Liu Wan — Household mistress whose management, dowry, and birth-family connections sustain the residence 9 10 23.
• Xie Zi Mu and Xie Zi Xing — Boys adopted into Liu Wan's family after selection from respectable families; Zi Mu holds the position of eldest legitimate son 10 12.
• Wanwan — Liu Wan's daughter; her full-month celebration exposes the household's favoritism and hidden schemes 5 8.
• Xie Jinqian — Second Master, present at the extended-family gathering 19.
• Xie Jinzhao — Third Master and concubine-born son; abuses his authority over servants and is later arrested 32 38.
• Xie Jinqiu — Fourth Master and concubine-born son; temporarily manages the household and seeks the wealthy Zhong marriage alliance 32 33.
• Xu Rourou — Xie Jin'an's lover, initially presented as Huai Shan's wet nurse and later called Concubine Xu 3 23 36.
• Xie Huai Shan / Xie Huaishan — Son of Xie Jin'an and Xu Rourou, publicly passed off as adopted and then claimed as Jinqiu's child 10 16 33.
• Li Duoduo — Young cousin from Madam Li's natal family; participates in the household's disputes over donations and rewards 19 26.
• Xu Xinbo — Xu Rourou's brother, brought from Golden Mountain Temple at Madam Li's request 17.

Staff

• Qing Da — Steward whose family has served the residence for three generations; promoted from the outer courtyard to the Second Courtyard 18 19 21.
• Qing Sheng — Qing Da's daughter, an exceptionally strong maid who protects Liu Wan from Madam Li's matrons 21 26.
• Pan Chun and Wang Xia — Liu Wan's attendants, handling messages, reports, and errands 5 19 23.
• Mama Qing — Old Madam's attendant; later spreads the account that Huai Shan is Jinqiu's biological son under orders from her superiors 9 36.
• Residence Physician — Treats household members, including Wanwan after her severe nosebleed 23 34.

Household Heirlooms

• Late Emperor's jade bracelet: A hereditary symbol of the residence's mistress. Old Madam gives it to Xu Rourou despite Liu Wan's years of service, provoking Pan Chun's anger 4.
• Late Emperor's Jade Bead Strand: An imperial gift associated with the household mistress and restricted by status rules. Its discovery on supposedly adopted Huai Shan turns a domestic dispute into an imperial offense 8 10.
• Matriarch's Jade Pendant / mistress's jade token: An emblem of household authority demanded by Madam Li and handed over with the account books. Jinzhao later invokes its possession when challenging Jinqiu's right to manage the residence 22 23 32.

Major Events

Adoption Gatherings and the Full-Month Banquet

Old Madam's gathering presents Huai Shan as an adopted child while signaling his connection to the Xie bloodline. Liu Wan redirects the occasion into a reception for her brother Liu Ye, whose engagement to the Fifth Princess makes him a desirable imperial connection 2 5.

At Wanwan's full-month banquet, Old Madam plans to have the Fifth Princess pushed into the pond so Xie Jin'an can rescue her and force a marriage. Zi Mu secretly substitutes Xu Rourou as the person pushed into the water, while Liu Wan protects the princess during the surrounding commotion 6 7 12.

The discovery of the Jade Bead Strand on Huai Shan exposes further irregularities. Liu Wan refuses to adopt him as her legitimate son to resolve the scandal. Imperial investigation ends with Old Madam's lifelong confinement, a year's salary deducted from Jin'an, and a Third-Rank Imperial Lady title for Liu Wan 8 10 13.

The “Coal Mine Spirits” Incident

Lightning destroys the carriage carrying Xie Jin'an, Madam Li, and Xu Xinbo. Their soot-blackened appearance makes them unrecognizable at their own gate, where Qing Da has them beaten and sent to the authorities as impostors 17 18.

Officials return the trio to the residence. Jin'an blames Qing Da, but the household defends the steward's actions because the returning masters could not be recognized 19 20.

Rejected Charity and Imperial Rewards

Liu Wan proposes a porridge stall outside the city and offers one hundred taels. The family refuses to contribute, and Madam Li explicitly rejects participation. Liu Wan's birth family carries out the relief effort instead 19 22 23.

When imperial rewards arrive for Liu Wan, relatives demand that they enter the residence's treasury. She counters that they rejected the proposal and have no claim to her rewards. An ensuing decree sends Jin'an, Madam Li, and Xinbo to Anyuan County as the supposed “Coal Mine Spirits” 25 26 27 28.

Zhong Engagement Scandal

Jinqiu's false acknowledgment of Huai Shan undermines his engagement to Zhong Youyan. The Zhong family protests by covering the residence's entrance in dung and publicly accusing him of keeping a mistress and fathering a child 34 35 36 37.

Jinzhao's attempt to suppress the protest leads to violence against spectators and the detention of Zhong servants. Lord Qin arrests him after the women are produced bound and gagged. Jinqiu subsequently drugs Youyan during an off-site meeting; betrayal by her own family forces her to accept the marriage, and she promises the residence will regret it 37 38.

Threatened Confiscation

The Empress Dowager threatens confiscation of the residence and punishment of the Xie clan if they obstruct her plans for Wanwan. She also recognizes that confiscation would harm Liu Wan. These remain threats in the supplied passages, not a completed destruction of the estate 40 41.

Foreknown Original-Story Events

These events belong to the original plot known to Wanwan, rather than the residence's documented present:

• Liu Wan's death: The male lead drives her to death, and the residence fails to give her a proper burial 19.
• Qing Da's fate: After returning on foot from the frontier over two years, he repairs Liu Wan's grave, offers incense, and dies beside it 19.
• Jinqiu's betrayal: He uses his wife's wealth to gain political support, assists the male lead, and secretly drugs Liu Wan 32.