Want to Take Away the Judicial Commissioner's Legitimate Daughter? Pay the Hundred-Thousand-Tael Breach Penalty First
Murong Xue cut in from the side corridor and reached the threshold in two steps. She bent down and whispered.
"You little brat, why didn't you run away after hitting someone?"
"I'm not running away." Tiedan proudly tilted his head back. "I'm as kind as the prince; I even asked her if she was hurt."
"That's enough, let's go." Murong Xue pulled him along, turned and walked inside, but after a couple of steps she turned back and smiled at the door.
" Madam Wang was startled while standing at the door; please don't take it to heart. Recently, the teacher said that the child has been reciting his lessons well and rewarded him with meat. He's so happy that he's been running around like that."
She finished speaking and left, her skirt fluttering in the wind.
Holding the thick account book, Su Yao sat in a spot where Lady Wang could see her as soon as she entered the room, spread the account book out, and placed the abacus beads on the table.
"The remaining payment for the third section of the Gan Family's journey, eight hundred taels, is accepted."
"The remaining payment for the naming rights to the Shu brocade-patterned fireworks from the cloth shop, two hundred and forty taels, accepted."
"The grain merchant in the north of the city made a deposit of four hundred taels, which was deposited into the warehouse yesterday."
The abacus beads were moved crisply, their sound drifting out through the doorway.
Lady Wang stood outside the door, two oil stains on her skirt, the only sound coming from the abacus.
Gu Moran then got up from the rattan chair.
The fox fur coat slipped down his knees, and Uncle Fu quickly stepped forward to help him up. He coughed twice, leaning against the pillar, his voice soft and slow.
" Madam Wang."
Lady Wang looked up.
There stood the rumored sickly prince under the eaves, barely able to speak without taking a breath.
Gu Moran gestured towards the door, "It's windy outside, Madam, please come in first. The child is being naughty and has dirtied your clothes; I'll have someone replace them with a bolt of Shu brocade later."
Lady Wang had nowhere to vent her anger.
Compensate with a bolt of Shu brocade.
She wasn't given a chance to continue.
She took the maid's hand and stepped over the threshold, walked through the front yard, past the table with the account books spread out, and down the steps under the eaves.
There was still a small oil stain and a gnawed, shiny chicken leg bone on the steps.
Charcoal was burning in the main hall, and the warmth from the radiator made Lady Wang's nose itch.
She sat in the guest seat, her lap covered with a soft cushion handed to her by a maid, and her eyes subtly swept around the hall.
There were no paintings or calligraphy by famous artists on the walls, only a picture of a winding canal and water tower, and another of terraced fields, covered with dense charcoal writing, the edges of which were all frayed.
On the table were three wooden boxes, their lids open, revealing a blue stone-like object, a bamboo tube-like object, and several dark, inky objects inside.
Gu Moran sat in the main seat, still covered with that thin blanket, one hand supporting her forehead.
Shen Ling'er stood half a step to his side, with her medicine box at her feet.
"Has the lady been sleeping poorly since winter began?"
Lady Wang took her hands out of her sleeves and placed them on her knees.
"I always wake up at night, and once I'm awake, I can't fall back asleep. My heart races as soon as I close my eyes." She lowered her head, her voice softening. "I heard that Miss Shen's medicinal cuisine shop has even cured the chronic illnesses of the elderly in the south of the city, so I mustered up the courage to visit."
Shen Ling'er squatted down and took out a pulse pillow from the medicine box.
Lady Wang placed her wrist on it, and pulled her sleeve up half an inch.
Shen Ling'er pressed down with three fingers, her eyes lowered, her face expressionless.
The hall was quiet for a while, with only the occasional soft popping of charcoal in the brazier.
"How is your appetite, Madam?"
"Eats little."
Do you experience chest tightness, dry mouth, or daytime sleepiness?
I can't seem to muster any energy during the day.
Shen Ling'er switched to her other hand, pressed for a while longer, and then put the pulse pillow away.
"Madam, you suffer from deficiency of both heart and spleen, along with liver stagnation," she said. "I will prescribe a formula for Gui Pi Tang (Spleen-Nourishing Decoction) with the addition of roasted jujube seeds. Decocted and taken for seven days, I will also provide a medicinal diet recipe for you to take before dinner."
Thank you.
"However," Shen Ling'er stood up and wiped her hands on the white cloth at her waist, "Madam, you must stop taking those calming medicines you were taking for the next seven days."
Lady Wang's hand, which was resting on her knee, moved slightly inward.
I didn't take any medicine.
"Then I misdiagnosed you." Shen Ling'er's tone was completely flat as she stepped back to stand beside Gu Moran.
Gu Moran lowered his hand from her forehead and smiled as he smoothed things over for her.
" Ling'er sees everyone as if they're secretly taking medicine. I live under her thumb, and I have to take three bowls a day, not a single one can escape her."
Lady Wang chuckled twice.
After laughing, she steered the conversation forward.
"Speaking of which, I have another matter to ask of Your Highness today. I would like to ask you for a favor."
"Please speak, Madam."
" Yue'er." Lady Wang sighed, her tone sounding just like that of a worried elder. "After all, she is the legitimate daughter of the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's Mansion. Now she lives in the Prince's Mansion and runs errands for the Prince. Outsiders don't know the inside story, and the things that come out are unpleasant."
"During your tenure Jiannan Circuit, the most important thing for you is your reputation."
Gu Moran picked up the teacup and blew on it.
" Supervisor Yun was appointed by me, the King."
"Hired?"
"The contract is for one year, with wages paid monthly, and a penalty of 100,000 taels of silver for breach of contract." Gu Moran put down his teacup and gestured towards the door with his chin. " Su Yao, bring the contract to Madam for her to review."
Su Yao sat at the door, closed the account book, got up and came in, took out a neatly folded piece of paper from her bosom, and handed it to Lady Wang with both hands.
Lady Wang did not answer.
"That's not what I meant." She changed the subject, "I meant... there are a few too many people in the Prince's residence."
"There are quite a few people in the manor," Gu Moran. "Those who repair roads, carry manure, deliver express mail, watch the horses, guard the storerooms, plus the children in the school— Su Yao has calculated how much their monthly food rations alone are."
"Forty-seven shi (a unit of dry measure)," Su Yao answered very quickly, "Excluding meat."
"I heard you." Gu Moran coughed twice more.
Lady Wang was speechless for a moment before finally letting out the sentence she most wanted to say.
"The Prince's mansion is home to many children he took in." She stared at Gu Moran's face. "Outsiders say that Prince Yi is benevolent."
However, some people said that it would be disreputable for the prince to raise a child of an outsider, whose origins were unclear. "The prince is a member of the imperial family; why should he bear such a reputation?"