Aunt Cui came out of the North Courtyard in a daze and was escorted by two maidservants all the way to her Qing Shi Zhai. Because of Yu Shu's last words, she was so scared that she sobered up. This wasn't the end. Before dinner, Yu Shu sent Xin'er to pass a message. She closed the door and only told Aunt Cui. "Young Lady said that Madam must be cautious in the future in the fu.
Those dirty and insulting words of the past must not be spoken again. Although it's in our own home, we can't prevent the servants from secretly saying it. If it is spread outside, it will ruin our family's reputation. People will think that Madam is not benevolent and Young Lady is unfilial. The imperial censors in the court will have good ears. There will be many people in the capital who are jealous of our Young Lady's position as Celestial Commissioner. They will all look for opportunities to hit us when we are down. If we don't take advantage of it, it will be difficult to keep our reputation. At that time, even this residence will be taken back. We may have to live under someone else's roof and rely on Madam He's family to live. "
After listening to these words, Aunt Cui was frightened and broke out in a cold sweat. She didn't even have the strength to resist.
Xin'er passed the message and remembered her expression. She turned and left, returning to the North Courtyard to pass the message to Yu Shu.
"… After Madam heard it, her face turned pale. It seemed that she was very scared. She didn't say anything. This servant didn't stay there for long and came back."
Yu Shu snorted. Concubine Cui's reaction was as she expected. Before, Concubine Cui often called her "unfilial" and used this to threaten her. These days, Concubine Cui had been acting like a tyrant in the fu, but Yu Shu had turned a blind eye and endured it.
Aunt Cui only thought that she had grasped her weakness. She didn't know that Yu Shu didn't flare up because she was tolerating her. If she really wanted to shut her mouth, she had many ways.
Xin'er left and closed the door. She saw Lin'er standing not far away waiting for her.
"Jiejie, you went to Qing Yu Zhai?"
"Yes, I went there."
"Then, then did you really follow Master's instructions and teach Madam a lesson?" When Yu Shu was instructing Xin 'er, she didn't try to hide it, so Lin' er heard every word.
"What lesson? What our master said is right," Xin'er frowned and corrected her. Seeing her sticking out her tongue, she couldn't help but pat her head and whisper, "You too. When did you go to Yun Dou's place to learn how to talk? You don't even make a sound."
A few days ago, the two sisters had heard that Aunt Cui was behaving inappropriately and wanted to report it to Yu Shu. However, it was not good to bypass Yun Dou, the most senior servant in the North Xiang, so they decided to first tell her about the matter and let her decide how to report it to the master.
Lin Er was confused. "I didn't say that. Didn't Big Sister say it?"
Xin 'er was startled. It wasn't her, nor was it Lin' er. Then when did Mistress know that Aunt Cui's actions weren't dignified? Was it Yun Dou who said it? Or was Master already aware of it and kept quiet?
Thinking of the latter possibility, Xin 'er's face burned. She grabbed Lin' er's hand and couldn't say a complete sentence for a long time.
"Jiejie, what's wrong? Don't scare me."
Xin 'er smiled bitterly and shook her head. She didn't know how to tell her. She didn't know if the two of them had seen how smart they were before. It was really a case of being too smart for one's own good.
Speaking of which, these past few days, Mistress didn't like having the two of them serve closely. Instead, it was Kui Zi who followed closely. Did Mistress think that they were slippery and didn't like them?
The more Xin 'er thought about it, the more she felt that it was the case. It was too late for regrets. It would have been better to listen to Lin' er and go to Mistress to curry favor. Compared to offending Yun Dou and making Mistress hate them, that would be worse.
Xin 'er thought about it and pulled Lin' er back to the room to tell her not to mention it.
.....
It was said that Assistant Minister Qiu Furen of the Ministry of Works went to Madame Yin and Deng's wedding banquet and returned home. In the evening, she received a message from Yu Shu, asking her to make a list of the madams who went to the Yin Mansion with her today.
Yu Shu didn't say the reason, but Madam Qiu guessed that Madame Yin had offended her. She hesitated again and again and finally didn't refuse. One reason was for friendship, and the other was to protect herself.
So after dinner, on the table in Yu Shu's study, there was a list of the guests of the Yin Mansion, including relatives and friends. She copied it down and burned the list.
Tonight, many families sneezed in their backyard. They didn't know which immortal they had offended and were going to be unlucky.
The next day, Yu Shu came to the Kunling Bureau. The first thing she did was to ask Wen Shao'an to take out all the official marriage documents that had been issued last month. Then she found several thick pedigrees of surnames in the library and asked Wen Shao'an to look through the list she had copied last night.
"Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Yin Zhourong, check the children of his family who are waiting to be married. If there are none, check the close relatives of his family for three generations."
Wen Shao'an was very skilled. He flipped through the genealogy of the Yan family with one hand and copied it with the other. In a few minutes, he clearly remembered how many children of Assistant Minister Yin's family were waiting to be married and how many were waiting to be married.
"Zuo Lang of the Ministry of Revenue, the Yan family …" Yu Shu read them one by one. In the whole morning, Wen Shao'an had made a list of nearly a hundred people.
After reading it, Yu Shu nodded with satisfaction. She waved her hand and ordered him, "Follow this list and find the relevant ones from the official marriage documents I approved. Remember the rest. If you see them in the future, separate them and give them to me separately."
Wen Shao'an did not ask any nonsense. He immersed himself in sorting. Not long after, he brought more than a dozen documents to her table. These were all approved by her last month. They were all stamped with a big seal. They would be sent to each mansion in the middle of the month.
Yu Shu checked them and confirmed that there were no mistakes. Then, she tore them one by one in front of Wen Shao'an and threw them into the spittoon. She called Lu Hong who was outside the door to come in.
"Find a corner and burn them."
Lu Hong left with the spittoons.
Yu Shu turned around and saw Wen Shao'an looking at her. She thought for a moment and explained to him, "These people offended me."
"…" Wen Shao'an turned around and went to work.
Yu Shu felt strange. She stopped him and asked, "Aren't you going to persuade me?"
Wen Shao'an said blankly, "Persuade what?"
"Persuade me not to take revenge in public … or something like that."
Wen Shao 'an glanced at her with a hint of mockery. Although this guy was respectful to Yu Shu, he was never timid in front of her. He still had the same bad temper that she didn't like.
"Whoever offended Lord deserves it. It has nothing to do with me. Since Lord has done it, you must be able to handle it. There is no need for me to say anything."
Yu Shu asked for a rebuff. She touched the bridge of her nose and let him go.
After a while, Lu Hong came back with a cleaned spittoon.
"Lord, it has been burned clean."
"Well, put it away."
After finishing this matter, Yu Shu felt comfortable all over. Yesterday, she was bullied in Yin's mansion and her liver was irritated. When she woke up this morning, there was a blister on the corner of her mouth. If she was not feeling well, others would not feel well either.
These official marriage documents were usually issued once every three months. They didn't need to be examined by the Right Commander. Yu Shu had the right to decide when to issue them and whether or not they were married. She, the female imperial official, had the final say.
Which yamen didn't have a few layers of secret channels? In the past, most of the female imperial officials made their fortune through this way. It was an old rule for many years to withhold the documents. If a family couldn't wait for the official to issue the documents, they would pay for it. If they met an ignorant family, they would even delay it for a year or so.
Yu Shu had just entered the officialdom, so she had not been infected by the custom of taking people's money to eliminate disasters. When the previous batch of official marriage documents, she said that she would rather destroy ten temples than destroy one marriage. She approved all the documents that could be approved at once. She had good intentions and didn't want to embarrass anyone.
This time, it was Madam Yin and Deng who angered her. She burned the official marriage documents and waited for it to happen in the middle of the month. Anyone with eyes would know who she had offended, including the families close to Assistant Minister Yin's mansion. Although it was said that she was venting her anger, she actually wanted to slap Madam Yin and Deng in the face.
If she dared to instigate Concubine Cui to deceive her, she would make all her relatives and friends avoid their family from now on. Whoever was close to Madame Yin and Madame Deng would not be able to marry smoothly.
In the evening, Yu Shu went to Wangji Tower. She was in a bad mood and wanted to find Xue Rui to drink to relieve her boredom. She didn't meet Xue Rui, but she ran into Jiang Miya.
Jiang Miya had lived in Wangji Tower for a few days. The shopkeeper, Lin Fu, knew her identity and didn't dare to neglect her. He invited an old friend to the backyard and had tea in a private room downstairs.
"Hualan?" Yu Shu called her by her little name. The two of them had gambled wildly at the Cui Family's gambling house and became friends. Yu Shu liked her straightforward personality. She didn't look unfamiliar after not seeing her for a long time.
"Are you looking for my eldest brother? He's not here. "
Jiang Miya smiled and said, "Why are you looking for him? I'm looking for you."
Yu Shu stood next to her suspiciously and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Yes, a happy occasion." Jiang Miya took out a gilded invitation from her sleeve and handed it to her. "It's my mother's birthday in three days. Please come as a guest."
Yu Shu frowned. She felt uncomfortable when she heard that someone else was having a birthday celebration. She had just suffered a loss at Madam Yin and Deng's wedding banquet. Her anger hadn't subsided yet, and now she was here again.
To tell the truth, she didn't want to go.
Jiang Miya saw that her expression wasn't right and stopped smiling. She said unhappily, "You don't want to come? Are you looking down on me? "
"What are you talking about?" Yu Shu said, "It's you who is looking down on me."
Jiang Miya sneered, "How am I that snobbish? I invited you here because I like you as a friend. All the girls in Shangjing are lovey-dovey. Only you and I have the same taste. That's why I personally came here. If you don't want to come, then so be it. There's no need to say such self-deprecating words."
Yu Shu was speechless. How was she "self-deprecating"? Wasn't it just a casual remark? Fine, this person really wasn't someone who could be joked about.
"I'll go." She accepted the invitation. She didn't want to lose this friend just because of a moment of unhappiness and willfulness.
Only then did Jiang Miya smile happily. After chatting with her for a while, she left in a hurry.
.....
Yu Shu couldn't wait for Xue Rui. She drank half a pot of wine to drown her sorrows and then went to sleep at Wangji Building. As a result, when she woke up the next day, there was another big blister in her mouth. Whenever she opened her mouth, she would feel a sharp pain.
Yu Shu was very depressed. In the morning, she went to the Celestial Commissioner's office to check in. After handing over a few official matters to Wen Shao'an, she patted her butt and left. The people in the office pretended that they didn't see her slip away. Jing Chen, the chief officer, was very secretive all day long. For a high-ranking official like Yu Shu, who could say anything bad about her?
Yu Shu didn't take a sedan chair. When she went out, Xu Qing brought a horse. She mounted Little Red and led two bodyguards to parade through the street. She didn't even change her official robe. She only untied the top of her black muslin hairpin. The people on the roadside all bowed their heads to make way for her. They didn't recognize the patch on her shoulder, but they knew that she was a female master.
When they came to Qianyuan Street, it was crowded and lively. The shops along the street were bustling with business everywhere. Peddlers and servants were peddling to and fro. When Yu Shu saw something interesting, she asked Lu Hong to buy it. However, she didn't visit the shops. She didn't get off the horse until she arrived at the treasure house under the name of the Thai Heng Chamber of Commerce.
There was a fair-skinned young shop assistant standing outside the treasure house. When he saw Yu Shu get off the horse, his eyes lit up. He hurriedly went forward and bowed to invite her in,
"This lowly one greets Official Yu. You're early today."
Yu Shu had come to see Pei Jing several times, so the doorman recognized who she was.
Yu Shu threw a silver coin at him and walked into the hall with her sleeves tucked up. She went directly to the second floor. The shopkeeper left the customers who were looking at the goods, picked up the corner of his robe, and trotted to catch up.
"Lord Yu, you have time to come and play today ah. Coincidentally, Head Steward Pei isn't in the shop today. How about I accompany you to take a look?"
In this day and age, there were several levels of difference between businessmen and officials. Only people like Pei Jing, who came from the Department of Mathematical Analysis, had a better situation. Everyone else had to smile and salute when they saw an official.
"It's not a problem. I'm just looking around. If you're busy, then go do what you need to do."
The shopkeeper smiled, "What's there to be busy about? Aren't I idle right now? A new batch of treasures arrived from the south. They haven't been recorded yet. Can you take a look? If there's anything that catches your eye, then I'll keep it for you. Once it's recorded, I'll send it to your residence. "
He knew this young mistress. Right now, she was the one who was in charge of the crystal stone business in their shop. Every month, they received tens of thousands of strings of credit. All of it depended on this young mistress's support. She was the god of wealth, so how could he not serve her carefully?
"Alright, go and get it." Yu Shu's mouth hurt as soon as she opened it, so she tried to say as few words as possible.
There were several rooms on the second floor, some big and some small. Each room had a tea table. There was no door, only a bamboo curtain to cover it. Not only did it respect the customers, but it also showed that the shop had windows in the north and south, so it was spacious and bright.
Yu Shu was naturally invited to the innermost room. As soon as she sat down, good tea and water were served. There was a plate of sweet fruits and a plate of peeled walnuts and almonds. It wasn't much, but it was very considerate.
However, Yu Shu had blisters in her mouth, so she couldn't eat anything. She only took the fragrant tea and took small sips to moisten her throat.
The shopkeeper slipped away quickly. Yu Shu walked around the room with her hands behind her back. She looked at the things on the treasure-snatching grid. Gold carvings, jade horses, drinks, they were all real things.
When she came a month ago, these things weren't there. It seemed that they were all newly added. This treasure house had made a fortune from selling crystals, but it was all on Pei Jing's account. The profit was also their own.
After waiting for a while, the shopkeeper did not return. Instead, someone came in from the next room. It was quite a commotion. The wall was not soundproof, so when the customer who just came over spoke, she could hear it clearly.
"I heard that your shop sells a crystal stone that can attract wealth and ward off evil spirits. Bring it here and let me have a look."
It was a woman. Yu Shu found the voice familiar. She took a few steps towards the foot of the wall. This time, it was the shop assistant who served the customers who replied,
"Miss, if you want to appreciate the crystal, you have to wait until the fifteenth of this month to come to the shop."
It was the woman's soft voice again, "I'm not looking at you for nothing. Just bring it here, I'll buy it."
The shop assistant said, "If you want to buy crystal, you have to place an order first and pay half of the deposit first. At the end of the month, you can come back to get your queue number. But I have to say, the latest queue number will be three months later. I don't know if you can wait that long."
The woman paused and then said, "Do you have ready-made crystals? I'm willing to pay five times the price."
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