The Daily Life of a Female Esper in Ancient Times-Chapter 18: The Butler

Aunt Wang mentally prepared herself, but when she heard from Hongxing that the other masters in the backyard were aware of it and the servants were gossiping about it, she gritted her teeth in resentment at Mrs. Lu's housekeeper for not being strict enough.

When it was time to pay respects, Aunt Wang did not dare to be late and arrived early. Although Aunt Wang had used powder to cover up her dark eye circles, they were still quite noticeable. Auntie An stared at Aunt Wang with a gloating expression on her face that she did not hide at all. It made Aunt Wang want to give her two slaps.

Auntie Mei's expression remained unchanged. After properly paying respects to Mrs. Lu, she sat down. Mrs. Lu watched the expressions of the few below and drank tea in a good mood. Li Ming had not completely lost his mind yet.

Mrs. Lu sent away Auntie An, Aunt Wang and Li Shan. Li Shan did not want to leave, but seeing that Mrs. Lu had no intention of asking her to stay, she could only reluctantly follow Aunt Wang with gritted teeth.

Li Xin and Li Xia were left behind following Mrs. Lu to Yijing Pavilion. This was where Mrs. Lu usually handled affairs in the backyard and received stewards. Upon entering Yijing Pavilion, the stewards of the backyard were already standing ready.

Mrs. Lu sat down with Li Xin and Li Xia. The stewards came up one by one to report on their work. Mrs. Lu listened, signed bills to give money to those who asked for it. For matters that needed Mrs. Lu's ideas, she would ask about the situation in detail. If she could give ideas on the spot, she would. If not, Liu Xiao standing behind Mrs. Lu would take notes. After understanding and thinking about it in detail later, she would give a reply. Everything was clear and organized. The responsibilities of each steward were also very clear. There were rules for rewarding good work and punishing poor work that were clearly recorded in a booklet. This ensured accountability and a basis to reason.

Li Xia and Li Xin followed Mrs. Lu for a month to see how she assigned manpower and arranged things, and how to solve problems when they arose. Every day after Mrs. Lu finished handling matters, she would ask the two for their opinions. After Li Xin and Li Xia replied, Mrs. Lu would let them critique each other, and then point out where the two had failed to consider things thoroughly.

After a month of learning, Mrs. Lu confirmed that the two were capable of handling things. She arranged affairs for them to be responsible for.

Li Xin was responsible for the kitchen. There were many complicated things to consider here. But with Li Xin having grown up following Mrs. Lu and being immersed in her ways since childhood, she picked things up quickly. Li Xin handled the affairs of the kitchen diligently every day. She organized the kitchen neatly and methodically.

Li Xia was responsible for overseeing the embroidery workshop. The embroidery stewards were all personally selected and arranged by Mrs. Lu. Li Xia had complete faith in Mrs. Lu’s arrangements. So after taking over and understanding how things operated, she just let the stewards do as they had in previous years according to precedent. Li Xia basically did not ask about big or small matters in the embroidery workshop, giving the stewards full autonomy.

Mrs. Lu rarely said anything about Li Xia’s attitude towards her work. After all, Li Xia was just a concubine's daughter. How she treated Li Xin was different. She was flesh of her flesh after all. Mrs. Lu spent a lot of effort privately earnestly teaching Li Xin. Of course, the results were extremely gratifying. Li Xin's growth and change happened very quickly. Previously, when handling affairs, she still had a hint of childishness. Now, she was increasingly steady.

Although Li Xia did not manage things much, she still participated, so there were some changes. Every time they paid respects and saw the visible changes in the two, Aunt Wang became anxious. Li Shan was even more anxious in her heart. She also wanted to participate in household management.

She resented Aunt Wang for being so offensive to the stepmother that she offended people. This led to her not being able to participate in managing the household now. If Aunt Wang knew that the daughter who only had her best interests in mind actually resented her, would she still care so wholeheartedly about Li Shan?

Aunt Wang also knew that she could not get on Mrs. Lu's good side. She did not go to Mrs. Lu either. Aunt Wang held her son Li Yao in front of Li Ming, demonstrating all kinds of new ways to dote on Li Ming. Finally, she made Li Ming happy. Li Ming still doted on Li Shan. And seeing that Aunt Wang had been neglected for some time but was now increasingly thoughtful and gentle towards him, restrained in ostentation.

Li Ming was very satisfied and gave Aunt Wang some sweetness at the right time. When spending the night in Wild Goose Pavilion, he mentioned letting Li Shan also participate in managing the household.

Mrs. Lu was unhappy in her heart but did not say anything. Seeing Mrs. Lu silent, Li Ming did not continue on this topic either. Compared to his daughter, he valued this wife more. Mrs. Lu had always managed the household very well, allowing him to conduct business without worries.

Then the conversation turned to the marriage arrangements for Li Hui. As the eldest son, Li Ming valued Li Hui greatly. Previously, in order to allow Li Hui to focus on the imperial examinations, he had not brought up proposals. Now that Li Hui was an accomplished scholar, he would be taking the provincial examination next year. Li Ming had asked about Li Hui’s situation. As long as Li Hui performed normally, passing as a juren candidate was no problem.

With Li Ming's promotion and his son's bright future prospects, it was time to raise the standards for a daughter-in-law. Mrs. Lu was delighted in her heart to hear Li Ming's intentions. She stopped her thoughts and talked to Li Ming about some of the girls’ families she had looked into since coming to Liuzhou, as well as writing privately to her eldest brother and sister-in-law, asking them to inquire in the capital if there were any suitable girls there. Of course, finding a wife for Li Hui was one thing; on the other hand, she also hoped her family would help marry Li Xin to Beijing.

Mrs. Lu and Li Ming shared a wish in their hearts to return to the capital. Working in local government was just gaining experience. Real advancement still required going back to Beijing.

Woken up by Qiu Shui’s repeated calls in the early morning, Li Xia got out of bed. Getting up so early was too awful. She wanted to lie back down in her warm bed and sleep some more. She didn't want to go out at all. Qiu Shui wiped Li Xia’s face, fully waking her up. After breakfast, she came to Yijing Pavilion. She saw that Li Xin was already handling things next door.

Li Xia walked into the room and had just sat down to drink some tea when the Hua Steward from the embroidery workshop came. The Hua Steward had come to ask Li Xia about making clothes for the household, top and bottom, at the end of the year.

As the Hua Steward had expected, Li Xia simply said "follow precedent" while taking a bite of snacks.

"Second young mistress, it is not good to just follow the precedent for a county magistrate now that the old master has been promoted to Administrative Supervisor," the Hua Steward knew that Li Xia managed nothing at all. Normally following precedent was fine. But this year, with Li Ming's promotion to Administrative Supervisor, it would be inappropriate to still follow the precedents set when he was county magistrate.

Li Xia took a sip of tea, losing her taste for snacks. Looking at the Hua Steward, she asked, "What do you think should be done this year?"

The Hua Steward now had no expectations of Li Xia at all. She took out the plan she had prepared and gave it to Li Xia, who had said to provide plans on paper whenever there were arrangements needing approval for her to select from. But in reality, Li Xia would ask which one was best from the plan, and basically always defer to the Hua Steward's preferences. Whether such full authorization showed a brave heart or a negligent heart was up for debate.

Li Xia took the plan and glanced over it, nodding her head, "This plan is not bad, but since this is the first year in Liuzhou, the specifics of formal dress code should still be decided by my mother." Li Xia then asked the flower steward again, "In previous years, measurements for tailoring clothes was on the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, correct?"

"Yes," the Hua Steward replied.

"There are still a few days before that. Let me confirm with my mother first before getting back to you."