The noble girl is beautiful.

After Ji Zhuo left, the study sessions at the mansion came to a halt. The Fourth Prince and his brothers continued their equestrian training with Duke Qi, while Shen Yourong and the other girls found themselves with more leisure time. They spent their days playing around and gathering for needlework. Even the usually lively Shen Qingyan began to feel a bit bored.
As December approached, preparations for the New Year became busier in the mansion. Lady Yang was busy with arrangements, and Shen Qing helped her while learning various tasks.
Shen Yourong also had the management of the estate and shops to oversee. Du Juan presented the accounts, saying, “From the eight estates, including rice, flour, firewood, poultry, and fish, a total of 8,000 taels of silver were collected, which is 2,000 taels less than previous years.
After deducting our expenses with the eldest young master, the remainder is kept in the shops for sale. Business in several city shops has been better this year, with an income of 12,000 taels of silver.”
Shen Yourong commented, “The summer drought and early cold winter affected the harvest on the estates. It’s not surprising the income was lower.” Then she asked Du Juan, “Did you manage to find those spotted deer I asked about earlier?”
She replied, “Yes, they have all been born, healthy and beautiful fawns. But since the Fourth Prince has not yet settled on a marriage, we don’t know whom to send them to.”
Shen Yourong smiled and said, “No rush, let’s prepare them first. He can decide slowly.”
After reviewing the accounts, she instructed, “In our compound alone, there are dozens of maids and servants. Over at the Bright Moon Pavilion, there are even more maids and servants. Prepare 200 taels of silver for them to make clothes and buy provisions, and each person receives two months’ salary. Also, set aside 1,000 taels to reward the managers of the estates and shops outside.
After that, distribute half of the remaining silver to the Eldest Brother. The rest of the five hundred taels will be used for festivities and banquets during the New Year and other celebrations.”
Du Juan listened and remarked, “I thought the silver income was already substantial, but now we’re spending eighteen hundred taels at once. Money really isn’t easy to come by.”
“This is just for our two compounds,” Shen Yourong replied. “Imagine the Lady managing the entire mansion’s affairs, with over a thousand servants and endless small matters. Thousands of taels are spent every day, that’s where the real heartache lies.”
Shen Yourong glanced at the account book, and then saw Hua Mei coming in from outside. She said, “I went to Third Miss’s place to deliver something. The maidservants there asked me why the money for the academy this month hasn’t been deposited.”
Shen Yourong replied, “Madam said that none of us girls will be attending school anymore, so the funds for that can be waived for now.”
“How much money are we talking about here?” Hua Mei went to make herself a cup of hot tea and said, “It’s just two months’ worth. We’ll have to continue schooling once Prince Duan returns, won’t we?”
“After the New Year, the young ladies will all be fifteen,” Du Juan said, “whether we continue schooling then will be another matter.”
“Well, we aren’t short of money for this. I’m just afraid Lady Wu will make a fuss,” Hua Mei leaned in close to Shen Yourong and whispered, “I passed by there earlier and heard them arguing.”
She put down the account book and asked, “Lady Wu? Arguing with whom?”
“Who else could it be, it’s her…”
Before she could finish speaking, the courtyard suddenly became noisy. It turned out Shen Qingyan came in with red eyes, not even wearing a cloak, and followed by maidservants chasing after her, all the way making a commotion.
“What’s going on?” Shen Yourong stood up, seeing her throw herself into her arms, sobbing.
Shen Yourong comforted her for a while and then asked a few maidservants to find out the situation. It turned out that it was all about money; Lady Yang withdrew ten taels of silver from the academy, so Lady Wu wanted to find money from Shen Qingyan elsewhere. That day, seeing Shen Qingyan with a gold brocade sachet studded with pearls and stones, Lady Wu asked where it came from.
She also mentioned that her niece from her maiden family was getting married and wanted a delicate gold item as an adornment, so she asked Shen Qingyan for it.
The gold sachet was a gift from Ji Chengyao, and naturally she was unwilling to give it away. Lady Wu complained that she was grown up and didn’t care about others. She also said she could easily get more; those gold and silver hairpins and fox fur coats were all gifts from people, so what harm would it be to ask for two more items.
Shen Qingyan was both anxious and angry, so a quarrel broke out. The sachet was thrown, and even the fox fur was tossed away. She came crying to Shen Yourong’s place.
Shen Yourong sat her down on the couch and took a look at the gold sachet. It was a square-shaped perforated sachet with pearl flower trees on both sides, turquoise edges, and tassels hanging below. Some pearls and turquoise had fallen off, but the exquisite workmanship was still evident.
“Good girl, stop crying. Lady Wu is not frugal; just ignore her. Making such a fuss will only make others laugh at you.” She asked someone to bring hot water and clothes while comforting Shen Qingyan.
She cried for a while on her own and gradually stopped. The maidservants helped her wash her face and when she was about to put on makeup, she sighed, “We’re just at home; who am I putting on makeup for?”
Shen Yourong asked the maidservants to bring hot tea to moisten her throat.
She drank the tea and sighed, “I don’t want these things anymore. I’ll return them sooner or later to avoid people scrutinizing me.”
Shen Yourong smiled, “That sounds like something said out of anger.”
Shen Qingyan shook her head, “It’s not anger; it’s just that borrowing things from others lightly isn’t right.”
Shen Yourong said, “If that’s the case, then it’s fine, but returning things might hurt relationships.”
Shen Qingyan was silent for a while and said, “In the end, it’s just about money.”
Shen Yourong tried to persuade her again, and it happened that the servant brought lunch. She asked Shen Qingyan to eat with her.
Du Juan brought the food, which included stewed ham with pork, stewed wild chicken, stir-fried crabs, a plate of pearl cabbage, six meat dumplings, a bowl of crucian carp soup, and two bowls of rice. They ate half a bowl of rice each and chatted for a while.
Just then, a servant came over and greeted the two young ladies. “Our young master asked the young ladies to find a screen made of purple sandalwood with a hundred treasures inlaid with flower patterns, and a pot of glass pearl flower bonsai.”
Shen Yourong thought for a moment and asked, “Is it a large screen, seven feet long and six feet high, for presentation or entertaining guests?”
“For entertaining guests,” he said, “Fourth Prince will be hosting a banquet at the mansion in a few days and wants to borrow the eldest young master’s space.”
Shen Yourong asked Du Juan to open the storage room and asked a few servants to bring out the screen and the glass flower bonsai. “This glass flower bonsai is precious; be careful.”
He agreed and took them away.
Shen Qingyan saw the glass flower bonsai and said, “What a beautiful thing. Is it made of glass?”
“Yes,” Shen Yourong said, “It was originally a pair displayed in my mother’s room. When I was young and ignorant, I broke one pot. Later, my mother thought I was wasting things, so she kept the other one, which is this.”
“Glass…” Shen Qingyan muttered to herself and then looked at her. “About that gold sachet, could you find a craftsman to repair it? If it can’t be repaired, we’ll have to make a new one.”
Shen Yourong agreed and sent her off.
She thought about the Fourth Prince’s banquet and suddenly heard someone asking, “What are you thinking?”
Shen Qinghan entered the room, sat down, and said, “I heard some movement here before dinner and knew that Third Sister had come. I didn’t want to come over, so I waited until she left.”
Shen Yourong snapped out of her thoughts and said, “It was Third Sister and Lady Wu arguing; it’s not your concern.”
Shen Qinghan held a hand warmer and said, “Lady Wu is really beyond manners, using money to subsidize her natal family all day long. I don’t know how much of Third Sister’s money she has taken away. She relies on Third Sister and Fourth Prince… She’s quite arrogant even in front of Mother.”
Shen Yourong listened and seemed to want to intervene against Lady Wu herself, so she smiled and said, “Even if she’s arrogant, she can’t surpass Madam. Madam is too lenient. If she really takes Madam’s money, isn’t it easy to bring her down?”
Shen Qinghan smiled and said, “Mother has been busy lately; she might not have the time.”
Shen Yourong didn’t respond and they sat quietly for a while. Shen Qinghan got up and left.
After everyone left, Shen Yourong continued to think about the Fourth Prince’s banquet. She went to sleep with a heavy heart, but in the middle of the night, she suddenly felt sore all over and realized her monthly period had arrived. She called for Du Juan, changed clothes and bedding, and then had to prepare hot water to warm the bed again, tossing and turning all night before falling asleep again.
Early the next morning, snowflakes drifted down from the sky. She was not feeling well, looking weak. Shen Shuo came to see her before his duty and frowned when he saw her face. “You suffer so much at this time every month. We should call a good doctor; the current one doesn’t seem to have any definite solution.”
Du Juan hurriedly intervened with the tea and said it couldn’t be, “If outsiders find out, there will be lots of gossip. They’ll say the young lady is not well, and we won’t have a place to defend ourselves.”
He frowned more deeply, didn’t insist, and said, “I have some ginseng and bird’s nest. It’s winter, the perfect time to nourish yourself. Tell the kitchen to stew it daily, morning and evening.”
Shen Yourong had other things on her mind and said, “I understand.” Then she asked, “Yesterday, I heard Li Qiu say that the Fourth Prince wants to borrow your place for a banquet. Who is he inviting?”
“Just some young sons of officials and nobles from the capital,” he said.
She pressed on, “Why does he need to borrow your place?”
He didn’t answer directly but asked back, “Didn’t you always not care about these things before? Why are you so concerned now?”
She paused; she didn’t know whom she was concerned for, what was occupying her mind.
Seeing her silence, he smiled and said, “I might as well tell you. The Fourth Prince is hosting a banquet to attract some courtiers. He’s preparing for his future entrance into court next year. He’s already seventeen and can’t wait to start making a name for himself. He’s also afraid that the Emperor, being unclear-headed, might choose his young son as the heir, who wouldn’t know how to govern. So, he wants to enter the court early, establish himself, and gain the support of the ministers.”
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