Zhulan nodded, “Two fourteen-year-old servants, Dongzhi¹ and Xiaohan², will follow Changyi and Changlian, respectively. Steward Ding’s youngest son, Xiazhi³, will follow Rongchuan in the future. Ma Eryue’s youngest son, Chunfen⁴, will continue to follow Mingyun. There are also two little maids. Eight-year-old Qiufen⁵ will follow Yushuang, and ten-year-old Liqiu⁶ and six-year-old Xiaobudian⁷ will continue to follow Xinghua in the sewing room. What do you think of my arrangements?”

The six-year-old maid in the sewing room will be left to Yulu in the future. Ten-year-old Liqiu was the best at learning needlework, so Liqiu would stay in the sewing room in the future.

Zhou Shuren thought it over carefully. “You’ve arranged it quite well. Dongzhi is quick-witted and follows the second son, while Xiaohan is more gentle and suitable for Changlian.”

Zhulan smiled and said, “As for Juanhua, Wan Jiu’s wife, who is at Li Shi’s side, she will continue to follow Li Shi during her pregnancy, and after the child is born, she will help take care of the child—Zhao Shi and Dong Shi will have nothing to say about it.”

Zhou Shuren chuckled. Zhulan was blatantly biased. But that was fine. It was a good opportunity to test Zhao Shi and Dong Shi, and also to give them a warning. “In our family, you’re the one who calls the shots.”

Zhulan’s eyes crinkled. This was the advantage of being the mistress of the house; no one in this family dared to contradict her!

The next day, after breakfast, Zhulan told the families about the arrangements, not giving the second and third families a chance to react. Zhulan continued, “The servants’ and maids’ names can be changed. Don’t worry about me. Changzhi’s servant will be renamed Qimo⁹, Mingteng’s will be Yinmo¹⁰, Xuehan’s eldest maid will be Liuli¹¹, and her second maid will be Liujin¹². I think they’re all good.”

Second Zhou thought for a moment, “Mother, Dongzhi’s name will be Dongmo¹³.”

Changlian also hurriedly followed, “Mother, Xiaohan’s name will be Fenmo¹⁴.”

Zhulan looked up at the sky speechlessly. They all sounded quite nice. She really wasn’t suited to naming. She looked at Rong Chuan, who smiled and said, “Auntie, Ding Xiazhi’s name will be Ding Xiamo¹⁵.”

Yu Shuang saw her grandmother looking at her. She didn’t want to be like her gū gu, afraid that it would be difficult to distinguish them later. She had also been learning to read and write. After thinking for a moment, she said, “Naǐ nai, my maid’s name starts with the character ‘Qiu’. I’ll change one character in Qiufen’s name to Qiu Nian⁸.”

Zhulan was instantly reduced to dust. “The names you chose are all good. Just change them and inform Steward Ding. By the way, your yéye caught a chill these past few days. Once he’s feeling better, I’ll take you to the Yang residence. Today, Changlian is going to the Meng residence, and the second son will take Zhao Shi to stroll around the city. There are many shops run by merchants from outside Lizhou City, and they have quite a few rare things.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shi wanted to stay even more. She was genuinely anxious. She had barely spoken a few words to her mother-in-law, and what she had said had all displeased her. “Mother, I won’t go.”

Zhulan looked at Zhao Shi, genuinely intending to help. “If you don’t want to go, then don’t. It’s good that your shǎozi is pregnant. The kitchen work will be handed over to you. From now on, you’ll be responsible for what to eat for three meals a day and what to buy.”

For Zhao Shi, it was better to find more work. With more work, she wouldn’t have time to think too much.

Zhao Shi was truly fed up. She didn’t want to get involved at all, but then she remembered that this was a right given to her by her mother-in-law. Her mother had said that having some power in the household would make the servants respect you more. “Mother, I’ll go check on the kitchen.”

Zhulan said, “Go ahead.”

Dong Shi glanced at her second shǎozi out of the corner of her eye, then lowered her eyes. Had she fallen so far behind that she couldn’t even compare to her? She had thought that after returning home, she would have a maid to attend to her, but unexpectedly, aside from her husband getting a servant boy, she received nothing. Her mother-in-law said that Juanhua would take care of the eldest shǎozi, but in the end, it was just a case of favoritism. It seemed she still had to curry favor with her mother-in-law.

Boss Zhou was going to check on the orchard; the fruit trees needed to be looked after in the winter. Second Zhou had no interest in strolling through Lizhou City and went along with him.

Changlian also went out, while Changzhi returned home with his two nephews, looking utterly hopeless. Mingyun and Rongchuan were used to the rules of the academy, and even at home, they studied according to the schedule.

Before long, Zhao Shi also returned to accompany Zhulan. She was now accompanied by her three daughters-in-law, one daughter, and two granddaughters.

Zhulan was indeed overjoyed to have the whole family together yesterday, but now she only has a headache. She’s gotten used to peace and quiet, and having so many people around makes her a little uneasy.

Li Shi, while eating an apple, said, “Mother, my father sent a message. All my nephews who came of age this year are getting married. My father told me to thank you, Father and Mother.”

Zhulan had seen the gift list; the Li family had sent quite a lot of wild game. The Li family had spent a lot this year, and to have saved up enough to send wild game was truly a sign of their gratitude.

Zhulan smiled and said, “Your parents are too kind. The house and land back home still need your parents’ help. I feel bad that your second brother took the wild game.”

Li Shi waved her hand, “Mother, without you and Father, my family’s life would be even harder. This is all only right.”

Zhulan was calculating the days. There were only two and a half months until the New Year. They had taken the wild game from the Li family, so they should give New Year’s gifts in return. Not only the Li family, but also the Jiang family. Zhulan also had to give a New Year’s gift for her eldest daughter, but she couldn’t compare with the Li family. Oh, and there were also the Dong family and the Qian family.

Zhulan narrowed her eyes. As for the Qian family, she didn’t even need to ask Second Zhou; she could tell from the gift list that the Qian family was now trying to curry favor. However, there was an art to giving New Year’s gifts in return. Steward Qian had a history of hiding his master’s family property, so she didn’t trust him.

Zhao Shi, clutching her handkerchief, watched as her mother-in-law leaned almost against her shǎozi. Looking at her shǎozi’s seat, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy. “Shǎozi,” she said, “Auntie has aged a lot, and Uncle Li’s back is quite hunched. This year, he sold most of his grain to pay for his wedding.”

Li Shi stopped smiling. She wasn’t stupid; she knew her parents only reported good news, not bad. She just didn’t want to think about it. She knew it was useless to worry, since she lived far away. She had already planned to buy New Year’s gifts to send back home. She wanted to tell her mother-in-law today that the Li family was honest and kind, and hoped that her mother-in-law would consider hiring from the Li family in the future. The Li family had many honest and strong young men, all trustworthy.

She knew her two younger dì mèi were jealous of her. Even though they smiled at her, they might be secretly thinking about her. But her second dì mèi’s words were hurtful. Even though she wasn’t a good shǎozi, she had still protected her second dì mèi before!

As soon as Zhao Shi finished speaking, she wanted to slap herself, but the words were already out and couldn’t be taken back. She knew even more that her shǎozi was no longer the same as before. Even if her shǎozi didn’t hold grudges, a rift had already formed. “Shǎozi, I…”

Zhulan’s head throbbed even more. Even though she had foreseen the situation, it was still upsetting that it had actually happened. She never expected her daughters-in-law to be as close as sisters. Even sisters have conflicts, let alone daughters-in-law who have no blood relation but instead have conflicts of interest.

Zhulan was very clear-headed, and it was precisely because of this clarity that she could see reality more clearly. The reality was that even if she and Zhou Shuren worked themselves to the bone, they couldn’t mold everyone into a mold, because they were all real people with their own thoughts and ulterior motives!

However, Zhulan’s face turned cold, her sharp eyes fixed on Zhao Shi and Dong Shi. “I don’t need to think to know what you’re thinking, but remember this: if anyone helps outsiders harm their own family for their own benefit, I will absolutely not tolerate it.”

Zhao Shi and Dong Shi were startled. Their mother-in-law had always been more subtle, but this was the first time she had revealed such a sharp edge. They quickly said, “Mother, we wouldn’t dare.”

Zhulan told them to stand up. “Every family has its rules. From now on, you represent the Zhou family. Remember my words. If you dare to step on your own family members outside, I don’t think you want to know the consequences.”

This time, Zhulan wasn’t being biased. She had to state these rules. Regardless of whether the Zhou family had split up, in officialdom, the Zhou family was a unified entity. Anyone who made a mistake was a problem for the entire Zhou family.

She and Zhou Shuren hadn’t gotten this far easily; only they knew how much effort they had put in. Therefore, she wasn’t in a hurry to go to Jiangnan. She needed to give them a good talking-to first.

(End of Chapter)

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Footnote

1. Dongzhi — Winter Solstice
2. Xiaohan — Minor Cold (winter solar term)
3. Xiazhi — Summer Solstice
4. Chunfen — Spring Equinox
5. Qiufen — Autumn Equinox
6. Liqiu — Start of Autumn
7. Xiaobudian — Little one / Tiny
8. Qiunian — Autumn harvest/year
9. Qimo — Chess and ink (refined, scholarly taste)
10. Yinmo — Hidden ink (quiet and thoughtful)
11. Liuli — Glazed crystal (clear and elegant)
12. Liujin — Flowing gold (graceful and precious)
13. Dongmo — Eastern ink (cultured, literary tone)
14. Fenmo — Powder and ink (delicate and refined)
15. Xiamo — Summer ink (warmth with literary elegance)