Full disclaimer this work is not mine. And should the author ask me to take it down, please contact me and I will take it down.
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Gu Yun shook his head and said it was okay.
Pei Shu couldn't read minds, so he couldn't guess what Gu Yun was thinking. He asked again, "Are you really okay?"
Gu Yun said, "It's okay."
As a girl, how could she persuade her husband to stay? The marriage was not consummated yesterday, Mrs. Xu did not ask, and if the marriage
is not consummated today... Gu Yun put down his chopsticks and asked, "What are you going to do this afternoon, husband?"
My mother said that you shouldn't ask questions about men's affairs, but Gu Yun was really afraid that Pei Shu would go drinking and gambling again...
Pei Shu said: "There is nothing to do in the afternoon. Is Ah-Yun okay?"
Gu Yun breathed a sigh of relief for he didn't go out. Her expectations for Pei Shu were too low. She didn't ask for anything else, just for him to not play around.
"I want to read the account book in the afternoon. Aunt Chunyu said that you don't read on weekdays. I'll use the study first."
It sounds too nice to say that he doesn't like reading. Pei Shu doesn't even know Chinese characters. It would be better to kill him than tell him to study...
Anyway, if he doesn't use the study room, then Gu Yun should.
Although Pei Shu does not read, the study room in Chengxinyuan is very well-built, with two spacious windows, one facing south and one facing east. The desk and chairs are all made of rosewood. A very high bookshelf is built against the wall. It is full of books, and the Duobao Pavilion is filled with precious porcelain. A piece of purple golden bamboo is planted in front of the door, and Begonia flowers are planted in the east.
It's a pity that the book has accumulated dust, and Pei Shu has not been in the study for more than two months.
Pei Shu was easy to talk to and said, "Okay."
He was originally a playboy and won't enter the study room even several times a year. Although he didn't want to continue on the same path as his original self, he had to take his time in everything.
Otherwise, if it is discovered that his soul has changed, he will be burned to death as a monster. Besides, he needs to sort out his thoughts.
After dinner, Gu Yun went to the study. Although Mrs. Xu said that she had just walked in and there was no rush for these matters, Gu Yun wanted to take over as soon as possible.
"Tell Chunyu to go to the accountant's office and get the account books... If Shizi goes out, let me know." Gu Yun told Qingyun that she had no time to care about Pei Shu's affairs and she married into the Duke's palace just to have a good life.
Whether Pei Shu lives or dies has nothing to do with her. The most important thing is to quickly take over the affairs of the Duke's Mansion.
Gu Yun intends to not sleep. The housekeeper was in charge of the family's food, clothing, housing, transportation, New Year's Eve activities in the house, and the future marriages of the younger siblings. She has to be thorough.
It took Gu Yun two hours to look through the ledger and finish checking the accounts of the Duke's Mansion in recent years.
After reading the account book, her face turned pale. On the surface, the British government belongs to a well-established family, but it is externally strong but internally weak, and its internal strength is wasted. The Duke has a title but no real power.
The Ying Duke served as a fifth-rank official in the court and received a monthly salary of fifteen thousand. Although more than forty taels of silver were enough for an ordinary family to eat, the expenses of the Duke's mansion were far more than that.
Mrs. Xu, the young master, and the concubine in the house all live in their own courtyards. The small kitchen in the courtyard has a monthly quota of ten taels of silver, four pieces of clothing for each spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and two sets of haircuts for women a year, not to mention weekdays. The gold and silver jewelry purchased cost twenty-two months per person per month. If it is not enough, they will negotiate with Mrs. Xu.
Ice in summer, charcoal in winter, fruit snacks on weekdays, and lanterns for maids and servants.
The aunt in charge of Chengxinyuan is Chunyu, and she has more than a dozen maids. I don't know what Pei Shu does with so many maids.
In addition, traveling around with gifts and entertaining guests during festivals and festivals are the biggest expenses. Everything else is trivial. The person who spends the most on this house is Pei Shu.
He is a spendthrift.
Gu Yun somewhat understood why Mrs. Xu gave her the power of housekeeping so quickly.
The latest two entries in the account book are one for 3,000 taels, when Pei Shu bought a cricket, and the other for 5,000 taels, when Pei Shu injured someone, and the 5,000 taels were compensation for medicine given to someone.
Looking further back, he didn't even read the book (aka. going to school or learning) but spent five hundred taels on expensive inkstones, spent a lot of money to invite opera troupes to come to the Duke's Mansion to perform operas, and had many unknown accounts, large and small, worth hundreds of taels and thousands of taels. Gu Yun suspected that he used the money to gamble.
He spent tens of thousands of taels of silver alone.
The Ying Duke government's salary is not enough to support these, and these expenses are all dependent on the Ying Duke business.
As long as Zhuangzi's shop can make money, Pei Shu can make up for the shortcomings of whatever money he spends.
However, the Zhuangzi shop in Guogong Mansion is not profitable.
There were eight villages in the British government. Apart from the taxes paid by the farmers, there was not much left over from the grain collected every year. The crops in the villages were not good.
There are more than twenty shops of various sizes. Except for those that are rented out, the rest are engaged in the business of cloth, porcelain, tobacco, wine, tea, and sugar. There are losses from time to time, and the business can barely be maintained.
A large part of the shortfall was spent on Ning's dowry, and a small part was made up by Xu's own money.
However, it is not easy for a step-mother to do this. Mrs. Xu carefully checked the account book before handing it over to her and made up everything that needed to be made up.
But it can't change the fact that this is a mess. If this continues, Gu Yun will have to go down the old path of using dowry to supplement her husband's family. Her dowry is not much, including the 3,000 taels she received this morning, the total is only 5,000 taels.
It's not as much as Pei Shu's compensation for beating people.
This was just on the surface. Gu Yun didn't know if Xu had any other ways to make money. She also wondered why Mrs. Xu gave her the power of housekeeping so quickly. Apart from being a mess, was there any other reason?
There is nothing wrong with this account. Mrs. Xu is a stepmother who is not greedy for power or money. Apart from not raising her stepson well, she seems to be a qualified stepmother.
Gu Yun held her chin and looked out the window. In front of the window was a piece of green bamboo, the leaves were trembling slightly, and the begonia flower was spitting out its buds, revealing a little bit of red.
The sky in the distance is red and the clouds are misty. It's evening so soon. The scenery here is so beautiful. The huge Duke's Mansion is just like the setting sun, which is about to set.
This path was her own choice. There was nothing to regret, and she couldn't help it.
It's just adding insult to injury after knowing who Pei Shu is.
Gu Yun asked Lu Shao to send the account book back. She rubbed her neck. Her back was sore from sitting all afternoon. "Where is Shizi?"
Qingyun said: "After the girl came to the study, Shizi went back to the room and slept for more than an hour. Then I just sat in a daze and didn't do anything else."
He didn't go out or play, so he was much better than yesterday.
Gu Yun sat for a while and said, "Go and invite Shizi to come to the hall for dinner."
Qingyun could see that Gu Yun was not very happy, but she didn't know why. Her Miss had been thoughtful since she was little, and they couldn't guess what she was thinking.
I just hope that Shizi can be more sensible and not make Miss sad.
Pei Shu slept for more than an hour. When he woke up, his mind was much clearer. He sat facing the window and thought about a lot of things. He couldn't go back, so he could only stay here. He loved to be a playboy, which was also a benefit for him.
According to his original identity, no matter how misbehaving he is, he won't be considered strange.
Based on the research he did during his lifetime, supporting the family was not a problem. As for Gu Yun, she was still too young. He grew up under the red flag which supported late marriage and late childbearing. Before Gu Yun came of age, the two of them should get along as brother and sister.
It was just this little girl always kept a straight face, which made him don't even know what to say.
Just as he was thinking about this, a person came into the room. It was Gu Yun's personal maid Qingyun. Qingyun bowed and said, "Shizi, Madam invited you to please come to the hall for dinner."
Pei Shu came to his senses, turns out it was time to have dinner. It was time, he nodded, got up, and went to the hall.
The maid had already laid out the food, and Gu Yun sat down to wait for him.
Pei Shu said: "Go, you don't need to wait here."
He looked at the dishes on the table, including porridge, fried vegetables, steamed fish, and steamed meat. They were all green and white. They were really light.
However, he didn't eat anything all afternoon, and Pei Shu was also hungry. "Eat quickly."
Gu Yun took a sip of porridge first. Pei Shu was quite obedient in the afternoon. Her mother told her not to ask her husband too many things, and not to care too much to avoid any resentment.
Pei Shu is the eldest son. He grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth. He must have his own temper. She should be accommodating and give in. This is the way for husband and wife to get along.
Mother also told her that giving birth to the child was the most important thing. Having a child will give you someone to rely on in the future.
Gu Yun's face was a little red. She used serving chopsticks to pick up a piece of fish for Pei Shu. "Husband, be careful of the thorns."
Pei Shu took a deep breath and said, "Eat more, you are too thin."
The smell of the food from the small kitchen, generally speaking, was not as delicious as what Pei Shu cooked for lunch. He saw that Gu Yun didn't eat much and brought her three dishes in one meal.
Gu Yun has a light taste. This is what she ate at home in the past. If she eats something with a strong taste, her body will smell bad. If she eats too much, she won't look good. Today at noon, she made an exception and ate more.
After dinner, it was completely dark and the night wind was cool, so they went back to the house. Unlike last night, when She was alone in the new house from dusk until dawn, Pei Shu was here today.
Gu Yun read for a while, while Pei Shu sat aside and stared at the candle lamp. Qingyun came in to refill the tea several times without blinking.
Gu Yun wanted to talk for a while, but she didn't know what to say to Pei Shu. He was just a rascal. He only had a good appearance, but his mind was full of nonsense. She remembered that there was a poetry competition, and Pei Shu couldn't write all the words. Mostly wrong.
Telling him books and poems is like playing the piano to an ox.
Gu Yun flipped through two pages of the book and put it down. She couldn't read it. She didn't know how other couples got along. Anyway, she and Pei Shu were weird together.
She was wronged yesterday, will she be wronged again today? Even if Pei Shu is indifferent, the relationship between husband and wife should not be so cold.
He could be playful, but Gu Yun hoped that Pei Shu would face her, just like when he served tea in the morning.
Gu Yun put down the book and said, "Husband, it's getting late. I'll wait for you to rest."
Pei Shu just picked up the tea and took half a mouthful. He almost spit it out when he heard this. He swallowed the tea and patted it. Chest, just when he was about to talk to Gu Yun, he met a pair of bright eyes.
Gu Yun is very good-looking, even more beautiful than celebrities in his previous life.
He told himself that Gu Yun was still young and had received a different education since childhood, so her thoughts must be different. He could educate her slowly.
The first is late marriage and late childbearing, the second is monogamy, and the last one is there is no need to talk about serving between them.
But looking at these eyes, Pei Shu couldn't go on. Maybe Gu Yun didn't mean it. He poured all the tea in and said, "It's too early. What time is it? If you are sleepy, just go ahead and sleep."
Gu Yun's face suddenly darkened.
Pei Shu: "..."
He didn't know which sentence he said wrongly that touched this little aunt's brow, and what should he say to change it.
Gu Yun was angry and aggrieved, and her eyes turned red. She stood up and said, "Okay, then I'll go to bed."
Pei Shu didn't dare to sit down. He had never seen a girl cry, and he didn't know how to comfort her. Man, he sighed, "Don't be like this..."
There was no maid in the room, so Pei Shu went to close the door. The tip of Gu Jun's nose was red, and she looked like she was about to cry. Pei Shu said, "Hey, what's wrong? Tell me if something isn't right."
"I asked you to sleep first because I was afraid that you would be sleepy, not for anything else." Pei Shu felt that even if he had ten mouths, he couldn't explain clearly.
Gu Yun felt even more aggrieved, "This is that is wrong. It's okay if you weren't here yesterday. It's useless to talk about it. Do you want to do this again tonight?"
Pei Shu pulled Gu Yun to sit down. If he told Gu Yun that she was too young, you shouldn't do that kind of thing, she may not believe it, and in Gu Yun's view, getting married and having children is a normal thing.
Pei Shu looked at Gu Yun seriously and said, "Ah-Yjun, do you know why I only drank, gambled, and at most listened to music and watched operas?"
Gu Yun blinked and asked in confusion, "Why?"
Pei Shu said He said, "Because I have something to hide, I have given up on myself all these years. Do you understand?"
Gu Yun shook his head.
Pei Shu thought for a while and said in a deep voice: "I have been seeking medical advice for the past two years."
"Ah?" Gu Yun was stunned for a moment. This kind of thing would be uncomfortable for anyone, no matter what she said. It will only rub salt into Pei Shu's wounds.
Finally, she asked, "Can it be cured?"
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TLnote: I'll try to update weekly, and as this was a MTL translation, I apologize in advance if there was a mistake. Oh, and consider buying me a Ko-fi to pay bills :)
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