When she returned to the courtyard, she happened to meet Zhu Qing bringing Xie Chenghui back. The group bumped into each other at the courtyard gate.
Seeing Xie Fengran, Xie Chenghui immediately rushed over, "Sister, I went to catch sparrows with Zhu Qing!"
Xie Fengran hugged Xie Chenghui and looked at Zhu Qing beside them upon hearing this.
When Zhu Qing noticed Xie Fengran's gaze, she shrank her neck and moved the things in her hand backward. Looking a bit guilty, she said, "Miss, this servant... this servant won't dare to do it again next time!"
For some unknown reason, although her young mistress usually smiled and never beat or scolded the maids, Zhu Qing was extremely afraid of her. Seeing her was just like seeing her senior brother; she didn't dare to act recklessly!
Xie Fengran found Zhu Qing's timid look quite amusing. She lifted her chin and pointed at the things in Zhu Qing's hand. "Bring them here for me to take a look."
Seeing that Xie Fengran wasn't angry, Zhu Qing let out a sigh of relief. She flatteringly presented the string of things in her hand in front of Xie Fengran. "Miss, these are the sparrows this servant caught in the garden. Take a look."
About five or six sparrows had their legs tied with hemp ropes and were fluttering about noisily.
Xie Chenghui wasn't afraid at all. He even reached out his chubby little hand to poke the sparrows' bodies.
While poking, he said to Xie Fengran, "Sister, Zhu Qing is so amazing. She can catch a sparrow all at once."
Xie Fengran tapped Xie Chenghui's forehead. "Alright, go back and wash your hands. Have you had lunch?"
Xie Chenghui nodded. "I've eaten. Sister Liuyi watched me eat. I ate by myself and didn't need anyone to feed me."
"Good boy!"
Xie Fengran held Xie Chenghui's hand with one hand and motioned for Zhu Qing. "Take these sparrows to the kitchen and ask the cook to roast them."
"..." Zhu Qing blinked her eyes. Why did it feel like this was the wrong way to go about it?
Originally, she had planned to roast them, but wasn't it the case that a young lady like her mistress usually couldn't bear to kill living things?
Xie Fengran thought Zhu Qing was afraid that she would eat them all by herself, so she added, "Don't worry. Since you caught them, I'll give you two."
"Th... thank you, Miss!"
Xie Fengran was satisfied and led Xie Chenghui into the house.
Lan Fang walked behind them, her eyes also lighting up as she stared at the sparrows in Zhu Qing's hand. Seeing that Zhu Qing didn't move, she nudged her. "Hurry up!"
"Okay~"
Zhu Qing carried the string of sparrows dully to the small kitchen, always feeling that something was amiss.
Inside the house, Xie Fengran washed Xie Chenghui's hands and sent someone to carry him off for a noon nap.
Liuyi walked in with a stack of thick notebooks and placed them on the table in front of Xie Fengran. "Miss, these are the household register and the account books of the mansion. This servant has roughly sorted them out. When do you plan to check the accounts?"
Xie Fengran thought for a moment and instructed, "Don't be in a hurry to check them. Wait for a couple of days. First, put the account books in my study. Make sure to keep them safe. These days, you and Lan Fang should sort out the household register. Then compare it with the personal contracts. If there's anything wrong, come back and report to me. For now, let Hexiang follow me."
Liuyi looked at the thick household register and slumped her face. "Miss..."
"I'll trouble you. There will be even more things to do in the future. You and Lan Fang will be able to get married in two years. You'll have to take care of all these matters. You also need to teach the young maids below the rules. Since I've told Grandmother that I won't have a stewardess in this courtyard, you and Lan Fang will naturally have to work harder."
Xie Fengran had no other choice. In the past, Grandmother hadn't placed the burden of the Marquis Mansion on her shoulders. She had only been asked to be a mascot and gain some fame outside. But now, things were different.
After this incident, she had seen clearly that if the people in the mansion were in someone else's hands, she wouldn't be able to sleep soundly.
Seeing a trace of exhaustion on Xie Fengran's face, Liuyi immediately put away her complaints and quickly put away the account books. "Miss, this servant will go and put these away first. We can look at the household register when Lan Fang and I rest at night these days. Hexiang has just been promoted. We can't rely on her for everything."
Lan Fang was serving Xie Fengran to remove her jewelry. Hearing this, she glanced at Liuyi and said with a smile, "Our Liuyi knows how to feel sorry for the young mistress now?"
Liuyi rolled her eyes at her impatiently. "It's as if only you feel sorry for the young mistress."
Xie Fengran watched the two of them bickering amusingly. Her gaze fell on the dressing table. After thinking for a moment, she reached into the bottom compartment of the jewelry box, took out a small pouch, opened it, and poured out a token.
Seeing Xie Fengran caressing the token, Lan Fang was a bit puzzled. "Isn't this the token the old mistress gave to the young mistress? Why did the young mistress take it out?"
Xie Fengran shook her head. "It's okay. You go and get busy. Call me when Zhu Qing comes back later."
"Alright, this servant will go and get busy first. The days are getting warmer day by day. The young mistress' winter clothes should be taken out to dry and stored properly. There are also the spring clothes that the madam sent a few days ago. The young mistress hasn't tried them on yet. Nanny Su also said that she would invite the embroiderers into the mansion to make some more clothes for the young mistress."
Hearing this, Xie Fengran remembered something. "Have the spring clothes for the servants in the mansion been distributed? When were they usually distributed in previous years?"
Now that the West Courtyard had suddenly handed over the power of managing the mansion, if things got chaotic here, wouldn't it be a laughingstock?
"It's not time yet. Yesterday, this servant went with Nanny Su to discuss with the stewardesses here. The young mistress can rest assured these days." Lan Fang tidied up Xie Fengran's dressing table as she spoke. After thinking for a moment, she added, "Those stewardesses are all old servants of the Marquis Mansion. They must be very capable."
Xie Fengran nodded. "I know that. They were all Grandmother's dowry maids and married the stewards of the Marquis Mansion. It's thanks to these stewardesses that the Marquis Mansion wasn't completely taken over by the Second Aunt when Grandmother stopped managing the mansion."
These people completely listened to Grandmother. But for her, it didn't make much difference. She didn't want to take on this hot potato either.
Xie Fengran caressed the token again, recalling Qin Junxing's words and Grandmother's strange behavior. The most important thing now was this matter. If she didn't figure it out, she would always feel uneasy.
She had finally managed to get a glimmer of hope. If what Qin Junxing said was true, wouldn't all her efforts be in vain?
Xie Fengran was lost in a daze.
When she was young, she watched her parents living in a loveless marriage. Then her father took concubines one after another, while her mother endured all this submissively. In the end, she completely lost herself and listened to everything her father said. She was so humble that she didn't even want to take care of her children, only hoping to get a little bit of her father's attention.
At that time, she made up her mind that in the future, she would never become like her mother. The husband she found must be able to understand her heart, and she would never put herself in a difficult position for others.
As she grew up, she understood that being born in the Marquis Mansion, she often had no choice. With the orders of her parents and the matchmaker's words, there was little she could do.
But she just didn't want to believe all this. Even though it was very difficult, she still wanted to achieve her goal.
She didn't want to follow in her mother's old footsteps!