Chapter 574: Countess Jingāan Takes Over (1)
What else could Countess Jingāan say? Matriarch He was using her responsibility as a daughter-in-law to pressure her. If she didnāt take over the management of the household, then she would deemed unfilial.
While standing beside them, Chu Lian frowned slightly. She didnāt understand Matriarch Heās intentions.
Although she wanted to speak up for her mother-in-law, the matriarch and Madam Liu were both her elders. She was in no position to speak right now.
Countess Jingāan was soft-hearted. She didnāt dare to disobey the matriarch upfront. Thus, she reluctantly agreed.
She couldnāt decline because she didnāt have any legitimate reason to refuse.
She hadnāt managed the household in the past because she had been seriously ill and she didnāt have the energy to do it. She had even needed the matriarchās help to take care of her. However, her health had gotten better now. Since the matriarch had personally requested to hand over the rights to manage the household to her, she didnāt have any good reason to decline.
Countess Jingāan grasped the handkerchief in her hand, stood up, and bobbed towards the matriarch, āMother, please rest assured. Iāll do my best to manage the household.ā
āHurry and stand up. Youāve just recovered, so thereās no need to keep bowing like that. Well then, Iāll rest easy now that youāll be taking care of the household affairs. If you have any questions, feel free to ask Muxiang and Miss Ying.ā A smile finally appeared on the matriarchās face.
Thus, Countess Jingāan returned to her courtyard with several maidservants, each carrying a stack of account books.
Chu Lian followed behind her mother-in-law. She noticed that the countess was frowning deeply, and she appeared to be laden with worry. She tried consoling Countess Jingāan, āMother, you donāt have to worry too much. We donāt have that many people in our estate. Thereās only a head steward and an assisting steward in the outer court. There are also plenty of senior servants acting as stewards in the inner court. As long as you keep these people in check and you look over the account books thoroughly, there shouldnāt be any major problems.ā
Countess Jingāan was a little embarrassed. She smiled apologetically at Chu Lian, āIām really useless. At this age, I still need reassurance from a young girl like you. Donāt worry, Iām not that easily fooled. When I married into House Jingāan, I did manage the household for several years.ā
āItās good that Mother thinks of it this way. If you need any help, you can send someone to Songtao Court to find me. I donāt have much to do anyway. Although Iāve never managed a household before, I can help you out.ā
Countess Jingāan felt more relaxed after Chu Lianās offer of help.
She nodded and told her to return to her courtyard for some rest.
She patted Chu Lianās hand, āAlright, itās just some minor household affairs. I have senior servants who can assist me as well, so Iāll be fine. You should concentrate on nourishing your body. Iām still waiting for my grandsons!ā
Chu Lianās face immediately reddened due to her mother-in-lawās words.
She had never thought about having children at such a young age. Back then, she had even thought about finding a nice and quiet place to live out a rural lifestyle in seclusion. However, with the passage of time and the progression of her relationship with He Changdi, she was actually starting to hope that a child would form in her belly as soon as possible.
She and He Changdi could watch their adorable little child grow up, bit by bit. They could raise him or her together.
After sending Chu Lian off with her servants, Madam Liu returned to her own courtyard and headed directly for her study.
She had much to do today, and she wasnāt going to have any free time to take care of her granddaughters. She sat in front of her desk and flipped open the account books. It didnāt take long before Countess Jingāan discovered many suspicious gaps in them.
She was dumbfounded after making a rough calculation of the estateās assets. Why were there so few stores and properties left in the public accounts?
Judging by these calculations, the monthly income probably wouldnāt even hit five hundred taelsā¦
Moreover, that was under the assumption that the stores were turning a profitā¦