Chapter 61
Isolation

“Do you mean that Sister Huai Su is not trustworthy?”

Lin Jiayue shook her head, “She is trying to be friendly with me now, so what she says must be true, but who knows about the future.”

After making a bowl of ice cream that little girls love for Qian Bi, Lin Jiayue carefully pondered Huai Su’s words.

Previously, she had made a fool of herself several times because she didn’t understand the current rules, etiquette, and customs. She didn’t realize how important those formalities were to these people, which is why she repeatedly made mistakes.

Although Lin Jiayue thought both Song Wan and Huai Su were somewhat hypocritical, she had to admit that adapting to local customs was the right thing to do.

“Today, help me sew a pouch and put some broken silver inside. Also, prepare one for yourself with some copper coins.”

Qian Bi blinked, “How much silver should I put in?”

“Three to five taels a day will do.”

Qian Bi looked troubled, “But there isn’t much silver left in your jewelry box.”

“How is that possible?” Lin Jiayue opened the jewelry box containing valuable items and saw only a few broken silver ingots, about fifty to sixty taels in total.

“Concubine, you only receive one tael of silver per month. There was some silver in the jewelry box before, but after playing cards with the Madam these past few days, it has run out.”

Lin Jiayue frowned deeply, feeling uncomfortable.

Since arriving at the Marquis Mansion, the mansion has provided her with food and clothing, and she has been confined to the back courtyard, never going out. With no place to spend money, she had forgotten the importance of silver.

The silver in the box and the bag of gold beans were given to her by Jiang Xingjian when she first entered the mansion. She had never rewarded the servants before, and seeing Huai Su’s tight situation, she generously gave her a handful of gold beans, thinking there was no need for silver in the Marquis Mansion.

“If I had known earlier, I would have taken less.” Lin Jiayue bit her lip, feeling increasingly uncomfortable.

She had been busy all day helping the Marquis Mansion by opening a rouge shop and an ice shop, with the profits flowing into the public accounts every day. Yet, she ended up with nothing.

“No, I need to open a few shops for myself.”

Qian Bi said, “How will you open a shop? I’ve never heard of a woman opening a shop.”

“Why can’t a woman open a shop?”

Qian Bi nodded, “Opening a shop requires writing a contract. How can a woman write a contract?”

Lin Jiayue was puzzled, “Why can’t a woman write a contract?”

After thinking for a long time, Qian Bi looked confused and said, “I don’t know why. Maybe it’s not allowed by law. Should I find a stewardess from the outer courtyard for you to ask?”

Lin Jiayue nodded, and Qian Bi quickly brought back a middle-aged woman dressed in indigo silk.

“Qian Bi said women can’t open shops. Is that true?”

The woman smiled, “It is true.”

“A woman must follow her father at home and her husband after marriage. She cannot have private property, and it is not appropriate for a woman to show her face in public or engage in business. The only private property a woman can have is her dowry. Although some dowries include estates and shops, most of them are under the shopkeeper’s name.”

“These shopkeepers are either born into the family or have their contracts held by the master, so it is considered safe.”

Lin Jiayue bit her lip, feeling even more stifled.

Dowry?

Of course, she didn’t have such a thing. She was a concubine!

“Besides dowry, is there no other way for a woman to acquire property?”

“There is a way. If you register as a female household at the yamen, you can engage in business. However, this requires that there are no male members in the family, meaning you must be a widow without a husband or son.”

“……” Lin Jiayue frowned deeply.

“So, there’s no way for me to have private property?”

The woman looked shocked, “What are you saying, Concubine? How can a woman have private property? Hiding private money is equivalent to theft, one of the seven grounds for divorce, let alone talking about private property or shops.”

No wonder those inner courtyard women fight so hard for the right to manage the household. How can they survive in the back courtyard without some family background or dowry?

The more Lin Jiayue thought about it, the angrier she became. The ice shop and rouge shop had already been handed over, so how could she get them back?

The money went directly into the public accounts, and even Jiang Xingjian couldn’t spend a penny, let alone her.

With a slap, Lin Jiayue hit the table, “It seems I have to fight for the right to manage the household, whether I want to or not!”

After some thought, she took the bag of gold beans and went with Qian Bi to find someone in the mansion to exchange them for silver.

In the following days, Lin Jiayue changed her usual way of handling things and managed everything meticulously. When visiting Mother Jiang, she always kept Mama Li’s rules and teachings in mind.

After five or six days of this, Mother Jiang, delighted at the card table, handed over the household management rights to her.

“I misjudged you before, thinking you were not thorough in handling matters.”

Happily taking the silver from Lin Jiayue, Mother Jiang looked at the full drawer and couldn’t stop smiling.

“Yuanyang, bring the few pieces of smoke gauze bestowed by the palace last year and let Concubine Lin and Huai Su choose.”

Casually grabbing a handful of broken silver from the small drawer, Mother Jiang generously rewarded the maids in the room. These silver pieces meant nothing to her. Even if they were multiplied a hundred or a thousand times, they couldn’t buy half a piece of the soft smoke gauze given to the two of them. But winning them from others brought joy, far beyond their actual value.

“Thank you for the reward, Madam. With your good luck at the card table, I won’t be polite.”

Lin Jiayue generously chose a piece she liked and pulled Huai Su to pick one as well. As they walked out of Jiangxiang Courtyard with the fabric, she suddenly asked, “Do you have any plans for this fabric?”

Huai Su shook her head, “Do you have something in mind?”

Huai Su handed the fabric to Lin Jiayue, saying, “If you like it, you can have it.”

“Then I won’t be polite.” Lin Jiayue didn’t explain and took the fabric from Huai Su.

The next day at noon, she brought two almost identical long dresses to Huai Su’s room. “Yesterday, I had Qian Bi take them to the mansion’s embroidery room to make them into dresses. See which one you like.”

Huai Su was stunned by the floor-length dresses and, under Lin Jiayue’s persistent urging, casually chose one.

After changing behind the screen, Lin Jiayue smiled, “They look great. Why don’t we wear them to show Madam and make her happy?”

Before Huai Su could refuse, Lin Jiayue pulled her out of the room.

Just outside Xiu Yan Pavilion, they ran into Song Wan, who was picking balsam flowers with Heng Zhi and Heng Wu to dye her nails.

Song Wan looked up at the two dressed identically and smiled faintly, while Huai Su’s face turned pale, and she lowered her head.

Lin Jiayue glanced at her and cheerfully said to Song Wan, “Young madam, you seem to be in good spirits. Are you busy later? Madam handed over the household management to me yesterday, and I have many things I don’t understand. I need to ask for your guidance.”

Retracting her gaze, Song Wan replied gently, “I’m not busy. I’m at your service anytime.”