Chapter 1614 - Domestic Affairs

Zhang Lan took Liu Hui's hand affectionately and said: "Sister Hui, you've been busy all day too. Sit down and have some tea."

Though the two women didn't get along in their hearts, under the pressure of Master Lu's "household governance" standards, they had no choice but to put on a show of harmony.

Liu Hui didn't dare sit. She demurred repeatedly until the master showed no sign of objection, then gingerly perched on a small stool, her bottom barely touching the edge. She had been beaten several times for sitting "without manners," and each time she couldn't sit properly for days.

Once Liu Hui was seated, Zhang Lan turned to Lu Xuan and said: "Master, Chen Jinhua's mother wants to come see her. She came to report that her home is far away, and she begs the master's permission to let her mother stay overnight."

Lu Xuan's face was cold: "There's nothing wrong with her mother visiting. But don't let there be any more scenes like last time—begging the master for mercy and whatnot. Otherwise, I'll never let her mother through the gate again."

Zhang Lan hastily said: "Yes, yes. Last time she was already taught a lesson with the house rules. That girl surely won't be so foolish again..."

Chen Jinhua was a maidservant in the manor. Last year, when she turned twenty, her mother had come to visit and taken the opportunity to ask the mistress if she could pay something to redeem her daughter. Zhang Lan was soft-hearted and agreed, but she dared not decide on her own and didn't dare ask Lu Xuan directly. So she suggested: have Chen Jinhua's mother wait for the master to return and make her plea then.

Lu Xuan had refused flatly, and his reasoning was sound: Chen Jinhua had been sold into the Zhang household on an indenture of permanent bondage. For this, not only had Chen Jinhua received a thrashing, but Zhang Lan had also been disciplined. Though as the legal wife she was punished in private to preserve some face, the pain she suffered was no less. For five or six days afterward, she could only stand while managing the household. And Lu Xuan had further ordered: no one from the Chen family was allowed to visit for a whole year.

A maidservant had brought a basin of water for footwashing. Liu Hui quietly signaled the maid to withdraw, then knelt on the floor herself and began removing Lu Xuan's shoes and socks. She had learned proper service at the maid training program—washing feet combined with a foot massage—and she served him so well that his whole body relaxed.

Lu Xuan half-closed his eyes in enjoyment. His refusal to let Chen Jinhua be redeemed wasn't about lording it over anyone; it was about winning hearts. Lingao was a place with more men than women, and marriage was difficult—men had to pay enormous bride prices just to find a wife. Chen Jinhua's future husband would be in Lu Xuan's gift. This could be used to win the loyalty of one of his people. Liu Ziliang, for example, had been eyeing Chen Jinhua for ages.

He gave a cold "hmph" and sneered: "Go tell her mother—don't think I don't know what she's scheming. She probably figures I'm an Elder, I'll certainly agree to a buyout, and I probably won't ask for more than the original price. Take the daughter home, and she can fetch another fat sum in bride price. Tell her to stop dreaming! The Elder Council 'governs by law.' She signed a permanent indenture, and permanent indenture it shall be. Who her daughter marries and when is none of her business."

Zhang Lan murmured "Yes" repeatedly. Liu Hui, kneeling on the floor and washing feet, felt bitter inside. She had been through the maid training program and often went to East Gate Market on errands or to the General Affairs Office on business. She had met all kinds of Elders, and not one of them was as much of a "master" as her own master.

"Also," Zhang Lan saw the master's expression was bad but his replies quick, so she continued carefully, "the tax office sent a tax bill..."

"Aren't our fields all leased to the Tiandihui? And summer grain hasn't even come in yet—what tax?"

"Servant tax..."

"Oh." Lu Xuan opened his eyes. Under Elder Council law, keeping slaves not only required a one-time "registration fee" but also an annual "usage tax."

That wasn't all—the tax was "progressive." The more slaves a household kept, the higher the per-head tax rate.

"Owners" of Zhang Family Manor were just himself and Zhang Lan; Liu Hui didn't count. According to the "exemption threshold," each "owner" could keep three slaves, so they could keep six tax-free. But the manor currently had five male servants, six female servants, and six child servants. The excess slaves were taxed at a progressive rate—a heavy burden.

"This is the usual annual routine. Just pay it. Do I need to teach you?"

"Yes, Master." Zhang Lan grew even more careful. "It's just that there's also the scholarship fund—Fragrant-Grass sent the latest tuition notice. And there's their living expenses..."

Lu Xuan was currently sponsoring eight students at Fragrant-Grass. Elder-sponsored students didn't qualify for tuition waivers; he paid not only their tuition but also their living expenses. The burden was considerable.

Lu Xuan sighed heavily: "What do I keep you for?! These are annual routines—do I need to tell you what to do?!"

Zhang Lan hesitated: "Master, these two sums aren't small. After these expenses, the household account will have only a few hundred yuan left... Apart from your salary, the manor has no other income. The franchise fees from the Tiandihui and the construction gang won't come in until early next year..." She continued very cautiously: "We have a lot of mouths to feed, and you're generous with provisions. The household funds might not last through next month. I still have some private savings I can put in, but even that won't last until year's end—and who knows if there'll be other sudden expenses."

"These hangers-on really are shameless. They all have jobs, yet they still show up at the manor all the time with their palm out." Liu Hui dried the master's feet and put on his straw slippers, then spoke up indignantly: "Whenever there's trouble at home, they come kowtowing and begging the master and mistress for gifts. Like beggars. I don't know what use they are..."

Zhang Lan's heart sank: This is bad. She was about to smooth things over when—crash—Lu Xuan had already kicked over the footbasin. Dirty water splashed all over Liu Hui. He slammed his teacup down on the table and said in a sinister voice: "How presumptuous! You actually think you're the mistress of the house now—when did my affairs become any of your business?!"

"You hang around those life secretaries in Bairren City all day. You haven't learned anything useful, but you've certainly learned how to be mistress of the house. You can read—do you not understand the word 'secretary'? What about 'maidservant'? Didn't the General Affairs Office teach you to write 'servant' when they trained you? You don't even count as a concubine—at best a bedwarmer, an untitled nobody. A mere servant dares to criticize what I do!" Lu Xuan's words grew more vicious.

Liu Hui didn't understand why Lu Xuan was so furious. Half aggrieved, half terrified, tears streamed down her face, but her mouth still mumbled: "I... I... Chief... Master..."

"You still dare talk back? Truly the General Affairs Office trains a different breed of person..."

Liu Hui quickly prostrated herself on the floor and said with a sob: "This slave deserves death! I beg the master's mercy!"

Zhang Lan dropped to her knees as well: "Master, Sister Hui was only thinking of this household. She meant nothing else..."

Lu Xuan gave a cold laugh: "Such sisterly devotion—so I'm the one at fault."

Zhang Lan kept her head down, not knowing what to say. Liu Hui just kept kowtowing and crying "This slave deserves death."

Then Lu Xuan spoke again: "Didn't you have someone buy you a copy of Lessons for Women? What are you hiding it for? Take it out and you two can discuss it—learn what wifely virtue means..." He slowly stood. "Take her out. Twenty strokes first. I'll come to inspect later, so go ahead and slack off if you dare!"

"This concubine would not dare." Zhang Lan trembled from head to toe.

"When it's done, have her kneel in the corridor outside the study to await punishment!" He picked up his shoes and strode out without looking back.