Without Shen Chengzhou and Ling Xiao, the general's mansion became empty. Ling Qingwan stayed there for a few days but still felt a little uncomfortable.
She was obviously a quiet person, but now she missed Ling Xiao's quarrels and arguments with Shen Chengzhou. It seemed that only with them did this huge general's mansion have a sense of fireworks.
Fortunately, there was Ling Shenshi, and since she had nothing to do, Ling Qingwan would often go to Ling Shenshi's yard to visit her. Sometimes Wei Xun would come to accompany her at night, and always wait until she fell asleep before leaving.
The days passed slowly like this, and just when Ling Qingwan was gradually getting used to the situation, Hong Chang suddenly came to report that Madam Ling was making trouble again.
I heard that Madam Ling sent someone to take the account books and other things from the mansion to the Orchid Garden yesterday, and then left without looking back. Hongshang and Luluo were just maids after all, and they looked at those things and didn't know what to do for a moment.
As a last resort, they could only come to Ling Qingwan to make a decision.
"Just leave the account books and seal and leave? Without the young lady's consent?" Qiao'er was shocked.
How could such a barbaric behavior be something a lady from a wealthy family would do? Even though the Ling Mansion is now in decline, it was once a prosperous family.
Qiao'er wanted to ask, isn't Mrs. Ling afraid of being laughed at if she does this
"The young lady is in the general's mansion, how can she ask for her consent?" Hong Chang was helpless. "And judging from the old lady's attitude, they won't care if the young lady is here."
Before, the old lady and Ling Chuchu had tried to return the household supplies to Ling Shenshi, but were rejected by Ling Qingwan one by one.
"It seems that the two of them are really desperate." Ling Qingwan sneered.
The Ling family is now spending more than it earns, and is losing money every month. Whoever gets the money will be in trouble. Old Madam Ling and Ling Chuchu are not fools, they are very thoughtful, otherwise they would not have tried every possible way to get the money back.
Ling Qingwan knew that they would not be able to handle this hot potato for long before they would have to return it.
Therefore, when Hong Chang told her about this, Ling Qingwan was very calm and not at all upset.
"Miss, what do you think?" Hong Chang asked Ling Qingwan.
Qiao'er also turned her head, and the two little girls looked at Ling Qingwan without blinking.
"Then let's go back." Ling Qingwan curled the corners of her mouth slightly, revealing a faint smile.
Then she looked up and met Hong Chang's eyes.
"Go back and tell the people in Lanyuan that I will be back to Ling Mansion tomorrow morning."
"I understand!" Hong Chang nodded in agreement.
"Miss, do you really want to take over the Ling Mansion's household?"
As soon as Hong Chang left, Qiao'er couldn't help but ask Ling Qingwan.
Judging from the look on Ling Qingwan's face, she's probably going to take it.
Qiao'er was simple-minded and could only think directly. The fact that Madam Ling was so eager to return the household affairs to Ling Qingwan meant that this was not a good thing at all. Ling Qingwan taking over was exactly what they wanted.
"They have come this far. Do I have any other choice but to take it over?" Ling Qingwan chuckled.
"But..." Qiao'er was worried.
"It's okay." Ling Qingwan knew what Qiao'er meant and comforted her gently. "Have you ever seen me suffer a loss?"
That's true.
Qiao'er thought about it seriously. Although Madam Ling was cunning, she had never taken advantage of Ling Qingwan.
Tomorrow she will return to Ling Mansion, and there will be more things to do. Ling Qingwan told Ling Shenshi about her return to Ling Mansion, and then went back to her room to lie down.
The next day, early in the morning, Ling Qingwan set out on the road back to the Ling Mansion.
She hasn't been back for a long time.
The carriage stopped. Ling Qingwan stood at the door and looked up at the words "Ling Mansion" on the plaque. She felt as if she was in another world.
"The Second Miss is back! The Second Miss is back!"
Just as he was absorbed in thought, someone suddenly called out, and then the housekeeper came out of the mansion and quickly walked up to Ling Qingwan.
"I thought you would be back in a while, so I didn't have time to greet you. I hope the second young lady won't blame me." The butler explained to Ling Qingwan respectfully.
"I got up early and had nothing to do, so I came back first." Ling Qingwan smiled at the housekeeper.
In the entire Ling Mansion, Ling Qingwan felt unfamiliar with everyone except the people in Lanyuan.
Although she took the surname Ling and claimed to be a member of the Ling family, the leaders of the Ling family never treated her as a member of their family. Thinking of this, Ling Qingwan felt a little sad.
But she has been relieved.
It was like this in the previous life, and it should be like this in this life. Bad people are bad no matter what, and they can't change.
Ling Qingwan walked back to the backyard from the hall, and all the servants who saw her along the way bowed to her respectfully. Normally, this was nothing, but the strange thing was that they were more excited than each other, and seeing Ling Qingwan was like grabbing a life-saving straw.
It was not until they returned to Orchid Garden that Ling Qingwan asked Luluo and Hongshang.
"Miss, you don't know that during the time when the old lady was in charge of the household finances, the mansion had no money at all and life was very depressed. Since there was no money, the old lady would deduct it from the servants in the mansion. Except for our Lan Yuan, all the other servants in the Ling Mansion had a miserable life." Luluo told Ling Qingwan one by one.
"Haven't you noticed that the servants in the mansion have lost a lot of weight?"
Ling Qingwan was stunned.
She was just thinking about things and didn't notice these things. Now thinking back, it was just as Luluo said.
The servants in the mansion were not in high spirits except for being happy when they saw her.
"But there are also good things." Hong Chang said.
"Tell me about it." Ling Qingwan was waiting for Hong Chang's answer with great interest.
"There is little money available in the mansion, but the old lady and the eldest daughter still live a rich life, wearing gold and silver all day long, eating delicious food and drinking spicy drinks, without missing out on anything. The servants in the mansion see this and have long hated them."
"Especially the eldest lady. She said she accidentally injured her leg some time ago and can only recuperate in the mansion. The old lady loves her very much and bought her a lot of precious herbs. She also finds ways to have the kitchen make nourishing soup every day to nourish the eldest lady."
"Just think about it, the servants in the mansion haven't received their monthly salary yet, and even food is a problem, while the two people in charge are still living a comfortable life. How can they feel comfortable?"
Hong Chang told Ling Qingwan what she had seen.
"Her leg was injured because she was punished by Concubine Jing and made her kneel for three hours. In my opinion, she deserved it." Qiao'er curled her lips.
Hongshang and Luluo didn't know about this because they were arranged to stay in Ling's house to look after Ling Qingwan after she went to the villa outside the city. Qiao'er had always been by Ling Qingwan's side, and she had heard most of what Ling Qingwan knew.
"Qiao'er." Ling Qingwan lowered her voice and called Qiao'er.
"I'm here." Qiao'er quickly agreed.
"You can't say these words in front of Ling Chuchu." Ling Qingwan reminded.
Given Ling Chuchu's personality, she would definitely not be able to accept such a shameful thing being known to others and being laughed at by the servants she despised the most.
During this special period, Ling Qingwan didn't want to cause herself more trouble.