Letting others know about his transformation was the first step he envisioned.
The second step was to get rid of the people around him. He didn't want to be under the surveillance of others no matter what he did in the future. When something happened, there would be no one to help him. He didn't have the habit of self-abuse, nor was he interested in experiencing the feeling of isolation and helplessness that the original owner had.
The third step, he remembered the dowry left by Zhang. Although a lot of it had been lost, the farm and the shop were still there. It was only because the original owner did not understand worldly things and had no capable manager, that they were taken control by the people sent by Ma Yulian. What he had to do now was to get these things back.
If conditions were put forward at the beginning, it would certainly seem too abrupt. The original owner has always been indifferent and noble. It would be strange for him to suddenly care about these mundane matters. With the previous changes as a prelude, things that follow will be much smoother.
"Thank you, Madam. The maidservant beside me is getting old, and I want to let her go to marry someone else. Please keep an eye out and see if there are any good candidates."
Ma Yulian frowned, her mind hesitating, secretly wondering what he was up to: "I've been serving you well, why do you suddenly want to change people? But who is disobedient? Just have someone drag him out and beat him with a stick. Your wedding day is coming in a few days, why change people at this time..."
Li Yaonan knew she would not agree, and he was prepared in his heart. If he really did as she said and dragged the person out to be beaten with a stick, his reputation would probably be further tyrannical. He said calmly, "Madam, you are worrying too much. It is customary to send the maid out of the house before the wedding. It will not delay anything."
Ma Yulian opened her mouth, looked at her unmarried daughter, and said nothing. Others sent their maids out of the house when they got married, and they were just maids who served in the same room. What was his? Looking Li Yaonan up and down, Ma Yulian suddenly remembered that this child was already seventeen years old and seemed to be ignorant of human affairs. Otherwise, with such a beautiful girl by his side, she didn't believe that he would be willing to send her away.
He secretly cursed that he had made a mistake. Instead of letting Li Yaonan annoy him with all his nonsense all day long, it would be better to let him have beautiful women by his side, in the land of tenderness and in the tomb of heroes. Once he has tasted the sweetness of women, there is no need to worry that he will not learn bad things!
Ma Yulian cleared her throat, a trace of sadness appeared between her brows, and she said with guilt: "Alas! I was so busy that I forgot that you don't even have anyone to serve you in your room now. You are going to get married in a few days, and I don't know how to deal with people. I think your maids are good, so don't send them out to marry. First, promote them to maids, and then promote them to concubines after you give birth to children."
Li Yaonan was stunned and almost choked. A maidservant? He still had this benefit? He struggled a little in his heart and shook his head. He had no luck with a maidservant who betrayed her master. Then he remembered that the ancients taught their children to know the ways of others and there was such a thing as a maidservant. At present, his future was uncertain. In order to avoid unrest in his family, he decided to give up the maidservant with great pain. He said with a stern face, "How can a man delay his love with his children? Yaonan appreciates the good intentions of the lady, but he dare not agree. My husband will be married in a few days. Yaonan does not want to make things difficult for him. Let the maidservants go and marry them off."
"Whatever you want!" Ma Yulian looked at his painful face, but pretended to be serious. She only laughed in her heart. The little beast was indeed a little naive. He was like this when it came to women. She continued, "Since they are going to be paired, you have to have someone to serve you. I will ask Zhang Baojia to bring people to pick for you. I guarantee that they will all be beautiful."
"No! No! No!" Li Yaonan's face flushed red, he really wanted to laugh. Ma Yulian looked like a brothel owner at this moment, she waved her hands hastily, "No need to be so troublesome, the mansion has been busy lately, let's focus on the mansion first, and ask the traffickers to bring people here later, I can just pick a few people at random."
Ma Yulian thought he was just shy, a wonderful misunderstanding, and didn't take his words to heart. After all, there was a long time to come. She thought about the fact that Li Yaonan was getting married, the old lady's 50th birthday, and Zhen'er and Zong'er were also going to start looking for someone. She was really too busy, so she said, "Okay, you make the decision yourself, choose someone and inform the steward, but the maid we bought doesn't know etiquette. Your big day is just around the corner, so you have to think carefully. If you make a fool of yourself, it's not just you who will be embarrassed, but the reputation of our Li family will also be damaged."
"I understand, Madam Xie." Li Yaonan naturally didn't know that Ma Yulian was currently imagining how to lead him astray. He found it unbelievable that she could achieve her goal so easily.
Ma Yulian was thinking, it's just a few maids, even if he changed them, what would happen? Can he become successful by changing a few maids? He wants to get rid of her control, but he doesn't even consider whether he has the ability. With his pedantic character, if he is a smart person, he should know which side to stand on. What's more, Nanny Li is still in his room, so what if he changed the maids? It's really unreasonable.
The more Ma Yulian disdained Li Yaonan, the happier she became. The more useless Li Yaonan was, the happier she felt.
"Okay, just go down if you have nothing else to do. There are still nine days before the wedding. You should find time to move to Jinglanyuan as soon as possible, get familiar with the environment first, and see if there is anything missing. I will make it up to you when the time comes." Ma Yulian really didn't want to see him anymore. She was afraid that Li Yaonan would put forward some outrageous conditions again, so she hurriedly sent him away while speaking.
How could Li Yaonan do as she wished: "There is one more thing I need to trouble you with, Madam. I want to take back the property left by mother." The mother he mentioned was naturally his biological mother. Over the years, Li Yaonan had always called Ma Yulian "Madam".
"What did you say?" Ma Yulian was furious, her eyes became fierce, and she stared at Li Yaonan closely. For many years, no one dared to mention Zhang in front of her. She was a thorn in her heart.
"My mother passed away early, and Yaonan is incompetent, so I can't repay her kindness of giving birth to me. These properties are my only wish. Yaonan wants to take them back, and I hope my wife will agree." Li Yaonan was calm and spoke eloquently. Although his face was indifferent, his tone was extremely firm.
Ma Yulian knew at a glance that he was determined, so she hid her displeasure and said contemptuously, "You don't know how to manage things, so why do you want to take back the shop? For a family like us, we just need to give orders for everything, but we can't lower our status to do business. If my sister knew that you neglected your studies and cared about these mundane things, she would definitely feel bad."
The corners of Li Yaonan's lips twitched. He was just taking back the property, why was it related to his studies? Even his deceased mother came out. Ma Yulian's eloquence was really amazing.
"Madam is right. Yaonan dare not neglect her studies. She only wants to take back her property and give it to her husband for safekeeping because she is getting married. Otherwise, Yaonan has nothing and would not have the nerve to delay the young master of the Lin family. If mother knew, she would be happy." Li Yaonan answered calmly, especially emphasizing the word "delay".
Ma Yulian sneered, naturally understanding what he meant. She said that a few days ago, Li Yaonan vomited blood and fainted because of the maid's gossip. How come he became willing today? It turned out that he was waiting here. She said sarcastically: "You feel sorry for the new wife."
Li Yaonan gladly accepted her compliment: "Of course, I also want to thank you for being the matchmaker, big brother."
Ma Yulian was so angry that she fell backwards. He was so confident that he had nothing to fear. Her pupils shrank slightly and a gloomy look flashed in her eyes. How could she not know what Li Yaonan was planning? He felt that his wings had grown strong and wanted to fly. She was indeed too kind.
Ma Yulian frowned, her mouth was tight, and her fingers kept tapping the table. After thinking about it, she found that before this little beast got married, she really couldn't do anything to Li Yaonan.
This concerns her son's future. If Li Yaonan refuses to get married, she will have no choice but to act cautiously.
The most important thing for a wealthy family is their reputation. Even if the son of the Lin family is not well-received, before he marries into the Li family, the Lin family will only treat him better. This is the only way to conceal the truth. The only people who value this marriage are the Lin family, not Li Yaonan or Lin Yixuan. However, the Li family cannot afford to offend the Lin family. If Li Yaonan really makes a fuss, the entire Li family might be implicated.
But it was absolutely impossible for her to give up her property. Ma Yulian smiled and said, "The things my sister left behind are already in your hands. It's up to you to decide whether to take them back or not."
Li Yaonan's eyes turned cold. Ma Yulian's words sounded nice, but in fact, it was the same as not saying anything. He was indeed in charge of the title deeds, but the property was in the hands of the stewards. For the sake of his reputation, could he force the stewards to leave? The property was nominally managed by people sent by his wife. If he really did that, he would be unfilial. What's more, he had no one to use, so who would really listen to him
If he could take back the property with just a title deed, he wouldn't be arguing with her here.
If it were an ordinary person, he would definitely give up even if he was extremely reluctant. But Li Yaonan was not an ordinary person. He always climbed up the ladder and misinterpreted the meaning of Ma Yulian's words. He hurriedly said, "Yaonan doesn't understand worldly affairs. Although the property is in his hands, the steward deceives his superiors and subordinates, and asked Madam to help recruit them back. I'm afraid that I can't control them. If it gets out, it will be bad for the Li family's reputation. The second young master of the Li family is controlled by a few stewards. People who know will say that I am incompetent. Those who don't know will think that Madam is interfering. This will also affect Madam's reputation."
"What do you mean by this?" Ma Yulian's eyes widened, her face turned pale. She couldn't believe that this man was talking nonsense. Although most of what he said was true, these were all things that happened in secret. Who would dare to say them out loud? He was really shameless.
Looking at the young man in front of her again, Ma Yulian was in a trance for a while. It was still the same face, looking frail, but he felt like a different person. There was no trace of sourness in his words and deeds. Could a blow really change a person so much