Since Shen Li had taken back the power of managing the household, she was naturally going to take action.
Although Lady Shen and Shen Miao tried every means to delay for four or five days, Shen Li still obtained the keys and account books for managing the Shen Mansion, as well as the indentures of all the servants in the Shen Mansion except for Lady Shen's dowry servants and the important servants of the second branch.
The first thing Shen Li did after getting the keys was to order someone to open the Eastern Courtyard, the Shian Courtyard where her parents used to live, and also the courtyard where she had lived until she was seven years old.
Previously in the Shen Mansion, her family of the first branch had always lived in the Eastern Courtyard, while Shen Junming's family of the second branch lived in the Western Courtyard.
When her father received a secret order from the emperor and left with her mother on a mission, Shen Junming and Lady Shen took over the management of the household. Their family then moved from the original Western Courtyard to the more magnificent Eastern Courtyard.
Shen Li, who had just turned seven, and Shen Yi, who was twelve, were sent to the Night Shade Division.
The door of the Shian Courtyard was then locked, and Shen Li hadn't been back for nine years.
She still remembered that when she was a young girl, just separated from her parents, she had cried and run to the Shian Courtyard, only to see the closed courtyard gate and the heavy lock.
She had gone to Lady Shen more than once, begging for the key so that she could go in and have a look, using it as a way to miss her parents.
But she was always refused by Lady Shen. As she grew older, she gradually understood that she wasn't liked by the second - branch family, so she stopped asking about coming here.
Before the age of seven, growing up by her parents' side, Shen Li had been an innocent, lively and bold girl. But with the departure of her parents, she felt like a discarded weed, not cared about by anyone.
As days passed, she became more and more timid, humble and weak.
Now that she was here again, the courtyard gate was opened, but there was only overgrown grass and layers of dust everywhere.
"Miss! I'll order someone to clean it up right away!"
Jiao Yue was shocked to see such a desolate place. She was two years older than Shen Li and had been sent to serve her when Shen Li was five. She knew this place had special meaning to her.
Seeing the Shian Courtyard like this, Jiao Yue was angry. She couldn't believe that the second lady didn't even bother to keep up appearances. This place had clearly been left unattended.
Soon, seven or eight maids came in with water. Some started sweeping the floor, while others wiped the furniture.
"Miss! It's too dirty now. You'd better go out and get some fresh air first! Come back in after it's cleaned up!"
"No! I want to look around!"
Shen Li walked through the main hall and entered the inner chamber where her parents used to live.
Looking at the familiar place, Shen Li felt a pang in her heart. She still remembered that her mother used to like sitting in front of the rosewood dressing table in the room, carefully combing her hair and then tying it into twin buns for her.
Her mother had dexterous hands, and the hairstyles she did for her were always the most beautiful. She often pestered her mother to comb her hair.
There was also a red - lacquered jewelry box carved with plum blossoms on the dressing table, which used to hold some of her mother's jewelry.
Now when Shen Li opened the box again, there were only a few hairpins and a wooden rosary inside, and their colors had already faded.
Needless to say, those things had long been taken by Lady Shen.
Shen Li bent down and felt around under the dressing table. She finally found a wooden block. Gently pushing the block, a small box appeared.
"Miss! What's this?"
Jiao Yue, who had just entered the room, saw this and couldn't help covering her mouth in surprise.
"These are all my mother's favorite jewelry!"
Her parents had a deep affection for each other. This dressing table was designed by her father for her mother when they got married. Ordinary people wouldn't notice this mechanism.
"Fortunately, this mechanism is still here. Otherwise, these things might have been gone long ago!" Shen Li picked up a gold - inlaid and kingfisher - feather - decorated hairpin and put it in her hair.
"This hairpin was my mother's dowry! So were these agate earrings!"
Shen Li picked up these jewelry on her own and told the story of each one.
Her voice paused. Looking at the wooden hairpin wrapped in red cloth at the bottom of the box, Shen Li couldn't hold back her tears any longer.
"This wooden hairpin was carved by me when I was seven years old as a birthday gift for my mother! I didn't expect mother to still keep it!"
Jiao Yue stepped forward and handed a handkerchief to Shen Li for her to wipe away her tears. "Miss, don't be sad anymore. Madam loved you the most!"
Shen Li looked at the wooden hairpin in her hand and nodded.
The wooden hairpin was really crudely carved. That year, in order to give her mother a surprise, she secretly carved a dozen hairpins by herself and then chose the best one to give to her mother.
After that, after the maids had cleaned up the place, Shen Li walked around the courtyard carefully. Finally, she asked Jiao Yue to carry the box of jewelry back to the Western Courtyard.
The next day, Shen Li summoned all the maids and servants in the mansion to the courtyard.
Sitting on the chair in the upper seat, Shen Li sipped her tea slowly, ignoring the servants kneeling all over the courtyard.
An hour passed. Shen Li watched as the expressions of the people below changed from respectful to resentful. She slowly put down her teacup and motioned for Jiao Yue to let them get up.
Jiao Yue shouted loudly, "Get up!"
The servants below bowed and got up one by one. Han Yue then handed over a box.
Shen Li took it and opened it. Looking at the thick stack of papers inside, these were the indentures of all the servants below.
"I think you all already know that I'm in charge of the household now! This box contains the indentures of all of you! If any of you want to redeem yourselves and leave, you can speak up now! The amount of silver for redemption is the same as when you sold yourselves. As long as you can come up with the silver, I'll set you free!"
Shen Li's voice gave no hint of her mood. Those who wanted to leave weren't sure what she was thinking, so no one stepped forward for a moment.
"This is a chance Miss is giving you! If you want to leave, you can speak up now. If you miss this chance, you won't have such a good opportunity again!"
Jiao Yue repeated it, and then a maid timidly stepped forward.
"Reporting to the eldest miss, this servant is Hongyu. My parents back home have arranged a marriage for me. I want to redeem myself and go home!"
Shen Li glanced at the maid's clothes and knew she was just a third - class maid in the mansion.
Jiao Yue found her indenture and saw that what was written on it was consistent with what she said. After the maid took out the silver, she returned the indenture to her.
The maid happily took the indenture and bowed to express her gratitude.
After this, six more people redeemed themselves and bought back their indentures. After that, no one else wanted to leave.
Shen Li scanned the faces of the people below one by one. She had given them a chance, and they had all chosen to stay.
Then, don't blame her next!
"I know managing the household is a hard job! So these past two days, I've been looking at the account books of our mansion! I was shocked to find that the expenditure of our mansion in the past few years has been so huge!"
"It's also been a bit too wasteful! I've decided that from today on, the food, clothing and daily expenses of everyone in the mansion will be halved!"