Mei Gongqing (The Bewitching Courtier) by Lin Jiacheng

Chapter 3: Dispersing Wealth

At Elder Sun's words, everyone in the busy courtyard stopped their work. They all looked up at Chen Rong and awaited her instructions.

She mulled for a moment before looking around, saying: "Gather all the servants in the estate. Tell them I have something to say."

"Aye, miss."

"Nurse Ping, have them move everything to the courtyard."

Nurse Ping stared blankly at Chen Rong. It wasn't until she repeated herself that the woman replied with: "Aye, miss." She was more than confused: The lady has changed so much recently. I don't understand her at all these days.

Although the Chen estate was currently helmed by a young lady, her father had served as the governor of the City of Ping throughout the years. He had accumulated abundant wealth despite being only an eighth-ranking official. At the time Chen Rong's father and brother left, they had taken with them a large number of assets, yet what was left could still fill this entire courtyard.

In this era, gold and coins were both difficult to circulate. The real money that people worshiped were food and clothes. In precarious wartime such as this, the most popular kind of transaction was bartering.

In only half an hour, the courtyard stood full of servants and maids. Elder Sun had not gone. He and Uncle Wu were standing under a tall banyan tree, curiously looking in Chen Rong's direction.

Chen Rong knelt on a cushion Nurse Ping had laid out for her. She casually glanced at the crowd and asked, "How many people do we have in the estate?"

"Seventy-three, miss."

Chen Rong nodded and slowly sipped her wine – although she was only fifteen, her every move seemed refined and graceful at this moment due to the noble air she gained from the dozen years of experience in her previous life.

Elder Sun nodded on the side as he startlingly thought: The House of Chen is said to be of noble descent. It is indeed true. Not only is Ah Rong from a subsidiary branch, but she is also a concubine-born daughter whose father is also concubine-born. She is young still, yet she possesses an aristocratic bearing that can only be attributed to the noble bloodline of her clan.

Chen Rong took a sip of wine and casually swept her eyes across the crowd in the courtyard, lightly saying: "War is approaching. The House of Chen will bring our family south. If you want to leave our house and seek your own path, then you will receive one bolt of fabric and five pecks of rice each. If you are willing to go with me, you'll still receive one bolt of fabric and five pecks of rice."

The moment these words left her mouth, an instantaneous silence came over the courtyard.

This translation belongs to hamster428.

Shocked, Uncle Wu couldn't help taking a step forward. He nonetheless could not bring his foot down — what right did he have to stop her?

After a long time of receiving no reaction, Chen Rong turned around to Nurse Ping and knitted her brow. "Nurse?"

Nurse Ping was gaping stupidly at Chen Rong. When she saw her fathomless black eyes, she woke up, rushed forward and exclaimed: "We can't, we can't. Ah Rong, we don't have that much rice and fabric in the estate to begin with. We can't divide them up."

Chen Rong said offhandedly: "If we don't have enough then use silk and millet instead."

"B-but, these are the only assets we have in the estate. If we divide them up among these many people, the estate's wealth will dwindle into nothing!" With a little shortness of breath, Nurse Ping went on: "Our travel is long. It's easy to run into problems on the road. Even if we successfully arrive in the south, how will you survive if you don't have property? Ah Rong, there has been no news of your father and brother heretofore. You must not carelessly drain your family wealth!"