Ziyan, Green Robe, and others brought over many trays. "These are whole ingots of gold and silver, imperial gifts from the New Year festival, and also what the Ning family sent for Miss to play with."
See, the wealthy families are different. Gold and silver are used for play.
The Empress Dowager annually bestowed some money, fabrics, and jewelry upon Li Man'er. Small ingots of five taels each, carved with plum blossoms and the character 'Fu' (fortune), looked especially festive.
What the Ning family sent were various golden and silver trinkets in different shapes. There were golden peanuts, golden melon seeds, silver gourds, and silver zongzi. As Li Man'er's zodiac sign was the Ox, there were many small golden ox and silver ox ornaments and pendants.
Good heavens, this was all money!
No wonder Madam Guo and Madam Cui wanted to deal with her. Such a treasure trove of gold, who wouldn't be envious?
"The counts are all correct. Take them back and lock them up!"
The maids then carried these gold and silver items back to the storeroom.
Li Man'er was intrigued and went to the storeroom herself to inspect her assets.
The storeroom was kept very clean. Perhaps due to good ventilation, there was no musty smell at all.
"Miss, these are all fine materials. It would be a terrible waste if they got moldy. Also, open flames are forbidden in our storeroom." If this place caught fire, the losses would be immense.
Li Man'er nodded. "You are thoughtful. Just keep a close eye on things."
"Miss, please don't worry. The servants would not dare to be negligent." Looking at all the esteemed young ladies in the capital, how many had their own dedicated storeroom before even getting married? Although this storeroom was converted from a side room, it was still unique.
Several valuable pieces of furniture were placed in the storeroom: cabinets of red sandalwood, chests of nanmu, and tables of huanghuali, all elevated high on brick bases.
Jewelry and hair ornaments were arranged on shelves, covered with velvet and satin. The finest furs were stacked one by one, and they had to be regularly taken out to air annually, which required considerable manpower.
In her memory, the original owner had often quarreled with Li Zha'er over these furs. One was greedy and wished Li Man'er would give her all the furs. The other was indignant, feeling Li Zha'er's covetousness was too obvious.
Li Man'er sneered inwardly and then looked at the other items in her storeroom.
There were decorative pieces, porcelain vases, and various strange and wonderful stones, odd in shape but quite beautiful.
"Hey, what is this?" Li Man'er pointed to a bronze censer placed in a corner. "Where did this thing come from?"
"Miss, how could you forget? That year, after returning from Jiangnan, we met an old beggar on the street. Didn't he sell this to you?"
There seemed to be such an incident.
The old beggar was emaciated and sick, on the verge of death. Yet, he clutched this censer tightly and refused to let go. Someone wanted to buy it, but he wouldn't sell, saying it was an heirloom from his family.
At the time, the censer was dull and black, and no one could tell it was made of bronze.
Coincidentally, the original owner was returning to the capital and witnessed this commotion.
The old beggar saw the original owner and exclaimed that he had found his destined person. He insisted on selling this censer to the original owner for ten taels.
This sum was, of course, a trivial amount to the original owner. At that time, whether out of kindness or from being annoyed by the old beggar's persistent pleas, the original owner paid for the censer. It was then placed in the storeroom and never brought out again.
Since it was something Li Man'er had personally bought, the servants dared not be careless. After several cleanings, they discovered that the dull, black censer was indeed made of bronze.
Li Man'er walked over and gently placed her hand on the bronze censer, feeling the subtle energy fluctuations. Her heart leaped with excitement.
This was undoubtedly a very powerful alchemical furnace. It must have been meticulously maintained for a long time and used to refine many elixirs. Even though it was covered in dust, Li Man'er could faintly smell medicinal fragrances and even sense the power of the Five Elements within its body.
This was the skill of a Xuanyi (Mystic Physician). They could perceive energy and mental fluctuations that most people in the world could not. It wasn't as miraculous as depicted in cultivation novels, but they did possess something mysterious and profound, thus deserving the title Xuanyi.
"Call a servant woman over and have this censer moved into my room."
Green Robe hesitated for a moment, and only after seeing Ziyan wink at her did she respond and go to call for someone.
Li Man'er frowned almost imperceptibly. There was still a significant difference between Green Robe and Ziyan. Ziyan made her feel particularly at ease; she was intelligent and meticulous, and most importantly, highly loyal.
Green Robe, on the other hand, had a lively personality and was somewhat impetuous in her work. Although she was also loyal, when faced with orders she didn't understand, she would instinctively try to argue a little or always ask for clarification before acting.
This was not a good trait for her.
"Miss, please don't worry. I will usually advise her."
Li Man'er simply said, "I'm afraid that no matter how much you tell her, she won't take it to heart. Her nature is hard to change." She still needed to be tempered.
Soon, a rough servant woman carried the bronze censer to the side room of the main house.
Li Man'er asked for water, as she intended to clean the censer herself.
"Miss, this is not work for you. Please let us servants do it. We will surely clean the censer."
Li Man'er replied, "This is not an ordinary censer; it is used for refining medicine, and you don't know how to do it." She could only feel at ease if she did it herself.
The servants exchanged bewildered glances, none of them knowing whether Li Man'er's words were true or not.
"What are you all standing around for? Quickly, bring me the tools."
"Yes."
"Your servant will go immediately."
Several people left the side room. Some went to fetch water, others to find rags, and one to get lye, all afraid of not doing enough and being disliked by Li Man'er.
Ziyan wrung out a rag for Li Man'er. "Miss, do you really want to do this yourself?"
"Is there any doubt?" Li Man'er waved the rag in her hand. "This is no ordinary task; it is of great importance. If you are interested, you can watch from the side."
When the maids heard this, they all became curious and wanted to watch Li Man'er clean the censer herself.
Li Man'er scrubbed, while Ziyan and the others assisted, washing rags and changing water for her.
The first time the rag touched it, a cloud of dust rose. One couldn't tell how long this censer had gone without being cleaned. It was no wonder it was left in a dusty corner. Look at its shape; it was like a perfectly formed date pit. If she hadn't recognized its value, this thing might have remained covered in dust forever.
"Change the water."
The little maid quickly went to change the water, using half hot and half cold water.
Ziyan washed the rag and handed it to Li Man'er. "Miss, how much longer do we have to scrub?"
"I'm afraid we won't finish today. If you have other tasks, go attend to them. I'll scrub alone."
Li Man'er stubbornly insisted that she wanted to clean this censer herself.