Chapter 27 The Cleaning “Chief, Hua and Cao have done all the things according to your arrangement. Please go have a look.” When Sakura came into the Inner Compound, she saw her maid Ye. “Great! Let me check how many spoils they’ve collected.” She had a series of plans for cleaning the Inner Compound, and this was the first step. But to honest, this was a good time killer. In the office of the Inner Compound, Cao and Hua bowed to her. Before she could react, glittering on the ground flashed and caught her eyes. G.o.d! The ground was fully covered with jades, pearls, golds, and silks. If she was still in the modern age, those cultural relics might be submitted to a museum. But she couldn’t take even one from them. Sakura had some pity in heart, but she hid her true thoughts and coughed as she walked through them. The maids kneeling in front of her were had gone completely pale. They obeyed her order to lift up their heads. But soon they were lowered down again, fearful but still unwilling to give away those treasures. Sakura squatted down to check the relics one by one. She had seen similar things from a book some j.a.panese friend gave her grandpa. Now she was seeing the real deal. Her eyes feeling glutted, she stood up slowly, asking the three maids to pack up those treasures and have them taken to the storeroom where they’d be safe. “Where did you get these treasures?” she asked the maids. “My honor, they were given by Madam. A long time ago. . . ” one of the maids answered. Sakura took a deep breath, and she turned her face to Toilet Brush. Since Yae had been driven away, the maid became obedient to her. Then she understood her idea and answered, “My honor, I have checked carefully; though some of the treasures were gifted by Madam, most of them were payment for their services for certain issues. Meanwhile, these are not all of it, but simply what’s left. They have sold many and sent the money back to their hometown. Do you think we should drive them out?” “Please, my honor, forgive me. . . ” Before Sakura said a word, all the maids began to plea and kowtow. “Don’t cry! It’s so annoying to hear your voices! Relax, I won’t drive you out, because I know you were sold to here by your poor families.” Sakura raised her voice, saying, “The master is rebuilding Kai. Everyone in this house should keep a simple life to support the rebuilding. How dare you enjoy a luxurious life in this chaotic age? If everyone acted like you, Kai will become extinct sooner or later. I will use these things for the poor people to rebuild their houses and open up wastelands for planting. All the wives of the previous master can choose to leave or stay. If they choose to stay here, they can’t admire the Madam Sanjō’s beautiful dressing and decorations. Or I won’t allow them.” Her words shocked all the people in the Inner Compound. But Sakura soon became regretful; how could she be so just and generous? She only needed to steady her position in the Tsutsujigasaki; why should she have to sacrifice so much? But she should have her words. Taking back the treasures was not a clever choice. For a whole day, she was sad about the treasures. Until Itagaki n.o.bukata sent her a message. “Are you serious? The master wants to give me some cloth?” “How could the master cheat us? He praised you in front of me, saying that you are so generous. The treasures removed much of his burden. So he would like to offer you some cloth. I already brought them here; you won’t ask me to take them back, will you?” When she opened the pack, Sakura couldn’t help but call out. Though it was only some cloth, it was high-end fabrics—especially the blue cloth with sakura petals. Though she was still unwilling to yield to Harun.o.bu, her heart was pleased. “Are you happy? The master also asked me to tell you that you can order the maids to make dresses at any time. He wanted to see you in them.” Fine. . . She didn’t like wearing a kimono in fact; especially in Kai, since it was such a hot place. She would rather make some clothing on her own. She said thanks to n.o.bukata and asked him to thank Harun.o.bu.