Jiang Xuening sat outside, her mind preoccupied with matters concerning Yan Lin, Zhou Yinzhi, and others from her previous life, paying little attention to the sounds emanating from the inner room.
She only heard the curtain rustle, and when she looked up, Jiang Boyou had already emerged.
She immediately stood up, first performing a proper bow and greeting him with "Greetings, Father," before continuing, "To disturb Father over such trivial matters—it truly shows this daughter's incompetence and shame…"
At this moment, Jiang Boyou felt immensely pleased. He waved his hand dismissively, "The servants in your courtyard lack proper servant manners, and you as the mistress lack proper mistress bearing. They should have been dealt with long ago…"
"Ahem!"
Before he could finish his sentence, Chang Zhuo coughed twice from the side.
Jiang Boyou glanced at him, saw him shake his head slightly, and immediately understood.
This girl Xuening had been back at the manor for four years now. What she had grown into—they, as her elders, had witnessed it all.
How could she not know that the maids and older servants in her quarters had sticky fingers?
She was obviously aware.
Yet these servants, no matter how excessive they were behind her back, always called her "Second Miss this" and "Second Miss that" to her face, surrounding her like stars around the moon, holding her in the palm of their hands as if she were the most unique existence in the world.
So she indulged these people.
At the root of it all, this child had been brought back from a country estate to the manor. Wanniang was gone, she wasn't close to Lady Meng, and when she first arrived in the capital, she didn't know a single soul. Though she appeared spoiled on the outside, inside she was fragile and sensitive.
The weaker one is inside, the more they need external validation to support them.
After all, Jiang Boyou was someone who had reached the third rank in the imperial court, not to mention he held the crucial substantive position of managing the Ministry of Revenue. He could see through many matters and many people—this daughter was naturally no exception.
So in the past, even when he witnessed her indulging that houseful of servants, he had always advised Lady Meng not to intervene and discipline them, fearing that if handled improperly, it would hurt Xuening's feelings and make her think everyone in the manor was targeting her.
Today, something had clearly angered her, prompting her to take action and come find him.
But the more this was the case, the less he could show enthusiasm for the matter.
If she handled the people herself, that would be fine. But if others rushed to interfere and scold the people in her quarters, she might overthink it—others had already scolded them for her, her anger had dissipated, and the matter would come to nothing.
Jiang Boyou thought it over and decided to advance by retreating. He suddenly changed his tune, "However, you've always been quite protective of them on ordinary days, so presumably they've been serving you well. Servants in the manor having sticky fingers is a common occurrence. Yet you've come to find me to uphold justice for you and want to discipline your household servants. Actually, you could have handled it within your quarters. Why make such a grand production of it and create such a commotion?"
What a smoothly natural about-face.
Listening to this, Jiang Xuening observed Jiang Boyou quietly for a moment, already seeing through his strategy. She simply turned around, "Father makes a good point. This daughter did not think it through. Then I shall return to my quarters and handle it myself?"
"Ah, ah! Wait! Don't!"
Her reaction wasn't what he expected at all!
Hearing someone speak up for these maids and older servants—shouldn't she be even more furious and want to punish them even more severely?
Jiang Boyou was caught completely off guard by this move. Seeing her posture as if she was about to leave, he didn't have time to think further. He quickly reached out and grabbed her, revealing a placating smile, "Look at you, you've already come all this way—how could Father let you go back and handle it yourself? You must know that what I manage in the court is the Ministry of Revenue. I detest nothing more than those with sticky fingers! If one cannot manage one's household, how can one govern the nation? Father absolutely cannot let you suffer such grievances!"
Wouldn't it have been better to say this from the start, instead of playing at advancing by retreating!
This father of hers really was…
The corners of Jiang Xuening's lips curved up almost imperceptibly. Though she found it amusing for once, she suddenly felt an indescribable sense of wistfulness.
When she was an unmarried girl living in the manor, even though the maids and older servants below her weren't exemplary, they couldn't cause any major trouble. Whatever problems arose, she would mention them to Yan Lin, and he could basically handle everything. But after marrying Shen Jie, though Shen Jie certainly didn't treat her poorly, he wouldn't handle everything for her the way Yan Lin had. Moreover, that was in the perilous environment of the imperial palace—no matter how inept she was, the circumstances forced her to advance step by step.
Gradually, she was tempered into someone with a steady temperament and the skill to maneuver among people.
But by then, compared to her younger self, she had already become a completely different person.
Jiang Boyou looked at her and also sensed that something subtly different had appeared in her expression. Curious, he asked, "In the past, you were always very 'lenient' with them. Your mother and I were quite worried about it. Why have you suddenly changed your mind today?"
Jiang Xuening considered this—her change was indeed quite significant.
It would be best to have a passable explanation.
Raising her eyes, in the space of a thought, she replied without batting an eyelid, "Yan Lin taught me."
Oh.
That brat who's always climbing over their manor walls…
Upon hearing this, Jiang Boyou stroked his beard, snorted inwardly, and assumed a thoughtful expression.
Before long, all the maids and older servants from Jiang Xuening's quarters were brought over.
Each one trembled like chaff being sifted, their faces ashen.
Jiang Boyou, mindful that there was still a guest in the inner room and not wanting to be too noisy, ordered people to move two chairs and place them under the eaves outside the study. He had all those maids and older servants kneel in the courtyard.
Such a commotion—quite a few servants in the manor learned of it, quietly poking their heads out from the base of walls and along the covered corridors to watch.
Led by Wang Xingjia's wife, all the servants from Jiang Xuening's quarters could hardly believe what they had experienced in less than half a shichen: first, the Second Miss, whom they'd always managed to bamboozle, suddenly called them into her room. Then, without any warning, she demanded they return everything they'd taken before. They had only just denied it once, still thinking that even if the Second Miss wanted to punish them she would reason with them—yet without another word, she turned around and reported them to the Master, dragging them all out here to kneel?
Wang Xingjia's wife had it even worse.
She had already suffered one shock when Jiang Xuening first came back demanding that bracelet. She felt that this Second Miss, who had previously indeed been "completely obedient" to her, had suddenly stopped playing by the rules. She couldn't understand at all what the Miss was thinking or why she had suddenly changed.
Now that Jiang Xuening had Jiang Boyou backing her, she simply raised her hand and pointed at Lian'er, "Go fetch two large boxes."
Lian'er went to fetch them and, following Jiang Xuening's instructions, placed them on the ground.
Jiang Xuening then accepted the tea that Chang Zhuo offered from the side, gently blew on it, took a sip, set it down, and only then spoke, "I already said what I had to say when we were in my quarters. If anyone has taken my things, you'd best go find them and return them now. I can let bygones be bygones."
Under everyone's watchful eyes, with the Master observing, complete silence reigned below.
Wang Xingjia's wife didn't dare speak up.
A young maid behind her gave her a push. She was furious inside but endured it without making a sound, thinking only of getting through this immediate crisis before dealing with that little wretch later.
Seeing that they still refused to speak, Jiang Xuening smiled.
But she didn't say much more.
They knelt while she sat, with hot tea to drink and pastries to eat—what was the rush?
The courtyard center was paved with hard bluestone slabs. Though the manor's maids and older servants couldn't exactly be called pampered and spoiled, most had delicate skin and tender flesh, never having suffered much hardship.
Kneeling for a short while was manageable, but as time dragged on, gradually some couldn't endure it.
As people knelt on the ground, their knees began to shift, their bodies began to sway, and sweat soaked their foreheads and backs.
Finally, one maid couldn't bear it any longer. Both anxious and angry, she knocked her head on the ground, feigning grievance, "Second Miss is truly wronging us servants. In the past, when serving you, who wasn't wholeheartedly devoted, keeping you happy and pleased? Everyone knows your temperament—who would dare make trouble before you? Wouldn't that be seeking death? The servants only thought that if we treated our mistress well, our mistress would surely cherish us servants. Who would have thought Second Miss would have such whims, even putting the label of stealing the mistress's things on our heads! If you produced an account book and confronted us one by one with it, perhaps we servants would be convinced. But everyone serving in your quarters knows you don't keep track of your own things—we servants organize everything. Today if you say things are missing from the box, they're missing; if you say there's more, there's more—it all depends on your word alone. We servants all come from humble origins—where would we get the money to make up this shortfall for you?"
What a tongue skilled at inverting black and white.
Looking closer, it was the very one who had argued back at her in the quarters earlier.
If she weren't mindful that her hands were still somewhat precious and delicate, Jiang Xuening would have already slapped her twice across the face.
This one was certain she couldn't produce evidence.
Especially the matter of her not keeping track of her own things—they all knew this. By insisting on this point, they could even turn the tables on Jiang Xuening: after all, she was spoiled by nature, and if public opinion turned against her, wouldn't her reputation be irreparably damaged?
"You want evidence?" Jiang Xuening's delicate brows lowered, a smile already hanging at the corners of her lips, her voice leisurely, "In the past I indulged you because I thought you at least knew who the mistress was in these quarters. I didn't expect you'd now dare to talk back to me. Do you really think I don't keep track?"
Everyone was immediately stunned.
Even Lian'er and Tang'er, the only two who hadn't been implicated and stood to the side serving, didn't react in time.
Jiang Xuening glanced at these two maids. Her gaze moved from Lian'er to Tang'er, flickering slightly before she instructed, "Tang'er, fetch the account book."
At this moment, Lian'er was utterly confused: The Miss has an account book, and she didn't know about it?
Even the more composed Tang'er seemed somewhat bewildered.
But Jiang Xuening didn't leave her bewildered for long, "On my bookshelf, third level from the top, sixth book from the left—that's it. Go fetch it."
At these words, Jiang Boyou immediately looked at her with a peculiar expression.
Jiang Xuening continued drinking her tea, waiting.
Below, those kneeling maids and older servants, upon hearing the words "account book," felt their hearts violently tremble. Those with poorer composure nearly collapsed to the ground. For a moment, they felt tormented inside, yet didn't dare believe it.
How could the Second Miss have an account book?
Someone who carelessly threw around even her most precious possessions actually kept accounts in private?
It was simply beyond comprehension.
They desperately hoped they had misheard. While kneeling in panic and disarray, they watched the direction of the hanging flower gate, hoping Tang'er would return empty-handed.
Unfortunately, Heaven did not grant their wish!
Tang'er returned.
She walked from the hanging flower gate, carrying in both hands a rather thick book with blue covers. Coming forward, she presented it to Jiang Xuening, "S-Second Miss, the account book has been fetched as you instructed."
From that distance, the others kneeling below couldn't see at all—
The seemingly composed Tang'er's hands were trembling!
Jiang Boyou, being close by, instinctively glanced at what Tang'er was holding and nearly sprayed out the tea he'd just drunk!
What kind of account book was that?
The cover clearly bore four large characters: "Youxue Qionglin"!
Heaven knows there was no such broken account book on that bookshelf at all. What Tang'er saw at the third level, sixth position, following Jiang Xuening's instructions, was precisely this primer book for children's education!
But there was no choice—she had to bite the bullet and bring it over.
In this grand scene, Tang'er simply couldn't imagine how her own Miss would resolve this!
Yet Jiang Xuening's expression remained unchanged. Calmly and composedly, she received the "account book" from her hands and even began leafing through it, "This year in March, on my eighteenth birthday, Mother added a red jade ruyi pendant and a complete set of kingfisher feather ornaments. Father gave pine smoke ink and Chengxin Hall paper. Young Master Yan sent a pair of Ru kiln white porcelain flower vases, a luminous pearl from the land of Dashi, and a complete set of nine linked rings carved from a whole piece of mutton-fat white jade, and also…"
A snow-white little rabbit.
It was caught by Yan Lin when he went hunting. He said he thought the little rabbit resembled her—red-eyed, pitiful yet adorable—and couldn't bear to kill it, so he simply caught it and gave it to her to raise.
Unfortunately, she didn't care about the rabbit and handed it to servants to look after. Within two months, they had let it die.
Naturally, Jiang Xuening couldn't possibly have an account book.
She simply hadn't kept track of such things in her youth.
But Yan Lin remembered everything.
During that period when she was confined in the palace, whenever he came treading through the night, lying on his side on her bed, his fingers roughened with calluses from martial arts practice would brush across her cheek as he spoke to her of his feelings from their youth.
It would have been difficult for her to forget even if she wanted to.
Jiang Xuening kept her eyes lowered as she recited for quite a while before finally lifting her gaze to look at those kneeling below.
By this point, how could they continue kneeling?
Every single one had practically collapsed to the ground.
Wang Xingjia's wife was the quickest to read the situation. Hearing how clearly the account book recorded each item, and that some objects were extremely distinctive—if the manor made a point of investigating, even if they'd been pawned, they could be traced back—then it would become an ironclad crime, and being handed over to the authorities would mean ruin.
At the critical moment, she was willing to sacrifice herself.
Wang Xingjia's wife knocked her head on the ground with a loud "thud" and began crying with genuine sincerity, "Miss is wise and brilliant—it was all this old woman whose heart was blinded by lard. Earlier I didn't dare admit it because I underestimated Miss's abilities. This old servant's family is in difficulty. Seeing others take Miss's things and Miss not caring, I thought to first 'borrow' Miss's things to tide things over. Once my family weathered the crisis, I would quietly return them to Miss. Who would have thought Miss's heart was clear as a mirror, seeing us filthy creatures perfectly clearly. This old servant has attended Miss for so many years, having watched Miss return to the manor. These days, because I've done things to wrong Miss and deceived Miss, I haven't even been able to sleep well at night. Today, being discovered by Miss, I actually feel relieved. Please, Miss, wait a moment—this old servant will return all your things without exception, and sincerely requests that Miss, for the sake of past considerations, allow this old servant to make merit atone for my offense. Whether you beat or punish me is up to you—as long as I can remain by your side to serve you, this old servant will be satisfied!"
"…"
All the young maids kneeling behind her nearly popped their eyeballs out.
They'd seen shameless people, but never anyone this shameless!
In terms of thick skin, they couldn't hold a candle to Wang Xingjia's wife.
Listening to her speech, Jiang Xuening noted how she had found a reason for taking things, flattered her, and—most importantly—admitted fault while expressing loyalty. If anyone carelessly listened, they might even think this was truly a "loyal servant" through and through!
She found it amusing.
So she said, "Then roll down and fetch the things."
Wang Xingjia's wife, as if granted amnesty, knocked her head on the ground three more times before getting up. After showing Jiang Xuening a fawning smile, she retreated and went back to her own quarters to gather the items.
Seeing this, how could the others still dare to resist stubbornly?
Earlier in the quarters, they hadn't admitted it because they thought the matter wasn't serious. After being called here to kneel, they were already scared to death. Seeing even Wang Xingjia's wife yield, naturally everyone knelt pleading for mercy, one after another confessing their guilt and returning to their own quarters to fetch everything they'd taken, depositing it one by one into the boxes that Jiang Xuening had ordered placed on the ground earlier.
Before long, pearl and kingfisher ornaments, flower vases, and painting scrolls had piled up to overflowing, even spilling over the top.
Only by dealing with this group did Jiang Xuening discover—goodness, she was actually a small wealthy woman.
Even Jiang Boyou, watching from the side, couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.
Good heavens, the Yongyi Marquis Manor was truly one of the two great noble houses of the current dynasty. She hadn't even married over yet, and Yan Lin had already gifted her so much—could it be he'd emptied out his entire family fortune for her?
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