“Is your aunt still in the residence?” Walking along, Mi Yao suddenly remembered seeing Xiao Rou the day before. If she were still around, Mi Yao felt she ought to pay her respects.
“Aunt came yesterday to see Mother and us, then left. Nanny Fan said she didn’t even stay for the banquet.” Xiao Liang answered earnestly, his expression serious as he looked up at Mi Yao. She knew he was trying to win her attention, to please her.
Looking at his fair little face lifted toward her, Mi Yao resisted the urge to pinch his cheeks and instead patted his head. “Second Son speaks very carefully.”
Touched by her hand, Xiao Liang smiled shyly. He had thought Mother would keep her distance from him and his brothers. Who would have guessed she not only gave them gifts, but was now taking them to the storeroom to look at things?
He didn’t know exactly what they were going to see, but he was so happy, so full of anticipation. He hoped Mi Yao would ask him more questions he could answer, just so he could talk with her a little longer.
Unfortunately, Mi Yao didn’t speak again along the way. But Xiao Liang wasn’t disappointed for long—once they reached the storeroom, Mi Yao had the servants bring chairs and braziers, and his seat was placed right beside hers. That alone made him happy again.
Xiao Liang’s thoughts were written all over his face. Xiao Yi, watching from the corner of his eye, saw his younger siblings: one squeezed onto Mi Yao’s chair, dozing against her arm; the other tilting his head up at her, eyes shining brightly.
When Mi Yao was cold toward them, Second Brother grew dejected—but Xiao Yi felt secure. Now that she had changed her manner, he didn’t feel joy, but rather unease. He feared that one day Mi Yao would lose patience with Second Brother and Shan’er, leaving them disappointed and hurt. Worse, he feared her current kindness had ulterior motives—that the frightening words adults sometimes used might come true, and that, as a stepmother, she would see them as burdens, unable to bear having them live in the Xiao household alongside her future children.
Mi Yao herself didn’t realize how much psychological pressure her change of attitude placed on Xiao Yi. Her mind was entirely on the storeroom inventories. Besides chairs, she had two tables brought in. “Shuang Hua, record the entries. Steward Zheng, point out the locations. Shi Ya, fetch the items for me to inspect.”
Then, noticing Yu Xiu glaring at the three little radishes, Mi Yao added: “Xiu’er, go help Shuang Hua. Do it well and I’ll reward you.”
Hearing her instructions, Xiao Yi couldn’t sit still. “Mother, I know many characters, and I’m strong. I can help too.”
As soon as his elder brother spoke, Xiao Liang quickly followed, saying he could help as well.
Xiao Liang, she could dismiss, but Mi Yao looked at the solemn expression on Xiao Yi’s face. With someone eager to work, she naturally welcomed it. “You read from the old registers. Call out the names. If you don’t recognize a character, ask me.”
The old registers were simple, with no difficult characters. Having Xiao Yi take the task saved her voice.
The Xiao family’s storerooms were not small—two‑story buildings, and more than one of them. The larger storerooms held beds and couches; the smaller ones contained jewelry and ornaments. There was only one steward and a young servant managing the storeroom. At a glance, Mi Yao understood why Xiao Xu trusted Steward Zheng with its care.
Steward Zheng stood nearly eight feet tall, broad‑shouldered and upright, his features stern—save for a savage scar slashing across his right cheek, nearly ruining half his face. Beside him rested a cane; one leg was clearly impaired. Though physically disabled, his fierce eyes and bristling beard marked him as a hardened warrior, a man who had seen battle and blood. Even with his injury, few would dare take advantage of him.
Given Xiao Xu’s military post, Steward Zheng was likely a former subordinate whose loyalty had been proven and was thus entrusted with guarding the storeroom.
Seeing him, Mi Yao realized the sloppy records were no real issue. That Steward Zheng could read and patiently write small characters was already commendable. She had no intention of stationing more people in the storeroom. Her purpose today was twofold: to select furnishings for her new chamber, and to re‑catalogue the vague entries in the old registers, making it easier to retrieve fine items later.
“The items listed in the registers are all piled here. Small ones boxed, large ones left outside.”
When Mi Yao asked him to sit, Steward Zheng did not hesitate—he strode boldly to the corner he indicated and sat down. “Madam need only read out the dates and items from the old registers. My memory is good; I can surely find them all for you.” He thumped his chest with confidence.
Looking at him, Mi Yao wondered if she had judged too much by appearances. His rugged exterior did not mean he lacked delicacy of thought. But before half a cup of tea had passed, seeing the table covered with objects and Steward Zheng sweating profusely, she knew she had overestimated him. At first, he could guess correctly, recalling that earlier items were stored below. But later, he simply rummaged through boxes at random.
Unable to bear it, Mi Yao ordered Shi Ya and the others to take the items out and place them on the tables. She then compared them one by one against the registers herself.
Fortunately, she had inherited the original host’s memories. Since the host had some knowledge, Mi Yao could naturally identify the names of each item.
“This jade pendant is quite fine.”
Looking at the register entry noting a gift of white jade from the Sun family of Jingzhou, Mi Yao opened the brocade box. Inside lay a piece of mutton‑fat jade carved with lotus blossoms. Its touch was warm and smooth. She liked it, so she told Shuang Hua to record that she had taken it.
After claiming the jade, Mi Yao casually handed it to Xiao Shan to play with, while she moved on to examine the next item.
This small storeroom mostly contained gifts others had presented to Xiao Xu. Since he was a general, the types of gifts were fairly similar—even a dagger in a box would be encrusted with gems and sheathed in gilt.
Beyond that, Mi Yao uncovered many items meant for children.
Apparently, those who gave gifts knew Xiao Xu had three children and thoughtfully prepared things for them, hoping to win his favor. Yet Xiao Xu had tossed them all into the storeroom, never intending to give them to Xiao Yi and his brothers.
Naturally, Mi Yao gathered these items and distributed them among the three children. In addition, when she saw a box of animals pieced together from golden beans, she handed it to Yu Xiu.
“This box is yours. As for the other playthings, I won’t bother sorting them. If your nieces or nephews have something you want, use this to trade. If they like it too, then exchange it for silver and buy something else.”
Watching Mi Yao continually place treasures before Xiao Liang and the others to take back to their quarters, Yu Xiu nearly ground her teeth to dust. If everything was given away now, then when her elder sister bore a child, wouldn’t the legitimate son be left with nothing? But the next moment, her elder sister handed her a box of golden beans.
“Sister… this is far too precious…” Yu Xiu dared not accept. As a concubine‑born daughter, though she had followed Mi Yao and avoided being looked down upon by the servants, her treatment was worlds apart from that of a legitimate daughter. The only gold bracelet in her bundle was a gift from Madam Li before she left the Yu household. Yet these golden beans were enough to make two bracelets.
“Even if it’s precious, you are my sister. Of course you are worth it.” Mi Yao didn’t say that among the storeroom’s treasures, this gold was nothing. Instead, she emphasized Yu Xiu’s worth.
Hearing this, Yu Xiu’s eyes filled with tears. She forgot all about what Xiao Shan and the others had received. “Sister, no one in this world treats me better than you.”
The words sounded familiar. Mi Yao thought for a moment and realized she herself had once said them to Xiao Xu. So this was the pleasant feeling those words brought. No wonder, after she said them, even Xiao Xu—so self‑controlled, never showing joy or anger—had looked at her with deepened eyes.
“Aunt, if there’s something you want, just take it. No need to trade.” Xiao Yi, seeing Mi Yao uncover so many things to send to Tingsong Courtyard, had wanted to refuse. He felt the gifts were too many, and since Father hadn’t given them before, they probably weren’t meant for them.
At that moment, hearing Mi Yao instruct Yu Xiu, Xiao Yi immediately spoke up.
After he finished, Xiao Liang also pushed the box in front of him outward. “Aunt, please take it.”
Just receiving the nine‑linked jade puzzle from Mi Yao was enough to make him happy. Besides, if all these things were placed in Tingsong Courtyard, he feared they would slowly disappear—just like the little trinkets he had liked before, either taken by Hutou or mysteriously gone missing from his room.
“It’s not about taking them right now.” Mi Yao explained, “Xiu’er, make several registers. Once this is finished, go record everything in your nieces’ and nephews’ quarters, and add these items too. That way, if something is lost later, we’ll know exactly what went missing.”
In large families, keeping registers of the young masters’ belongings was perfectly normal. But Xiao Xu, a fourth‑rank official who had risen halfway through his career, didn’t manage the inner household, nor did he have women to oversee it. Naturally, everything was in disarray.
Moreover, the Xiao household had far too few servants. The Yu family estate was only slightly larger, yet it had nearly two hundred retainers. The Xiao family had only nineteen.
On the operations register, Mi Yao added “buying servants.” In the column for stewards, she directly wrote Yu Xiu’s name.
Nanny Luo was unusable. Mi Yao thought through the candidates for stewardship in the Xiao household. Competent people were naturally servants from other households—but even if she recruited one, loyalty would be a concern. Rather than waste effort finding and training outsiders, she chose from those closest to her.
Three ordinary minds together could equal one strategist. Shuang Hua, Shi Ya, and Yu Xiu all knew how to read. With some training, they could take up posts. After all, the Xiao household’s foundation was already like this. With new positions, the staff would have plenty of time to learn and grow.
Once the first storeroom was tallied, Mi Yao moved on to the next.
The second storeroom was larger. Seeing the obvious piles of items, she knew it contained Xiao Xu’s spoils of war. Many things didn’t even have boxes.
She sent people to buy brocade boxes for storage. Resting her chin lazily in her hand, she watched Shuang Hua and Xiao Yi grow more adept, and felt her own future was promising. A few more days of hard work, and she could lie back in comfort.
Feeling her stomach empty, she simply slipped away with Xiao Shan and Xiao Liang, heading to the food storeroom where the Xiao family kept medicines and rare ingredients. Since the banquet had just been held yesterday, the storeroom still held plenty of fresh goods unused. Inside the cabinets were abalone, sea cucumber, shark fin, and fish maw.
Looking at the quality of these ingredients, Mi Yao frowned. Her small kitchen drew supplies from the main kitchen. With the Jiangnan cooks’ fine skills and the ingredients bought along the journey not yet exhausted, she hadn’t thought the meals lacking.
But now, seeing the inferior abalone smaller than Xiao Shan’s hand, she was displeased. This was the Xiao household, with tens of thousands of taels of gold on the books. As Xiao Xu’s pampered wife, how could she be served such things?
At the very least, it should be three‑headed abalone, premium shark fin, and white fish maw.