————Cuiying Pavilion————
At this moment, porcelain shards were scattered across the floor inside the room, and the maidservants were all kneeling tremblingly to the side.
Xu Qingyue sat on a stool with a contorted, furious expression, fuming: “Mother actually handed the household management authority of the Duke’s Estate to a shu-daughter! She grew up in the countryside—what qualifies her to manage the inner quarters of the Duke’s Estate!”
Ever since her people had learned that the Duchess of Guo had handed the household management authority of the rear courtyard to Xu Qingyan, Xu Qingyue had been throwing a tantrum in her room.
Originally, Xu Qingyue had already been vexed enough that she couldn’t get her dowry back, but she never expected to receive news like this. She vented all her anger on the furnishings and maidservants in the room.
Fang Dong, kneeling on the ground, tried to please Xu Qingyue and said cautiously: “Madam, please don’t be angry. This Consort of the Heir Apparent grew up in the countryside since childhood. If the household management authority is handed to her, I’m afraid she’ll only make a fool of herself. Since the Duchess of Guo was willing to hand over the household management authority, she surely won’t interfere anymore in the future. If the Consort of the Heir Apparent can’t manage things well, then the authority will have to be returned to you.” Saying this, she glanced at Xu Qingyue and continued.
“Your status is that of a di-daughter, and you’ve been well-read in poetry and books since childhood—how could the Consort of the Heir Apparent possibly compare to you? Just wait for her to embarrass herself.” It had to be said that Fang Dong’s words did indeed please Xu Qingyue. She gradually calmed down, thinking that what Fang Dong said made some sense.
A hint of a smile flashed through Xu Qingyue’s eyes as she spoke viciously: “What you said is right. This Xu Qingyan, this country girl, probably can’t even recognize a few characters. With such a vast estate as the Duke’s Estate, let’s see how she manages it! I don’t know what Mother was thinking, actually handing it to her. Since that’s the case, I’ll take this opportunity to watch her make a fool of herself! She might even end up being divorced by Eldest Brother.”
————Study————
At this moment, Xu Qingyan was learning how to manage the household with a worried expression. The Duchess of Guo had already washed her hands of it, leaving all matters of the estate, great and small, to her.
Xu Qingyan disliked trouble the most, so she simply let things be. She kept all the estate’s expenditures and the allowances for each branch exactly as the Duchess of Guo had arranged before, without making any major adjustments.
As a result, the various branches of the Duke’s Estate had no complaints about Xu Qingyan’s management for the time being, and she herself was happy to have the leisure. All she needed to do was check the account books the steward brought each month.
The steward, Zhou Yi, knowing that Xu Qingyan was an illiterate shu-daughter, couldn’t help but feel somewhat arrogant toward her inwardly, though he didn’t show it on his face.
One day, he went to see Xu Qingyan as routine to have the account books reviewed. He had assumed it would just be a formality and he could leave, but unexpectedly, Xu Qingyan held the account book and examined it for a long while before saying: “Steward Zhou, your account book records that my Tingyu Pavilion spends one hundred taels on food each month. I don’t see any delicacies from land or sea on my table every day—why is it so expensive?” Xu Qingyan looked at Steward Zhou with confusion after speaking.
“I recall that rice is only five wen per catty now, and beef, mutton, and fish are only thirty wen per catty. My servants don’t eat the same as I do, so how could so much silver be spent?” Xu Qingyan continued.
Originally, she had only planned to give the account book a quick glance, but she never expected that a casual scan would reveal such a major problem.
Zhou Yi was shocked inwardly. Wasn’t it said that the Consort of the Heir Apparent was a shu-daughter who hadn’t read much? Not only could she read account books, but she was also this familiar with market prices. Cold sweat immediately broke out on his body.
“Madam, the rice and meat in the Duke’s Estate are all of the finest quality, so they’re naturally more expensive than ordinary ones. It’s not just the food—even the pots, pans, bowls, and dishes cost more. So when you add it all up, the monthly expenditure is naturally considerable.” Zhou Yi explained somewhat perfunctorily.
Hearing this, Xu Qingyan frowned slightly and was silent for a long while before saying: “I see. So has it always been like this in the past? Could you bring me the previous account books as well for me to look at?”
Seeing Xu Qingyan let the matter go, Zhou Yi thought he had gotten away with it and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly had someone deliver all the previous account books.
“Steward Zhou, I’m a bit tired today. There are too many account books—let me take a few days to look through them before returning them to you.” Xu Qingyan glanced at the mountain of account books and said to Zhou Yi with a smile.
“Very well, Madam.” Seeing that Xu Qingyan raised no further questions, Zhou Yi assumed she surely hadn’t noticed anything wrong. Besides, even the Duchess of Guo couldn’t find any problems in those previous account books—what could Xu Qingyan possibly see in them? He wasn’t worried about it, so he agreed.
After Steward Zhou withdrew, Xu Qingyan took her maidservants and made a trip to the kitchen.
————A Few Days Later————
“Bad news, Consort of the Heir Apparent. The second and third branches are causing a commotion. They say that since you took over household management, you’ve cut their allowances and given them fake bird’s nest and abalone. Now they’ve all gone to Duchess of Guo to complain. Moreover, Steward Zhou has admitted that all of this was done on your orders, and also claims that you embezzled silver from the household. The matriarch has summoned you.” The maidservant Dan Yan reported to Xu Qingyan with a worried expression.
Upon hearing this, Xu Qingyan set down the teacup in her hand on the table, rose swiftly, and muttered under her breath, “So, this day has finally come!”
“Let’s go, we’re heading over!” Xu Qingyan said to Dan Yan with excitement.
————Main Hall————
When she arrived, the members of the second and third branches all began pointing at her with accusations and ridicule.
“Consort of the Heir Apparent, what great authority you wield! The moment you took over, you stripped our second branch of every last bit of bird’s nest. The Second Madam was already in poor health, and now with your penny-pinching, her condition has worsened. Have you no conscience at all!”
“Sister, I’m not one to criticize you, but how could you hand over household management authority to someone of shu-daughter birth? She has no real experience. Now that she’s gained power, she can’t wait to line her own pockets. What a laughingstock!”
“This is outrageous! To pull such a trick on us—do they take us for fools? Not only have they cut back on our daily provisions, but they’ve also reduced our monthly allowance!”
“Tell me, how could there be someone like you? Have we done something to offend you? To treat us so harshly!”
Xu Qingyan swept her gaze across the hall, taking in all the dissatisfaction directed at her. Only Xu Qingyue stood silently to the side, but Xu Qingyan could see the schadenfreude in her eyes.
She understood now—this meddlesome female lead was behind it all again! She had already obediently swapped marriages and married in her place, so why wouldn’t she just let her be? What more did she want? She wasn’t some soft persimmon to be squeezed at will.
“Qingyan, everyone has just told me that you’ve cut their monthly allowances, reduced their rations, and used inferior ingredients. What is this all about?” The Duchess of Guo did not rebuke Xu Qingyan but instead asked her gently.
After all, their time together these past days had led her to believe that Xu Qingyan was not the sort of person to do such things.
Xu Qingyan was deeply moved by the Duchess of Guo’s trust. She first bowed respectfully to her, then asked the crowd with a serious expression, “Are you all truly certain that I reduced your allowances, skimped on your food, and swapped in counterfeit goods?”
“If not you, then who else could it be?” a member of the second branch said with certainty.