Madam Zou had originally planned to feign illness, wanting everyone to see how Dou Xueci had made her mother fall sick the very moment she returned home.
But now, with a string of tonics being sent in, she felt like someone forced to swallow bitter medicine in silence, unable to voice her suffering.
Half reclining on the couch, Madam Zou pressed her hand against her chest, aching from anger. Beside her stood Nanny Zhou, her trusted servant who usually helped manage the accounts.
It was she whom Madam Zou had claimed illness at noon to avoid meeting. Yet here she was, perfectly fine and standing tall.
“Perhaps in three to five days. This time, the study tour has lasted longer than usual. Madam, please rest assured. The young lady and Young Master Yun grew up together, childhood sweethearts. She listens most to Yun.”
Madam Zou closed her eyes and nodded slightly. Yes, cousins — how could they not be close?
When the Duke had passed away, that little wench fainted from crying several times, and it was Yun-ge who stayed by her side, comforting her with laughter and words.
For the past three years, under Madam Zou’s instructions, letters had been exchanged regularly with Yongzhou, never once interrupted.
In all things, one must prepare two plans.
If she could not kill her for now, then she would marry her off to her own nephew. In the end, the Duke’s household would still fall into her hands!
“Tomorrow, bring the account books and the key to the tally room to Zhenhua Pavilion.”
Nanny Zhou’s face changed slightly. “Didn’t Madam say we should delay a little longer?”
“The Old Madam has already spoken. How long can I delay? In the end, it must be handed over. Originally, I wanted to stall, to make her yield, so I could control her later. But now, look at her soft blade cutting deeper than mine. If I delay further, the whole household will say I’m clinging to power, refusing to release the authority of household management, and mistreating that little wench.”
Nanny Zhou still wanted to persuade her. As long as Madam held the household authority, she could help manage the accounts — and the profits from that were one thing. But the key was that throughout the entire residence, even the concubines didn’t enjoy as much prestige as she did, a mere servant. She was treated almost like half a mistress. If she lost this power, could she ever remain so glorious again?
“Madam, are we truly going to hand over the household authority to the young lady…?”
Madam Zou cast her a sidelong glance. “She must be able to hold it steady first. Don’t think I don’t know what’s in your mind. Put it all away — her time to cry will come!”
Nanny Zhou, exposed, wasn’t angry. Her old face blossomed into a smile as she walked over to massage Madam Zou’s shoulders.
“Madam truly sees clearly and wisely!”
Soon after, Dou Xueci received the account books and keys that Madam Zou had ordered to be delivered.
The next day, all the household stewards came to Zhenhua Pavilion to meet their new mistress.
Jin Yudian and the second young lady of the third branch, Dou Zhuyin, also came to assist her in managing affairs.
Jin Yudian, after greeting her, didn’t say a single word. Ever since Second Master was beaten, she hadn’t received a kind look from her mother-in-law at home — only scolding and ridicule, both openly and in secret. And because the eldest master had become entangled in a lawsuit, even forcing Kang Xuan to overturn the case, the whole family had been in turmoil, the atmosphere tense.
“Sister Xueci, I haven’t yet had the chance to thank you.” It was Dou Zhuyin who took her hand, speaking shyly and timidly.
“What’s there to thank? We’re family, no need for such words. It’s only because you’re good, Sister Zhuyin, that I asked you to support me, isn’t it? Come, let’s go. If we keep those gossiping old servants waiting too long, who knows what stories they’ll spin about us.”
Dou Zhuyin’s figure was especially slender. She wore a round-collared, cross-front robe of lake-blue satin patterned with treasure motifs, embroidered with a ring of tuberose flowers at the neckline — elegant and serene.
The two sisters came out hand in hand. Outside, about forty to fifty stewardesses of the inner courtyard all bowed together to greet them.
Dou Xueci sat in the main seat, dressed in a scarlet long robe woven with hidden golden patterns, its collar and shoulders wrapped in thick, snow‑white fox fur. Her garment was embroidered densely with golden thread into four‑petaled flowers. In the snowy white world of winter, that attire shone even more brilliantly, radiating a noble magnificence beyond words.
Those servants standing farther away, looking up from a distance, felt that the woman seated high upon the dais resembled a celestial goddess.
“Is everyone present?” Dou Xueci asked.
Behind her stood four maids: the familiar Liu Yun and Mu He, and two others — imperial shadow guards once known as An Jiu and An Shi.
Now that they had stepped into the open, those cold names were no longer fitting. Dou Xueci had renamed them: An Jiu became Xuelu, An Shi became Yuxuan.
There were also two male shadow guards, but since they were unsuitable for the inner quarters, Dou Xueci had sent them to handle affairs outside. An Qi was renamed Zhanqi, and An Ba became Chuanze.
As for surnames, they all agreed: since Dou Xueci had led them out of the imperial shadow guard camp and given them new lives, they would follow her surname, Dou.
It was Yuxuan who replied, holding the roster that Dou Xueci had already checked before arriving. “Reporting to Young Lady, everyone is present.”
Liu Yun placed a hand warmer into Dou Xueci’s palms. Dou Zhuyin glanced at her — this younger sister seemed especially sensitive to the cold. She had often seen her dressed in thick layers, yet earlier in the room it felt as if the brazier hadn’t been burning enough, the chamber as icy as a cellar.
Dou Zhuyin thought for a moment and understood — surely someone had done it deliberately.
“Presumably, all of you know me. Many of you, madams, watched me grow up.” Dou Xueci adjusted her robe and continued: “I won’t speak empty words. I know what you’re thinking. In this household, the steward changes again and again, and perhaps I won’t last long. But you must know, unlike my sisters, I am destined to remain in this residence for life. So, we are bound as mistress and servants for a lifetime. If it ends well, you too will have a good outcome. If not — whether death or ruin — that is each one’s fate.”
The servant women exchanged glances in twos and threes, but none dared lift their heads.
All of the capital knew that the Dou family’s eldest daughter was an exception. She had received an imperial decree not to marry outside, and in the future, the entire Duke’s household would be hers.
“In serving under me, nothing else matters — loyalty is the foremost. If I expose anyone’s faults, don’t blame me for disregarding your dignity. Do you all understand?”
Not one dared to disobey.
A faint smile appeared on Dou Xueci’s face. What followed was each courtyard’s stewardess reporting the tasks they needed approval for — some permitted, some denied, some requiring funds.
There had been those who, seeing her youth, intended to make things difficult. Yet when they saw her responses and handling of matters, never showing fear, they no longer dared to belittle her.
But there are always exceptions. Dou Xueci looked at the stewardess kneeling respectfully before her, flipping through the accounts, her smile gradually turning into frost.
“Rotten‑hearted woman, are you trying to harm me?”
Nanny Zhang was so frightened that she knocked her head to the floor several times. “How could this servant dare to harm the young lady!”
Dou Xueci handed the account book directly to Jin Yudian beside her, her face cold, the frost in her eyes almost tangible.
“What was the price of camellias in previous years, and what price do you have here? You think I’m young and can be deceived! On the eighteenth of December is the Madam Zou’s birthday. She loves camellias most, and that day, they must be displayed for the banquet. If you use these cheap, unpresentable flowers to fool us, how is that not trying to ruin me!”
Jin Yudian flipped through a few pages of the account book and passed it to Dou Zhuyin. She also said, “It is indeed much cheaper than in past years. I heard that this year’s heavy snow has caused many places’ flowers either not to bloom yet or to bloom poorly.”
Nanny Zhang knelt and wept. “Replying to Second Madam, these came from a flower merchant from Yangzhou. His flowers are cultivated with a special method, blooming beautifully and vibrantly. Because his young son fell ill and came to the capital seeking treatment, he urgently needed to sell this batch of flowers for medicine money, which is why they were so cheap. Even with a hundred lives, I would never dare deceive my mistresses!”