“What’s this?” Wang Shuang looked at the unfamiliar key in front of her.
“This is my lord’s storeroom key.”
“Nan Yan’s storeroom key?” Wang Shuang repeated, then casually tossed the key back to Zhao Mingyan. “Why are you giving me his key?”
Zhao Mingyan: “……”
Wait—wasn’t the storeroom key supposed to be managed by the household’s mistress? Even if Nan Yan didn’t have anything particularly valuable stored right now, it was still the household treasury. Shouldn’t every stool and chair be under Wang Shuang’s authority, arranged by her?
“Sister Shuang, my lord gave us the key because he wants us to manage the household, to keep accounts and build wealth.” Zhao Mingyan repeated what Nan Yan had told her the night before.
Nan Yan had entrusted her with the household, but she was certain the old man was trying to trap her.
She, Zhao Mingyan, would never dare usurp Wang Shuang’s authority. So she assumed he must have been muddled last night, misspeaking—surely he meant for her to hand the key to Wang Shuang.
But as soon as she finished speaking, Wang Shuang’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Don’t lie to me. Nan Yan would never say such a thing. He knows I can’t read, I can’t even understand accounts!”
Zhao Mingyan: “……”
The words were exactly the same as Nan Yan’s.
Patiently, she tried to coax her. “Sister Shuang, as the mistress of the household, you should learn to manage accounts. If you don’t know how, I can teach you…”
“Stop right there!” Wang Shuang shook her head furiously, like a rattle drum. Just hearing the word “study” gave her a headache. “Let me tell you the truth. Back when my father was choosing a husband for me, he considered Nan Yan—said he could read, would surely have a future. He even forced me to study for a few days. You don’t know how miserable that was—it was worse than death!”
Zhao Mingyan: “……”
“Because of those cursed books and characters, I swore I’d rather marry a pig butcher than a scholar!”
“But you still married my lord, didn’t you?”
“That was… forget it.” Wang Shuang waved her hand, giving up. “Anyway, I won’t study, and I won’t manage. If you dare push these things on me, you’re no sister of mine—you’re my enemy!”
Zhao Mingyan: “……”
Just then, Uncle Chen hurried in. “Madam, someone outside has come again to deliver things to my lord.”
At this, Wang Shuang immediately turned to Zhao Mingyan. “Mingyan, what should we do?”
Zhao Mingyan’s expression remained calm. “Don’t be afraid. Let’s go out and take a look first.”
She led Wang Shuang and Old Chen to the front hall.
There, an elderly couple stood waiting, both around fifty or sixty years old. The woman wore a richly embroidered silk outer robe, silk boots, and a gold hairpin—clearly from a household of decent means. Behind them were two servants carrying goods.
The couple looked anxious as they stood in the hall. When they saw Zhao Mingyan, Wang Shuang, and Uncle Chen enter, their eyes swept over Wang Shuang, who was older, and Zhao Mingyan, who carried herself with composure. Then, with a sudden *thud*, the two elders knelt before Zhao Mingyan.
“Madam Nan, please, we beg you to help us!”
Zhao Mingyan: “……”
Wait a moment—whether or not there was a matter at hand, they had mistaken her identity!
“You’ve got the wrong person. I’m not the madam—she is.” Zhao Mingyan, exasperated, quickly pointed to Wang Shuang.
The elderly couple froze, their cries halting. They lifted their heads, looked again at Zhao Mingyan, then hurriedly turned to kowtow before Wang Shuang.
“All right, all right, get up quickly,” Wang Shuang waved her hand, urging them to rise.
Embarrassed at their mistake, the couple stood with the help of their servants. Even as they rose, suspicion lingered in their eyes. They kept sneaking glances at Zhao Mingyan. Was she really not the madam?
It wasn’t their fault for mistaking her—the difference in bearing between Zhao Mingyan and Wang Shuang was simply too great.
Zhao Mingyan had been raised as the daughter of a Minister’s household. Though born of a concubine, she was still a true child of nobility, pampered in wealth and refinement. Wang Shuang, on the other hand, had grown up in the countryside. Her nature was good, but her manner lacked polish. Even now, she had never managed to enter the circles of the capital’s noble ladies. Everyone knew she was rustic—truly rustic.
The elderly couple, having seen the bearing of highborn women before, had made a mistake, confusing Zhao Mingyan for Nan Yan’s principal wife.
Fortunately, Wang Shuang didn’t mind.
“Madam, we are old and our eyes are dim. We mistook you. Please don’t be offended,” the two said humbly as they rose.
“It’s fine. Who are you, and what brings you here?” Wang Shuang asked.
“My surname is Qiao. We live on this street as well, and run a small teahouse in the West City. We heard Lord Nan is from Jiangnan, and we’ve just received a batch of fine Longjing tea. We came especially to offer some for him to taste.”
As he spoke, Old Qiao signaled his servants to open the chests. Sure enough, inside were two full boxes of tea—at least twenty catties in total.
Seeing this, Wang Shuang immediately thought of the incident from a few days ago. Without hesitation, she waved her hand. “No, no, we don’t need tea. Please leave at once!”
But upon hearing her dismissal, the elderly couple dropped to their knees again, crying in panic. “Madam, please, we beg you to help us! We know Lord Nan is upright and won’t accept such things, but right now only he can save us!”
“I knew it—people who come bearing gifts never bring anything good! Take it all away! Don’t ever come in again!”
“Madam, madam, if you don’t care for our tea, we have other things—we can give you anything. If nothing else, we can even give you our teahouse!” The old man gritted his teeth as he made an extremely difficult decision.
But Wang Shuang didn’t even glance at him. She picked up a broom, ready to drive them out. At that moment, a hand caught hers.
“Sister Shuang, don’t be hasty. Let’s hear what trouble they’ve run into first,” Zhao Mingyan said calmly.
At her words, Wang Shuang cooled down. The elderly couple, seeing her as a lifeline, immediately turned to Zhao Mingyan.
“Miss, we truly aren’t bad people. We’ve been wronged and only seek someone to save us! If you’re willing to help, our Qiao family teahouse will be given to Lord Nan!”
Zhao Mingyan’s expression didn’t change; she showed no hint of greed, only steady composure. “Tell me first—what has happened to your family?”
“It’s like this,” Old Qiao began quickly. “Our Qiao family teahouse used to be the largest in West City, running honestly for more than ten years. But half a year ago, a new Guangfeng Teahouse opened on our street, constantly opposing us, openly and secretly finding fault. Three days ago, a terrible incident occurred—a customer suddenly died after drinking tea in our shop. The authorities immediately came and arrested our son!”
“This is absolutely unjust. I swear on our family’s lives, we never poisoned anyone. We had no enmity with that customer, didn’t even know him—how could we harm him? If it were an accident, then why only one case? Our teahouse serves countless customers daily. If the tea or water were bad, there would be many cases, not just one!”
“These past days, we’ve gone to the yamen again and again to plead our case, but to no avail. And last night, while waiting outside the county magistrate’s house, we saw the owner of Guangfeng Teahouse come out. He looked at us and laughed, saying the magistrate is his brother‑in‑law. He told us that even if we kneel ourselves to death, we’ll never win against him!”