The furnishings in the Youhuang Courtyard were different from all the other courtyards. The exotic flowers, rare plants, and Taihu rockery commonly seen in ordinary courtyards were nowhere to be found here. Instead, children's climbing frames, wooden swings, and a shallow little mud pit were placed everywhere.
It was obvious at a glance that Madam Zhang had set these up specially so Zheng-ge'er would have a place to play in the future.
Walking all the way to the main hall, they saw several stacks of dog-eared thread-bound books neatly arranged on the bookshelf behind the grand armchair, with the titles Records of Washing Away Injustice and Collection for Redressing Wrongs faintly visible.
The two sisters-in-law sat down side by side, and Madam Zhang personally poured a fresh cup of tea for Shen Qingyin.
A cool, lingering fragrance wafted to the tip of her nose. Shen Qingyin lowered her eyes to look at the tea leaves settled at the bottom of the cup and felt the aroma was especially familiar.
"This tea is… Pre-Rain Cloud and Mist?"
She seemed to have drunk it at Bishan Courtyard.
Madam Zhang set down the silver pot and nodded with a smile. "That's right. The Marchioness of Jingyuan returned from Youzhou for some reason, and yesterday she visited Bishan Courtyard as a guest. After she left, Second Sister-in-law distributed this Pre-Rain Cloud and Mist Tea to every courtyard in the Pei household—everyone received a share."
As her words fell, she glanced up and saw the blank look on Shen Qingyin's face, instantly understood, and hurriedly added:
"…But our Pei household has so many people, it's only natural Second Sister-in-law might have missed one. Eldest Sister-in-law, you have no idea—yesterday she merely came here to deliver some tea leaves, yet she boasted for a full two hours. It was nothing but talk of how well the Marchioness of Jingyuan treats her, this younger sister, and how precious the tea leaves were. My ears were about to grow calluses from listening."
She nudged Shen Qingyin with her elbow and smiled. "It's just as well the tea never made it to your courtyard—it saves you the time of listening to her empty, boastful chatter."
Shen Qingyin naturally knew Madam Zhang was deliberately comforting her. Her heart warmed slightly, and she lifted a faint smile toward Madam Zhang.
But she didn't know that with her naturally lush, alluring looks, this smile spread across her face with her upturned eyes brimming with shimmering light—utterly bewitching. Madam Zhang couldn't help but be taken aback, a flash of admiration crossing her eyes.
"…Eldest Sister-in-law, your smile is this beautiful. You really ought to smile more often instead of suppressing yourself all day."
Shen Qingyin immediately withdrew her smile. Seeing this, Madam Zhang reached out and gently patted the back of her hand, asking with concern, "Oh right, Eldest Sister-in-law, yesterday afternoon there was quite a commotion in your courtyard. I could faintly hear some of it even here in Youhuang Courtyard… Did you run into some difficult matter?"
Madam Zhang put it tactfully, but she was referring to Liang Wanyou coming to Yuebai Courtyard yesterday to reprimand her.
Yet Shen Qingyin didn't know whether she should speak of it.
After all, two years ago, when she had just conceived Tang-jie'er, it was precisely because she let her guard down around others that she was inadvertently caught up in that incident, and after much turmoil, she had nearly lost both her life and her child's.
Since then, she had never dared to speak much in the Pei household, living these years in silence and forbearance.
But Madam Zhang treated her well, and had asked of her own accord…
"Eldest Sister-in-law."
Just as Shen Qingyin was hesitating, Madam Zhang's palm tightened slightly, firmly grasping her hand, and she said earnestly, "Are you still going to treat me as an outsider?"
"We've gotten along for so many years—don't you know what kind of person I am by now? Eldest Brother is burdened with countless affairs. If anything is troubling you, just tell me. If I can help, that would be best of all."
Looking at her open, sincere expression, Shen Qingyin's heart softened a little.
Yes, Pei Yu was busy with countless affairs, and she had indeed worked up the courage to ask him yesterday, but he was unwilling to teach her…
Madam Zhang, on the other hand, had always been kind to others—she was likely one of the few people in the Pei household who could be treated with genuine trust.
At this thought, she relaxed slightly and told Madam Zhang everything that had happened the day before.
Of course, she still concealed the words Liang Wanyou had hurled at her.
After listening, Madam Zhang smiled calmly and said, "So it's such a small matter. Eldest Sister-in-law, if you trust me, why not bring me the account books? I'll help you look through them. How does that sound?"
By rights, with the Pei household being so large and each branch managing different properties, she should not have shown the account books to Madam Zhang.
But apart from Madam Zhang…
Shen Qingyin truly had no idea whom else to turn to.
Without hesitation, she turned and instructed Nanny Qing to fetch the account books for Qingfeng Tower. Before long, Nanny Qing returned, hurrying back with a thick stack of ledgers in her arms.
Madam Zhang took the books and casually spread them open, her fingertips gliding lightly over the dense records of income and expenses. Without even using an abacus, she spoke with certainty after only a moment, pointing at the accounts:
"Look here, Eldest Sister-in-law. This month, Qingfeng Tower's purchasing prices are the same market rates as last month, and the number of guests matches last month's traffic. Yet the sales profits have suddenly been cut in half. Seeing this, you should have guessed that it must be caused by excessive waste of ingredients."
She turned a page. "If you examine the books again with that guess in mind—look, it's confirmed. The purchases were fully stocked into the storeroom, yet more than half was wasted for nothing, never converted into revenue. As a result, purchases had to be replenished repeatedly, adding expense, while no new sales profits came in to fill the gap. With losses on both ends, the books naturally show a deficit of more than half—exactly matching the earlier guess."
Madam Zhang's explanation was so clear and straightforward that Shen Qingyin felt suddenly enlightened, all her confusion dissolving at once.
It wasn't an error in the accounts—someone below had tampered with things.
She quickly rose and gave Madam Zhang a solemn curtsy. "Thank you for your guidance, Third Sister-in-law."
No one had ever taught Shen Qingyin how to manage a household or keep accounts. After all, the man she had originally been meant to marry had said he would never confine her to the inner quarters after marriage, so she had indulged herself with a clear conscience for many years, never imagining that one day she would…
If Madam Zhang hadn't taught her, she could have agonized for days and nights and still failed to decipher these ledgers.
"Eldest Sister-in-law, there's no need for such formality." Madam Zhang hurriedly reached out to help her up, chiding her with a smile:
"You and I are sisters-in-law—we ought to look after each other. Such a small matter hardly deserves such a grand gesture."
With that, she pulled Shen Qingyin back to her seat and comforted her gently. "Of all things in this world, household matters are the easiest to understand. As long as you find the root of the problem, it can be resolved. Eldest Sister-in-law, there's no need to worry day and night. From now on, whenever there's anything in the accounts you don't understand, just come and ask me."
"Besides, it's true that Second Sister-in-law has a rather domineering temperament, but under the same roof, she can't possibly stay angry with you forever. And though the Old Madam was—yesterday, she was already much gentler with you this morning."
"Once you grow more familiar with managing the household and its accounts, and once you bear an heir by right to continue the eldest branch's line, the Family Head and the Old Madam will only cherish you all the more—cherish you as their great benefactor."
At the words "continue the line," the corner of Shen Qingyin's mouth twisted into a faint, bitter curve, and she sighed softly:
"Third Sister-in-law, you know that when I gave birth to Tang-jie'er two years ago, I suffered damage to my primordial essence. The household physician has long since declared that I will never conceive again in this life. How could it be so easy to…"
Her words fell lightly, yet they filled Madam Zhang with sudden regret.
As a woman herself, no matter how forgetful she might be, she could never forget what Eldest Sister-in-law's difficult labor had been like—
That day, agonized moans had echoed endlessly from the inner chamber of Yuebai Courtyard. Basin after basin of blood-red water was carried out of the birthing room, and several midwives ran back and forth, repeatedly coming out to ask whether to save the mother or the child. The situation had been so perilous that everyone believed Madam Shen surely would not survive.
At the memory, Madam Zhang remorsefully raised a hand and lightly smacked her own mouth, saying guiltily, "Look at me and my mouth—always saying the wrong thing. Eldest Sister-in-law, please don't take it to heart."
Shen Qingyin quickly and gently pulled her hand away, saying placidly, "It's nothing."
They all seemed to have forgotten that she had nearly died in childbirth—and not just Madam Zhang.
"…Mother has already sent someone over with medicine to help me recover my health. Though I know it's useless, I obediently drank it all, if only to set Mother's mind at ease."
Madam Zhang was sharp-witted and instantly caught the deeper meaning in her words. Her eyes shifted slightly. "By that, Eldest Sister-in-law… do you mean you have other plans?"
Shen Qingyin was silent for a moment before finally speaking frankly, "My health is limited, and it is difficult for me to continue the Pei family line. So I wish to choose two concubines for my husband and send them to his chambers—"
"Absolutely not!"
Madam Zhang's expression changed drastically, and she hurriedly dissuaded her, "Eldest Sister-in-law, this must not be done! Please, don't be foolish!"
She gripped Shen Qingyin's hand with the utmost solemnity. "Do you think taking concubines is merely about continuing the family line? Understand this—a man and a woman who spend every moment together, sharing a bed night after night—how could feelings fail to develop?!"
"Even if Eldest Brother keeps himself virtuous, once he's slept with a concubine long enough, who can guarantee affection won't grow over time? In the end, he might favor the concubine and slight the wife—and then, Eldest Sister-in-law, the loss would far outweigh the gain!"
Shen Qingyin was momentarily stunned at these words.
Affection growing from sleeping together?
Then Pei Yu came to sleep with her nearly every night—how was it that she had never once seen a trace of affection in his eyes?
Seeing that she seemed unconvinced, Madam Zhang offered an example. "Eldest Sister-in-law, has Eldest Brother told you about Vice Minister Zhao Shuo of the Court of State Ceremonial?"
Shen Qingyin shook her head. "He has not."
Once Pei Yu left the bed, he hardly spoke a word to her. She had only heard him mention Zhao Shuo in passing yesterday.
Madam Zhang said, "Ah, well, it isn't really such a big matter. It's just that Minister Zhao's household originally had a favored concubine. Madam Zhao treated her like a sister and took her everywhere she went—generous to the extreme. But a few days ago, the concubine was found to be with child, and Zhao Shuo insisted on raising her to the status of co-wife, equal to Madam Zhao. Could Madam Zhao tolerate that? She immediately called upon her maternal family to submit a memorial straight to the Emperor—it's become common knowledge to everyone!"
Only then did Shen Qingyin belatedly understand. No wonder Pei Yu had come to dine at her Yuebai Courtyard yesterday—it was because trouble had broken out in Zhao Shuo's own back garden.
But last night, Pei Yu, who ordinarily never touched a drop of wine, had clearly seemed drunk, and he had tormented her mercilessly. How was that abnormal behavior to be explained?
Madam Zhang, unaware of Shen Qingyin's thoughts, assumed she had taken the advice to heart, and patted the back of her hand once more, saying earnestly:
"Eldest Sister-in-law, your relationship with Eldest Brother is so good—who doesn't know that no matter how late he returns, Eldest Brother always goes to your Yuebai Courtyard to sleep? Harmony in the marital bed is the best thing there is. A woman who can satisfy her own husband—what sense does it make to hand her husband over to someone else with her own two hands?"
Madam Zhang spoke with a blunt, forthright tongue, but Shen Qingyin's face flushed with a thin layer of red at the words, heat rising all at once.
Satisfying Pei Yu…
Her?
She smiled bitterly to herself. In truth, she could never satisfy Pei Yu at all.
The man looked like a paragon of virtue on the surface—the upright, incorruptible Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review—yet his favored postures in bed… were all too unspeakable to mention.
One was with her face buried in the deep valley, hands and mouth working in tandem.
The other was taking her from behind, hands gripping her waist…
Whichever it was, she could never withstand it; every time she was left limp and aching all over, begging for mercy despite herself.
Not to mention that after she gave birth to Tang-jie'er, that place had never been blocked to the point of pain, and Tang-jie'er's milk supply had been entirely consumed by Pei Yu.
A man like that—how could he ever be one she could satisfy on her own?
That was precisely why she had thought of arranging two concubines for Pei Yu at once.
Seeing her flushed crimson, too bashful to raise her head, Madam Zhang assumed her persuasion had taken effect. Her heart eased slightly, and she smiled, withdrew her hand, and refilled Shen Qingyin's teacup before slowly coming to the real matter at hand.
"Enough—I'll say no more idle chatter to you, sister-in-law… In truth, I invited you here today for a visit at Yue-niang's request."
"Yue-niang?" Shen Qingyin lifted her eyes slightly, a hint of puzzlement in them.
Why would Pei Yue suddenly seek her out?
Madam Zhang explained at length: "On the day of Jun-ge'er's First Birthday Grab Ceremony, after Yue-niang returned to the Zhou family, she told them everything about your Qingniang's character and talents. The Zhou family was extremely pleased and specially sent a proper matchmaker to call on you, hoping to first arrange for the two children to catch a distant glimpse of each other—"
So that was what this was about!
Shen Qingyin clutched her handkerchief in excitement.
The Zhou family had taken a fancy to Qingniang!
Her own life was already settled; at most she would simply drift through it in a daze. But when it came to Qingniang, she, as the eldest sister, absolutely had to secure the very best marriage for her little sister.
Now that the Zhou family was interested, nothing could be better!
But before Shen Qingyin could press for details, Madam Zhang continued, looking troubled: "Yet who would have thought that the moment the matchmaker arrived, your Qingniang turned her down flat, without leaving the slightest room for negotiation. Yue-niang has been beside herself—she said you clearly told her that day that Qingniang hadn't yet been matched, so she asked me to find out from you just what the reason for this is."
It couldn't be that the sister herself already had someone in her heart, while the eldest sister was still over here scouting out other bridegrooms for her, could it?