The night was chaotic.
When Rong Shu woke up the next day, she felt that she couldn’t even lift her arms.
And she overslept again.
The bed next to her had long since gone cold, but she didn’t think too much about it; Song Wenjing must have gone to the academy.
She was just regretting being late again to pay her respects at the East Courtyard when she heard Mei Yun’s hushed voice coming from outside the bed curtains.
“Madam, are you getting up?”
Rong Shu sat up and found that her clothes were intact and she was dry.
She didn’t even know if she had fainted in the end; she forgot everything in her hazy state.
But judging from this situation, could it be that Song Wenjing washed her?
She didn’t have time to think about these things and quickly threw off the covers and got up.
Mei Yun rolled up the bed curtains and brought clothes to serve him.
After washing up, Rong Shu rushed to the East Courtyard without even having breakfast.
Song Wenjing came from the study, assuming his wife was still asleep.
The old woman guarding the main room saw him coming and knelt down to greet him.
The maids and servants had all been talking about Song Wenjing returning to his residence to rest these past few days.
This man had never acted like this before, except for the first three days of his marriage.
Therefore, not only Songtao Garden, but everyone in the entire Song family knew that the Third Madam Jiang was not favored by the Third Master.
Where would someone go to the academy just three days after getting married, and then only come back two or three times a month?
However, considering that this marriage was arranged by the Third Madam, it’s somewhat understandable.
The most famous man in Jiangzhou, the third master of the Song family, was first-rate in both appearance and knowledge.
And for three consecutive years, he won first place at the poetry gathering during the Flower Festival.
Such a young master is the object of the affections of countless unmarried women throughout Jiangzhou.
Almost everyone thought that the third master of the Song family would marry a noblewoman after passing the imperial examination.
Who would have thought that the year he passed the imperial examination, a woman from the Jiang family would suddenly appear, holding a half-piece of broken jade, and knock on the door of the Song family mansion.
Afterwards, the Song family kept their promise and married a woman from the Jiang family.
But everyone can see that in this marriage, it is Master Song who is at a disadvantage.
Even disregarding his future career prospects, the Song family’s current wealth makes it unnecessary for him to marry someone from a poor family.
The servants of the Song family all knew about this. Although they dared not openly disrespect the Third Madam, they were aware of it in their hearts.
They even discussed it privately, suggesting that perhaps the master of the mansion kept his promise and allowed the Third Master to marry the Jiang family’s lady.
Once the Third Prince passes the imperial examination, he might find an excuse to divorce Jiang and marry a lady from a wealthy family.
Now, the Third Master has been staying in the main room for three consecutive days, and on the last two nights he has been making a ruckus until midnight, which is quite surprising.
While the old woman was still grumbling to herself, Song Wenjing had already come out from inside.
“Where is Madam?”
The old woman was taken aback before replying, “Reporting to Third Master, Madam just went to the East Courtyard with Mei Yun.”
Normally, Song Wenjing wouldn’t specifically look for Rong Shu when he was home, so the old woman thought it was something important when he suddenly asked about it.
“Does Third Master need to see Madam? Madam shouldn’t have gone far. Shall I go and check?”
Song Wenjing asked, “Has she had breakfast yet?”
The old woman wondered what the question was, but she answered honestly, “The madam didn’t order anyone to serve the meal. The maids brought back breakfast from the main kitchen early this morning, and it’s still simmering in the small kitchen.”
The old woman thought again, perhaps Song Wenjing hadn’t eaten yet, which was why he asked that.
“Third Master, shall we have the meal served?”
However, Song Wenjing seemed to be unhappy.
The old woman was completely confused when she heard him say, “Go and call the person back.”
“yes.”
The old woman didn’t dare to delay. Seeing Song Wenjing’s expression, she thought something important had happened. After agreeing, she quickly left.
I thought the Third Madam should still be on her way.
But Rong Shu knew she had gotten up late, so she quickened her pace to get to the East Courtyard.
When she arrived, Qin Mingxiang from the second wife’s family and Gu Zhen from the fourth wife’s family were talking to Madam Xie.
Rong Shu took a few deep breaths in the outer room to steady her breathing before going in.
“Daughter-in-law greets Mother.”
It was a cold day. Madam Xie was wearing a dark purple overcoat with fur trim, sitting in a grand chair, holding an account book in her hand.
When she saw Rong Shu arrive, she raised her eyelids slightly, glanced at her, and pointed to a chair next to her, asking her to sit down.
Aside from the day before yesterday when Madam Xie told her not to come to pay her respects, this was the first time Rong Shucheng had been so late since her marriage.
In fact, Xie never asked her to come at a specific time; it was just that she was used to that time.
As soon as she sat down, Qin Mingxiang smiled and said to her, “Third sister-in-law, your clothes are nice today, but they don’t look brand new.”
Of the sisters-in-law, apart from the eldest sister-in-law who was often away from home and rarely had contact with them, Qin was the most adept at putting on a show among those who stayed in the mansion.
She can make anyone, whether they know her well or not, feel comfortable with her words.
But Rong Shu had already seen through this seemingly sweet but actually bitter person.
She smiled and said, “It’s cold today, and I’m sensitive to the cold, so I specially picked out this thick one. Although it was made last year, I haven’t worn it many times.”
She then noticed that Qin Mingxiang and Gu Zhen were both wearing brand new padded jackets today.
The Song family lived a good life, and the sisters-in-law dressed in a very elegant and noble manner.
Qin asked this question seemingly as a casual conversation, but in reality, she was subtly implying that Qin was poor.
Rong Shu is no longer like she was in her previous life, where she would not talk back when someone said something to her.
Especially in front of her mother-in-law, if she really acted like a pushover, Xie would only become more annoyed with her.
She said, “I heard from the old women in the courtyard a couple of days ago that this winter will definitely be very cold. I was thinking that Third Master is studying at the academy and he doesn’t like burning charcoal for warmth, so I was worried that he would catch a cold. I’ve been making some winter clothes for him these past few days, but I forgot about my own.”
Each courtyard had several servants who did needlework. Half a month ago, Rong Shu had instructed someone to make several thick clothes and a cloak for Song Wenjing.
She hadn’t been reborn then, but now, judging by the days, it should be ready in the next few days.
This time, Xie glanced at her from the account book.
Qin Mingxiang, still in a kind manner, said, “If you don’t have enough people to do needlework in the yard, why don’t you send my people over to help? It’s not good to be without nice clothes when it gets cold.”
“Thank you for your kindness, Second Sister-in-law. There are many people in your courtyard, so please take care of Xiang’er and Heng’er first.”
Rong Shu politely declined, and Qin Mingxiang didn’t say anything more.
Gu Zhen remained silent to the side, very quiet.
The maidservant served Rong Shu tea, but she hadn’t eaten breakfast that day, so she only picked up the teacup, took a small sip, and put it down.
After reviewing the accounts, Xie closed the ledger.
“You only found out now that your two shops lost money this year, Fourth Brother?”
Xie’s tone was stern, and she was addressing Gu Zhen.
Rong Shu watched from the side and then remembered that this had happened in her previous life as well.
However, she didn’t end up with Song Wenjing in her past life…
So on that day, after she paid her respects early in the morning, Madam Xie said it was cold, but actually she was impatient to see her and sent her back.
She only heard about it from someone else later.
Song Wenqing from the fourth wife’s family had been learning business from Song Wenyue from the second wife’s family for several years.
These two are brothers, so naturally they are very close.
After learning from Song Wenyue for more than a year, Song Wenqing started taking on some tasks.
The shops that had been used for practice were handed over to Gu Zhen to manage.
Gu Zhen is not as shrewd as Qin Mingxiang, but she is always too impulsive and does things without any regard for the consequences.
Rong Shu thought back and realized that this matter wasn’t a big deal. The trouble was the fact that it involved the almost-divorced couple, Master Song and Gu Zhen.