When Xu Mama came to find Jinchao, she was in the west wing, assisted by Tong Mama, going through the contracts for fields and properties listed under her mother’s dowry.
Although she was not yet married and had no formal right to manage them, Gu Deshao would no longer oppose anything his daughter wished to do. Song Yiniang was now confined to Linyan Pavilion, powerless. Naturally, Jinchao had taken over her mother’s affairs.
In her past life, her mother’s dowry had been handed over to Concubine Song. Within a few years, the woman had drained every bit of profit into her own pockets.
Jinchao looked at the pile of documents Tong Mama had brought in and couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on. All these assets would eventually be divided between her and Jinrong. But when she married, the Ji family would already prepare a substantial dowry for her. Over the years, her grandmother had often supplemented it, and her mother’s private holdings were quite substantial.
There were more than a dozen farming estates. The property deeds included an entire street in Baodi, several rice shops and silk stores in Sanhe, as well as clothing, spice, teahouse, and tavern shops scattered through Daxing and Wanping. A few residences. In addition to that, there was a paper mill—and two wine distilleries.
Just these alone brought in more than ten thousand taels of silver in yearly profit.
Her mother had always appeared generous in her rewards to others, but one would never have guessed she had such a vast dowry. Jinchao suspected that her mother had allowed these businesses to run on their own, without proper attention—some of the shop profits hadn’t changed in years.
Holding a bundle of indenture contracts for laborers on the various estates and shops, Jinchao fell into a long silence.
How foolish I was.
She had once handed over all of this to Concubine Song without hesitation. If she had used her mother’s dowry to strengthen herself, she wouldn’t have ended up so destitute in her previous life, relying on others’ charity just to survive.
She hadn’t had the experience to manage these things before. By the time she inherited her mother’s dowry in her past life, it had already been hollowed out by Concubine Song. Seeing that Luo Yongxing ran the silk shops well, she had appointed Luo Yongping as the chief steward, which had saved the business to some extent.
But different trades required different expertise. Luo Yongping was competent with silks, but ill-suited to handle the rest.
Take the rice shops, for example: when to store old versus new grain, how to price and purchase rice from Jiangxi, Huguang, or Zhejiang—this required a seasoned hand.
Jinchao sighed. She would need to make time to visit Tongzhou and ask her grandmother for guidance.
Just then, Xu Mama entered the side room with a ledger in her hands.
“…You asked to have everything in Madam’s personal storehouse inventoried and recorded. I went the other day to handle it and brought the ledger for you to review.”
Jinchao accepted the book and opened it.
Her mother’s storehouse had never lacked for items—not so much in gold or jewelry, but in bolts of silk, porcelain, paintings by renowned artists, and furniture made of rosewood or wenge. All of it was highly valuable.
She had never seen the contents of her mother’s storehouse in her past life. Suddenly, it struck her—
Back then, after Ji Shi’s death, she had been too consumed by grief to notice anything else. Who had taken all these things? All told, they were worth tens of thousands of taels.
Jinchao asked Xu Mama,
“If I hadn’t taken inventory of these things, would Father have come to collect them?”
Xu Mama shook her head.
“Master never involved himself in Madam’s belongings. Most likely he would’ve sent a steward from the household office to inventory and move them to the front courtyard’s storeroom. But when you marry, all of this should rightfully be added to your dowry.”
She had brought one hundred and twenty loads of dowry into the Chen family when she married—dressing tables, carved canopy beds, red lacquered wardrobes—but none of it compared to this.
And that steward in charge of the household accounts—Sun Steward—was one of Concubine Song’s men.
Xu Mama hesitated for a moment and then said,
“There’s something else, Eldest Miss… something I must tell you regarding the household office.”
Jinchao nodded, signaling her to continue.
Xu Mama said,
“Old Madam Ji would often send items to the estate, but sometimes they weren’t placed in Madam’s personal storehouse—instead, they went straight to the household office. I thought it best to consolidate everything, so I went to inquire. Steward Sun claimed that everything in the household storehouse had already been mixed together and that he couldn’t tell which items belonged to whom. I suggested comparing with the ledger, but he said it had gone missing…”
She paused, then added carefully,
“But I’ve worked there before and saw with my own eyes Second Miss retrieving medicinal tonics sent from the Ji family. Steward Sun’s ledger was right there in the adjacent cabinet. He just didn’t want to bother with me. Later I found out that those tonics were sent to Concubine Song, because she was said to be frail and needed nourishment.”
Jinchao’s hands clenched around the ledger she was holding. She shut it with a sharp thump.
Her mother hadn’t been gone long, yet these stewards already dared to brush aside Xu Mama—who was clearly acting in Jinchao’s name.
And the nourishing medicines meant for her mother—how dare Gu Lan take them! How dare Concubine Song—who had helped cause her mother’s death—dare to use what her mother left behind? Is she not afraid of choking on it?
Sun Steward was likely emboldened by the fact that Concubine Song was still pregnant. He must have thought Jinchao couldn’t touch her.
But of course—no one outside the inner circle knew that Song Yiniang had fallen from favor. To the household at large, she was still pregnant with a potential heir. Even though official duties had been handed to Jinchao, many of the old retainers still sought to curry favor with her former mistress.
Jinchao let out a cold smile.
“Then I suppose I ought to pay a visit to the household office… and see exactly how they plan to excuse themselves.”
These dog-like servants who bullied the weak and fawned on the powerful—she had several accounts to settle with them.
She turned to Xu Mama.
“Where were the people from Concubine Song’s courtyard reassigned?”
Xu Mama replied,
“I handled the arrangements personally. Qiaowei was assigned to sweeping and washing in Tongruo Pavilion. Yuxiang was sent to serve in Concubine Guo’s residence. The rest—third-tier maids and older servants—were mostly transferred to the attendant quarters.”
Jinchao nodded with a faint smile.
“Send for Yuxiang. I have something to ask her.”
It had been Luo Liu who had added rhubarb to her mother’s medicine. But now that she thought about it—would Luo Liu have dared do so without someone’s approval?
Sun Steward was loyal to Concubine Song. In her past life, had he also diverted goods from Ji Shi’s storehouse into Song Yiniang’s hands?
If she didn’t deal with Sun Steward now, how could she expect the rest of the household to fall in line? She needed to make an example.
Xu Mama acknowledged the order and went to Jingan Courtyard, where Concubine Guo lived, to fetch Yuxiang.
Yuxiang arrived wearing a simple third-tier maid’s uniform—a blue cotton jacket and a plain white skirt. Her face was wan, and she wore only a single wooden hairpin in her hair.
Yuxiang knelt and performed a proper servant’s greeting. Jinchao regarded her silently for a long time before asking,
“Yuxiang, how do you find life in Jingan Courtyard?”
Yuxiang bit her lip. Her eyes quickly reddened.
How could she possibly be treated well in Jingan Courtyard? Xu Mama had sent her there on purpose! That courtyard belonged to Concubine Guo—who was intent on currying favor with Gu Jinchao—and housed two maids loyal to Jinchao, as well as an older servant from the stables who had once received Jinchao’s grace.
They all knew about the enmity between Concubine Song and Gu Jinchao. And they knew Yuxiang had once been one of Song Yiniang’s favored attendants. How could they treat her kindly?
On her very first day in Jingan Courtyard, she had been assigned to the narrowest, dampest servant room. Her jewelry had all been taken by the two old servant women from the stables, who claimed it was her “offering of respect”. Though cleaning the courtyard was clearly their responsibility, it was all pushed onto her. And if she didn’t do it properly, the two maids by Concubine Guo’s side—Qingyi and Qiukui—would scold her, claiming she was at fault.
That alone would have been bearable.
But then, Concubine Guo had casually mentioned wanting oat porridge. Some peeled oats were purchased and Yuxiang was ordered to shell them—one grain at a time. Her hands bled before she even managed to finish half a bag. After a full day’s labor, she brought the porridge to Concubine Guo, who suddenly decided she didn’t feel like eating it. She handed the bowl off to a nearby servant, who drank it right there.
Yuxiang had labored all day, and hadn’t even had a sip of water.
After just a few days of this, she was already worn down.
Though she said nothing aloud, Jinchao understood everything. If she had found comfort in Jingan, that would’ve been the real surprise.
Jinchao said softly,
“You were originally a second-tier maid under Concubine Song. It was never your duty to perform third-tier chores. By now, I trust you understand—this is the price of following the wrong mistress. But it’s not too late to change course… I will ask you to do something for me. If you agree, I’ll have you reassigned to the attendant quarters with your status restored as a second-tier maid, along with a bonus of fifty taels of silver. Are you willing?”
Yuxiang, exhausted and lost, felt a flicker of hope. Once, she had been one of Concubine Song’s closest attendants—none would dare mistreat her. But now even the youngest maids in Jingan Courtyard, barely seven or eight years old, ordered her about at will. They all knew she had no one left to defend her.
She had once been loyal… but Song Yiniang could no longer protect her. And she had to survive.
People changed. And Yuxiang, too, now wished for a better life—to leave that miserable place behind.
A pang of guilt surfaced in her heart—wasn’t she betraying Concubine Song? But it faded quickly.
It wasn’t so wrong. After all, Song Yiniang had always favored Qiaowei far more than her. And when danger loomed, it was always Yuxiang she sent into harm’s way—never Qiaowei.
Yuxiang asked in a quiet voice,
“As long as I can leave Jingan Courtyard, I will do whatever Eldest Miss asks. I only wonder… what would you have me do?”
Jinchao gave her a faint smile.
“Xu Mama, I’m heading to the household office. Go find Xue Sixteen and have him bring the guards. I want them there at once.”
Xu Mama glanced at Yuxiang and instantly understood what the young mistress had planned. Smiling, she acknowledged the order and departed.
Jinchao’s voice remained calm.
“Before Madam passed, you were spotted meeting Luo Liu in the willows. You were conspiring, weren’t you—planning to tamper with her medicine. The rhubarb that was added—where did it come from? Was it given to you by Concubine Song, or by Luo Liu? Or did someone help Concubine Guo arrange this? I want every detail.”
Yuxiang was momentarily stunned. So the Eldest Miss knew about the rhubarb.
But she had already made up her mind to side with Jinchao. There was no point in hiding the truth.
After a pause, she said,
“You guessed correctly, Eldest Miss. At that time, I was acting under Concubine Song’s orders. She instructed me to speak to Luo Liu about adding rhubarb. But the rhubarb itself didn’t come from her—Luo Liu doesn’t leave the estate, so he couldn’t have acquired it. Someone else must’ve provided it… but I don’t know who. Luo Liu is timid by nature—he would never dare harm Madam on his own. In the end, he and I were just pawns.”
Jinchao’s heart clenched.
Just as she suspected. The plot with the rhubarb wasn’t merely between Song Yiniang and Luo Liu.
The true collaborator… was likely Steward Sun from the household office.
In her past life, he and Concubine Song had not only schemed to harm her mother—they had also embezzled every last item from Ji Shi’s private storehouse after her death. Not a single thing was left behind.
Now, they were doing it again: killing her mother, then trying to seize what remained in the outer storerooms.
Fury burned in Jinchao’s chest—but her face remained calm.
She said coolly,
“Very well. Come with me to the household office. It’s time to settle a few accounts.”