Being a second wife is difficult

Before dawn, Wang Fu arrived outside the main courtyard.

Qinghe was fetching water under the eaves when she saw him coming and paused. Wang Fu was the old steward of the mansion, in charge of purchasing and accounting. He rarely came to the main courtyard in person and usually sent his servants to run errands.

The account sheet from yesterday was sent by someone sent by Wang Fu.

Qinghe put down the basin of water and went inside to announce Wang Fu's arrival. Jiang Wan, who had just finished combing her hair, was somewhat surprised to hear that Wang Fu had come. She said to Qinghe, "Let him in and talk."

When Wang Fu entered, he bowed very low and respectfully greeted her, saying, "Greetings, Madam. I am sorry to bother you so early. However, the Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and according to the old lady's wishes, all matters related to the festival will be handled by you. The purchasing should be finalized as well, so I thought I would come to ask for your opinion as soon as possible to avoid delaying the festival."

While he was speaking, Jiang Wan had already taken her seat at the head of the table. She held a cup of tea and waited for him to finish before speaking: "Should we follow the same purchasing list as last year, or introduce something new?"

After asking that question, she thought about it for a moment.

This Wang Fu is quite interesting.

It's still a long time before she goes to Songhe Hall to pay her respects, but he's already come to her door, bowing so low and speaking so tactfully, looking like he's come to ask for advice with utmost respect.

She had originally planned to mention the accounts to her mother-in-law when she paid her respects today, but unexpectedly, this Steward Wang came to her door first.

Wang Fu bowed slightly: "In previous years, this old servant handled everything by himself, and the old lady rarely looked at the list. If Madam feels there is anything that should be added or subtracted, this old servant will do as Madam wishes."

Jiang Wan put down her teacup and said in a flat tone, "Bring me the purchase orders from previous years again so I can take a look."

She didn't show it on her face, but she knew exactly what was going on in her mind.

Yesterday, her mother-in-law delivered the household's account books for the past three months to her. Wang Fu had been in charge of the household's purchasing for many years, so this matter couldn't be kept from him. He probably already knew that she had looked through those accounts, and he was even more aware that the largest deficit was in the purchasing item that he was in charge of.

Right now, he's saying "I'll do as my wife says" and adopting a humble posture, but in reality, he's just testing her to see how much she's figured out and how much she wants to do.

Jiang Wan didn't point it out, but just looked at him quietly, waiting for his reply.

Wang Fu's smile froze for a moment. He hadn't expected Jiang Wan to ask for the list directly. In previous years, neither the old lady nor Fang Shi had asked. What he had always handed over was just a summary of the figures.

He hesitated for a moment before speaking: "Madam, I handled all those orders from previous years and didn't keep any records. If you're worried, I'll go back and make a new one right away."

"Then prepare one," Jiang Wan said. "Bring it to me when it's ready. I'll check it and then I'll make the purchases. There's no rush for the purchases; just have it delivered within the next couple of days."

Wang Fu's smile was still on his face, but it was thinner than before. He replied with a "Yes," and added, "Then this old servant will send the list over tomorrow," before bowing and leaving.

Qinghe stood on the veranda watching him walk away before turning back inside and asking in a low voice, "Madam, did Steward Wang come to probe your situation?"

"He came to check if I had really looked at the accounts carefully." Jiang Wan stood up and straightened her clothes. "Accounts can only show the general expenditures after all. They can't show the details of what was bought. I asked him for the detailed purchase list. Now he won't be able to sleep when he gets back."

Qinghe thought for a moment: "What if he tampered with the list?"

"He definitely will, but he'll have to hide the original order before he does anything." Jiang Wan walked out. "What I want is what he'll do when he panics. If he doesn't panic, I won't be able to see any flaws."

Wang Fu returned to his accounting room, and the smile on his face immediately vanished as soon as he entered.

He closed the door, sat down at the table, and tapped his fingers on the surface several times before stopping.

The accounting clerk, noticing his odd expression, leaned over and asked, "Uncle Wang, what's wrong? What did Madam say?"

Wang Fu did not answer immediately, and after a long while he spoke: "This new wife is not easy to fool."

"I told her that I didn't keep a copy of the orders from previous years, so she asked me to prepare a new one and send it over. She wanted to compare the old and new accounts. Fortunately, she didn't know the full extent of the situation and thought that she could figure something out by getting a more detailed purchase order."

The young waiter's face paled for a moment: "Then what should we do? What about the accounts from previous years..."

Wang Fu glanced at him and said in a nonchalant tone, "What's the panic? Who told you to send the real one?"

"Prepare a clean one and send it over," Wang Fu interrupted him. "Make sure to cover up any discrepancies in the price, change anything that needs changing, and don't leave any loose ends."

"Remake the lanterns, silk, and charcoal. Add 10% to the market price, but don't make it too far off from last year's prices. Also, make sure the prices look reasonable this year."

"If she really cares about this and notices something is wrong, I will take the initiative to apologize to Madam and say that with the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, the servants are having a hard time, and I feel sorry for them, so I secretly took some money to help them out."

"No matter where you put it, there's no major fault in what I'm saying. Besides, the amount of money that can be found to be missing is only a small amount. I'll take the initiative to make up for it, and that'll be the end of it. It's not much money involved."

"Besides, I've served the old lady for so many years, ever since she entered the household. She'll always give me that much face. Even if she makes a scene in front of her, I'm not afraid. She'll just give her a few words of scolding and it'll be over. Once the storm passes, I'll still be in charge of the shopping, won't I?"

"But in previous years..."

"The past is the past." Wang Fu's voice lowered a few decibels. "After the late Madam passed away, the old lady entrusted us with managing all these matters. The accounts have been in our hands for so many years, and the old lady has never looked at them in detail."

"But this lady has only just gained some housekeeping authority and she already wants to look at the bills..."

"That's why I want you to finish sorting out the list before she sees anything more." Wang Fu put down his teacup, stood up, and said, "Go ahead, don't delay."

The young man didn't ask any more questions and lowered his head to rummage through the old accounts in the cabinet.

Wang Fu sat at the table for a while, then pulled out an old booklet from the depths of the drawer, flipped through it, closed it, and put it back in its place.

In all the years he's been doing bookkeeping, no one has ever asked him for an invoice. Now that he has to do a clean one again, he doesn't know where to start.

Jiang Wan had already left the courtyard and headed towards Songhe Hall.

When they went to pay their respects, there were several people sitting in the room. Fang Shi arrived earlier than usual and sat at the lower end of the table drinking tea. When she saw Jiang Wan come in, she didn't look up, unlike usual when she would warmly and affectionately call her sister-in-law and greet her.

The old lady leaned against the pillows and waited until everyone was seated before asking a couple of questions about the holiday gift list. Jiang Wan answered them one by one, saying that the list was ready and she would bring it over for the old lady to review later.

The old lady nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

After the greetings were over, Madam Fang left first, followed by Aunt Zhou and Aunt Liu, who also got up to say goodbye. Only Jiang Wan and the old lady remained in the room.

After Granny Gui cleared away the teacups, Jiang Wan didn't rush to leave. She took out the account books from her sleeve, placed them on the table, and pushed them in front of the old lady.

"Grandma, my daughter-in-law went through the account books last night." Her voice was neither loud nor soft, as if she were talking about something ordinary.

"There are a few discrepancies between the listed prices and the market prices. The Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns were listed at forty taels, but after inquiring about the market prices, they turned out to be less than fifteen taels. The silk was 20% more expensive than the market price, and the charcoal was more than 30% more expensive than last year's purchase price."

The old lady reached out and picked up the account book, glanced at it, and then closed it again, as if she already knew what was written inside. She didn't reply, waiting for Jiang Wan to continue.

Jiang Wan turned to the page with the folded corner in the account book: "What we see so far is for the last three months. The extra twenty-odd taels for lanterns, and the difference in the cost of silk and charcoal, totaling about three hundred taels of silver, are unaccounted for. My wife has only looked at three months; in previous years, it must have been much more."

The old lady remained silent for a long time before speaking.

"These accounts have been in my hands for several years, and I've known there was a problem for a long time."

Jiang Wan was not surprised. Even if the old lady hadn't looked through the account books carefully, she couldn't possibly be unaware of whether the public funds in the mansion had been in the wrong place over the years.

The old lady took a sip of tea and continued, "Every time the numbers don't match, Wang Fulai always gives excuses like 'market price fluctuations' or 'extra purchases were made at the last minute.' If I press him for details, he can come up with a whole bunch of reasons to cover it up."

"He followed me when I first entered the Earl's mansion. He was efficient and I trusted him for so many years. Later, the accounts he managed started to fall apart. I noticed it, but I didn't pursue it. I thought that people are always insatiable, and it's okay to be greedy for small things. I turned a blind eye, and they were embarrassed to go too far."

"But I didn't expect that the more I kept quiet, the bolder they became. By the time I wanted to intervene, it was too late. The accounts were already a solid block, and if I made any rash moves, the whole household would fall into chaos first. Over the years, they have held me back, and I can't easily take action."

Jiang Wan lowered her eyes and did not rush to answer.

The old lady said again, "Just keep these accounts in mind. Starting tomorrow, I will send Granny Gui to your place. With her there, you can also manage the people under you. Just tell everyone that you can't handle everything by yourself, so I'm sending an old woman to lend a hand."

"You can also use Granny Liu in the storeroom. Just ask her for whatever you need for the festival gifts. She's managed the storeroom for years, and she knows where everything is better than anyone else."

After she finished speaking, she glanced at Jiang Wan and said, "Do what you're supposed to do. You don't need to ask me about everything. If I tell you to do something, then just do it without worry."

Jiang Wan's heart stirred slightly. Granny Liu was one of the most trusted confidantes of the old lady. She was in charge of all the storeroom affairs in the mansion, and even the considerable dowry of the late madam was entrusted to her.

The old lady even gave Liu Mama to her to serve, and the meaning of this was all too clear.

Jiang Wan stood up and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Grandma."

She knew that the old lady was serious this time.

"Go ahead," the old lady waved her hand, saying no more.

Jiang Wan turned and left, and Granny Gui followed her out of Songhe Hall.

The two walked together along the corridor for a while before Granny Gui spoke first: "Madam, you should understand what the old lady means. Just go ahead and check the accounts. If you're unsure about anything, just come and ask this old servant."

"The old nanny has been in the household for a long time and is more familiar with the accounts than I am. I will definitely need to trouble the old nanny in the future."

Granny Gui didn't stand on ceremony. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, she turned back. Jiang Wan stood under the corridor watching her walk back to the inner courtyard of Songhe Hall before continuing to walk into her own courtyard.

When she returned to her courtyard, Qinghe was waiting under the eaves. Upon seeing her return, she went up to her and said in a low voice.

"Madam, I just inquired. After Steward Wang returned from your place, he stayed in the accounting room for more than half an hour before coming out. When he came out, he didn't look well and even sent someone to the storeroom to fetch a few old books."

"Who did he meet?"

"No, he was alone. There was a young assistant in the accounting office. The two of them must have been talking for a while."

Jiang Wan nodded: "I understand. Tell Qiu Tang to keep an eye on things, but don't get too close. Just keep an eye on things from a distance."

"Also, go and tell Granny Liu that I need to go to the storeroom tomorrow to pick out some gifts for the festival, and ask her to open the storeroom."

Qinghe responded and turned to leave.

The next morning, Jiang Wan took Qinghe to the warehouse, which was located behind the east courtyard. It was a row of brick and tile houses with thick wooden doors secured by a copper lock.

Granny Liu was standing at the door waiting. When she saw them arrive, she bowed, unlocked the door, and stepped aside to let Jiang Wan in.

The storeroom wasn't large, but the items were neatly arranged. Several bolts of silk were displayed on a shelf against the wall, next to which were stacks of porcelain. Further inside were several locked mahogany chests.

Granny Liu followed two steps behind Jiang Wan, neither too close nor too far, as if she were ready to answer at any moment.

Jiang Wan looked at several bolts of fabric, then at the porcelain on the shelf: "Are all these things in the storeroom the old lady's?"

"Half of it is from the household's public funds, and the other half is the late Madam's dowry." Granny Liu's voice was neither loud nor soft. "The late Madam's things are all sealed in those chests in the inner room, and this old servant personally keeps the keys."

Jiang Wan nodded but didn't go into the inner room. She pointed out a few pieces of fabric for Qinghe to write down and asked a few questions about the old customs of festival gifts in previous years. Granny Liu answered them one by one in detail, explaining clearly what each family had given in previous years and whether it should be added or reduced this year.

She had managed the storeroom in this mansion for over a decade. The old lady appointed her to manage it because she could remember every single transaction.

When Jiang Wan came out of the storeroom, Qing He followed behind her. After walking for a while, she spoke up: "Madam, Granny Liu speaks very fluently. She can answer any question you ask her."

"She's been managing the warehouse for years, and she knows better than anyone what's in it," Jiang Wan said.

The two walked back along the covered walkway. When they passed the direction of the tent, Jiang Wan glanced at it. The door was closed, the windows were shut, and there was no sound from inside.

She didn't stop and kept walking.

At the same time, only the old lady remained in Songhe Hall.

After sending Granny Gui to Jiang Wan's place, the room became so quiet that only the occasional sound of the wind chimes under the eaves could be heard.

The old lady leaned against the pillow and closed her eyes for a while, as if she was thinking about something. After a while, she opened her eyes, picked up the Buddhist scripture on the table, turned to the page with the folded corner, looked at it, and then closed it again.

Wang Fu was once a servant who swept snow in the front yard. His hands were covered in frostbite on a snowy day, and he was huddled in a corner sweeping snow by himself. She saw him and felt sorry for him, so she transferred him to her side.

Decades have passed, and the servant boy who used to be covered in frostbite in the snow is now in charge of most of the purchasing and accounting in the mansion. He has also learned the cunning and sly ways of the head stewards.

She looked out the window and saw that the leaves of the old locust tree in the courtyard had begun to fall, falling in small, delicate pieces, as if the wind had picked them off one by one.

A gust of wind slipped in through the crack in the window, blowing a strand of gray hair at her temple up and then falling back down. She raised her hand to gather it, and stopped looking out the window.