Being a second wife is difficult

Granny Gui arrived early the next morning, followed by Granny Liu. The two entered the courtyard one after the other.

Granny Gui was holding a black lacquered wooden box, inside which were neatly stacked accounting keys, a register of tokens, and a few thin old booklets. Granny Liu, on the other hand, was empty-handed, but had a long string of keys hanging from her waist, which jingled as she walked.

Qinghe led the two nannies to sit down in the room, and then went to the inner room to announce their arrival.

When Jiang Wan came out, Granny Gui had already opened and arranged the contents of the black wooden box.

She bowed to Jiang Wan, and only after the bow did she look up at Jiang Wan and say, "Madam, the old lady sent us here ostensibly to help you with the accounts, but we all know in our hearts that it's time to take a look at Wang Fu's messy accounts."

Jiang Wan quickly stood up and greeted them with a smile: "Grandma, you've gone to so much trouble. It's really kind of you two nannies to make the trip yourself. Nanny Gui, Nanny Liu, please sit down and let's talk."

He then asked Qinghe to serve him tea before sitting down on the stool.

Granny Gui's hair was neatly combed, her silver hairpin was polished to a shine, and she wore a plain navy blue dress. Granny Liu was wearing a brown dress today, with the collar buttoned up neatly, making her look exceptionally dignified.

Jiang Wan's gaze slowly swept across the two faces, finally landing on the account books on the table, her tone becoming even gentler.

"The nannies have been in the household for many years and are much more familiar with some accounting matters than I am. I'm afraid it will be hard on you two these next few days. Nannies, please help me sort out the purchase lists that Wang Fu is handling. There's no need to read them all in a hurry; just sort out the ones from this year onwards."

Granny Gui and Granny Liu responded and opened an old booklet.

The three of them sat under the eaves for most of the hour. Jiang Wan flipped through book after book, copying the major discrepancies for Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns, silk, and charcoal onto a separate piece of paper, and also marking the other less noticeable discrepancies.

After watching for a while, Granny Gui pointed to one of the lines and said, "Madam, this amount for 'miscellaneous items' was recorded separately from the purchases in previous years. Wang Fu wrote it together, so others can't really tell."

Jiang Wan looked in the direction she was pointing and said, "That's true. Does Granny Gui know how many were recorded separately?"

"In previous years, when listed separately, it was about twenty or thirty taels, but now it's listed together as fifty taels. The difference of more than twenty taels is unclear as to what was bought."

Jiang Wan copied down the amount as well, drew a circle next to it with a vermilion pen, and didn't ask any further questions.

After circling the names, she put down her pen, as if suddenly remembering something, and turned to look at Granny Gui: "Granny Gui, you've been in the manor for so many years, you must know the personnel arrangements well. I want to ask you something: over the years, which positions in the manor belong to Wang Fu, and which ones are beyond his control?"

Granny Gui took a sip of tea, as if she had sorted things out in her mind before speaking: "There are two junior managers in the purchasing department who are Wang Fu's men, one surnamed Sun and the other surnamed Liu. The young clerk in the accounting office is also on his side."

"Granny Liu from the storeroom," she said, glancing sideways at the person sitting next to her and nodding slightly, "and Granny Zhou from the kitchen. Both of them are the old lady's people, and Wang Fu can't get involved with them."

She paused for a moment, then added, "As for personnel transfers, we don't usually get involved; it's always been Granny Ding who handles it. Which maid goes where, which old woman comes in—it's all up to her."

Jiang Wan nodded and mentally reviewed the names.

This wasn't the first time she'd heard the name "Granny Ding" recently. Her mother-in-law still hadn't reached a conclusion about the incident a few days ago when Granny Ding forced her way into the storeroom.

She had initially thought it was just a head maid overstepping her bounds, as she, the second wife, and Aunt Zhou were all adept at maneuvering. But now, after hearing what Granny Gui said, she realized something was amiss.

With personnel allocation controlled by one person, over the years, she has probably woven a net throughout the entire mansion.

After her thoughts returned, Jiang Wan lowered her head and pondered for a while before slowly saying, "The old lady just said that personnel transfers have always been handled by Granny Ding. I haven't been in the manor for long, so I don't know many old stories. The old ladies are all veterans who have served the old lady for a long time, so they must know about what happened back then."

"I'd like to ask Granny Ding, how did you get this job in the first place? What was the old lady thinking back then?"

She spoke slowly and deliberately, as if she were genuinely seeking advice.

Granny Gui put down the booklet in her hand, lowered her eyes slightly, and recalled the past.

"Granny Ding has been by the old lady's side the longest," Granny Gui said.

"When the old lady first married into the Earl's Mansion, she was the most useful person by her side. She was sweet-talking, good at talking, and efficient. At that time, we didn't call her Granny Ding. Because she was lively, everyone called her Ding Girl. The old lady took her everywhere she went."

"Later, when the old lady finally took power, she handed over the personnel transfer to her, thinking that she could persuade people with her words and sort things out."

She paused here, the words lingering on her lips, unsure whether she swallowed them back or was unsure which direction to take.

Granny Gui's gaze fell on the osmanthus tree outside the window. She stared into the distance for a while before speaking, "How did it turn out like this... I can't say for sure."

Jiang Wan noticed that she spoke in a flat tone, only saying half of the sentence before stopping, leaving the rest unsaid.

The fallen leaves on the windowsill were swept up by the wind, turned over, and fell back down.

Granny Gui withdrew her gaze and glanced at Granny Liu. Granny Liu remained silent, her fingers pressing down on the edges of the thin papers, her knuckles turning slightly white, as if she were pressing down on something loose underneath.

Granny Gui then stopped talking.

Jiang Wan lowered her head and reopened the account book, but her mind was racing.

Back then, the old lady had four most capable people around her: one was in charge of personnel, one was in charge of the warehouse, one was in charge of the kitchen, and Wang Fu was in charge of purchasing.

These places have now become crucial to the household; a single move can affect the whole situation. She didn't say this aloud, but just thought about it in her mind before burying it back into the account book.

After a while, Granny Gui stopped thinking about the past and continued flipping through the booklet in her hand. Qinghe came over again to refill her tea, but didn't say anything and quietly withdrew.

A gust of wind blew in from outside the courtyard wall, causing the corners of the thin papers on the table to flutter slightly. Granny Liu reached out and pressed them down.

"Madam," Granny Gui suddenly spoke, pointing to a line of words, "this pen—look here again."

Jiang Wan followed her finger and found another discrepancy. The group then discussed the amount, with Granny Gui pointing out each item to her. Jiang Wan wrote them down one by one, while Granny Liu nodded occasionally.

After flipping through a few more pages and sorting out seven or eight miscellaneous errors, Granny Gui finally closed the booklet and let out a soft sigh of relief: "Let's stop here for today. It's not something that can be done in a day to review all the accounts of the manor over the years."

Jiang Wan nodded, told Qinghe to put the account books away, and then personally refilled the tea for the two nannies.

Granny Gui took the drink and then suddenly said out of the blue, "Actually, I was the youngest of the old lady's maids back then."

Granny Liu glanced at her, the corners of her lips curving slightly, as if she had thought of something interesting, but she didn't reply.

Granny Gui seemed to have opened a floodgate of conversation, her tone softening and becoming more relaxed than before.

"I was assigned to the old lady's courtyard later. By then, the four of them were already the old lady's favorites."

"I was the youngest at the time, and I didn't know anything. I was clumsy and awkward. It was the old lady who told me to let the other girls take care of me, and that's how I learned little by little."

As she spoke, she chuckled to herself, "Back then, Granny Zhou even taught me to recognize the storeroom keys. I counted them three times but still couldn't figure them out, and she was so anxious that she stomped her feet."

As Granny Liu listened from the side, the smile on her lips deepened, and a glimmer of old light seemed to rise in her eyes.

Granny Gui suddenly realized she had talked too much. She raised her hand to tuck a stray hair behind her ear and coughed a little embarrassedly, "Look at me, I'm getting old and I talk too much. Please don't take offense, Madam."

Jiang Wan smiled and said, "I enjoy hearing these old stories that Granny tells."

When Granny Gui heard this, she became even more uncomfortable. She stood up, straightened her clothes, and pulled Granny Liu aside, saying, "Let's stop here for today. Madam is busy. We'll come again another day."

He bowed to Jiang Wan and turned to leave.

Granny Liu followed behind her. When they reached the courtyard gate, she turned back and glanced at Jiang Wan. That glance was no longer as heavy as before; instead, it carried a gentle warmth from someone who had been through it all.

Granny Gui urged her from ahead, and she turned away, followed after her. The two figures disappeared under the eaves, one after the other, and the wind made the courtyard gate sway slightly.

Jiang Wan's gaze fell on the lines of text in the account book again. She didn't turn the page anymore. She closed the book and put it beside her, as if she wanted to suppress her anger first. Some things can't be rushed.