Being a second wife is difficult

Jiang Wan's heart stirred slightly. The room she lived in after marrying into the family was originally the master's study. It was a peaceful place to live, but it was not very big, so she always felt a little timid.

The old lady suddenly mentioned "that courtyard" and said she would ask Granny Gui to take her to see it, presumably because she was planning to change her living arrangements.

She didn't ask any further questions, only replied "Yes," and then left Songhe Hall.

When I returned to the main courtyard, there were already cleaning women outside the gate tidying up some decorations left over from yesterday's Mid-Autumn Festival.

Qinghe followed him into the courtyard, closed the door behind her, and then said, "Manager Wang just came by and said that the banquet's final accounts have been settled. He asked when Madam would be free."

Jiang Wan sat down on a chair in the corridor: "Let him come over."

Not long after Qinghe left, Wang Fu arrived, carrying a blue ledger. He greeted her upon entering and then added with a smile.

"I wish you good health, Madam. The Mid-Autumn Festival has passed. This old servant sends you belated blessings. The banquet yesterday was lively, and you must have worked hard."

Jiang Wan pointed to the stone bench beside her and gestured for him to sit down: "Manager Wang, please sit down."

Wang Fu thanked her, sat down on the stone bench, and handed over the account book with both hands: "Madam, the final accounts of yesterday's banquet have been sorted out. This is the breakdown, including all the food expenses, reward money, and items that several branch masters and young masters withdrew from the storeroom. It's all recorded here. This old servant brought it here for Madam to review."

Jiang Wan took the ledger and opened it. The entries were very detailed, specifying which dish used which ingredients, which household rewarded which maids, and which branch of the family took an inkstone from the storeroom.

The numbers don't look too bad; they seem to have been carefully checked.

She flipped through a few pages, closed the ledger, and placed it beside her: "The accounts are clear now. Thank you, Steward Wang."

Wang Fu sat there without getting up immediately. After hesitating for a moment, he added, "Madam, this year's Mid-Autumn Festival celebration is on a large scale, and we have added a few more items than in previous years. I was afraid that since this is your first time managing this event, you might not know the origin of some items, so I have specially noted the source of each item. If you are unsure about anything, please feel free to ask me."

Jiang Wan nodded: "I understand. Manager Wang is always meticulous in his work, so I trust him."

Wang Fu sat for a while, and seeing that Jiang Wan had no intention of asking any more questions, he stood up to say goodbye and left the courtyard.

Qinghe came in from the corridor to tidy up the teacups and saw Jiang Wan placing the account book on the table. She casually remarked, "Manager Wang arrived quickly today. I just went to deliver the message, and he arrived in no time."

Jiang Wan picked up her teacup and took a sip: "He has been handling procurement for many years, so it's normal for him to be quick to sort out accounts. Mid-Autumn Festival has just passed, and he is in a hurry to send over the final accounts so that I can have a clear understanding of the situation."

As she put down her teacup, she said, "His words just now seemed to be reminding me which details I could examine closely, and fearing that I wouldn't, he offered me a way out."

Qinghe thought for a moment: "Should Madam investigate?"

"Leave it for now," Jiang Wan said. "Since he was willing to bring the accounts over, it means that the accounts are at least clean. If there were any problems, he wouldn't have shown them to me in the open."

She didn't say anything more, stood up, straightened her clothes, and went inside. Qinghe put the teacups back on the tray and followed her inside.

When the sun was setting in the afternoon, Granny Gui arrived.

She didn't come empty-handed; she brought a plate of freshly made walnut shortbread, with a few dried osmanthus flowers sprinkled around the edge of the plate. It smelled of a mixture of ghee and osmanthus.

As soon as Granny Gui entered, she bowed to Jiang Wan and said, "Madam, the old lady asked me to bring over some pastries. This is a new recipe from Granny Zhou in the kitchen. They are osmanthus and walnut pastries, which are crispier than the pepper and salt pastries from last time, and the walnut flavor is stronger."

"The old lady tasted a piece and said it was good, so she specially asked me to bring you a plate as well."

Jiang Wan took the plate, picked up a walnut pastry, and took a bite. The pastry crumbled between her teeth, and the sweetness of osmanthus and the oily aroma of walnuts blended perfectly together, neither greasy nor overly sweet.

She nodded and praised, "It's sweet but not cloying, and the walnut aroma is just right. It's much more refined than what you get in shops outside."

Upon hearing this, Granny Gui smiled and replied, "I'm glad Madam likes it."

Jiang Wan asked Qinghe to serve tea to Granny Gui: "Granny, please sit down and have some tea before you leave. Isn't the Old Madam in a hurry to go back?"

Granny Gui did not refuse. She sat down on the embroidered stool, took a sip of tea, and then put down the teacup, saying, "Madam, the old lady also asked me to pass on a message. I'm sure you already know what it is."

Jiang Wan put down the walnut pastry in her hand and looked up to wait for her to continue.

"The old lady said that it has been half a year since you married into the family, and you are gradually getting the hang of things in the household."

When Granny Gui said this, her tone was gentle, as if she were reciting a carefully chosen sentence, "The courtyard where you, Madam, are now living was originally the master's study, but it is a bit too narrow and inconvenient for managing affairs."

"The old lady said that the newly built courtyard on the east side of the mansion is empty, close to the old lady's main courtyard, and the size of the courtyard is just right. The old lady means that if the madam thinks it is suitable, she can start moving there in the next few days."

Jiang Wan held her teacup without immediately responding. She knew from the day she entered the house that the courtyard where she lived was a temporary conversion of Lu Huaijin's study. The lighting hadn't even been properly adjusted, and the windows faced north, so the room would get dark early in the afternoon.

She didn't say anything then, which was the proper etiquette for a new bride entering the family. But now the old lady is taking the initiative to suggest changing the courtyard, which means something different from what she meant back then.

"That courtyard..." she asked, "what was it originally used for?"

Granny Gui said, "It was originally set aside for an elder to live in when the old house was renovated, but that elder never came to live there, so it has been empty ever since."

"The courtyard has been newly renovated, and the furniture inside is also new. The old lady's idea is that the young lady can take a look before moving in, and if she needs anything, she can just go to the storeroom to get it."

After listening to her, Jiang Wan asked again, "Is the courtyard where Mrs. Gu used to live still locked?"

Granny Gui was silent for a moment. She didn't rush to answer. She first turned her head to look at the door and made sure no one was under the eaves before lowering her voice and saying, "Madam, the old lady still keeps that courtyard. Madam Gu's family is not an ordinary family after all. They are of high status and have strict rules. Although Madam Gu has passed away, the maternal grandparents of the two children are still here, and they have been keeping an eye on the movements in the mansion."

Jiang Wan paused slightly. She had heard about the Gu family before she married into the family. Madam Gu's family was a well-known family in the capital. Many of their children held official positions in other places and were known for their high-profile and flamboyant behavior. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they were abusing their power.

She remembered that when she was researching Madam Gu's past, Aunt Zhou had mentioned that when Madam Gu was seriously ill, the Gu family had sent people to the Earl's residence to search through the entire courtyard where Madam Gu lived, even prying up the floor tiles to examine them. Such a fuss was something ordinary families couldn't do, which showed how eccentric the Gu family was.

Jiang Wan didn't reveal her thoughts on her face, but simply replied to Granny Gui's words, "The old lady kept that courtyard to prevent the Gu family from saying anything."

Granny Gui nodded and agreed, saying, "If they find out that someone is living in Madam Gu's old residence, they'll probably cause a scene. The old lady's idea is to lock that courtyard for now and have Madam stay in the one on the east side for the time being."

She paused here, as if considering her words: "Especially the matriarch of Mrs. Gu's family, who has a difficult temperament. Every year during festivals, she would send people to ask about the two children's food, clothing and daily necessities. On the surface, she was concerned about her grandchildren, but in reality, she was keeping an eye on whether the Earl's Mansion had neglected the things left by Mrs. Gu."

"The old lady didn't want to argue with them about this, so she just left the courtyard locked as it was, which saved her the trouble."

Jiang Wan nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

Seeing that she wasn't unhappy, Granny Gui relaxed a bit and added, "The courtyard on the east side is more than twice the size of your current one, and it even has a small side hall. It's much more convenient for managing affairs and entertaining guests than your current one."

"The back of the courtyard leads to the garden, and the kitchen and storeroom are just a few steps away. Unlike now, we don't have to walk halfway through the mansion to get there. It's just that it's a bit far from where the concubines live, and also far from the second branch of the family."

Jiang Wan understood what she meant. Being far away from the concubines would be quiet, and being far away from the second branch of the family would save Fang Shi from coming over every few days to "stop by".

"And that courtyard doesn't even have a plaque yet," Granny Gui added. "The old lady said that if Madam likes one, she can choose one herself, and then have it carved and hung up. The plaques for the courtyards in the mansion are all chosen by the respective households. It's only proper for Madam to name the courtyard she lives in."

Jiang Wan thought for a while, but didn't say what name she wanted on the spot. She just said, "I'll go and take a look tomorrow, and then decide."

Granny Gui agreed, got up to take her leave, and turned back as she reached the door, saying, "If Madam has made up her mind, just let this old servant know, and I'll have someone take care of it. There's no rush with the plaque; the old lady said Madam can take her time to think about it."

After she left, the room became quiet.

Jiang Wan sat by the window for a while, picked up another piece of walnut pastry from the plate and ate it. The crumbs fell on the table, which she wiped away with a handkerchief. She sat for a while longer before standing up, walking to the door and glancing outside.

The shadow of the osmanthus tree outside the courtyard wall lay obliquely on the blue brick ground, swaying in the wind.

The courtyard that Granny Gui mentioned came earlier than she had expected. The old lady brought it up on her own initiative, not just casually, but to tell her that she could start to settle down in this family.

The new leaves of the orchid on the windowsill have already unfurled.