Concubine Yue was nearly ten years older than Qin Shuying, so in her eyes, Qin Shuying was just a little girl who didn’t understand anything yet. Therefore, although Qin Shuying was the master and she was only half a master, Concubine Yue began taking control of the situation on her own.

Concubine Yue revealed a perfectly appropriate smile. “First Madam needn’t be modest. This concubine will also help you.”

Qin Shuying said nothing more. Since the woman was so enthusiastic, let her enthusiasm burn for a while.

Seeing that Qin Shuying no longer refused, Concubine Yue thought her “kind intentions” had moved Qin Shuying. She directed the maid to pick roses while starting a conversation with Qin Shuying.

“First Madam, the weather has been changing quickly these past few days. It looks like it might snow in just a few more days.”

Qin Shuying nodded—this was true.

Concubine Yue saw that she didn’t say much and assumed she was somewhat shy, perhaps not very good at talking with strangers.

Over there, Ziteng and Hong Juan took the maid aside to chat and pick roses. Ziteng and Hong Juan chatted about this and that, laughing from time to time, so the maid couldn’t clearly hear what Qin Shuying and Concubine Yue were saying.

Concubine Yue lowered her voice slightly and asked, “First Madam, I heard your natal family is the same as Imperial Concubine Lian’s—the Qin residence?”

Qin Shuying nodded.

Concubine Yue’s eyes showed some envy. “First Madam truly has a good background. How could someone like this concubine compare, born so lowly? I suffered plenty of hardships from childhood. By the time I was fifteen, I hadn’t even touched silk or satin fabric.”

In the past, when Concubine Yue mentioned this to other ladies, she would always win some sighs and pity.

But now, Qin Shuying before her only glanced at her and said nothing.

Concubine Yue was quite unaccustomed to this.

This was her usual method for closing the distance with people—it never failed. Not only could she win others’ pity, but sometimes she could also lower their guard, thereby achieving some of her goals.

What was wrong with Qin Shuying? She was like a wooden post, not even making a sound.

Her maids also all looked indifferent, as if what Concubine Yue said was just a gust of wind that blew past and was gone.

Concubine Yue retreated to advance, saying again, “This concubine has made First Madam laugh—my knowledge is limited.”

Qin Shuying still didn’t speak.

What was going on?

Was she too stupid to know how to respond?

That would really be…

Just as Concubine Yue’s thoughts were spinning, Lu Ye spoke up: “Since the concubine knows this, that’s enough.”

Concubine Yue didn’t react for a moment.

However, she was instantly drawn to the faint but obvious scar on Lu Ye’s face. The Marquis’s residence actually had such a maid working? By the looks of it, she was even a capable person by First Madam’s side.

Lu Ye didn’t care at all about her gaze, which though subtle was quite obvious. After speaking, she stood to one side, smelling the roses as if nothing had happened.

Concubine Yue was stunned for a while before realizing that Lu Ye was talking about her.

Anger immediately occupied her mind.

However, she never did anything that would compromise her dignity. Seeing that the maid hadn’t noticed this side, she lowered her voice and laughed, “First Madam, speaking of which, since Young Master has married you, the household management should be handled by First Madam. It’s been over ten days now—I wonder what Old Madam and Madam are planning? Does First Madam have any arrangements?”

Qin Shuying’s calm expression finally showed a trace of change. “What does the concubine mean by this?”

“First Madam’s natal family is Imperial Concubine Lian’s family—how many families in the entire capital can compare? Young Master is also the legitimate eldest son, so it’s natural for First Madam to manage the household. Don’t you think so, First Madam?”

“Is this what the concubine thinks?”

“This is how all the noble families in the capital do things.”

Qin Shuying smiled—truly a cunning concubine. No wonder Liang Yunshan would bring her back from the frontier.

“Thank you for the concubine’s kind intentions. I’ll mention this to Young Master later, and he’ll relay what the concubine just said to the Marquis.”

Concubine Yue choked. Could Qin Shuying be a complete fool? Did she still think she was a child? Telling one thing to Zhang San and then having it passed to Li Si?

“First Madam, that won’t do. This is a natural course of events—this concubine cannot take credit.”

“How could that be? Since the concubine sees things so clearly, the Marquis should naturally know of the concubine’s cleverness. In the future, the Marquis will surely value the concubine more.”

If the Marquis knew, he would scold her—how could he possibly value her more?

In Liang Yunshan’s heart, Concubine Yue was gentle and considerate, never making things difficult for him, and would never do such gossiping things.

Concubine Yue was extremely vexed. Why had she bothered talking about these things with such a fool?

When she showed goodwill, shouldn’t Qin Shuying be secretly delighted and then secretly befriend her?

“First Madam, you just need to know that this concubine means well for you—there’s no need to tell the Marquis. The Marquis is so busy, how would he have time to manage these household matters?”

“I don’t understand what the concubine means. Household management isn’t a small matter—no matter how busy the Marquis is, he should know about it, shouldn’t he, concubine?”

Concubine Yue’s smile became forced.

No matter how little Concubine Yue knew about the residence’s affairs, she now felt that Qin Shuying was somewhat difficult to deal with. “First Madam, this concubine is lowly—such matters are not something someone of my status should bring up.”

Qin Shuying smiled. “So the concubine knew such words weren’t yours to say—then why did you bring this up to me just now?”

Concubine Yue’s eyes widened. So after all that talking, Qin Shuying had been playing with her.

She wasn’t some ignorant yellow-haired girl at all!

Concubine Yue became increasingly embarrassed. After all, her status was somewhat insufficient, making her feel uncomfortable all over.

“First Madam, this concubine has been delayed outside for quite some time. This concubine will take her leave first.”

Qin Shuying looked at her with clear eyes, smiling without speaking.

Under Qin Shuying’s gaze, Concubine Yue felt her stupidity had nowhere to hide. She took her maid and left hastily in embarrassment.

Qin Shuying watched her retreating figure and smiled lightly.

Ziteng said, “What was she doing here? How could she come to this place? What about the residence’s rules?”

Concubine Yue was just a concubine—normally she couldn’t leave her small courtyard.

Now she had actually walked here, so there must be some reason.

Lu Ye said, “Her filial devotion moved Old Madam—Old Madam probably allowed her to come.”

Since she dared to swagger out here, it was either Old Madam Liang’s intention, or Liang Yunshan’s or Luo Meixiang’s intention.

Qin Shuying thought for a moment, then said to Lu Ye, “Spread word about Concubine Yue’s conversation with me here, word for word. Besides that, add a few more lines…”

After Qin Shuying finished speaking, Lu Ye smiled. “Yes, First Madam. Concubine Yue really hit a ghost today—she lifted a rock only to drop it on her own foot.”

Hong Juan laughed. “She didn’t put First Madam in her eyes at all—she should really be taught a good lesson.”

Ziteng rolled her eyes. “She can’t even take care of herself, yet she still wanted to provoke First Madam to go against the Marquis’s wife. Ayuan and Aning seem quite clever—I originally thought Concubine Yue would also know when to advance and retreat. Now it seems she’s too clever for her own good. Ayuan and Aning probably aren’t much better either.”