Since meeting her elder brother, Song Wan had gained some confidence and stopped trying to fathom Jiang Xingjian’s thoughts.

Moreover, now that she had taken charge of household management, she was busy beyond measure all day long.

Early in the morning, after paying respects to the Old Madam, she met with the stewardess women of the residence.

“Thank you all for your trouble. Please wait while my mistress changes her clothes and she will come.”

Heng Wu served tea and prepared some refreshments. These women had only examined Song Wan carefully once—on that first day of the handover. Now that three to five days had passed without Song Wan taking any particular actions, everyone felt that although she came from a prestigious family, she was still young after all. They inevitably developed some contempt in their hearts.

Seeing Heng Wu treat them with great respect, and recalling that Song Wan had always been gentle and compliant, the awe they had initially felt diminished somewhat.

A girl of just over ten years who had never managed a household before would surely need to rely heavily on them now.

Several exchanged glances, their expressions relaxing.

When Song Wan emerged, she saw everyone eating and drinking in a lively manner. She said gently, “I’ve come rather late. I apologize for keeping you all waiting.”

“First Madam, you’re too kind. You’re a noble person with many matters to attend to. It’s only proper for us old women to wait.”

The woman was still chewing refreshments as she spoke. Song Wan glanced at her but her smile did not diminish.

“I’ve been busy these past few days and haven’t been able to discuss the residence’s situation with you all in detail. Finding time today is my fault.”

Song Wan gestured for the women who were rising to sit down, then seated herself in the host’s position. Heng Zhi placed a freshly brewed cup of magnolia flower tea beside her hand, then brought over a thick stack of account books.

Seeing her put on such airs, everyone couldn’t help but find it amusing.

How could being the lady managing the household succeed merely with imposing presence? If she conducted affairs properly, perhaps they would regard her more highly and show two parts more respect on the surface. If she was soft-hearted and incompetent, inevitably they would act as before—complying on the surface while opposing in practice.

They were all old retainers of the Marquis residence, hereditary household servants for generations. They were not to be controlled by a new daughter-in-law.

As the inner quarters stewardess, Steward Jiang Fu’s wife naturally spoke first: “First Madam has been busy. Since you’ve summoned us old women today, you must have instructions. Now that everyone is present, please give your orders, Madam.”

Song Wan smiled and said, “It’s nothing major. It’s just that as Nanny knows, the Marquis residence is not what it once was. Currently, expenditures exceed income, so I thought to reduce some unnecessary expenses.”

“First Madam speaks truly. Our residence indeed is not what it once was.”

Seeing Song Wan’s faint smile, Steward Jiang Fu’s wife’s tone shifted: “However, our residence is after all a noble family of princes and marquises. The proper allotments and regulations cannot be lacking. If frugality causes the Marquis residence to lose face, wouldn’t that violate propriety?”

Imperial noble and marquis families, whether in clothing and expenses or travel arrangements, all had strict regulations. Unless an entire clan had no outstanding males whatsoever, one would not make an issue of daily expenses. If it truly reached the point where even dignity could not be maintained, outsiders would only think the Marquis residence’s great mansion was about to topple and near its end.

This would be equivalent to announcing to the world that the clan was failing. Those relatives by marriage closely connected to the Marquis residence, as well as the deeply entrenched allies at court, would all have their attitudes toward the Marquis residence affected by this.

How could Song Wan not understand such obvious reasoning?

She smiled at Steward Jiang Fu’s wife and said, “Nanny worries too much. That is not what I meant.”

Steward Jiang Fu’s wife smiled awkwardly. Song Wan did not make things difficult for her.

“Now is different from the past. Although daily expenses cannot be reduced, some expenditures should be cut.”

Casually opening an account book, Song Wan pointed to the entries above and said, “The small kitchens of each residence prepare the same things daily. For instance, both Mother’s Jiangxiang Courtyard and Old Madam’s Fuhe Hall have milk prepared daily, yet Old Madam has never liked the fishy smell of milk.”

“Mother’s place and Lanting Courtyard both have Wuchang fish prepared daily. Although this fish is delicious, as far as I know, neither the First Young Master nor I like these, and such dishes are not usually seen.”

The woman in charge of purchasing for the inner quarters kitchen hurriedly stepped forward and said, “Madam doesn’t know—although these may not necessarily appear on the table daily, if the masters suddenly wish to eat them and the kitchen doesn’t have them, that won’t do. Therefore, some things may not be used daily, but they cannot be lacking.”

“Nothing is indispensable.”

Song Wan’s tone remained mild: “From today forward, the purchases for the small kitchens of Fuhe Hall, Jiangxiang Courtyard, and Lanting Courtyard will be uniformly determined by the residence’s main kitchen. If the masters wish to eat something, they will notify the main kitchen one day in advance, and purchases can be made according to the list.”

“First Madam, this…”

With her opening words, she removed the conveniences from the Old Madam’s, Madam’s, and her own courtyard kitchens. How would the other courtyards in the residence dare exceed them?

This was clearly using the biggest items as examples to suppress and make a point. How could they as servants dare or be able to say anything?

The woman retreated resentfully, her heart bleeding with pain.

Song Wan paid no attention to any of that. Scanning the past menus and purchase lists of each courtyard, she roughly calculated and found that as much as seventy to eighty taels could be saved per day.

“The snacks and refreshments in the First Young Master’s and Second Young Master’s rooms are also all canceled.”

The woman in charge of Yuling Study looked troubled: “This… with no prepared dishes in the small kitchens of each courtyard and now canceling snacks and refreshments, I’m afraid this is improper.”

“Both the First Young Master and Second Young Master have come of age. They are rarely in the residence during the day. These ten taels per month for snacks and refreshments—who are they for?”

Song Wan pulled out account books from various courtyards and canceled various miscellaneous, minor unnecessary expenditures.

Earlier, those women had not taken her very seriously, but now one by one they began to understand she was not easy to fool. After all, those inconspicuous expenses had never caught Old Madam’s or Madam’s attention before.

But thinking about it now, such accumulations of small amounts, though they could not solve urgent crises, if maintained long-term, the savings could lighten the burden considerably.

Those women with sharper minds already felt respect and awe, but there were also those whose interests had been cut who remained unconvinced in their hearts.

Heng Zhi raised her eyes to scan everyone, then lowered her head to look at the dark circles under Song Wan’s eyes, unable to help feeling distressed.

Her young mistress had gone without sleep for several days just to repeatedly examine these account books, checking and comparing item by item from those one or two taels of silver. After several days of this, she had selected those entries where some savings could be made. Yet despite being busy for several days, the First Young Master had not come to the main courtyard to say even one intimate word to Miss.

Heng Zhi felt it was unfair to Song Wan and secretly resented Jiang Xingjian’s cold heart and cold nature.

“These are the only changes needed to the residence’s old customs.”

“Does First Madam have no other instructions?”

Song Wan said, “There are still some matters.”

The expressions of several women darkened by half again, though they only dared grumble a few words in their hearts.

“Liu Shun’s wife, Lin Liang Gao’s wife, and Zhang Changsheng’s wife…”

“Yes, yes, this old woman is here.”

Three women dressed in silk garments stepped forward, saying tremulously, “What instructions does First Madam have?”

“I wouldn’t dare speak of instructions. It’s just that I’ve discovered some problems with the accounts these past few days and thought to address them all today.”

Song Wan found several requisition slips from the residence and monthly allowance reports from the past few months and handed them to the women.

“In February of this year, thirty bolts of blue silk were reported for replacing the horse carriage covers for the masters of the residence. Last month, twelve bolts of eight-medallion brocade were reported for repairing the black canopy. The color wasn’t written on this requisition slip. I had Xiang Cao search the storeroom for quite a while before matching it up—twelve bolts of plum-green were missing.”

Song Wan smiled slightly: “According to palace regulations, marquises and earls use sedan chairs with blue canopies, blue curtains, and green drapes. This plum-green does not conform to palace regulations.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Liang Gao’s wife fell to her knees with a thud.