Just walking back from Fuhe Hall to Lanting Courtyard, Song Wan felt as if all strength had drained from her body. As soon as she returned to her courtyard, she removed her outer robe and sat on the beauty couch.

Her mind kept replaying Jiang’s mother’s lecturing words. Every time she recalled a single word, Song Wan felt sharp pain at the tip of her heart.

“Miss, are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

Song Wan took the round fan Nanny Zhao handed her and gently fanned herself.

Whether it was from getting too worked up during the day or being exposed to the scorching sun outside, by evening Song Wan had developed a fever.

“Doctor Ding, what’s wrong with our madam?”

Nanny Zhao held Song Wan’s hand that extended outside the bed curtain, carefully placing it back under the bedding. Seeing Doctor Ding packing up his pulse pillow, she stepped forward and asked quietly.

“The madam is distressed and feverish—this is a yang evil symptom. Once the heat dissipates she’ll be fine. This old man will prepare some medicine that will cure the illness immediately.”

Heng Zhi and Heng Wu felt relieved hearing this. Lv Zhu followed the doctor to the medicine room.

Song Wan burned in a daze. Seeing this, Nanny Zhao felt immense heartache. She didn’t sleep the entire night, busy wiping Song Wan’s sweat, changing her clothes, feeding her medicine, and reducing her fever. Only after Song Wan’s fever broke did Nanny Zhao, with dark circles under her eyes, tearfully give thanks to the gods and Buddhas.

“Miss, how did you suddenly fall ill? This night nearly broke this old woman’s heart.”

“I worried Nanny. It’s Wan’er’s fault.”

Song Wan said in a hoarse voice, a gentle smile appearing on her face.

Although she had been ill, she felt much more at ease.

She let the maids serve her in bathing and changing. After washing up, Song Wan went to the study.

“Miss, your illness hasn’t healed yet. Why not rest a few more days?”

Song Wan shook her head. “My husband has inherited the title and the Marquis’s manor must hold a grand banquet. The guest list and invitations must be prepared first.”

After writing for most of the day, Song Wan handed the completed invitation list to Heng Zhi, having her send it to the manor’s Ritual Office.

The Ritual Office specifically managed matters of sacrifices and ceremonies in the manor.

Ordinarily for masters’ birthdays and ancestors’ memorial days, or for daily exchanges of cards and gifts with other manors, they were in charge. After this list was sent down today, tomorrow the invitations would be delivered to the hands of each manor’s mistresses. For a grand banquet like Jiang Xingjian’s title inheritance, the inner and outer courtyards for men and women would certainly be held separately, so Song Wan alone would definitely be too busy.

“Invite these three people in my name.”

Heng Zhi opened it and took a look. She could understand Madam Sun and the Lan family matriarch, but a Madam Bai, wife of an Assistant Director in the Ministry of Personnel, left her somewhat puzzled.

“Elder brother went to the Ministry of Personnel. Right now he’s just an unranked deputy. This Lord Bai is his superior.”

Mentioning Song Fu’s name, Heng Zhi quietly blushed. After nodding dazedly, she clutched the prepared registry and walked out.

Seeing this, Nanny Zhao felt quite uncomfortable.

Her young miss had a proud temperament. In the past, she would never have done this kind of thing—using the Marquis’s manor’s convenience to seek private benefits for her own young master. Now that she had done it, she probably was thoroughly disappointed in the Marquis’s manor and could no longer bear to maintain appearances.

Nanny Zhao wanted to advise her, but her lips opened and closed without being able to utter a word.

For Jiang Xingjian’s title inheritance grand banquet, after Song Wan was responsible for the invitation list and menu, she didn’t manage anything else. These grand banquets all had old precedents in the manor. As long as she arranged for the managing matrons to handle their assigned duties properly, she could maintain a passable performance without errors.

After preparing everything and reporting to both Old Madam Jiang and Jiang’s mother, Song Wan no longer inquired further. Even when she heard that Jiang’s mother had handed over part of the authority for managing the grand banquet to Lin Jiayue, she never said a word.

Later, when matrons occasionally came to report, speaking vaguely that Lin Jiayue had changed the manor’s rules again, Song Wan only asked whether the madam knew. Hearing that Jiang’s mother knew and still let Lin Jiayue take full responsibility, she completely relinquished authority, telling the matrons to simply follow Lin Jiayue’s instructions.

“Miss, aren’t you afraid that little harlot will cause some disaster?”

The managing matron had just left when Nanny Zhao could no longer sit still and earnestly advised, “You’re letting that little harlot handle everything. If something really goes wrong that day, won’t Miss’s lifetime reputation be ruined?”

Song Wan held her book with a faint smile. “You went with me to Jiangxiang Courtyard yesterday. Did you see the madam’s attitude?”

Recently, due to the heat, Old Madam Jiang had been sickly all day, with neither appetite nor energy. Apart from Song Wan and Jiang Xingjian occasionally seeing her once or twice, the old lady had excused everyone else from morning and evening attendance. All manor affairs were entrusted to Jiang’s mother. Song Wan didn’t want to trouble the old lady with trivial matters, so she could only inform Jiang’s mother.

Lin Jiayue’s Huanyan Studio had received considerable business right after opening. The impressive income made Jiang’s mother and Jiang Xingjian’s confidence in her multiply, and they also gained confidence in her hosting the grand banquet.

Song Wan had merely mentioned that the old rules shouldn’t be changed when Jiang’s mother dismissed her with one phrase about stale conventions being boring and tasteless.

“Now nothing I say matters. If I say more, I’m narrow-minded, only knowing jealousy and unable to stand seeing the Marquis’s manor prosper.”

“Ahem.”

As soon as Song Wan finished speaking, she saw Jiang Xingjian standing in the room with a subtle expression. Nanny Zhao looked angrily at Xiang Cao. Just as Xiang Cao was about to respond, Jiang Xingjian said, “I told her not to announce me…”

He hadn’t expected Song Wan to mention him and Lin Jiayue in her room.

Song Wan lazily raised her eyes, without the slightest embarrassment of being caught discussing private matters.

Her indifferent appearance instead made Jiang Xingjian feel somewhat awkward, as if he were superfluous.

“Consort Jiang bestowed something upon you. I brought it over for you.”

Placing the wooden box in his hand on the table, Jiang Xingjian sat down.

During this period, he had intentionally distanced himself from Song Wan and hadn’t come to Lanting Courtyard for quite some time. He had thought Song Wan would harbor some resentment, but hadn’t expected her to be completely indifferent.

“If you feel Jiayue has done something poorly, you can certainly refuse. After all, you are the Marquis’s manor’s legitimate…”

“Letting a mere concubine manage the household accounts—the Marquis’s manor has thrown ancestral rules, proper order, and ritual propriety behind its back. What is there for me to say?”

Song Wan put down the “General Principles of Literature and History” in her hand and said indifferently, “People respect those who respect themselves. If the Marquis’s manor doesn’t respect itself, how can it expect others to forcibly maintain that respect?”

“I’m tired. Husband, please leave.”

Having just sat down only to be issued an order to leave, Jiang Xingjian’s face showed embarrassment, yet he had no face to argue. From the moment he decided to give up on Song Wan, he could no longer hold his head high before her, nor did he have the face to speak a harsh word to her.

In the end, he had failed her.

Jiang Xingjian pressed his lips together, hesitated slightly, then left Lanting Courtyard.

“Miss, this old servant feels the young master has you in his heart. Now Consort Jiang has bestowed a generous gift, clearly intending to reconcile relations with you.”

“If the Marquis has lost his way and returned, Miss, you should still listen to the madam’s advice and soften your posture a bit…”

Song Wan glanced at the nanmu wood box on the table and said indifferently, “Where is there any reconciliation of relations? It’s merely that seeing I arranged marriages with the Sun and Lan families for Second Master and Third Miss, she’s satisfied.”

Having done well, she was dismissed with a trinket or two, so she would continue toiling and scheming for the Marquis’s manor. If she were useless, then as before, even after entering the palace she shouldn’t expect to see Consort Jiang’s face.

In the end, Consort Jiang only treated her as a menial servant to run errands and labor. Perhaps in Consort Jiang’s heart, she was even less than a low-ranking female official in Yanqing Palace.

Picking up that nanmu wood box, Song Wan didn’t even open it before casually handing it to Nanny Zhao. “Put it away.”