Seeing Song Wan still neither warm nor cold, neither angry nor jealous, Lin Jiayue became filled with frustration first.

She turned around and pulled up Huai Su’s hand, smiling as she dropped a line about paying respects to Madam before leaving Lanting Courtyard.

Heng Wu frowned: “How did Huai Su get mixed up with her? Doesn’t she know what kind of person that little harlot is?”

Song Wan reached out and tapped Heng Wu’s nose: “How many times have I told you not to address her that way? What would it look like if someone overheard?”

Heng Wu pitifully begged for mercy, but Heng Zhi also knitted her brows tightly: “Miss, Huai Su came from the Old Madam’s quarters. She has always been generous and thorough in her conduct. By rights, she shouldn’t be associating with Concubine Lin. Now these two are so close it’s unseemly—it truly is strange.”

“What’s strange about it? When one’s skills are insufficient, one fails and suffers harm in return.”

“What does Miss mean?”

Song Wan smiled: “Just now I saw Huai Su’s face showing distress. It seems she was forced to put on this intimate act with Lin Jiayue.”

“Lin Jiayue’s thoughts are easy to guess. Nothing more than wanting to use Madam and Huai Su to isolate me, to prove she’s favored in the residence and arouse my jealousy, or perhaps she doesn’t trust Huai Su’s allegiance and deliberately staged this performance.”

“And for Huai Su to be manipulated by Lin Jiayue, she must have first had her own schemes, but her skills were insufficient and she was controlled instead.”

Placing the red balsam flowers into a small woven bowl, Song Wan casually picked out those with pale colors.

Heng Zhi pressed her lips together, saying with some annoyance: “Miss has always treated Huai Su well. What could she be scheming for with Concubine Lin?”

Heng Wu snorted coldly: “Surely nothing good.”

Song Wan raised her head and thought for a moment: “People have many desires. The heart is the hardest thing to guess. However, there’s no need to be vigilant everywhere. If this guard becomes obvious on the surface, it will instead play into Lin Jiayue’s plans.”

“Then should we still treat Huai Su as before?”

Song Wan smiled and shook her head: “Naturally not.”

“There’s no need for careful vigilance, but we must remember today’s events. If someday you feel something is off about her, even if you can’t say what the problem is, you must keep it in your heart and ponder it carefully.”

“Remember, trusting yourself is better than trusting others. When guarding against people, never harbor hopes of luck.”

After selecting the suitable balsam flowers, Song Wan scooped up a ladle of spring water to wash the petals clean, picked them one by one and placed them in a stone mortar to crush.

When Lin Jiayue returned, she saw four or five people gathered around the stone table in the courtyard, dyeing their nails.

Seeing those crude tools and rough techniques, she couldn’t help but laugh mockingly.

Even if given to her for free, she wouldn’t want such things.

“Is First Young Madam still busy?”

Her fair, slender palms were placed in a porcelain basin and carefully washed. Song Wan accepted the soft towel Lv Zhu handed her and meticulously dried them.

Lin Jiayue watched her slow, yet extremely elegant and refined movements, and unwillingly bit her lip.

“Concubine Lin, please follow me inside.”

Having Qian Bi carry the chest representing the household management authority of the marquis’s residence, Lin Jiayue once again stepped into the main courtyard of Lanting.

She had personally seized power from Song Wan’s hands. She had expected to see jealousy, unwillingness, even painful loss of composure, but unexpectedly Song Wan remained warm and indifferent as ever.

“Tea brewed with heavenly spring water and maple dew tea… Please enjoy.”

Heng Zhi brought the tea cup before Lin Jiayue, then withdrew.

“What do you want to ask?”

“Would you tell me if I asked?”

Song Wan smiled faintly, lifting the yellow-glazed flower-rimmed tea cup to taste lightly.

This obviously disdainful yet magnanimous attitude of refusing to do such base things made Lin Jiayue’s hands hidden beneath the table clench tightly.

Not until the handkerchief in her hand was twisted until threads pulled loose did her emotions ease.

After pondering for a moment, Lin Jiayue also learned Song Wan’s manner, lifting the tea cup to take a light sip.

“Good tea.”

Song Wan pressed her lips: “Good water, rather.”

Lin Jiayue patiently learned her manner, also leisurely talking around the subject: “What water?”

“Heavenly spring water.”

“What is heavenly spring?”

Song Wan said: “Rainwater and snow water are both called heavenly spring. Heavenly spring water’s quality is clear and taste bland, making it more suitable for maple dew tea.”

“…”

After just three or four exchanges, Lin Jiayue couldn’t continue the conversation. After holding back for quite a while, she finally spoke faintly: “Madam handed the household management authority over to me.”

Song Wan nodded: “I know.”

This indifferent attitude made Lin Jiayue feel as if she’d punched cotton. The excitement in her heart from defeating her was like having a basin of cold water poured over it, unable to raise even a ripple.

“If there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask.”

Lin Jiayue bit her teeth, momentarily speechless.

She didn’t understand anything, so naturally she couldn’t talk about not understanding anything either.

Previously, although Jiang Man had asked her to manage the marquis’s residence together with Song Wan, Lin Jiayue had never intervened to do anything. She had never dealt with these matters. Suddenly having everything handed over to her entirely, she actually couldn’t quite handle it.

But she was unwilling to ask Song Wan, and even less willing to show weakness before her.

“Are all the household tally tokens organized?”

Song Wan raised her eyes. Just from this one sentence, she knew Lin Jiayue had absolutely no ability to manage household affairs. She frowned, but before she could speak, she heard the other party say: “The tea is very good. I’ve imposed on you. For these small matters, I’ll just ask the stewardesses from the outer courtyard.”

Having said that, Lin Jiayue quickly left with Qian Bi.

Fleeing back to Xiuyan Pavilion, she collapsed on the L-shaped arhat bed with vacant eyes.

After a long while, Lin Jiayue finally opened the chest representing the status of the marquis residence’s female head and took everything inside out.

Cooped up in her room for three days and two nights, she barely gained an understanding of the marquis residence’s current situation.

“Insane, this is truly insane.”

Qian Bi said: “What is Concubine saying?”

Lin Jiayue laughed coldly: “Do you know how many masters the marquis’s residence has? The Eastern and Western residences combined, all legitimate sons, concubine-born children, and collateral branches just barely exceed a hundred. But do you know how many servants the marquis’s residence has?”

“The main kitchen alone has thirty-one people. The tea room responsible for serving tea, brewing medicine, and making refreshments for visiting guests has fifteen people. The gate house responsible for welcoming and guiding guests into courtyards has seventeen people. In the attendant quarters, just the palanquin bearers and guards for the Marquis number sixteen people.”

“The outer courtyard office managing the residence’s daily expenses, organizing monthly allowances from each courtyard, purchasing items, handling affairs, and verifying rewards has twenty-eight people. Those responsible for watching over the family temple and organizing sacrificial vessels number seven.”

“Those responsible for night watch shifts and patrolling in the watch room number sixteen. Jixiang Courtyard has thirteen people. The clothing storehouse, utensil storehouse, and various other storehouses combined have seventy-two people.”

“The writing room specially managing documents and various correspondence as well as responsible for writing materials has eleven people. The etiquette room has eight people. The archive room preserving the marquis residence’s old records has eight people…”

“The large and small study rooms in the outer courtyard for the men to rest and conduct business have nine people. The cleaning rooms responsible for guarding rooms, managing furnishings, and sweeping have eighteen people. The gardeners managing greenhouses, cellars, gardens, and such number fifteen.”

“These are one thing, but there are even handlers responsible for feeding birds of prey—pigeon handlers, fish handlers, various handlers totaling sixteen people.”

“You know what? Inside the marquis’s residence, they’re even supporting an entire opera troupe. All the food, drink, expenses, clothing, and props for those theater performers are completely provided by the marquis’s residence. What’s even more insane, the residence is also supporting something called…”

Lin Jiayue pulled out an account book and looked through it for a moment: “Pingcui Nunnery!”

“Inside the marquis’s residence, they’re even supporting over a dozen nuns who chant sutras, pray to Buddha, and perform Buddhist rites!”

“These are still the smaller numbers. Like the Old Madam’s, Madam’s, and the Marquis’s courtyards—each has four first-class maids, with second-class maids, third-class maids, and rough servants multiplying several fold.”

“In the inner courtyard, those managing clothing, managing hairpins and jewelry, managing hair styling and dressing, managing washing and cleaning and night watches… countless.”

Lin Jiayue’s face was solemn: “The outer courtyard alone has seven hundred thirty-one male servants.”

“The inner courtyard has a total of eight hundred six maids and servants across all quarters, not to mention estate managers and shop managers outside the residence.”

“Just over a hundred masters, yet the residence alone has one thousand five hundred thirty-seven servants attending them. Tell me, isn’t Jiang Xingjian insane?”

“Supporting so many people, no wonder the marquis’s residence can’t make ends meet.”

Lin Jiayue’s face was iron-blue: “Even if I opened a hundred more shops, I’m afraid I still couldn’t support this many people!”