Hearing Ji Wu-shi’s words, the manager hesitantly asked: “…Relocating a shop and building a restaurant requires proper planning. May I ask whom Madam wishes to send to Xianghe to oversee it, so this servant can arrange for people to assist?”

After thinking for a moment, Ji Wu-shi had an idea and smiled as she told him: “Let Ji Yao go oversee it.”

The manager was inevitably pleased to hear this—the Second Young Master would be sent to supervise, so naturally there would be no problems. Second Young Master was very gentle in his dealings with people, yet his methods were as impeccable as the Madam’s. They all admired him deeply.

By the time they finished meeting with the managers and shopkeepers, it was almost noon. Ji Wu-shi summoned Ji Yao to talk and instructed him about the Luzhou silk shop in Xianghe.

Jin Chao was drinking tea behind the curtain. After a while, Ji Wu-shi called her out as well. Ji Wu-shi told Jin Chao: “…Regarding the estate matter, we can’t just take empty words at face value and accept whatever the manager says. What to plant and how to plant it—you need to see for yourself before making proper plans. Xianghe isn’t too far from Tongzhou. Why not let your Second Cousin accompany you to take a look? I’ll also send Song Mama to go with you.”

Jin Chao thought to herself, this is bad—Grandmother is deliberately trying to match them! Before Ji Yao could speak, Jin Chao said: “Second Cousin is extremely busy. How could I trouble him? It’s just looking at farming matters. I can go by myself.”

Grandmother smiled: “You’ve been clueless about these things since childhood. Don’t I know that! Even if you go look, you won’t be able to tell what’s what. Let your Second Cousin help you. He has business in Xianghe anyway, so it won’t delay him.”

Her tone suggested there was no room for negotiation.

Jin Chao sighed, noticing Ji Yao’s silence, and felt like laughing bitterly to herself. She had quite the feeling of “I didn’t kill Bo Ren, but Bo Ren died because of me.”

Once Ji Wu-shi decided something, it was unchangeable.

In the afternoon, she had two carriages prepared and sent a group of guards and maids to escort Jin Chao to Xianghe.

Xianghe was several hours by carriage from Tongzhou’s Sanhe County, following the Grand Canal westward. Along the way were wastelands or farmlands growing corn. There were also scattered farmhouses, and barefoot farmers carrying bamboo baskets walked along the field ridges.

They soon arrived at Xianghe County. Xianghe connected Shuntian Prefecture and Tianjin Prefecture and was quite a prosperous place. Recent continuous rain had caused the river to rise, and workers were rushing to repair the embankments. Nevertheless, the roads were still very busy.

The Ji family carriage was adorned with silver incense balls and glazed ram’s horn lanterns, making it quite distinctive. People who saw it moved aside from a distance, waiting for the carriage to pass.

This time, Jin Chao had brought Tong Mama, Qing Pu, and Cai Fu with her. She sat in the carriage, leaning against a dark fragrant wood-colored twining branch pattern wool cushion with her eyes closed. Tong Mama was making a pair of white silk socks for Jin Chao.

Cai Fu, who had never been to Baodi before, was excitedly lifting the curtain to look outside. The buildings along the road were densely packed, with teahouses, wineries, butcher shops, temples, paper horse shops, and more. On the road were mule carts, horse carriages, and ox carts. Besides the flowing crowd of pedestrians, there were merchants selling goods, gentry looking at things, and traveling monks with baskets on their backs…

Jin Chao opened her eyes to see Cai Fu leaning at the window like a child and smiled, asking her: “What’s so interesting to see?”

When she was young, every New Year, Grandmother would have her First Aunt or Second Cousin take her to play in Baodi. Especially during the Lantern Festival, along Gulan Street by the Grand Canal, the lights were brilliant, reflecting dazzlingly on the lake. Having seen Baodi’s prosperity many times, she didn’t find Xianghe particularly impressive.

Cai Fu turned her head back somewhat embarrassedly and smiled: “Before I was sold to the Gu family, I also lived on a street, though it was just a small market town. I loved to lean behind the door and listen to the vendors calling out their wares outside.”

Jin Chao had never heard Cai Fu mention her childhood before and asked with interest: “What did they sell?”

Cai Fu thought as she spoke: “On New Year’s Day, they sold Spring Ox pictures, small almanacs, sugar twists, scalded dumplings, live carp. In February, they sold donkey roll cakes, chicks, ducklings, bean juice, and preserved fruit leather… In March, they sold peach and apricot blossoms, snails, tender Chinese toon sprouts. In April, they sold apricots and salted yellow croaker. In May, they sold mulberries, zongzi, palm-leaf fans, sour plum soup, roasted lamb neck…”

She listed everything, then looked up to find her mistress and Qing Pu both watching her and blushed: “When I was little, my mother wouldn’t let me go out. I wanted to be a peddler who could go everywhere, so I memorized all these things particularly well.”

A peddler going from street to street? Cai Fu’s dream was unique.

Qing Pu curiously asked her: “What is this roasted lamb neck? Is it a lamb’s neck?”

Cai Fu wasn’t sure either: “I’ve never eaten it…”

The two began speaking in whispers while Tong Mama watched with a smile. Suddenly, the carriage stopped. It was Song Mama coming over.

She lifted the curtain and said to Jin Chao: “Young Lady, please wait a moment. The second Young Master needs to give some instructions at the Luzhou silk shop and will accompany you to the estate shortly. If you’d like to get out and look around, that’s fine too.”

Jin Chao smiled and shook her head. He was originally here to handle important business, and now he had to accompany her to the estate—it was too much to ask of him. So she told Song Mama: “I’m not in a hurry. I’ll just read a book in the carriage for a while.”

Song Mama bowed and withdrew.

By the time Ji Yao had finished with the Luzhou silk shop matters and the carriage arrived at the estate, it was already dark, and heavy rain had started falling.

Hearing that both the estate’s young mistress and the Ji family’s young master had arrived together, Steward Zhao of the estate hurriedly led the estate workers to welcome them. They all wore bamboo hats and straw rain capes, but in the short distance from the estate gate to the room, Jin Chao was completely soaked. When they reached the corridor, Qing Pu finally closed the umbrella.

Jin Chao glanced at the estate—a quadrangle courtyard with corridors on all four sides, connected by wandering corridors in the middle, without a decorated gate. The courtyard was very large, planted with many ginkgo trees. Ji Yao had been helped with an umbrella by a steward, but his fine cotton robe was still soaked through, and his forehead hair was in disarray.

Steward Zhao was a slightly chubby middle-aged man with small eyes and a Fu Manchu mustache. With a face full of smiles, he said: “…With Young Lady’s arrival, I’ve become quite flustered. You and the Ji family’s Young Master should go to the side room to change first. The weather in Xianghe these days—it rains suddenly, just like changing faces.”

Looking so bedraggled was indeed uncomfortable. Jin Chao said to Ji Yao: “…I’ve troubled Second Cousin.”

Ji Yao shook his head and said gently: “It’s no trouble.” He lowered his head and wrung the water from his sleeve.

Jin Chao went to the side room. Steward Zhao had already ordered hot water to be sent up. Fortunately, she had brought spare clothes. Jin Chao changed into a light blue plain satin garment with only a few white lotus flowers embroidered at the cuffs, and a moon-white embroidered skirt. In mourning while outside, she needed to dress very simply.

Steward Zhao also had ginger soup to prevent cold brought over, along with a plate of fresh tender corn cakes.

By the time she was properly settled, it was completely dark. The downpour beat against the window lattice. Opening the window to look out, all she could see was pitch blackness.

Steward Zhao was already waiting for her outside, with ledgers of the estate’s harvests from the past few years for her to review. He told her about the estate’s recent situation: “…Three hundred and thirty-seven mu of land, with two hundred and eighty mu leased to farmers from Lingbi for growing wheat and corn, with a fifty percent rent. In bad years, we can only harvest two hundred shi, but in good years, we can get up to four hundred shi… Over ten mu of fruit trees on the estate have died, which will cost several dozen taels of silver to replace. It’s been difficult to manage. That’s why I wrote to Young Lady to let her know.”

He went on at length, clearly pleading poverty. Jin Chao frowned as she listened—this wasn’t what she had come to hear. She told Steward Zhao to prepare wine and food for Ji Yao first. As for herself, since she was in mourning, just a bowl of porridge would do. Steward Zhao then withdrew.

Tong Mama had been selected from the estate by Ji-shi and was knowledgeable about farming matters, so Jin Chao asked her what she thought of the estate.

Tong Mama told Jin Chao: “This servant knows this Steward Zhao. His sister was originally Madam’s wet nurse. Madam remembered the wet nurse’s kindness and always took special care of him. We have three estates in Xianghe, and he originally managed the best one, but it suffered losses year after year. Madam felt it wasn’t right but didn’t say anything. She just switched him with the steward from this Lingbi estate, which is why he’s here now…”

“I was originally from another estate and also heard the steward there talk about him. He took money from the estate privately, and many times at that, which Madam found out about. Madam didn’t scold him—it wouldn’t sound good if word got out—and just reduced his wages by half… When he told Young Lady all this today, perhaps he felt that his wages being half of what other stewards get was truly unfair.”

After listening, Jin Chao thought for a while. She decided that once the rain stopped, she would go to Lingbi tomorrow to ask the farmers who leased land from the estate. What they said would be more trustworthy than Steward Zhao. Though she didn’t understand these matters herself, she could always ask.

Meanwhile, Steward Zhao had just served food to Ji Yao. He didn’t dare to be casual about it, serving a soft-shelled turtle, a plate of steamed crabs, and a pair of stewed pork knuckles as main dishes. Ji Yao’s attendant Cheng Shi frowned upon seeing this and had these dishes removed, leaving only a few light dishes.

He spoke to Ji Yao: “Second Young Master, I think this Steward Zhao is glib-tongued and quick-eyed, probably a man with many schemes. He went to speak with the Young Lady. Should we go listen as well, to prevent Young Lady from being deceived by him…”

Ji Yao had just changed his clothes and was propping his forehead, thinking. The lamp flame crackled, and he slowly said: “…I’m just accompanying her here. I won’t interfere in how she resolves matters.” He’d rather not appear before Jin Chao at all if he could help it.

Cheng Shi hesitated: “Song Mama is still with us. If she reports back to the Old Madam…”

Ji Yao’s eyes suddenly turned cold, and he remained silent for a long time. Finally, he said: “Let her speak. I want to see what Grandmother can do.”

Jin Chao naturally wouldn’t bother with Ji Yao. Early the next morning, when the rain had stopped, she sat in the carriage and said she wanted to go to Lingbi County for a walk. Steward Zhao thought she had been confined in the inner chambers for too long and wanted some fresh air, so he sent an old woman to guide the way. Along the road, people would avoid her carriage as soon as they saw it. Though she didn’t want to appear in public, she eventually had to get out of the carriage and have the old woman wait there while they continued forward.

They happened to see a farm woman husking corn in the field, and Tong Mama called out to her.

Seeing their fine clothes, the farm woman turned and ran. Qing Pu was about to chase after her when Jin Chao stopped her, deliberately saying in a loud voice: “Sigh… Steward Zhao says collecting fifty percent of rent is not enough, but I think it’s too high. I’d like to lower the rent, but I don’t know if that’s appropriate…”

As expected, the farm woman slowed down. Jin Chao continued: “Well since Steward Zhao says the rent is too low, let’s raise it higher then!”

Hearing this, the farm woman hurriedly turned back, thought for a moment, then walked toward them, though she still stood quite far away, asking softly: “Are you the owner’s steward…”