Although Seventh Miss had intended to discuss strategy with Xu Fengjia this time, Young Master Xu was completely uncooperative.

“After dinner in the future, we’re not discussing business!” Xu Fengjia’s tone brooked no argument. “Otherwise you’ll have things on your mind and won’t sleep well again.”

Seventh Miss couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “You’re busy outside all day long. If we don’t discuss things after dinner, should we specifically get up early to talk about household matters?”

Young Master Xu actually thought this was a good idea. “Why not just start getting up early to practice martial arts with me from now on? In a few days I’ll ask Dr. Zhong, and if your body can handle it, I’ll find you a set of health-building boxing techniques to practice. If you practice a set every day, your health might visibly improve.”

Seventh Miss hurriedly waved her hands. “Don’t tease me. With this frail body, I get out of breath just walking a few extra steps, and you want me to practice boxing…”

Imagining herself standing beside Xu Fengjia earnestly going through the motions, Seventh Miss burst out laughing. Not to mention Xu Fengjia, who was already laughing as he spoke, doubled over with mirth.

After they finished laughing, Seventh Miss compromised and put her arm around Xu Fengjia’s shoulder.

“Alright, I know what I’m doing. I just wanted to tell you—I’ll handle the household matters properly, don’t worry.” She promised softly, “Just focus on your work outside!”

With Xu Fengjia’s personality, he couldn’t handle the internal power struggles of a deep courtyard mansion well, nor would he want to. Seventh Miss didn’t want her husband to be skilled at internal warfare but incompetent at external affairs. His world belonged on the broader political stage.

Xu Fengjia’s eyes also deepened. He visibly swallowed before nodding. “Good, I understand. From now on, you handle these matters!”

After the incident with Consort Xu, perhaps he had thought about getting involved in the inner household affairs, but Seventh Miss suspected that Xu Fengjia had been somewhat frightened by Fifth Young Madam’s intricate plotting.

If it weren’t for her, if someone else were in the position of heir’s wife, the outcome of this battle would likely have been Fifth Young Madam laughing to the end.

Seventh Miss’s thoughts sank again as countless trivial matters rose from the depths of her mind…

Xu Fengjia suddenly grasped her shoulder and shook it roughly.

“Didn’t we agree? After dinner, don’t think about these troublesome matters anymore!” His tone was somewhat gruff. “During the whole day, use as much thought as you want—I can’t control that now, but at night, stop thinking about it, alright?”

Seventh Miss was both amused and exasperated, and could only nod. “Fine, I won’t think about it.”

Only then was Xu Fengjia satisfied.

He lowered his voice again and sighed softly.

“Once we get through this current difficulty, things won’t be so exhausting in the future.”

Seventh Miss couldn’t help but pause.

She didn’t probe deeply, only smiled to comfort Xu Fengjia. “Although it’s tiring now, it’s still much better than my days at my natal family.”

Xu Fengjia immediately fell silent.

After all, Grand Madam was his own aunt. Seventh Miss had no intention of badmouthing her to Xu Fengjia, and quickly changed the subject.

“Since you won’t let me think about business and won’t let me discuss things with you, what should we do now? Reading—the lamp is too dim… Besides, there’s nothing good to read. Writing or painting—I don’t have the energy for that. How about we play double sixes?”

“Double sixes? That’s a children’s game, and you still enjoy it!” Xu Fengjia couldn’t help laughing aloud. “Come to think of it, I’ve never played chess with you. Not to brag, but in the capital, there aren’t many who can beat me at chess. In a match, I’m afraid you would lose.”

Seventh Miss gave Xu Fengjia an annoyed look. “Of course I’d lose. I don’t even know how to play—I’d lose to anyone.”

Xu Fengjia looked as if he’d swallowed an egg whole. “You really don’t know how to play chess? Just based on your name, you should—”

“Chess is for people who live very leisurely lives and need somewhere to channel their scheming minds.” Seventh Miss had to explain to Xu Fengjia. “My life is already tense enough, and all my scheming is barely sufficient for dealing with the people around me. To invest my thoughts into studying a chessboard—I just don’t have the energy… When I was at home, Father tried to teach me a few times, but I was too stupid and could never learn it.”

Seeing the atmosphere that had just livened up in the room grow somber again, Seventh Miss sighed.

“See?” She spread her hands self-deprecatingly. “I told you before—I’m an extremely boring person.”

She was speaking the truth: Seventh Miss truly had no interest in any game that required calculation. She had already exhausted all her scheming in real life.

Xu Fengjia pressed his lips together, and the lines of his face showed a hint of coldness.

“This isn’t called boring.” He spoke with a trace of displeasure. “This… is called helplessness.”

For a moment, neither of them spoke again.

Seventh Miss lowered her head again and after a long silence, said softly, “Thank you!” She never could have imagined that the pampered, arrogant, spoiled young boy from years ago would, over a decade later, be able to say such understanding words.

And he could be so considerate of Seventh Miss’s dignity that he showed no trace of pity…

Xu Fengjia looked somewhat surprised as he raised his eyebrows at her, wordlessly questioning her, seemingly not understanding where this gratitude came from.

Seventh Miss shook her head again and changed the subject. “Actually, I don’t really want to play double sixes either… Why don’t you tell me some stories from your military days instead!”

Her own past was dark, filled with countless unbearable memories, countless regrets, countless sorrows. But Xu Fengjia’s past was surely different—though it had heartache and hardships, the final outcome must have been bright. Once the words left her mouth, Seventh Miss suddenly realized she truly was very interested in understanding Xu Fengjia’s past. After all, those fleeting glimpses from before were no longer enough for her.

Xu Fengjia curled his lip and glanced at Seventh Miss, seemingly not very enthusiastic about this suggestion. He said flatly, “Do you really want to hear about fighting and killing? That’s not a game—back in the Northwest, we lost quite a few men.”

Seventh Miss rarely made a face at Xu Fengjia. “Who wants to hear about the Northwest? Can’t you tell me some of what you saw in Guangzhou instead? I heard that even when times were hardest for everyone else in the empire, people in Guangzhou never worried about going hungry, and tens of thousands of ships docked there every year… Is that true?”

Xu Fengjia’s expression softened slightly. “I thought…” He shook his head. “Actually, I wasn’t very happy living in Guangzhou either. The weather there is unbearably humid.”

He proceeded to tell Seventh Miss bit by bit about going to Guangzhou to search for traces of the First Imperial Prince for the Emperor. When the second night watch sounded, he urged, “Time to go to bed.”

Seventh Miss was listening with great interest and was somewhat reluctant to stop. “I can’t sleep now. Tell me a bit more—at least tell me what happened after you went to sea.”

Young Master Xu was unmoved. “You’re not tired, but I am. These past few days sleeping on the heated kang, I’ve been uncomfortable all over.”

He brought up his physical condition—what could Seventh Miss say? She could only obediently wash up and go to bed with Xu Fengjia, listening to Zhongyuan and Duanwu outside extinguishing the oil lamps, closing the windows, and withdrawing from the room.

The bed curtains immediately darkened. Seventh Miss stared at the intricate patterns on the canopy and coughed awkwardly.

“Sheng…” She began shyly, intending to ask about something she had never planned to ask about before.

Just as the words left her mouth, Seventh Miss suddenly stopped.

She could sense that the moment his head touched the pillow, Xu Fengjia’s breathing immediately became even and steady.

Seventh Miss carefully propped herself up to look at his face.

Sure enough, he had already fallen into deep sleep. His breathing was long and slow, and his face even showed the relaxation typical of deep slumber.

Busy outside these past few days, tending to her at home, not sleeping well… After a full day’s work, he had rushed back from Tongzhou on horseback to see her.

It seemed this endlessly energetic young general was truly exhausted.

Seventh Miss immediately felt somewhat guilty: she was usually quite perceptive, but tonight she had completely failed to notice Xu Fengjia’s fatigue. Otherwise, she would have insisted on going to bed much earlier.

She gazed at Xu Fengjia inch by inch for a long while before silently sighing, lying back on her pillow, pushing all thoughts from her mind, and consciously urging herself to fall asleep as quickly as possible.

#

The next morning, Seventh Miss finally showed her face at Leshan Residence.

Though she’d had a minor illness, she recovered quickly and had been well cared for. Her face was radiant, and everyone who saw her said, “Sixth Sister-in-law looks delicate and weak, but her constitution is actually quite good. Even with such a high fever, she’s recovered in just a few days.”

Grand Madam was even more kindly. “I thought you’d need to rest for ten days or half a month! Are you completely recovered? If not, don’t push yourself!”

Seventh Miss couldn’t help but grow more suspicious.

This illness had delayed things for nearly a week. The southern estates were probably already beginning their harvest. If she rested any longer, by the time the autumn harvest income was recorded and the accounting offices were busy settling accounts with outsiders, this audit matter would likely be delayed again and become even more difficult. Grand Madam’s question undoubtedly revealed her hope that Seventh Miss would rest a few more days to create the aforementioned situation.

It seemed she was truly worried about Seventh Miss finding evidence unfavorable to Fifth Branch in the accounts.

Could it be that Grand Madam knew nothing at all about Fifth Young Madam’s schemes?

“Little Qi just hasn’t been sleeping well lately and suddenly developed a fever. It’s actually nothing serious—when I was in Suzhou, this happened frequently. Dr. Zhong prescribed a sleeping medicine, and after sleeping for a few days, I was fine.” She smiled as if it were nothing, seeming not to notice anything amiss, then smoothly turned to Fifth Young Madam. “Speaking of which, I should have returned those account books to the accounting office earlier, but with this illness, things got chaotic in Mingde Hall… It was delayed for several days. I’ll have someone send the books back shortly. Fifth Sister-in-law, do you think it would be convenient to audit the accounts at the beginning of next month?”

To be so eager to hand over power right after recovering from illness, even arranging it in front of Grand Madam—the move was indeed somewhat reckless. Eldest Young Master looked away and stared at the gold brick floor without speaking. Eldest Young Madam glanced at Seventh Miss with some concern. Xu Fengjia frowned deeply—but didn’t say anything. Only Fifth Young Madam’s eyes flashed with fire as she smiled and said, “Good. As long as Sixth Sister-in-law finds it convenient, I have no inconvenience.”

Seventh Miss nodded and smiled again. “Looking at the accounts, I realized this isn’t something we can understand. I asked the old servants and learned that the family accounts have always been audited by the Wu Xun and Cai Le families leading the team. Grandmother, what do you think about this time…”

Grand Madam remained impassive. “Follow established practice—do it this way, and there won’t be any mistakes. Zhang Shi, what do you think?”

But Fifth Young Madam’s eyes flashed with an indescribable emotion before she lowered her head again, assuming an obedient posture. “Whatever Grandmother says.”

Seventh Miss glanced at Fifth Young Madam, then turned to look at Xu Fengjia and smiled slightly at him.

#

Since the audit date was set, Seventh Miss naturally had to begin her own preparations for formally taking over household management.

The entire morning was spent working with Bailu on creating charts. They compiled all the usable and available maids and matrons in the household into a table, and combined with intelligence Bailu had gathered, made various annotations. This register had been in progress since May of this year, and in two months had grown into a thick volume, densely packed with details about all the servants in Duke Pingguo’s mansion—family conflicts among them, kinship relationships, and Seventh Miss had even personally drawn a relationship diagram, attempting to use connecting lines to represent the intricate web of relationships among the notable servants in the household.

“Alas, anyone who can become a managing matron is no simple character.” Seventh Miss remarked to Bailu as she looked over the charts. “Take the birthday banquet for example—of the ten managing matrons under her command, which one doesn’t have a whole host of relatives behind them? Looking at several of them, they usually don’t get along with Fifth Sister-in-law at all, yet over these five years, they’ve maintained their positions as steady as Mount Tai.”

Bailu also said, “After all, this is a century-old aristocratic family. You can’t stop the servants from marrying and forming alliances with each other. It’s not like our Yang family with its simpler personnel structure and not so many complications. When it comes to established roots, it’s really only the Dong family.”

Mentioning the Dong family, Seventh Miss’s gaze deepened slightly, and she asked casually, “Has Qiqiao already set out?”

Bailu shook her head with a smile. “Not yet. We have to wait until September, when she’ll travel south with the audit team we’re sending out. Young Madam, have you forgotten? You said that when the time comes, we’d calculate a few extra months of wages as congratulatory money.”

Seventh Miss paused, then remembered this arrangement and waved her hand indifferently with a smile. “Good. Since you’ve brought it up, let’s add another twenty taels of silver. This girl has followed me for several years—it hasn’t been easy. Beyond the standard dowry, giving her a bit extra can be considered compensation for the scare.”

“Young Madam is truly compassionate.” Bailu praised Seventh Miss in agreement, then lowered her voice. “Speaking of Qiqiao, this servant was reminded of Yufen and Yufang.”

These two maids had been confined to the side courtyard for several months now.

“What about them?” Seventh Miss’s expression didn’t change. “Have those two been restless lately?”

Bailu quickly shook her head. “Not at all… As you know, they can’t even leave the courtyard, so how restless could they be?”

Normally, Seventh Miss strictly controlled the maids’ range of movement—not just the chamber maids, but even ordinary senior maids were absolutely forbidden from leaving Mingde Hall without cause. Only Bailu had been granted permission to move about and gather information. If Yufen and Yufang tried to slip out of the courtyard, they’d probably be caught and dragged back to the side courtyard for punishment before they even caught sight of Xu Fengjia. As long as these two maids had any sense, they should know to behave themselves and wait for their opportunity.

Seventh Miss hummed in acknowledgment and asked, “So are the two concubines having restless thoughts?”

“Not them either… Those two concubines consider themselves superior and usually look down on Yufen and Yufang quite a bit.” Bailu glanced at Seventh Miss. “It’s because you arranged for Mr. Zhuang and Mr. Ji to live in the side courtyard. Though the two gentlemen rarely leave their rooms, somehow Yufen figured out their background… She came around privately to beg, saying she wants to learn from these two gentlemen and become an accountant for you—she is literate and refined, and knows how to calculate and keep accounts.”

Seventh Miss remained quiet for a long moment before sighing. “She’s a clever one!”

Recalling this girl with the vague face, she could only dimly remember some charm. For a moment, she was filled with emotion.

No matter how unfair this society is to women, no matter how many people are trampled in the mud, there will always be some who never give up the chance to save themselves.

“Let her follow the two gentlemen and live in the lane house.” She lowered her eyes and casually added a note in the register. “She can keep the two gentlemen company and learn bookkeeping skills… In the future, Jiangnan Embroidery Workshop will always need accountants!”

Bailu smiled with relief. “Young Madam is compassionate!”

Seventh Miss smiled faintly and was about to speak when Lixia’s hurried footsteps sounded outside.

“Young Madam!” She pushed open the door and entered, glancing around the room. Seeing only Bailu standing below the kang, she approached a few steps and said softly, “Madam Sun has already sent the person to the lane house!”

“So quickly?” Seventh Miss was somewhat surprised. “Second Sister is truly swift and decisive.” She instructed Lixia, “Then you personally go with Bailu. Say you’re delivering something to the Sun family. Have Father take you to the small courtyard, watch as they move the accounts into the room, then lock the room—don’t let anyone out… If someone else sees these things, it would be taboo, understand?”

Lixia’s breathing steadied somewhat as she nodded seriously.