Fourth Granny Jiang Suxin came out of the mistress's house, with personal maid Baozhu following closely behind her. They walked to the outer courtyard and looked around cautiously before asking in a low voice, "Did you tell the mistress, Granny?"

  "Madam was furious about San Niang's going out and I was busy trying to persuade her, how could I dare mention it? Let's wait a few days until Madam's mood improves before bringing it up again." Jiang Suxin thought of her mother-in-law's instructions, but she wasn't too willing in her heart, yet not listening was also not an option.

  In her opinion, the mother-in-law didn't need to target San Niang over such trivial matters. A woman's greatest wish is to marry into a good family. With the master bedridden, it was up to the mother-in-law to decide who to betroth San Niang to. The mother-in-law should have given in on small matters and humored her, or else things wouldn't have ended up with San Niang being extremely cautious about everything. If this continued, the wedding would likely not go smoothly, and it would end in a big fuss.

  Jiang Suxin's mother was also the legitimate wife, and she treated her half-sisters and brothers with much more skill. She wouldn't let them threaten the status of her own children, nor would she give outsiders a chance to gossip.

  Compared with her mother, the old lady's method of dealing with San Niang was a bit too hasty and impatient.

  Sometimes, Jiang Suxin would think that perhaps it was because of the concubine's promotion to the position of wife that her mother-in-law feared the legitimate and proper Third Madam, feeling that she had already lowered herself a level below Third Madam. Therefore, after taking control of the Qiu family's property, no matter how big or small the matter, she would only be satisfied if she could win over this young lady.

  "Grandma, shall we go back?" Baozhu asked.

  "…Jiang Su's heart sank slightly and she fell silent for a moment. 'No, let's go take a look at the warehouse.'"

  It's better not to take risks with one's privileged position for now, and just follow the mother-in-law's intentions. After all, everyone knows that although she also has a set of keys to the warehouse, the one who makes the major decisions is still the mother-in-law. If there's trouble, it won't fall on one's own head anyway.

  The inner house warehouse of the Qiu Mansion stored all sorts of valuable items, from a red coral screen worth 10,000 taels of gold to a single jade and gold wine cup. Unless it was something that had been given away by Master or Mistress, anything taken out of storage had to be returned in its original condition.

  In the first month, Fourth Aunt borrowed a set of jade and pearl headdress to return to her natal home. When she sent it back, one large pearl worth three hundred taels was missing. The mistress made Aunt pay for it with her own money. Fourth Aunt secretly gave her silver to Seventh Aunt, but where could she get three hundred taels? She had no choice but to help out in her family's embroidery shop. Until now, the account is still unsettled.

  As soon as they entered the courtyard where the warehouse was located, several servant women came up to them, half-kneeling and addressing her as Fourth Madam.

  Jiang Suxin had them all get up and sit in the main room next to the warehouse. Xiaoyutou handed her a cup of fragrant tea, which she sipped slowly.

  "Is Fourth Granny going to be inspected too?" Here, apart from the master and mistress, the most prominent person was Anpo's daughter-in-law, known as An Shun's wife.

  The items in the warehouse are checked every two months, either by the master himself or by a designated servant who reports back. Spot checks were started when Gui Sanniang was in charge of the warehouse and Jiang Suxin thought it was a good idea so she continued the practice.

  Qiu San Niang's rules for managing the warehouse were clearly written down, with rewards and punishments explicitly stated. Even those in charge of the warehouse had to abide by these rules, which greatly opened Jiang Su's eyes when she first took over the warehouse. However, her mother-in-law was afraid that these rules would not be beneficial for her to exercise her private power, so when she replaced all the maidservants in the warehouse, she also abolished the original rules and went back to using the old rules from when Master had been in charge of the warehouse. If Mother-in-law withheld something from the warehouse and refused to return it, there was no way to reclaim it.

  Jiang Suxin had Anshun's wife bring over a notebook and took a glance at it, asking, "Isn't there a banquet in the outer garden today?"

  Anshun's daughter-in-law replied: "No one has ever said so."

  "Alright, let's seal the warehouse and inspect it today." Jiang Suxin closed the book, "Bring the token over."

  General inspection means checking everything clearly. Sealing the warehouse means nothing can be taken out, only things can be put in.

  Anshun's daughter-in-law is strange, it's almost the end of the month now, and she's having a general inspection. Isn't this just being idle with nothing to do? She thought about going back, but didn't dare delay, so she quickly took the division sign.

  Jiang Suxin assigned tasks one by one, but didn't plan to do it herself. She let Baozhu follow into the warehouse and only left Anshun's wife to talk in the hall.

  "This is what Madam means." Jiang Suxin was perceptive and observant, how could she not know that Anshun's daughter-in-law was complaining behind her back.

  An Shun's daughter-in-law immediately smiled and said, "Fourth Grandma, I told you so. You wouldn't seal the warehouse for no reason."

  Jiang Suxin knew she was being nice to herself and didn't think much of it. "Ordinarily, who does Third Young Miss send to fetch things from the warehouse?"

  "Since the three girls handed over the warehouse key, they haven't come again. Every time they receive rewards from Madam, they often send their personal maidservants Baihe and Lüjiao. An Jia was a confidant brought by Zhang Shi from her hometown, how could she not know about the conflict between Madam and the two sisters? When Fourth Lady asked about San Niang's affairs, An Shun's wife answered very enthusiastically."

  "Only these two?" Jiang Suxin asked calmly.

  "I've only seen these two people. However, I did hear my mother-in-law mention something that happened a few days ago - the mistress scolded one of the rough servant girls in the third miss's courtyard, named Mozi. I was wondering, why hadn't I ever heard this name before?" Anshun's wife was quite chatty.

  "It doesn't even count as a lesson, just a slap on the wrist." Jiang Suxin put down her cup, stood up, and instructed Anshun's wife, "Remember, no one can take anything from the warehouse today. If it's really an emergency, let them come find me."

  "Yes, Fourth Grandma." Anshun's daughter-in-law followed behind Jiang Suxin and saw her to the gate of the courtyard.

  Jiang Suxin had disappeared, Anshun's wife found a trusted little maid and said, "Quickly go to An Mama's place to ask clearly, what the lady means." Fourth Grandma was very good-natured, she spoke but didn't speak. At that time, offending people would become herself.

  What's good about locking up?

  The fifth young master would often take out jewelry from the warehouse and give it to those servant girls, several times a day. Usually, Anshun's wife would report one thing to the madam, and then quickly report another. Whether to scold or turn a blind eye was all decided by the madam. The old lady said that if it were something worth only ten or twenty taels, the madam wouldn't even bother. If she happened not to give in today, and they made a fuss about it to the madam, would she be able to scold her own son for helping them? It was simply impossible.

  Xiao Yatou reported the news, and it was learned that Madame wanted to give San Niang a slap in the face. Anshun's daughter-in-law had already taken action. She took out some melon seeds, poured another pot of tea, sat down under the corridor, and spat out one shell after another.

  The incense utensils, tea sets and headwear required for the seven-day purification ritual are all made according to certain specifications. The gate of the nunnery is clean and simple, and it does not like gold and silver utensils, emphasizing simplicity, but also cannot lose the identity of a young lady from a wealthy family, so jade utensils are the best. Tomorrow I will go out, today I must come to take the jade.

  It was just past noon when someone knocked on the door.

  The little gatekeeper asked in a soft voice who it was.

  "I am Baihe, the maid of the Third Young Mistress's Manor."

  The little girl quickly glanced at Anshun's daughter-in-law not far away.

  Anshun's daughter-in-law beckoned to Xiao Yatou and whispered something in her ear.

  The little girl stood behind the door and said in a small voice, "Today is the day for inspecting the warehouse, you can only deposit items but not withdraw them, come back tomorrow."

  It's quiet outside for a while.

  Anshun's daughter-in-law thought she was knowledgeable and interesting, but was easily dismissed, feeling embarrassed.

  At this moment, a clear and melodious female voice that she had never heard before came into the courtyard, causing the maids and daughter-in-laws to look at each other in surprise.

  "What we took was not a public thing, but the things belonging to the third girl stored in the warehouse. What does it have to do with the inspection? First open the door and ask the housekeeper to speak."

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  Today is Mid-Autumn Festival, wishing everyone a happy holiday!