The courtyards of the Second and Third Houses are located on the west side of the Hou Mansion, which is quite a distance from the Yang Yi Yuan and Chao Lu Yuan on the east side. After lunch, Sun called Sun Miaorou to the Flower Hall to go over the recent accounts of the Hou Mansion together. Sun's body was somewhat weak, with a chronic illness brought on by her pregnancy, and she often needed to be attended to with medicine. Since her niece came home, it had actually relieved her of quite a bit of energy.
Sun Miaoru was raised as a mistress of the house from a young age, and after the age of 10, she followed her mother to practice accounting. After arriving at the Hou Mansion, she happened to be able to help with Sun's affairs. It's really hard for Sun, whose husband is incompetent and idle, but because of his past merits in the Weiyan Hou Mansion, he holds a fifth-rank idle position in the Ministry of Rites. He has no official duties on ordinary days, so he just needs to show up and make an appearance. Therefore, after Bai left that year, she used all her skills to take over the task of managing the household from her ancestors.
The scent of peppermint in the incense burner was a bit too strong, filling the entire room with its fragrance. The aunt and niece were busy examining today's accounts on the rosewood desk when they heard a maid hastily report that Madame Hou had arrived.
Sun and Sun Miaorou both paused for a moment, looking at each other, but before they could react, they heard Qin's clear voice coming from the entrance hall.
"Second Aunt, isn't it a lovely day today?" The newcomer was in the prime of her youth, wearing a bright red butterfly-patterned shirt, and floated like the wind from the entrance to the center of the flower hall.
The Sun family only saw Qin Miao wearing a bright red dress on the day of the grand wedding, and they were busy responding to it at that time and didn't take a closer look. Now, with this bright red dress on Qin Miao's body, paired with the luxurious decorations on her body, at first glance, she doesn't seem like the little girl who served tea that day, but rather elegant and dignified, with an aura of nobility that is overwhelming.
Seeing the two of them staring at her in a daze, Qin Miao smiled and walked up to greet them, intimately calling out to Sun Shi: "The past two days were busy with tidying up my own little nest, I didn't have time to come visit you, Second Aunt. You won't blame me, will you?"
Madam Sun's heart tightened, but her face was still smiling as she welcomed the guests. After all, she had been in charge of the Hou Mansion for many years and was skilled at handling such superficial matters. "How could I blame you? I remember when I first married your uncle, it took me a long time to get familiar with just my own courtyard. I didn't expect you to figure everything out in just two days, no wonder our ancestors praised you as clever."
"Second Aunt, don't say that. Speaking of our ancestors, this morning she scolded me and I was reprimanded by her." Qin Miao pretended to be wronged, pouting slightly, and looked at Sun Shi with a rather sincere expression.
At this time, the maids had already brought up the tea. Qin Miaosu took advantage of the situation and sat down in the armchair next to Sun Shi, without finishing what she was going to say, but quietly picked up the tea and calmly skimmed off a few strands of tea leaves from the surface of the tea soup. Sun Shi saw that she wanted to speak but hesitated, and couldn't help but think of that matter again, becoming tense once more.
"Oh, Sister Sun is here too. I was just talking to Auntie Er and didn't notice you." As she spoke, Qin Miao only slightly raised her eyes to glance at Sun Miaoyu, catching sight of the ledger-like thing spread out on her desk. Then, without looking at Sun Miaoyu again, she lifted her teacup, leaving half a cup for Sun Miaoyu, who was just about to respond to Qin Miao.
Ke Sun Miaoru is also a clever person, originally thinking of exchanging a few words with Qin Miao, but as soon as she saw Qin Miao not even thinking about waiting for her to speak, she simply picked up the teacup and drank tea by herself, immediately losing face. Fortunately, this awkwardness was broken by Qin Miao's subsequent smile after drinking a sip of tea to moisten her throat.
"Second Aunt has been in charge of the Hou Mansion for so many years, and no one inside or outside has ever disobeyed her. Although our ancestor said that day to let me take over the family business, I thought it was just a casual remark and didn't take it seriously, thinking I could still slack off for a few more days. But who knew, this morning our ancestor asked me how things were going, and I was caught off guard. So, after some thought, I decided to swallow my pride and come ask Second Aunt for advice and guidance, and also to do the handover properly."
Qin Miao finished speaking and got up, playfully rubbing against Sun Shi's side, casually picking up an account book on the table to flip through. Sun Shi saw the gesture and initially wanted to resist and argue a few more sentences, but suddenly thought that since her ancestors had already hinted so much, if she still dragged her feet and didn't give in, it would be too embarrassing.
Sun Miaoru couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable, she had been in the Hou Mansion for some time and knew that her aunt was struggling to keep up appearances. If it weren't for the fact that she had the authority to manage the household, the servants in the Hou Mansion might not be so respectful to the second wife. If she lost the right to host the ancestral offerings, her aunt's life would probably become even more difficult.
At this point, she wanted to make excuses for the second room: "Miao Ru is not talented, and on ordinary days, she also helped her aunt look at the account books for a few days. The lady has just arrived, and the Hou Mansion's affairs are quite complicated, I'm afraid it will be troublesome for the lady. Moreover, you have just gotten married, and your brother-in-law is also reluctant to let you take on such troubles. Since that's the case, why not..."
Qin Miao didn't bother to argue with Sun Shi because of her gentle nature, but this unreasonable Sun Miaorou suddenly popped out and was indeed sharp-tongued and vicious.
"Sister Sun said that just now, I also said that Aunt Er is a good housekeeper. So, I thought of hiding behind Aunt Er to enjoy the blessings. But our ancestors said that I have taken the position of the mistress, but not doing the work of the mistress, and it's tiring for the elders. Hearing this, my heart doesn't feel good either. Now, Brother Yan and Sister Xuan are still young, and they can't do without Aunt Er taking care of them. If I were to tire Aunt Er again, and outsiders found out, they would think that our Hou Mansion is treating the second wife poorly. In the end, it's not good for Master Hou's reputation."
Qin Miao's words were actually nonsense to anyone who heard them, but she still said them because she knew that Sun Shi was not Sun Miaorou, and these words would still work on her.
As expected, despite being reluctant to give up power, Sun Shi still relented and compromised: "I'm not in good health, and our ancestors are also advanced in age. After Eldest Sister passed away, I could only barely manage the household affairs. Now that Nuan has arrived, it's natural for her to take charge of the inner courtyard, so the manor can be properly managed. I don't have any grand wishes, I just hope that Brother Yan and Sister Xuan can grow up safely."
As soon as the words of Sun's family fell, Sun Miaorou on the side looked at her in surprise. She knew that this aunt was occasionally sharp-tongued, but she was timid and usually sought stability in dealing with things. Now Qin Miao had intentionally or unintentionally mentioned Old Lady Xie a few times in front of her, and Auntie was so afraid that she didn't dare to monopolize the middle seat anymore. At this moment, Sun Miaorou, who was always proud and arrogant, somewhat looked down on her awkward appearance.
However, Sun's straightforwardness saved Qin Miao from a lot of trouble. She had also secretly inquired about Sun's temperament and didn't plan to make things difficult for this timid woman. After all, she was Xie Yan's aunt, an elder who deserved respect. Qin Miao looked down on evil servants, but she would never make things difficult for those who were honest and just wanted to live a good life.
So, soon, Sun Shi handed over the account book, keys, nameplate, flower register and various rules to Chao Lu. From then on, Sun Shi was just a member of the second house of Xie's family, no longer the hostess of Xie's backyard. This identity gap would make anyone feel a psychological gap, but Sun Shi was a person who knew how to adapt to the situation, and she had also mentally prepared for it beforehand, so she got used to it soon. Moreover, after Qin Miao took over, she did not treat the second house badly, but rather showed respect to her, which made the servants in the mansion not dare to slack off when dealing with the requests of the second house. However, this is a story for later.
