SGEIRS -Chapter 40 All for Madam

After the master and servants returned to Weirui Pavilion, Meng Jinyao wanted to find something to do to pass the time. Yet she felt as if she had forgotten something important, though she couldn’t recall what it was.

She looked at Qingqiu and asked, “Qingqiu, did I forget to do something?”

Qingqiu was slightly stunned. After thinking carefully for a moment, she shook her head. “Madam, you haven’t told this servant to remind you of anything recently.”

“Really?”

Meng Jinyao frowned slightly. Why did she feel as if she had left something undone?

Qingqiu shook her head again and said firmly, “Truly not, Madam. Could it be that you’ve been confused lately because of all these troubling matters?”

Meng Jinyao fell silent for a while, then nodded. That wasn’t impossible. On her wedding day, the groom had run away, and she had been mocked by the entire capital. Anyone in her position would find that unlucky. Fortunately, she had been able to switch to a reasonably satisfactory groom at the last minute and make do with life. Otherwise, she would have been miserable to death.

Worried that she might become depressed and fall ill, Qingqiu suggested, “Madam, if you’re feeling troubled, why not invite Miss Song to go on an outing another day to relax?”

Meng Jinyao nodded. “We’ll talk about it another day. You may go now. Let me sort out what I should do next.”

Qingqiu acknowledged and withdrew with a bow.

When it was almost dusk and the sunlight had softened, Meng Jinyao was about to go for a walk when Chunliu came in to report.

“Madam, the Marquis asks that you go to the study.”

Meng Jinyao was startled and asked, “The study in the front courtyard?”

Chunliu shook her head slightly and replied respectfully, “In reply to Madam, it’s the study in Weirui Pavilion. His Lordship has just returned from outside.”

Meng Jinyao asked again, “Did His Lordship say why he’s looking for me?”

“He didn’t say, only told this servant to inform you,” Chunliu replied. Then she added, “His Lordship seems to be in quite a good mood. He didn’t even frown when he came back.”

Hearing this, Meng Jinyao gave Chunliu an approving look. No wonder the Old Madam had transferred her to Weirui Pavilion as a senior maid—Chunliu was very good at reading people. Seeing that her mistress was puzzled, she had deliberately mentioned Gu Jingxi’s mood to put her at ease.

Meng Jinyao had been to the study in the front courtyard before, but she had never entered the one in Weirui Pavilion. After pushing the door open and stepping inside, she subconsciously looked around.

The furnishings were simple and neat. The room was bright and clean, with several landscape paintings hanging on the walls. On the right stood a bookshelf filled with books, while on the left, by the window, sat a potted asparagus fern.

A pearwood desk stood about five steps from the window. Gu Jingxi was seated behind it in an armchair, lightly tapping a rosewood box on the desk with his fingers.

Seeing her enter, he stood up, picked up the box, and walked to a chair beside the desk. He sat down and placed the box on the small tea table between the two chairs.

“Madam, let’s sit and talk first,” he said.

Meng Jinyao responded softly, closed the door behind her, and sat down on the other chair beside him.

“Why did you summon me, Husband?” she asked.

Gu Jingxi opened the wooden box and took out a key and a blue-covered ledger, placing them on the tea table.

“Madam, this is the key to my storeroom, and this is the inventory ledger. In the future, when we attend banquets and need to prepare gifts for social occasions, you may choose from here.”

After a brief pause, he took out more items—deeds to estates and shops—and placed them on top of the ledger.

“These estates and shops are my private property. Since you’ve married into the family, I’ll entrust them to you to manage.”

Finally, he pulled out a thick stack of banknotes from his sleeve and placed them down as well. He raised his eyes to look at the young woman.

Compared with his two sisters-in-law and nieces, her attire was quite plain, with few accessories. As for her clothes, she had not had time to make new ones after her marriage. Though what she wore was new, the dark green color was rather dull. If not for her outstanding looks, she wouldn’t have been able to carry it off.

This outfit made her look mature and steady, yet it didn’t suit a girl in her prime. A young lady of her age should dress more brightly, not so old-fashioned.

She wasn’t the old-fashioned type by nature. These clothes must have been made by a seamstress hired by her stepmother, Madam Sun. After all, she wasn’t her biological mother—how could she be truly attentive? If Meng Jinyao hadn’t married into the Marquis’s household but into a lesser family, she might not even have received new clothes.

Such a beautiful daughter, and the Meng family couldn’t raise her well. Then he would raise her himself. Raising a daughter was probably more interesting than raising a son.

Gu Jingxi withdrew his gaze and said gently, “Although the household gives you a monthly allowance, young ladies have many expenses, and it may not be enough. Take these banknotes for now. If you need to buy clothes or jewelry, spend them freely. There’s no need to be frugal.”

One important piece of news after another left Meng Jinyao completely stunned.

She stared at Gu Jingxi blankly for a long time.

After a moment, she lowered her eyes to look at the items on the tea table. She hadn’t opened the ledger, so she didn’t know what was recorded inside, but the stack of banknotes was thick, and there seemed to be several sets of deeds as well.

In her sixteen years of life, she had never seen so much money. Faced with all this, her mind went blank and her heart was deeply shaken.

In disbelief, she asked, “Husband, y-you’re letting me manage all of this?”

Gu Jingxi replied matter-of-factly, “Men handle affairs outside, women handle matters inside. These things should have been handed to you a few days ago. I just remembered today.”

Meng Jinyao was astonished. She could hardly believe he was willing to entrust such wealth to her.

She asked hesitantly, “Husband… aren’t you afraid I might harbor improper intentions?”

Gu Jingxi frowned slightly, narrowed his eyes, and looked at her.

In a low voice, he asked, “Could it be that Madam wants to take my money and secretly keep a pretty boy?”

Meng Jinyao shook her head repeatedly. “I’ve never thought about that, and I never will.”

He continued, “Then do you want to use my money to subsidize your natal family?” After a brief pause, he added, “It’s not that I begrudge the money, but such a family isn’t worth supporting. You’d be better off buying yourself a few more sets of jewelry.”

Meng Jinyao shook her head again. “No, I wouldn’t.”

She would be crazy to support the Meng family. Aside from her second younger brother, Meng Chengzhang, none of them were good people. If her brother ever needed help, she wouldn’t stand by, but she wouldn’t care about the others.

Gu Jingxi smiled and nodded. “Since you won’t do either, then take these. If you don’t know how to run the estates and shops, just follow their original methods. The managers are trustworthy. You only need to check the accounts regularly.”

With that, he put everything back into the wooden box and placed it into her hands.