The next day.
Shen Qing still got up early as usual, but she didn't plan to go and pay her respects to the old madam so early. Instead, she told Yingxiu to fetch her red-tasseled spear from the storeroom.
Before she got married, Shen Qing would get up early every day to practice with the spear. After she got married, Xu Yanchi and the old madam didn't like her fooling around with the spear all day long. Besides, she had to get up early to pay her respects, so she locked the spear away in the storeroom.
Counting both lifetimes, it had been almost twenty years since she last touched the spear.
Shen Qing put on her practice clothes early in the morning and started to dance with the spear in the open space of the courtyard. The red tassel on the spearhead fluttered in the morning light, stunning the servants in the courtyard.
"Madam is so amazing!"
"Of course," Yingxiu said proudly with a beaming face. "Our madam's spear skills were personally taught by the late Duke himself!"
The red-tasseled spear seemed to come alive in Shen Qing's hands.
After finishing a set of spear skills, Shen Qing was covered in sweat.
Yingxiu quickly handed her a handkerchief, and Shen Qing took it and casually wiped her face.
"I'm a bit rusty after not practicing for so long."
Yingxiu's eyes were a bit moist. "Madam's like this makes this servant recall the days when we were still in the Duke's Mansion..."
If possible, she really hoped they could go back to that time.
Shen Qing was also lost in thought. The paint on the red-tasseled spear had faded because it had not been used for a long time.
"We can never go back."
They could never go back. Moreover, there was a life between her and the Guangping Marquis Mansion.
The other servants didn't come from the Duke's Mansion with Shen Qing and didn't know about the past. They all chattered about how amazing Shen Qing was, which ruined Yingxiu's emotional atmosphere. Yingxiu kept telling the little maids about Shen Qing's past in the Duke's Mansion.
Shen Qing ignored them. She put away the spear and was about to take a bath and change her clothes when an angry shout came from outside:
"What are you all doing?"
"The Marquis Mansion feeds you, but it's not for you to be lazy and slack off early in the morning. What a disgrace it is to gather around and chatter!"
The little maids were startled and looked at the person who came.
"Aunt Cui..."
Aunt Cui had a straight face and was about to scold them when Shen Qing said, "Aunt Cui, why are you here in my courtyard instead of staying by mother's side so early in the morning?"
Aunt Cui looked at Shen Qing in her practice clothes, frowned, and said suppressing her anger, "Madam, the old madam will get up soon. Madam should have gone there early to prepare the old madam's breakfast. How come you're still dressed like this and fooling around with the little maids at this hour? Our Marquis Mansion is a noble family. As the mistress of the mansion, madam should be more proper!"
Shen Qing's face turned cold. "Aunt Cui, did mother have breakfast yesterday?"
Aunt Cui didn't understand why she asked this, but she still replied, "Naturally, she did."
"I didn't go to the kitchen yesterday, and mother still had breakfast. How come if I don't go today, mother won't be able to have breakfast? Then what's the kitchen in the Marquis Mansion for? Do I, the madam, have to cook in person?"
Aunt Cui didn't expect Shen Qing, who had always been impeccable in terms of filial piety, to suddenly challenge her on this matter. But she had done such things more than once. Hearing this, she straightened her back.
"How can the food cooked in the kitchen compare with madam's filial piety? Madam should go there quickly. Don't keep the old madam waiting and hungry."
A sneer curled up on Shen Qing's lips. What filial piety? The old madam was just trying to torture her because she hadn't given in yesterday. If she guessed correctly, after she prepared the food and sent it over, the old madam would surely find all kinds of excuses to say she didn't want to eat it or that something didn't suit her taste and ask her to make it again.
In the past, she was a soft target for others to bully. Now, she wasn't going to put up with it anymore!
Aunt Cui continued, "The old madam was angry yesterday and didn't have a good appetite this morning. She misses madam's cooking skills..."
Shen Qing waved her hand. "In terms of cooking skills, I'm far inferior to the cooks in the mansion. But since mother doesn't like the cooks in the mansion, I'll dismiss them later. Then I'll ask my mother to go to the emperor with the Duke's Mansion's plaque and ask for a royal chef. That should surely help improve mother's poor appetite."
Aunt Cui's face turned black. The cooks in the mansion were good at making delicious soups, and the old madam liked them very much. If they were dismissed, the old madam would be even angrier.
"Madam is joking. How can we just ask for a royal chef whenever we want? Since madam is unwilling to go, this servant will report the truth to the old madam."
Shen Qing nodded. "Yuzhen, see Aunt Cui out."
Aunt Cui felt as if there was a lump in her throat. She couldn't swallow it or spit it out. She could only leave in a huff.
After Aunt Cui left, Yingxiu was still muttering about her back.
"What a person! She came to trouble our madam so early in the morning."
Because of what happened in the morning, when Shen Qing went to pay her respects to the old madam after breakfast, the old madam closed her eyes and didn't even give Shen Qing a glance.
Shen Qing didn't mind. After paying her respects, she said, "It's time to check the accounts of the shops these days. I still have to go out to check the accounts, so I won't keep mother, the second aunt, and the third aunt company. Mother, please take good care of your health."
The old madam was so angry that her chest heaved, but she didn't dare to lose her temper. She could only watch Shen Qing leave with wide-open eyes.
She had intended to ignore Shen Qing for a while to teach her a lesson. But before she could do anything, Shen Qing had already left. And since Shen Qing was in charge of all the shops in the mansion, she couldn't stop her!
This was the first time the old madam had experienced a setback with Shen Qing.
As for Shen Qing, who was already sitting in the carriage, she felt completely at ease. In her previous life, she had been too rigid. Look, no one had died because of it!
Shen Qing took Yingxiu and Zhuxing with her today.
Yingxiu asked, "Madam, where are we going?"
Since the young lady got married, she had gone out less and less. So Yingxiu was very happy on the days when she could go out.
Shen Qing stroked her head. "We're going to inspect the shops."
As the legitimate daughter of the Duke's Mansion and the only child of the Duke's Mansion now, Shen Qing's dowry was extremely generous. There were more than a dozen shops in prosperous areas, each of which was making a fortune every day.
In her previous life, she was unable to manage these shops, so they gradually fell into Xu Yanchi's hands and became a great help for him to curry favor with others. He had also replaced all the people in the shops. In the end, she didn't even have a single trustworthy person around her.
This time when she went out, she wanted to see to what extent Xu Yanchi had infiltrated her dowry.
She had already decided to get rid of the mess in the Marquis Mansion. Before that, she naturally had to take stock of her dowry. If there was any rot, she should find it and get rid of it in time.
Shen Qing spent the whole day strolling around with Yingxiu. She had visited most of her existing properties and had a general idea in her mind. Fortunately, she had come back early in this life. Xu Yanchi hadn't had time to infiltrate too much, so it wouldn't be too troublesome for her to clean up.
"Miss, we've arrived at the Golden Jade Pavilion."
The Golden Jade Pavilion was one of the most profitable shops under Shen Qing's name. It was a dowry left to her by her grandmother, who had loved her the most among all her grandchildren when she was alive.
But there was one thing. If her grandmother knew about it in the afterlife, she didn't know if she could accept it...
Suddenly, Yingxiu's voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Madam, isn't that the marquis?!"