At the mention of this, Chu Jinli's face darkened. He didn't tell the truth. "She... is quite sensible."
Sensible?
Xue Ning'an was about to press on with her questions, but Chu Jinli diverted the topic. "Alas, what Auntie said to fob off Shang Yunruo has made it impossible for me to stay here for dinner."
Chu Jinli got up and straightened his robe. "I'll go back first to deal with her. By the way, I'll get some silver notes for you."
Xue Ning'an bit her lip. Her eyelashes, hanging with teardrops, fluttered slightly. She sobbed softly in a gentle voice. "Cousin, it's really hard on you. You still have to force a smile in front of her for my sake."
Chu Jinli couldn't bear to see her looking so tearful. He quickly comforted her. "Don't worry. I'll keep my promise. I won't even touch her with a finger."
Xue Ning'an watched him leave. Then she put away her pitiful look and took Chu Jinli's money bag back into the room.
She only took out three silver ingots and gave them to her personal maid, Caiyang, to pay for the medicinal materials. The extra two ingots were put into a wooden box with two locks.
There were already more than a dozen silver ingots and five or six silver notes in the wooden box, as well as the deeds of five shops and a manor. These were all given to her by Chu Jinli and were the dowry she had saved little by little.
The Xue family had declined. She had to strive for herself.
A shout came from outside the door. She quickly locked the box and walked out gracefully. She greeted the visitor with a smile. "Good day, cousin sister."
The visitor was dressed in a bright yellow dress embroidered with gold thread, which sparkled even under the lamp.
Chu Xiuyi said loudly, "Good day, cousin Ning'an. Mother said there won't be a formal dinner in the mansion tonight. Cousin was called back by his domineering wife. I came here specially to see you."
Xue Ning'an looked timid and sad. "I'm fine. Thank you for your concern, sister. It's only natural for cousin to go back and have dinner with his wife. I dare not complain."
Chu Xiuyi waved her sleeve. "What wife? It should have been you who married cousin. You grew up together, innocent and carefree. It was that Shang Yunruo who shamelessly insisted on marrying in. Grandmother and cousin had to agree because they were afraid of the power of the prime minister's mansion."
Xue Ning'an asked the servant to serve tea. She pulled Chu Xiuyi's hand and went into the inner room. Then she sighed. "I'm just unlucky. I wasn't born into a good family. Fortunately, cousin still has feelings for me. If necessary, I can be a concubine and serve him and the mistress. But it will be hard on you all."
Chu Xiuyi asked puzzledly, "What do you mean by hard on us?"
While lighting the incense, Xue Ning'an said, "I've always heard that the prime minister's daughter is domineering and intolerant. I didn't believe it at first. But today I happened to see her in the pavilion. Even Uncle and Aunt have to be careful around her. I heard she wants to take back the power of managing the mansion. I'm afraid we won't have such easy days in the mansion in the future."
These words made Chu Xiuyi take a deep breath. But she said bravely, "So what? Will she cut down our allowance?"
Xue Ning'an said, "You know, our mansion has never received money according to the regular allowance. She's not like me. Uncle, Aunt, you and cousin have always treated me as one of the family and let me live in the mansion. If I were in charge, I would never reduce your expenses. But..."
Chu Xiuyi stood up abruptly and continued, "If she takes power, she will surely make things difficult for us!"
A sly look flashed in Xue Ning'an's eyes. "Yes. Even cousin said that if she manages the mansion, he won't be able to use money freely in the future, let alone you all."
Chu Xiuyi took three steps at a time and walked out of the room quickly, shouting, "No! I'm going to find Mother!"
---
As soon as Shang Yunruo left the Second Uncle's mansion, she eagerly asked Chuyao, "Did you find out anything?"
Chuyao reported everything in detail. "After coming out of the toilet, I pretended to be lost and went to the kitchen. The ingredients there are really top - notch. There are even five chefs! There are more than a dozen servants and maids doing odd jobs. I also sneaked into the storeroom. The grains inside are piled up like a mountain. It's almost like a small granary. There are all kinds of rare things in it. I was just in a hurry and took a quick look before leaving."
Shang Yunruo said, "No wonder my husband is willing to have dinner in their mansion. But this kind of extravagant life is a waste of the marquis mansion's money. In the long run, it will surely lead to a financial deficit. A large marquis mansion should not be all show and no substance."
She made up her mind and didn't go back to her own courtyard. Instead, she went to the accounting room.
She was going to check the accounts!
But she encountered an obstacle at the very first step of checking the accounts.
The accountant stroked his white beard and shook his head. He only said one thing, "Without the official seal, the accounts cannot be accessed. Please don't make things difficult for me, madam."
Shang Yunruo took ten deep breaths and silently repeated five times, "Don't solve problems with temper." Only then did she manage to hold back from pulling out all his white beard!
She asked patiently, "What? As the mistress of the marquis mansion, can't I even check the accounts?"
The apprentice beside the accountant spoke up. His tone was even more arrogant than the accountant's. "My master said no, so it's no. Madam, please come back after you get the official seal and the power of management."
Well, her temper flared up!
Chuyao knew her young mistress's temper well. She never gave in when she was in the right and never let others off easily.
She usually vented her anger on the spot and never let it fester overnight. She didn't know how to calculate and endure, which was why she was often taken advantage of and criticized for being domineering behind her back.
Chuyao was about to dissuade her when she saw her young mistress hold back. Without saying a word, she pulled Chuyao away.
Her young mistress had actually learned to control her temper!
Of course Shang Yunruo had to control her temper. That dream couldn't be in vain.
Although most of the dream was about Chu Yan and there were very few scenes of Chu Jinli and others, it still made her change her previous reckless behavior to some extent.
Now in the marquis mansion, without the official seal, she had no power at all and couldn't even order the servants around.
This small power of management and the small official seal, which she didn't take seriously at first, now she was determined to get them!
It was completely dark. A message came from the kitchen, saying that the meal was ready and asking when she would go back to the courtyard to eat.
She had no appetite for dinner at the moment. But thinking that Chu Jinli would come back, she cheered up and returned to Muchenxuan.
Chu Jinli really came back. She was overjoyed. She got up to greet him and called out happily, "Husband."
Chu Jinli, who had been wearing a gloomy face all the way, was stunned for a moment when he heard this soft call. But he still coldly grunted and said nothing more.
Shang Yunruo was used to his coldness. She picked up a piece of crispy bamboo shoot with the serving chopsticks and put it in front of him. She said gently, "I specifically asked the servants. All the dishes on this table are your favorites, husband."
Chu Jinli glanced at the dishes on the table. They were really his favorites. He sneered inwardly at her pretentiousness.
Wasn't she quite imposing when she was at Uncle and Aunt's place just now? She even deliberately blocked Uncle and Aunt with her words to make him come back for dinner. Now she was pretending to be virtuous and gentle.
He didn't touch the bamboo shoot she had picked for him. Instead, he picked up a mouthful of food and started eating.
Shang Yunruo thought he had eaten the bamboo shoot she had picked for him. She happily poured him a glass of wine. "We didn't even drink the cross - cup wine on our wedding night. I'll toast you with this glass."
At the mention of the wedding night, Chu Jinli stopped his chopsticks. His face instantly darkened even more. He didn't pick up the wine glass for a long time.
After she called him several times, he slowly said, "I was actually drunk that night. I don't remember what I did."
Shang Yunruo said shyly with a smile, "Do you want me to help you recall it?"
Chu Jinli put down his chopsticks. He looked at her deeply with a solemn expression and said, "Then recall it."