Chapter 76

76

When she arrived at the main courtyard, Song Shiying and Song Shiyue, the two sisters, had already arrived.

Jiang Chun bowed to Madame Zhuang and then sat down on an official's armchair that had been left empty below Madame Zhuang.

Curiously, she asked Madame Zhuang, "Mother, where has my husband gone? He was nowhere to be found this morning, and none of the servants in Dangui Courtyard have any idea."

Madame Zhuang's mouth twitched slightly and she replied coolly, "If even you, his wife, don't know, how would I know?"

In truth, Madame Zhuang did know. Her son had gone out of the city with the Crown Prince to handle some matters. Since it was a last-minute assignment and the Crown Prince's whereabouts needed to be kept secret, he couldn't tell the servants in Dangui Courtyard.

As for Jiang Chun? She had been sound asleep.

Her son had come to the main courtyard to inform her and then left in a hurry.

Jiang Chun was met with a cold response and fell silent.

After a moment, she rolled her eyes and suddenly patted her leg, exclaiming, "Oh! Mother, what about the crabs you promised me?"

Madame Zhuang’s face froze. She had completely forgotten about that amidst her busy day yesterday.

To forestall Jiang Chun’s complaints, she preemptively snorted and said with a sour tone, "You saw how busy I was yesterday. How could I have worried about crabs?"

After giving her a scolding, before Jiang Chun could retort, Madame Zhuang immediately offered some reassurance, "I’ll have someone buy them right away, and I’ll make sure you get to eat crabs today, alright?"

Jiang Chun smiled graciously and said, "Deal! Thank you, Mother."

Then she turned to Song Shiying and Song Shiyue with a grin and said, "Big sister-in-law is treating you to crabs today. Eat as much as you want, and I promise you’ll be satisfied."

Madame Zhuang: "..."

She was treating but had to pay for it herself. Which mother-in-law is as foolish as I am?

But what could she do about it?

Although her third sister-in-law was secretly amused, she had a point.

Jiang Chun wasn't just any daughter-in-law who had married into the Song family. If she was content living there, all was well. But if she wasn't, she might storm out with her son, leaving Madame Zhuang in a hurry.

So, in front of Jiang Chun, she didn’t dare act too much like a traditional mother-in-law.

Forget it, forget it. Jiang Chun hadn’t done anything too outrageous. She was just a bit gluttonous, a bit petty, a bit miserly—all minor flaws.

As the mother-in-law of the Crown Prince, she ought to be generous and not bother with such trivial matters.

Jiang Chun had already arrived quite late, but after sitting in the main courtyard for a full forty-five minutes, Third Madam Qiu finally arrived, considerably late.

Madame Zhuang didn’t say anything. They were sisters-in-law, and Qiu didn’t need to come to pay her respects. She was here for breakfast.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Madame Zhuang ordered the maids to serve the meal.

After breakfast, as they were having tea, Manager Liu came to report to Jiang Chun that their informant had successfully negotiated the house price down by two hundred taels. The owner agreed to sell it for two thousand taels.

The only condition was that it had to be done quickly, preferably with all matters settled today.

Clearly, the owner was in urgent need of money.

Jiang Chun was also in a hurry at that moment.

Although Jiang He and Zheng Kun hadn't complained to her, living under someone else's roof, especially in such a wealthy household, was certainly less comfortable than being in their own home.

The sooner they bought the house, the sooner her father and cousin could move in.

Jiang Chun stood up and instructed Madame Zhuang, "Mother, I'm going out with Manager Liu."

Then she stepped outside.

Song Shiying immediately stood up, lifted her skirt, and ran outside, exclaiming, "Big sister-in-law, did you forget about your adorable little sister? Wait for me! I'm coming too!"

Madame Zhuang: "……"

"Pfft," Qiu Shi laughed out loud, gloating, "Oh my, our third miss is quite lively. When Second Sister-in-law returns and sees her daughter behaving this way, I wonder how 'happy' she'll be!"

Madame Zhuang gave her a glance but remained silent.

In truth, she was actually looking forward to it.

Manager Liu, known for being reliable and efficient, had already arranged for a carriage before coming in to report.

Jiang Chun first went back to Dangui Courtyard to get the money, then headed to the front yard to pick up Jiang He and Zheng Kun. The group then set off in three carriages, heading towards the West Market.

Manager Liu had deliberately taken a detour through the middle of the West Market on the last trip, earning him praise. This time, he tried the same trick again.

Jiang Chun was so delighted that she couldn't stop smiling. No wonder the Zhuang family had sent Manager Liu to assist Madame Zhuang. He was not only capable but also very good at anticipating his masters' preferences.

Jiang Chun decided to reward him with five taels of silver after the house purchase was complete.

Although five taels of silver was a trivial amount for a manager like him, it was the gesture that mattered.

However, five taels of silver was a significant amount for Jiang Chun.

After all, once she bought the house, she would only have a few dozen taels of loose silver left. She would need to be more careful with her spending.

Even for the servants in Dangui Courtyard, she had only given each of them a silver ring obtained from the check-in system. Four maids and two nannies had received six rings, leaving only four in the warehouse.

In a few days, when Song Shian returned to his duties, she planned to take some people to the pawnshop in his absence to pawn all the miscellaneous items in her warehouse.

She also needed to think about what gifts to prepare for Old Madame Song, the three lords, and her brothers-in-law, Song Shi Rui and Song Shi Qian.

The close relatives of the Song family who were still within the five degrees of mourning had all been implicated and sold off. Once they returned to the capital, they would come to the manor to pay their respects.

Many of Song Shian's peers had already married and even had several children.

When they visited their aunt with their children, how could she not give them gifts?

Everything cost money.

No wonder the protagonist in the original novel started frantically trying to earn money as soon as she arrived in the capital. It was impossible not to earn money!

[Ding! Successfully checked in at "Yanjing City Bookstore" and obtained 19 reams of Chengxin paper, 20 ingots of oil-based ink, and six sets of paintbrushes.]

[Ding! Successfully checked in at "Yanjing City Blacksmith" and obtained 5 iron plows, 20 sickles, and 14 shovels.]

[Ding! Successfully checked in at "Yanjing City Medical Hall", obtained 1 pound of licorice, 2 pounds of ginseng, and 4 pounds of rose nitrate.]

[Ding! Successfully checked in at "Yanjing City Pharmacy", obtained 5 pounds of cassia cinnamon, 5 pounds of gastrodia, and 1 pound of angelica.]

[Ding! Successfully checked in at "Yanjing City Jewelry Store", obtained 2 pairs of ruby-studded gold drop earrings, 20 sticks of gauze flowers, and 20 stacks of embroidered flowers.]

[Ding! Successfully checked in at "Yanjing City Fabric Store", obtained 20 bolts of Shu brocade, 6 bolts of shadow gauze, and 12 pieces of white fox fur.]

[Ding! Successfully checked in at "Yanjing City Pawnshop", obtained 1 gilded purple sandalwood chamber pot, 7 jade combs, and 2 Ru kiln powdered enamel 'Magu Offering Longevity' teacups.]

[Ding! Successfully checked in at "Yanjing City Bank", obtained 4 taels of silver.]

Jiang Chun checked in at various locations along the way, and the system's calm electronic voice, like a heavenly melody, filled her with joy.

Such valuable items!

Apart from anything else, just the 20 bolts of Shu brocade could be worth more than 500 taels of silver.

It is well known that Shu brocade is renowned for its vibrant colors and exquisite patterns. Due to its high cost and low production, it is highly valued and often considered priceless.

She referenced historical data, setting the price of Shu brocade during the Great Zhou dynasty at about 25 taels per bolt, compared to 20 taels during the Kangxi and Qianlong periods.

Selling these 20 bolts of Shu brocade would immediately fill her purse.

But that was clearly unlikely.

Shu brocade was scarce, with most of it being sent to the palace as tribute; of the remainder, a large part was obtained by noble families, and only a small amount made its way to the fabric stores in the capital.

As a pig-slaughtering woman from the countryside, she wouldn't be able to get even one bolt of Shu brocade, let alone twenty. Suddenly producing twenty bolts would certainly raise suspicion.

Even a noble family like the Song family wouldn't be able to come up with twenty bolts of Shu brocade all at once before their downfall.

For now, she could only store them in the system’s inventory, waiting for a chance to use or sell them, depending on the situation.

Although she couldn't sell them for the time being, it didn’t dampen her spirits.

Seeing that her sister-in-law's eyes were fixed on something again, with a bright smile as if she had found 100 taels of silver, Song Shiying couldn't help but smile too.

Praising sincerely, "Big sister-in-law, you're really amazing to have the informant help with bargaining and share the savings. You’ve saved a considerable amount of money."

If it were before the Song family's downfall, 200 taels of silver wouldn't have been a significant amount to Song Shiying. Her set of hair ornaments would have been worth more than 200 taels.

After a whole month of copying books, she could only earn 700 to 800 wen, which amounted to only a few taels of silver a year. It would take her over two years to earn 200 taels.

And that was while eating and living off her sister-in-law. If she had to support herself, she wouldn't have even half of her 700 to 800 wen left.

So she genuinely thought her sister-in-law was amazing.

Jiang Chun raised her chin proudly and hummed lightly, "Glad you know. You should learn more from me in the future."

Song Shiying nodded obediently, "I am learning. I have always been learning."

Seeing how well-behaved she was and how her phoenix eyes resembled Song Shiyan’s by about seven or eight points, Jiang Chun couldn't help but like her even more.

Smiling, she said, "I got some very delicate gauze flowers. Come and choose two for yourself later."

She didn’t say where she got them from, but Song Shiying likely guessed it was from Second Mistress Lu. After all, she was the only one who had sent anything to the estate lately.

The Crown Prince’s Consort’s items didn’t count—all the things she bestowed bore the imperial workshop’s mark, so how could Jiang Chun casually give them away?

Song Shiying said with a smile, "I just received two Shaoxing velvet flowers from you, my beloved sister-in-law, and now you're giving me these flowers made of tulle to wear. You’re truly my dearest sister-in-law!"

As she spoke, she reached out to hug Jiang Chun’s arm, rubbing her cheek against it.

Jiang Chun gently pushed her forehead and said with a laugh, "Stop being so sticky, or your elder brother will give you trouble."

Song Shiying pouted and muttered, "My elder brother is so stingy and always gets jealous! He even gets jealous of his cousin. You really should keep him in line, sister-in-law!"

Jiang Chun said with a smile, "There are many things I can handle, but not this one."

Jealousy is good because it shows he cares about himself.

This reminded her of the fun little game they played last night.

She stuck out her rosy little tongue and gave her lips a lick—it had indeed been quite thrilling.

They were really becoming shameless. Before, either he would shy away, or she, the queen of words, would hold back during intimate moments.

With the increasing frequency of their conjugal relations, their bodies had grown more harmonious, letting them experience the so-called ultimate bliss each time.

They were truly a match made in heaven, destined to be husband and wife.

According to Jiang Chun, Song Shiyan really ought to thank her. If she hadn’t transmigrated here, he would have lived his entire life like a monk in the original novel, deprived of intimacy.

For someone who could never get enough of conjugal relations and was always pondering new ideas in his heart, this would have been cruel.

So, as compensation, it was only right that he remained a henpecked husband for life, wasn’t it?

*

When they arrived at the house gate, the informant and the house owner were already waiting for them.

The owner was a middle-aged gentleman with a plump figure. Although he was dressed richly, his face wore a look of worry, clearly indicating he was facing some trouble.

If this were modern times, she would definitely investigate thoroughly to avoid buying a problematic house and bringing unnecessary trouble upon herself.

But this was ancient times, an era when common people feared the government like tigers.

As long as the name on the deed was confirmed to be this Mr. Su, she would dare to buy the house.

If anyone dared to cause trouble over a house bought with her own money, she would report it to the authorities and let them handle it.

Jiang Chun, along with Jiang He and Zheng Kun, entered the house and inspected it carefully once again.

After confirming that the house was exactly the same as they had seen last time, Jiang Chun asked to see the owner’s household registration and the deed.

These were necessary steps when buying a house. Mr. Su had no objections and handed the documents to Gui Ye, who then passed them to Jiang Chun.

Jiang Chun took them and handed them to Song Shiying. "Take a look for me, carefully."

Song Shiying first opened the household registration and compared the descriptions of appearance with Mr. Su, examining him several times.

Then she unfolded the deed and went through it three times.

Satisfied, she returned both documents to Jiang Chun and said with a smile, "Everything checks out."

Jiang Chun handed the household registration and deed to Gui Ye and said to Manager Liu with a smile, "Manager Liu, why don’t you also take a look?"

"Yes, Madam." Manager Liu responded promptly, taking the items from Guiye and carefully inspecting them.

He ultimately came to the same conclusion as Song Shian: "Madam, there's no problem. Everything matches up; it should be genuine."

Jiang Chun felt a secret relief but maintained her composure with a smile. "Since there's no issue with the deed, I'll settle the payment for Mr. Su now."

She took out a stack of silver notes, each worth one hundred taels, from the pouch at her waist and began counting them in front of everyone.

As she counted, she muttered, "One hundred, two hundred, three hundred... one thousand eight hundred, one thousand nine hundred, two thousand."

After finishing, she handed the silver notes to Guiye and instructed, "Take these to Mr. Su."

Then, she looked up at Mr. Su and smiled. "These are one hundred tael silver notes from the Ministry of Revenue, twenty in total. Please count them, Mr. Su."

These were specifically exchanged at the Hongye County money house before they left for the capital, as silver notes were more convenient to carry than silver ingots.

Mr. Su, knowing that the buyer was the matriarch of the Song family, the sister-in-law of the new crown prince, had no doubt about the authenticity of the silver notes. After a cursory check, he tucked them into his sleeve.

Jiang Chun asked Jiang He to hand over his household registration to Manager Liu and then took out a handful of loose silver from her money bag, instructing Guiye to give it to Manager Liu along with the deed.

She then smiled at Manager Liu and said, "Please accompany Mr. Su to the yamen to register the red deed. If the stamp duty is insufficient, let me know when you return, and I'll make up the difference."

The new deed for the house would be in Jiang He's name, as they had agreed the previous day.

Jiang He initially disagreed, insisting on using Jiang Chun's name, but she firmly refused.

Whether through marriage or by becoming a part of the family, her status as Song Shian's wife could not be changed. If Crown Prince Li Xing were to fall from grace, no one in the Song family, including herself, would be spared.

If the deed were in her name, it would be included in any confiscation list.

Writing Jiang He's name is different. He is Song Shian's father-in-law. Unless the Song family is sentenced to the Nine Familial Exterminations, he won't be implicated.

It's even less likely that his house would be confiscated.

After all, he only has one daughter. What difference does it make to write his name on the deed? When he passes away, the house will still be inherited by me, so there’s no real difference.

What if Jiang He takes another wife?

First of all, the chances are slim. If he was going to take another wife, he would have done it long ago. In Hongye Town, no shortage of young women had their eyes on him. As a butcher, he was considered relatively well-off in their small town.

Even Wang the Widow, known for her loose behavior and having many husbands, wanted to marry him to settle down.

But he rejected them all.

There’s no reason for him to suddenly want to take another wife now that he’s in the capital.

Even if he does take another wife, it wouldn’t be a problem. If Jiang He meets a woman who suits his taste, Jiang Chun would be happy for him. After all, he's also had a tough life.

This house can be seen as a gift from his daughter to him and his future wife. If they have a child, the house will be passed down to their offspring.

That's just her personality. Though she doesn’t have much money to her name, she’s generous to a fault.

Once she acknowledges someone as family or friend, she is more than willing to be generous.

Of course, this is only if Jiang He’s new wife and their children are normal people, without strange personalities or behavior that causes trouble. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be so lenient.

Manager Liu took the items with a smile and said, "Madam, you can rest easy. I'll take care of everything for you."

In wealthy households, respectable stewards and their wives do not refer to themselves as "servants" in the presence of their masters.

*

After handing the task of processing the red deed at the government office to Manager Liu, Jiang Chun and the others weren’t in a hurry to leave. They took another walk around the house.

With a smiling face, Jiang He said, "This house clearly has been renovated not long ago. The tiles are new, and the walls are bright and clean. There’s no need to hire anyone for repairs. We can just purchase some furniture and move in."

Jiang Chun, rolling her eyes and grinning, replied, "What a coincidence! The Ministry of Revenue has recently returned some of the furniture confiscated from the Song family. After we sort it out, the cheap furniture my mother-in-law had someone buy temporarily will be removed.

Of course, when I say cheap furniture, it’s only in comparison to the rosewood and huanghuali wood furniture the Song family used to have.

In reality, these are high-quality walnut wood furniture that can last for more than ten years. They are far better than the elm wood furniture we used to have.

It’s better to use them here rather than letting them pile up in the warehouse to gather dust. This way, I’m helping my mother-in-law solve a problem and saving us a lot of money."

The latter part was the key point.

Those pieces of furniture weren’t entirely useless. If the masters couldn’t use them, they could be placed in the servants’ quarters.

To prevent Jiang He from feeling uncomfortable about using the Song family’s belongings, she tactfully sidestepped the issue.

"Walnut wood? That’s good wood!" Jiang He exclaimed joyfully, "The walnut wood dining table in our house was made by Jiang Zhaofu, who used to be a carpenter in the county. He used the walnut trees from the mountain behind our village. It’s very sturdy and durable. I wish I could’ve brought it to the capital if it weren’t too heavy."

Jiang Chun, grinning, said, "Since you like walnut wood furniture, I’ll get a full set for you, Father. You can indulge in them as much as you like."

Though excited, Jiang He put on a serious expression and said, "It’s enough to pick up some discarded furniture from the Song family. We’ll take whatever we can get. Don’t spend extra money to buy more. It’s too expensive and not worth it."

Jiang Chun, laughing, replied, "Don’t worry, Father. There’s enough to benefit from the Song family."

"You child," Jiang He said helplessly, giving Jiang Chun a stern look. He reminded her, "Don’t take your usual actions too far. Your husband and the Song family are entirely different matters. Your husband may not say anything, but the Song family might not feel the same way."

Fearing that her father might overthink, Jiang Chun sobered up and replied earnestly, "Don’t worry, Father. I have everything under control."

She had already been planning a path of "progress." Once Song Shi'an starts teaching her to read and write, and the martial arts master begins training, she will gradually change.

But only gradually.

In any case, she had no plans to suppress herself by becoming a well-behaved daughter-in-law in a large family.

To change the subject excitedly, she said, "Father, Cousin, my mother-in-law has sent someone to buy crabs. We’re in for a treat today.

Don’t stand on ceremony. Eat as much as you can. There are five baskets of crabs. There are so few of us; we won’t be able to finish them, not by a long shot."

Zheng Kun, laughing, teased, "With you around, there are still leftover crabs?

I vaguely remember one year when someone gifted my father ten baskets of crabs he had caught. He gave half to your family. In the end, Uncle only ate about ten, and the rest ended up in your stomach, Cousin."

This wasn’t something Jiang Chun had experienced personally. She rummaged through the original host’s memories and found it tucked away in a corner.

At that time, the original host was thirteen and in a growth spurt, with a large appetite. Eating five baskets of crabs was no problem.

If cholesterol levels could be checked in ancient times, the original host would have definitely exceeded the limit after eating five baskets of crabs in one sitting.

Perhaps there was no need to worry about cholesterol at all.

They spent more than an hour in the new house, discussing a variety of topics, before leaving.

Upon returning to the Song household, Lady Zhuang had an invitation card delivered for a chrysanthemum appreciation banquet at the Jinxiang Marquis Manor. She told Jiang Chun to prepare for the event and accompany her to the banquet three days later.