Chapter 675

Chapter 683: Innocence (Part 2)

Jiang Shi stayed up late reviewing the account books.

Xu Sizhun woke up in the middle of the night and found her still working by the lamplight. He urged her, "Get some rest! There’s still over half a month until the third of March—plenty of time." As he spoke, he draped a fur-lined coat over her shoulders. "You can’t gain weight overnight. Some things take time."

Jiang Shi gave him a grateful smile and adjusted her collar. "Don’t trouble yourself over me, husband. Go back to sleep first! I’ll rest once I finish this part." She showed no intention of stopping.

Xu Sizhun moved to close her account book. "Let’s rest together!"

Jiang Shi quickly snatched the book back. "Husband, please don’t meddle!" Her tone carried a hint of displeasure.

Xu Sizhun was taken aback.

Realizing her words had been too sharp, Jiang Shi hurriedly softened her expression with a smile. "Since Mother assigned this task to me, I must handle it properly. Though there’s still over half a month until the third of March, reviewing past expenses, banquet accounts, guest lists, and how things were managed—each of these tasks requires time and effort." She sighed helplessly. "Husband thinks there’s plenty of time, but I feel like there’s not enough!"

Xu Sizhun had felt the same way when he first took over the household affairs.

His irritation faded.

"Should we call Song Mama for advice?"

Back then, he had consulted Steward Bai.

"Song Mama serves Mother directly. We can’t casually summon her," Jiang Shi shook her head. "Husband, don’t worry. I studied household management with my mother at home, and Mother has given me the account books. Besides, I have Mrs. Yuan by my side… It’s just unfamiliar now, but it’ll get easier."

Xu Sizhun knew his wife was clever and capable. If she said so, she must have some confidence. Remembering he had an early meeting with Lu Changgui the next day, he yawned and went to bed first.

Jiang Shi mentally reviewed the household’s banquet arrangements, then called Bao Zhu to grind ink for her as she drafted a plan for the third of March. By the time she set down her brush, the sky was lightening.

Rubbing her stiff neck, she reread her notes and found no major issues. She summoned Mrs. Yuan. "Please review this for me. If it seems acceptable, I’ll take it to Mother."

Following past precedents, she had listed the banquet guests, costs per table, menu, required servants—older women and even gratuities for the entertainers—leaving nothing overlooked. Compared to her days learning household management under Madam Jiang, she had put in several times more effort.

"The Fourth Young Mistress has truly matured!" Mrs. Yuan marveled. "I can hardly find any flaws!" Pointing at the entry for "twelve flower boats," she smiled. "Is the Fourth Young Mistress planning to move the banquet and opera to Biyi Lake? But the elder madam and Madam Huang are both elderly and may not tolerate the boat’s rocking. Should we consider another location?"

Jiang Shi had indeed considered this.

As a child, she had accompanied her father to Jiangnan, where they fished from flower boats. The boatwomen cooked their catches, and they drank wine while admiring the lake—a memory as vivid as a dream.

"What if we anchor the boats in place?" Jiang Shi thought of Zhou Yu in *The Battle of Red Cliffs*. "That way, we can host the banquet on the lake without the rocking."

"So the Fourth Young Mistress already had a solution," Mrs. Yuan praised subtly. "This servant spoke out of turn."

"I just came up with it!" Jiang Shi exchanged a few more words with her about the banquet arrangements, then called a maid to help her prepare herself before heading to Eleven Miss’s quarters.

Mrs. Yuan stopped her. "Fourth Young Mistress, at least close your eyes for a moment. Staying up like this isn’t good!"

"I’ll be back soon," Jiang Shi murmured, a trace of worry in her voice. "Should Mother disapprove, we may have to rearrange everything…" She smiled wryly. "Then the real work begins."

Only now did she deeply feel the gap between a daughter-in-law and her mother-in-law.

You may want to manage the household, but it depends on whether your mother-in-law allows it.

With a sigh, Jiang Shi took Bao Zhu and headed to the main courtyard.

Seven or eight trunks were arranged in the western chamber, where Eleven Miss and Yingniang stood side by side, laughing as they picked out fabrics for clothing.

Jiang Shi stepped forward to greet them. Eleven Miss motioned for her to sit on the window-side kang and instructed Yingniang, "I remember there are two more rolls of white gauze. Find them—we’ll make short-sleeved tunics later." Jiang Shi smiled. "Are you selecting fabrics for summer wear, Mother?"

"Yes!" Eleven Miss took the tea offered by the maid and smiled, "Summer is coming soon, and since we have nothing else to do, I thought I'd make some new-style summer clothes with your eldest cousin." She added, "Has Ting Geer's summer clothes been prepared yet? I still have two bolts of fine tribute-grade Guangdong gauze here. Take them to make some small clothes for the child."

"Thank you, Mother!" The fine Guangdong gauze was light and airy, perfect for summer wear. As it was a tribute item, it was rarely seen in the market and highly precious. Jiang Shi expressed her gratitude to Eleven Miss, while Yingniang brought over cheerfully two bolts of mustard-yellow fine gauze.

Jiang Shi had Bao Zhu accept them and noticed Yingniang wearing a pea-green lined jacket with a pink eight-panel skirt embroidered with plum blossoms, adorned only with small pearl earrings, looking fresh-faced and charming. She smiled and asked, "Cousin, since you came from the south, are eight-panel skirts still popular in Suzhou this year?"

Yingniang replied with a smile, "I’m not too familiar with such things. These were just clothes from my trunk. Aunt saw me wearing a white draped skirt and suggested I find a pink one..." She glanced down at her skirt and added, "So I picked this one out."

After chatting briefly, Jiang Shi presented the overnight-prepared plan.

Eleven Miss reviewed it carefully, then closed it with a smile. "Excellent, excellent. Holding the banquet on Biyi Lake is indeed a wonderful idea. It’s quite ingenious of you to think of linking the family’s flower boats with chains for the feast." She set the document aside and called for Amber. "Go inform the housekeepers to gather in the flower hall early tomorrow morning. I have instructions for them."

Amber acknowledged cheerfully and withdrew.

A faint blush colored Jiang Shi’s cheeks, her expression visibly excited.

Eleven Miss had accepted all her suggestions. This affirmation was extremely important to her—at the very least, it showed that despite her mother-in-law’s earlier reprimand, she wasn’t disliked for it.

"In a few days, it’ll be time to prepare summer clothes for the servants," Eleven Miss said to Jiang Shi with a smile. "You should discuss with the seamstress supervisor then—what fabrics to use, what the budget should be, and so on."

Jiang Shi was momentarily taken aback but quickly regained her composure, rising with a smile. "Yes, Mother."

Eleven Miss nodded slightly and picked up her tea. "Go rest now. Remember to come to the flower hall early tomorrow morning."

Jiang Shi curtsied and withdrew.

As she stepped out, she paused involuntarily.

From inside the room came Yingniang’s cheerful laughter: "...I’ve seen pea pods before, but never ones encased in gold with jade insets!"

Jiang Shi knew they were discussing jewelry—her mother-in-law and this eldest cousin.

She hurried her steps away from the main courtyard.

Eleven Miss chuckled. "I also find it too heavy. But since your uncle gave it to me, I’ve kept it here. Tomorrow, the goldsmith will visit, and I plan to have it remade into hairpins." She then selected a rose quartz hairpin for Yingniang. "At your age, such delicate pieces suit you best."

"How lovely!" Yingniang thanked her delightedly, turning it over in her hands for a long while.

Eleven Miss smiled gently and asked, "Have you decided what clothes to make yet?"

Yingniang gazed at the colorful array of summer fabrics and hesitated. "I... I haven’t decided yet. At home, Mother always handled it—whatever she made, I wore."

Eleven Miss laughed. "Surely you have some preferences?"

"I do!" Yingniang admitted sheepishly. "But whenever the tailors followed my ideas, everyone said the results didn’t suit me."

Eleven Miss couldn’t help laughing.

As they sorted through fabrics and discussed designs, Xu Sijie arrived after his studies to pay his respects.

"It's noon already!" Eleven Miss remarked, pulling out a bolt of purple nankeen wool and placing it on the kang. She instructed a maid to invite Xu Sijie in and told Yingniang, "Put this aside for cutting later. When summer comes, we’ll give it to the maids and older women for making velvet hair ornaments."

Yingniang smiled and had her chambermaid, Wanxiang, set it aside.

Xu Sijie entered.

"Are you selecting fabrics for summer clothes, Mother?" He greeted Eleven Miss with a smile, his gaze briefly catching the nankeen wool. "Starting on velvet hair ornaments already?"

"You know this?"

"And I didn’t even know?"

Yingniang muttered to herself, unable to resist glancing at Xu Sijie a few more times.

"This fabric was buried at the bottom of the chest. If not for searching for white scorched cloth this time, I would have forgotten about it," Eleven Miss remarked with a smile, noticing her reaction. "Since it’s been found, let your eldest cousin keep it. That way, we won’t forget again." Then she added cheerfully, "Aren’t you on your day off in a couple of days? Yingniang also enjoys flowers and plants. Why don’t you and Yingniang help me transplant a few cape jasmines to the backyard then?"

Xu Sijie promptly agreed with a smile.

Yingniang also brightened with delight.

* * * * * *

Jiang Shi returned to her room and immediately made two clean copies of the banquet guest list—before sending out the formal invitations, the list had to be reviewed by both the elder madam and Eleven Miss to avoid any oversights. She then summoned Mrs. Yuan to calculate all the expenses, even instructing her to gather the prices of ingredients these days and compile a detailed list for her.

"So much trouble?" Xu Sizhun, who had just returned from the outer courtyard, couldn’t help but mutter. "I remember back when Mother handled it, she just handed the silver to the stewardesses..."

Jiang Shi chuckled. "It’s not that I want to take over managing the money from the stewardesses. I just don’t want to be left in the dark when they discuss these matters, leaving me clueless. Otherwise, people might think I’m just empty talk."

That made sense.

Back when he was in the outer courtyard, some merchant stewards assumed he knew nothing and would give vague explanations when he inquired.

Jiang Shi worked tirelessly until noon before finally taking a short break, exhausted. In the afternoon, she spent hours reviewing the market price list. The next day, she rose before dawn. Knowing this was her first formal meeting with the stewardesses, she took great care in her toilette, then headed to Eleven Miss’s quarters attended by her maids and stewardesses.