After the replacement marriage, I was forced to fight at home

"Why did you take so long? I saw Caixia came back a long time ago." Chuan'er watched Cai'er drink a full cup of hot tea like a cow.

"Originally, we were going to come back together, but we ran into Song Zhujia in Liufangwu, and she talked to me for a while."

Liufangwu is a waterside pavilion in the palace. It is not inhabited and is a very spacious place. It is usually used for the masters to play. The scenery is beautiful and it is the first choice for Shen County Mansion to hold banquets on a daily basis.

But Meng Wan didn't know who this Song Zhu family was. Before she could ask, Cai'er started to tell her everything.

"She is the slightly older one who carried the dowry last time. Her husband runs errands at the government office. She is responsible for the rough work of pruning the flowers and trees in the mansion. One of her daughters follows Mrs. Zhong in the account office and copies. Mrs. Zhong is the accountant of the inner courtyard, and she is responsible for the inner courtyard accounts together with Guan Weijia. Guan Weijia is the most capable one of the princesses. I heard that the princess's own dowry account books are kept by her. Therefore, Guan Weijia has always suppressed Mrs. Zhong. She never gets any job that can benefit her. Mrs. Zhong complains a lot."

Meng Wan nodded with satisfaction. Cai'er's visit was not in vain. It was not easy to learn so much in just a few days.

"Song Zhu's family also has a little son who is too young to work. When he has nothing to do, he follows the son of the corner housekeeper and runs errands for the maids and old women to earn a piece of candy."

"What did she call you for?" asked Chuan'er.

"Last time I came to the courtyard, that black sister-in-law, the dark and fat one, was always causing trouble, so I asked her about her situation in detail. Black sister-in-law's sister-in-law is the capable one around the third young lady. I heard that she will be the third young lady's dowry. On weekdays, she relies on this relationship and even ignores the second young lady. She is the best at judging people by their status."

Chuan'er thought about the fat black woman who had caused trouble that day. It was she who called the Third Miss all the time that attracted others to follow suit. Afterwards, they analyzed that this black sister-in-law was undoubtedly a pawn of the Third Miss.

"Does she have a conflict with the Song Zhu family?" Meng Wan asked softly.

"Second Madam is really smart." Cai Er said while giving Meng Wan a thumbs up. "I heard that the two of them didn't get along in the past. I haven't found out the details yet, but the most recent incident was when Sister Hei took advantage of her sister-in-law's power and snatched the job that originally belonged to Song Zhu's daughter and gave it to her own daughter."

"Oh? Then Song Zhu's daughter's job in the accounting office is not good?"

"What good is that? She helps with copying, but no matter whether it's Mrs. Zhong or Guan Wei's account, she's unlikely to look at it carefully. She always does rough work and is ordered around all day long. But if there are discrepancies or omissions in the account, she will be punished."

"What job did the Song Zhu family originally want for their daughter?"

"It's the position of a second-class maid beside the second young lady."

Meng Wan nodded. Being a maid beside a young lady was indeed better than working in the accounting office, unless she could learn real skills in the accounting office.

"So, Hei Saozi's daughter is now serving the Second Young Miss?" Chuan'er asked.

"Well, he is very arrogant. Sometimes he even dares to contradict the Second Miss's orders." Cai'er nodded.

Meng Wan understood that this was a way of using the reputation of having served the young lady, which would sound good when she wanted to get married in the future or find other options.

"Could her sister-in-law be Guyu?" Meng Wan remembered a maidservant beside Zhou Yingning. She was very pretty and likable, not tall, and had a clever tongue. She had always been with Zhou Yingning when they went to Junyueju to pay their respects several times.

"That's her."

Meng Wan nodded. No wonder Hei Saozi's daughter didn't take Zhou Yinghan seriously. She was afraid that being a second-class servant to Zhou Yinghan was just a stepping stone. She was afraid that the princess or Zhou Yingning had promised her something.

"Go on, tell me, why did the Song Zhu family look for you?"

"She said that her daughter went home yesterday and told her that Mrs. Zhong would sort out the accounts of the late princess's dowry in the next few days."

"What?" Meng Wan looked up, "What exactly is it?"

"The farms, the shops, and the other accounts."

"How did her daughter know this? Did she hear it from someone? Is it true? Why would she tell you this?"

"I didn't hear it from her, but her daughter saw it. She said that Mother Hong went to look for Guan Wei's family, but because it was almost the end of the year, Guan Wei's family was busy sorting out the princess's accounts, so they gave it to Mrs. Zhong to do. Mrs. Zhong asked Song Zhu's daughter to find all the old account books of the previous princess. There was a huge pile, and she spent half a day just moving those account books, and her hands were so sore from exhaustion."

"She can read? I mean the daughter of Song Zhu's family."

"Yes, she can read. Song Zhu's family taught her. Song Zhu's father was also a scholar, but he was unlucky and didn't even pass the imperial examination. Later, an accident happened in the family and their livelihood became a problem. She had no choice but to sell herself. Later, the palace arranged for her to marry Song Zhu."

"She said that the late princess's account books were taken out?"

"Yes, the years are all on the account books. The girl looked carefully and calculated that all the accounts since the death of the previous princess should have been taken to the main room of the accounting office."

Meng Wan stood up. She had been thinking of some excuse to get Hu to take out Wang's dowry, including the remaining physical objects that were "squandered" by Zhou Yu, as well as the farms and shops.

Mrs. Hu asked Mrs. Zhong to sort out the accounts at this time. Could it be that she was ready to hand over to herself?

No, Wang entered the family with a generous dowry. As the only daughter of the Wang family, the Empress Dowager was still alive at that time, so Wang’s dowry would have been even larger and more exquisite.

Even if Hu blamed Zhou Yu for the loss, she would not be left with nothing. On the contrary, Hu would have carefully managed Wang's dowry and made it her cash cow, so Wang would have left behind a huge amount of wealth that was unexpected.

There could only be one reason why Hu Shi took Wang Shi's dowry at this time, that is, she falsified the accounts, so that when she handed it over to her, there would not be much left, and there would even be a deficit. Meng Wan believed that the farms and shops left by Wang Shi must have been replaced by Hu Shi's people. She heard from Zhou Yu that the shops and farms that Zhou Yingrong took away when she got married were still handed over by Hu Shi because of the family's intervention.

"What are the conditions of the Song Zhu family?" Meng Wan stood by the window, looking at the yard that was all red. Because it was a newlywed couple, colorful silks were hung in the yard, and the red lanterns made it look very festive.

"She said that if the Second Mistress liked her or her daughter, she would like her daughter to serve the Second Mistress when the time is right."

"Oh? How did you get back?"

"I said that the Second Madam just came in and doesn't know anything. She also saw everything that happened in the past few days. I'm afraid her daughter will have no future if she stays with the Second Madam."

Meng Wan nodded. Cai'er's ability to respond to emergencies was getting stronger and stronger.

"Song Zhu's wife shook her head. She said she would not make a mistake. When they carried the dowry that day, Second Madam gave everyone a hundred yuan and sent back all those who did not work in the yard for various excuses. They have not returned to work since then. She knew that Second Madam was kind-hearted. As for other things, the time was not right. She also said that no matter how capable Second Madam was, she still had to help explore the way. Mother Fan saw that she was not close to Second Madam, so she asked her to ask her if there was anything she wanted to know. Even if she didn't know, her aunt from her husband's family had served the old princess."

"Song Zhu's aunt?"

"Yes, but I don't know who it is. I haven't found out anything about it in the past few days." Cai'er smoothed her bangs embarrassedly.

"What's the big deal? It's rare that you can find out so much these days. Was there anyone else around when Song Zhujia told you this?"

"No, it's just her little son who was playing with stones at the fork in the road. I think he was afraid of being seen."

"Chuan'er, think of a way to meet her in the next two days. What's her daughter's name?"

"My name is Xueyan."

"Second Madam, do you want to use this thing from the Song Zhu family? Could it be a trap set by the princess?" Chuan'er said worriedly.

"Song Zhu's family is right. We have too few places to get our hands on in the mansion now. Mother Fan is not cooperating. By the time we find out something, the princess has already done most of it. It's too passive. Regardless of whether Song Zhu's family is sincere or not, as long as she is willing to come forward, I dare to use her. But how to use her needs to be discussed in detail. Remember, no matter what we arrange, we will only arrange it in a single line, which means that we will not gather everyone together and no one will know what we are going to do. Do you understand?"

Cai'er blinked her big eyes and whispered, "Is it that something can't be known by one person alone? For example, Chuan'er knows one or two, I know three or four, Sister Dongmei knows five or six, and Mother Kong knows seven or eight. Only when we all get together can we know Second Grandma's nine and ten?"

Meng Wan laughed loudly and pinched Cai'er's chubby face, "How clever! That's what I meant."

Cai Er shook her head proudly, "It seems that I will have to trouble Second Sister Gu to bring in some more candy tomorrow."

"I just sent you two boxes last time. Could most of them have gone into your stomach?" Chuan'er teased her.

"No." Cai Er covered her stomach, "I only eat two every now and then."

Meng Wan couldn't help laughing when he saw her acting weird.

"Chuan'er, ask Mama Kong to come in."

Looking at Meng Wan whispering with Mother Kong, Chuan'er gently closed the door of the inner room, stood at the door of the upper room, and watched the little maid who served Mother Fan carry the basin of water into the room.

------

"Mother, you heard it, right? She must be happy to see Second Master lose his temper with you. Last time you were still thinking about her, but when has she ever respected you? You are Second Master's nurse, and I should at least consult you before doing anything, even if I don't say everything, and ask you for your opinion. But she just left you hanging. Today, when I went to my house to get something, those people asked me to come and ask mother for advice on when to come back to work."

The little girl who served Mother Fan asked softly while looking at her face.

"I was planning to talk to Second Madam about this tomorrow, but how can I start talking in this situation?" Mother Fan thought about the changes in Qinghe Garden since Meng Wan married into the family, and she secretly hated them. Those who didn't work hard were instructed by her, because she hoped Meng Wan would lower her status and send someone to beg her, and then she would reluctantly persuade those rough servants to do the work.

But Meng Wan didn't do what she thought, but went directly to the eldest grandmother to ask for people. The people who came were arrogant, and finally they reluctantly did the work after the second young master was brought in. In this way, the second grandmother not only did not show the momentum of the head grandmother, but also rewarded these people. What kind of thing is this?

Some people in the mansion praised the Second Madam for her generosity, but more people said that she was timid and afraid of trouble, and could not even send a few servants to do chores. Some even said that if she was short of money, she could go to Qinghe Garden to do odd jobs.

The little girl looked at Mother Fan's blushing cheeks, and went out the door with the basin of water. A girl in purple clothes came towards her. The two looked at each other, then smiled and passed each other.

That night, Mother Fan fell ill. The little maid who served her knocked on Mother Kong's door in the middle of the night and cried so sadly as if someone had died.