The mistress has no feelings, why do you provoke her?

Zhou secretly rolled her eyes at Xue Qingwan. If she didn't want Xue Qingwan to keep Song Wenjun in check, she wouldn't have bothered with her.

He even looked down on his concubine.

So what if she was a concubine? She climbed her way up from the bottom as a concubine.

They don't even take a piss and look in the mirror to see what kind of thing they are.

Xue Qingwan ignored Zhou's words and turned to leave.

Upon arriving at the Marquis's residence, she was not in a hurry to get involved with Gu Huaizhou.

Because she knew that beauty was not a long-term solution, and that relationships between people were bound by mutual interests.

Otherwise, even the most beautiful woman will eventually be abandoned by a man.

Since she wanted to enter Gu Huaizhou's heart, she naturally needed a suitable opportunity.

Only by knowing yourself and your enemy can you win every battle.

Xue Qingwan didn't bring many maids; there was only one, Bao Qing, who had served her since childhood.

Most of the maids and servants in the courtyard were sent by Zhou Shi.

Although these people are not her people, they can still do things for her if they are given enough benefits.

If she wanted to establish herself in the manor, she naturally needed to understand the current situation of the Marquis's manor.

These servants were her breakthrough point.

Xue Qingwan summoned all the servants in the courtyard to her side.

There was one maidservant, one maidservant, and two old women.

The specifications are already considered high.

She sat in her chair, her eyes sweeping over the crowd indifferently, before she spoke: "From today onwards, you will all be working for me. I am different from other masters; there are no distinctions of rank. You do not need to bow to me. I hate these formalities the most. As long as you do your best to serve me, you will naturally be rewarded."

After Xue Qingwan finished speaking, Bao Qing stepped forward with a money bag, took out the silver inside, and distributed a silver ingot to each person.

At first, these people didn't dare to take it, and they all looked hesitant.

I always felt like Xue Qingwan was joking.

What respectable master would say there's no distinction between superiors and inferiors? Would that master still be a master?

Xue Qingwan frowned upon seeing this: "Is it too little?"

"No, no, no, we don't mind the small amount." The maids and servants waved their hands and hurriedly accepted the silver.

Xue Qingwan then smiled: "That's right, from now on we're all family."

"Thank you, miss."

"Miss is so generous," the maids and servants complimented.

Xue Qingwan looked smug; she had successfully won over Xue Qingwan's heart in the first step.

To make friends, you must first open your heart. She treats others with sincerity, and they will surely reciprocate.

Afterwards, Xue Qingwan had them sit together and chatted with them as if they were old friends.

Surprisingly, she actually managed to get some useful information out of her.

The Marquis's mansion was managed by Song Wenjun, and even Gu Huaizhou had to ask the accountant for money, which amounted to only two hundred taels per month.

All other expenses were covered by public funds.

Every single item was recorded.

The same applies to the Zhou family.

Xue Qingwan was furious. As expected of a woman from a merchant family, she reeked of money.

With the entire Marquis's mansion under her control, it's no wonder she was adorned in gold and silver and enjoyed boundless prestige.

In the end, isn't it all due to the power and influence of the Marquis's mansion?

She looked down on Song Wenjun. Why should she be given such great power when she was a woman who couldn't lift a finger?

But then she smiled again.

Song Wenjun managed the household, and Gu Huaizhou, being a man, had many places where he wanted to spend money.

If there were too many, he would have to ask Song Wenjun for them.

Men are all concerned about their image. If Song Wenjun doesn't give them what they want, won't they hold a grudge against her?

Xue Qingwan snorted coldly: "What an idiot, she doesn't even know what her own man needs. No wonder Gu Huaizhou has been spending his days in the study these days."

Having figured out the details, Xue Qingwan had a target.

If she wanted to win Gu Huaizhou's heart, she had to let him see her value.

Only a woman who can help him solve his problems and is also valuable can take root and sprout in his heart.

At that moment, Xue Qingwan instructed Bao Qing, "Go to the storeroom and get some lard, wood ash, soybeans, alkali, and soapberry. If the manor doesn't have them, go outside to buy them."

She gave Baoqing twenty taels of silver and asked the maid in the courtyard to accompany her.

Song Wenjun had been keeping a close eye on what was happening at Qingying Courtyard.

When Xiao Tao told her about these things, Song Wenjun looked very puzzled.

These things are nothing special. Xue Qingwan wouldn't want them for no reason, and she would even go out to buy them.

It seems this young lady is even more outstanding than she imagined.

But no matter what Xue Qingwan wanted to do, she had only one goal.

That was how to capture Gu Huaizhou's heart.

For this reason alone, Song Wenjun was willing to make things easy for her: "Tell the warehouse manager to send all these things to Miss Biao."

Xiao Tao had no doubts about Song Wenjun's decision and immediately sent someone to deliver a message to the steward.

Song Wenjun was actually a little puzzled. Although this cousin in her previous life was restless, she didn't have so many ulterior motives.

Could it be that her soul was replaced?

Song Wenjun would never have believed in such supernatural and bizarre things before.

But she has been reborn, so perhaps this young lady has had other adventures, such as having a different soul.

Otherwise, how could his temperament have changed so drastically?

Of course, these are just Song Wenjun's guesses; she needs to observe further to see the actual situation.

The weather was perfectly fine, so Song Wenjun took her child out to bask in the sun.

As they walked into the garden, they could vaguely see a figure ahead. Upon closer inspection, they realized it was Jiang Miaoyin, whom they hadn't seen in a long time.

She and Gu Huaizhou had a fight a few days ago, and the two have been ignoring each other ever since.

It seems Jiang Miaoyin couldn't hold back any longer and was thinking of going out to see if she could run into Gu Huaizhou.

Unexpectedly, Gu Huaizhou didn't meet Song Wenjun, but instead met her.

Jiang Miaoyin wanted to avoid it, but seeing that Song Wenjun was holding the child, she could no longer walk.

She walked up to Song Wenjun, her eyes filled with joy as she looked at the child.

"Wow, you've gotten so much fatter in just a few days! You look so good."

Jiang Miaoyin reached out to hug the child, but as soon as she did, the child started crying.

Wow……

The child was crying loudly, and tears were streaming down his face.

Jiang Miaoyin was both flustered and heartbroken. She wanted to comfort the child but didn't know how. She could only awkwardly smile and look at Song Wenjun: "Did I scare the child?"

"Sister-in-law, don't worry, the child is still young and shy." Song Wenjun gently patted the child's back, and with her soft words of comfort, the child finally stopped crying.

Jiang Miaoyin breathed a sigh of relief: "At least she's stopped crying."

“Isn’t it normal for a child to cry?” Song Wenjun said with a smile, and then invited Jiang Miaoyin: “Let’s go sit in the pavilion and have some tea.”

“Okay.” Jiang Miaoyin couldn’t wait to get closer to the child, so she agreed without hesitation.

The servants brought up hot tea, along with some dried fruit and snacks.

Song Wenjun then started talking to Jiang Miaoyin: "Sister-in-law should go out more often so that she can have more energy. How can you always keep yourself locked up in the yard?"

"As a widow, it's best for me to stay home as much as possible," Jiang Miaoyin said, her eyes reddening.

Even Song Wenjun knew to show concern for her, but Gu Huaizhou hadn't even shown his face these past few days.

Was he sincere or not?

Suddenly, her eyes were drawn to a vibrant color in the distance.

"Who is she?" Jiang Miaoyin's voice couldn't help but show a hint of nervousness.