Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I married into the Pei Family half a month ago, and gossip was already circulating in the capital-that Pei Guanli married me for my Song Family’s money.

Some also said that a merchant’s daughter like me marrying into the Pei Family was like smoke rising from the ancestral grave-a stroke of incredible luck.

When these words reached my ears, I was checking the accounts of the Pei Residence’s kitchen.

The Pei Residence was noble and strict with many rules, but its accounts were in a terrible mess.

The rice purchase price was thirty percent higher than the market rate.

The kitchen’s daily reported spoilage of chickens and ducks was even more than when my family used to run a restaurant.

I held the account books and studied them for half the day, frowning more and more.

The matron in charge, seeing my silence, smiled and said, “Madam has just arrived in the capital, so it’s understandable if you don’t understand these things. Prices in the capital are high, and the residence must maintain its dignity.”

I looked up and asked, “Do chickens in the capital sprout extra legs because of dignity?”

The little maid beside couldn’t help it and burst out laughing.

I closed the account book. “Starting tomorrow, I will personally verify the kitchen’s purchases.”

The matron immediately knelt down. “Madam, this may not be according to the rules. The old custom for the inner house has always been handled by this old slave…”

Suddenly, a voice came from outside the door: “Old custom?”

Pei Guanli had appeared under the porch at some point.

He was still holding his court robe, clearly having just returned from court.

The matron quickly kowtowed. “My lord, Madam is young and might have been misled. The inner house accounts, how can a new bride be expected to handle them?”

Pei Guanli looked at me. “You found something wrong?”

I nodded, and he asked, “Where’s the evidence?”

I handed over three account books.

“The rice price is inflated, the reported spoilage of vegetables and meat is false, the kitchen withdrew silver under the pretext of festival gifts, and this expense for spices-the residence hasn’t used nearly this much agarwood in the past half month.”

Pei Guanli flipped through page by page, his expression unchanging.

The matron was already too unsteady to kneel properly.

Pei Guanli closed the account book. “According to residence rules, anyone who embezzles communal funds shall have their servitude contract returned and be sent to the authorities for prosecution.”

The matron burst into tears at once.

“My lord, this old servant has served the Pei Family for twenty years. If not for my contributions, at least for my toil!”

Pei Guanli said calmly, “Contributions are contributions, corruption is corruption.”

He looked at me. “Madam shall decide.”

I didn’t speak immediately, and the matron also froze.

Pei Guanli said, “Matters of the inner residence are for Madam to decide.”

I looked down at the matron.

In the past, when she saw me, though she called me Madam, her eyes always hid a trace of contempt.

That contempt was all too familiar to me-like my father looking at me, like the noble ladies of the capital looking at me, like everyone when they mentioned “a merchant’s daughter,” that faint, almost imperceptible smile at the corner of their lips.

They thought my ability to manage accounts was a lowly skill.

But in this world, which aspect of daily necessities doesn’t require calculation?

Which social obligation doesn’t require someone to keep track?

I didn’t send her to the authorities right away.

I had someone bring paper and a brush, and made her write down clearly, item by item, all the silver she had taken from the residence over the years.

“Make up the shortfall within three days, then take your servitude contract and leave the residence.”

The matron wept and kowtowed.