Chapter 7

I sent for my daughter.

Little Daiyu arrived looking cautious and rather bewildered.

The first thing I noticed was the redness around her eyes. My heart hurt. It was just how I’d felt watching Yongye Yuya cry in my previous life.

Though her eyes and the tip of her nose were red, she curtsied with impeccable manners. “Mo… ther.”

She lifted her eyes a little, studying my expression with an innocent, watery gaze.

I suppressed my excitement and beckoned. “Come here, good girl.”

She obediently approached. She had even brought presents: shoe uppers, handkerchiefs, and scented sachets she had embroidered herself.

“I didn’t know what Mother liked,” she said softly, “so I asked Yingtao and Lizhi. I’ve only made these few things. Is there anything you like?”

Yes, yes, of course I liked them!

My heart had melted into a puddle. But the most important thing just then was to reassure this anxious, nervous little girl.

I smiled. “Those two must have said I’m always running about and wear my shoes out terribly. And that I have the peculiar habit of using a dozen handkerchiefs a day. Am I right?”

My daughter blushed. She couldn’t bring herself to give so impolite an answer.

I was perfectly casual. “It’s true. I can’t sit still. Now, do you see all the gifts in this courtyard? How about I put you to work helping me?”

“You’re making me work on the very first day?” Daiyu blurted.

The moment the words escaped, her face went white. She covered her mouth with her handkerchief, and tears sprang to her eyes.

I merely gave her a sidelong look. “What did you expect? There are only three of us. Your father handles affairs outside, so who else is going to manage the household but you and me? Don’t think you can be lazy. I’m sure I’m lazier than you.”

My little heroine stared at me, wide-eyed. After a long while, she blinked, tears clinging to her lashes, and quietly dabbed them away.

Married life was extremely comfortable.

With so few people in the household, it was even more comfortable than life with the Shens.

I had no parents-in-law or elders above me. On my very first morning, I slept until the sun was high.

When I woke, Nanny Xu told me little Daiyu had discreetly sent someone to check three times. She was probably trying to choose a moment that wouldn’t offend me by being too late, or make me look lazy by being too early.

Knowing how much I had always valued my freedom at home, Nanny Xu ventured, “Madam, shall we excuse Miss Lin from her morning greetings?”

I scrambled out of bed. “Certainly not. Both father and daughter are frail. We must get their eating and sleeping habits properly sorted out.”

“What?” Nanny Xu didn’t understand.

But I knew what I was doing. Several groups of people were staying here now. Leaving distant concerns aside, Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng required watching, and those old men from the Lin clan would be difficult too.

All the servants were newly bought. They looked honest, but they still needed observing.

Only the people I’d brought from the Shen household could be relied on.

Which meant Lin Ruhai’s and Lin Daiyu’s meals and daily routines had to be supervised by me personally.