Ye Jiayao was alright with managing Heavenly Residence as half of the profit goes to her. If the restaurant earns more, she would earn more. The farm, however, was another thing.

She pouted and said, “What do you mean I need to run the entire Jing An Marquis mansion in the future? Don’t forget, my contract is due in two years and seven months.”

Xia Chunyu simply smiled at her. “Don’t belittle the profits from the farm. If you manage to turn it around, it will give you a comfortable amount of earnings too. How about I give you 20% of the farm’s profit as a reward for your work?”

“20%? Chunyu, that’s too stingy. You’re essentially asking me to clear up your mess. Do you have any idea how much energy and brain capacity that would take? I’ll take 40%,” she bargained.

I knew you’d like that, you money-grubber. He gave it a thought and finally offered, “30%. I can’t give you more than that.”

Ye Jiayao didn’t know how much that would be, but it seemed like it was Chunyu’s last offer so she reluctantly agreed. “Deal. I will come up with a contract in the afternoon. It will only be valid after we sign and press our thumbprints.” She wasn’t going to let him write the contract again, who knows what trap he might set for her this time. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice…

“Sure, but you will have to wait until tonight. I have to accompany Chunwen to take a look at his house this afternoon.”

“Don’t they already have a house here?”

“They do. It is just on the west side of the Marquis’s mansion. However, Third Uncle’s house has been vacant for several years and it would need some renovation.”

“Question,” she interjected. “Who’s between your father and your uncle?”

“That would be my Second Aunt. She got married and moved to Shan Xi. We didn’t even have the time to inform her about our marriage, just like with Third Uncle. Our wedding invitation probably hasn’t even landed in their hands. Brother Chunen only got here this early because of a trip that he had already planned before. I think they would be able to make it in time for Chunfeng’s wedding, though,” Xia Chunyu explained.

The mention of Chunfeng got Ye Jiayao worried again. Although he looks as if nothing had happened, she doesn’t believe that Chunfeng has thought things through. The worst part was she couldn’t think of a way to help Chunfeng.

At dinner, Ye Jiayao noticed that Xia You was absent. A servant informed them that the Madame was not feeling well. She also noticed that although the Old Marquis was courteous and gracious towards Chunwen, it was obvious that something in the atmosphere has changed.

The men proceed to the study for tea after the meal while Ye Jiayao and her sister-in-law, Qiao, went to pay Xia You a visit.

“Sister-in-law, do you know why Mother is not feeling well?” Qiao started.

Ye Jiayao shook her head.

“It is from anger,” Qiao answered.

Ye Jiayao was surprised. What happened?

“You know that Third Uncle is coming back, right?”

Ye Jiayao nodded.

“Since their house has been abandoned for so long, it would need renovation. However, they are being extremely picky. They were demanding that all of the furniture be changed into something new with the materials being either sandalwood or rosewood. They also wanted the garden to be rearranged, and they wanted to have a pond put in so that the geomancy would be good. All of these would cost about 80 thousand taels!”

“It’s their money, they can spend it however they like. At most, we can help them out with labor and manpower,” Ye Jiayao said.

“That’s where the problem lies,” Qiao said. “Brother Wen says he only brought a few thousand taels worth of banknotes back with him. He said he didn’t think that the house would be this old and that we have to help them fork out the money for the time being.”

We need to what? Ye Jiayao belatedly responded, “Fork out the money for the time being? Will they pay it back?”

Qiao sneered. “That would be hard to say for certain. I am not sure about the issues of Third Uncle’s family but I heard from Chunli that Third Auntie’s extremely stingy and has already taken advantage of us in the past. In my guess, once we gave them that money, we’ll never see it again.”

Ye Jiayao was aghast.

When they arrived in Xia You’s room, they found her lying on the Rohan couch, looking dispirited and sickly.

A servant carried an embroidered seat over for Qiao and Ye Jiayao to sit on while they chat with Xia You.

“Mother, even if you don’t feel like it, you still have to eat a little,” Qiao persuaded.

Xia You replied lazily, “I have no appetite. I’ll wait till I’m hungry. Where is the rest of them?”

“They are chatting in the study.”

“Aye! All this worrying is exhausting. First, it was Chunyu’s wedding and now Chunfeng’s wedding. He’s getting married to Princess Liu Li so of course, the Empress Dowager would want to get involved. We have to give them all they want so that means buying and providing everything expensive,” Xia You ranted gloomily.

“Yeah, Brother Wen’s request came at a really bad time,” Qiao added.

Xia You sneered. “He knew that they would need to renovate the house and yet they only brought a few thousand taels? It’s obvious that they have planned for this.”

“How about… we get them to write an IOU?” Qiao suggested.

Xia You replied, “It’s useless. The Marquis will not allow it, saying that they are brothers from the same mother and that the connection between brothers is strong. He didn’t even think about how they have taken advantage of us in the past.”

“So we’re just going to let it slide?” Qiao asked sadly. Although the money might not end up in her pocket, she didn’t want others to benefit from it either.

Xia You just sighed. “Forget about all we’ve talked about here and never mention it in front of the Marquis.”

Once they left Xia You’s room, Qiao returned in a hurry to look after her child while Ye Jiaya headed to the kitchen to make some food for Xia You.

Thinking about all this matter makes Xia You’s heart heavy.

“Knowing that Xin is coming back makes it hard to breathe properly,” Xia You complained as she stroked her chest.

“Madame, you have to get over it. Don’t stay angry with the Old Marquis over such small matters,” Mother Sun advised.

She ranted angrily, “This is not a small matter. I have such a huge household to support. Do you think I don’t have to spend money? I already have had to tighten my belt and now? It’s just so like Xin to pull such a stunt on me. Does she think that my money falls from the sky?

“When we renovated the ancestral hall last year, their family did not even give a single cent. I did everything! I arranged the money and the labor and yet she still had the gall to criticize me for not making it imposing enough. If she has so many opinions, why didn’t she just take charge of it?

“They have taken so much money from us all these years! The most infuriating part is that the Marquis is blind to their atrocities just because they keep writing letters to him!”

A servant outside suddenly called out, “Second Young Mistress is here.”

Xia You frowned. Why is she here again?

Granny Sun went out to greet her.

Ye Jiayao entered the room, carrying a plate. “Mother, I made you some food. I will leave it here for whenever you feel like eating. Sleeping on an empty stomach is bad for you.

“Thank you for being thoughtful, Second Young Mistress,” Granny Sun said as she took the plate from her.

Xia You stayed silent and impassive.

Ye Jiayao hesitated for a while before saying, “About the matter with the Third Uncle’s family, I think that since Father has already agreed to it, it will be difficult for Mother to refuse. It would be better for you to accept it and undertake the whole task. I have calculated and the painting would not cost much, a few thousand taels would be sufficient. Making the furniture and digging the pond is the most expensive part. However, there is no need to change the furniture. I asked Chunyu and he said that the materials are all top grade. I was thinking that we could get a brilliant carpenter to slightly modify it and coat it to make it look good as new.”

Xia You subconsciously straightened up as she listened to her ideas.

“For the pond, you just have to say that the pond would affect the geomancy. We can invite a geomancy master over and have him talk to Brother Chunwen. As for what the geomancy master would say, it all depends on the employer. We can have him make it sound so bad that Brother Chunwen himself would not want the pond anymore. With this plan, I reckon 20 thousand taels would be enough.”

Xia You’s spirits suddenly lifted. She was right! With Jinxuan’s plan, they can save around 60 thousand taels!

Granny Sun was elated as she exclaimed, “Second Young Mistress’ plan is brilliant.”

Although Xia You was impressed, she didn’t let it show. “We’ll see. It’s getting late, you should get going.”

Ye Jiayao curtsied and left the room. She wanted to laugh. Xia You could act all she wanted but she knew that she was impressed by her plan. She just didn’t want to show it in front of her. You do you, Xia You. Whatever helps you sleep at night.

After Ye Jinxuan left, Granny Sun turned to Xia You and said with a smile, “Madame, the Heir-son Lord’s wife has good foresight. She didn’t say a word when she came in here with First Young Mistress because she was already coming up with a plan in her mind! She’s astute.”

Xia You rolled her eyes but was unable to hide the smile in the corner of her lips. “Of course she’s good at this, she has done business before.”

“It’s not just that. First Young Mistress’ concerns are only on the surface, but with Second Young Mistress, she cooked you food to make you feel better and she devised a plan to help you. I remember her words this morning… what a pitiful child,” Granny Sun lamented.

Xia You was quiet. She has to admit that Ye Jinxuan’s idea was fabulous. Since she could not stop this from happening, the best she could do is minimize the loss.

“Madame, why don’t you hand this matter over to the Second Young Mistress?” Granny Sun suggested.

Xia You raised a hand to stop her. “No. I admit, her idea was smart. However, she can’t take over this just yet. She needs to familiarize with things first and I still need to observe her more before I can give her projects like this.”

Having Jinxuan handle things immediately after her marriage was not a good thing. Besides, this was related to Xin, and Xia You needed to deal with that shrew by herself.

“Very well, then, you should eat something first. Second Young Mistress made your favorite pork strips with yuxiang, yam and ribs soup…”

Now that Xia You has a load off her mind, she realized that she does feel a little hungry.

“Bring it over!”

When Ye Jiayao returned to her courtyard, she found Xia Chunyu waiting for her.

“Where did you go? You didn’t bring a servant with you, I thought you got lost,” Xia Chunyu began.

Ye Jiayao snorted. “Relax, I am not stupid. I went to the kitchen to make Mother some food. Her heart was stifled. However, I reckon she should be fine now and she can finally eat.”