Xia Chunyu was surprised that Yaoyao cooked for his mom.

“Well, I was looking for you. We’ll be holding Chunfeng’s wedding soon, and Father made a promise to Third Uncle to help him with the renovation so we’re strapped for cash. I was thinking that we could lend some money to them.”

YeJiayao was surprised that he was actually asking for her opinion, it’s his money at the end of the day, after all.

“Sure. However, the money shouldn’t be for the renovation. It should only for Chunfeng’s wedding.”

He shrugged. “It’s the same thing.”

“No, it’s not. The truth is your Third Uncle and his family is very stingy. Who comes here intending to renovate a house and only brings little money? It was obvious that they wanted your father to give them the rest of the money.”

“Our father,” he corrected.

She rolled her eyes. “Alright, our father. I know that Father cherishes his relationship with his brother and he’s more than generous when it comes to him. I guess that Third Uncle knows about Father’s soft spot for him so he’s trying to take advantage of it.”

Although Xia Chunyu was unhappy with her words, he knew that she was right. Third Uncle and Third Auntie have been taking advantage of them since before, that’s why his mother never really liked Third Auntie.

“As you wish. The money is for Chunfeng’s wedding.”

Ye Jiayao sat down and asked, “So how much are you going to give them?”

“How much do you suggest?” asked Xia Chunyu.

“I don’t know! Why are you asking me?”

“Fine. I think eighty thousand will do. Tomorrow, I will ask Manager Zhao to deliver the bank ticket. Please give it to Mother.”

She nodded in agreement.

After she was done taking a bath, Ye Jiayao sat on her couch and looked at the roster she asked Song Qi to procure for her. She needed to know about the people in the mansion.

The Jing An Marquis mansion’s kind of peculiar. There were only a few masters in here and most of the population is comprised of the servants. Even then, the servants have their hierarchy. Take for example Granny Sun who was not a master and yet cannot be technically considered a servant. Her only position was by Xia You’s side and yet she holds more power than the servants.

“Second Young Mistress, if you want to know about the mansion, I can ask Sister Qiao Xi to come and brief you,” Yue-er suggested.

“First off, she has been here longer than me which means she has already formed some bias towards certain people. I’d rather get to know everyone by myself and form my opinion then. Second, I don’t want people to think that I’m doing this because I’m getting ready to take over as the Mistress of the house,” Ye Jiayao explained. Yue-er was her confidant so she was comfortable being this honest with her.

Ye Jiayao gestured Yue-er to take a seat across from her. “Come and look at the list with me. If we want to get to know everyone, we must first look at the top. The one with the highest rank is Manager Zhong followed by Granny Sun. They have Mother’s trust so we have to be careful with how we speak to them.

“The kitchen is run by Zhou Xing which means he’s an inside steward. The warehouse is run by Lin Kun which means his responsibilities lies outside the court. Qian Mingde, on the other hand, operates the Lord’s business of silk and satins. These people have been in their respective position for more than ten years. This signifies their skills and loyalty to the family. It also means that Lady Xia You has deemed these people trustworthy.

“Look at the other house servants. Qiao’s servants are Manager Zhong’s granddaughter and Lin Kun’s niece. The courtyard attendant for the three young masters is Zi Ming, Zhou Xing’s son. Even Concubine Wei and Concubine Gui’s servants are relatives of the servants that Mother trusts. What does all of this tell you?”

Yue-er pursed her lips for a second before answering, “Does it mean that the whole place is under the control of Lady Xia You?”

Ye Jiayao nodded. “That’s right. A good wife and a good lady should always have control of her household. She has to be able to build a loyal network inside of her house.”

Xia Chunyu couldn’t help but overhear Ye Jinxuan and Jiang Yue’s conversation even though he was in his study. He couldn’t help but be impressed at how quickly his wife figured out the foundation of the network of the mansion.

After Ye Jiayao finished going over the roster, she decided to make use of Yue-er’s offer. “Yue-er, how close are you and Qiao Xi? Can you ask her for information about everyone in the mansion?

“Didn’t you say you wanted to get to know everyone by yourself? And that you don’t want anyone to know about your inquiries?”

“It’s different if you’re the one asking. If you ask around, you would just come across as curious. They might think that you only wanted information because you’re new and you don’t want to offend anyone. I need you to be my eyes and ears in this mansion. Can you do that?”

Jiang Yue laughed and agreed readily, “Of course!”

“Alright, you can go ahead now. I’m going to go to sleep,” Ye Jiayao dismissed.

“Alright, Second Young Mistress. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Jiang Yue left the room, brimming with excitement at her new important task.

After Yue-er left, Ye Jiayao glanced at the study worriedly. She wanted to let Chunyu sleep first to avoid any other extracurricular activities he might think about. He only behaved last night because she fell asleep. She wasn’t sure if her luck would still hold until tonight.

She waited for a few beats before giving up. She was too sleepy. She laid down on the bed, but just as she was just starting to get comfortable, the light in the study went out.

Ye Jiayao tensed.

Xia Chunyu came to her, his hands immediately slipping into her dress.

“Stop that, I’m sleepy,” Ye Jiayao complained wearily.

“Are you still sore?” Xia Chunyu asked, kissing her ear.

“Of course. You practically broke my back the other night,” she said petulantly.

He backed away, disappointed.

Ye Jiayao was surprised that he actually heeded her complain. She waited for him to say something, and when he didn’t, she happily let sleep take over her.

Xia Chunyu, on the other hand, tossed and turned. Her scent was too tempting for him. He wanted to just crawl on top of her and wake her up with his tongue, but he wanted to let her body rest, too.

When he couldn’t take it anymore, he went out to the yard to practice fighting. He didn’t stop until he was exhausted. He then took a cold shower before finally falling asleep.

The next day, early in the morning, YeJiayao was awakened by voices outside their door.

“I want to see Second Sister-in-law,” a childish voice insisted.

“Fourth Young Master, Second Young Master is not up yet,” Qiao Xi explained.

“I want to see Second Sister-in-law, not Second Brother.”

Qiao Xi didn’t know what to do. If the Heir-son Lord hasn’t gotten up yet, it means that Second Young Mistress isn’t up either.

Ye Jiayao glanced over at the still sleeping Chunyu, confused. Doesn’t he wake up earlier than her? She shoved his shoulders and said, “Get up! Chunguo is coming.”

He had already heard of the commotion earlier but was too lazy to pay attention to it. He ignored her and turned around to go back to sleep.

YeJiayao huffed and hurriedly put on her clothes. Aye! This ancient costume is too troublesome to wear!

Fortunately, Qiao Xi was able to stop Chunguo and buy Ye Jiayao time.

“Qiao Xi, take Fourth Young Master to the side hall and have Yue-er bring in some water,” Ye Jiayao instructed through the door.

As soon as she was presentable, Ye Jiayao went to the side hall.

When Chunguo saw her, he welcomed her happily, “I’m done with your present, Second Sister-in-law.”

“You are? Chunguo, you are sweet to bring it to me personally,” Ye Jiayao told him with a smile. She was touched by the little guy’s enthusiasm to please her.

Chunguo proudly brought his work out. He put his best work into this because he wanted to please his new sister-in-law.

YeJiayao unfolded it and took a look.

Her face immediately turned red.

“Born a noble son early” SERIOUSLY?

“I asked for the best wishes for newly-married couples and they said it was these four words. What do you think of my writing, Second Sister-in-law?” Chunguo asked, his face beaming with excitement.

YeJiayao laughed awkwardly. “Not bad.”

She might not like what it said, but she wasn’t going to criticize a child. Besides, these words were well written. His handwriting was neat and very angular.

“You said you’re going to hang it up, right, Second Sister-in-law?” he urged happily.

Ye Jiayao’s faked a smile as she nodded. Where the hell am I going to hang this up?