My Dearest Sister-In-Law, I've Been Waiting For You To Get A Divorce For A Long Time - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

◎ “I will be waiting for you in the Crabapple Courtyard, sister-in-law.” ◎

“A cold heart?” Mo Shuqing smiled as if she had heard a joke. “That’s an accurate description of yourself.”

Her words sounded like a gentle complaint. Mo Shuqing lowered her eyes and looked away, finding an easy excuse. “You were just like that with our great aunt.”

Gu Wenyao looked up at Mo Shuqing, and the smile on her face slowly vanished.

“Wenyao,” Madam Yu suddenly interrupted their conversation. After the Marquis left, her thoughts were no longer on the hall. She stood up, looking out into the courtyard with a face full of worry, and listened intently.

“Did your brother finish his beating? Why is it so quiet? I could hear him crying and yelling for the first few blows, but now… is it over, or did he…?”

Twenty strikes with a military rod. With Gu Shufeng’s scrawny body that couldn’t even lift a shoulder pole or carry a basket, he must have fainted by now.

Gu Wenyao reined in her emotions, stood up, and looked outside with Madam Yu. Her voice was full of concern. “Brother’s body is weak, unlike those burly men. He suffered a great deal today. Mother, you should go and check on him quickly. Just leave the rest of the matters here to me.”

When Madam Yu heard the words “suffered a great deal,” she couldn’t help but turn to look at Mo Shuqing. She then turned back, took Gu Wenyao’s hand, and patted her back with a look of relief. “Thank goodness I have you. I’ll go and check on your brother first.”

With that, she let go of Gu Wenyao, had a servant hold an umbrella for her, and hurried outside, pulling up her skirts.

Only after Madam Yu had gone far did Gu Wenyao look away. Her eyes shifted, and she stared at Mo Shuqing. “Sister-in-law, you and my brother at least had a childhood friendship. Yet, simply because he couldn’t accompany you to the ceremony, you incited Father to give him twenty strikes with the military rod.”

“When it comes to a cold heart,” Gu Wenyao’s voice was gentle and soft, laced with a smile. “You and I are not so different, after all.”

“Or perhaps, I still haven’t served you to your satisfaction after standing in for you at the ceremony and drinking with you, that you’re holding a grudge against my poor brother?” Gu Wenyao glided over and stood in front of Mo Shuqing.

“Sister-in-law.” Gu Wenyao bent down and held the armrest of Mo Shuqing’s chair with one hand.

The distance between them was suddenly much closer. As she leaned forward, the hem of her light-green jacket swayed, almost covering the top of Mo Shuqing’s shoes.

Gu Wenyao was still smiling, her soft, pink lips upturned. Her eyes were icy and devoid of warmth, like the tip of a cold, creeping vine. She whispered, “It’s been a long time. You’re just as difficult to please as you used to be.”

Mo Shuqing was trapped in the chair by Gu Wenyao. She didn’t flinch or hide, meeting Gu Wenyao’s gaze directly. “Yes, it’s been a long time. You’ve changed so much.”

“My lady,” Mama Liu returned. Seeing their posture, her expression grew anxious. She rushed to say, “The concubine Chunshui is waiting in the Bamboo Courtyard to serve you tea, the head wife.”

Mo Shuqing glanced sideways at Mama Liu, who was frantically winking at her. Mama Liu then gave a hesitant smile to Gu Wenyao, gesturing for her to move aside. “Yao, my lady.”

Gu Wenyao lowered her eyes, her gaze sweeping over the curves in front of Mo Shuqing, falling on her red dress. After a while, she finally let go of the armrest and took a step back with a smile.

“Mama, may I have a few more words with my sister-in-law?” Gu Wenyao’s voice was gentle and kind, her eyes clear and innocent as she looked over, asking for permission.

A shiver of fear ran down Mama Liu’s spine. She stepped to the side. “Of course.”

Gu Wenyao stood in place and looked at Mo Shuqing. “Since you say I am cold-hearted with my great aunt, I will give you a chance to see the situation in this manor clearly and decide whether I should be so cold and heartless.”

“Besides, Great Aunt was right about one thing. With a new bride in the family, it would seem too cruel and arrogant if I didn’t give up any authority,” Gu Wenyao blinked her eyes. “How about this, sister-in-law, you start by organizing the income and expenses from the wedding banquet to familiarize yourself with the household affairs.”

“What do you think, sister-in-law?” Gu Wenyao asked.

This was a public transfer of power. Mama Liu quickly nodded to Mo Shuqing in secret.

Mo Shuqing knew this was likely a trap. But she met Gu Wenyao’s challenging eyes and calmly agreed. “Alright.”

“I’ll have someone send the ledgers over soon,” Gu Wenyao stood up and stepped aside, allowing Mama Liu to help Mo Shuqing walk away. “Please be sure to look them over carefully.”

She watched the red figure, slowly raising her lips. “If you encounter any difficulties, sister-in-law, you can always come to me. I will be waiting for you in the Crabapple Courtyard.”

Under the covered walkway, an umbrella was opened. Mama Liu shielded Mo Shuqing with the umbrella, and the group walked away as if they hadn’t heard her words.

Gu Wenyao didn’t mind at all. She turned and sat back in the chair Mo Shuqing had been sitting in. She rested her hands on the armrests, mimicking Mo Shuqing’s posture. Her thick, dark lashes fluttered down like the wings of a swallowtail butterfly.

“It’s been a long time,” Gu Wenyao smiled.

She knew it had been a long time, too.

“Let’s go. Have the ledgers organized and sent to the Bamboo Courtyard along with the accountant.” Gu Wenyao stood up with the help of Yi Yun. As for the tea ceremony in the Bamboo Courtyard, she had no interest in it.

…

At the Bamboo Courtyard, Chunshui stood with her head bowed on the steps outside the door, wearing a simple, unadorned dress. She curtsied respectfully, showing none of the “foxy and enchanting” image people spoke of.

“My Lady.”

Mo Shuqing was not an unreasonable person. Seeing that Chunshui was being obedient and avoiding conflict, she decided not to follow Mama Liu’s advice to punish her.

The groom’s absurdity yesterday was his own choice. She couldn’t blame it all on Chunshui.

After a calm and uneventful tea ceremony, Mo Shuqing dismissed Chunshui.

“Why did you let her off so easily?” Mama Liu’s face was full of regret and pity. But when she saw Mo Shuqing emerge in a purple spring dress, her spirits lifted immediately. “Well, at least your words in the main hall not only protected the reputation of our Mo family but also earned you some authority over the household.”

“Look, the things have already been sent over.” Mama Liu looked at the people who had entered the courtyard.

Yi Yun had personally brought the ledgers with a few others.

“My Lady, these are the expenditure accounts for the manor’s joyous occasion,” Yi Yun said. A servant stood on either side of her, holding thick stacks of ledgers on their trays. “And these are the ledgers for the various gifts and goods that guests sent and that have been put into storage.”

Yi Yun clasped her hands in front of her and bowed to Mo Shuqing. “The accounts have all been delivered. The accountant is waiting in the courtyard for your instructions. My young lady said that if you have any difficulties, you may go to her.”

With that, she curtsied and left.

The delivery was so quick and straightforward that Mama Liu couldn’t believe it.

“Isn’t there a trick?” She didn’t understand the accounts, so she could only look at Mo Shuqing. “But that’s fine. You’ve always been a natural at managing things. This is the perfect chance to find a loophole in Miss Yao’s books and catch her off guard!”

Mama Liu was full of fighting spirit. “We can take this opportunity to seize all the household authority!”

Mo Shuqing glanced at Mama Liu, casually flipping through a ledger. “It’s a shame Mama didn’t become a marshal on the border. With your great ambition to expand our territory, our Great Zhao would surely be honored by ten thousand nations.”

“Why are you making fun of me?” Mama Liu gave Mo Shuqing a playful glare. Seeing her smile, she also laughed. “I may not understand these things, but I know how to make sure you’re well-fed.”

She instructed Qinglu to grind ink for Mo Shuqing and went to the small kitchen in the courtyard herself to order some of Mo Shuqing’s favorite dishes.

There was still some time before dinner. Mo Shuqing had Qinglu grind the ink while she sat at the desk and looked through the ledgers.

Qinglu stood by the table and noticed Mo Shuqing frowning after only a couple of pages. She leaned in to take a look. “All these names and numbers, they look so tiring. It’s a good thing our family just moved back to the capital, where we have fewer people and less to do. Managing the accounts isn’t so taxing.”

“It’s not that it’s taxing; it’s just a bit confusing.” Mo Shuqing took two paperweights and placed them on two different ledgers. Her long, slender fingers, like white jade, rested on a spot in the text.

“It clearly says here that the Earl of Rong’an’s manor sent two jade ruyi scepters. But in the corresponding ledger for items put into storage, there are no jade ruyi scepters.”

“Huh? Where did they go?” Qinglu’s voice was full of surprise, and she stopped grinding the ink.

“It’s not just one place,” Mo Shuqing flipped a few more pages and found another. “The Duke of Wen’s manor sent ten bolts of brocade. It’s recorded on the gift list, but not on the storage ledger.”

This meant that people had sent gifts, but they were only recorded in the accounts, and the items themselves had disappeared. Yet, when the Marquis manor had to return the courtesy in the future, it would have to be based on the original gift list.

If it were just one instance, it could be an oversight. But with two, there was clearly something fishy.

Besides, Mo Shuqing had only gone through a few pages and had already found two missing items. Who knows how many more there were to come?

“It’s true!” Qinglu compared the two pages, her eyes shining as she looked at Mo Shuqing. “It’s a good thing you have a photographic memory, otherwise, we would never have found the trick so quickly.”

Mo Shuqing called the accountant over. She sat at her desk inside, and Qinglu stood by the door. The accountant, being a man, had to maintain a distance and stood outside the door to answer her questions.

“My Lady may not be aware since you just married in, but this sort of thing often happens. The manor has many people, after all,” the accountant said vaguely. “If a family member or Madam Yu happens to need something, they might just take it.”

“Take it?” Qinglu was shocked. These were wedding gifts for her lady! And they were just taken?

Mo Shuqing thought for a moment and asked, “How is this usually handled?”

The accountant replied, “That depends on the Second Miss’s mood. If she’s in a good mood, she’ll turn a blind eye and erase the record. If she’s in a bad mood, she’ll go demand the items back to be put into storage.”

There were two options: the first was to do a favor and earn goodwill. The second was to be disliked and get the items back, which would surely offend people.

Mo Shuqing lowered her eyes and smiled. Her gaze fell on the ledger, and she said in a low voice, “No wonder Gu-shi wanted to take power from Gu Wenyao and put me, the new bride, in charge today.”

As a new bride from a scholarly family, she would find it difficult to demand things from the various households.

Mo Shuqing raised a hand to her forehead and sighed softly. “I was wrong about her.”

Thinking about it, she had unjustly accused Gu Wenyao of being cold-hearted earlier when she sided with Gu-shi. The Marquis manor was filled with social complexities from the account books alone. If one didn’t have some ruthlessness, how could they manage the inner court of nearly a hundred people?

Out of this small sense of guilt, Mo Shuqing asked another question. “What is your Second Miss’s mood in most of these situations—good or bad?”

Mo Shuqing thought that with Gu Wenyao’s current tactics, she would probably be a mix of both.

To her surprise, the accountant laughed, sounding somewhat proud. “My Second Miss is never in a good mood about this. She always goes directly to the person’s door and confronts them—no, I mean, she goes to demand the items back.”

Mo Shuqing was in a daze after hearing this.

The lively Gu Wenyao described by the accountant reminded Mo Shuqing of the way the little girl Ayao would never let herself be taken advantage of. Her direct way of acting was incredibly endearing.

Mo Shuqing played with the edge of the paper, suddenly curious about what had happened to Gu Wenyao all these years to make her so cold and passive-aggressive toward her.