Xia Chunyu was only trying to scare her. They have to greet his parents soon and they also have to send her relatives off. He wouldn’t dare to hold up proper business, so after wrestling with her for a while, he finally let her up.

They got ready and went to greet his parents. As usual, Xia You’s face was stern and cold and Ye Jiayao realized that she should actually create a serious plan to win her over. It’s quite embarrassing that she favors the concubine’s daughter-in-law than her!

She wasn’t expecting Xia You to treat her as equal, she just wanted her to treat her better than this. Ye Jiayao knew that only a few mothers-in-law treat their daughters-in-law like their daughters and she was okay with that. She’s okay with treating Xia You as her superior as long as she stopped deliberately trying to snob her and make her life difficult.

So when Xia You lectured her about watching her status, she accepted it with a humble heart. She also realized her mistake last night – drinking and dining with ‘commoners’.

“Your daughter-in-law knows her mistake, Mother. I will take note of it next time,” Ye Jiayao said.

Xia Chunyu opened his mouth to stand up for Yaoyao, but he backed down when she threw him a warning glance.

“I am not picking on you. I’m just trying to prepare you. You will be the future mistress of the house, and to breed harmony and prosperity, the wife must be virtuous and the husband obedient.

“I know that you’re only doing everything you’re doing for my sake. I understand. I’ve never had a mother growing up and the only thing my stepmother did was belittle and criticize me. Now that I have you, I can finally get the teachings and advice of an actual mother who cares about me, and I am extremely grateful for that. I will always follow your guidance and I will work hard to not disappoint you,” Ye Jiayao vowed, her voice filled with the utmost sincerity.

She hated how Xia You goes against her at every turn, but she also understood where she was coming from. She wasn’t the daughter-in-law she wanted, and she wasn’t used to a woman of her caliber. However, since the only other options were a daughter-in-law of a concubine and Princess Liu Li, she knew that Xia You’s only logical successor would be her. This was currently a period of change and adaptation for the Madame, so Ye Jiayao knew that she has to be patient.

Xia You watched her sincere face and fell silent. Did she mean what she said? If that was the case, then it seemed that she really had been unnecessarily harsh on Ye Jinxuan.

Xia Chunyu, who had been silent throughout the conversation, saw his mother’s face relax, and cautiously said, “Mother, Jinxuan’s relatives are leaving today and I wish to bring her to see them off.”

Xia You understood the situation with the Fang family. They’re considered to be a big clan in Zhen Jiang, running the biggest vinegar workshop in the region. Moreover, that family has produced many talents. She replied, “It is only right to see them off. Mother Sun, prepare a generous gift for them to bring back to Old Grandmother Fang.”

After they loaded all the gifts that Xia You and Xia Chunyu prepared, they proceeded to the harbor.

Ye Jiayao’s aunt has put in a great effort to help her and she was extremely grateful for that. She also felt exceptionally close to her, so the thought that they wouldn’t see each other again anytime soon made Ye Jiayao a bit emotional.

“Xuan-er, the Heir-son Lord adores you, you have to cherish your relationship. The Marquis’ mansion is unlike any other place so you have to watch yourself. Feel free to write to me about anything, okay? If you need anything from me, just ask,” Wen Fang said.

Ye Jiayao nodded obediently. “I will. Please say hello to Grandfather and Grandmother for me. I will return to Zhen Jiang to see them when I have the time. Auntie, take care of yourself.”

Everyone bid a reluctant farewell.

Ye Jiayao was silent on the carriage ride back home, her spirits down.

Xia Chunyu didn’t say anything to her, but he has actually started planning a trip to Zhen Jiang to visit her grandparents. He also wanted to see if they could expand the Fang’s family business to Jin Ling so Yaoyao could see her relatives more often.

“Chunyu, on the day of the wedding, did my father come?” Ye Jiayao asked all of a sudden.

“He did. He sent some gifts, drank a cup of wine and left,” Xia Chunyu told her honestly.

She snorted. “And to think that he actually offered to add to my dowry. I knew he wouldn’t be able to fork that out. All his wealth and finances are controlled by Ning.”

“Speaking of which, you still have to settle your 46-set dowry,” he reminded her.

“Don’t they all belong to the warehouse?” Ye Jiayao was a little surprised. Half of those sets were from the Marquis’ mansion and she thought that it was all just for show and had to be returned after the wedding. She had already placed all the most valuable items from the Old Ancestress, Elder Princess Yu De, and the Fang family in a huge trunk in their room.

Xia Chunyu raised a brow. “We never had the practice of taking someone else’s dowry. My sister-in-law kept all of hers, you should also do a check and sort yours out.”

Ye Jiayao was exhilarated. The dowry that everyone has given her was more than generous!

Back in the Marquis’ mansion, the gatekeeper informed them about the arrival of Xia Chunyu’s cousin who was currently in the main hall with the Old Marquis and Madame. The Madame gave them an order to stop by once they return.

Xia Chunyu explained, “It is my Third Uncle’s son, Xia Chunwen. He probably rushed over from Jing Zhou to attend our wedding.”

He what? “Our wedding’s over! What is he doing here?”

“Perhaps there was some delay on the way,” he guessed.

At the main hall, they could hear the Old Marquis’ deep laughter. “It is good to see you again! You guys have been living in that remote place for years. It is time to return…”

Ye Jiayao entered the room and saw a feeble scholar, white and clean.

“Greetings to Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law,” Xia Chunwen greeted as he bowed.

Ye Jiayao bent her knees to return his greeting.

“Brother Chunwen, you don’t look very well,” Xia Chunyu remarked.

Xia Chunwen laughed bitterly. “I caught a cold on the way over, that’s why I was delayed. It is a pity I did not make it to your wedding.”

“Brother Chunwen, you should learn some martial arts so you don’t keep falling sick,” Chunfeng suggested.

“Alright, leave him alone now,” the Old Marquis told his sons. “Chunyu, your uncle wants to return to Jin Ling. Since you are familiar with the Ministry of Appointments, drop by and see if there are any suitable positions for him.”

Xia Chunyu nodded obediently. He was afraid that Yaoyao would grow bored hanging out here so he said to her, “Go and settle all the things that you need to do. I’ll be back later.”

Ye Jiayao was more than happy to comply. She curtsied and left, excited to make an inventory of her assets.

Song Qi had some people come in to move and arrange some things while Second Young Mistress reviews her list.

First, she cleared out all the furniture given to her, things like chamber pots and basins, since they already have them. She put them all in her storeroom.

Next, she tackled the quilts, mosquito nets, and cloths. They were all made of superior materials but the color was too festive and she doesn’t care much for them. She had someone pack the mosquito nets and the cloths, fully intending to give them away sometime soon.

Following that, she had all the various extremely valuable antiques and china cleared. She picked out a pair of flower vases for Yue-er to bring to the room so that she can do some flower arrangements. She picked out another pair of vases to put on the shelf in the study as decoration. There were also the Four Treasures of Study given to her by the Helian family, which has two extremely rare inkstones. She planned to give one to Chunyu, and one to the Fourth Young Master since she knew he liked to write.

After two long hours, she has finally sorted out all of her trousseaus.

The dowries she received from the three families were all filled with good stuff which YeJiayao estimated to total to about roughly a few hundred taels. Of course, the value of those antiques might have been underestimated since she’s not aware of the actual market price. She just estimated the price based on the amount quoted by Song Qi.

Ye Jiayao was on cloud nine. She felt like she could do this the entire day and never get tired at all.

Xia Chunyu only returned home when it is almost time for lunch.

“Are you all done?” he asked her.

“Yes. I am a very efficient worker,” Ye Jiayao boasted.

“Well then we should make use of all the time we have before lunch,” Xia Chunyu said lasciviously.

At the sight of his naughty smile, she paused. No, no, no!

Xia Chunyu closed the door.

“Why do we have to close the door in the daytime?” she stuttered.

“Don’t you know that you can’t expose your wealth to everyone?” he rolled his eyes at her. Why was she blushing so much at the mere act of closing the door?

Ye Jiayao’s eyes brightened and she excitedly asked, “What wealth?”

Xia Chunyu takes a small box out from the study and handed it to her. “Here are the land deeds for 30 plots of land and a house deed for a farm. From now on, you will be taking care of it. Also, I found another job for Manager Zhao so you are going to be running Heavenly Residence from now on.”

Ye Jiayao was dumbstruck. Was he serious? Doesn’t he realize just how much work this will take?

“Are these all your private property?”

“Yes!”

“Then who have been doing all these jobs previously?” Ye Jiayao asked.

“Are you referring to the fields and farm? It has been under Manager Lu. I wasn’t always on top of it since I am so busy, but I have noticed that the harvests and all haven’t been good. I suspect there to be a problem, so I will hand it over to you from now on,” Xia Chunyu relayed. He was actually more concerned about his shipping business since it yields bigger profits and was also a joint venture with Helian Xuan. Helian Xuan was busier than he is, so he has been doing most of the managing.

“You will have to run the entire Jing An Marquis’ mansion in the future, so you can treat these as practice.”

Ye Jiayao wanted to cry. She was back to being an employee!