Lady Mo's face turned sour at once, the maid was too ungrateful, almost saying she didn't care about Brother Zheng at all, "The clothes from the needlework room take a longer time to make, but I will hurry them along. I'll also have two sets made for you."
Yueyao's face broke into a smile, "Auntie, I have plenty of clothes, and I can't wear them all for now. There's no need to make more for me." Now was not the time to fall out with Lady Mo.
Lady Mo replied with a honeyed smile, "It's only right. You haven't had many new clothes made since you returned. Autumn is coming soon, so you should have two new sets made."
Yueyao laughed lightly, "Auntie, it wouldn't be fair if the sisters didn't have any and only I did. Better not to make them." If she wanted to make them, let her make them! After all, it was the family's money being spent.
Lady Mo then indicated that all the sisters would have new clothes, and only then did Yueyao stop dwelling on the topic. At that moment, Hua Lei brought Yueyao a bowl of ginseng porridge.
Yueyao never liked taking tonics before, but now she not only moved around more, but also never missed a day of tonics. Her body was too weak, she must recover her health as soon as possible. Looking at the ginseng porridge, however, she still frowned. Her body needed tonics, but not necessarily ginseng to recover.
Lady Mo said affectionately, "Yueyao, you must take good care of yourself in the future. If you lack anything, just send someone to tell your auntie. We can't let anyone else be aggrieved but certainly not you."
Yueyao found the situation nauseating. No matter what had happened in her past life, Yueyao's nature was hard to change, proud and aloof. It used to be outward, but now it was inward.
Lady Mo said all this, finally coming to the point, "Yueyao, Brother Zheng needs someone to serve by his side. The people serving him, especially the Steward Mother, must be carefully chosen. The young servants must also be carefully selected, lest a mischievous one who doesn't understand things lead Brother Zheng astray; such a mistake would be impossible to redress."
Yueyao, on guard against Lady Mo's visit from the start, inwardly sneered after hearing Lady Mo's words, just as she expected. The maids close to her heart, the personal young servants, all must be people she trusted. She absolutely didn't want anyone arranged by Lady Mo. If she let Lady Mo arrange things, who knew if she would intentionally lead Brother Zheng astray, or cause his premature death, leaving only her.
Yueyao pondered; it was time to find a suitable opportunity to start employing the people who accompanied her mother's dowry. However, she would first need to get their service contracts in hand. She could not repeat the past mistake of letting Lady Mo hold these contracts. Thankfully, with her grandmother watching over, the only people in her courtyard were a few coarse maids—her personal maids like Mu Qiu, Hua Lei, and Dong Qing from Jiangnan had their service contracts in her hands.
Yueyao's mind raced with countless thoughts, but her face showed nothing. She earnestly said to Lady Mo, "Mother, I already have someone in mind for the position, I was about to discuss it with Grandmother. As for maids and young servants, let's wait a couple of days. Auntie, I have been too neglectful of this younger brother before; I don't even know Brother Zheng's temperament. I want to understand his disposition before selecting suitable people for him. So, these matters will have to wait for a while."
Lady Mo was filled with suspicion. Was she being defensive, or had she truly taken an interest in that fool? In any case, either situation was unfavorable to Lady Mo, "Our Yueyao sounds so mature all of a sudden. Thinking so thoroughly."
Upon hearing this, Yueyao's face fell, "An older sister is like a mother. If I continue as before, solely occupied with copying scriptures and not caring for Brother Zheng properly, I would dishonor the memory of our parents in heaven."
With the conversation now at this point, what more could Lady Mo say? Moreover, it was the grandmother who had promised. If Third Girl didn't change her mind, Lady Mo was powerless.
Seeing Lady Mo hold her tongue, Yueyao brought up another matter, "Auntie, I would like to invite Doctor Tang to come and examine Brother Zheng. He's too frail and needs proper nourishment."
Lady Mu naturally agreed wholeheartedly.
After Lady Mu left, Yueyao led Brother Zheng into the room. As soon as she closed the door, her expression immediately darkened. From now on, she would have to wear a mask and deal with Lady Mu.
Hua Lei and Dong Qing went to the storeroom and, after some searching, finally found the green satin Yueyao had mentioned. Having retrieved it, they let several maids skilled in needlework in the courtyard start cutting and sewing. Yueyao demanded that the clothes be made by evening.
Hua Lei came over and said to Yueyao, "Miss, the storeroom should also be sorted out. There are too many things, and it's becoming rather cluttered. If we don't organize it, I'm worried we won't even notice if something goes missing." Half of the items in the storeroom were part of Second Madam's dowry. The other half had been transported from Jiangnan.
A lot of items had been brought back from Jiangnan, half of which went to the public treasury. There were also quite a few items that the Old Madam had sent to Lanxi Courtyard. These items were also not few in number and were worth quite a lot of money.
Upon hearing about missing items, a sharp look flashed through Yueyao's eyes, so quickly that Hua Lei thought she had been mistaken. Hua Lei convinced herself it must have been an illusion; how could the miss have such a look in her eyes?
Yueyao remembered how, in her previous life after the Old Madam had passed away, Lady Mu subtly suggested that the storeroom needed tidying. At that time, she didn't care much about these things and readily agreed, allowing Nanny Gu to oversee the reorganization of the storeroom. Subsequently, all those items ended up in Lady Mu's hands. Yueyao didn't have much recollection of the gold, silver, and jewels, antiques, and paintings; she had never put much value on them. What she couldn't forget were those precious books.
She remembered them so clearly because by the time she realized, all those items were gone. Gold had its price, but ancient books—unique copies—were priceless. Silver and such could be earned back, but once those items were gone, no amount of money could buy them back.
Seeing Yueyao lost in thought once again, Hua Lei pondered whether she had said something wrong: "Miss, miss..."
Yueyao came back to her senses, a flicker of cold determination in her eyes. She must safeguard these ancient books for future generations. If they ended up with Lady Mu, it would be a complete waste. If she wasn't wrong in her guess, these unique ancient books were probably given away by Lady Mu as gifts. She knew that many officials coveted such items. Her father also obtained many unique copies of ancient books this way. Now, with the Old Madam present, Lady Mu dared not act recklessly. Once the Old Madam was gone, Lady Mu would surely find a way to take them from her hands.
Yueyao hadn't planned on hiding them; hiding was indeed impossible. The list of her mother's dowry was still with the Old Madam (and Yueyao's own dowry included ancient books). To truly preserve them, there was only one way: to hide them well. To hide them in a place where Lady Mu could not find them. That way, Lady Mu would be helpless.
Yueyao thought that for the moment she did not know the safest place. But once she got rid of the menace that was Nanny Gu, she would slowly devise a plan.
At this thought, Yueyao's lips curled into a mocking smile, which disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Her father must have known about Lady Mu's character all along, which was why he entrusted half of the family's assets to Uncle Li when he was seriously ill, as a safeguard. The remaining half was then split again, half for her to keep, and the other half entrusted to the Old Madam. This fortune would fall into the hands of the main branch only after the Old Madam's passing.
Now, Nanny Gu knew she had money from her father, but she had no idea how much she truly possessed. No matter what, she could never reveal the full extent of her wealth to a mere nanny. In her past life, she was tricked by Lady Mu into revealing it.
The situation was beyond her control; she currently had no means to seek revenge. She and her brother still relied on the main branch; their fate was tied to it—it prospered and suffered with them. In her previous life, her path to survival was cut off, and she destroyed the Lian family in her resentment. Now, she couldn't afford to do the same. If she brought ruin to the main branch, there would be no place in the world for her and her brother anymore. No one would take in someone who brought about the destruction of their own clan. Moreover, if she were to bring down the Lian family again, she would have no face to meet her father and the ancestors of the Lian family in the afterlife.