After seeing off the three women, it was already the beginning of the Shen hour. Minglan no longer felt like sleeping and returned to her room to change clothes. Xiaotao brought her a bowl of warm three-delicacy cat ear soup, which Minglan ate while slowly flipping through the newly delivered servant records.
"I notice Madam seems to prefer these soupy dishes," Caihuan remarked with a smile as she followed Xiaotao to the side room to tidy up. "Fortunately, you know how to make them."
Xiaotao bent down to gather the scattered clothes that had been dried at noon, folding them one by one. "Speaking of this, Mother Qiu from our original residence made it best. Her dough ears were chewy and resilient. I've only learned a fraction of her skill."
"I still have much to learn," Caihuan said, bringing over an iron filled with burning charcoal. "Shall we iron here?"
"No, let's go outside to iron," Xiaotao lowered her voice, carrying a large pile of clothes and tiptoeing out until they reached the side room.
Only then did Caihuan say, "We've both come out, leaving Madam alone inside doesn't seem proper."
Xiaotao picked up a snow-silk satin inner garment and slowly smoothed it out. "This is our young lady's rule. Unless there are guests present, she doesn't like people moving about in the room when she's alone."
Caihuan committed this to memory and asked, "What if she wants tea or something?"
Xiaotao took the iron and began pressing the clothes. "That's why one of us always stays in the adjacent room. If our young lady needs anything, she'll call us. Let's finish ironing quickly and go to the side room."
Caihuan hesitated for a moment, finding this rule somewhat peculiar. "Then... what if the master needs something?"
Xiaotao looked up strangely. "What does the master's needs have to do with us?"
Caihuan felt rebuked and smiled awkwardly. "That's true. We are Madam's maids first, and members of this household second."
As evening approached, dark clouds suddenly gathered, inexplicably darkening half the sky. Then a clap of thunder roared in the distance, and bean-sized raindrops poured down overwhelmingly. The heavy rain fell with a splashing sound, instantly drenching the ground as if water was being poured from buckets.
Seeing the torrential rain outside, Minglan turned and patted Xiaotao's shoulder repeatedly with praise. "Fortunately, you collected the clothes this afternoon. You truly have foresight." Xiaotao, unfamiliar with modesty, actually nodded and said, "This servant thinks Madam is quite right."
Minglan patiently instructed her, "No, you should say, 'It's all because you taught me well.'"
Xiaotao took the lesson to heart and expanded on it: "It's all because Madam taught me well, mainly because Madam has foresight!"
Minglan smiled and nodded in approval.
"Then did you foresee that your husband would get caught in the rain?"
A teasing male voice sounded at the door. Both mistress and maid turned to see Gu Tingye standing at the entrance, completely drenched. His vermillion silk gauze court dress with qilin patches was still dripping water, creating a wet patch on the floor.
Minglan was startled. She looked the soaked man up and down in surprise and said, "I did foresee it. This afternoon I felt the day was quite stifling, so I told Xiaoshunzi to bring an umbrella." She thought herself extremely virtuous.
Gu Tingye's face darkened. He stared at her for a long moment before finally uttering through gritted teeth: "...I ride a horse to court."Minglan blinked, her mind whirling for a moment before she realized that horseback riding wasn’t like cycling—it wasn’t practical to hold the reins in one hand and an umbrella in the other. Flushing with embarrassment, she murmured a soft “Oh,” then offered a well-meaning suggestion: “Maybe… next time, you should take a sedan chair instead. That way, wind or rain won’t be a problem.”
Upon hearing this, the remaining half of Gu Tingye’s face darkened as well.
He fell silent and strode into the inner room. Minglan immediately instructed, “Xiaotao, go and fetch Xiahe—” But Gu Tingye, his expression stormy, turned back abruptly, grabbed Minglan’s arm, and pulled her along. “Can’t you attend to your own husband? No need to call anyone—get inside now!” he grumbled, dragging her into the inner chamber.
Minglan was left speechless but managed to call out hastily over her shoulder, “Xiaotao, prepare hot water for a bath, and bring some ginger soup!”
Once inside, Gu Tingye stood behind the screen with his arms outstretched, waiting. Minglan rubbed her nose sheepishly, approached with lowered head, and began unfastening his buttons. She helped him remove his drenched robes, revealing his sturdy, well-built frame. He took the long gown she handed him, draped it over his shoulders, and headed to the bathing chamber. The sound of splashing water soon followed, and before long, he emerged clad in a clean snow-silk inner garment. He sat upright on the edge of the bed, his slender fingers resting on his knees, exuding a silent, mountain-like intensity as he fixed a cold gaze on Minglan.
Minglan stared back blankly for a short while until her instinct for self-preservation finally kicked in. She picked up a dry cloth, went over obediently, and began gently drying his thick, dark, damp hair. Gu Tingye caught a faint, clean fragrance, reminiscent of orchids and musk. Wrapping an arm around his petite wife’s slender waist, he pressed his half-damp cheek against her, feeling a wave of comfort and contentment.
“Don’t be angry anymore,” Minglan murmured softly, massaging his hair through the dry cloth.
Gu Tingye pulled her onto his lap, his strong arms encircling her as he looked into her eyes with his deep, dark gaze. “Do you know why I’m upset?”
Minglan ventured cautiously, “I should have sent a carriage or sedan chair to fetch you, right?”
Observing her bewildered expression, Gu Tingye let out an almost imperceptible sigh. “Never mind, a few drops of rain won’t kill me. How was your day? Is everything in the household alright?”
Relieved that the troublesome topic was over, Minglan quickly grabbed a stack of papers from the desk and presented them to Gu Tingye. “Look, isn’t this good? Clever, right?”
Gu Tingye flipped through a few pages and couldn’t help but chuckle. “You certainly have quite the imagination.” He glanced up at her, clearly amused.
Minglan knew he was secretly laughing at her and pouted in protest. “I don’t like using people whose backgrounds I’m unsure of.”
Gu Tingye casually skimmed the top few documents and laughed. “Well, our household seems to be full of hidden talents—we even have former procurement officers and craftsmen from the Duke Ling’s residence? Hmm, these cooks are a bit mediocre, all second-tier… So Granny Lai’s sons have already been freed from their indentures? Granny Hua has really fallen in status; Fourth Aunt is quite generous, sending Tian Mama’s entire family over…”After reviewing several files, Gu Tingye gradually stopped smiling and had to admit that Minglan's approach was quite targeted. Simple resumes could reflect many things—background, rewards and punishments, family situations, and past assignments. Though brief and concise, they carried profound implications, bringing many matters both overt and covert to the surface.
"This method is excellent!" he said tersely, his eyes dark and fierce. "The household must be thoroughly cleaned up. If there are messy situations, loose tongues, or dishonest hands, feel free to punish, beat, or sell them off! Should anyone gossip, just push the blame onto me! Let’s see who dares to scheme within my household!"
Minglan noticed something unusual in his words and guessed there might have been some turmoil in court that day. However, she refrained from probing further and merely nodded repeatedly, asking softly, "Is someone... scheming against you?" She wanted to prepare herself mentally.
Gu Tingye frowned slightly, displeased with the last word Minglan had used. His expression darkened as he said, "If we’re not careful, whatever is said at night will be spread abroad by the next day. With so much happening outside, we can’t afford trouble in the inner courtyard."
Minglan watched him with great interest. In truth, her biggest discovery today was not the backgrounds of the servants, but this man’s behavioral patterns—quite fascinating, indeed.
For several days now, Minglan had felt that the inner household of the Gu residence lacked proper organization. Personnel were chaotic, servants were negligent, and management was disorderly. After some investigation, she realized the problem lay less with the servants and more with Gu Tingye himself.
In the over a year since he had established his household, he seemed utterly disinterested in its affairs. He had merely appointed a few stewards to handle daily operations and transferred a squad of personal guards from the military camp to strictly guard the main gate, treating the servants almost like prisoners. As long as they made no mistakes, caused no trouble, and showed no suspicious behavior, he paid no attention to their food, clothing, or quality of life.
He had heavy locks placed on the storeroom doors, despite the mountains of rewards and chests of jewels inside, and couldn’t be bothered to display them. He allowed the residence to remain sparsely decorated, almost like a destitute household. Gongsun Xiansheng’s courtyard was tightly guarded day and night, as if entering the outer study required more effort than visiting a prison, with two rounds of searches for anyone coming or going.
After pondering for half a day, Minglan suddenly thought of her elder brother, Changbai.
Changbai’s caution seemed innate. Without any prompting, he naturally acted with care. Goat Hair had served him for over a decade and was intimately familiar with his habits, yet if a document was slightly disturbed, Changbai would notice immediately. This was likely a necessary skill for successful officials—precision and caution. Even her father, after years of cultivation in his youth, had developed such abilities.
But Gu Tingye was not a naturally cautious person. Many things were hard to guard against, so he had to take a different approach.
His method might seem crude, but it was clever in its own way—direct and forceful, yet highly effective. Gu Tingye knew his household was unsettled, understood that spies might have been planted, and was even aware that those sent by the Ningyuan Marquis Household might not have good intentions. Yet, he had neither the time nor the inclination to manage it. So, he resorted to this strategy.
After all, this glorious task would eventually fall to someone else to handle—thinking of this, Minglan felt a twinge of irritation."Don't worry, I understand the gravity of the situation." Minglan pressed against the man's chest, striving to appear composed and experienced. "I'll first sort out the personnel and then assign tasks. If there's anything I don't understand, I'll come ask you, alright?"
Gu Tingye gave a slight nod. Observing Minglan's actions over the past few days, he knew she was trustworthy. Recalling the orderly management and good reputation of the Sheng residence, and how the eldest Miss Sheng who married into the Yuan family had considerable household management skills, Minglan probably wouldn't fare much worse. If she truly couldn't manage, he would still be there as backup.
Just then, Xiaotao arrived with a tea tray. Minglan quickly stood up, took the ginger tea and handed it to Gu Tingye: "Drink it quickly to ward off the chill!"
Gu Tingye took a small sip and immediately recognized that this ginger tea was made with brown sugar and ginger, perfectly brewed. It tasted rich and mellow, and after entering his stomach, his entire body felt as if being gently warmed by slow fire, his abdomen becoming comfortably warm. He couldn't help but praise: "This ginger tea really packs a punch!"
Minglan smiled: "Of course! I personally selected the ingredients and simmered it for a full two hours! You need to drink two large bowls - it's best if you break a sweat. I've also sent some to the guards who went out with you today, so don't worry."
Watching Minglan's meticulous and gentle chattering, like a busy little hen taking care of everything, the room filled with warmth. Gu Tingye raised the bowl to his lips and drank it all in one go, wiping his mouth with his left wrist. He suddenly wanted to ask: 'Do you know you should care about me, or do you truly care about me?' But then he felt he was being rather foolish today, having such childish thoughts, which was quite amusing.
OpenNovel