When Wei Changying returned to Jintong Courtyard, Qin'ge waited on her to change her clothes. Qin'ge was a little worried and said, "Young madam, you just got married. However, you said those words to first young madam and second young madam in front of Madam today. I'm afraid that first young madam and second young madam will deliberately oppose our Jintong Courtyard in the future!"

As Qin'ge's voice had just faded away and before Wei Changying opened her mouth, Mrs. He already started to sullenly rebuke Qin'ge, "What do you know? Though Mrs. Liu and Mrs. Duanmu were originally also from the six gentlefolk in the country, how could they compare with our young madam in terms of their status in their parents' home? Not to mention that although they are the same as our madam that they are also the daughters-in-law of the Shen Family now, because our young master is placed with great expectations by the family, and it is said that a wife's wealth depends on her husband's rank, even if they are sisters-in-law, our young madam's status is bound to be superior to theirs in the future. Does our young madam need to be afraid of them?"

Qin'ge's face flushed with shame and she argued, "Granny He, I was only worried about young madam.... After all, first young madam and second young madam were married before our young madam, and they had their foundation in the rear yard."

"Bah! If they dare to embarrass our young madam, I…." Mrs. Huang immediately stopped Mrs. He, who was already rolling up her sleeves. Mrs. Huang was dumbfounded and said, "Sister He, you need to calm down! Qin'ge is not an outsider, why do you scare her?"

After dissuading Mrs. He, Mrs. Huang added, "But what Sister He said was also reasonable. Generally speaking, they and our young madam are all daughters-in-law. Although there are some differences in their ages, the Family Head and Madam are all here. First young madam and second young madam don't have the right to find faults with our young madam."

As the two grannies said so, and Wei Changying did not say anything, Qin'ge didn't dare to say a word. Then the room fell silent.

Wei Changying tied her own belt. Qin'ge and Yan'ge knelt down to tidy up the skirts for her. When they were ready, Wei Changying moved to the soft couch under the window and sat down. Mrs. He and Mrs. Huang went to serve nearby. Wei Changying asked them not to stand on ceremony, and told them to sit down on the embroidered stool. Then she said, "I didn't expect that second sister-in-law tried to trip me up as soon as I entered the door of the Shen Family. As for first sister-in-law, I believed that she would show me some kindness because Granny Huang had cured her tenth younger sister. However, when I thought about the feast served in the Xinyi Court last time, I always felt very awkward. It seemed that they didn't have a good intention. In this case, why should I step forward to please them?"

Mrs. Huang smiled and said, "Young madam’s words are extremely true. If first young madam and second young madam are willing to be at peace with each other, we are not those who are provocative. But now that the two of them took the initiative to stir up troubles, we are not afraid! In terms of family, our young madam's family is not worse than that of first young madam and second young madam; In terms of dignity in front of Madam, our young madam is the most brilliant one just based on the fact that she has the hairpins made of bloodstone engraved with a pair of lovebirds perching on twinned trunks; In terms of the husband's capability and thoughtfulness, how can first young master and second young master compare with our young master? If first young madam and second young madam want to pick a fight, then let's fight against them! There are so many people in our yard, should we be afraid that we can't protect our young madam?"

Mrs. He was eager to get into action in a blithe spirit, "Our young madam is bound to be the Family Mother of the Shen Family. Why should we be afraid of them? Sister Huang, what are we going to next in your opinion?"

"Next..." Mrs. Huang glanced at her with a smile and said, "Do nothing!"

Mrs. He, who was looking forward to working with a will, was greatly disappointed, "Ah?"

"Our young madam had disgraced first young madam and second young madam in front of Madam today." Mrs. Huang smiled, "So far, Madam would only think that our young madam was young and impetuous, so she couldn't afford to be bullied by her sisters-in-law. According to the favor of our young madam in the boudoir, Madam at most would get it over with a smile. But if we continued to be aggressive, Madam would feel that our young madam did not know how to restrain herself, and her spirit was too strong!"

Seeing that Mrs. He looked sad, Mrs. Huang again reminded, "This time we had the upper hand. Did you believe that first young madam and second young madam were the kind of people who would recognize the loss after coming to grief? They didn't show any virtuousness at first, and of course we should cope with it— In short, our young master had already got the support of the family. What was the hurry? The eldest branch or the second branch should be the one who was feeling anxious!"

Mrs. He's eyes lighted up. She acted as if she was only too anxious to see that the eldest branch and the second branch were so worried that they immediately laid hands on the third branch, then she could get the chance of being a pioneer... So afterwards, when Mrs. Huang served Wei Changying alone, she told Wei Changying about the matter of looking for a companion for Mrs. He, "Sister He used to guard you and took care of everything for you. Now although the maids are also under her control, Sister He eventually gets her free time. Jintong Courtyard is not much bigger than Xianshuang Court and there are quite a few managers."

Nowadays, apart from the first gate for the visitors to enter the yard was guarded by Shen Ju and Shen Die, the latter two gates were, of course, managed by the grannies. Wei Changying naturally ordered Mrs. Huang to preside over. Mrs. Wan, who was the wet nurse of Shen Cangfeng, was sensible, so Wei Changying could not let her be an idler. Therefore, nominally Mrs. Wan and Mrs. Huang took care of the yard together.

The maidservants doing the menial jobs, as usual, were all controlled by Mrs. He, who looked severe and was really severe— However, some others like Zhu Lan were originally trained by Mrs. He. There were very few maidservants in Shen Cangfeng's house, even if they made some mistakes, Mrs. He couldn't beat and scold them in the way she had scolded people like Zhu Lan based on the fact that they belonged to Mrs. Wan and Shen Cangfeng. If it was in Ruiyu Hall, Mrs. He would still be able to walk around and chat with her relatives. Now people of the Shen Family were very strange to her. Besides, Mrs. Huang had warned her that as Wei Changying was just married, if the people accompanying her were too sloppy, people of the Shen Family might look down upon Wei Changying. They might think that the servants of the Wei Family were impolite, which implied that either the Wei Family's family style was not good, or that Wei Changying had no way to control her servants.

Hearing this, Mrs. He naturally braced her energies, and managed to prevent everyone from leaving the yard unless it was necessary.

…They didn't leave the yard, and everything in the yard was new. There were still errands for buying appliances a few days ago. Now they were really free. How could Mrs. He stand it with her hot temperament? Indeed, Mrs. He was so idle that she even looked forward to having an accident.

Wei Changying asked, "Last time I asked you to inquire, my granny. Was there a suitable candidate?"

Mrs. Huang smiled bitterly and said, "No…."

"Ah, just keep inquiring." Wei Changying sighed.

Wei Changying couldn't ignore everything and simply find someone to match Mrs. He just because she thought that Mrs. He was too idle.

Without suitable candidates, Mrs. He's personal affair was naturally laid aside first. Mrs. Huang also talked about the gossip she heard from Man Lou, "In the afternoon, I sent a man to give Man Lou a piece of fruit. She said something quietly. Before noon, Aunt Guo went out and intended to pay her respects to Madam. Madam said that she was tired and she let Aunt Guo stand in the yard. Until I delivered the fruit, Aunt Guo had been standing there and wasn't called in!"

Wei Changying smiled and said, "Originally it was against the rules for her, a concubine, to inquire about the matters of children's rear courtyard! We, as the younger generation, couldn't say anything straight as we cared about father's face. How could it be so easy for mother to let her go after returning home?"

She also added, "When grandmother was ill, second sister-in-law accompanied mother back and forth, and even her natural mother was disturbed. Besides, second sister-in-law personally asked Eighth Miss of the Duanmu Family to come to the mansion and give treatment to grandmother. Second sister-in-law's contribution had not been rewarded yet, but she was beaten and scolded by second elder brother first. And it happened in front of all the people of the second branch! Even if mother only wanted to give an explanation to second sister-in-law and the Duanmu Family, she wouldn’t pardon Aunt Guo— After all, Aunt Guo was just a concubine. However, second elder brother was not only a son of the Shen Family, but also the son-in-law of the Duanmu Family. The Duanmu Family was also willing to throw the blame on Aunt Guo, so that their daughter and their son-in-law's relationship would not be harmed!"

Mrs. Huang smiled and said, "Young madam, now you see things more and more clearly."

"It was my granny who taught me so well." Wei Changying chuckled and said.

The two talked about some trivial things again. When Shen Cangfeng came back from work, they welcomed him into the door. Then, it was not long before it was time for dinner.

In the evening, the couple made love as usual. Shen Cangfeng caressed his wife's bright back and said lazily, "I will come back earlier tomorrow."

"Huh?" Wei Changying fell on his chest, and her forehead pressed against his chin. She casually gave out an interrogative noise.

Shen Cangfeng stroked her back with the hands and he suddenly stopped, putting his hands downward. Wei Changying realized his purpose and was unwilling to follow.... The two made a fuss for a while before lying down again. Shen Cangfeng bit bitterly on his wife's neck for a few times with neither light nor heavy force, and then he continued in a hoarse voice, "I have something to discuss with others, so I will ask my colleagues to take my duty for a while."

Wei Changying uttered, "What should I prepare?"

"Get two maidservants to the front to help." Shen Cangfeng said, "And prepare some snacks and fruit."

Wei Changying asked, "How many people will come? How many maidservants do you need?"

"Not many people," Shen Cangfeng said lazily, "Only three, and you know Ziming and Shili. The last one's surname is Nian, styled Lemu, but his name is a little uncommon, which is Shengyao."

Wei Changying replied, "I know that Gu Ziming is Gu Yiran. But who is Shili? Nian Shengyao.... Is 'Nian' a common surname in the capital?"

Shen Cangfeng smiled and caressed her long hair. Then he said, "I forgot to tell you that Shili is Liu Xixun's style name."

"It turns out to be the young master of the Liu Family." Wei Changying asked again, "How about Nian Lemu?"

"Mr. Nian is my assistant and he is quite talented, but it is a pity that he was born in a poor family, not a son of an eminent family. Otherwise, his reputation should not be inferior to me." Shen Cangfeng hugged her, rubbed his cheek on her forehead, and only let Wei Changying go when he was pinched twice by her. Then Shen Cangfeng said, "By the way, I saw that the maids, whose surname was Zhu, accompanying you when you got married, was very charming. Don't send them off tomorrow."

Wei Changying was stunned for a moment, and said, "Why? If I don't send them off, should I dispatch those who do menial jobs or should I give you my close maidservants?"

"Nothing more than serving the tea. You can choose a few from those who do the manual work and those you don't care much about." Shen Cangfeng coughed awkwardly and said, "Mr. Nian... was fond of pretty maidservants... He didn't have any malicious intentions, and just enjoyed taking advantage of them in the mouth or on the hand. I gave him all the girls he had teased before. But maidservants including Zhu Lan are your people…."

"..." Wei Changying froze for a moment, "I knew. I wanted to match girls like Zhu Lan with a suitable person, and I couldn't just send them out like this. But it's also not good for my close maids to go out and treat guests. Let some clever ones of the servants who do the manual work in the rear yard pick a few smart dresses to go out.... In this way, the manpower of the front yard is actually not enough, and we have to train a few people who can go out to serve while not afraid of them being asked about?"

Shen Cangfeng said, "You can first casually send some people to the front to serve tomorrow. As for adding people, if you feel that the staff are insufficient in the yard, just pay attention and buy some. Originally, the number of people assigned to our yard was not enough. If we buy some now, the cost can still be paid by the family."

"Let me ask Granny He tomorrow. The maids are always under Granny He's control." Wei Changying said in a deep voice, "But if we really add people to the front, is it better to choose some pretty ones or some normal ones?"

Shen Cangfeng said with a smile, "Mr. Nian was the only one who did so...You can choose a few beautiful ones, and pick some more ordinary ones. Last year, I just gave Mr. Nian two people. As usual, he wouldn't be so fast to open his mouth now. I have seen that you really like Zhu Lan and some other girls. Therefore, I just remind you so as not to make any mistakes."

Wei Changying said, "Got it." However, she remembered this Nian Shengyao in her heart. Listening to Shen Cangfeng's tone, the reason why he reminded Wei Changying to hide pretty maids including Zhu Lan was that if Nian Shengyao asked for someone, Shen Cangfeng would not refuse him.

If this was the case, then Nian Shengyao was not an ordinary assistant. He must be either a close friend of Shen Cangfeng or else he must be highly valued by Shen Cangfeng for his extraordinary talent. As for such a person, if Wei Changying met him in the future, she should not neglect him and should not treat him as one of her husband's ordinary subordinates.