Reborn in Each Other’s Bodies: A Mother and Daughter’s Deadly Revenge - Chapter 22

“Madam, it’s getting late. You should rest soon.”

Qingying watched as her mistress had grown noticeably thinner in just a few days and couldn’t help but urge her with concern.

Lately, Madam had been taking drastic actions—first punishing the Sixth Young Miss’s wet nurse, then auditing the household accounts and purging corrupt servants.

Nearly fifty or sixty people had been dismissed, leaving only about a hundred and fifty or sixty servants in the estate.

After dealing with these matters, Madam had turned her attention to the account books of her dowry estates and shops, working late into the night every day. Qingying found it exhausting just to watch.

Unfortunately, she only knew some basic bookkeeping and couldn’t be of much help.

“I’ll finish this soon. You don’t need to wait up for me—go and rest. You’ve all been working hard lately.”

Sheng Minmin didn’t even look up as she replied.

Seeing that persuasion was futile, Qingying told Qingchi to go ahead and rest. “You go first, or I won’t have the strength to carry you back later,” she whispered to Qingchi.

The girl was still young, at an age where she needed plenty of sleep. Last night, she had insisted on keeping Madam company but ended up dozing off at the table, drooling all over it…

Qingchi’s face flushed crimson at the reminder, and she finally stopped protesting. After giving a somewhat clumsy bow, she left.

Qingchi was currently only a third-rank maid, but since Madam had granted her the “Qing” name—reserved for higher-ranking servants—it was clear she was being groomed for greater responsibilities. Qingying had been personally instructing her.

In the room, there was also a second-rank maid named Xiangxiang, who had recently been promoted from third-rank.

Qingying knew Xiangxiang well—she was meticulous and reliable in carrying out Madam’s orders. However, she was also shy and soft-hearted, making it difficult for her to handle cunning or unruly servants.

Walking over to Xiangxiang, Qingying whispered, “Have the kitchen prepare a bowl of calming lotus seed, longan, and red date soup, along with a serving of shrimp wontons. Bring them here once they’re ready.”

Xiangxiang nodded obediently and left.

With Qingchi and Xiangxiang gone, only Qingying and Sheng Minmin remained in the room.

During this time, many people had also been “cleaned out” of the Peony Courtyard.

Qingying wasn’t sure if it could really be called a “cleanup.” Madam had given the long-serving Nurse Xu a generous severance payment of a hundred taels of silver, canceled her servant status, and had her son personally come to take her home.

If this was a “cleanup,” no other servant had received such favorable treatment.

But if it wasn’t a cleanup, the timing was certainly odd.

Aside from Nurse Xu, the Peony Courtyard’s first-, second-, and third-rank maids had been reduced to just Qingying and Xiangxiang.

Several former third-rank maids and another second-rank maid had been caught stealing and were sold off.

As for the two former first-rank maids, Qingtian and Qingxin—one had been sent to serve the Sixth Young Miss, and the other had been given to the Eldest Young Master.

Qingying couldn’t quite grasp Madam’s intentions. In the past, Madam had been devoted to her husband, doted on her children, and was somewhat careless—sometimes even being manipulated by subordinates without realizing it.

But lately, while auditing accounts and managing affairs, Madam had displayed sharp thinking and keen insight. There was no way she hadn’t noticed the… issues with Qingtian and Qingxin.

Qingxin, who prided herself on her beauty, had ambitions far above her station and was far from well-behaved. Placing her beside the Eldest Young Master was practically inviting trouble.

As for Qingtian, though she appeared sweet and lively, she was actually petty, selfish, and shortsighted…

Not to mention, Qingtian’s parents and siblings had embezzled a considerable sum every year. While other corrupt servants had been purged, why had Qingtian’s family been allowed to stay?

Wouldn’t this only embolden them further?

When servants grew too powerful, they bullied their masters. The Sixth Young Miss was still young—having such a maid by her side could lead to disaster in the future.

And then there was that set of jewelry, the recent shift in the servants’ opinions of the Sixth Young Miss… Who knew how many people now bore grudges against her?

Every single one of these things was harmful to the Sixth Young Miss.

At this thought, Qingying’s heart began to pound, and her right eyelid twitched incessantly.

No, that’s impossible. The Sixth Young Miss was Madam’s own daughter—her only daughter.

Madam had always treated her like the apple of her eye. There was no way she would harm her!

After much deliberation, Qingying decided that Madam must have realized she had spoiled the child too much in the past and was now overcorrecting in her attempts to change…

Still, deep down, Qingying couldn’t shake a faint sense of unease.

As Qingying’s thoughts churned, Sheng Minmin at the desk finally finished auditing the accounts of Huang Yaning’s dowry—ten shops, eight estates, and two woodlands.

All ten of Huang Yaning’s dowry shops were prime properties in the capital.

There was a grain store, a teahouse, a restaurant, an inn, a pawnshop, a cosmetics shop, a jewelry store, a fabric shop, and even a cheap eatery by the docks.

The shopkeepers were all shrewd and capable, ensuring steady and substantial profits. Each month, the shops collectively brought in a net income of between twenty-seven thousand and thirty-two thousand taels.

Over a year, this amounted to roughly three hundred thousand taels.

As for the eight estates and two woodlands—five of the estates were near the capital, just a few days’ journey by carriage. The two woodlands and three larger estates (each over a thousand acres) were farther away.

Altogether, the estates and woodlands yielded an annual profit of about a hundred thousand taels. Combined with the shops, the total yearly income was around four hundred thousand taels.

The Sheng family had originally been a modest household with little property. But after Huang Yaning married in, she became utterly devoted to Sheng Yong, willingly using her dowry to fund the Sheng family’s lavish lifestyle.

From social engagements to bribing officials for Sheng Yong’s career…

In the ten years since Huang Yaning married into the Sheng family, not only had her three hundred thousand taels of savings been drained, but the annual four hundred thousand taels from her dowry shops and estates had also been poured into the Sheng family’s bottomless pit.

Sheng Mingzhu’s extravagant food, clothing, and yearly grand birthday banquets alone cost over ten thousand taels per month.

Sheng Yong also withdrew around ten thousand taels monthly.

With an annual income of only four hundred thousand taels (averaging thirty thousand per month), Sheng Mingzhu and Sheng Yong consumed twenty thousand, leaving just over ten thousand for the entire household’s expenses—leaving nothing in savings.

Sheng Minmin took several deep breaths, her emotions in turmoil.

In her past life, she had realized too late that Huang Yaning was a foolish, lovestruck woman—but she never imagined she could be this brainless.

If she loved her husband so much, why did she allow him to take so many concubines?

If she adored her children, why hadn’t she saved even a single coin for their future marriages?

Wait.

In her past life, Huang Yaning had given almost all of her dowry to Sheng Mingzhu. Logically, her three sons’ weddings should have been shabby affairs.

Yet in the end, Sheng Mingjian and his brothers had grand, extravagant weddings. Where had the money come from?

After thinking for a while, a young, thin face surfaced in her mind.

Huang Xianjing.

The only remaining blood relative of the Huang family besides Huang Yaning.