Upon hearing Madam Pei call her, Jiang Shuwan paused in her tea-drinking motion.

As a newly appointed matriarch on probation, solving problems for the big boss is definitely her top priority. If she performs well, her position as matriarch will naturally be secure.

only.

The Duke's Mansion is not the Earl's Mansion. Even if Lianxiang and Lianyu climbed over Jiang Yao's head, she only needed two palace flowers to make the Earl's wife back down.

In the inner quarters of the Duke's mansion, she vaguely sensed something was amiss; it didn't seem like a simple power struggle among the women vying for the Duke's favor.

As far as she knew, the young master's beloved concubine's surname was Jin and her name was Jiao Niang.

Jin Jiaoniang entered the Duke's mansion at the age of sixteen to serve the young master. She was beautiful and knew how to please the young master, so she was always favored. Not only the young master's concubines and maids, but even Pei Jing, the legitimate daughter of the Marquis's mansion, could not compete with her.

Even so, Pei Jing suppressed her for the first three years after she married into the family. Jin Jiaoniang was also very obedient and never took advantage of the young master's favor to humiliate Pei Jing.

Things seem different these past two years.

Jin Jiaoniang suddenly became domineering, opposing Pei Jing at every turn and embarrassing her. Even the Duchess, who had always valued Pei Jing, was no longer as protective of him as before.

Otherwise, if the Duke's family's tradition of celebrating the fifteenth anniversary of the founding of the Duke's mansion were broken, why was the Duchess not furious, but instead Pei Jing ran back crying?

This doesn't make any sense.

Moreover, because of Pei Jing's grievances, Madam Wen made two special trips to the Duke's mansion, but the Duke's mansion did not give Madam Wen any face.

Disrespecting the Wen family is disrespecting the Marquis's mansion.

This is so strange.

The Duke's mansion and the Marquis's mansion formed a marriage alliance back then precisely because of the Marquis's power. Now that the Marquis's mansion is thriving, there's no reason for the Duke's mansion to turn its back on them...

Thinking about this, Jiang Shuwan felt more and more that something was wrong.

So she said, "Grandma, now that my eldest sister is back, there's no reason for her to go back right away. Why don't you give your granddaughter-in-law some time to investigate Jin Jiaoniang's family background?"

"What's the point of investigating that vile woman's family? They're just from the family of a mere third-rank official, far inferior to our Marquis's mansion!"

Upon hearing Pei Jingjiao's voice, Jiang Yao narrowed her eyes.

That bitch Pei Jing really looks down on everyone. A high-ranking official of the third rank is just a mere third rank in her mouth.

However, although her words were harsh, the reasoning behind them was sound.

A third-rank official is indeed remarkable, but he is still far inferior to the Marquis's mansion. After all, the old Marquis now commands the Imperial Guard, the Emperor's personal bodyguard, and is an absolute favorite.

The Marquis's family was wealthy and powerful, and even the old lady Pei felt that the Jin family could not compare to the Marquis's family. However, she disliked Pei Jing's condescending attitude. The old lady coughed twice and warned Pei Jing with her eyes to watch his words.

"I'm sorry, Grandmother, I know I was wrong."

Pei Jing dared not lose face for the old lady, so she quickly covered her mouth, pretending to be in the wrong. However, she still looked down on the Jin family. When Jiang Shuwan suggested investigating the Jin family, she even looked down on Jiang Shuwan.

"People from humble backgrounds always lack vision. The Jin family are just third-rank officials. Do you really think Jin Jiaoniang is so arrogant because of her family's power? You should know that our Marquis's mansion is far more powerful than the Jin family..."

Small family...

That's incredibly insulting, especially to say it to someone's face.

Jiang Yao's eyes lit up with excitement; she was eagerly anticipating the confrontation between Jiang Shuwan and Pei Jing.

However, Jiang Shuwan didn't even glance at Pei Jing. She directly said to the old lady, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle. Old lady, the Jin family used to be just a seventh-rank official in the Ministry of Works. In the past two years, they have been promoted to the third rank. It is clear that they are quite powerful. Moreover, I have heard that the Jin family is very close to the Duke's Mansion."

These words immediately touched a nerve with Madam Pei. The old lady seemed to have thought of something, and after a moment of contemplation, she immediately nodded in agreement to let Jiang Shuwan investigate.

"Good child, I'm entrusting this matter to you. Make sure you investigate thoroughly. And Jing'er, just like Wan'er said, you came back crying. Of course, you can't just slink back like that. Otherwise, the Duke's mansion will look down on you. You can stay here for now, and we'll discuss everything after Wan'er has investigated it thoroughly."

When the old lady speaks, no one dares to protest.

Pei Jing settled down and moved in. She still lived in her old courtyard and occasionally visited Old Madam Pei and the confined Wen Shi.

Meanwhile, Jiang Shuwan began investigating the Jin family.

Having memories of her previous life, she won't be searching aimlessly like a headless fly.

Soon, the information on the Jin family was obtained.

"The Jin family is truly shrewd; no wonder they've had such smooth sailing all these years, with their official positions rising higher and higher."

As Jiang Shuwan spoke, she handed the documents in her hand to Old Madam Pei.

"Grandma, according to the information your granddaughter-in-law has found these past two days, the Jin family was originally a family of a minor official of the seventh rank. However, Jin Jiaoniang's father was extremely cunning and married many beautiful concubines early on, giving birth to a house full of legitimate and illegitimate daughters. He sent them out everywhere to build connections and build relationships. Jin Jiaoniang was sent to the Duke's mansion because of this."

"Originally, Jin Jiaoniang was not a threat. After all, the Jin family's official rank was too low. No matter how much she was favored, she could not surpass the eldest sister. And that was indeed the case. In the first two years after the eldest sister married into the Duke's mansion, she was the undisputed eldest mistress in the Duke's mansion."

"But in recent years, the Jin family has had some good fortune. Their official positions have been rising higher and higher. Especially the year before last, because of the corruption case related to the river repair, His Majesty dismissed many officials from the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Personnel. Jin Jiaoniang's father took the opportunity to get promoted and was given the important task of repairing the river by His Majesty. At the beginning of this year, the river was completed and His Majesty praised him for doing a good job and promoted him to the position of River Supervisor."

"Of course, even if the Jin family is promoted to the third rank, their power still cannot compare with our Marquis's mansion. After all, the old Marquis is now in charge of the Imperial Guards in the capital, protecting His Majesty's safety. He is His Majesty's most favored person."

"It's strange, but the Duke's Mansion prefers to associate with the Jin family, especially this year. The two families are getting closer and closer, like one big family."

"What do you mean? You mean the Duke's mansion values ​​the Jin family more than the Marquis's mansion?"

"What a joke! What a huge joke!"

Pei Jing burst out laughing upon hearing Jiang Shuwan's words, and Jiang Yao also covered her mouth and laughed.

"Big sister, what are you saying? What rank is the Jin family? What rank is the Marquis's mansion? Has the Duke's mansion gone mad, valuing the Jin family and looking down on the Marquis's mansion?"

"I wouldn't say I looked down on them, but I certainly wasn't enthusiastic."

Jiang Shuwan didn't care about their attitude at all. She took the gift list she had taken from the accounting office and presented it to Madam Pei.

"Madam, this is the list of gifts we exchanged with the Duke's Mansion. The left side is the list of gifts we sent, and the right side is the list of gifts the Duke's Mansion returned."

Comparing the two gift lists, Jiang Shuwan smiled gently.

"It's true that Madam is a kind-hearted mother. Ever since my eldest sister married into the Duke's mansion, the Marquis's mansion has never missed a single holiday or social occasion. You can tell from the return gifts that the Duke's mansion values ​​the Marquis's mansion very much. In addition to some gold and silver utensils, there are also some novelties from the south that are sent to the Marquis's mansion."

"But things have changed in the last two years."