Song Wanning stood in the courtyard, staring straight at Wen Tingbai. "Why? Second Master, why don't you ask the ancestors for your beloved woman? I remember Miss Xiao Xiao said she was very interested in the pair of keys to the house. If Second Master can secure such power for her, Miss Xiao Xiao will definitely be very grateful to you."
Seeing that Song Wanning couldn't be brought up, Wen Tingbai couldn't let go, so he said with a dark face, "Since I misunderstood you in this matter, let's just clear it up. Why be so aggressive? Xiao Xiao has had a hard life since she was a child. How could she understand the affairs of the housekeeper in this mansion? Since you are the mistress of the mansion, you should take the housekeeper's affairs to heart."
Song Wanning looked at Wen Tingbai, the hypocrite, and sneered, "Since the Second Master is not willing to give up my stewardship, don't interfere with my stewardship in the backyard in the future."
"You..." Wen Tingbai saw Song Wanning's sharp words and thought she was jealous of him taking a concubine. But then he thought again, this showed that Song Wanning was not as calm as she seemed on the surface, and she still cared about him in her heart.
Thinking of this, Wen Tingbai's anger eased a little. He just said "take care of yourself" and left Lan Courtyard.
Song Wanning thought of her stepson, so she looked for her mother, who was usually in charge of Wen Xu's diet, and asked, "Has Brother Xu been sensible and obedient these days?"
Mother Liu just said yes and quickly said, "Grandma, Xu'er has been very obedient and sensible these days. It's just that without Grandma by his side, I can't persuade him to write."
Mother Liu stood by the table and looked at Song Wanning, hesitant to speak, with her hands folded, as if she had something to say.
Song Wanning saw at a glance that Mother Liu was still worried, and said bluntly, "Just say whatever you want to say. No one will blame you."
"Yesterday, Aunt Xiao Xiao from the Qilan Courtyard brought delicious treats to Xu'er's yard every day. Xu'er was so happy that he had no time to write. The servants tried to persuade him many times, but Xu'er refused to listen." Madam Liu then said worriedly, "Second Madam, you have to take care of this now. If you don't, I'm afraid Xu'er will not care about his studies anymore."
Song Wanning remained expressionless as she looked at her mother beside her and said, "Xu'er's surname is Wen after all, and he's the Second Master's son. Xiao Xiao is the Second Master's concubine, and if they were close, it would be hard to find fault with them. Now, the Second Master knows everything Xiao Xiao does. I'm afraid the Second Master thinks I'm too strict with the child, so he specifically sent Xiao Xiao to give Xu'er some rest. If I interfere again, I'm afraid I'll offend the Second Master."
After hearing this, Mother Liu had no choice but to agree.
Song Wanning said calmly, "From now on, just take care of Hao Xu'er's food and clothing. Don't worry about anything else. His father and his aunt will naturally teach him what is right and what is wrong."
Mother Liu responded twice and turned around to do her work as she was told. Song Wanning was thinking about her father and brother who were far away in Huizhou, and she stared at the messy account books in front of her in a daze.
On the other side, in Wen Tingbai's study.
Cui Xiaoxiao sat quietly in a chair, watching Wen Tingbo come back from outside. She hurriedly stepped forward and asked excitedly, "How is it? Did Song Wanning admit it? Was she the one who said bad things about me?"
"Looking at her, it doesn't seem like she said that..." Wen Tingbai hesitated and said slowly, "There are so many maids and servants in the courtyard. I'm afraid mother heard it from someone else."
"Didn't the Madam say it herself? Didn't Song Wanning say it?" Cui Xiaoxiao immediately became unhappy when she saw Wen Tingbo had a hint of protection for Song Wanning. "Isn't what the Madam said irrefutable evidence? Tingbo, how could you believe that woman's excuses? If things go on for a long time, won't Song Wanning sour our relationship?"
Seeing Cui Xiaoxiao's sadness, Wen Tingbai stepped forward and hugged her in his arms, whispering to her comfortingly, "I'm just being polite to her now. After all, she's the mistress of the house and in charge of all the family affairs. If I fall out with her, it would be embarrassing. We still have to rely on her to manage such a large mansion."
"But I can also manage the household." Cui Xiaoxiao hugged Wen Tingbo and acted coquettishly, whispering, "With my knowledge and means, I will definitely make the Marquis' Mansion even more prosperous."
"Xiao Xiao, what you said is true." Wen Tingbo had no hope in Cui Xiaoxiao's ability, but he still comforted her, "Isn't the money I gave Xiao Xiao enough to buy clothes? The business outside is very chaotic. Don't worry about it outside, just let Wan Ning make money for us, isn't it good?"
"But after all, she allocates money to us, so I am always restricted in buying things." Cui Xiaoxiao complained, "If I had capital, I could make money from it and let us all have money to spend. Tingbai, you know my ability."
Wen Tingbai recalled the bizarre ideas in Cui Xiaoxiao's mind. He had to admit that those ideas were very novel, but they might not be feasible nowadays. Wen Tingbai looked at Cui Xiaoxiao and said, "Xiaoxiao, although our mansion is not a small family, if we lose money in business, we will still have to save money for a long time."
"Why doesn't Tingbai let me try?" Cui Xiaoxiao was now full of ideas, but she only regretted that she had no place to put them into practice. She immediately said, "If my husband lets me do business, and if I make money, Tingbai will let me be the housekeeper and give me the key to the cards in the future. If I can't make money, then I won't mention making money in business or being the housekeeper anymore."
Seeing that he couldn't persuade Cui Xiaoxiao, Wen Tingbai agreed. "If that's what you say... then I'll let you try. I'll take one thousand taels of silver from the money I've saved over the past two years and start a business. If it doesn't work out, I'll improve it in the future and stop being involved in this housekeeper's affairs."
When Cui Xiaoxiao saw that Wen Tingbo agreed, she immediately smiled and gave Wen Tingbo a kiss on the face.
"It's broad daylight, Xiaoxiao, please be careful. If the servants see us, where will my face be?" Wen Tingbai hugged Cui Xiaoxiao. Although he said some words of advice, he was really happy in his heart.
Cui Xiaoxiao acted like a delicate girl and said with a smile, "I knew Tingbai was the best to me."
Within two days, the news of Cui Xiaoxiao's business spread throughout the marquis's mansion.
Song Wanning remembered that there was such an incident in her previous life, but unfortunately Cui Xiaoxiao lost all the money he paid and not even a tael of silver was left. So she never dared to mention going out to make money again, nor did she dare to ask for a housekeeper, and she remained quiet for a long time.
Song Wanning smiled lightly. Now, she wanted to make Cui Xiaoxiao's career as a business manager burn even brighter.
Didn't she want the power to manage the household? She gave the power to Cui Xiaoxiao, just to see what tricks she could come up with.
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