Chun Tao shuddered with fear: "Miss, won't the Second Madam's hands be rubbed like a washboard?"
"It would be better if she was rubbed into a washboard," Shen Weiwan snorted, remembering that in her previous life, Liu had used her money to bribe the accountant to cook the books. A cold light flashed in her eyes, "It would save her from trying to take things that don't belong to her all day long."
As he was speaking, the old housekeeper came in on crutches, holding an account book in his hand. "Miss, this is the monthly expenditure account for each courtyard. The Second Madam..." He paused and lowered his voice, "Another twenty taels of extra money for rouge and powder."
Chen Weiwan took the account book, ran her finger over Liu's name, and sneered, "Twenty taels? She just stole two pieces of brocade from the warehouse last month, and you thought I didn't know?" She handed the account book to Chuntao, "Keep it. Keep a record of every account for me from now on. When we have enough, we can settle it with her."
The old housekeeper bowed, wanting to speak but stopping himself. "Miss, the Second Madam just lost her temper in the accounting office and said...she wanted to settle accounts with you."
"Settle the bill?" Shen Weiwan raised an eyebrow, a sly smile on her lips, "It just so happens that I also want to settle the lost wages for the 'Five Grains Hand Cleansing Gift' with her - every time I rub my hands, I lose half a basin of precious grains."
The old housekeeper looked at the cheerful and talkative young lady in front of him, and recalled how Liu had coaxed her around when she was little. He couldn't help but sigh, "The young lady has really grown up."
Shen Weiwan looked at the old housekeeper's gratified eyes, and her heart moved slightly. She put the account book into the secret compartment, took out the inventory of the warehouse from her previous life, and ran her fingertips over the four words "Red Gold Buyao": "Old housekeeper, guarding the warehouse is to guard the roots of the general's mansion."
The old housekeeper nodded solemnly and turned to leave. Shen Weiwan walked to the window, looked in the direction of Liu's courtyard, and whispered: "Liu, rubbing your hands three times is a lesson for you. Next time you dare to have the idea of buying a hairpin, I will let you taste the price of being 'precious'."
Chun Tao came in with a handful of dried cockleburs and said mysteriously, "Miss, I've found the 'itchy grass' you were looking for! This time, I've even mixed it with some thorny wild roses. I guarantee it'll itch like hell."
Shen Weiwan's eyes lit up, and she took the cocklebur and stuffed it into the lining of the pink gauze skirt. This skirt was a "kind gift" from Shen Ruorou last year. Now the pleats of the skirt were already filled with grass scraps. Add these thorny cockleburs and it would be enough for her good cousin to "show off" at the Spring Banquet. She deftly passed her fingertips through the gauze skirt, hiding the thorns of the cockleburs in the stitches, and a sly smile appeared on the corner of her mouth: "The Spring Banquet is coming soon, and it's time to let my good cousin have a taste of "borrowing clothes."
Chun Tao watched her hands working with the needle and couldn't help asking, "Miss, do you think the Second Madam will learn her lesson this time and not dare to come again?"
Shen Weiwan paused, thinking of Liu's embarrassed look after being rubbed three times, and couldn't help laughing: "Her? Unless the sun rises from the west. But..." She glanced at the pottery basin under the corridor, "Next time she comes, I have to prepare a bigger basin and put more 'precious' things in it, so that she won't think that I am not entertaining her well."
The master and servant were laughing and joking when a dark shadow suddenly passed by the window. It was the spy sent by Liu. Shen Weiwan's eyes turned cold, but she pretended not to see it - let her spread this reputation of being "crazy and stupid". The crazier and stupider she is, the more likely it is that the enemy will relax their vigilance.
The next morning, the sound of teacups being smashed could be heard in Liu's yard, and her sharp curses could be heard from three alleys away: "Chen Weiwan! Little bitch! You're playing dirty tricks on me! Just wait and see!"
Shen Weiwan sat in front of the mirror, Chuntao combing her hair. She only smiled faintly at the words. Liu, Shen Ruorou, and that lame Li Xiu… your “surprises” have only just begun. In this life, she not only wants to protect the general’s estate, but also make all those who owe her a taste of the “five grains rubbing hand gift”—pain in the hands, shame on the face, and ultimately, repayment, with interest.
The sunlight outside the window was just right, shining through the window lattice onto Shen Weiwan's silver hairpin, making the light in her eyes even brighter. The next "good show" was waiting for the Spring Banquet to begin.
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