“To think I bore him children for the Liu family, managed the household, hid here and there, and suffered all sorts of grievances, yet in the end, Liu the Useless treats me like this! When our whole family was in the mountains, unable to fill our stomachs, where was he! When Ah Jin and I were living in fear, where was he! He’s just become a Governer, and he's already thinking of casting aside his loyal wife!”

—The above, as one might expect, was the content of Madam Zhang's tearful complaints about Liu Yuan.

However, the object of her venting was certainly not the nine-year-old Liu Zhen. It was only because Liu Zhen happened to be about to enter the room, and the voices inside were so loud, that she overheard it.

Madam Zhang's soft sobs followed from within the room.

A moment later, another voice spoke up, consoling her in a low voice: “Sister-in-law, you worry too much. A wife is a wife, and a concubine is just a concubine. You and the Governer have supported each other through thick and thin; it's impossible to know how much suffering you endured to get to this day. The Governer is not such a heartless and ungrateful man. He will surely remember all the devotion you've shown, Sister-in-law. Besides, concubines are of low status, no more than objects. How can they be compared to the principal wife? Forgive me for saying something unpleasant, Sister-in-law, but even if you were not here, it would be impossible for them to be elevated to the position of principal wife. That being the case, you can deal with them however you wish. Why trouble your mind and grieve, bringing vexation upon yourself?”

Liu Zhen knew who was speaking. It was Madam He, the wife of her Second Uncle, An Zheng. She had also just been brought to Yangdi by Second Uncle. And Madam He's daughter, An Ze, was standing outside with her at that very moment. The two exchanged a glance, not daring to make a sound, but their faces held a trace of awkwardness.

Uncle An was truly a scholar. Even his wife, my aunt, spoke in an orderly and refined manner.

Inside, Madam Zhang sobbed: “It's not that I don't understand this reasoning, but my heart, my heart...”

Madam He paused, then continued: “Sister-in-law, Elder Brother is now a Governer. His status is nothing like it was before. A Governer manages the administration of an entire commandery. Back when Qin Shi Huang was still around, he would have had to travel to Xianyang for an audience with the emperor. Since you are now the Governer's wife, you should display the bearing of a principal wife, manage the entire household, and relieve the Governer of any worries about his home. There's no need to waste your energy getting angry with those concubines.”

Madam Zhang's sobbing subsided a little, as if she had taken these words to heart: “You are absolutely right...”

Madam He's words were practical and contained no hidden mockery. In this era, the status of a concubine was indeed like that of goods or a servant girl, incomparable to that of a principal wife.

It wasn't that Madam Zhang didn't understand this reasoning, but understanding was one thing; being in the situation herself, anyone would feel terrible. Madam Zhang felt as if she were in a dream. Yesterday she was still suffering in the mountains, living from one day to the next, and today she had suddenly transformed into the wife of a Governer. Not only did she no longer have to cook and sew herself, but she also had so many servants and maids under her command.

But before she could even recover her senses from this beautiful dream, those two concubines dealt her a sharp blow, reminding Madam Zhang that her husband was no longer the village scoundrel or petty field clerk of the past, but the head of a commandery, a position even higher than the County Magistrate she had known before!

And she, as Liu Yuan's principal wife, would have to accept all of it—both the benefits his status could bring her and the side of it that Madam Zhang disliked.

For instance, those two concubines.

Perhaps even Liu Yuan himself didn't think it was a big deal, which was why he never thought to mention it to Madam Zhang. But a woman's way of thinking is completely different from a man's; what Liu Yuan was unconcerned about, Madam Zhang cared about a great deal.

Madam He was still consoling her in a soft voice, but Liu Zhen felt it was inappropriate for her to listen any longer. The maidservant guarding the door saw her arrive and was about to announce her, but was stopped by a gesture from her. Liu Zhen gave An Ze a look, and the latter understood. The two of them then quietly withdrew.

An Zheng and Liu Yuan were sworn brothers who had been through life and death together. As family, it was natural for them to visit each other often, which was why Madam He had brought her daughter to visit today.

An Zheng had only one daughter, who was already fifteen this year. She had undergone her coming-of-age ceremony and was also betrothed, just waiting to be married next year. Because of their large age difference, Liu Zhen had had little interaction with this elder sister from the An family before. Meeting her today, she found the other girl to be shy and quiet. Basically, if Liu Zhen didn't speak, she wouldn't take the initiative to start a conversation. Liu Zhen liked to read, while An Ze spent her days engaged in womanly tasks. Not only did they lack common topics and hobbies, but their conversations were also dull and uninteresting.

Just now, Liu Zhen had invited her to sit in her room for a while, but the two couldn't find much to talk about. So she had thought of bringing An Ze over to see if there might be more to talk about with an elder present. Who knew they would run into the earlier scene and overhear something they shouldn't have. It was one thing for Liu Zhen, but An Ze was extremely awkward, not even knowing where to put her hands and feet.

The two withdrew from Madam Zhang's place again, and Liu Zhen racked her brains for a topic of conversation: “Elder Sister, if you don't mind, let me show you around the Governer's residence.”

An Ze hesitated, “Would that be alright?”

Liu Zhen: “It's fine. We've only been here for two days, and I haven't had a chance to look around properly myself. I'll have to trouble you to accompany me, Elder Sister.”

An Ze gave a quiet, graceful smile. “Let's go then.”

Compared to the house Liu Zhen and the others lived in at Xiang Town before they fled, the Governer's residence was much larger. By the Qin Dynasty, houses built with bricks and tiles had become common. And as an official government residence, the Governer's mansion was naturally a level above common dwellings in terms of refinement.

Whether it was the plants, flowers, and birds on the eaves tiles or the cloud-patterned foundation stones beneath the corridor pillars, both Liu Zhen and An Ze were filled with admiration. The latter's admiration was tinged with a bit of envy. But it was only envy. An Ze's temperament was much like her mother's—quiet, gentle, and even-tempered, but also poor with words. Otherwise, Liu Zhen wouldn't have had to rack her brains for topics to pass the time.

Fortunately, there was also Gui Xiang. On the very day they had arrived and settled into the Governer's residence, Liu Zhen had sent Gui Xiang to take a tour of the estate and familiarize herself with the layout. Now, as they listened to Gui Xiang point out and explain each place to them, the two found it quite interesting.

“Young Madams, the kitchen is up ahead. There's no need to go there,” Gui Xiang said.

The kitchen here was adjacent to the servants' quarters in the rear courtyard, far from the masters' living quarters. This was to prevent the smoke and cooking smells from reaching the masters.

Hearing this, Liu Zhen's interest was piqued: “Aunt and Elder Sister are visiting today, so Mother will surely have them stay for a meal. I'll go see what food there is today, so we don't slight our guests. Gui Xiang, you stay here and wait with Elder Sister. I'll be right back.”

An Ze quickly said, “I'll go with you!”

Liu Zhen: “Alright.”

Both girls were from the countryside and had done farm work and helped with household finances since they were young. Even though their statuses were different now, they had no such reservations.

It was still early, and the cooking smoke had not yet begun to rise from the kitchen. As Liu Zhen and the others approached, two young maidservants, about thirteen or fourteen years old, were at the doorway, one sitting and one standing.

The one sitting was washing vegetables, while the one standing held a fire poker. They seemed to be kitchen helpers.

Liu Zhen's group of three didn't speak as they approached, and their footsteps weren't very loud. As a result, both girls still had their backs to them and didn't notice anyone had come up from behind. Their chatting was quite loud.

One of them said, “Look at this new Governer's family. They're just like vulgar country folk. You can't see a trace of noble upbringing in them. Compared to the previous mistress of this residence, they're truly a world apart!”

The other asked, “What makes you say that? On the day the new master arrived, I also peeked at them. The mistress and the young madams were dressed in beautiful clothes. There was nothing wrong with them!”

That one said, “If everyone who put on fine clothes could be considered a noble, then how could there be a distinction between high and low status in this world? Ah Huang was responsible for delivering the meal to the mistress's family yesterday, and she saw that when the mistress ate, she chewed with her mouth open, making such a loud noise it could shake the heavens!”

The listener gasped, “Don't we also eat like that normally?”

The first one said, “Calling you foolish isn't wrong at all. We are servants, so it's fine for us. But when nobles eat, they are particular about being silent to show proper etiquette. When the former Governer Song held a banquet here, I was fortunate enough to see it. Even the way those nobles ate was completely different from us. Now look at this mistress, does she have even a hint of a noble's grace? Let's not even talk about the mistress; I heard even the master eats in the same manner...”

The young maidservant was speaking with great animation, completely unaware that people were standing behind her. It wasn't until Gui Xiang couldn't help but snort that the two of them jumped up in fright, nearly knocking over the basin of vegetables.

When they saw Liu Zhen standing there, looking as if she had been listening for who knows how long, their faces changed. They worked in the kitchen and rarely interacted with Madam Zhang and the others. Their only impression was a distant glance on the day Liu Yuan brought them here. Seeing the three of them standing there now, they didn't really recognize who they were.

While they were still dazed, Gui Xiang stepped forward and announced, “This is a Young Madam of the Governer's residence!”

Upon hearing this, both their faces turned pale. One reacted faster and immediately prostrated herself, kowtowing. The other quickly knelt down as well, words of apology and pleas for mercy tumbling from her lips.

The commotion was not small and soon alerted the other servants near the kitchen, who all rushed out to see what was happening.

Liu Zhen had no interest in making a show of force here. She simply said faintly, “Mother was originally merciful, thinking to keep all the old servants of the residence and not dismiss any. From the looks of it now, it seems some rectification is in order.”

After speaking, she turned and left. An Ze hurried to follow, and Gui Xiang shot the two a fierce glare before leaving as well.

Madam Zhang was not from a noble family. Before this, the greatest authority she had ever wielded was managing the daily lives of her few children. Now, with so many servants suddenly under her, even though she was the mistress of the residence with the power of life and death over these people, including the concubines, she didn't know how to use it. The eight maidservants they had brought from Changshe County were, before this, merely maidservants. Not one of them could act as Madam Zhang's deputy and guide her on what to do.

Moreover, it had only been two short days since Madam Zhang and her family had officially become the masters here. Before this, Madam Zhang's attention had been almost entirely focused on those two concubines, so naturally, she hadn't had the time to deal with the other servants and maids.

But the little incident today made Liu Zhen realize that this matter was urgent.

It wasn't a big deal, just two maidservants gossiping. This kind of thing was normal; it's human nature to gossip, something unavoidable in any time or place. However, Liu Zhen also knew that in a household with slightly stricter rules, this was absolutely forbidden. If they could gossip about their masters behind their backs today, they could do something else tomorrow. “A thousand-li dyke can collapse from an anthill.” If this was allowed to go unchecked, it would sooner or later lead to disaster.

Liu Zhen had a mature temperament, and her IQ and EQ were not low. But ever since she had transmigrated, she had been the daughter of a minor family and had never encountered such a situation. At most, she could remain composed and handle it calmly, but as for being able to teach Madam Zhang the right way to do things, that would be impossible even with a hundred golden fingers.

So, just like Madam Zhang, she was at the starting line, needing to learn.

But no matter how inexperienced Liu Zhen was, she knew that Madam Zhang had her priorities completely backward right now.

The urgent task at hand was to deal with this batch of old servants left by the previous Governer, not to fret over those two concubines.

But she didn't expect that things would go slightly wrong again.

The mistake lay in Madam Zhang's reaction.

After hearing Liu Zhen's report, Madam Zhang, fearing that her young age might have made her account unclear, went to ask Gui Xiang as well.

Gui Xiang, naturally, recounted everything the two maidservants had said at the time, down to the last detail.

When Liu Zhen had told the story, she had skipped the part where the two maidservants mocked Madam Zhang for making noise while eating. But Gui Xiang did not. The moment Madam Zhang heard it, she flew into a rage, ordered the two to be tied up and brought to her, and summoned all the old servants of the residence—of course, without leaving out the two concubines.

In front of everyone, Madam Zhang had the two of them severely beaten, then thrown into the woodshed, declaring they would be starved for two meals before being let out.

She didn't tell Liu Zhen beforehand when she dealt with those two. It was only natural; no matter how mature Liu Zhen was, her age was a fact. Madam Zhang didn't see her as someone to discuss matters with, just as she would cry to Madam He about her husband taking concubines, but would never do the same with Liu Zhen.

So by the time Liu Zhen learned of this, the two maidservants had already developed a fever from infected wounds and had died that very night.

In those times, this was truly not a major event. Servants were never regarded as people, something one could see from the fate of Liu Yuan's mother. The mistress killed someone to establish her authority, and it was the servants who had slandered the master's family first. No one could say she had done wrong or was unmerciful. Moreover, Liu Yuan was in charge of Yingchuan Commandery now. The emperor might as well not exist, and the laws of Qin were nothing but decorations.

Even Liu Yuan only frowned slightly upon hearing about it.

But when Madam Zhang learned the news, her reaction was huge.

She had never imagined that just by having them beaten, she would actually cause their deaths. She had no intention of killing anyone. In the past, she wouldn't even dare to think of killing, let alone do it. Now, as the mistress of the Governer's residence, though she hated the existence of the two concubines with a passion, she had only thought of driving them out.

And now, in just a few short days, two people had died right under her nose, and it was her fault, so to speak.

That night, Madam Zhang was so horrified that she had nightmares all night. The next day, she woke up with pale lips, a white face, and dark circles under her eyes.

When they gathered for the morning meal, Liu Yuan had already finished and left early for his duties.

The Liu family was originally poor and didn't have so many rules. Their house couldn't even fit so many dining mats, so they either ate with their food directly on the floor or shared one table. Their days living in the mountains were even more casual. Now in the Governer's residence, they had to start being particular about everything and could no longer be like before. Everyone ate at their own individual table. Liu Wan and Liu Zhuang were young and very unaccustomed to it. They not only knocked over their soup bowls, but their wooden chopsticks also frequently clattered against the tables, which earned them a harsh scolding from Madam Zhang, causing them to burst into tears.

Seeing that the situation was bad, Liu Nan finished his morning meal and slipped away under some pretext.

Liu Zhen's head was also throbbing from the commotion. Seeing that something was off with Madam Zhang, she deliberately stayed behind after the morning meal and asked with concern, “Mother, did you not sleep well last night?”

Madam Zhang's nerves were stretched to the breaking point. She couldn't very well keep calling Madam He in to talk about such shameful matters, and her own family was far away. When Liu Zhen asked, she immediately covered her face and began to cry, telling her everything that had happened the previous night.

It turned out that when the news of the two maidservants' deaths arrived, Madam Zhang was both shocked and scared. She couldn't help but complain to Liu Yuan, saying that if it weren't for his two concubines, she wouldn't have been in a bad mood and taken her anger out on the servants, and maybe those two maids wouldn't have had to die.

Seeing that Madam Zhang completely missed the point, had made a mess of things, and was blaming others, Liu Yuan also got angry. He got right up from the bed and went to spend the night with his two concubines.

And so, the couple had a huge fight. That, combined with the deaths of the two maids, caused Madam Zhang to spend the entire night trapped in nightmares.

Thus, she fell into a state of self-pity and remorse.

Liu Zhen was utterly speechless. What kind of mess was this?

But seeing Madam Zhang like this, she couldn't strike another blow. She could only offer some comfort first, then explain the reasoning to her step by step.

First, Father was unaware. You can ask for his opinion, but arguing won't work.

Second, the cause of this incident is that our family doesn't have household rules yet. So, we need to establish rules and properly manage the old servants to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

Finally, Liu Zhen took the initiative to suggest that if it was inconvenient for Madam Zhang to speak up, she could go and ask Liu Yuan if he had anyone in mind who could help manage these trivial matters, since none of them had any experience.

Madam Zhang nodded repeatedly as she listened. Her own biological children were still young; forget coming up with ideas, they weren't even sensible yet. Look at Liu Wan, who was only about a year younger than Liu Zhen, yet the difference in their maturity and thoughtfulness was like heaven and earth. She couldn't help but feel thankful that she had this stepdaughter.

Looking at Madam Zhang in this state, Liu Zhen felt a little worried.

Other people's stepmothers were holy warriors who fought with their stepdaughters and concubines. In her case, however, both mother and daughter were at a complete loss about how to handle this mess, and she even had to help come up with ideas.

Whether the household could be managed in an orderly fashion would, to a large extent, also affect the master's efficiency and reputation outside. Besides, all the prominent families in Yingchuan Commandery were currently watching every word and deed of this nouveau riche family surnamed Liu.

She decided to go find her old man to think of a solution.

Little did she know that the current Liu Yuan was also tearing his hair out with worry.