The next morning.
Shen Zhiwei was awakened by an argument outside the courtyard.
“Is the eldest young lady still not up?”
“Madam said today is the day the household distributes the monthly allowances. If the eldest young lady is awake, have her go to the accounting office and collect hers herself.”
“But… Miss only woke up a few days ago.”
“Awake is awake. The entire household can’t wait on her for everything just because she’s weak, can it?”
Several maids lowered their voices outside the door.
Shen Zhiwei opened her eyes.
She did not get up at once. Instead, she stared at the canopy above the bed for several seconds.
Everything that had happened yesterday had not been a dream.
She had truly undergone transmigration.
And she had transmigrated into the legitimate eldest daughter of an ancient marquis’s residence.
More precisely—
She had become a worthless legitimate daughter whom everyone looked down on.
The thought had barely surfaced when a vast mass of unfamiliar memories suddenly surged up from the depths of her mind.
Shen Zhiwei raised a hand to press against her temple.
Her head throbbed as if it were splitting apart.
Countless images that did not belong to her flashed past in rapid succession.
The marquis’s residence.
A young girl.
Her father.
Her stepmother.
Her younger half-sister.
Cold looks.
Mockery.
And the near-drowning that had almost claimed the original owner’s life.
She closed her eyes and let those memories settle bit by bit.
The original owner had also been named Shen Zhiwei.
Seventeen years old.
The legitimate eldest daughter of the Yongning Marquis’s Residence.
Her birth mother had died young.
Her father, Shen Mingyuan, had spent years serving away from home, and his relationship with her was distant.
Later, Liu-shi entered the residence and became his secondary wife.
Liu-shi appeared gentle on the surface, but her methods were deep and ruthless.
The original owner had been weak from childhood and timid by nature. She had almost no presence in the household.
Her younger half-sister, Shen Ruolan, on the other hand, was a famous beauty and talent in the capital.
She excelled at the qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
As a result, the servants of the residence gradually formed an unspoken understanding.
The true eldest young lady had instead become the person with the least status in the entire marquis’s residence.
Shen Zhiwei opened her eyes.
Her gaze had grown colder.
The clearest scene in the original owner’s memories was from three days ago.
Shen Ruolan had taken her to admire the flowers in the rear courtyard.
The two of them had stood beside the pond.
Shen Ruolan had suddenly grabbed her hand.
“Sister, do you know?”
“Father said that if I can marry the heir of a prince’s residence, it will bring glory to the Shen family.”
Before the original owner could react, the next instant—
she was shoved into the pond.
Ice-cold water flooded her nose and mouth.
She struggled desperately.
But Shen Ruolan merely stood on the bank.
“Sister, don’t blame me.”
“Who told you to be the legitimate daughter?”
After that—
there had only been endless darkness.
Shen Zhiwei opened her eyes.
Her gaze was cold as ice.
Good.
She finally understood why she had transmigrated into this body.
The original owner had not simply died of illness.
She had been murdered.
“Miss?”
Qinghe’s voice came from outside.
“Are you awake?”
“Come in.”
The door opened, and Qinghe entered carrying washing supplies.
When she saw that Shen Zhiwei was already sitting at the bedside, she visibly relaxed.
“Miss, how are you feeling today?”
“Very well.”
“Really?”
“Mm.”
Qinghe set down the bronze basin.
“Then this servant will attend to your washing.”
Shen Zhiwei did not refuse.
After washing, she changed into a plain-colored dress.
Qinghe combed her hair.
Looking at the young girl in the bronze mirror, Qinghe could not help saying softly, “Miss, you look… different today.”
“How are you different?”
“I can’t quite put it into words.”
Qinghe frowned and thought for a long while.
“It’s just that you used to always seem…”
She did not continue.
But Shen Zhiwei knew what she wanted to say.
As if she had no soul.
As if anyone could manipulate her.
But the current Shen Zhiwei—
was different.
“Qinghe.”
“Yes?”
“Do you think I used to be completely useless?”
Qinghe’s face went pale.
“Miss, that’s not what I meant!”
Shen Zhiwei smiled.
“I’m not blaming you.”
She looked at herself in the mirror.
“I really was useless before.”
Qinghe hurriedly said, “Miss, you were only in poor health.”
Shen Zhiwei shook her head.
“Poor health doesn’t mean your spirit has to die, too.”
Qinghe froze.
It was the first time she had ever heard her mistress say something like that.
Shen Zhiwei rose.
“Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“The accounting office.”
Qinghe was stunned.
“Now?”
“Now.”
“But Madam said…”
“I know.”
Shen Zhiwei straightened her sleeves.
“That’s exactly why we’re going.”
In the main courtyard of the Yongning Marquis’s Residence, Liu-shi sat in the seat of honor.
Shen Ruolan sat beside her.
The two of them were drinking tea.
“Mother.” Shen Ruolan set down her teacup and asked softly, “Did Sister really wake up?”
Liu-shi’s brows drew together slightly.
“Mm.”
“She certainly has a tough life.”
There was no emotion discernible in Shen Ruolan’s tone.
Liu-shi glanced at her.
“Don’t worry. Even if she’s awake, she can’t make any waves.”
“But…”
“No buts.” Liu-shi’s voice turned cold. “She’s been a sickly weakling since childhood. She can’t even play the qin properly, her handwriting is ugly, and she’s so frail she can’t even leave her courtyard.”
“What could she possibly use to compete with you?”
Shen Ruolan pressed her lips together.
“I’m only worried.”
“Your biggest problem is that you’re too softhearted.”
Liu-shi set down her teacup.
“You’re now the most outstanding young lady among the capital’s noblewomen.”
“In a few days, people from Jingwang Fu will be coming.”
Shen Ruolan’s eyes lit up slightly.
“Really?”
“Of course.”
Liu-shi smiled.
“Once you marry into Jingwang Fu, Shen Zhiwei, the legitimate daughter, will be even more worthless.”
As they spoke, a voice suddenly rang out beyond the courtyard.
“The eldest young lady has arrived.”
Liu-shi’s smile instantly stiffened.
Shen Ruolan also raised her head.
The next moment, Shen Zhiwei entered the main courtyard.
Only Qinghe followed behind her.
There were no maids surrounding her.
No ornate jewelry.
Even her dress was merely the plainest color.
Yet when she entered, the entire courtyard inexplicably fell silent for a moment.
Liu-shi studied her.
A trace of surprise flashed through her eyes.
This Shen Zhiwei…
seemed to have changed.
“Greetings, Mother.”
Shen Zhiwei gave a slight curtsy.
Her etiquette was impeccable.
Liu-shi smiled.
“Zhiwei, you’ve only just recovered. Why aren’t you resting properly in your courtyard?”
“I’m fine now.”
“That’s good.”
Liu-shi lifted her tea.
“I heard you’re going to the accounting office?”
“Yes.”
“What are you going there for?”
“To collect my monthly allowance.”
Liu-shi’s fingers paused slightly.
“Your monthly allowance?”
“Is there a problem?”
Shen Zhiwei looked at her.
Liu-shi smiled.
“Of course not. It’s just that in previous years, the steward delivered it to your courtyard.”
“Why do you suddenly want to go yourself this year?”
“Because I want to take a look.”
“At what?”
“To see exactly how much money the Shen family has.”
That one sentence made the smile fade from Liu-shi’s face.
Shen Ruolan also frowned.
“Sister, what do you mean by that?”
Shen Zhiwei looked at her.
“Nothing in particular.”
“I’ve simply developed an interest in the ledgers.”
“The ledgers?” Shen Ruolan’s heart jolted. “You don’t understand commerce. Why would you look at the ledgers?”
“I didn’t understand before.” Shen Zhiwei’s tone was indifferent. “Now I want to learn.”
Shen Ruolan was momentarily speechless.
But Liu-shi smiled.
“If you’re interested, then go have a look.”
She could not have been happier for Shen Zhiwei to embarrass herself at the accounting office without understanding anything.
“Thank you, Mother.”
Shen Zhiwei turned and left.
Shen Ruolan watched her retreating back.
For some reason, a trace of unease rose in her heart.
At the accounting office, steward Zhou Fu was sitting at his desk.
When he heard that the eldest young lady had arrived, he hurriedly stood.
“Eldest young lady.”
“Steward Zhou.”
Shen Zhiwei walked to the desk.
“Bring me this year’s ledgers.”
Zhou Fu froze.
“All of them?”
“All of them.”
“Eldest young lady, this…”
“What?” Shen Zhiwei looked at him. “The accounting office won’t let me see them?”
Cold sweat broke out on Zhou Fu’s forehead.
“Of course not.”
Before long, several thick ledgers had been carried to the desk.
Shen Zhiwei picked one up casually and opened it.
The first page: grain expenses.
The second: bolts of cloth.
The third: the monthly allowances of the household servants.
She read extremely quickly.
Zhou Fu stood beside her, unable to stop himself from sneering inwardly.
The eldest young lady had previously been too lazy even to look at numbers.
Now she suddenly wanted to learn bookkeeping?
She would probably give up within half an hour.
However—
After fifteen minutes, the smile disappeared from Zhou Fu’s face.
After half an hour, his complexion began to pale.
After an hour, Shen Zhiwei closed the ledger.
“Steward Zhou.”
“This servant is here.”
“This year, the household’s grain purchases cost thirty percent more than last year.”
Zhou Fu’s heart jumped.
“This… is because market prices have risen.”
“Is that so?”
Shen Zhiwei took out another ledger.
“Capital grain-price records.”
“From last year to this year, the average increase was less than ten percent.”
“But you claimed an additional twenty percent in the accounts.”
Zhou Fu’s expression changed instantly.
“Eldest young lady, this…”
Shen Zhiwei opened another ledger.
“The same goes for the cloth.”
“And the charcoal.”
“Even the lamp oil used in the residence costs more than the outside price.”
She raised her head.
“Steward Zhou.”
“How much money is actually leaving the Shen family’s accounting office each year?”
Zhou Fu’s legs went weak.
He dropped to his knees.
“Eldest young lady, please investigate this clearly!”
“This servant only acted according to Madam’s instructions!”
The words had barely fallen when the entire accounting office fell silent.
Zhou Fu regretted them the instant they left his mouth.
He raised his head.
Sure enough, Shen Zhiwei was looking at him.
She was not angry.
She was even smiling.
“Madam?”
“Yes…”
“Which Madam?”
Zhou Fu did not dare answer.
Shen Zhiwei closed the ledger.
“I didn’t come here today to investigate you.”
“You don’t need to be afraid.”
Zhou Fu was stunned.
“Then, Eldest young lady…”
“I only wanted to confirm one thing.”
Shen Zhiwei rose.
“How many people in this marquis’s residence actually take me for a fool?”
Zhou Fu’s face turned deathly pale.
She turned and left.
When she reached the door, she suddenly stopped.
“Oh, right.”
“Send all these ledgers to my courtyard.”
“I want to examine three years’ worth.”
Zhou Fu: “…”
The eldest young lady had truly changed.
And she had changed into someone frightening.
When Shen Zhiwei returned to her courtyard, she sat at the writing desk.
Ledgers were piled high in front of her.
Qinghe stared at them in astonishment.
“Miss, you really understand all this?”
“It’s only bookkeeping.”
“But I heard Second Miss took half a year just to learn it.”
Shen Zhiwei turned a page.
“Her method was wrong.”
“Reading ledgers isn’t about rote memorization.”
“You have to look for patterns.”
Qinghe seemed to understand and yet not understand.
Shen Zhiwei, however, had already entered the zone.
She picked up her calligraphy brush and began writing numbers on paper.
Income.
Expenses.
Fixed costs.
Variable costs.
Abnormal expenses.
Using modern financial analysis, she reorganized the ancient accounts.
Half an hour later, a simple table appeared on the paper.
Qinghe leaned over and was completely bewildered.
“Miss, what is this?”
“Analysis.”
“Analysis of what?”
“The Shen family’s money.”
She pointed to one of the columns.
“Here.”
“There’s an unreasonable expense every year.”
“The amount isn’t large.”
“But it’s continued for six years.”
Qinghe froze.
“Six years?”
“Mm.”
Shen Zhiwei’s gaze darkened.
“And it occurs in the same month every year.”
“This doesn’t look like embezzlement.”
“It seems more like someone is taking the money on a regular basis.”
Qinghe asked in a small voice, “Could it be Madam?”
Shen Zhiwei did not answer.
She did not like drawing conclusions without evidence.
That was true of scientific research.
It was true of investigating a case as well.
“Make a note of it for now.”
“We’ll wait for evidence.”
She set down her brush.
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside the courtyard.
“Miss!”
Qinghe ran in.
“This is bad!”
Shen Zhiwei looked up.
“What happened?”
“Second Miss…”
“What about her?”
“She brought people to the storeroom in our courtyard.”
Shen Zhiwei’s brows lifted slightly.
“Her reason?”
“She said…” Qinghe bit her lip. “She said you’ve been ill for so many years, so leaving all those fine things in the courtyard unused would be a waste.”
“Madam told her to pick out a few items.”
Shen Zhiwei was silent for a moment.
Then she suddenly smiled.
“Is that so?”
She stood.
“Then let’s go see.”
Qinghe was stunned.
“Miss, you’re not angry?”
“Will being angry solve the problem?”
“No.”
“Then there’s no reason to be angry.”
Shen Zhiwei straightened her cuffs.
“It seems some people have forgotten something.”
“Starting today—”
“Everything in this courtyard…”
“No one takes a thing without asking me first.”
She pushed open the door and walked out.
The setting sun fell across the young girl’s shoulders.
In that moment, Qinghe suddenly understood.
The Shen family’s eldest young lady, who had once allowed herself to be bullied by anyone—
was truly gone forever.
And a brand-new Shen Zhiwei was formally awakening within this ancient marquis’s residence.
She did not merely want to survive.
She wanted to lead this era, little by little, from darkness into the light.
As for those who had once humiliated the original owner…
There was no rush.
Scientific research valued steady progress.
Revenge was the same.
She had all the time in the world.