Fierce Consort

Chapter 91

Ever since Shen Yi Yao agreed to attend the hunt, Yan Ting and the old madam became more pleasant.

Without mentioning Yan Ting's changes, it was clear just based on the old madam's sudden change that something fishy was going on!

Regarding Yan Qian's confinement, neither one raised any objections. Yan Ting even spoke up and told Shen Yi Yao to hurry with the matter of Yan Qian's marriage, the further the better.

Of course, this was something Shen Yi Yao was prepared to do no matter who objected. But when the words came from Yan Ting, it made her feel especially cold. As a father, no matter how many mistakes his daughter made, he shouldn't be so emotionless. He didn't even ask about her.

Was this man still the indomitable man of character she held in her heart back then? Or had he never changed, and had she just never seen him clearly? Every time she saw him more clearly, Shen Yi Yao's heart would get a little colder, until the chill penetrated her bones.

However, she no longer wanted to bother herself with what he was like. If it weren't for her two children, she wouldn't stay in the Weiyuan Marquis Estate at all.

Compared to Shen Yi Yao, Chen-shi was under a lot of pressure these days. First of all, she hadn't managed the household before. No matter how much the Weiyuan Marquis Estate had declined, a rotting ship still had three jins of metal. Without any experience, how could she be doing a good job?

Additionally, she had been suspicious and jealous of Xue-shi. The moment she got the authority, she had switched out all of Xue-shi's former people. This was also par for the course. Otherwise, why would there be the saying that when a person grasped the dao, his chickens and dogs would also ascend? Since the third branch's madam was now in charge, the third branch's servants naturally got quite a few benefits.

But the problem was that she was inexperienced, and her servants were also quite inexperienced. She also didn't understand to do things gradually and replaced everyone right away. The estate became a mess.

The main kitchen was the first place where issues arose. The kitchen was the place where the most benefits were to be had. Now, Chen-shi's wet nurse Matron Wang was in charge of it. The managing granny from before was sent to wash vegetables.

Why were some people called hopelessly stupid?
Someone who could manage the kitchen couldn't have been someone Xue-shi appointed by herself. This granny had Matron Zhao behind her. When her person was replaced, Matron Zhao didn't say anything and allowed that granny to wash vegetables in the kitchen.

Chen-shi was still smug about replacing Xue-shi's peole. She scarcely imagined Xue-shi was laughing her head off, waiting for Chen-shi to get dealt with.
That Matron Wang was also a useless one. She seemed awe-inspiring but actually wasn't able to handle anything. She couldn't even tell when those under her was tripping her up. Before long, the masters in the estate started complaining.

Some received mandarin fish when they ordered bass. Orders were delivered to the wrong place. There were too many instances to list out.

Furthermore, these days the quality of the dishes had gone downhill. While allowances were continuously reduced, people weren't even able to get the dishes they wanted anymore.

Part of it was due to people purposefully screwing up, but part of it was also due to Chen-shi.

It turned out that Chen-shi was eager to show some results to the old madam. For the sake of saving silver, she had removed many of the kitchen's regular dishes that were prepared in advance. These dishes were made in case one of the masters wanted a change in flavor. Chen-shi figured this wasn't needed most of the time, and would only benefit the servants if it was left uneaten. Therefore, she got rid of this practice.