Jade Beauty of the Noble House

Everyone said that Shen Yunshu, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Yongchang Marquis's household, was a beautiful clay doll, her spirit crushed beneath the weight of propriety.

Her husband found her dull and took his bright, understanding cousin as a favored concubine. Her mother-in-law resented her for failing to stand up for herself and uphold the dignity of the principal wife. Even the maids in her courtyard dared to call their mistress wooden and say the concubine was more beloved.

Then, at a flower-viewing banquet, the concubine tried the same old trick, falling into the water and framing Shen Yunshu. Everyone waited to see the principal wife swallow the insult yet again.

Instead, Shen Yunshu calmly smoothed her cuff and turned to the matron beside her.

“Make a note: Concubine Liu, for framing the principal wife, will lose half a year's allowance and be confined to her quarters for three months. If she does it again, sell her.”

Her voice was perfectly even, as if she were dealing with some trivial chore.

The entire gathering was stunned. Her dashing husband was furious. “Shen Yunshu, when did you become so cruel and heartless?”

Shen Yunshu raised her eyes slightly, silently noting the System's [Character Breakdown Warning], while wearing just the right touch of sorrow befitting a “virtuous wife.”

“You are right to reprimand me, my lord. But the rules of this household cannot be abandoned.”

It was only later that everyone in the marquis's household realized just how much their principal wife had changed.

She brought impeccable order to the inner household, rewarding and punishing fairly with astonishing efficiency, but never smiled at her husband again.

She increased revenue and cut expenses, multiplying the value of her properties and filling the storehouses, yet began keeping accounts with the marquis down to the last coin.

She even... started looking through portraits of eligible young men in the capital, claiming, “I'm making plans for my younger sisters.”