Chapter 176 Moving Back Home

Back when he was in charge of the general's affairs, he had everything he could want – glory and wealth. That was the life he was meant to live.

After the family split up, he also thought about managing their branch's business properly. He discussed with his mother the idea of ​​getting rid of those parasites from his uncle's family and hiring new people to run the business. He was confident that as long as the business was running well, they would make money.

Unexpectedly, after only a few words, his mother berated him, saying that he was an ingrate who was cutting off her family's livelihood. He was so angry that he wanted to give up and abandon the situation.

Recalling what his wife had just said, and knowing that his mother had indeed given his second brother several sums of money recently, his face darkened even more.

But if my second brother really does return to the Dali Temple to work, even if it's just a lowly official doing odd jobs, he'll still be considered a government official in the surrounding villages, which would at least raise his status a bit.

No one can predict what will happen in the future. What if my second brother rises in his career and gets promoted? Wouldn't he also benefit from that? Besides, my parents favor my second brother so much that they would definitely not agree to separate him from his family.

At this moment, Lu Yunzhang had absolutely no recollection of the schemes his parents had once plotted against him.

These days he has seen enough of the coldness and indifference of people outside, and he longs to go back to the days before the family split up, when he was still living in the General's Mansion.

At that time, with the halo of the General's Mansion, even though his eldest uncle and third cousin had passed away, the court's care for the General's Mansion and the respect and remembrance of the people of the city for his eldest uncle and his son meant that everyone treated him with respect when he went out.

Nowadays, in the eyes of outsiders, he is just a collateral branch of the General's Mansion, a commoner. He can no longer rely on the power of the General's Mansion, so who will give him any face?

Sigh! The more I thought about it, the more upset I became, so I got up and went out to the back room.

When Yue heard from her maid that the master had gone to the back room again, she knew that she would not be able to wait for him tonight. She was so angry that she threw the melon seeds in her hand at the maid's face.

How could Madam Yue not be furious? She thought that by getting rid of that wretched girl Siqin, she would make an example of her and prevent any other lowly woman from daring to compete with her for a man. But she never expected that Siqin would actually climb into the Fourth Master's bed. In order not to suffer any losses, the two families simply replaced the two maids, Siqin and Ling'er.

Ling'er is quite a handful. On her very first day in the second wife's household, she captivated her husband so much that he took the initiative to make her his concubine.

She originally planned to use the same method on Ling'er, making her drink a bowl of soup laced with croton powder before serving her. However, Ling'er was clever and pretended to knock over the bowl, leaving several scalded blisters on her wrist, which immediately made her husband feel distressed.

Now, whenever her husband is home, he spends all his time with that little slut. He doesn't care about his wife at all.

Hmph! She'd like to see how long that slut Ling'er could stay in favor. Once her husband lost interest in her, she'd deal with her slowly!

Soon, Lu Yunbo and his family moved back. The courtyard that Madam Wei had prepared for him and Madam Ye was the one that his eldest daughter-in-law had wanted to leave for Qian Ge'er.

However, Madam Wei had no choice. It wasn't that she didn't love her grandson, but the only place left in the house was this courtyard, and she couldn't very well not let her second son's family move back.

After busying herself with everything, Madam Ye went to pay her respects and serve her mother-in-law, Madam Wei.

Kneel down!

As soon as Madam Wei spoke, Madam Ye immediately knelt down.

Looking at her usually taciturn daughter-in-law, Madam Wei felt a surge of anger.

"It's all because of you, you useless person who doesn't know how to be thrifty and manage a household. You can't even take good care of your own husband and son. You've only been away for a short time, but my son and grandson have lost a lot of weight. What are you good for?"

You always have such a long face; you've ruined all my son's good fortune with your crying! You're a jinx!

After being berated by her mother-in-law, Ye lowered her head, suppressing her grievances and daring not to utter a word in rebuttal.

Yue, standing nearby, kindly spoke up for her: "Mother, please calm down. Second sister-in-law is young and doesn't know much about life. It's normal that she doesn't know how to manage a household. Now that she's moved back, Mother will have to teach her a lot."

I said to my second sister-in-law, "You're really something. My second brother has recently sent back several sums of money for your household expenses, but why don't you buy them more good food and drink to nourish them? No wonder Mother is angry; look how thin they are. You can't just keep subsidizing your own family and neglect your second brother and Huai-ge. They are your future support. Only by taking good care of them will you have a good life in the future."

"Sister-in-law, I didn't,"

Ye said weakly, but her voice was so faint that no one paid any attention.

Ye simply stopped talking and silently endured it with her head down.

She had no idea how much money her husband had, since he had never given her a single penny. During this time, her family lived in an outer house, and her husband was almost never at home during the day. He would leave early in the morning and return very late, usually drunk, and he didn't care about anything at home.

She was a woman with no income, yet she had to manage the livelihood of her entire family. With no other option, she had to use her dowry to supplement the income, racking her brains and trying to make every penny count.

Two days ago, she tried to talk to her husband about wanting some money to help with household expenses, but he scolded her mercilessly, leaving her with no choice but to swallow her anger.

Now that I've moved here to live with my in-laws, my mother-in-law is in charge of the household. Although I no longer have to worry about food, clothing, and daily necessities, I have to put up with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law's temper.

Oh well, what can she do when she's unlucky enough to marry into such a family? She'll just have to endure it. Maybe her hard times will end when her Huai-ge grows up.

On the other hand, the Earl of Nanping went to the Imperial Household Department early the next morning to submit a memorial requesting an official title. Given his current status in the court, such a request for an official title would probably be approved in a few days. After all, he had been in power for many years but had never requested an official title for his wife, which was unprecedented in other high-ranking noble families.

However, his sudden request for an official title will likely be subject to private questioning by the Emperor.

Ever since the news of the substitute bride from the Nanping Earl's mansion spread, the Emperor seems to have been quite concerned about the affairs of his family's inner quarters, and occasionally summons him to inquire about them.

Hmph! He didn't realize that the Emperor was clearly being gossipy, and every time he tried to find out about his family's affairs in a roundabout way.

Who could he do but vent his anger on the emperor, who was in power? He could only seethe with rage but dared not speak out, so he took it out on that bastard Lu Yunbo. "Hmph! How dare you offend my daughter! I'll see how I deal with you!"

Early in the morning, a luxurious carriage was parked in front of the Su residence in Liuli Lane, followed by more than a dozen guards and a group of maids and servants.

The carriage stopped, and with the help of Granny Wu, Madam Qiao slowly stepped down from the carriage and came to the door.

Granny Gui stepped forward respectfully and pointed to the gate in front of her, saying:

"Madam, this is the place."

Madam Qiao nodded, signaling Granny Gui to go and knock on the door.

Su Chengniang had just finished her breakfast and was about to look through the shop's account books when she heard a servant announce that someone from the Earl's mansion had arrived.