Chapter 55 Adoption Dispute 3

Remembering the boy who was about her height, Yu Qingci hesitated and asked, "I remember Yun Yi was a son of a concubine?"

Madam Ning nodded: "Yunyi's aunt is a woman that your fourth uncle bought from outside. She has always been favored by your fourth uncle. Your fourth uncle also loves Yunyi because of her. His proposal to adopt Yunyi to me is naturally for the sake of the child's future. Otherwise, no matter how favored a son born out of wedlock is, he will not be able to inherit much wealth in the future."

Yu Qingci: "What about my fourth aunt? Does she also agree to adopt the illegitimate son?"

Although she hadn't known Ma for long, Yu Qingci didn't believe that Ma would let such a good thing fall into the hands of an illegitimate son.

As expected, Madam Ning shook her head: "Your fourth aunt is unwilling, but she can't bear to part with her son. She is determined to give her own grandson, Yu-ge'er, to you to raise."

Yu Qingci analyzed the current situation: "It means that my second and fourth uncles are still disagreeing about which one to adopt?"

Madam Ning nodded and said, "Yes, they all felt that adopting a child would make them the head of the eldest branch of the family, so they were all very willing. However, they each had their own opinions and argued about it for a long time. No one would give in to the other until the marriage with the Earl's family was settled, and then they were quiet for a while."

Now that you're married into the family, I'm sure it won't be long before they bring up their old issues again.

Yu Qingci thought for a moment and said, "It's alright. As long as Mother doesn't listen to them, we'll stick together and let them make a fuss. It's pointless for us to say anything if we don't agree."

Besides, I've only been married into the family for a short time. Even if I were to be adopted, it would have to wait a while, and we'd also need to consult my maternal family. If they go too far, Mother can simply move my Nanping Marquis's mansion out of the picture.”

Those people's wishful thinking in the previous life did not succeed. Instead, due to the strong intervention of the Nanping Marquis's Mansion, the more distant relatives took advantage of the situation.

Now that she knows the young general will return sooner or later, and will even bring a confidante with him, she might not need to go to the trouble of finding him an heir.

She herself disdains being the wicked first wife who breaks up loving couples. Instead, she will take the initiative to propose a divorce to let the lovers be together, take her dowry and retire successfully, and live a carefree life from then on. Wouldn't that be better?

So for the next three years, all she had to do was to keep to her duty, protect the young general's mother and sister, and safeguard the interests of the main branch from being further encroached upon by those bloodsucking relatives.

The best thing would be to find a way to separate the second and fourth bedrooms, so that we can live a quiet life behind closed doors.

Yu Qingci thought about it more and more and felt it was feasible, her expression calm and composed.

Madam Ning looked at her daughter-in-law with satisfaction, finding her pleasing to the eye. She took her hand and said, "I knew you were a thoughtful and clever girl. With your words, I feel like I have a pillar of support. You're right, as long as we stick together, we won't be afraid of them causing any more trouble."

"You'll eventually have to take over the household management, so starting tomorrow you'll begin learning from me how to manage the household affairs."

Yu Qingci hurriedly declined, saying, "Mother, this matter is really not urgent. I just entered the house."

This time, however, Madam Ning did not allow her to refuse: "Sooner or later it will be handed over to you. You can get to know them slowly. Don't worry about those people. If they don't settle down, I, their mother-in-law, will take care of them. Although I am a bit weak-willed, I have my ways of dealing with them over the years. It's settled then."

Yu Qingci was not actually enthusiastic about managing the household affairs. In her opinion, it was a thankless task. If you did well, no one would praise you, but if you did something wrong, there would be plenty of people who would nitpick.

However, since her mother-in-law had already made a decision, she couldn't back down anymore, so she nodded and said, "Then I will listen to my mother."

Madam Ning was naturally pleased to see that she had agreed: "However, managing the household affairs is not so easy to learn. Most girls learn by observing their elders from a young age for several years before they gradually get the hang of it. As for when you will be able to learn it, it depends on your comprehension."

Yun Chu is right. Given the current situation in the manor, we can't hand over the management of the household affairs directly to you, so there's no need to rush. We'll take it slowly.”

Yu Qingci smiled and nodded in agreement, then suggested, "Why don't we invite Seventh Sister along too? In two years, it will be time for Seventh Sister to get married. We can both learn from Mother together."

Madam Ning said with satisfaction, "Good, let's also call Yun Chu, so that the two of you can study together and keep each other company."

Over the past few days, Madam Ning has grown increasingly satisfied with her daughter-in-law. At such a young age, she is only a year older than her daughter Yun Chu, yet she has married into her family to live a life of widowhood, which is truly heartbreaking.

This child is not only beautiful, but also kind and understanding. With her by my side, Old Man Ning feels that there is hope for the future.

Having agreed to learn how to manage household affairs from Madam Ning, Yu Qingci had no choice but to get out of bed early the next morning, despite her sleepiness, to start dressing and grooming. From this day forward, she would be following the old lady to learn how to manage the household.

Today is the first day, and although she is only attending as an observer, she absolutely cannot be late.

After quickly washing up with the help of Granny Pei and Tong'er, she hurriedly went to Songbai Hall. The place where Old Madam Ning handled household affairs every day was a side room next to Songbai Hall, which was called the meeting hall.

It was still dark, but the courtyard was already filled with stewards from various departments. The fact that so many people stood there silently without uttering a sound showed how strict the daily rules of the General's Mansion were.

Upon entering the council hall, Old Madam Ning and Lu Yun Chu were already seated. Seeing her enter, Lu Yun Chu stood up and greeted her as "Sister-in-law."

Yu Qingci felt a little embarrassed; it seemed she was still a bit late. It was all her fault for being so grumpy in the morning; it took Pei Mama and Tong'er a lot of effort to pull her out of bed.

Unfortunately, managing the household and overseeing affairs in this era was not easy at all. Usually, they had to get up just after dawn and arrange all the day's affairs before dawn, such as issuing tokens, checking the manpower in various places, etc. The servants who were in charge of purchasing would receive their tokens and then go to the accounting office to reconcile accounts and withdraw money, thus beginning the day's operation of the mansion.

Back in her hometown of Youyang, she had seen her mother manage the household affairs, and she followed the same procedures.

At that time, she didn't understand this at all. It's just housekeeping and management. Who decided that household affairs must be handled at this time? Why can't the affairs of the next day be arranged in the afternoon of the previous day? Wouldn't that allow her to get a good night's sleep?

She secretly vowed that she would make this arrangement when she became the matriarch of the household one day.

But--

Looking at the two people, one old and one young, sitting upright in the chairs in front of her, and the room full of servants, Yu Qingci felt her face burning. She was only in the auditing stage and did not have the right to arbitrarily change the time of the council meeting, let alone be late.

She knelt down beside Old Madam Ning and greeted her: "Mother, your daughter-in-law is late. Please punish me."