Chapter 86 Chapter 86 She is really lucky.

Jasmine was confused. "Logically speaking, the old lady wouldn't agree to anything they said. So why did she let them in? Couldn't she just kick them out?"

Xiuhong: "It seems to be about something."

"What's up?"

Xiuhong shook her head. "When I went over there, Madam Xu refused to leave, so the old lady had her beaten away."

Jasmine turned around and knew what had happened.

It's actually related to her.

Xu Fang came unannounced with her attendants to seek an audience with the old lady, intending to make peace. The old lady had initially intended to send them away, but she agreed to meet them because she also had something to ask of Xu Fang.

The old lady had originally intended to trick Xu Fang into doing her job, but when Xu Fang saw the old lady asking her for help, she became even more demanding and negotiated a deal, demanding that she find a way to give the girl she had brought to the Duke.

Xu Fang was particularly cunning. She wanted the old lady to get things done, so she promised to do things for the old lady only when her daughter became pregnant.

After many attempts and many failures, the old lady knew that she could not close the deal today. She simply turned hostile and beat the man away.

The reason why Xu Fang was beaten was that she refused to give up. When the old lady turned against her, she still wanted to fight back. The old lady was so angry that she ordered people to take action.

Xu Fang and her brothers and sisters-in-law and close associates were beaten so hard that they fled everywhere crying for their parents.

Jasmine was curious about what the old lady had asked Xu Fangshi for. Even the Fourth Young Master's wife was unaware of this matter. Jasmine couldn't pry, so she could only endure it.

A few days later, she heard that the old lady was going to Xuzhou to worship her ancestors. Jasmine suspected that what the old lady was asking for was probably no small matter.

When the Duke learned of this, he offered to accompany the old lady. However, the night before departure, His Majesty assigned him a task. He couldn't refuse His Majesty's errand for the old lady, and the old lady wouldn't agree either.

The old lady comforted the Duke, telling him not to worry about her and to focus on his mission for His Majesty. After the Duke left, the old lady was visibly worried.

Jasmine stepped forward, squatted at the old lady's feet and said, "Don't worry, mother. Jasmine will be with you."

When they heard the word "mother", the masters and servants in the house were stunned by her shamelessness.

The old lady couldn't help but lean back, but her hands were held back. She wanted to get angry, but she couldn't say anything.

Now she is the wife of the Duke, the second master's principal wife, so calling her mother is not wrong. The old lady could only smile stiffly and nodded.

The Fourth Young Master's wife's expressionless face was filled with sadness. In the end, a lowly servant like her had gotten the position of the Duke's wife!

The Fourth Young Master's wife glanced at the Old Madam, lowering her eyes to hide her hatred. Why, why wouldn't she be allowed to have her way? Her life was ruined in the Duke's Mansion!

That evening, Jasmine told her father about accompanying the old lady to Xuzhou. She said, "Since I can't go with the old lady, I'll let Jian'er do it for me. Don't worry, Jian'er will take good care of himself and the old lady."

Logically speaking, the Duke has been fooled countless times, so anyone would know that words cannot be trusted.

But the Duke didn't think much about it. When he saw his wife's voice, appearance and smile, he just felt that his wife had indeed changed for the better.

Yan Ke smiled with relief: "Old Madam has Madam Qian and Tao'er to take care of her. You just need to take care of yourself and have fun in Xuzhou."

The Duke then solemnly warned, "Ms. Xu might not dare to offend the old lady, but she might try to hinder you privately. Do not go alone with her unless absolutely necessary. Even with guards accompanying you."

"I see. By the way, Man'er will be left to me for the time being. I didn't tell her. You'll have to work hard to comfort her tomorrow."

Yan Ke was helpless: "She's my daughter, I should coax her. But I shouldn't tell her. If I tell her, I'm afraid you won't be able to leave tomorrow."

"Let's not talk about her." Jasmine smiled playfully, "As a stubborn father, it's only right that I coax a stubborn child."

Then, the Duke was knocked down.

Jasmine didn't plan to bring Manxi with her. After all, she wasn't going there to have fun. She wasn't stupid and she wouldn't leave Manxi with a weak spot that could be exploited.

Manxi was sleeping soundly and had no idea that her mother was planning to sneak away without telling her.

The next day, she woke up and didn't see her mother. After she finished eating, she didn't see her mother either. Even Shancha was gone.

From then on, no matter how the wet nurse and Xiuhong tried to coax her, she was out of control.

When Yan Ke came back, before she even stepped through the door, she heard her daughter's deafening cries. In the afternoon, Yan Ke had no choice but to tie Ai Dunzi to her belt.

The next day, Manxi was afraid that his father would run away like his mother, so he woke up before dawn, slipped out of bed while his nanny wasn't paying attention, and ran to find his father.

Yan Ke had no choice but to take his daughter to court. Originally, Yan Pu wanted to take his daughter for a stroll around the imperial city, but somehow the emperor got wind of this, and Manxi was taken to the imperial concubine's palace.

Coincidentally, there was a second prince in the palace who was about the same age as Manxi.

After returning to Beijing, Manxi played with Xiuhong Shancha all the time. It was rare for her to meet a child of similar age to herself, so Manxi immediately stopped looking for her parents and took the Second Prince's hand, wanting to take him out to pick flowers.

She saw it when she came in just now. There is a beautiful garden.

Erpang was shy and shook her hand off, refusing to hold it.

Manxi was helpless for a moment, then ran forward to hold his hand.

Erpang shook him off again.

This time Manxi lost his balance and fell flat on his back.

The imperial concubine, watching the show from the side, was wondering whether to intervene, but she couldn't make the little girl cry. Although she hated being a father, the little girl was innocent.

Unexpectedly, Manxi persisted and staggered forward again. This time, she grabbed Erpang's hand tightly with both hands and yelled at him, "Ah!"

Erpang was frightened immediately and dared not struggle anymore. He turned around and looked at his mother with grievance.

The imperial concubine said she could do nothing to help.

...

Jasmine accompanied the old lady on the boat to Xuzhou.

When Xu came, she didn't say hello. This time when the old lady left, she didn't say a word either.

The carriage stopped in front of Xu Wuhou's mansion, startling the gatekeeper. Seeing the old lady's face, the gatekeeper didn't dare to greet her, but instead ran back inside to report the news.

Xu Fang was driven away by the old lady, and after returning home she told the whole story. When Mr. Xu Er learned that his sister had come, he also knew that she had bad intentions.

Mr. Xu's face had been gloomy these past few days. When he heard the steward say someone was coming to the house, his face became even sulkier. But when they arrived at the gate, his face was full of smiles again: "Big sister is back! Why didn't you tell me you were back? Look, the family hasn't prepared anything."

"You went to Kyoto without me telling you that, and now you blame me?" The old lady had a gloomy face and was not going to give any good face.

Jasmine hadn't expected the old lady to be so overbearing right from the start. Was she trying to gain leverage over Xu Wuhou?

It doesn't look like it. If there really was something on him, it wouldn't have been so easily taken advantage of by Xu Shi so many times.

Besides, the old lady didn't seem like a powerful person who could control her family. Her old lady was just a paper tiger.

Jasmine concluded that the old lady was probably very angry and had been holding it in all the way, so she couldn't help it.

Jasmine shook her head and sighed. This was on someone else's territory, and her old lady still needed help from them. What good would it do for her to do this?

If it were her, she would definitely get what she wanted, and then it wouldn't be too late to make things difficult for the other party after returning.

Jasmine looked at Mr. Xu and did not miss the fleeting gloom on his face.

She knew that the old lady's trip would be in vain.

Mr. Xu's smile froze for a moment, then he smiled again: "Big sister is still as sharp-tongued as ever. If you have anything to say, please come inside and talk. Come on, please come in."

Seeing that he was timid, the old lady said sharply, "No need for you, second brother. The Marquis' Mansion is also my home."

Xu Fang couldn't help but retort, "Since my elder sister still regards the Marquis' Mansion as her own home, why didn't you come back when our father and mother passed away?"

The old lady was furious and was about to speak when Xu Fang interrupted her again, smiling and saying, "Sister, please go into the mansion first. There are so many people outside and it would be a shame to make a fool of yourself."

"you……"

The old lady was interrupted, and she was furious. If she didn't explain herself now, her reputation as an unfilial lady would soon be firmly established in Xuzhou.

The old lady knew Xu Fang was doing this on purpose. She stood still, determined to speak up no matter what. It was better to be embarrassed than to be stabbed in the back!

As the Duke's wife, Jasmine now stood in front of the Fourth Young Master's wife and behind the Old Lady's left hand.

The old lady's right hand was supported by Nanny Qian. Jasmine took a step forward and took the old lady's left hand.

"Second aunt, what you said is wrong. How can you make people laugh at you? Mother grew up here and has always been close to the neighbors. I often heard her say how Aunt Zhao took good care of her when she was little, and how Miss Li gave her candy and always took her out to play. Everyone here is closer than family. Second aunt's words are really disheartening."

Xu Fang looked at Jasmine coldly, knowing she could only endure it. This girl was now the Duke's wife, so even if they didn't ask her for help, the Marquisate couldn't afford to offend her.

Xu Fang could only sigh in her heart, this girl is really lucky. Not only did she escape being a murderer, but in just two years, she became the wife of a Duke!

Xu Fang's smile widened again. She stepped forward and tried to squeeze Nanny Qian out of the way, personally helping the old lady. "Madam, I just couldn't bear to see my elder sister suffer in the carriage..."

Nanny Qian was as still as a stabilizing force.

Jasmine spoke quickly, raising her voice to drown out Xu Fangshi's, "Old Madam, just speak frankly. You've reached home once you've arrived on this street."

As she finished speaking, Jasmine felt a hand gripping her arm tightly. It hurt so much that she saw stars.

"I……"

The old lady fell silent after uttering one word.

Why is she so cowardly? Is face so important?

Jasmine, who had never known how much her face was worth, just wanted to roll her eyes. She was thinking about speaking for the old lady.

At this time, two people walked out of the crowd.

"Hui Niang."

"Xiao Hui'er?"

When the old lady heard the voice, she couldn't believe it. She turned around and looked. Before she could say anything, tears were already streaming down her face.

Seeing this, the guards of the Duke's Mansion were very tactful and did not stop the two men.

Both women were wearing coarse linen clothes and looked older than the old lady. One of them was so old that she could not even straighten her back.

The old lady recognized her at a glance and looked at the tall woman first: "Sister Li..."

The tall woman nodded repeatedly with tears in her eyes.

The old lady quickly turned to look at the other person. She stepped forward and offered her hand to support the old man. "Is it... is it Aunt Zhao?"

The person in front of her was so old that the old lady didn't dare to recognize him.

Aunt Zhao raised her head with difficulty, squinting her eyes to look at the old lady. Her calloused hands trembled as she touched the old lady's hand: "Sister Hui has grown up too."

This sentence made the old lady sob again. She cried and said, "I got married under your watch. Have you forgotten?"

Aunt Zhao: "But in my heart, Hui Jie'er will always be that little girl."

It's useless to talk! Jasmine rolled her eyes inwardly and stepped forward, saying, "When our old lady was in Kyoto, she often talked about her childhood. She missed her childhood home, but every time she wanted to come back to visit, she was afraid."

The old lady was startled and woke up.

Sister Li looked at the old lady with distress and said, "You don't have to say it. We all know how hard you've been."

The old lady couldn't help but fall into Li Jie'er's arms and cry out loudly: "I don't want to, I... I don't want to either. They are my biological parents, and I am their only legitimate daughter. How can I not be heartbroken? They didn't tell me when they passed away. Afterwards, I went to find them, and they said they had diarrhea on the way to deliver the letter and were delayed, and then they said the servants delivered it to the wrong place. I asked to kowtow to my parents again, but they tried to stop me in every way, saying that I wasn't wearing mourning clothes, and my parents would definitely not want to see me..."

"So that's how it is..." Aunt Zhao was heartbroken. She looked around and said with foam flying, "No one dared to say it. I, an old man, am not afraid of being bullied. I will tell you!"

Aunt Zhao pointed at the crowd in front of the Xu residence and said, "What are you bastards up to? People outside may not know, but everyone on this street knows it! You're bullying Hui Jie'er because her parents died and she's helpless, and you're thinking of taking what her parents left her. Are you worthy of the spirits of the old marquis and his wife in heaven? Hui Jie'er is a legitimate daughter. Even if she gets married, she won't tolerate being bullied by you bastards!"

With both Uncle Xu and Third Uncle Xu in jail, Second Uncle Xu felt miserable. It was clearly not his fault, but he had to bear all the suffering alone. Why? It wasn't fair!

But who made him the Marquis of Xu Wu?

Master Xu cursed in his heart, "You old fool!", but with a grin on his face, he still spoke in a sweet voice: "Big sister is my biological sister, how could I bully her? Everyone misunderstood, really misunderstood."

Xu Fang also smiled: "My eldest sister is back, and the Marquis' Mansion can't wait to welcome her. If there is nothing else, let's all go."

Xu Fang winked at her trusted maid, who took out some small change and distributed it to the onlookers: "Our mistress said that the eldest lady is returning home today, so let's celebrate!"

Jasmine couldn't help but laugh. The lady was coming back? And she was looking for a happy occasion?

Are you talking about the old lady?

Passersby thought it was a newlywed bride returning home, but when they looked over, they saw it was an elderly woman. Isn't that funny?

"Stop looking now. Those who have taken the silver should go back."

Several maids from the marquis's mansion also joined in dividing the silver, handing the change to one person and saying something to drive him away.

The entire marquis's mansion was bustling with activity.

...

Mr. Xu led the old lady to the living room, but the old lady turned around, walked through the corridor of the living room, and went straight to the backyard.

"Are you trespassing?"

The smile on Mr. Xu's face disappeared after he closed the door. Now, he stood in front of the living room door and asked sternly, waving his hand to signal the servants to stop him.

The guards of the Duke's Mansion were not willing to be outdone and raised their swords to attack.

The old lady knew that it would be difficult for her to come to Xuzhou this time. Secondly, in order to deter others, in addition to bringing the fourth young master's wife and Jasmine, the old lady also brought a lot of elite soldiers from the Duke's Mansion.

Perhaps because there were hundreds of guards around her, the old lady was particularly stubborn.

The old lady didn't even turn her head and said coldly: "I pay homage to my parents, what's wrong with that?"

"How do you worship like that?" Master Xu said bitterly, "Don't forget you're a married woman. If you want to worship your parents, you have to ask me, your second brother. You're trespassing now. If I'm not merciful, I can kick you out."

The old lady turned around abruptly: "How dare you! This is my home too!"

After she finished speaking, the old lady rushed forward again. Mr. Xu wanted to stop her, but how could he dare? He knew in his heart that he could not stop her.

The Xu family members were outside the ancestral hall, watching the old lady light incense and worship their ancestors.

Half an hour later, the old lady with red eyes walked out of the ancestral hall with the support of Nanny Qian and Tao'er.

Xu Fangshi smiled and stepped forward to speak, but Tao'er pushed her away. The old lady didn't even glance at Xu Fangshi, and walked up to Mr. Xu with a haughty attitude.

Before the old lady could finish her words, Master Xu sneered, "Big sister is still as arrogant as she was when she was little."

The old lady snorted: "You are a sneaky and cunning bastard, do you deserve my kindness? Hand you over." The old lady stretched out her hand.

"What?"

"Don't pretend. You know exactly what I want."

Mr. Xu looked at the old lady coldly and shook his head slowly.

The old lady took his ignorance and said, "I want the key to the east storeroom. Give it to me."

"Impossible." These three decisive words came out of Mr. Xu's mouth.

It is obvious that he does not not understand, but is unwilling to do so.

The old lady was furious: "Dad left it to me, why don't you agree?"

Master Xu said expressionlessly, "If you say so, then so be it. Then I'll also say that everything in the entire mansion is left to me. It has nothing to do with you, the eldest brother, or the third brother. Is that okay?"

The old lady said anxiously: "I have a handwritten letter from my father."

As the old lady spoke, she pulled a black lacquered wooden box from her sleeve. She waved it before Mr. Xu's eyes, proudly saying, "This was given to me by my father the day before I got married. He said he looked down on you three bastards and feared that the Xu family would fall into your hands. When he returned, he gave me the key to the east storeroom. I'm sure he told me all this before he died, but you're so ambitious and despicable! You killed the old steward and stole the east storeroom! Now, it's time to return it to its rightful owner."

Mr. Xu stared at the wooden box with his eyelids twitching. He tried to take the letter inside, but he didn't hold it firmly and the old lady, who had expected this, slapped his hand away.

"Why do you still want to destroy the body? Dream on!"

Mr. Xu gritted his teeth and stared at the mailbox, somewhat unsure whether the old lady's words were true or not.

The old lady didn't have the patience to argue any further and said, "I'll ask you one last time, will you hand over the key to the east warehouse?"

Mr. Xu's expression suddenly changed, and he said in embarrassment: "Sister, it's not that I don't want to give it to you, but the key to the East Warehouse was originally given to my eldest brother for safekeeping, and he didn't give it to me. The guards of the East Warehouse are all my eldest brother's confidants, so I should go to my eldest brother."

"You're lying. You're a cautious and suspicious person. I don't believe you'd miss out on the East Warehouse deal. Even if Xu Chongmin hadn't told you, you'd definitely do whatever it takes to get it."

The old lady smiled and nodded again. "It's not a big deal if you don't say anything. Tomorrow I will ask the elders of the clan to testify on my behalf. Then I'll see what Second Brother has to say. Let's go!"

After saying this, the old lady left without stopping.

Master Xu walked her to the gate and stood on the steps, saying wistfully, "Our home is spacious. It would be great if my elder sister could live here. Why bother looking for another place?"

The old lady turned around and glared at him with sharp eyes. Without saying anything else, she was helped into the carriage by Tao'er.

The old lady sat in the same carriage with Nanny Qian and Tao'er, while Jasmine sat with the fourth young master's wife.

After a while, the carriage stopped at the back door of the old lady's villa somewhere in Xuzhou.

Jasmine followed him into the courtyard, her eyes scanning the surroundings in amazement. "Description of carved beams and painted buildings is inadequate. While not as grand as the Duke's Mansion, it surpassed in exquisiteness."

The old lady was in a bad mood at the moment, but she couldn't help herself. "Don't act like an inexperienced person. Be aware of your status."

Jasmine said "yes" and flattered him, "Mother is indeed worthy of being the eldest daughter of the Marquisate. She is amazing."

Jasmine didn't say anything else, she just felt that the old lady's eldest daughter was very impressive, just look at the big house.

But the old lady misunderstood and thought that he was referring to her incident at the Marquis' Mansion. She looked very pleased.

After entering the living room, the old lady took the initiative to tell Jasmine and the others about her glorious deeds when she was a maid in the Marquis' Mansion.

The old lady was raised by her parents, who loved her dearly. Her father was the Marquis of Xu Wu, and her mother was also the legitimate daughter of a distinguished family. They only had her as their only legitimate child. Since her birth, all the illegitimate children had to stand aside.

"...Although I am a girl, my parents have never felt any regret. They always praise me, even if it means I just picked a flower, they would praise me for being capable and filial." The old lady looked so proud when she spoke.

Jasmine finally understood why the old lady had developed such a paper tiger-like temperament. She must have been spoiled.

"I've been talking for a long time, don't you have anything to ask?"

As the old lady was speaking, she suddenly looked at Jasmine.

"The daughter-in-law is afraid that her mother will say she has no manners."

The old lady rubbed her arms and said, "Is it possible that someone who is not ashamed of himself would be afraid of being criticized?"

Fearing that she would say "daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law" again, the old lady quickly continued, "Okay, just say whatever you want to say."

Jasmine had been curious for a long time, and when she heard her say that, she immediately asked seriously, "Where is the East Warehouse that Mother mentioned, and what is it used for?"

The old lady knew she was going to ask this. "The East Treasury contains a secret treasure passed down from our ancestors. It is precisely because of the East Treasury that the Xu family is the only dominant family in Xuzhou, and even the imperial court cannot shake their power."

Jasmine was shocked: "What secret treasure?"

The old lady glanced at her sideways and said, "I've already mentioned the secret treasure, so how can I tell you? You just need to know that the East Storehouse is extremely important to the Xu family."

Jasmine's mind raced, and she asked again, "Did Old Xu Wuhou really leave a suicide note for my mother, giving her the East Storehouse?"

The old lady hadn't expected her to have any doubts, but when she looked at the faces of the four young ladies, she knew they all had the same idea. The old lady immediately glared.

Nanny Qian stepped forward and spoke on behalf of the old lady, "To answer your question, Madam, this is certainly true. How can we leave the East Treasury to those careless concubines? These concubines have only known how to eat, drink, and have fun since they were young, and none of them have learned to be good. The old marquis saw this early on and gave this letter to you on the eve of your wedding."

The old lady said, "To be honest, Dad wants me to take over the East Storehouse if our family falls into decline one day. I think the time has come."

Jasmine thought of a new question: "Just one letter? After all, the elders of the Xu family also trust Xu. What if the elders side with the concubine master to deal with Mother?"

The old lady sneered, "The old marquis has already considered this. Father told me that as long as I take the letter to the Great Elder, no matter what the other elders say, the Great Elder will definitely stand on my side."

Jasmine nodded, overjoyed. "It seems the East Warehouse will soon belong to Mother?"

The old lady didn't seem very happy, but she just glanced at Jasmine and said nothing.

Hope also flashed in the eyes of the fourth young master's wife.

"Mother, you must hide this letter well. The concubine might come and steal it in the middle of the night." Jasmine suddenly thought of something else and continued without stopping, "By the way, mother doesn't want to live in the Marquis' Mansion, but is she afraid that someone might do something bad to her?"

The old lady couldn't help but sigh inwardly, this girl is truly clever and intelligent. It's a pity she isn't using her talents properly. If she were to manage the Duke's Mansion in the future...

"Mother, if you want to rest assured, how about I keep this letter for you?"

These words instantly shattered the old lady's thoughts. "You're dreaming!"

"Then mother, please take care of yourself." Since she didn't believe her, Jasmine didn't force it.

"No need for your crow's mouth to remind me."