Chapter 7 Seizing Power

The key to the backyard treasure house has always been in the hands of Old Lady Yan.

Qin Mingzhu has been married into the Marquis's Mansion for nearly a year, and Old Lady Yan has actually been on guard against her all the time.

On the surface, it seemed that she was given more power and was allowed to be in charge of the household, but if she wanted to use silver or other valuable items, and how much to use, it was all up to Old Lady Yan, and everything had to be approved by her.

Nanny Shen, who was accompanying the old lady and was in charge of the treasury, came over and was about to take the jade box from Qin Mingzhu's hand, but the next moment she found it empty.

If it were Qin Mingzhu in her previous life, she would rarely fight for anything. Even the cloth and porcelain sent by home, if her mother-in-law, Old Lady Yan, liked them, she would give them away to please her.

She has been in the mansion for seven or eight months and rarely refuses the family's requests.

Even if Yan Yunyue came to her room and took a fancy to the glass lamps or brocade screens in her room, she would still give them up.

Qin Mingzhu withdrew her hand, placed the jade box in Chunhua's hand next to her, and looked at Madam Yan and Nanny Shen with a smile.

Ignoring their surprised looks, she smiled and said to Yan Fengxiao, "Please, Governor, express my gratitude on my behalf. This is a gift from the Emperor. Mingzhu will preserve it personally and use it properly. I will not let the Emperor's kindness go to waste."

Qin Mingzhu knew it very well in her heart.

What kind of imperial gift? Even the imperial palace lacks such life-saving items.

If the emperor really wanted one, he would definitely not be willing to send her here.

It must be that Yan Fengxiao took advantage of the emperor's reward and got it for her on purpose.

Qin Mingzhu didn’t quite understand before, nor did she see through Yan Fengxiao’s little tricks hidden in the dark.

But now, she understood after thinking about it more.

Once you know the result and work backwards, all the truth will be revealed.

When Yan Fengxiao saw that the thing was indeed in Qin Mingzhu's hands, the coldness in his eyes gradually disappeared, and he nodded slightly.

"Take care, sister-in-law. These are sent from the palace. Please check them yourself."

A tall and perfect man in silver armor turned slightly sideways and waved his hand. Many guards with swords ran out and carried large boxes into the yard.

Old Madam Yan's eyes were about to shine. Although the Yan family was still wealthy, she herself had not been very good at managing her life since the death of the old marquis. She also had a second son and a youngest daughter who spent money lavishly, so the family had been unable to make ends meet for a long time.

If Qin Mingzhu had not been able to manage the household well after her marriage, and if she had not secretly used a lot of her generous dowry to supplement the expenses, the Marquis' Mansion would not have lived the luxurious life it does today.

Madam Yan called the servants to come over and help: "You all need to be quick and efficient. How can you let the people in the Governor's Mansion suffer? Hurry and send all the things to the backyard!"

Chunhua said, "Old Madam, shouldn't Madam check and record these items first?"

Madam Yan was stunned, and looked at Chunhua with displeasure: "What is there to check about the things sent by the emperor? Just let Nanny Shen count them after they are put into the warehouse, and let your wife suffer less."

"But……"

The little maid wanted to say a few more words.

Her wife is the mistress of the house. With so many good things sent from the palace, she should at least take a look at them.

He moved it directly to the backyard without even letting his wife take a look.

Qin Mingzhu pulled Chunhua's sleeve.

As for the treasury, she’ll talk about it later. She has her own way.

She stood obediently aside, watching the servants of Yan's mansion busy moving the boxes inside.

When Mrs. Yan saw that she didn't say anything, she immediately smiled and her voice became much kinder.

"My Mingzhu is still sensible, but you can't spoil this maidservant by your side too much. You have to teach her a lesson when you get back. Such a chatterbox should be beaten to death."

When Chunhua heard this, her eyes turned red.

I almost got internal injuries from holding it in, I was so angry.

Qin Mingzhu saw that Old Madam Yan had gotten the upper hand and still dared to speak nonsense in front of her. She had not originally intended to get angry now and let Yan Fengxiao outside the door laugh at her, but now her face darkened.

Originally, she planned to deal with this matter behind closed doors.

Now it seems that I have given face to this old hag.

"Mother, Chunhua is, after all, my personal maid, the mistress of the house. Her reminder is correct. Our mansion is a famous family in the capital, and we should have clear rewards and punishments. It's wrong to punish her for no reason."

Old Madam Yan was feeling happy, but Qin Mingzhu suddenly spoke, which made her look surprised for a moment and she was a little stunned.

What is Qin Mingzhu talking about?

There was a large group of people outside, including Yan Fengxiao, who was now the governor of the capital. How could Qin Mingzhu have the courage to embarrass her and contradict her?

The corners of her mouth twitched stiffly, and Madam Yan managed to maintain her expression and said, "I was just saying it casually."

Qin Mingzhu said, "You are the old lady of the mansion, of noble status. You can decide the life and death of a maid with just one sentence. You can casually say things like beating or killing. Isn't that taking human life lightly? The governor is here. Please judge the matter for my maid and make the decision."

Yan Fengxiao narrowed his eyes, and his gaze suddenly became cold.

He suddenly spoke slowly: "Those who are lawless should be killed."

Old Madam Yan was furious and felt that Qin Mingzhu was just looking for trouble.

Her face turned pale in an instant, and she quickly explained, "Don't take it to heart, Governor. I'm a law-abiding person, but I've never done anything so lawless. Please be clear-headed!"

Yan Fengxiao said calmly, "You're making such outrageous remarks in public, threatening to kill people. Did the old lady think I didn't hear you?"

Madam Yan was a little shocked and nervous. She glanced around and suddenly felt ruthless. She quickly raised her hand and slapped herself twice, saying with a wry smile, "It's my fault for speaking without restraint. I hope the governor will forgive me."

Seeing that the lady was backing her up, Chunhua felt even more confident!

Yan Fengxiao glanced at the old lady and said, "Old lady, you shouldn't say such things to this governor."

When these words were spoken, everyone was shocked.

Even a fool would understand what Yan Fengxiao meant.

Old Madam Yan's expression gradually became less tense.

Being stared at by countless pairs of eyes, the old lady finally frowned and looked at Chunhua with gritted teeth.

"I was wrong just now. Please don't take my previous words to heart."

Yan Fengxiao actually asked her to apologize to a lowly maid from a marquis's mansion!

Chunhua was very excited, but she didn't dare to say anything. She just shook her head carefully.

Qin Mingzhu said coldly, "Mother, what you said just now really scared Chunhua. Just apologizing verbally is not enough. Send someone to bring a hundred taels of silver as compensation. Otherwise, people will think that Governor Yan's face is so worthless."

One hundred taels of silver!

The old lady almost turned green with envy!

A high-class maid's monthly salary was only two taels, which was enough for fifty months...

"you……"

The old lady suddenly felt like a thorn in her back.

She secretly glanced at Yan Fengxiao's expression and said viciously, "Okay, okay..."

Qin Mingzhu continued to press on, her lips curled slightly, "I've been recuperating for the past few days, and I asked you to take charge of the treasury in the backyard. Now that I've recovered from my illness, and it just happened to be the end of the year, the treasury hasn't been checked yet this year. Let's check it today along with these rewards sent from the palace."

Madam Yan's expression became noticeably more serious, and she raised her eyes to look at Qin Mingzhu.

Even after saying this, how could Madam Yan not notice that something was wrong?

This daughter-in-law of hers, who had never fought for anything, was now trying to seize power after hearing that her son had died in battle!

She sneered in her heart: "You have just recovered from a serious illness, you should rest for a while. Mother can handle the affairs of the mansion properly, there is no need for you to worry."

"How can that be possible? You were forcing yourself to help before. How can a daughter-in-law be so shameless as to let her take care of all the trivial matters? You have fainted from crying several times because of the Marquis's affairs. You must stop neglecting your health!"

Qin Mingzhu's tone was quite sincere. In the eyes of outsiders, it was definitely an image of harmony between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and a loving mother-in-law and filial daughter-in-law.

Yan Fengxiao's face, which was originally like an ice sculpture, looked at the scene in front of him, and the curve of the corners of his lips obviously relaxed.

He suddenly spoke again.