Chapter 11 Chapter 11 One after another

Zhang Wen only asked Zhang Junyi, and then he concluded that it was Mrs. Jiang who was secretly subsidizing Zhang Xiaoman.

"They treat the same daughters differently. After all, they come from a wealthy family. To be so partial to them makes one doubt the ability of the head of the family."

He had made no secret of his intention to force her to hand over the household finances.

Mrs. Jiang was so angry that her face turned red, and she was about to retort immediately, but then she thought again, she really did not give Xiaoman any silver, let alone lapis lazuli, and Xiaoman could only have earned the money by selling her jewelry and clothes.

Zhang Wenben didn't like Xiaoman. If he knew about this, he would definitely scold Xiaoman for being unruly and having ulterior motives in leaking things from the boudoir.

Mrs. Jiang took a deep breath and prepared to admit her guilt.

But at this moment, Zhang Xiaoman's crisp voice rang out, "Father, you've wronged Mother! It was Chen Ling'an who paid the money for me, and I even wrote him an IOU. If you don't believe me, you can ask him when you go to court."

When she explained the reason for the silver, Zhang Wen and the others, who knew their relationship, didn't seem to mind, but everyone who had just returned home shuddered. Aunt Sun cried out, "Ah!" Old Lady Bian, who had been pretending to sleep with her eyes closed, suddenly opened them wide, and the rosary beads in her hand fell.

Even though Zhang Anyi was young, he was nervously preparing to return the lapis lazuli at Aunt Sun's suggestion.

"You evil creature, you're meeting with a stranger again!" Zhang Wen slammed the table. "I think you need some discipline."

"How did you meet? It's just a hundred taels of silver, why did he force you to write an IOU? He didn't force you to do anything else, did he?" Mrs. Jiang hurriedly pulled Zhang Xiaoman over and protected her behind her.

Zhang Xiaoman felt a surge of warmth in his heart. "No, I was the one who said I wanted to pay the money back. The other day, I went to the old courtyard to buy something, and Master Zhou abused me for no reason. Luckily, Chen Ling'an passed by and helped me out."

Mrs. Jiang was still digesting this when Aunt Yao exclaimed, "What? You actually went to the old courtyard?"

Zhang Wen was stunned for a moment, then flew into a rage. He ordered his men to use the family rules while shouting, "You're violating morals and ruining our family's reputation! If I don't beat you to death today, sooner or later our Zhang family will be destroyed by you!"

Mrs. Jiang was anxious. "The child is still young. We can just teach him well in the future. Do you think it's good to have a reputation of killing your own child?"

Aunt Yao also stepped forward to dissuade him, "Master, calm down. The old lady is a vegetarian and a Buddhist. She cannot stand the sight of blood. Master, please look after the old lady."

This sentence reminded Zhang Wen, and he immediately ordered Zhang Xiaoman to be tied up and "sent to the nunnery, and ordained as a monk. You will never be allowed to step out of the nunnery again."

"No!" Madam Jiang said sternly, "No one can touch the Third Girl until the truth is revealed. Master, aren't you afraid that Chen Ling'an will ask you for her?"

As soon as she said this, she was stunned - she actually used Chen Ling'an to pressure Zhang Wen without even thinking?

However, this sentence took effect immediately, and Zhang Wen hesitated.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhang Xiaoman pretended to be confused and asked, "Madam Yao, what is the Old Courtyard? I only heard that Shili Qinhuai is the most prosperous place in Jinling City and has all kinds of rare things, so I wanted to go there. Neither the coachman nor the maidservant said anything wrong."

Aunt Yao lowered her eyes. She knew it, but she didn't want to say it out loud.

"Xiao Man has only been here a few days. How many times has she been out? How would she know about the old and new courtyards?" Mrs. Jiang calmed down at this point and seized on the suspicious points. "Who is the coachman? Who is the maid who followed the coach? They must have known about it. They didn't warn us beforehand, and didn't report it afterward. They were harboring evil intentions and making a fool of themselves by watching the host family laugh."

Madam Jiang glanced at Aunt Yao and snorted coldly, "Come here, tie them up! I want to ask who gave them the courage!"

Aunt Yao had her own way of dealing with this. She quietly tugged at Zhang Wen's sleeve and said, "The old lady just came back today, and the servants are being punished. There are so many people and so many gossips. If it gets out, people will think that the old lady is intolerant, which will damage her reputation for kindness and compassion."

After Zhang Wen thought about it carefully, he realized that his concubine must have done something.

He was not averse to the conflicts between his wives and concubines, and was even a little happy to see it happen. Seeing Jiang, who was of noble birth, jealous and sulking because of him, and engaging in intrigues with the concubines of low birth and trying their best to win his favor, he felt an indescribable pleasure from the bottom of his heart.

Yao was also very charming and obedient to him, and she pleased him greatly in bed.

So he doted on Yao and allowed her to go against Jiang.

But this time it actually came to Chen Ling'an. How could that man not see through this little trick? If he said a few words in front of the emperor, "If the family is not managed properly, there will be no peace in the harem", would the emperor doubt his ability?

Yao can use some tricks, but she cannot damage his career.

This is his bottom line.

Zhang Wen was furious. He shook off Aunt Yao's hand and said coldly, "The driver and the maidservant will be given twenty lashes of the cane. All the children in the family will be sold. Anyone bought outside will be kicked out. Only underwear is allowed to be kept. Nothing else is allowed to be taken away!"

Aunt Yao's face turned pale, and she stared at Mrs. Jiang with resentment, then lowered her eyes and acted as if it had nothing to do with her.

Zhang Wen thought his punishment was harsh enough, but Madam Jiang felt he was intentionally favoring Aunt Yao. "Without anyone's instructions, how dare they plot against their master?"

"In the final analysis, it's all due to your negligence as the mistress. How can you manage the household? Look at your clear conscience, you don't seem like the wife of the Zhang family."

Zhang Wen glanced at her, then glared at Zhang Xiaoman and said coldly, "Since you don't know, I'll let you go for now. If you dare to do it again, I'll skin you alive."

After saying this, he cursed Old Lady Bian for being unfilial and left with a cold face.

Old Lady Bian took the rosary that Aunt Sun had picked up and stood up with her help. "Go ahead and make a fuss. One day, you can break up the Zhang family and that will be all you want."

Mrs. Jiang and Aunt Yao hurriedly said they didn't dare.

Old Lady Bian didn't even glance at them, saying to herself, "June 19th is the day of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara's enlightenment. Yao, you should stay in the yard for the time being and carefully copy the Lotus Sutra ten times."

"Before copying, wash your hands and burn incense. During this time, do not eat meat or have fun. Keep your mind pure and free of distractions. I will offer this to the Buddha, and it will count as a contribution to your merit."

Isn’t this equivalent to disguised house arrest? Aunt Yao swayed, swallowed her tears and said "yes" - the person who protected her was not there, and no one would pay attention to her tears.

After taking two steps, Old Lady Bian turned back to look at Madam Jiang. "Raising children, managing concubines, and assisting your husband are all your responsibilities as a wife. You come from a wealthy family, so there are some things I can't say, but look at you now... Alas."

Mrs. Jiang pursed her lips tightly, and her eyes gradually turned red. Zhang Xiaoman saw this and felt a tightness in his chest as if it were filled with cotton.

Old Lady Bian still didn't look at Zhang Xiaoman directly. She only said to Zhang Anyi, who was looking at the lapis lazuli reluctantly, "Take it. Don't let your third sister down. Jiang, you can't owe Chen Ling'an your debt. Pay it back quickly and prepare a suitable thank-you gift - after all, he helped the young lady of the Zhang family."

Mrs. Jiang disagreed, "The money should be returned, but as for the thank-you gift, I should ask the master's opinion before making a decision."

It is only natural to pay back debts, but giving gifts means that one wants to make friends with Chen Ling'an, and Chen Ling'an is currently the public enemy of the literati. This move will definitely affect Zhang Wen's reputation.

Old Lady Bian pondered for a moment, then said, "Of course it can't be sent in the Zhang family's name. Whoever borrowed the money should send it."

She even wanted Xiaoman to contact Chen Ling'an? Mrs. Jiang was stunned.

Old Lady Bian didn't explain much. She just looked at Zhang Anyi, who was happily holding the lapis lazuli, and said lightly, "He's just a child. He likes it today, but might throw it aside tomorrow. He's like a cat for a while, and a dog for a while, and he doesn't know how to be stable."

Mrs. Jiang understood and told Xiaoman to deliver the gift. If anyone used this to criticize the master later, they could simply say it was just a child's interaction and didn't count. This way, they could show their goodwill to Chen Ling'an without implicating the master.

That's the logic, but what do you think of Xiaoman?

Mrs. Jiang was annoyed and even Aunt Yao's eating and drinking could not make her laugh.

A long-awaited reunion ended in a bad mood.

After returning to the yard, Mrs. Jiang was still angry.

Mother Fang consoled her, saying, "Given the Third Miss's personality, she would definitely have gone back to look for that person in private. Now that she has the 'Imperial Sword', she can go looking for him openly without worrying about gossip."

Madame Chiang sighed, "It's good that Chen Ling'an has always been in power. If she were to fall from power one day, I think they would be the first to abandon her."

This is very possible, but Fang's mother didn't want to say anything bad about the host family, so she just smiled with her hands in her sleeves.

Mrs. Jiang was still complaining, "Old Madam, this is the first time I've met Xiaoman, and you didn't even prepare a greeting gift. How unbelievable!" At the same time, she blamed herself for being so careless, "I should have given her some support long ago. From now on, the extra two taels of silver for the third girl every month will come from me, not from the public account."

Mother Fang replied "yes" first, then pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "The Third Miss is always lively and smart, but today she was quite calm. If it were someone else, they would have been terrified and begged for mercy the moment they saw that the master was going to kill her."

Mrs. Jiang looked up in surprise, "What do you mean..."

Mother Fang made up her mind and spoke out her mind. "Third Miss definitely can't afford such a precious stone. The master will definitely suspect that the mistress is secretly subsidizing her. Third Miss is not stupid, she must have figured it out. Why didn't you tell her in advance?"

Mrs. Jiang smiled nonchalantly, "Maybe she's afraid I'll scold her. After all, I've repeatedly forbidden her to have any further contact with Chen Ling'an."

"That's it," said Madam Fang. "She has Chen Ling'an's backing, so she's certain the Master won't do anything to her. That's why she's so fearless today, but it's caused a rift between the Madam and the Master again. The Master used to come here a few times a month, but since the Third Miss came back, the Master has only set foot in the main courtyard a few times."

"Madam, please don't start a conflict with the master over the third girl!"

Mrs. Jiang's smile froze. "It's all because of the Yao family..."

"There was also a concubine named Yao before!" Mother Fang was anxious. For the first time, she interrupted her master without regard for the status of the others. "I'm sorry to say that the Third Young Lady is really ungrateful. She doesn't even care about a respectable marriage with the Liu family, but is entangled with Chen Ling'an."

"Let's not even talk about Chen Ling'an, just look at how much worry, effort, and favors Madam had to put in to get the Liu family to look at her. And yet, at the blind date party, she directly accepted the Liu family's mortal enemy as her childhood sweetheart."

"The Liu family, out of consideration for the Madam and the Concubine's reputation, didn't get angry and was willing to continue discussing the marriage, giving her enough leverage to back down. But she didn't even bother to stop, and instead went to Chen Ling'an again and again."

"How will Madam deal with the Liu family in the future? Even with the concubine, it's unacceptable. Madam's parents are gone, and she has no brothers to rely on. The concubine is her only close relative... Doesn't she consider Madam's situation?"

Mother Fang sighed heavily. "Also, isn't she sad at all about being abandoned by her own father? The Third Miss didn't show it at all, just watching the fun like an outsider. I don't think she considers herself a member of the Zhang family. She's so cold-hearted. Even if she marries into a good family, I'm afraid she'll forget the lady's kindness the moment she turns her back."

Mrs. Jiang was shocked by these words and moved her lower lip dully, "Is it possible that I have misjudged him again..."

Deathly silence immediately engulfed the room.

Outside, the wind started blowing, carrying the smell of rain, causing the curtains to tremble and flutter. Mother Fang hurried to close the doors and windows, but saw the little maid hurriedly turn into the corridor.

"Mrs. Zhou is here. I have something important to discuss with you. Please let Mama know."