Madam Yao said with some shame, "Grandmother, it's all my fault for being useless."

The old lady shook her head and said, "Yiyi, you can't compare yourself to your sister-in-law. Your sister-in-law brought a dowry with her, and she has been managing the affairs of the household for many years, so she is naturally more well-off than you. When a child gets married, the dowry is important, but the child herself is the most important. If you raise your child well, even if she only brings a small dowry when she gets married, she will eventually build up a fortune for herself. If you don't raise your child well, even if you give her mountains of gold and silver, she will squander it all."

Yao lowered her head involuntarily. In an instant, she realized that she had gone down a dead end. The person in front of her who was so worried that she would yell every day was really not like herself.

The old lady said, "I know you are Tao'er's biological mother. Tao'er has lived in our family for more than ten years and is the apple of your eye. You are afraid that your child will be bullied when she goes to her husband's family, so you want to prepare everything for her. But this is the child's own life. How the children live their own lives is not up to you."

Madam Yao nodded and said, "Grandmother, you are right."

Seeing that Madam Yao was willing to listen to her advice, the old lady finally felt a little relieved. With such a large family and business, especially after the children had their own families, as the head of the household, she had to be especially careful about what she said and did.

Everyone has selfish desires. The old lady admitted that among her grandsons and granddaughters-in-law, she valued Xu Rao and Zhang Zhaoci the most. This was common knowledge in the mansion. At first, the old lady felt special pity for Xu Rao because of his background. She would tell others that it was because Xu Rao was the only illegitimate son in the mansion, and her aunt didn't care about him. No matter what, he was still her own grandson. Even though her eldest daughter-in-law, Wu, had a problem with her, the old lady still treated Xu Rao well. From his life to his studies, the old lady put in a lot of effort.

Later, because of her relationship with the old master of the Zhang family, the old lady arranged for Zhang Zhaoci to marry into her family and become Xu Rao's wife. Zhang Zhaoci was a very strong-willed person who did not get involved in the disputes of the household, but she would not let it go easily if she was bullied. Because of this, she was liked by some of the servants in the household. However, Zhang Zhaoci was content with living comfortably, and the old lady often protected the two of them.

People's hearts are inherently biased, but the old lady tried her best to treat everyone equally in some matters. She taught her other granddaughters-in-law in a way that they could accept, helping them gradually integrate into their new lives. Therefore, the old lady was truly the pillar of the household.

The old lady said, "I understand what you're worried about, Yiyi. A person has to stand on their own two feet. Tao'er is a quiet child. I know you're worried that she'll be bullied by her in-laws because of her personality, so you've given her a larger dowry so that her in-laws will treat her well because of the dowry. But our children have to stand on their own two feet. Otherwise, even with a large dowry, life will still be difficult."

Madam Yao's eyes reddened again, and she said to the old lady very sincerely, "Grandmother, please help me."

Grandmother said, "You should have a good talk with Tao'er first, and see what Tao'er thinks about her future life. Then we can help arrange some available manpower."

Madam Yao agreed, and seeing that it was getting late, she bid farewell to the old lady and went to Xu Tao's courtyard.

Xu Tao continued to lock herself in her room, embroidering her dowry and making shoes. After finishing the wedding dress, she embroidered the veil, and after finishing the veil, she embroidered the pillow. After finishing all these things, she started making shoes. When Yao entered Xu Tao's room, she saw pairs of finished shoes on a long table in front of the window.

Madam Yao found these shoes rather garish, as they were all made stitch by stitch by her own daughter. When Madam Yao married into the family, she only made a pair of shoes for the old lady and her mother-in-law, Madam Wu. The rest were made by the maids and servants in the mansion. As for her daughter, apart from the soles, which she didn't sew herself, she embroidered and sewed the uppers stitch by stitch by herself.

Seeing Yao Shi approach, Xu Tao quickly stood up and said, "Mother, you've arrived. Please sit down, and I'll go pour you some tea."

Madam Yao quickly pulled Xu Tao to sit down next to her, and gave a wink to the nanny who was with her. The nanny was Madam Yao's confidante and had served her for many years, so she naturally knew what her mistress meant. She then led the people from Xu Tao's room out.

Xu Tao watched the nanny lead the people out with some curiosity before asking Yao Shi, "Mother, is there anything you want to tell me?"

Madam Yao said, "Tao'er, your mother wanted to ask you what your plans are for the future?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Tao's bright eyes immediately became clouded with confusion. She stared at the door for a long time before shaking her head at Yao Shi and saying, "Mother, I don't know."

Madam Yao sighed inwardly, but her face remained kind as she said, "Tao'er, next year, in just a few days you will be married into the Feng family. From then on, you will live with the eldest son of the Feng family, have children together, just like your father and I raised you and your siblings. You will live a good life together. These are things you will have to face in the future, so you should make plans for them as soon as possible."

Xu Tao shook her head and said, "Mother, I really don't know. I'll just follow how others live after I get married."