The Marquis walked out of Madam Wu's courtyard with a helpless expression.

After the Marquis left, Granny Wu said to Madam Wu, whose face was covered in tears, "Madam, isn't it wrong of you to treat the Marquis like this?"

Madam Wu wiped away her tears and said, "Then what am I supposed to do to him? Granny, you've seen how I've lived all these years. Their family clearly has a rule against taking concubines casually. None of the other gentlemen in the manor have done this, but the Marquis not only took a concubine, but also had a son born out of wedlock. All these years, I've been a laughingstock in the manor. Who hasn't laughed at me because of this? I finally managed to outlive that slut to death, and that bastard's child got married, and now he wants me to give him things? Why should I?"

Granny Wu said, "Madam, I know you hate this, but this matter concerns the reputation of the manor. We should still give the Marquis face, after all, he is the one in charge of this manor."

Madam Wu said, "The Marquis? What is the Marquis? The one in charge of this mansion is not the Marquis, but the Old Madam."

Upon hearing this, Granny Wu kept giving the maids who were still serving in the room meaningful glances, signaling them to hurry up and go to the courtyard instead of staying there to listen to Madam Wu speak.

Wu is talking about her mother-in-law now. If this were to get out, it would be considered extremely disrespectful. These wealthy and powerful families value filial piety very much. The relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is usually difficult to get along with. The mother-in-law is usually a mountain weighing on the daughter-in-law. In such a large city as Beijing, how many families have a good relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law?

No matter how much you dislike your mother-in-law, you can't speak ill of her casually. Doing so would be considered unfilial, and if outsiders found out, you would be criticized.

After speaking, Madam Wu realized what she had said. Seeing Wu Mama's arrangement, she could no longer suppress her frustration. After everyone in the room had left, she pulled Wu Mama aside and said, "Mama, I'm already old, what is there to be upset about? Why didn't I want to manage the household back then? Wasn't it because Zhu Shi came into the family? I was the head mistress of this household, yet I still had to help my husband take care of his concubines and illegitimate children. Before I married into the family, he promised me that their family rule was that if a man was not son by the age of forty, he could only take a concubine with his wife's consent. But he brought a concubine into the family early on, and even Zhu Shen. Didn't he know that Zhu Shen and I had a grudge back then?"

Granny Wu said, "Madam, these things happened decades ago. Aunt Zhu has also passed away. To put it bluntly, this Marquis's mansion belongs to you and the Marquis. Let's know when to stop and stop dwelling on things that happened so many years ago."

Granny Wu was a few years older than Madam Wu and was Madam Wu's wet nurse. Back then, she was brought to the Marquis's mansion by the Wu family as part of Madam Wu's dowry because she was insightful, perceptive, and able to persuade Madam Wu.

Wu's father knew his daughter's temperament very well. This daughter had been immersed in poetry and books since childhood and didn't care much about managing the household affairs. To put it nicely, she was a bit aloof; to put it bluntly, she was a bit naive. It was often difficult for her to consider things from the perspective of a Marquis's wife. The Wu family did not approve of the marriage between Wu and the Marquis's family. However, at that time, the Marquis and Wu were in love and deeply in love. One was determined to marry no one else, and the other was determined to marry no one else. The two families had no choice but to arrange the marriage.

After Wu married into the family, she and the Marquis enjoyed several years of blissful happiness together. However, a man's world is always outside the confines of the mansion. As time passed and the Marquis grew older, his thoughts matured little by little, while Wu did not grow much since their marriage. Gradually, their thoughts drifted apart, and conflicts naturally increased.

Wu's relationship with the old lady has never been good. Wu's mother passed away early, and she didn't have a proper female elder to teach her how to get along with her mother-in-law. It was only after the old lady came to terms with it that she thought she could teach her properly. But who knew that the incident involving Concubine Zhu would happen later? The old lady knew what was going on, but she couldn't explain it to Wu. She openly and secretly favored Xu Rao and Zhang Zhaoci. How could Wu be happy about that?

Madam Wu was unhappy. She loved Xu Shao very much, but the old lady had complicated feelings about the child and simply didn't want to see her much. Because of this, Madam Wu felt resentful that Xu Shao, an illegitimate son, was born on the same day as her eldest legitimate daughter, and that the old lady only loved the one who didn't love her own daughter.

The Marquis had always wanted to ease tensions with Madam Wu, but the woman's stubbornness truly left him helpless. Today was no exception. He had originally thought that Xu Di's marriage was a major event for the household, and he came to remind Madam Wu to give Xu Di something as well. Over the years, the Marquis had indeed given Madam Wu many good things. Xu Rao's family of three was well aware of Xu Rao and Xu Shao's marriage, especially Xu Di. The Marquis never underestimated his eldest grandson, always feeling that the affairs of the household could not be hidden from this teenager. He was afraid that Madam Wu would go too far and cause Xu Di to harbor resentment. Concealing his identity was already a debt he owed to Xu Rao's family, and he absolutely could not let Xu Di suffer any more grievances in his marriage.

Wu took out a handkerchief and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, saying, "You are my wet nurse. We grew up drinking each other's milk. I don't hide anything from you. Tell me, have I been wronged all these years?"

Granny Wu sighed and said, "Madam, I am grateful that you still remember our friendship of so many years. Please listen to my advice. It's just a few things. We can just do a good job of making a good impression. Miss, our master will be back in a few days. When he returns, please ask him to speak to the Marquis about your grievances. What do you think?"

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