Chapter 22 The Three-Day Limit

Xie Wuyou returned to the General's Mansion in a disheveled state, growing angrier the more he thought about it, and rushed towards Wang's courtyard.

"Mother! Mother!" Xie Wuyou cried as she rushed into Wang Shi's room.

Xie Wuyou's disheveled appearance startled Wang Shi.

"My son! What's wrong with you?!"

Mrs. Wang quickly got up and supported her swaying daughter.

"It's that damned bitch!"

Xie Wuyou grabbed Wang's arm, her nails almost digging into her flesh. She recounted her ordeal at Jinxiu Pavilion in a rambling, tearful voice.

Hearing her daughter's tearful complaints, Wang's anger flared up instantly.

Spending so much on Xie Rubao?! How much silver must that cost?! Xie Sangning, that spendthrift! How could she?! How dare she?!

And they even humiliated their own daughter like this! It's just a few tens of thousands of taels of silver, why treat her like this!

She forgot how terrible Xie Sangning was, forgot her previous fear, and was left only with the heartache of having her money plundered by outsiders.

"They've rebelled! They've defied the heavens!"

Wang was trembling with rage: "What right does she have to give it to others?! Wuyou, don't worry! I'm going to find her right now! I want to ask her if she still cares about this family! If she still cares about me, the head of the family!"

Wang was blinded by anger, or perhaps her years as a housekeeper had given her the illusion that she could overpower Xie Sangning.

She straightened her back and, accompanied by two trusted old women, stormed towards Ruixue Tower with great momentum.

With red and swollen eyes, Xie Wuyou staggered after her, determined to see her mother get justice for her!

Ruixuelou welcomed guests again.

This time, Wang Shi was smarter. Before Xie Wuyou could speak again, she took the initiative, adopting the posture of a matriarch interrogating someone, raising her voice high and shrill, trying to intimidate him with her imposing manner:

"Xie Sangning! Do you have any sense of propriety?! Do you have any respect for your elders?! I am your second aunt, the mistress of this General's Mansion! You've only been back for a few days, and you dare to be so extravagant, throwing away silver like water?! Buying so many things for someone you have no connection with at all! Do you know what kind of state the mansion is in right now?!"

"scene?"

Xie Sangning lazily lifted her eyelids: "Second Aunt, what you said is interesting. How would I, an outsider who has only been back for a few days, know what the General's Mansion is like? Isn't it all managed by you, the matriarch?"

Wang was taken aback by her indifferent attitude, then became even angrier, her voice sharper: "You don't know?! Fine! Then I'll tell you! The manor is living beyond its means, with huge deficits! The storerooms are practically overflowing with rats! We're almost unable to distribute the allowances to everyone!"

"You, on the other hand, are spending lavishly outside to show off! Do you know how long the money you spent on Xie Rubao's clothes could feed the entire household?! You're squandering the family fortune! You're undermining the foundation of the General's Mansion! You're slapping your father in the face!"

The more Wang spoke, the more she felt she was on the moral high ground, and she straightened her back even more: "As the head of the household and in charge of managing the household affairs, I absolutely cannot stand by and watch you continue to act so recklessly!"

“From today onwards, all your expenses must be approved by me! Also, what’s in those boxes you brought back? How much silver is in them? You must hand them over to the public treasury so I can allocate them and cover any deficits! That’s the way to manage a household! You’re young and don’t know any better, so your second aunt won’t blame you, but you must listen to me! Hand over all the money, and from now on, be frugal and use it where it’s needed!”

These words were spoken in a grand and righteous manner, as if she, Wang, were the epitome of selfless dedication and thrift.

Xie Wuyou listened from the side and nodded repeatedly.

Xie Sangning sat up straight, her eyes fixed on Madam Wang.

"Oh? Huge deficit? Living beyond one's means?"

Xie Sangning's voice wasn't loud, but it made Wang's heart skip a beat.

"Second Aunt, does the deficit in the General's Mansion have anything to do with me, Xie Sangning, even a single copper coin?"

Madam Wang was taken aback by her question: "How can it be unrelated?! You are the eldest daughter of the Xie family! If the manor has no money, shouldn't you..."

"Shouldn't what?"

Xie Sangning abruptly interrupted her, her voice suddenly turning sharp: "Shouldn't I spend my own money? Or should I use my own money to fill the holes that your second wife's family has dug up over the years?!"

"Where did the deficit in the manor come from? Hmm?"

"Is my father's salary not generous enough? Or are the estates and shops bestowed by the Emperor not profitable? Are the household expenses too high? Or are there some rats emptying the granaries, continuously moving the flesh and blood of the General's Mansion to their own poor and destitute maternal family?!"

"You've run into trouble with your household assets, and you still have the nerve to come to me, trying to control my money?!"

The color drained completely from Wang's face!

How...how did she know?!

She kept this extremely secret, even from the old lady and her husband!

"What's wrong? Why does Auntie's face suddenly look so pale? Did I hit a nerve?"

"As for the power of housekeeping... ha."

"Second Aunt, didn't you just tell me to give you the money, to spend it sparingly, and to use it where it's needed?"

"Then I'll tell you now, if you can't manage the General's Mansion properly, then hand it over to someone who can!"

The power of housekeeping! The lifeblood of the Wang family!

No! No! You can't!

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Madam Wang shrieked, "The power to manage the household was entrusted to me by the Old Madam! It's a rule of the Xie family! What right do you, an unmarried girl, have to..."

Whether I am qualified or not is not up to you to decide.

"Rules? The rule is that when the matriarch is incompetent, causing the mansion to suffer huge losses and become a laughing stock, she should step down and give way to a worthy successor! The rule is that parasites have no right to continue sucking blood!"

She gave Wang no chance to breathe or argue, and directly issued an ultimatum:

"I'll give you three days."

"Within three days, bring me every single account book from the General's Mansion for the past ten years, item by item, in perfect detail! I want to see just how big this hole really is, and how my father's salary and the Emperor's rewards have turned into a pile of messy accounts in the hands of you, the thrifty and hardworking mistress of the household!"

"besides,"

"Make sure you get back every last penny of the missing silver. Return it from where it was taken. Not a single copper coin short..."

She leaned slightly closer to Wang's ear and whispered, "I will tell Grandmother what you have done and take back your power to manage the household."

Wang was struck dumb.

"Oh, right,"

"Second Aunt, don't try to play the poor card in front of me, saying you have no money to fill the hole. A few days ago, to promote Xie Wulu's good son, you spent a lot of money at the teahouse to stage that drama of the eldest son squandering the family fortune. Wasn't that quite a big deal?"

"boom!"

She knows!

She even knew everything Wu Lu had done!

She knows everything! So why has she remained inactive? Why is she holding back? What is she waiting for?!

Looking at Xie Sangning's face, Wang felt real fear for the first time!

Nothing escapes her eyes...

With a thud, Wang's legs gave way and she collapsed to the ground.

"Remember, three days. The ledger, the silver. If you're missing either, you'll bear the consequences."