Chapter 24 Asking for Money

Xie Sangning arranged the gifts for the birthday banquet, and the old lady also summoned Wang Shi.

Wang was on tenterhooks the whole way. Could it be that Xie Sangning, that little brat, had already told her mother?

What should we do then?

Upon arrival, the old lady brought up the matter of the birthday banquet and asked Wang to help her prepare birthday gifts, which made Wang breathe a sigh of relief. However, she soon felt relieved again.

Preparing gifts for a birthday banquet must cost a lot of money!

It seems I have no choice but to visit my wife's family this time.

In her heart, the power of housekeeping was indeed her lifeline. It was this power that allowed her to rise from a village woman to someone who could speak up in a high-ranking family. It was also this power that allowed her to live peacefully in the General's Mansion.

The power to manage the household is her lifeline, the foundation upon which the second wife survives in the General's Mansion. For it, she would do anything!

Anyone who tries to prevent her from securing control of the household will face her wrath!

After returning home, Wang sent out invitations to the elders of the Wang clan to meet that day.

She composed herself and made up her mind.

The next day, Wang took off her usual fine clothes and put on a slightly worn dark green cotton jacket and skirt. Her hair was neatly combed and only a plain silver hairpin was inserted.

She stared at the haggard woman in the blurry bronze mirror, paused for a moment, then gritted her teeth.

"Get the car ready! We're going to the Wang family's!"

The Wang family's mansion is located in the west of Jinling City. Over the years, thanks to the Wang family's support, they have become the wealthiest family in this alley.

This is the Wang family that she single-handedly supported! It's only right that she takes this money back today!

Wang walked in with her head held high.

In the main hall, her elder brother Wang Mingyuan sat in the main seat, with a cup of tea that had long since gone cold beside him.

"Big brother," Wang called out as she walked into the hall, her voice hoarse.

"Sit down." Wang Mingyuan raised his eyelids slightly, his tone indifferent. "What's the rush so early in the morning?"

Wang took a deep breath, knowing that any formalities would be superfluous at this moment.

"Big brother! Elders! Please save my sister! Please save our second branch of the family!" she cried.

Wang Mingyuan frowned even more: "What do you mean by this?"

Wang raised her head, her eyes brimming with tears, and recounted, with embellishment, the crisis that Xie Sangning was about to investigate the accounts and seize power, and that the second wife was about to be kicked out of the house.

"...Brother! If we weren't desperate, why would I come back and ask for this? Three days! Just three days! If we can't fill that hole, we'll lose our management power, and our second branch of the family will be finished!"

"Brother, think about it. If our second branch is driven out of the General's Mansion and becomes homeless dogs, how good can the Wang family be?"

"If I hadn't been supporting the Wang family all these years, would you be living such a good life? If I had lost my power to manage the household, would the Wang family's business and the future of the Wang family's children still be as smooth as they are now?"

Wang spoke earnestly, tightly binding the survival of the second wife to the honor and disgrace of the Wang family.

However, the hall was completely silent.

The clan elders exchanged glances, their expressions complex, while Wang Mingyuan's face remained ashen.

Now the Wang family no longer needs Wang Shi's help. With the support of the General's Mansion, the Wang family's business is thriving. Now that Wang Shi has come, she wants to take all the money back. How could that be possible?

"The power to manage the household?" Wang Mingyuan sneered. "Sister, do you think we're all fools? The General's Mansion is vast and powerful. General Xie's salary, rewards, and profits from his estates and shops could fill mountains of gold and seas of silver! You've managed the household for so many years, and how much have you given us? How could we be short of money?"

"Besides, who else in the General's Mansion can manage the household besides you? Your sister-in-law who's been dead for who knows how many years? Are you trying to fool us?!"

He slammed his hand on the table, causing the teacup to jump: "All these years, have you taken care of your family? The Wang family has benefited a lot from you, but isn't that what you should be doing?! The Wang family raised you, so you should repay them! You've created a huge mess, so you should figure out a solution yourself. You're already married! You belong to someone else's family! Yet you come back to your family, demanding that we fill this bottomless pit for you? Wang Shi! You're dreaming!"

Wang was so overwhelmed by her brother's barrage of questions that she felt dizzy and her face drained of color.

She never expected her older brother to be so ruthless, showing no gratitude whatsoever for her kindness!

If it weren't for her all these years, the Wang family would still be struggling to make a living in the fields!

She could hardly believe that her older brother would say such a thing.

"Brother! How could you say such a thing about me!"

Wang, having gone all out, pointed at Wang Mingyuan and shrieked, "You know this is a bottomless pit? All these years, I've given you all the money! Now that my situation is critical, you're saying I'm like water spilled on the ground?"

"Don't you know how many conveniences the Wang family has gained, how much trouble they've avoided, and how much money they've made over the years by using the General's Mansion's name?!"

"Now that I'm in trouble, you think you can sever all ties? No way! The Wang family and the second branch of the General's Mansion have long been in cahoots! If I sink, you won't get away with it either!"

"Grandma! You've gone too far!" An elderly man with white hair and a trembling beard said, "The Wang family does business honestly and fairly. It's true that they rely on the General's Mansion for protection, but you are a daughter of the Wang family. So what if you rely on them? Now you want our Wang family to pay so much money for a mere household management right? That's over ten thousand taels of silver! It's just a household management right. Even if you lose it, so what? At worst, the Wang family will give you some money every month. Are you afraid you won't be able to make a living?"

Madam Wang laughed angrily: "Are you even speaking human language? A mere stewardship? That's the very reason I'm here in the General's Mansion! If I were no longer here, you wouldn't get any of the benefits from the General's Mansion!"

She seemed furious, gripping her handkerchief as she angrily shouted, "How much money have you made off the General's Mansion all these years, and you've even used the General's Mansion's money to engage in usury! How many bribes have you accepted over the years? Every single one of these things can withstand scrutiny! I have all the records on my hands! If I'm finished, and these things fall into Xie Sangning's hands, the Wang family... can only wait for their property to be confiscated and their clan to be wiped out!"

"You...you dare threaten the clan?!" Wang Mingyuan trembled with rage, pointing at the Wang family, his eyes bloodshot.

“A threat?” Madam Wang stepped forward, her face devoid of any pleading. “Brother, I’m saving myself! I’m also saving the Wang family! I wanted to explain this to you properly, but you are so shameless!”

"There's only one way now: raise the money! Sell off all the assets in the clan that can be sold—farms, shops, everything that can be sold! I need to see the silver within three days! Otherwise, we'll all die together! If I can't stay in the General's Mansion any longer, none of you will escape unscathed!"

The flower hall was deathly silent, save for heavy breathing and the grinding of Wang Mingyuan's teeth.

The elders had no doubt that this crazy woman was really capable of doing it!