After hearing Zhou Mama's reply, Aunt Yang felt somewhat dissatisfied.

There are still several months until Yangmei gets married, and who knows what might happen in the meantime?

Aunt Yang felt inexplicably uneasy and restless. After a while, still worried, she went to find Gu Xiao.

Gu Xiao had just taken her medicine and was resting when the gatekeeper, acting on the orders of the Second Madam, found an excuse to block Aunt Yang from entering.

Madam Yang was furious, but had no other choice. Just as she was worrying, Mu Jin came back from outside with a plate, ready to return to the courtyard.

She had just gone to the main kitchen to get a bowl of porridge and a few side dishes, intending to place them in the tea room so that the second master could eat them whenever he woke up.

Aunt Yang's eyes lit up, and she called Mu Jin over. It was she who arranged for Mu Jin to marry Nan Chen, the widowed man who served the master, back then.

Originally, Nan Chen was just a servant, not even worthy of her having to go to the trouble of sending the maid who had been trained by Gu Ting for many years.

But the master valued him highly at the time, and the accountants and managers of the second wife's household were all her people.

The master somehow found a way to lend money at interest rates, but none of his subordinates were literate or literate.

After some investigation, Nan Chen, who was serving in the study, was put in charge, and all the accounting records were handled by Nan Chen alone.

By chance, Aunt Yang learned about the "business" her husband was doing, but she wasn't sure yet. She only knew that a servant in the study might have some information, so she started to have some ideas.

Mu Jin was casually married off under some pretext, with the intention of using her to get in touch with Nan Chen.

Starting from here, we can figure out the reason behind the matter and hopefully get a share of the spoils from the second master.

Unexpectedly, Mu Jin was clueless and didn't help at all, and almost ruined her plans.

Mu Jin was suddenly betrothed to Nan Chen by Aunt Yang. Not to mention getting in touch with Nan Chen, under her wanton instigation, Nan Chen was also an honest man.

When he learned that Aunt Yang wanted to get involved, instead of saying nice things or helping her to scheme for joining the group, he reported everything to the master.

The second master was furious, and Aunt Yang was almost sent to the estate on some pretext.

Fortunately, Yang's brother came up with a plan. At that time, Gu Ting was just beginning to show his talent in his studies, so Yang's reward money also increased significantly.

Therefore, her usual expenses were much better.

His brother was used to making money off Aunt Yang, so how could he bear to see his family's cash cow fall?

She came up with a wicked idea and deliberately got to know Mu Jin's brother and fiancé.

After a few provocative words, her fiancé's family still didn't dare to go against the Marquis's mansion and could only suffer in silence.

Mu Jin's brother, however, lost his mind. Mu Jin's family had fled from a flood years ago, and when they could no longer survive, the whole family was sold into the Marquis's mansion as servants.

That's why Aunt Yang chose Mu Jin to be Young Master Ting's first-class maid.

Her family doesn't have a large, intricate network of relationships, so I feel safe using their services.

However, this family had only joined the household halfway through their lives, so their servility wasn't as strong yet, but they had still served in the household for over ten years.

Brother Mu Jin is still scared. Did he find out some secret about his master that he wouldn't let them go?

With the added provocation of Yang's brother, Nan Chen, in a moment of foolishness, went and beat Nan Chen up.

If they wanted to make a big fuss and attract attention, even if they wanted to deal with their sister quietly, it would be impossible.

Unexpectedly, he was wrong, but it did involve privacy.

The second master suppressed the matter forcefully, not daring to make a scene with the Marquis and the old lady.

The matter was brought under control quite smoothly, mainly because the troublemaker was a servant, and not many people paid attention to it.

However, Gu Xiao later handed over the management of his outer courtyard to Nan Chen and his wife.

Although Mu Jin didn't have the same influence as the Second Master's wet nurse, she was still considered the second-in-command in this courtyard.

However, because of this commotion, Nan Chen lost his previous job of "settling accounts in business".

Even if he wanted to do it, the Second Master couldn't bring himself to entrust it to him. Was he kidding? Just because of Mu Jin, he dared not trust him anymore.

But we didn't dare to neglect them, so we decided to settle the couple in the outer courtyard, which they didn't usually go to.

Fortunately, Nan Chen turned misfortune into blessing. If his "business" were discovered, would the Second Master have anyone to bail him out?

Nan Chen was unaware of this; all he knew was that he would be silenced.

The second master chose him because he was honest and simple-minded, but someone of his character couldn't possibly do something so heinous. He was also in great pain when he was forced into this situation.

…………………………………………

It's all that fool Yang's fault for doing such a terrible thing! The Second Master initially hated her very much!

In the end, it was Yang's brother who took over the accounts. Moreover, since he wasn't a servant in the mansion, it was very convenient for him to run around collecting debts, making deals, and building connections.

After that, the two of them gradually became accomplices again, and in just a few years, Aunt Yang amassed a considerable fortune.

However, Aunt Yang was still not satisfied with this kind of money. All she had saved over the years was only the profit of the second wife's second branch of the family's assets for one year.

So they wanted to repeat their old trick and use bayberries to connect with shipping routes.

However, this time, she really didn't expect things to go wrong. She did guess that her sister-in-law wouldn't agree.

Who would have thought Jiang Lanling could be so ruthless? She was so good to her back then, but now she's driven to the brink and resorts to stabbing people with a knife.

This honest man doesn't get angry easily, but when he does, it's terrifying. Madam Yang was also terrified.

Even if Gu Ting were to buy an official position, she wouldn't be too afraid, since it hadn't been implemented yet.

But if Jiang were to expose the matter of the interest money, Gu Xiao probably wouldn't even be able to protect himself, let alone her, a mere concubine!

That's why they came here in such a hurry; it's clear they can't find anyone to discuss a solution!

Just then, Mu Jin appeared, relieving her immediate crisis. "You little rascal? It's only been a few years, and you don't recognize me anymore!"

Aunt Yang dragged Mu Jin to a corner, her voice barely audible as she whispered rapidly.

"If this matter of interest money is exposed, do you think Nan Chen can get away with it?"

Your children are only a few years old, just learning to speak, right? What will you do without their protection?

First they threatened me, then they softened their tone and said nice things.

"Good girl, your aunt really did it for your own good back then. You left the manor and became an ordinary citizen, having to show your face in public and endure wind and rain just to eat and drink."

"Nowhere is it as easy as being the steward's wife in the Marquis's mansion. You've had a good time in the outer courtyard all these years, haven't you?"

Mu Jin gave a mocking laugh, "If you have anything to say, Auntie, just say it!"

Aunt Yang choked for a moment, then stopped trying to appeal to emotions and bluntly explained the problems she was facing.

She wasn't worried about Mu Jin complaining; who could she turn to? And even if she did find someone, what would happen to Nan Chen? How would she and her two children survive?

So after giving her instructions, Aunt Yang returned home with a relieved wave of her handkerchief.

Mu Jin had been suppressing his emotions while speaking to her, and only now did he give her a cold, glaring look from behind. Then he silently carried the plate back.