Chapter 25 Calamity

Under everyone's gaze, Princess Ronghua smiled.

She said to Liu Rumei, "Since the old lady has pleaded for you, I can let you off the hook. But I have already done more than enough for your Xi family. It would be best if you separated completely from now on!"

“I remember your family owns a three-courtyard house in Renshoufang. You should move there tomorrow.”

"You're going to separate the family? No way, absolutely not!" Madam Jia's voice trembled with anxiety, her face pale as she angrily declared, "I will never move out!"

Living in the Duke of Wei's mansion is the only way they can be respected by the nobility. If they move away, will their second branch of the family still have the same life?

She'd rather die than leave!

Sheng Huai'an also said anxiously, "Auntie, we only have these few relatives left in our family. How can you bear to send us away? Please don't do this, please!"

Princess Ronghua coldly said, "Jun Zhao has inherited the title for several years. As the tree grows, branches will naturally emerge. Your branch should have separated long ago! I couldn't bear to do it before, but after all this commotion today, you say you don't want to leave. Where is my face then?!"

Her firm stance alarmed not only the West Mansion but also the old lady.

She is now in her sixties, and what she wants most is for her descendants to live in harmony, and what she doesn't want most is for her family members to turn against each other.

Moreover, both of her sons were gone, leaving only two grandsons and one great-grandson.

If the Western Mansion is separated, what will happen to Sheng Huai'an's future? What will happen to Hao'er's future?

The old lady tried to persuade her, but Princess Ronghua was adamant, and no amount of persuasion from the old lady could change her mind.

Finally, Jia Shi had a sudden inspiration. She gritted her teeth and slapped herself several times until her face was red and swollen. She forced a smile and apologized to Sheng Yunche and Ye Mingzhu. Only then did Princess Ronghua relent.

However, although she agreed to let the Xi family continue to live in the Duke of Wei's mansion, she also said that she would not give the Xi family any subsidies in the future.

She used to give the West Mansion a monthly allowance of one thousand taels of silver, but she will stop doing so in the future!

Jia was heartbroken, but she knew she had no choice but to accept it.

Didn't you see that even the ancestors stopped advising against it?

If she makes a scene again, she's afraid even the ancestors won't help them.

The East Mansion refused to subsidize the West Mansion, so she asked the Ancestor if it was the same. She knew that the Ancestor had a lot of money.

It's finally over.

The old lady sighed wearily, "Alright, you can all go back now! It's late, and I need to rest too."

Everyone responded with "Yes," and then took their leave, each with their own thoughts.

...

After leaving Songhe Hall, Princess Ronghua was not in a hurry to return to Jingchun Residence.

Yaqin said dejectedly, "Your Highness, why don't you tell the old matriarch to make Jia Shi and Liu Rumei kneel in the ancestral hall together and be confined to their quarters? You could even build a small Buddhist shrine in the mansion and lock them up for life!"

Princess Ronghua shook her head and said, "They're all women..."

She said, "Let's go back and say a few more words to our ancestors."

Otherwise, she feared that her ancestors might also harbor resentment towards her.

Back to Songhe Hall.

Princess Ronghua dismissed the servants and, without keeping them in suspense, said directly to the old lady, "Grandmother, please don't blame me for being heartless and unwilling to take care of the West Mansion. It's mainly because they have gone too far and harmed my Junzhao."

"What happened?" the old lady asked in shock.

Sheng Yunche was her eldest grandson and also her most beloved grandson.

What worried her most was Sheng Yunche's health.

“Jun Zhao’s poor health is not only due to his weak constitution, but also because he has been poisoned!” Princess Ronghua said. “I suspect it was the West Mansion!”

"How could this be?" The old lady looked even more shocked, but after sitting there dumbfounded for a while, her eyes became uncertain again.

Princess Ronghua looked at her.

"They..." The old woman seemed to age several years in an instant, and sighed, "I know about this. I know your temperament; if you didn't have real evidence, you wouldn't have told me, would you?"

Princess Ronghua nodded.

In fact, the Ye family had never been able to figure out the cause of death from the spices in the sachet, so she could not be completely certain that the person who poisoned Sheng Yunche was Sheng Huai'an.

But whether out of intuition or analytical motivation, she was suspicious of the West Mansion.

"Jun Zhao's current health..."

"With Mingzhu around, things should only get better and better."

"That's good, that's good." The old lady said again, "I trust your character and how you handle things. It's only right that those people in the West Mansion suffer. I just hope you promise me that you won't take their lives, and, and please don't... well, never mind."

“Yes, I can.” Princess Ronghua readily agreed. “Don’t worry, Ancestor.”

It's just about continuing the bloodline; it doesn't mean she'll make the people of the Western Mansion live well. She has many ways to achieve that.

After comforting the old lady with a few more words, saying that Sheng Yunche's health was getting better and better thanks to Ye Mingzhu's care, and that there should be no major problems in the future, Princess Ronghua left only after making the old lady smile.

However, she had not gone far from Songhe Hall when Yaqin reminded her: "Your Highness, look, Jia Shi went to Songhe Hall again. It seems she also wants to talk to the old matriarch."

Princess Ronghua said confidently, "She can't get in."

As expected, Jia was stopped by the servants outside Songhe Hall and couldn't even get into the courtyard. She was so angry that she jumped up and down outside.

Princess Ronghua scoffed coldly and turned away calmly.

...

Jia went to Songhe Hall, while Sheng Huai'an and Liu Rumei stood anxiously in the shadows of the trees, waiting.

As a result, Jia returned in a rage shortly afterward.

"Mother!" Sheng Huai'an rushed forward, knowing things might not be good, but still asked hopefully, "Has Grandmother agreed to subsidize us?"

“A subsidy? I haven’t even been able to get into the Songhe Hall courtyard!” Madam Jia said angrily. “Without the one thousand taels of silver subsidy from the East Mansion every month, how will we, the West Mansion, survive? We won’t even be able to pay the servants’ monthly wages!”

Not only that, she was also placed under house arrest!

That old hag, for some unknown reason, actually confined her to her quarters for three months, forbidding her from going out, not even from worshipping Buddha!

"It's all your fault! You wretched woman, you've dragged me down, dragged down the West Mansion!" Jia's eyes suddenly hardened, she raised her hand and grabbed Liu Rumei's hair, hitting her as she did so. "If I hadn't married you, this jinx, my Qingping wouldn't have died, and our West Mansion wouldn't have been dragged down to this state by the Liu family!"

"Mother, Mother..." Liu Rumei cried out in tears, "Don't hit me anymore, it hurts."

"Mother!" Sheng Huai'an quickly stepped forward to stop her, frowning as he said, "Mother, please calm down. Don't lose your composure and become a laughingstock for the servants!"

Jia glanced at the several maids in the distance who dared not breathe, and her rationality finally returned somewhat.

Her chest heaved rapidly, and she pinched Liu Rumei several more times before gritting her teeth and shaking her off, saying in a low voice, "I'll settle this with you when we get back!"

Back at Rongshou Hall in the West Mansion.

Looking at Liu Rumei standing in the hall, Jia's first words were: "After Qingping's death, the court gave him a considerable amount of compensation. They also collected a lot of funeral expenses for his funeral; they're all with you. Please take them all out!"

Liu Rumei's heart skipped a beat, and she looked up sadly: "Mother!"

This time, however, Madam Jia was clearly not so easy to talk to. She said in a cold voice, "Now that the West Mansion is in such dire straits, if you are still so selfish and unwilling to contribute money, then leave Hao'er behind and go back to your parents' home! You jinx, it's all because of you that the East Mansion is so angry!"