Chapter 42 Who Am I?
The four words "disobedient and unfilial" are too bland, and the farce of Xiao Ning crying in the street some time ago has already taken the lead. If rumors of elders harming younger generations spread again, everyone will just think it is their fault.
Then Xiao Ning will earn another wave of sympathy.
If such remarks were to reach the court again, I'm afraid it wouldn't be as simple as last time, where the eunuchs would just give him a few verbal warnings.
Shen forced a smile and said, "Sanlang, what are you talking about? Auntie just told you that as a grandson, you should be filial to the old lady... What nonsense are you saying?"
"Aunt, I always thought you were an open-minded person, but now why do you always like to...speak in a veiled way?"
Shen: “…”
How come this damn brat is so eloquent now!
Shen could hardly maintain a decent expression on her face.
Seeing that Shen's face turned black after Xiao Ning's words and she stopped arguing, the old lady cursed in her heart that it was useless!
She glared at Xiao Ning, knocked the ground twice with her snake-headed cane, and said, "Xiao Ning, there's no need to be so sarcastic. I just want to ask you, did you ask those two girls to cut down on my expenses?"
Xiao Ning blinked, looking puzzled: "Ah, what about cutting expenses? What's going on?"
Xiao Ning's reckless look made the old lady so angry that she trembled all over. She pointed at Xiao Ning with shaking fingers and kept saying "you..." for a long time.
She didn't believe that this bastard didn't know about this!
Even if it was the princess's idea to cut spending, that damn girl named Yuzhu lived in her room, so how could she not tip her off?
Why are you pretending with her here?
Xiao Ning sighed, "Madam, I really don't know about this. I'm in the Jingji camp most of the time now, and I only come back once or twice on my days off. The general affairs of the Marquis' Mansion are all handled by Her Royal Highness the Princess."
"How about... I go back and ask the princess what's going on?"
"What are you asking?" The snake-headed staff pounded the ground a few times, making a dull sound. "This is the Marquis of Jingyuan's residence. You are the Crown Prince. Order those two girls to restore my expenses right now!"
"Not only mine, but also your uncle and his, and your cousins. They are all working outside, how can they survive without money?"
?
This black-hearted old woman is quite greedy.
Xiao Ning looked up at the sky speechlessly, "Old Madam, since you love your son and grandson so much, why not take out your dowry and spend it on them?"
The old lady was furious and swung her cane at Xiao Ning, "How dare you covet my dowry!"
Xiao Ning dodged the old lady's cane while shouting, "You're getting confused! When did I ever think of taking your dowry? It's obvious that you're worried about your precious children and grandchildren having no money to spend. I'm just giving you advice! Advice, understand?"
"If you don't want to, just pretend I didn't say anything!"
"The old lady came all the way to talk to me about this, and I thought she cared deeply about them, but it's nothing more than this..."
"You! You... bastard!"
This sentence again.
Xiao Ning was speechless. This old lady had never scolded anyone, right? She kept saying the same thing over and over again.
Her ears are really getting calluses.
Xiao Ning scratched his ears, spread his hands, and sighed, "Old Madam, to be honest, it's not that my grandson doesn't want to, it's really..."
“There’s nothing I can do…”
"You don't know, but a while ago, after the princess sorted out the accounts, she gave me a good scolding... I heard that after all these years of managing the household, my aunt has almost drained the family's wealth. Now that her income is not enough to cover her expenses, she can only increase income and reduce expenditure..."
"If you don't believe me, I'll have someone bring these years' account books over for you to take a look at."
Old lady: “…”
The old lady put away her walking stick and cast a gloomy look at Shen.
Shen: “…”
Shen felt extremely aggrieved. She had worked so hard to manage the household for so many years. Although she would occasionally embezzle some money, who would not give some benefits to their own family when holding the power of managing the household?
The old lady actually listened to the little brat's provocative words and looked at her like this.
Shen was heartbroken.
Her eyes were filled with mist. "Old lady, don't you trust your daughter-in-law?"
"If you don't believe me, just check the accounts! I've clearly recorded every source and destination of every penny!"
"You've seen how your daughter-in-law behaves over the years!"
The old lady retracted her gaze and looked at Xiao Ning again, "Let's forget about the past. Now is not the time to argue about who is right or wrong. Now, quickly order those two girls to restore our expenses!"
"Old Madam, wasn't what I just said clear enough? The princess said... the Marquis's Mansion is now running out of money."
The old lady said with disdain, "Since you have taken over the housekeeper's power, then these matters are yours to worry about."
Are you cheating?
Xiao Ning stiffened his neck, looking like a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water. "The princess is in charge of the household now, I can't interfere."
The old lady leaned forward and pointed her index finger at her, "Don't think I don't know. You let the maidservant next to you run the Marquis's Mansion!"
"What? Old Madam, you really misunderstood. The housekeeper is Cuiyun, who is by the princess's side. Yuzhu only stayed to help Cuiyun at the princess' request. After all, she knows the Marquis' Mansion better."
"Well, my aunt should be very clear about this matter. When the handover took place, the princess nominated Cuiyun to manage the affairs of the Marquis' Mansion, and my aunt also had a lot of conversation with her."
Xiao Ning turned the topic back to the Shen family.
"Did Auntie forget?"
Shen: “…”
She finally realized that this guy was not going to sell the old lady's face at all.
The threats I made before are now useless...
No, maybe this bastard's previous fear was just fake.
"Old Madam, haven't you figured it out yet? Sanlang doesn't want to, so no matter how much we say, it's useless..."
Shen supported the old lady, looking aggrieved.
Xiao Ning interrupted: "Aunt, please stop trying to sow discord. What do you mean I don't want to? I'm clearly powerless!"
Xiao Ning complained, "You don't know what kind of life I'm living in the princess's mansion now... The princess doesn't like me, and everyone in the mansion has to act according to her wishes. I'm having a hard time!"
"I grew up in luxury, and everything I ate and played with was the best. I drank wine and talked about worldly matters, and lay drunkenly on the lap of a beautiful woman. How carefree I could be!"
"Now that I'm married and living in the princess's mansion, I feel as lowly as an ant! Why do I stay in this simple camp for half a month, only coming back for rest? It's because I don't want to see the princess! I don't want to be tortured by her!"
Xiao Ning seemed to be talking about something sad. He slapped his chest with his hands, his eyes were red, his lips trembled, and he looked like he was about to break.
"Grandmother, Aunt, tell me! Who am I, Xiao Ning?... What qualifications do I have to order a maid assigned by someone else to restore the mansion's expenses?"
"I'm a fucking loser... I'm not even as good as a servant in the princess's mansion!"
Old Madam & Shen: "..."
Xiao Ning's complaints silenced the two of them.
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