Gan Tang Biyun directed the servants of Fengqiyuan to be responsible for distributing porridge. After a while, many common people and refugees gathered in front of the Wei Mansion to line up for porridge.
The person who went to Songyan Hall to tip off also came with the old lady.
The old lady walked out of the gate with a gloomy face, her face as black as the bottom of a pot.
Yuan Zhao bowed slightly and called out "Mother".
The old lady, leaning on a cane, watched as bag after bag of rice and flour were opened and poured into a big pot, and then distributed to the refugees. She opened her hands to stop it, but the servants of Fengqiyuan ignored her.
"Yuan Zhao, you are the one who is in charge of the Wei Mansion!" The old lady poked the ground with her cane several times, feeling very disappointed with her.
"If you donate all these things, what will we eat and drink in our house? You don't know how expensive firewood, rice, oil and salt are, how could you waste them like this?"
The people who were queuing up for porridge were bored waiting, so naturally, from the moment Yuan Zhao stood there to the moment the old lady came out, all eyes were focused on them.
The old lady's voice was loud, and many people were at a loss as to what to do with their bowls when they heard the word "waste".
Yuan Zhao coughed heavily, his face stern. "Mother, how can you say that? Not to mention that we still have food in stock, the Shaoqing is the governor of a state, and he's currently out providing disaster relief. How can we hold him back?"
"The disaster is serious now, so it's okay for us to live a frugal life."
Upon hearing Yuan Zhao's light-hearted words, the old lady immediately flew into a rage and pointed at Yuan Zhao and started scolding him:
"How could I have such a disobedient and unfilial daughter-in-law like you?! You're disrespectful to your mother-in-law, extravagant, and have never managed the household in my Wei family for over ten years. Everything you eat and use is paid for by an old woman like me! Even the medicinal herbs that an old woman like me wouldn't use are given to you first..."
The old lady's voice suddenly got louder and she was about to fall down. Fortunately, Aunt Cui was quick to catch her and prevented her from falling to the ground.
She accused Yuan Zhao loudly and listed all of Yuan Zhao's "crimes" in front of many people.
For a moment, everyone looked at the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
Wasn't it said that the princess would give out porridge? Why is there a fight between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law?
Yuan Musheng and others were still in the carriage. Hearing this, Yuan Nan'an wanted to go out, but was stopped by Yuan Musheng.
"Don't panic, just look at the situation."
Yuan Zhao was actually a little confused by the old lady's crying, but when she looked carefully, she saw that the old lady was just howling and her eyes were always glancing in one direction.
She inadvertently looked in that direction and saw Bai Ruyue in the crowd.
It seems that Bai Ruyue did not sit idly by during the time she was away.
The old lady was just acting, but the more she spoke, the more it hit home.
That day, Bai Ruyue came to see her and checked the account books of the mansion with her, and only then did they discover the clue.
The old lady was not a good housekeeper. In the past, she had Yuan Zhao's small treasury to support her, and it would never be spent out no matter how much she spent.
But the Wei Mansion's warehouse was empty, and in order to help Bai Ruyue clear her reputation as a thief, and with Wei Wanxue's dowry, the old lady's private treasury was almost emptied.
But there were still so many people waiting for food in the mansion, and Wei Shaoqing was busy with official duties, so he only left some of his own salary. The old lady relied on the money paid by the farms and shops under her at the end of the year to barely maintain the expenses of the mansion.
The old lady just felt dizzy looking at the words in the account book and had no habit of checking the account book. Because of the prevailing trend in the mansion, her subordinates did not dare to openly disobey Yuan Zhao, so they kept it a secret from the old lady.
It was not until that day when Bai Ruyue came and checked one by one that she discovered that since the Wei Mansion’s treasury was emptied before the New Year, all the expenses of Fengqiyuan and Jingsi Pavilion had been paid by the central government.
Not only are there daily expenses like charcoal fires and cotton-padded clothes for winter, but the amount of medicinal materials Yuan Zhao reported for Yuan Musheng and Yuan Nan'an is worth a fortune!
The old lady almost fainted at that time.
She had ordered that not a single extra basin of charcoal be provided to Jingsi Pavilion! Now, so much money had been taken away, and it all came from her!
How could those two little bitches Yuan Musheng and Yuan Nan'an, one disabled and the other mute, be worthy of such a good thing?
The old lady's heart had been bleeding for several days, and today she finally got the chance to accuse Yuan Zhao.
He stopped pretending and sat down on the ground, throwing a tantrum:
"My son has a miserable life. He was exiled to Yangzhou for you. Not only has he not been promoted for many years, he doesn't even have a concubine. He is loyal to you. Many people in the officialdom laugh at him for being a 'wife slave'."
"But what about you? While my son was out doing disaster relief, you actually went to a place like the Big Buddha Temple to have a secret meeting with a man! How can you be worthy of my son?!"
"You just rely on your status as a princess to disrespect your mother-in-law and be unfaithful to your husband. The children you gave birth to are all disabled, useless, and thrown away. Each one is more useless than the last."
"I am an old woman who has to take care of the household chores at my age. I can't rest assured and enjoy my retirement. I don't even have grandchildren to look after. Why is my life so miserable?"
…
The old lady became more and more uncontrollable in her emotions as she spoke, tears streaming down her face as if she wanted to express all the grievances she had suffered over the years.
She sat on the ground with her legs apart, without any manners at all.
Yuan Zhao stood opposite her with a stern expression, not saying a word.
Looking at it this way, it really seems like an unfilial daughter-in-law is bullying her mother-in-law.
The onlookers were now afraid to speak, digesting the information in the old lady's words.
The princess actually met a man in the Big Buddha Temple?
Aren’t you going to worship Buddha?
Is this true?
Hearing this, Gan Tang's heart skipped a beat.
Could it be that General Huo’s affair at the Big Buddha Temple was discovered?
Yuan Zhao also thought of this, but she believed that Huo Yan would not make such a mistake.
She remained calm and carefully studied the old lady's expression.
She couldn't act rashly at this moment. If the other party had no evidence, she would fall into their trap if she acted rashly.
Yuan Zhao had previously distributed silver to disaster relief, personally worshipped Buddha, and was now distributing porridge, and he already had a good reputation.
Most of the onlookers came to get the porridge. It would be inappropriate for them to smash the bowl immediately after eating someone else's porridge, so they were still skeptical.
"Old lady, you can't say that. After all, Her Royal Highness the Princess gave birth to four children for the Wei family. Even if she has no merit, she has worked hard. She has helped the Wei family to have more offspring and expand its branches." Someone spoke up for Yuan Zhao.
"Yes, and I heard that His Highness was not in good health before, so it's normal that he can't take care of household chores..."
Seeing the old lady cooking with all her might, some of the people who came to get the porridge came to watch the fun, while others just wanted to get the porridge quickly.
It’s better not to offend the princess first. The right thing to do is to receive the porridge.
But there were still discordant voices among the crowd.
"You don't know, do you? Her Highness the Princess's eldest son was a frequent brothel owner in the capital, often forcing himself on women!"
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