Chapter 46 How unreliable can the Wu family be?
"Explain yourself clearly, who has been withholding money from your second wife's family?"
Madam Wu was so angry that her face turned red. "It's not just your second branch of the family that hasn't received their monthly wages. Everyone in the mansion hasn't received their monthly wages! Do you think I'm going to withhold everyone's monthly wages?"
"Sister-in-law said that no one has received anything, so does that mean no one has received anything? Does sister-in-law even believe that herself?"
Madam Yang curled her lip in disdain, "Do you think I don't know? Our young lady and young master's monthly wages are all paid out long ago."
Miss Min Yuexi and eldest son Min Changzhong are both children of the Wu family!
Enraged that her words had hit the nail on the head, Wu retorted, "Yuexi did that to help her get better, and Changzhong did it for his studies. Second sister-in-law, stop making trouble!"
“I said I would pay the monthly salary once the income from the estate and the shop came in. Why can’t my sister-in-law understand my difficulties?”
"If the manor were wealthy, would I be delaying the payment of monthly wages?"
Madam Yang retorted, "Which family doesn't have a child who's studying? Your Changzhong is studying, and my Changyi is studying at the academy! Why haven't we given Changyi a monthly allowance? In the end, it's just that you don't want to give our second branch of the family any money!"
The two were locked in a fierce battle, neither willing to back down, their arguments seemingly destined to last forever.
Madam Min was initially impatient to deal with these things, but since the people had come to her door, she couldn't refuse. So she decided to treat it as a show and listen to what they had to say.
If it really comes down to her taking the lead or making a decision, she can just find an excuse to refuse.
But listening to Yang and Wu arguing back and forth, it all boiled down to that little bit of monthly allowance.
Min Qiao was so bored that she wanted to sleep.
So, impatient with their argument, he raised his hand to stop them. "Eldest daughter-in-law, if I remember correctly, the income from the estate and shops should have been delivered to the manor before the first day of the month, right? Why is the monthly salary still not being paid?"
Before Wu could reply, Min Qiaoshi turned to look at Wei Jia beside her and asked, "Have all the maids in our Songhe Hall received their monthly wages?"
Wei Jia replied with a smile, "They've all been paid. They went through Butler Yang's account."
It was only when Wei Jia went to collect her monthly allowance from Songhetang that she realized just how wealthy the matriarch of their family was.
"That's good."
Seeing that the maids of Songhetang had received their monthly wages, Madam Min Qiao felt relieved and turned back to Madam Wu, saying, "You speak."
Madam Wu felt a lump in her throat, and it took her a long time to say, "The income from the estate and shops did come in a few days ago. I was originally planning to pay the servants their monthly wages. But then my third brother's incident happened."
As she spoke, Madam Wu gave Min Hui a look of deep resentment, "My third brother wants to arrange a marriage with the Marquis of An'nan. Hiring a matchmaker, matching horoscopes, and giving betrothal gifts—all of these cost money."
"The little bit of income we just brought in isn't even enough to cover my third brother's wedding expenses!"
Heaven have mercy, this vast marquis's mansion only has three estates and a dozen shops, and its annual income is barely two thousand taels.
What can you do with that little bit of money?
It's almost the end of the year. Should we start preparing for the New Year? Should we give gifts to relatives? Should we get new clothes made for the New Year?
Even that wasn't enough, and Min Hui still wanted to arrange a marriage at this time!
God knows, she's managed this household so well that her hair is practically turning white!
And even that's not enough to get good results!
The more Ms. Wu thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt, and her eyes welled up with tears.
Hearing Wu place all the blame on herself, Min Hui immediately became unhappy. "Isn't it unfair of you to say that, sister-in-law?"
"I'll be twenty-one next year, can't I get married yet?"
"Does my sister-in-law think that the Xuanping Marquis's mansion should rightfully belong to your eldest branch of the family? My second brother and I can't even spend a single penny of it?"
Min Hui snorted coldly and said contemptuously, "Sister-in-law, don't forget, my mother is the legal wife! I am the legitimate son of the first wife! This Marquis's mansion should have been inherited by me!"
Upon hearing this, the entire main hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
A moment later, Yang gasped. Her heart pounded.
Goodness, the third son actually spoke his mind in front of the old lady!
While eating melon, Madam Yang cautiously stole glances at Madam Min.
Wu was startled by these words, but then she was overjoyed. She looked at Min Hui with a gloating expression, but said with a pained expression, "Third brother, are you blaming your eldest brother? Or are you complaining about your mother?"
"You need to speak with a clear conscience! Your mother raised you with so much hardship, and all she gets in return is your resentment! Have all the good things your mother has done for you over the years been wasted?"
Min Hui regretted his words the moment they left his mouth.
He had endured it for so many years, but today he simply couldn't hold back anymore!
The marriage with the Earl of An'nan's family was not going smoothly from the beginning. He wanted Madam Min Qiao to help him with the arrangements, but she declined.
Mrs. Wu agreed to help with the arrangements. But what kind of person was Mrs. Wu?
Look who her matchmaker was! The wife of the Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate!
That's right, it's that Left Vice Censor-in-Chief who impeaches the Marquis of Annan every few days!
Good heavens! Is this hiring someone to act as a matchmaker, or is it hiring someone to make an enemy?
Not only did she not hire a proper matchmaker, but even when hiring an official matchmaker, Wu chose the cheapest one.
If he hadn't sent someone to keep an eye on Wu beforehand, he wouldn't have known that Wu had hired such an unreliable matchmaker for him.
He ended up paying out of his own pocket to hire someone else, who secretly replaced the one hired by Ms. Wu.
Furthermore, when people consult for compatibility analysis, they usually seek out highly respected monks from Fahua Temple. But Wu, trying to save money, went to the abbot of an unknown small Taoist temple. They almost got a clash between their birth charts! In the end, he had to spend some money himself to get the abbot's disciple to secretly get a passable result for him.
However, these were not the things that annoyed Min Hui the most.
What made him most unable to live a long life was the betrothal gift that Madam Wu had prepared for him!
The marriage between the prestigious Marquis of Xuanping and the Earl of Annan was merely a superficial display of betrothal gifts!
The gifts included fine silks and satins, calligraphy and paintings, and ancient books, filling more than a dozen boxes. The gift list was also very long, and when stacked up, it was a thick book.
But what is the reality?
The silks and satins were all old stock from the Marquis's mansion's storeroom, with outdated patterns and colors, long past their prime.
The calligraphy, paintings, and ancient books are mostly fakes and worthless.
There are no more houses or shops left.
The usual required cash was only two hundred taels.
All the items, in total, were only worth a few hundred taels!
If it weren't for the official matchmaker he hired, who secretly told him after learning the contents of the betrothal gifts that in two days, the Censor's wife, accompanied by the official matchmaker and carrying this gift list, would be visiting the Annam Earl's residence.
He knew the contents of the betrothal gifts in advance and deliberately had someone spread the word.
They thought that since Madam Min valued her reputation, she would definitely take the initiative to intervene.
To his surprise, even though he waited and waited, and tomorrow was the day to deliver the betrothal gifts, he still didn't receive any inquiries from Madam Min.
That's when he couldn't sit still any longer and went to find Ms. Wu himself.
To everyone's surprise, Madam Wu displayed a shameless attitude, saying, "The Marquis's mansion has no money, and there's nothing I can do about it."
Min Hui then approached Min Qiao Shi.
But Madam Min Qiao didn't ask anything or say anything, and just watched them argue in a leisurely manner, like an onlooker.
It's as if everything is none of her business; she's just an outsider watching from the sidelines!
The more relaxed Min Qiaoshi was, the more his anger rose.
Unable to hold back, the words hidden in my heart slipped out.
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