Rongfu Hall.
The old lady had just woken up from her afternoon nap and heard the maid complaining to Song Wanning in her ear, "Old Ancestor, you don't know, but Second Madam has become increasingly indifferent to the housekeeping these past two days. The other day, I went to her to exchange the silver I paid for the kitchen groceries. She actually said that I overpaid and would not give me so much money for groceries in the future. But Old Ancestor eats the best. If there is not enough silver, how can we buy these good things to honor Old Ancestor in the future? Isn't she just finding ways to cut Old Ancestor's expenses?"
The maids in the old lady's room are opportunists and have always taken advantage of the old lady's room. Now that the money is gone, they will naturally go to the old lady to complain.
The old lady was now very dissatisfied with Song Wanning's behavior. Not long ago, she asked Song Wanning to give Wen Tingbai more money, but Song Wanning dared to go against her wishes and said that the family was in financial difficulty.
The old lady became furious when she thought of Song Wanning.
At this moment, the maid at the door welcomed Cui Xiaoxiao and Wen Tingbai into the house.
After hearing what Wen Tingbai said, Cui Xiaoxiao bought a mink cloak as a gift for the old lady. She bowed to the old lady above her with a quiet and obedient look on her face, "Granddaughter-in-law greets the old ancestor. I have come to pay my respects to the old ancestor."
As a concubine, Cui Xiaoxiao called herself the grandson's wife, which was extremely against the rules.
However, the old lady was very dissatisfied with Song Wanning now. She had begun to like Cui Xiaoxiao, the concubine, and was mocking her implicitly. "You and Ting Bo are indeed filial. You even knew to come and pay your respects to an old man like me. Unlike some people in this family, who use the excuse of being busy as an excuse to not see her for half a month."
Cui Xiaoxiao said this as she hurriedly handed the cloak in her hand to the old lady. She knelt on the ground and said, "A while ago, thanks to Tingbai's care, I opened a rouge shop and made a lot of money. This is all thanks to the old ancestor who nurtured Tingbai and let him marry my granddaughter. I dare not forget the old ancestor's kindness, so as soon as I made some money, I bought him a mink cloak as a gift to show my filial piety."
"Good, good, good, what a good child." When the old lady heard that Cui Xiaoxiao bought something for her, she immediately smiled and looked at Cui Xiaoxiao and said, "I guess this cloak cost a lot of money, right?"
Wen Tingbo, who was standing by, quickly replied, "Answering the ancestor, it cost five hundred taels of silver."
"Tingbai..." Cui Xiaoxiao knelt on the ground and said coquettishly, "I already told you that you don't need to tell me how much money I spent. Whether it's a lot or a little, it's all my gift."
The old lady half-closed her eyes and looked at Cui Xiaoxiao who was kneeling on the ground. "Is your rouge shop really that profitable?"
"Yes, my granddaughter-in-law has specially made some new designs to make this rouge different from the ones made in Shengjing now. I'm afraid it will become bigger and stronger in the future." Cui Xiaoxiao is not at all modest when it comes to doing business. She smiled and said, "The ancestor is just waiting for my granddaughter-in-law to honor you."
"I never thought Xiao Xiao was so good at making money." The old lady said this, and then thought of the housekeeper Song Wanning, and she became more dissatisfied. "That Wanning, our mansion has so many shops and farms, but she doesn't think about how to improve the business of the mansion. She only cares about saving money every day."
"Grandfather, Xiao Xiao still has many ways to make money. If Xiao Xiao were the housekeeper, he would definitely make the shop in the mansion more profitable." Seeing that the old lady was so dissatisfied with Song Wanning, Wen Tingbai quickly said, "Since Wanning has failed to manage this family well, the housekeeper position should be given to someone more capable."
"But if it's Housekeeper Xiao Xiao..." The old lady looked at Cui Xiaoxiao who was kneeling on the ground, and had more considerations in her mind.
Cui Xiaoxiao was a concubine after all, and if she were to become the housekeeper, it would be bad for her reputation. Although the old lady loved money, she also had to protect the reputation of the Marquisate.
Wen Tingbai noticed the old lady's hesitation and quickly said, "Grandfather, if Xiao Xiao was the steward, our mansion would have more money in the future, and we could hold a grand chrysanthemum banquet. We wouldn't have to live so stingily like we do now. In my opinion, it doesn't matter who gives the stewardship to him."
"Well, since you've said so, then call Wan Ning over." The old lady half-closed her eyes and said slowly, "If she hadn't managed the housekeeper of the Marquis' Mansion like this, I wouldn't have touched the power in her hands."
Cui Xiaoxiao, who was kneeling on the ground, raised the corners of her mouth proudly, and was then helped up by Wen Tingbo who was standing beside her.
Not long after, Song Wanning was called to Rongfu Hall by the old lady.
Song Wanning opened the curtain and entered the room. She immediately saw the old lady sitting there and Wen Tingbai beside her. Cui Xiaoxiao was standing behind Wen Tingbai, looking well-behaved.
Song Wanning knew that it was Cui Xiaoxiao who had made the move, but she pretended to be unaware. She looked at the old lady and said, "Granddaughter-in-law greets the old ancestor. I wonder if the old ancestor asked her to come here today because of something important to discuss with her."
The old lady didn't dare to directly dismiss Song Wanning's housekeeping duties. She only mentioned another housekeeping matter and looked at Song Wanning and said, "Did you make the osmanthus cake that Xu'er wanted to eat a few days ago? Have you prepared the cloth I asked you to buy?"
Song Wanning explained slowly, neither servile nor overbearing, "The sweet-scented osmanthus cake that Xu'er wanted to eat has been bought. The Shu brocade that the old lady asked for is now running low, so my granddaughter-in-law has prepared a few pieces of other ones, which are not inferior to the Shu brocade."
"You can't even do a small thing." The old lady said, picking up the teacup next to her and smashing it towards Song Wanning. The teacup broke into pieces and the tea inside splashed out.
"Wan Ning, I'm not targeting you, but look, Xiao Xiao has only been in our Zhongping Marquis Mansion for a few days, and she has already saved enough money to buy me a cloak. How do you do your job as the mistress of the house? You really disappoint me." The old lady said, pretending to be angry and stroking her chest.
Seeing that the old lady was just looking for an excuse to strip her of her power today, Song Wanning immediately knelt down in response to the old lady's anger. "I, your granddaughter-in-law, know that I have no talent or virtue, and am far from the mistress of the house that our ancestors envisioned. I am willing to give up my stewardship and hand over the keys to the house as a small amends."
Seeing Song Wanning actually saying that she wanted to give up her power, the old lady was secretly delighted, but she pretended to be calm, "Wanning, I don't really want to give up your housekeeping power, but now you are really not running this family properly, so you can't blame me."
"Answering the ancestor, your granddaughter-in-law knows that you have always cared about the honor and disgrace of the entire marquisate. I will hand over the housekeeper's key to a capable person." Song Wanning said, taking out the key from her sleeve and presenting it to her mother next to her.
The old lady ordered her mother to Cui Xiaoxiao who was standing behind Wen Tingbo, and said, "Miss Xiaoxiao, you must take the future of our mansion into consideration. This whole family is waiting for your orders for meals."
Cui Xiaoxiao glanced at Song Wanning with great pride and said slowly, "My grandson's wife will definitely live up to your mission."
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