Chapter 391 Attempting to Steal a Chicken Backfires
The Xie family, who were happily accepting the emperor's reward, had no idea that Xie Wanniang's aunt, the one who had offended her, Madam Yuan, was being severely reprimanded by her husband.
Her husband came from a merchant family and was raised to be very shrewd.
From the moment Xie Wanniang began to emerge, this person had already noticed the enormous business opportunities hidden within her.
He had no interest in rebelling and becoming emperor, nor did he care whether the aristocratic families or the emperor had the upper hand. However, he was interested in all new things that could bring him huge profits.
In order to change his family's inferior status as merchants, his father took out most of the family business to support the Yuan clan.
Although his father and his methods of accumulating wealth have gradually restored much of their family's fortune over the years, what normal person would complain about having too much wealth?
Not to mention, he had also enjoyed the immense convenience and comfortable life that money brought him.
When he instructed Madam Yuan to cultivate a good relationship with Xie Wanniang's family, the reason he gave was that Jiang Yuan was useful to him, but in reality, this was only a secondary reason.
What this person was really after was Xie Wanniang's ability to make money.
However, he couldn't openly admit that he coveted other people's ways of making money.
Unlike him, Madam Yuan was already very satisfied and proud of her family's current wealth, so she never imagined that her husband was secretly plotting to completely exploit Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang.
After being threatened by Xie Wanniang with the extreme measure of going to the palace to file a complaint, Madam Yuan never came to harass Xie Wanniang uninvited again.
Whenever her husband asked, she would just give a few casual words to brush him off.
Her husband wasn't some idle nobleman; as a powerful official, he was usually very busy. So, thanks to Madam Yuan's deliberate concealment, he didn't realize that Madam Yuan had actually completely offended Xie Wanniang.
It wasn't until the Ministry of Works suddenly became busy, and Xie Wanniang's daughter An'an received a reward, that her husband was able to devote more energy and attention to cultivating a good relationship between Xie Wanniang and Jiang Yuan.
He instructed Madam Yuan to prepare gifts and planned to personally visit Xie Wanniang's family with her to offer his congratulations.
When Madam Yuan heard him say that, she was completely dumbfounded.
She was convinced that she could fool her way out of this mess, but just as she was about to come up with a good excuse to end things and tell her husband that Xie Wanniang was really unyielding and impossible to win over, Xie Wanniang suddenly caused a big commotion.
Lady Yuan, being confined to the inner quarters, was not as well-informed as her husband. She knew that Xie Wanniang's daughter had been granted the title of County Princess, but she did not know that this title was due to Xie Wanniang's great contributions to the Great Wei Dynasty.
Naturally, she would never know why Xie Wanniang had performed such a meritorious service.
The relative delay in receiving the information meant that she had no idea her husband would change his mind at the last minute because of the huge benefits those things represented, and decide to personally contact Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang.
Madam Yuan was caught off guard and momentarily lost control of her facial expressions.
Her husband was a shrewd man and almost immediately noticed that something was wrong with Madam Yuan's mood.
Under his seemingly gentle but actually perceptive questioning, which left no room for any excuses from Madam Yuan, Madam Yuan quickly weighed the pros and cons and ultimately chose to confess the mistakes she had made.
It wasn't that Madam Yuan didn't want to continue deceiving the situation, but rather that she was well aware that although the Earl's mansion nominally had a head man and a head mistress, in reality, she, as the head mistress, had never truly experienced what it meant to be in charge.
Like most women in the world, she lived her life by constantly watching her husband's mood.
This is also one of the reasons why she was so jealous of Xie Wanniang.
Unwilling to hand over her life to others, Madam Yuan could do nothing else to change her fate except scheme to find a decent husband.
Even when she schemed against her future husband's family, she relied heavily on the influence of the eldest son's family, rather than on her own abilities.
In contrast, Xie Wanniang, despite having a prince as her father whom she could easily rely on, and the ability to gain wealth and status in the prince's mansion by playing the role of a dutiful daughter, preferred to stay obediently in the countryside and endure hardship.
Even if she would never admit it openly, Madam Yuan knew very well in her heart that if she were in Xie Wanniang's position, she would never be able to turn the tables for herself as quickly and beautifully as Xie Wanniang.
It's not that she would starve to death because she was useless if she were stranded outside.
Although she was a concubine's daughter, her stepmother didn't dare to mistreat her openly.
At that time, they were still living with the eldest branch of the family. The heads of the family were initially her grandparents, and later her uncle and aunt. Due to family rules and reputation, her stepmother would at most cut back on her food, clothing and other necessities in private. Her stepmother could not bring herself to prevent her from going to school with her sisters at that time.
Because she was an illegitimate daughter, she didn't dare to perform too well at that time, lest she overshadow her other sisters in the family. But not performing well didn't mean that she hadn't learned anything.
Although she wasn't a very good reader, she knew all the characters that were required to be recognized.
She can even write quite well and draw some presentable pictures that won't make her a laughing stock.
Her stepmother certainly wouldn't teach her things like managing the household, running the business, and keeping accounts, but she had secretly learned some basics from her grandmother and aunt.
Not to mention skills like cutting, sewing, and embroidery, which could be quickly exchanged for money, Madam Yuan actually learned them better than Xie Wanniang.
But the problem is, she has always been proud of her noble birth, so how could she bear to give up her original status as a noble lady?
She couldn't bear to give up her status, and of course, she was even more unwilling to relinquish the wealth and honor it brought her.
She couldn't bear the hardship of starting from scratch, nor could she tolerate the drastic drop in her standard of living and the stark contrast in her living conditions. She would rather be scheming and plotting in a grand mansion than endure poverty in a remote, impoverished area.
So if she were in Xie Wanniang's position back then, she would definitely choose to acknowledge her ancestors and return to her clan without hesitation.
Before Xie Wanniang was granted the title of Princess, Madam Yuan, judging others by her own standards, often privately mocked Xie Wanniang for being clueless.
In her eyes, Xie Wanniang, who stubbornly refused to acknowledge her ancestors, was clearly making things difficult for her own future and life. At that time, Madam Yuan was absolutely certain that even if Xie Wanniang worked hard for ten lifetimes, she would never be able to live the luxurious life that Xie Wanniang could quickly obtain simply by acknowledging her ancestors.
However, Xie Wanniang seemed to be deliberately slapping her hard. After she repeatedly and confidently mocked the other party, Xie Wanniang actually became a county princess, a county princess, and even a princess step by step, quickly and steadily, relying on her own abilities.
The wealth and honor she had always dreamed of but could never obtain were easily obtained by a fool she had never taken seriously. Madam Yuan was not only jealous to the point of being heartbroken, but also felt as if her face had been slapped hard from afar.
Her husband didn't know, or rather, didn't care, what she was really feeling. He just wanted Madam Yuan to be a good wife and complete the tasks he assigned her.
However, this time, Madam Yuan's mood clearly became the biggest obstacle to her completing the mission.
Faced with her husband's raging anger, Madam Yuan could only admit her mistakes, but in reality, she was still very resentful.
She dared not blame her husband, nor did she want to blame herself, so she cursed Xie Wanniang in her heart to vent her anger.
However, this kind of venting of anger obviously did not solve her problem. Her husband was so angry that he wanted to beat her up.
He just couldn't understand how his wife could be blinded by such a tiny bit of petty profit when he had never shortchanged the family on any expenses over the years.
In order to teach Madam Yuan a profound lesson, he directly ordered her to hand over the management of the household to the wife of the eldest son of the Earl's family, who was also the wife of their eldest son.
As for Madam Yuan herself, her husband said that she should go to the small Buddhist shrine at home to eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist scriptures for six months under the pretext of praying for the deceased parents-in-law.
Six months later, at the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, her punishment period ended, and she was able to leave the small Buddhist temple and celebrate the New Year with her family.
Madam Yuan never dreamed that her husband would lose his temper with her so badly this time, taking away her power to manage the household and making her go to the small Buddhist hall to reflect for half a year. How was this any different from taking her life?
She tearfully admitted her mistake, so why did her husband still punish her so severely?
With tears in her eyes, she continued to apologize and plead, trying to change her husband's mind. However, her husband seemed to be determined, not only refusing to change his decision but also walking away without even having the patience to listen to her say a few more words.
Madam Yuan had no choice but to accept the punishment honestly for now, thinking she would deal with it after her husband calmed down.
Of course, she still didn't think she had done anything wrong.
Nominally, she was reflecting on her actions in the small Buddhist hall, but in reality, she was cursing Xie Wanniang and her eldest daughter-in-law, who had "harmed" her, every day in private.
Xie Wanniang paid no attention to her, and since she was spouting those unreasonable words in the small Buddhist hall of her own residence, naturally these words did not reach Xie Wanniang's ears.
Her eldest daughter-in-law was different. The two lived in the same mansion, and she held the title of mother-in-law. Even though her eldest daughter-in-law knew that she had angered her father-in-law and was forced to live in the small Buddhist hall, as a junior, she still had to pay her respects to him morning and evening without fail.
Even if Madam Yuan wanted her to follow the rules in front of her, she would still have to obediently do as she was told.
After the Crown Prince's wife married into the family, she had been working under Madam Yuan's care and knew her character and personality quite well. So when the power to manage the household fell into her hands like a pie falling from the sky, her first reaction was not surprise, but frustration.
Her father-in-law specifically asked her to answer the call, so she couldn't refuse. But if she did answer, her mother-in-law would inevitably take her anger out on her.
If the power to manage the household were to be transferred to her from now on, and not be transferred again, the Crown Prince's wife might weigh whether she should offend her petty and easily angered mother-in-law for the sake of the power to manage the household. But now her father-in-law is only temporarily handing over this mess to her to manage.
What is she supposed to be managing? She doesn't want to manage it at all!
The Crown Prince's wife would never have taken on such a thankless and potentially offensive task unless she had absolutely no other choice.
Naturally, she wouldn't become complacent or think she had absolute power after being forced to take over.
In order to reduce Madam Yuan's anger towards her, she even became more attentive and submissive to Madam Yuan.
Unfortunately, Madam Yuan did not let her off the hook just because the Crown Prince's wife took the initiative to be friendly. On the surface, she and the Crown Prince's wife were still a harmonious mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, but in private, she often cursed the Crown Prince's wife, her eldest daughter-in-law, in front of her trusted servants.
Once or twice is one thing, but if it happens repeatedly, her cursing her daughter-in-law will naturally no longer be a well-hidden secret.
After all, not only might her trusted servants inadvertently let slip some information, but even the maids and servants who were responsible for doing odd jobs and errands on the periphery might overhear a word or two when they were talking excitedly.
When more people know about it, the secret is no longer a secret.
As a result, some of Madam Yuan's bizarre remarks were quickly passed on to the Crown Prince's trusted maids and dowry maids by the maids and servants who wanted to curry favor with the Crown Prince's wife.
The Crown Prince's wife, who was single-mindedly trying to please her mother-in-law, never expected that even after she had been so attentive, obsequious, and submissive, her mother-in-law would still belittle her in front of the servants.
Most people care about their reputation, not to mention that the Crown Prince's wife is not from an ordinary background. Being belittled by her mother-in-law in front of the servants, and without any basis or reasoning, it's no wonder the Crown Prince's wife couldn't stand it.
So the Crown Prince's wife, who originally intended to please and appease her mother-in-law, began to secretly compete with Lady Yuan.
On the surface, the Crown Prince's wife still performed her duties perfectly, but in private, Madam Yuan could clearly sense the indifference her daughter-in-law showed when facing her.
Madam Yuan was very angry, and the angrier she got, the more she wanted to discipline her daughter-in-law.
However, the Crown Prince's wife was no pushover either. Taking advantage of the fact that Madam Yuan was currently in the small Buddhist hall, she began to cultivate her own personal power on a large scale.
Madam Yuan's confidants were replaced by the wrong ones. Although the new ones were all people whom her father-in-law and husband thought were good and were their trusted servants, the second or third stewards under these people were all, without exception, people of the Crown Prince's wife.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com