When the old lady saw Xie Zhaozhao come in, she said happily, "You're back? How is your grandmother?"
“Grandmother is well, and everyone in the family is well.” She handed the snacks to the old lady, who smiled broadly and said, “My dear in-law, you are very kind.”
Madam Tu smiled and said, "Third Madam seems to be having trouble adjusting to life at the Marquis's residence. Why are you always going to the Xie residence?"
Xie Xiangxiang was also waiting to see the joke.
Xie Zhaozhao smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, are you missing your parents' home? Ouyang is a bit far, but the Xie residence is closer, so it's convenient to go back."
“I returned to the Xie residence to inform my mother; I did not return without permission.”
She didn't explain why she went back.
Madam Tu was speechless for a moment, but Xie Xiangxiang brought up the matter of the public accounts.
She gave all her money to Gu Chengyan, but for some reason, she was always restless.
“Eldest sister, I checked the accounts for Mother for a few days. The Marquis’s mansion is in serious deficit. If I hadn’t used my own money to cover the losses, there wouldn’t have been a single coin left in the accounts.”
Xie Zhaozhao remained silent, glancing out of the corner of her eye at the old lady and Madam Tu, both of whom were feigning ignorance.
So she understood: was this because Xie Xiangxiang was slaughtering pigs to subsidize the Marquis's mansion?
"Everything else is fine, but I'd like to ask, my elder sister's sedan chair must cost at least several hundred thousand taels of silver. Shouldn't that money come from public funds?"
Xie Zhaozhao looked at her but didn't say anything. "Anything else?"
"Furthermore, Grand Secretary Gu claims that your betrothal gifts came from his own private treasury. However, since the family has not separated, it is inappropriate to hide private funds like this. Apart from the official salary, all income, regardless of its source, should be handed over."
Xie Xiangxiang brought this up and also suggested that since the Marquis's mansion was facing difficulties, everyone should show sincerity and work together to overcome the crisis.
Ultimately, it meant she had to return a portion of the betrothal gifts to the Marquis's household.
After talking for a while, seeing that Xie Zhaozhao was only laughing and not saying anything, she said angrily, "What are you laughing at?"
"I laughed at you for not checking the accounts carefully," Xie Zhaozhao asked Tu Shi. "Does your sister-in-law also agree?"
Madam Tu said irritably, "Now that you've married the third son, you're a member of the Marquis's family. We share the same fate, and if the Marquis's family is in trouble, how can you just sponge off the eldest son's family?"
Xie Zhaozhao glanced at the old lady, who snapped, "Tu Shi, you're in charge of the household affairs, so it's your job to come up with solutions. Why are you saying these things to the Third Madam?"
Madam Tu said, "Isn't this too difficult? Autumn is coming, and we need to make clothes. We also need to hold Mid-Autumn Festival banquets and crab feasts in various prefectures. We can't just attend other people's banquets every year and not hold our own, can we?"
The old lady said, "Can't we collect some silver from the shop? And the autumn harvest on the estate has been completed, right? Why can't we hold a banquet?"
Madam Tu said, "All the money from the shops has been used for household expenses, so how can we collect any more debts? As for the estate, the harvest is not good either, and the estate manager wants to quit."
"You insolent fool, is this how you manage the household?" the old lady roared in anger.
Xie Zhaozhao remained silent, watching the heartfelt performances of both the old and new generations of her mother-in-law.
Did he want to devour her dowry again, just like in his past life?
Don't even think about it.
Sure enough, after a while, Madam Tu said directly, "Let's just hand over the management of the household to the Third Madam. She manages the household and shops at her maternal home, she's capable, and she's still young, so it's most suitable to let her take charge."
The old lady looked at Xie Zhaozhao and said with a smile, "This is also a good idea. Third Madam, you will have to work hard."
Xie Zhaozhao asked in surprise, "Mother also wants me to manage the household?"
“Yes, look at your sister-in-law and me, we’re getting old and not as capable as we used to be. Over the years, we’ve never been able to make the Marquis’s household account profitable. You are good at managing the household. If the Marquis’s household can turn around under your leadership, it will be a blessing for our household and a blessing from the spirit of the Marquis in heaven.”
Xie Zhaozhao smiled and said, "Since Mother has brought this up, then I'll also share my thoughts."
"Go ahead and speak." Seeing her smiling face, Tu thought of Xie Xiangxiang's excited acceptance a few days ago and secretly scoffed at how young people couldn't resist praise.
“First of all, regarding the sedan chair that the Crown Prince’s wife mentioned,” Xie Zhaozhao said, “that sedan chair didn’t cost the Marquis’s mansion a single penny. As the head of the household, you must know this. Don’t you agree, sister-in-law?”
Tu was embarrassed and stammered, "Maybe."
"No, since my sister-in-law can't explain it clearly, let's check the account books now."
What do you mean by "maybe"? The matter must be clarified at once.
She turned to Manman behind her and said, "Go and call the Second Madam here."
Madam Tu and the old lady both tried to stop her, saying, "Why did you call her here?"
Xie Zhaozhao said, "My mother and sister-in-law both want to hand over the management of the household to me. Naturally, all the masters need to be present. Otherwise, if someone is dissatisfied, this matter will be difficult to handle in the future."
The old lady and Madam Tu thought she wanted to take over the management of the household and were worried that the second branch of the family would not agree, so they agreed and sent someone to call Madam Lu over.
A short while later, Madam Lu came over, glanced at Madam Tu and Xie Xiangxiang, and said with a smile, "Mother, why are you calling for your daughter-in-law?"
Xie Xiangxiang took the lead and said, "The third branch of the family is going to take over the management of the household affairs. Call the second aunt over and let us know about this together."
Mrs. Lu's face immediately turned extremely ugly.
The eldest son's wife didn't want to take the order, so she skipped the second son's wife and made the third son's wife take it instead. Is this bullying the second son's wife to the end?
Madam Lu blurted out, "Mother, isn't Second Master your own son? How can you treat us like this? It's one thing to always favor the eldest son's family, but now even the third son's family is going to surpass us, the second son's family?"
The old lady wanted to scold her, but Xie Zhaozhao smiled and said, "Second sister-in-law, the young master's wife is joking! With the eldest and second sisters-in-law here, how could the third branch possibly manage the household affairs?"
Madam Lu shut up, and Madam Tu, Xie Xiangxiang, and the old lady were all dumbfounded.
If you're not going to take on the household management duties, why did you call Mr. Lu here?
Xie Zhaozhao said, "Since the eldest son's wife, the second son's wife, and the heir's wife are all here, I'll talk about a few things."
First, she mentioned the sedan chair, saying that it wasn't funded by the public funds and asked everyone if that was true.
Under Lu's intense scrutiny, Tu had no choice but to admit that she had not used a single penny from the manor.
Then, when the topic of betrothal gifts came up, she said, "His Majesty and the Grand Secretary both told me that the betrothal gifts were given by His Majesty out of concern for the Grand Secretary, who had delayed his own marriage for the sake of the country and the people. These betrothal gifts were all paid by His Majesty and did not come from the Marquis's residence. Is this true?"
Madam Lu's eyes widened as she asked Madam Tu, "Wow, I had no idea you hadn't prepared a betrothal gift for my third brother! Even if he's going to Jiangnan on official business, you can't just leave him without a betrothal gift, can you?"
Mrs. Tu said awkwardly, "He didn't mention betrothal..."
Madam Lu, feeling indignant, exclaimed, "My third brother is so old and still unmarried, and you've been ignoring it all. Are you planning to let him remain a bachelor for life and then pocket all his salary?"
This person wasn't being fair; she simply didn't get along with Madam Tu, so she took the opportunity of the third branch's affair to directly slap Madam Tu in the face.
“You weren’t home when your third brother was betrothed, so you can’t keep his betrothal gifts. Now you have to make up for it for your third brother and send them to his courtyard.”
Otherwise, if you don't even give them betrothal gifts, why should they be expected to be filial to their mother?
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