Chapter 571 They Argued Again
Meng Chengxing had a persistent high fever, and everyone in the mansion thought he probably wouldn't make it through. But to everyone's surprise, his fever subsided the following afternoon.
The physician from the Ling family examined his pulse and said that he had pulled through and that his high fever had subsided, so his life was no longer in danger. He would wake up in a while and then he would just need to take good care of his injuries.
Meng Dongyuan felt somewhat regretful about this; he hadn't expected his wretched son to be so resilient.
When Meng Dongyuan returned from his elderly mother's house, he saw Zhao Shi looking at the account books. He ordered her in a tone that resembled that of a servant, "Go to the accounting office and get me one hundred taels of silver."
Zhao Shi, her head aching from looking at the account book, asked without raising her head, "What does my husband need a hundred taels for?"
Meng Dongyuan frowned: "I'm the Earl, do I need to report to you about anything I do?"
Zhao replied, "Now that I am in charge of the household affairs, I have the right to inquire about every expense in the family. As long as the expense is unreasonable, even if it is my husband, he cannot take the money away."
She looked up at him and said meaningfully, "Besides, my husband was fined a year's salary, which made our already tight finances even worse. We should save money wherever we can and avoid extravagance."
Upon hearing this, Meng Dongyuan's face instantly darkened: "My Meng family is, after all, a noble family. How could we be as despicable as you describe?"
"Why not?" Zhao slammed the account book shut and sneered, "With your family's leaky management, whoever takes over will be a hot potato. Don't you have any idea? Of course, you don't manage the household affairs, so how would you know how much the family is in debt? Just balancing the accounts is a headache."
Meng Dongyuan retorted, "Even if my Meng family is in decline now, we're not so poor that we can't even come up with a hundred taels!"
Zhao said firmly and without room for argument, "Let me tell you, you will only receive three taels of silver a month, not a single copper coin more. If you're not satisfied, then you can forget about receiving even three taels of silver!"
"Three taels?" Meng Dongyuan was incredulous and felt humiliated. He angrily questioned, "Our concubines all receive two taels of silver, and I, the head of the household, only receive three taels? Besides, didn't I receive five taels last month?"
Zhao sneered: "Who told you to be a bad father? You've lost a year's salary. I've already reduced the monthly allowances for all those women in your backyard to one and a half taels, starting next month."
Meng Dongyuan was furious: "Our family also has private property, and we don't live solely on my salary. Besides, my second son-in-law gives us money as a form of filial piety, so the family is much better off. Why are we acting like this?"
Zhao replied, "Since my husband is dissatisfied, then you can take back the management of the household affairs and let whoever wants to manage them manage them. I'm not going to serve you anymore."
Meng Dongyuan's face turned ashen: "What kind of temper are you throwing now? Do you believe I'll divorce you?"
“I haven’t committed any of the seven grounds for divorce, so what right do you have to divorce me?” Zhao said with a contemptuous smile. “You gave me a hundred taels to buy a pair of bracelets for Dong, didn’t you? Let alone a pair of bracelets, even if you gave me ten pairs, she would never go back to her old ways and break off the engagement to marry you as a concubine.”
Meng Dongyuan looked shocked: "How...how did you know?"
Zhao gave him a cold look. How did she know? Wasn't it because he was talking to his trusted attendant and she overheard him?
After a brief standoff, Zhao Shi became too lazy to continue paying attention to him: "Husband, the Emperor has ordered you to stay at home for three months to reflect on your mistakes. If you have nothing to do, then reflect on your past actions. If you continue to cause trouble, I am not afraid to make things worse, as long as you can bear the consequences."
Meng Dongyuan's face turned pale and then red. He had experienced Zhao's fierceness firsthand; she was like a tigress. If things really got out of hand, it would be his loss of face. He took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and gritted his teeth, saying, "Crazy woman, I can't be bothered with you!"
After saying that, he turned around and walked away without looking back.
Zhao rubbed her temples and reopened the account book to look through it. With the filial piety of her second son-in-law, the Meng family was a little better off and no longer in debt as before, but they were still poor and had not saved much money.
There aren't many places where we need money now, but in two years, there will be many more. The three children in the family are not married yet. Chengzhang is sixteen this year and should get married in two years. The dowry and wedding will be an expense. In addition, Chengzhang will pursue an official career in the future, so we have to save some money for him. He will also need money to bribe officials and socialize.
Chengxing is the same. Even if Meng Dongyuan doesn't like him and he's not a good kid, he's still the third young master of the family. If his marriage is too shabby, people won't say anything about Meng Dongyuan, they'll just say that his stepmother is mistreating her stepson.
And then there's her daughter, Yunying. Although she's the Meng family's stepdaughter, she's now a member of the Meng family too. When she marries into the Meng family, her dowry will be paid from the Meng family. She has her own selfish reasons; she doesn't want her daughter's marriage to be too meager, at least not on the surface.
The expenses for the entire family's food, clothing, and daily necessities, the wedding expenses for the children, and the future expenses for Chengzhang's official career and social engagements all require money, which must be saved up slowly.
Looking at the account book, Zhao was at her wits' end. She truly understood what it meant to be a clever cook without rice. In this situation, it wasn't that she was stingy, but that she had no other choice.
"Mother."
At that moment, Meng Chengzhang's voice rang out from the doorway.
Zhao looked up in surprise and asked, "When did Chengzhang arrive?"
Meng Chengzhang answered truthfully: "I came for a while and stood outside the door. But my father was in a fit of anger and left in a huff, not noticing me standing there."
Zhao felt a little embarrassed after hearing this: "I'm sorry you had to see this. Did you come to see me because you need something?"
Meng Chengzhang replied, "Mother, I will be returning to the academy in a couple of days to travel and study with my teacher. I won't be coming back for the New Year this year; I will return before the autumn examination next year."
Upon hearing this, Madam Zhao immediately said to her trusted maidservant who was serving her, "Go to the accounting office and get one hundred taels for the young master."
Meng Chengzhang was bewildered: "What does Mother mean by this?"
Zhao replied, "Good child, when you're out and about, you need to have some money with you just in case. You can also buy whatever you need yourself."
Upon hearing this, Meng Chengzhang was stunned again. Just now, his father asked for one hundred taels of silver, and his mother refused without thinking. Now, without him even asking for silver, his mother gave him the silver that his father couldn't get.
Zhao glanced at him and knew what he was thinking. Although she was a bit thrifty in managing the household, she could distinguish between what should be saved and what shouldn't. This was the only promising child in the family, so the family's resources would definitely be prioritized for him, and the whole family would support him with all their might.
And he just said he'd be back before the autumn imperial examinations, so that means he'll be taking them next year? Once he passes the exams and becomes successful, won't her good days begin? In a couple of years, when he gets married, he'll hand over the household chores to his new wife, and she can finally relax completely.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com