The old lady's expression froze. She didn't expect that the matter would be linked to Su Qingyu again.
"She's talking nonsense. How could she frame the Shen family's mistress?"
The old lady's words made her position clear, which was also a disguised support for Su Qingyu. This was also what she really thought. She didn't believe Su Qingyu would do such a thing.
When Chen heard what the old lady said, she felt a little unhappy and secretly blamed the old lady for being partial.
"Mother, since a maid saw what happened, why not call her in and ask her about it."
"If they really did deliberately wrongly accuse my third brother's wife, such a person must not be forgiven lightly."
Chen's tone made her sound as if she was thinking about Su Qingyu, and those who didn't know would think that the two sisters-in-law were as close as sisters.
Su Qingyu put down the teacup with a faint smile and said, "Mother, what my sister-in-law said is right. Why don't we call the person in to ask him about it? I haven't done anything, and it's not something that others can wrongly accuse me of."
The old lady nodded. No matter what the truth was, she had to interrogate him first.
Not long after, Nanny Zhao came in with a maid who was about sixteen or seventeen years old.
"Your servant Anlan, the storehouse maid, comes to pay her respects to the old lady."
After An Lan came in, she knelt in the middle of the hall. Judging from her appearance, she was an honest and simple girl.
"What did you say you saw? Tell the old lady again truthfully." Aunt Hua said.
An Lan knelt on the ground respectfully and began to speak.
"The morning before yesterday, the Third Madam came to the storeroom. She gave Manager Qinglian a box of spices and told her to find a way to use them for Concubine Xiang."
"I was sorting things inside at the time and overheard it by accident."
"Just now, I heard that the eldest lady and Concubine Xiang had miscarriages, and I remembered what happened that day. Since this involves human life, I dare not conceal it, so I quietly told the two maids."
Chen looked at Su Qingyu and said, "Third sister-in-law, did you go to the warehouse the morning before yesterday? If not, just tell me where you were that morning."
Su Qingyu chuckled, "The morning before yesterday, I actually went to the warehouse and talked to Qinglian about the storage of the materials."
The other party was plotting something, so they naturally kept an eye on her every time she went to the warehouse. Fortunately, Qinglian was quick-witted, otherwise, it would have taken a lot of effort to clear her name from suspicion.
After hearing what Su Qingyu said, Chen looked at the old lady in embarrassment.
"Mother, there's a witness now, and the warehouse is managed by my third brother's wife, plus she has an old grudge against Concubine Xiang."
"My daughter-in-law asks mother to handle this impartially. If necessary, you can torture Qinglian and interrogate her."
After she finished speaking, she looked at Su Qingyu with resentment, "Third sister-in-law, what did Wu'er do to make you angry? Why do you treat her like this?"
"What grievances do you have against me? Why did you attack my daughter and unborn grandson? You have such a cruel heart, my poor grandson."
At this time, Chen was in tears and looked pitiful and helpless.
Li Chaoyun stood up and walked over to Chen, whispering, "Mother, don't get too excited. You're not feeling well to begin with. No matter who did this, Grandmother will take care of it for you."
Su Qingyu sneered in her heart. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law acted quite realistically.
In fact, she had wronged Chen. Chen was no one was just acting. She angrily berated Su Qingyu, but in her heart she secretly regretted and blamed herself. She cried sincerely because she felt sorry for her daughter and even more so for the unborn child.
Chen cried for a while, then looked at the old lady, obviously still waiting for her reply.
The old lady naturally wouldn't conclude that Su Qingyu was responsible just based on a maid's words. However, because there was a witness, Su Qingyu was the most suspected.
After thinking for a while, he made a decision.
"A maidservant is not enough to accuse the head lady of the Shen family. This matter needs to be investigated further. After interrogating the other people in the warehouse and finding out the source of the spices, we can make a decision first."
Although Chen was displeased by this, she kept it to herself. She had expected the old lady to say this, and she knew that An Lan alone wouldn't be enough to take down Su Qingyu.
"Mother, this matter needs some time to be investigated. My daughter-in-law thinks that until the matter is investigated thoroughly, my third brother's wife should not be able to manage the household. What do you think, mother?"
Su Qingyu's fingers, which were unconsciously gripping the armrest of the chair, suddenly paused. This was Chen's purpose, right?
If this incident could bring her down, that would be great. Even if that didn't work, she would still be branded as someone who framed his descendants. Most importantly, the housekeeper's power would be taken away from her.
If she guessed correctly, they should want Li Chaoyun to replace her.
The old lady hesitated after hearing what Chen said. She had a point. Before the matter was fully investigated, Su Qingyu was indeed not suitable to be in charge of the household affairs.
But the old lady didn't want to change Su Qingyu's housekeeper rights. Firstly, she trusted Su Qingyu's character. Secondly, Su Qingyu was a good housekeeper. Changing to someone else would cause a lot of trouble.
Seeing the old lady's thoughts, Chen continued, "This is only temporary. Why not let my second brother's wife take charge for a few more days? Although she made a lot of mistakes before, she is still capable."
The old lady immediately retorted, "Forget about your second sister-in-law. During the few months she was the housekeeper, I had no peace here."
Chen knew the old lady would say that, and continued, "How about this? The princess used to help with housekeeping in the palace. Why not hand it over to her first, and I'll help out from the side."
"If she were the housekeeper, our negotiations with the Rong family would be much easier."
Having said that, Chen walked to the old lady again and spoke in a voice that only the two of them could hear.
"Mother, it would be nice for the county head to be the household manager. She has always had a close relationship with the royal family. For the Shen family, having her as the household manager would be beneficial and not harmful."
The old lady pondered for a moment, but remained silent. While Chen's words certainly made some sense, she still favored housekeeper Su Qingyu, so after Chen's words, she didn't express her opinion.
Chen was getting anxious. She had gone through so much trouble just to get the housekeeper's power. No matter what, she had to persuade the old lady to give in.
"Mother, my third brother's wife is such a serious suspect, we should lock her up first."
"If she continues to be the housekeeper, I will be the first to be dissatisfied. My poor grandson and the descendants of our eldest son are all gone for no reason."
"She is so cruel and ruthless, are you still going to protect and condone her?"
Chen spoke these words a little loudly and took out a handkerchief to wipe the corners of her eyes.
She's like a daughter-in-law who has suffered a lot of grievances and is waiting for her biased mother-in-law to give her justice.
The old lady said in a deep voice: "This matter still needs to be investigated in detail. What you said about your third brother's wife is a bit..."
Before he could finish his words, a clear male voice came from behind.
"Sister-in-law is really good at framing others."
Then, the maid lifted the door curtain, and Shen Zhixiu walked in with a gloomy face. Following behind him were Shen Zhiheng and Shen Zhao, both of whom also looked unhappy.
After entering the room, Shen Zhixiu looked at Chen with a cold face without even waiting to greet the old lady.
"Not only did my sister-in-law frame the descendants of the Shen family, she also implicated the descendants of the Rong family."
"After committing a grave mistake, he refused to repent and even tried to pin the blame on my wife."
"Sister-in-law, please tell me, who is so cruel and ruthless?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
