After saying that, Song Jiao turned around and left the study without any reluctance.
In the study, Xie Youan and Xu Qingqing looked at each other in silence.
At this moment, Song Jiao had quickly taken almost all the gold, silver and jewelry bestowed by the emperor, leaving only one hundred taels of silver for daily expenses in the mansion.
She calmly examined the imperially bestowed calligraphy and paintings, a meaningful smile on her lips. These would be the "great gift" she had prepared for them.
The original owner's study.
The maidservant beside Old Madam Xie hurried over. She lowered her head and said respectfully, "Madam, the old lady asked me to come and collect this month's salary."
However, Song Jiao seemed not to hear it. She just sat at the desk and concentrated on recording the account book.
Her pen tip moved quickly across the paper, and lines of numbers appeared on the paper, as if telling the story of the original owner's contribution to the General's Mansion over the past few years.
The maid waited for a long time, and seeing that Song Jiao still didn't respond, she couldn't help but remind her again: "Madam, the old lady is still waiting for the monthly silver."
Song Jiao then stopped what she was doing, looked up at the maid in charge, and said lightly: "Since the general is back, you can ask him directly for the monthly salary." Her tone was calm and firm, as if she was talking about something very ordinary.
The maid in charge was stunned when she heard this, and a hint of surprise and uneasiness flashed in her eyes.
She wanted to say something more, but was cleverly pulled out by Song Jiao's personal maid: "Madam has important matters to attend to today, so you should go directly to the old lady and the general."
Since the monthly salary did not arrive as scheduled, the maid in charge naturally received a scolding when she returned to the old lady.
Madam Xie's face turned sullen as she scolded, "It's common for a man to have three wives and four concubines! It's understandable that You'an wants to take a concubine now! How dare she be so rude?!"
In anger, Old Madam Xie slammed the table and said, "Since she doesn't give me monthly salary, I, an old woman, will go and meet her in person!" Then she stood up and walked towards Song Jiao's residence.
Mrs. Xie came to Song Jiao's residence with a heart full of anger and a menacing attitude.
As soon as she entered, she started yelling, "Song Tangxue, you're so bold! How dare you disobey my orders and not pay the monthly salary on time? Are you planning a rebellion?!"
Song Jiao was sitting on the couch sipping tea. When she heard Madam Xie's angry curse, she put down the teacup in her hand, slowly raised her head, and a chill was revealed in her eyes.
She sneered and said, "Old Madam, what you said is very serious. When did I ever disobey your orders? When did I ever say I would not pay you the monthly salary?"
"You still dare to quibble!" Old Madam Xie was so angry that she was shaking all over. "I asked the maid to come and get the monthly salary, but you asked her to go find You'an. Isn't this obviously a lack of respect for me?!"
"Madam, you're really wronging me," Song Jiao said innocently. "I just feel that now that the general has returned, he should be in charge of all matters in the mansion. Of course, the matter of Yue Yin should also be decided by him."
"You!" Old Madam Xie was so angry at Song Jiao's words that she was speechless.
She pointed at Song Jiao's nose and said in a trembling voice, "You vicious woman! If you hadn't used all that trickery, how could You'an have married you?! Now you're so jealous that you can't even tolerate a concubine. You've really brought shame to our General's Mansion!"
Hearing what Mrs. Xie said, a cold light flashed in Song Jiao's eyes.
She stood up suddenly, walked to Old Madam Xie, and said word by word, "Mother-in-law, please don't forget who was the one who begged and cried to let me marry into the General's Mansion! Who arranged everything to make the ever-victorious General who he is today?"
"Over the years, I've been using my dowry to subsidize the General's Mansion. Why is it that the General's Mansion is so poor? It can't even pay out a few hundred taels of monthly silver?"
"If mother-in-law thinks I've done something wrong, why don't we go before the Emperor and have a say? Let's see who's right and who's wrong. I just don't know if your precious son can keep his official position."
"You, you lunatic!" Old Madam Xie took a few steps back in fear of Song Jiao's aura. "Are you trying to piss me off to death?!"
"Old Madam, please stop flattering yourself." Song Jiao said coldly, "I'm not going crazy because of you! After all, it's really disgusting that a family relies on their daughter-in-law's dowry to survive."
After saying that, Song Jiao suddenly swung her sleeves and turned back to sit on the couch. She picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea, as if nothing had happened.
Old Madam Xie was so angry at Song Jiao's attitude that she was shaking all over. She pointed at Song Jiao's back and said with trembling lips: "You, you vicious woman! I, I will definitely let Youan divorce you!"
Song Jiao gently set down the teacup in her hand. Her movements were graceful and calm, as if she were chatting with an old friend. Then, a faint smile appeared at the corner of her lips, revealing a hint of playfulness and disdain.
"Okay!" She said softly, her tone full of indifference. "I'd like to see what crime your Xie family is going to accuse me of in order to divorce me."
Her gaze grew sharp, as if it could penetrate a person's heart. "Did I not contribute my dowry to the general's mansion? Or am I unable to accommodate a concubine? Or perhaps, your Xie family is simply looking for an excuse to kick me out so you can seize my dowry?"
At this point, Song Jiao suddenly sneered and changed the subject: "Back then, Xie Youan swore solemnly in front of the emperor that he would be with me forever. Is what he is doing now considered deceiving the emperor?"
Her tone was full of sarcasm and mockery, as if she was mocking the Xie family's ignorance and greed.
Her words were like a sharp knife, piercing Mrs. Xie's heart.
Old Madam Xie was left speechless by Song Jiao's words. She was so angry that her face turned pale and her whole body was shaking.
She pointed at Song Jiao's nose and trembled, unable to utter a word for a long time.
Song Jiao ignored her, turned around and walked to the desk, picked up a pen and continued writing in the account book.
At this moment, Madam Xie felt a surge of blood in her chest, her vision went dark, and she fell softly to the ground.
The maids around immediately rushed over in panic, creating chaos.
When Song Jiao heard the noise behind her, she just turned her head slightly to glance at it, then continued to write with her head down.
There was no trace of emotion on her face, as if everything that had just happened had nothing to do with her.
But deep down, she looked down on Old Madam Xie. If she hadn't been afraid that the old woman would be slapped to death by her, she would have wanted to attack her.
Soon, Song Jiao's door was roughly pushed open, and a tall, handsome young man with a somewhat gloomy look rushed in. He was the original owner's eldest son, Xie Zixuan, and his face was filled with anger and dissatisfaction.
He stepped over the threshold, his eyes piercing Song Jiao like knives, and asked in a cold tone, "Mother, you actually hit Daddy and Aunt Xu, and even made Grandmother sick. Isn't that too much?"
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