"Fourth sister-in-law, stop talking!" Then she said to her eldest daughter, "Azhi, take your sisters and go out first!"
But to everyone's surprise, Fourth Madam Yin was not one to listen to advice. Before the Yin family girls had even left, she hurriedly said, "Sister-in-law, this is nothing shameful! It's very common for maternal uncles to help manage family property!"
Besides, it's better for these things to end up in our hands than to be fed to those ungrateful wretches..."
With a loud crash, the teacup that should have been in Old Madam Yin's hand was smashed to the ground.
"You really have wild ideas! You even dare to covet your married aunt's dowry!"
"Mother, you've misunderstood your daughter-in-law..."
Grandma Yin's voice was shrill and loud, as if she had suffered a great injustice, "I'm only thinking of Lin-ge'er and A-zi. Besides, if we have Second Sister's dowry, our Yin family can get by..."
"Smack!"
Old Mrs. Yin's slap landed quickly and accurately on Fourth Grandma Yin's face.
"Mother, you hit me?"
"I'm going to wake you up! No matter how down on your luck my Yin family is, we would never touch the dowry of our daughters!"
Grandma Yin said bitterly, "Mother, who am I doing this for! You said you wouldn't touch the girl's dowry, so why are you forcing your daughter-in-law to take out her dowry to make ends meet!"
Since I married into the Yin family, I haven't enjoyed a single day of happiness. Even the Fourth Master only stayed by my side for a few days before he was busy running around for the Yin family every day!
Now, both the people and the boat have been detained by the canal gang for several days. My mother and sons are numerous; I'm not worried about Fourth Master, but as his wife, I can't help but worry about my husband!
Grandma Yin quickly stepped forward and covered her mouth, "Fourth sister-in-law, please keep your voice down. This is the Yin family home. You can't let people hear and laugh at you!"
"What a joke! Our Yin family is already a laughing stock in Baoding! I'm not afraid of being laughed at by the Jiang family too! Besides, my dowry has already been paid out. Now I just want to redeem Fourth Master. I'm not doing this out of selfishness, after all, Fourth Master is also a member of the Yin family!"
The more she spoke, the more Grandma Yin seemed to adopt an attitude of "I'm a shrew, I'm not afraid of anyone," and her voice grew louder and louder.
The servants outside heard it all clearly, let alone Jiang Segu standing in the cloister.
Has the Yin family really fallen into such dire straits?
How did my fourth uncle get detained by the canal gang?
Qiaolian stood beside her, unsure how to comfort her. She could only yell at the group of servants standing in the courtyard, eavesdropping, "What are you all doing standing there? Don't you want to get your work done?!"
Not long after the servants left, news of what happened at Lan Yue Courtyard spread among those who needed to know.
Madam Jiang, who had been half-lying down, suddenly sat up. "What? The Yin family actually dared to interfere with my third brother's wife's dowry?"
“That’s what Granny Li said,” Mama Jing replied.
Madam Jiang laughed in exasperation, "A married daughter is like water spilled from a cup; once spilled, there's no reason to take her back! Let's go, let's go meet that Fourth Madam Yin!"
She had just stood up when Zijin hurriedly walked in. "Madam, the eldest aunt has taken two young ladies to Lanyue Courtyard."
My eldest sister really knows how to seize any opportunity; who leaked the news of the Yin family's arrival to her so quickly!
When Madam Jiang arrived at Lanyue Courtyard with her feet light on the ground, both Aunt Jiang and Old Madam Yin were weeping bitterly!
Zhu Qingying and Zhu Qingyou were sitting on either side of Old Madam Yin, one wiping away her tears and the other rubbing her chest.
Seeing this, Madam Jiang secretly realized her mistake; she should have brought her three daughters along!
"Oh dear, Grandma Yin, I'm so sorry for not greeting you properly. It's all my fault as a junior!"
Grandma Jiang pressed a handkerchief to her eyes. "Sister-in-law, I'm not trying to criticize you, but why didn't you inform me when Old Madam Yin came today? I could have gone to greet her. That's how our Marquis's mansion treats its guests."
Madam Jiang, who was outmaneuvered by Aunt Jiang right from the start, was unhappy but still had to smile on the surface.
"It's my fault. I was so busy with my third sister-in-law's funeral arrangements that I only just found out about Old Madam Yin's arrival at the mansion. That's why I put down what I was doing and rushed over!"
"Sister-in-law, isn't what you're saying a bit untrue? You are, after all, the mistress of the house. How could you not know when guests come to visit?"
Madam Jiang's smile froze on her lips, her heart filled with resentment.
After a moment, he said, "It must be those rascals at the gate who have neglected their duties. I will punish them severely later. I hope that Old Madam Yin will forgive them!"
"Madam Jiang, you're too kind! I'll need your help with my daughter A-Chan's funeral arrangements..."
"That's for sure! Even without the old lady's instructions, our young master said that even if he has to pawn everything in his house, he must make sure that the funeral arrangements for our third brother and sister-in-law are handled in a grand and glorious manner!"
As she spoke, she also touched the corner of her eye with a handkerchief.
"The funeral arrangements are all for show. I only want to ask your family why my daughter, Achan, hanged herself?"
Madam Jiang felt a chill run down her spine; she had never really thought of this.
Does anyone know why Lady Yin hanged herself?
She looked at Aunt Jiang.
Grandma Jiang cursed the idiot in her heart, but had no choice but to reply, "What else could it be? It's just that the couple had a quarrel, and my third sister-in-law didn't think things through and did such a foolish thing!"
"Yes, yes, that's exactly it!" Madam Jiang chimed in, "The third son was also filled with remorse, which is why he followed his sister-in-law!"
"I wonder what kind of argument could have driven my Ah Chan to such a point?"
Madam Jiang then looked at Aunt Jiang.
That wicked woman is trying to get me to stand up for her again!
After a moment's thought, Aunt Jiang said, "This is all between the two of them. We don't know the specifics! All we know now are snippets of information we've overheard from the maids and servants!"
"Yes, yes, we didn't know anything about it either! I was busy preparing for my old lady's birthday every day, and then I had to see Yuan Niang off. I really didn't know much about my third brother and sister-in-law's affairs!"
Before Old Mrs. Yin could ask anything else, Jiang Segu lifted the curtain and came in.
"Oh dear, in just one day, Azi has become so haggard and unrecognizable. She's still a naive girl. Sigh! It breaks my heart to see her like this!"
Jiang Segu watched Madam Jiang's act with cold indifference, offering no response.
Madam Jiang didn't let the conversation fall flat. Instead, she took Aunt Jiang's hand and said to Old Madam Yin, "Old Madam, I still have to arrange lunch and other things, so I can't stay here with you any longer!"
Old Madam Yin nodded, "Madam, please go ahead with your work!"
Before Aunt Jiang could say anything, Madam Jiang interrupted her.
"My elder sister has always been a thoughtful and considerate person. Please take pity on me for not having handled a funeral before and help my younger brother and sister-in-law out!"
And so, Aunt Jiang had no choice but to leave with Madam Jiang...
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