Chapter 211: The Unreasonableness
"Of course you have to ask mother, so go and ask mother to come to our yard."
Zhou Jiaming was put under house arrest, but it was not Mrs. Zhou's intention, but the intention of Zhou Hongjing conveyed by Zhou Butler.
Butler Zhou didn't say that the house arrest was lifted, and she didn't dare to leave the yard without permission, so she could only ask Madam Zhou to come to her yard.
As soon as Xiao Tao left the yard, Butler Zhou followed her and stopped her. "Miss Xiao Tao, the kitchen is in need of a fire-cooking girl. You can go and help for a few days."
"Butler Zhou, I..."
Xiao Tao was shocked. Butler Zhou sent her to be a fire-making maid without even asking her what she was going to do?
"You don't have to say anything more. You don't have to go back to the Second Miss's yard."
Although Butler Zhou did not interrogate Xiao Tao, he could not be fooled by Xiao Tao's expression and sneaky look after she left the yard.
If the Second Miss hadn't intended to do something bad, his name would have been written backwards.
His master has already told him to keep an eye on the second young lady.
She must not be allowed to leave the house before she leaves the pavilion, otherwise the Zhou family will be finished.
He didn't care whether he understood or not, he just had to obey.
"Yes, I will listen to Butler Zhou."
Xiao Tao didn't dare to say anything more. She knew the temper of housekeeper Zhou. If she said one more word, she was afraid that she would not even be able to be a fire-making maid. She might be asked to wash the night pot or pour the night incense.
"Um."
Butler Zhou nodded, watched Xiao Tao leave, and then instructed the guards guarding Zhou Jiaming's yard to keep a close eye on her. Then he left with his hands behind his back.
After Mrs. Ma returned home, she went straight to her own yard and lay down, saying that she felt dizzy, had a stuffy chest, and was weak all over. She was so sick that she would have to face Prince Yan if she took another step.
Things went wrong at the Zhou Mansion, and she didn't dare to go and talk to Matthew Li in person, so she could only wait for Matthew Li to come and ask her.
After the court session, Matthew Li came to her yard as soon as he returned home.
"Madam, has the matter of the Zhou Mansion been settled?"
As soon as Matthew Li reached the door of the inner room, the voice reached Mrs. Ma's ears.
"Alas, Madam Zhou is still making trouble. She said that it is the custom in the capital that if the man does not go three or five times before settling on the woman, he is not sincere to the woman. In a few days, I will ask the matchmaker to go again and we can settle it."
Mrs. Ma did not say a word about what she had not said as Matthew Li asked.
"Mrs. Zhou is really confused? I have already asked Yu'er and Li to marry her daughter, but she is still taking advantage of Qiao?"
Matthew frowned, feeling confused.
He didn't understand Mrs. Zhou, but he understood Zhou Hongjing.
Although the incident at the city gate happened some time ago, rumors will still circulate if Zhou Jiaming goes out.
Zhou Hongjing must be willing to marry into the Ma family, otherwise he would not have asked Madam Zhou to come to the Ma Mansion so specially.
Now that Mrs. Zhou has arrested Qiao, is it because Zhou Hongjing was arrested in a hurry and did not explain clearly to his wife?
"Isn't she confused? Given her daughter's reputation in the capital, marrying her to Yu'er would be a great blessing from her ancestors, but she is still trying to resist. We, the Ma family, are really giving her face."
Mrs. Ma was still feeling depressed and didn't bother pretending to be a good person anymore, so she just followed Matthew's words and complained a few words.
"Madam, don't worry. When you feel better, talk to Yu'er's wife about this. I will tell Yu'er that this matter must be settled before the 15th."
Matthew lived in fear the whole day, fearing that Emperor Yongping would suddenly order someone to arrest him in the court.
Fortunately, the day passed without any incident.
There was no news at all in Yuzhou, and the several legitimate grandsons had no clues at all. Prince Ning did not even give the slightest indication.
He was really about to lose his balance.
It is better to be safe than sorry, so he still needs to make arrangements.
"Don't worry, Master. I will tell Yu'er's daughter-in-law about it later."
Seeing that Matthew Li looked uneasy, Mrs. Ma agreed to what he said.
Fortunately, when she was arranging a marriage for Ma Ruyu, she specifically picked the daughter of a small merchant, who had no backing and was easy to control but could make money.
If the Ma family wanted to divorce her, it would only take her a word.
As for what Matthew Li said about divorce, she just listened to it. According to the laws of this dynasty, in a divorce, the dowry and the income earned by the dowry shop in recent years can be taken back to her parents' home.
Over the past ten years, her eldest daughter-in-law had earned a lot of money from her dowry, and all of it was deposited into the Duke's account through her.
If she had to return such a large sum of money, she would be heartbroken.
"Well, Madam, I am relieved to have you do this. Remember to tell her that all the children she gives birth to after the divorce will belong to her. We in the Ma family will not raise any of them."
After Matthew Li said this, he turned and walked out of the inner room, leaving Mrs. Ma's yard and went straight to the study.
Mrs. Ma was still thinking about how to divide the money among her own sons after divorcing Ma Ruyu's wife, but she was suddenly shocked by Ma Xiuli's words.
"Master..."
By the time she reacted and wanted to ask for clarification, Matthew Li had disappeared without a trace.
A divorcee cannot take away his wife’s dowry, much less his children.
But in the case of a divorce, both of these matters can be discussed with the husband's family. As long as the husband's family agrees, the government will not interfere.
'This damn old man, he still dotes on the bastard born by that bastard, and even protects the bastard's own little bastard. Is he asking that bastard to divorce his children to save those little bastards because his legitimate grandchildren were kidnapped?
Could it be that this old man had offended someone outside? That's why he kidnapped her grandchildren?'
Mrs. Ma lay in bed, thinking about the unreasonableness of this matter.
Given Matthew Li's personality, he would not allow his son to divorce, let alone elevate his wife.
Not to mention that he was the Minister of Rites, a model of etiquette in the dynasty. How could he take the lead in doing such an unethical thing?
The more Mrs. Ma thought about it, the more she felt that she had guessed the truth. The more she felt that she had guessed the truth, the less likely she would do what Matthew Li asked.
However, she would not let Matthew know about these things.
Since her legitimate grandson was kidnapped by Matthew's enemy, why not exchange her illegitimate grandson? Maybe she could save those legitimate grandsons.
After thinking it over, Madam Ma immediately asked someone to call her eldest daughter-in-law to come and take care of her.
At the same time, Ma Ruyu was also called to the study.
The content of the conversation between the two sides was basically the same. Mrs. Ma has always been a good person in front of her concubines' sons and daughters-in-law.
Therefore, Ma Ruyu and his wife trusted her more than Ma Ruyu.
She made up an excuse that the Ma family had encountered difficulties and they had to let them divorce in order to protect the safety of their grandchildren. The divorce was fake and what happened afterwards could not be taken seriously.
After this difficult time is over, the Ma family will take them back home.
When Ma Ruyu's wife heard this, she thought her mother-in-law was doing this for the good of her and her child.
Not only was she moved to tears, she also took the initiative to suggest that in order to prevent her father-in-law from noticing the flaws, she should take away only the empty boxes of dowry from the mansion, and she would take care of the shops and farms outside as they were still under her name.
Mrs. Ma was extremely satisfied with this illegitimate son's wife.
Only after several of the concubines' grandsons followed her out of the house did she make her move. From then on, all of Zhonggong's money belonged to her.
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