Chapter 655 Seizing Power

"Okay, I got it." Jiao finally gritted her teeth, her eyes showing a bit of sternness, "I'll ask the master to see if Zhuzhu is incompatible with our Xinguo Mansion. Before that, you better keep this to yourself!"

Jingchun nodded his head.

Jiao sighed and reached out to help Jingchun: "I know you are doing this for my own good... But can you imagine how upset Zhuzhu would be if she heard this?"

Jingchun whispered, "Madam, I know what I know, and I won't spread it. I am just worried about you..."

Jiao stared out the window in a daze, and suddenly said, "... I heard that since the Yu family adopted Xingxing, their life has become better and better. If she is really my daughter, then it's no wonder that she has such a lucky horoscope..."

Jingchun echoed.

She naturally knew that the lady had actually been avoiding this matter.

However, if the princess is really Madam's biological daughter, Madam would not be afraid that this action would deeply hurt her own daughter's heart?

Jingchun was thinking this when suddenly a thought flashed through her mind like thunder!

Wait! If you think about it carefully, it seems that it was after the Xinguo Mansion and Princess Fusui officially started to have relations that they started to suffer bad luck because of Yu Mingzhu!

...When you think about it this way, it seems like Yu Mingzhu has been occupying the nest for more than ten years, and with the arrival of the real owner, Fuyun has begun to set things right!

When this thought came to his mind, Jingchun's heart began to beat fast.

…

Yu Mingzhu came out of Jiao's yard, still with a frown on her face, looking worried about family matters.

But when she entered her own room and sent the servants away, Yu Mingzhu's face suddenly fell.

She pounded the table angrily.

Everything is not going smoothly!

The disturbance made by the wife of the national defender general actually cleared the Mao family's reputation, and all the efforts she had made to secretly spread those rumors were in vain!

And there was Wei Shuangyan, who was determined to expose her pregnancy at the cost of his dignity... She had just seen that her second brother was clearly determined to be with Wei Shuangyan no matter what!

Yu Mingzhu walked around the room in a daze and couldn't help but kick the round stool.

However, Yu Mingzhu did not expect that her kick missed the target and she accidentally kicked the antique shelf!

Unfortunately, the antique display cabinet, which had always been stable, suddenly shook and collapsed with a loud bang!

The decorations above, including many valuable vases, all fell down, and some even hit Yu Mingzhu's legs!

Yu Mingzhu screamed!

Yu Mingzhu's entire yard was in chaos.

When Jiao hurried over, Yu Mingzhu was sitting on the bed with red eyes, looking extremely aggrieved.

Jiao was distressed: "My son, are you okay? You were fine, how come the antique shelf collapsed? Come, let me see where you are hurt?"

Yu Mingzhu leaned in Jiao's arms and said coquettishly, "Mother, I didn't expect this either. It's really unlucky..."

When Jiao heard the word "unlucky", her whole body froze and her mind became confused.

Yu Mingzhu coquettishly complained to Jiao about many things that were not going well, but she didn't hear Jiao's response. When she looked up, she found that Jiao was distracted.

A dark color flashed in Yu Mingzhu's eyes, but she still called out softly: "...Mom?"

Jiao suddenly came back to her senses: "...Ah, Zhuzhu, mother is here, what's wrong?"

Yu Mingzhu hid the dissatisfaction in her eyes, and her face was full of heartache: "Mom, are you too tired? Mom has to worry about the affairs of my elder brother and second brother, and I let you worry about me too... Am I too ignorant?"

Seeing her daughter so sensible and thoughtful, Jiao was deeply moved. She thought to herself, how could her Zhuzhu be so good and incompatible with her family? Those must be coincidences!

Jiao made up her mind, and she hugged Yu Mingzhu even tighter: "Zhuzhu, mother is fine. You four brothers and sisters are my lifeblood. If I don't worry about you, who else should I worry about?"

Yu Mingzhu's face was full of attachment as she leaned in Jiao's arms.

…

Just as Jiao and Yu Mingzhu were enjoying the deep affection between mother and daughter, what happened in the elegant room of the teahouse reached the ears of the old lady of Duke Xin at an extremely fast speed.

When the old lady of Duke Xin heard this, she was so angry that she almost couldn't breathe. She was so scared that Nanny Qingluan helped her to calm down for most of the day.

After a while, the old lady of the Duke of Xin gave an order while panting slightly: "Go! Call the Crown Prince's wife to me!"

After a pause, the old lady of Duke Xin's eyes darkened, "Also call the fourth son's wife over!"

Nanny Qingluan sighed and asked the maid to ask Jiao to come over.

Jiao came from Yu Mingzhu's courtyard. Yu Mingzhu felt uneasy for some reason, and even though the old lady of Duke Xin did not ask her to come over, she followed.

Madam Qingluan was waiting under the eaves. When Jiao saw that Madam Qingluan was actually waiting outside, she was stunned for a moment: "Madam, why is she outside?"

Nanny Qingluan said with a smile: "I just came out to see if the prince's wife has arrived..." As she said that, she personally opened the curtain for Jiao.

Jiao nodded to Nanny Qingluan and walked into the house.

Nanny Qingluan looked at Jiao's back and sighed.

Yu Mingzhu did not miss Qingluan's sigh. She was about to ask something, but Qingluan's nanny urged her, "It's cold outside. Miss, please go in quickly."

Yu Mingzhu suppressed all her thoughts and smiled sweetly: "Thank you for your concern, Ma'am. I'll be in right away."

However, just as Mingzhu entered the inner room, she heard her grandmother, the old lady of the Duke of Xin, say to her mother in a cold voice: "You really manage the family well!"

Jiao, as the head of the family, was stunned by such a remark: "Mother?"

Yu Mingzhu became even more nervous, and hurried into the inner room, calling out "Grandma".

She tried to lighten the mood and forced a smile: "Grandma, what's wrong? Why are you so angry?"

The old lady of Duke Xin glanced at Yu Mingzhu calmly and said, "Mingzhu is here too."

Jiao took advantage of the situation and said, "Zhuzhu is a filial child. Just now, the antique shelf in her room collapsed and she hurt her foot. But when she heard that you wanted to see me, she wanted to see if she could help and insisted on coming along."

The old lady of Duke Xin said calmly: "Mingzhu is thoughtful."

But he didn't say anything else.

Yu Mingzhu stood there somewhat awkwardly.

The old lady of Duke Xin looked at Jiao again and said, "I heard about the teahouse."

Jiao stood there in a daze, her mouth dry and her tongue dry: "Mother..."

The old lady of Duke Xin was too lazy to beat around the bush with Jiao and said directly, "This is the house you manage! When did such vicious rumors spread out of the mansion?!"

Jiao's heart was beating fast. She wanted to defend herself, but she didn't know where to start.

At this moment, Nanny Qingluan outside said, "The fourth lady is here."

Jiao's heart suddenly rose.

She was the mistress of the household. If she did something wrong on a daily basis, her mother-in-law, the old lady of Duke Xin, would usually point it out to her in private.

Now, he actually called his fourth brother’s wife over?

Are you going to save her face?!

The handkerchief in Jiao's sleeve was almost ruined by her hands.

The fourth lady came in and politely paid her respects to the old lady of Duke Xin, and also to Jiao, the eldest sister-in-law, with great courtesy.

"Mom, do you have something to talk to me about?" asked the Fourth Lady.

The old lady of Duke Xin said calmly, "Recently, your sister-in-law has been busy with Chongjie and Chongen's affairs, and she is really tired. You have been idle for so long, it's time to be more careful and worry about your sister-in-law."

These two casual words were like a bolt of lightning to Jiao's ears!

Her mother-in-law, are you trying to take away her housekeeper rights? !

Is this a joke?!

As the wife of the Crown Prince and future wife of the Duke, she actually didn't have the power to manage the household? !

If she tells this to others, how will she be able to see people in the future? !

Jiao was really anxious now. She didn't care about putting on airs in front of the Fourth Lady and shouted hastily, "Mother! I, I'm not tired!"

The fourth lady also knew that the power of housekeeper sounded impressive, but it also depended on who held it. If it fell into her hands, it would be like a hot yam.

The old lady of Duke Xin said coldly: "Aren't you tired? Then why did the servants in the mansion gossip about their master and spread all over the capital, but you didn't know anything about it? If the wife of the general who protects the country hadn't beaten him directly and forced Fuqiu to death, would you be happy?! And the matter of Chongen..."

At this point, the old lady of Duke Xin was furious. She tried to hold back, but her eyes still had a bit of sternness. "Chong'en is not young anymore! He should know right from wrong! If he chooses the second daughter of Prince Jiping, he should treat her well! If you take him to see other girls, what do you think the other girls will think?! Isn't this making enemies for our Duke Xin's Mansion? How do you manage your family?"

At this moment, Jiao felt extremely anxious and frustrated!

Her mother-in-law sometimes complains that she doesn't manage the household well, sometimes complains that she doesn't take good care of her son. In short, she is just tired of her!

Jiao is about to cry now!

The old lady of Duke Xin didn't care about her. After she finished scolding her, she looked at the fourth lady and said, "Fourth Lady, your eldest sister-in-law is too busy to handle everything. Don't refuse."

The fourth lady thought for a moment, then bowed and said, "Mother, my eldest sister-in-law has been in charge of the household for 20 years and has never made any mistakes. I think she is really entangled in things and can't get her hands dirty, so she made a mistake. I just heard from mother that there are some rumors in the mansion...why don't I just help my eldest sister-in-law take over this matter and find out where the rumors in the mansion came from. As for the rest, I am not that kind of daughter-in-law, I am afraid I will disappoint mother's expectations."

The old lady of Duke Xin sighed.

The fourth son of the old family was capable, but he didn't like to meddle in other people's business. If it were someone else, they would have been overjoyed to meet the housekeeper Quan. But she was the only one who was cautious about the gossips of the servants in the mansion.

Jiao had never expected that her fourth sister-in-law would be so understanding. She immediately felt relieved and said gratefully, "...Since fourth sister-in-law said so, then I'll have to trouble you!"

As she spoke, she secretly glanced at the old lady of Duke Xin.

Although the old lady of Duke Xin frowned, she said nothing else.

That's how it's settled.

…

Ever since she came out of the Xin Guogong old lady's courtyard, Yu Mingzhu's face had been a little pale. Jiao thought that Yu Mingzhu was worried about her, so she patted Yu Mingzhu's hand and whispered, "Don't worry, Zhuzhu, since your fourth aunt has only taken on that matter, when she is done, the power of the family will still be yours."

Yu Mingzhu doesn't worry about this at all!

She forced a smile: "What mother said is..."

Jiao sighed with a sad face, feeling a little aggrieved.

In the past, the old lady of Duke Xin liked her very much and often called her by her nickname Atong in private.

But now she is treated like this!

Jiao is so wronged!

Jiao forced herself to calm down, told Yu Mingzhu to take care of the injury on her foot, and hurried back to her own yard.

The moment Jiao left, Yu Mingzhu's face became even uglier. She turned around quickly and returned to her own yard.

The fourth wife, Mrs. Qiu, was the daughter of the Minister of the Dali Temple. When it came to investigating things, she was quite like her father, and was very swift and fierce.

That night, they traced the source of the rumor, which turned out to be from a maid in Mingzhu's courtyard.

The maid cried and slapped herself on the mouth, saying that she was talking nonsense just to attract attention.

Qiu's expression was indifferent, and it was unclear whether she believed it or not.

Yu Mingzhu was filled with grief and cried bitterly, "Auntie Four, it's all my fault for not being strict enough."

Qiu just smiled and didn't say anything.

Yu Chongjie, who heard the news, came over quickly, kicked the maid out with a flick of his foot!

The kick was merciless and the maid flew backwards, spitting out blood immediately.

Yu Mingzhu showed a bit of shock: "Big, big brother!"

Yu Chongjie ignored Yu Mingzhu, with a sly expression on his face. He took a step forward, grabbed the maid by the collar, and pulled her up from the ground: "Fuqiu has no grudge against you. You spread such rumors because you want her to die!"

The maid was so frightened that she bit her tongue tightly, enduring the severe pain, and said that she just liked to gossip and had no intention of harming anyone.

Yu Chongjie stared at the maid with bloodshot eyes, and finally threw her aside fiercely, turned around and walked out: "I'm going to find Fuqiu to apologize!"

He never looked at Yu Mingzhu from beginning to end.

Yu Mingzhu was very flustered. She rushed forward to pull Yu Chongjie's arm and cried, "Brother, are you blaming me? Blaming me for not taking good care of the servants?... I will go with you to make amends to my sister-in-law..."

Yu Chongjie pulled his arm out of Yu Mingzhu's hand and said coldly, "Don't! Don't go. Fuqiu doesn't want to see you."

Yu Mingzhu cried even harder: "What about you, brother? You don't want to see me either? You have been avoiding me for a long time. Did I do something wrong? Tell me, can't I change?"

Yu Chongjie was slightly moved when he saw Yu Mingzhu crying, but he finally made up his mind: "Zhuzhu, I am sorry to Fuqiu. I don't have the heart to care about other things now."

After saying this, Yu Chongjie turned and left.

Yu Mingzhu felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.

Since when did she become a "side issue" in the eyes of her elder brother?

Yu Mingzhu cried hard.

The fourth lady, Mrs. Qiu, glanced at Yu Mingzhu, handed her a handkerchief, and ignored her. She directly asked the maids and servants who had gossiped to the courtyard, summoned all the servants in the Xinguo Mansion, and in front of all the servants, had those maids and servants who had gossiped be beaten with a stick. Then, without sparing a single one, they were all sold out.