Chapter 146 Xiao's Relics
Chunxi didn't say anything. Wang Shi felt embarrassed and guilty. She said weakly, "I was afraid of causing trouble for Ah Xi, so I walked here. It's not Ah Xi's fault."
Chunxi was wearing the same crimson dress as Shen Qingyuan today. Although she didn't have many pearl hairpins on her head, her demeanor was already considered luxurious. She and Xiao Qinghe sat on either side of Old Madam Xiao. Although she was not as pretty as Xiao Qinghe, she was not at all stage-frightened. Although she and Wang were mother and daughter, she didn't look like Wang at all.
Wang no longer dared to use her mother's status to pressure her, let alone make random inferences. However, as soon as Wang finished speaking, Ning spoke in a sarcastic tone: "Who would choose to walk instead of riding in a carriage? I'm afraid that Madam Shen has become disdainful of her own mother now that she has climbed up the social ladder."
Ning's family has only one daughter, Mo Yunwan, and now Mo Yunwan has remarried to Shen Qingyu. In order for Mo Yunwan to gain the support of Mo's family and live a good life in the Marquis' Mansion, even though Ning saw that Madam Xiao was helping Chunxi to maintain order today, she still had to make trouble in public and help Mo suppress Chunxi and take back the power to manage the family.
Sure enough, as soon as Ning said this, everyone's eyes towards Chunxi changed.
The most important thing for aristocratic families is reputation. If there is someone in the family who despises the poor and loves the rich, or is disloyal or unfilial, that person will be removed from the family tree.
Wang didn't know why Ning wanted to help her so much, but seeing that everyone seemed to be on her side, she straightened her back a little.
Before, Cao Wen came home and told her that Chunxi was not having a good time in the Marquis' Mansion, and she was a little worried. But today, seeing Chunxi dressed in luxurious clothes and being at ease in front of all the ladies from aristocratic families, she couldn't help but feel jealous.
When Qian gave birth to a son, Cao Wu doted on both mother and son. For several months, he refused to let Qian do any heavy work, so all the housework fell on Wang. After Wang complained twice, Cao Wu paid someone to come back and do the work.
Wang was much more relaxed, but she was also thrifty with her money. How could she compare to Chunxi's enjoyment in the Marquis' Mansion?
If Chunxi could apologize to her in public today, she could come to the Marquis' Mansion more often in the future under the pretext of visiting Cao Wen, and she could also bring Zheng'er with her to cultivate a relationship with Chunxi. The neighbors would be so envious of her.
Thinking of this, Wang couldn't help but look at Chunxi expectantly.
Chunxi didn't care what Wang thought. She just looked at Ning and said, "Aunt, you don't understand the real situation. You can't just accuse me. Otherwise, everyone's spitting can drown me. If they just scold me, it's fine. But what if they implicate my mother-in-law and the Mo family?"
Mrs. Mo was watching the excitement with great interest when she suddenly heard Chunxi mention her. She was stunned for a moment and asked loudly, "Ah Xi, what do you mean by that? Did I, your mother-in-law, instigate you to disown your mother?"
"Of course my mother-in-law wouldn't do such a thing," Chunxi shook her head, then said, "But after my mother-in-law took over the household, she kicked my father-in-law's mother and brothers and sisters out of the mansion. She hasn't had any contact with them in all these years. It's obvious that what my mother-in-law despises most are those poor relatives who beg for money. My mother-in-law has already set the rules, so how dare my daughter-in-law let my mother come to her house and humiliate herself?"
Chunxi said this without any confidence, as if she was extremely afraid of Mo, but she pushed Mo to the forefront.
Everyone then remembered that Marquis Qingyuan was not alone, and he had relatives around him. However, after Mo took over the Marquisate, these people were driven out. Even on a good day like today, Marquis Qingyuan's old mother was not present.
How could a newly married bride dare to have close contact with her poor family when her mother-in-law is so unkind?
Mrs. Mo hadn't expected Chunxi to attack her from this angle. Her face suddenly darkened and she retorted loudly, "These are two different things, Cao Chunxi, don't confuse them!"
Chunxi shrank back as if frightened, leaning against Madam Xiao and continuing, "Actually, I don't think mother's fault. She's worked so hard to run the household these past few years, and even arranged for her own niece to marry you. But when something happens to her, the Mo family comes knocking, insisting that you killed her, and demanding a large sum of compensation. They don't act like family at all."
Chunxi's expression was frightened, but his voice was loud enough for everyone present to hear clearly.
She was publicly saying that her mother-in-law had bad upbringing.
Mrs. Mo was so angry that her face turned blue. Mrs. Ning had not expected Chunxi to involve the Mo family. Old Madam Mo no longer recognized Mo Yunwan as her granddaughter, and did not allow her to have private contact with Mo Yunwan. She came here secretly today. If Old Madam Mo knew that she had ruined the reputation of the Mo family by siding with Mo Yunwan, she would definitely suffer the consequences when she returned.
Thinking of this, Ning said loudly, "Mrs. Shen stole her husband's family's property to support her own family, and then went all the way to the Mo family to get all the money back, so that she could afford the promotion banquet. It's only been a few days, could Mrs. Shen have forgotten about it?"
Ning was afraid that Chunxi would say more things that would be detrimental to the Mo family, so she quickly brought up the matter of Chunxi supporting her mother's family.
Mrs. Mo glared at Shen Qingchi, who then stood up and said, "I can testify that what my second aunt said is true. My eldest sister-in-law did use the money from the Mo family to hold the promotion banquet."
Shen Qingchi knew that he was stabbing Chunxi in the back by accusing her in public, so he lowered his head and didn't dare to look at Chunxi's expression.
Chunxi showed a surprised expression, as if she had not expected Shen Qingchi to come forward to testify. Mo Yunwan thought the time had come and stood up and said, "Before my eldest sister-in-law came into the family, my eldest brother took all the dowry left by our mother. A few days after my eldest sister-in-law came into the family, she sold a lot of things and the money has disappeared. Now he has taken the power of the head of the family, but he can't even come up with the money for the promotion banquet. It really makes us think too much."
Everyone knew that Old Master Xiao loved his younger sister very much. Back then, Xiao married into the Qingyuan Marquis Mansion with a grand dowry. With all that dowry, how could he not have money to hold a promotion banquet?
Everyone's attention was indeed diverted, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.
Wang Shi noticed something was wrong and stammered, "No, Ah Xi didn't...never took any money home. Ever since we got married, she hasn't even acknowledged me as her mother. She must have kept the money for herself."
Wang originally thought that today's promotion banquet was a good opportunity for her, the mother-in-law, to show off, but she never expected such a thing to happen. Only then did she realize that the stolen goods Chunxi had mentioned before were very likely true.
After saying that, Wang tried to stealthily remove the jade bracelet from her hand. However, just as she touched it, Ning grabbed her hand and shouted, "This bracelet is of excellent quality. It must be made of top-quality imperial green material. If your daughter hadn't helped her parents, how could you afford such a fine bracelet?"
Ning held up Wang's hand so that everyone could see the bracelet on her hand clearly.
Shen Qingchi took two steps forward and then looked at Chunxi in surprise: "Sister-in-law, how could you secretly give your mother the relics of my eldest brother's mother?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the whole room was in an uproar.
Stealing property from the husband's family to support her own family is already too much, but she actually stole the deceased mother-in-law's belongings and gave them to her own mother. This is too conscienceless.
Even if the Marquis' Mansion doesn't care, the Xiao family can't forgive her.
For a moment, everyone looked at Madam Xiao.
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