Ye Zhen received no further news from the head of the estate, which told him that Marquis Zhongyong had been fooled by Lady Liu again.
I couldn't help but curse my teammates in my heart.
Then, she received a message from her teammate—no, the Marquis of Zhongyong—that the old lady had returned to the capital and that Ye Zhen was to tidy up the old lady's courtyard.
Ye Zhen was already mentally prepared, so he pretended to be surprised and quickly gave the orders.
Although the old lady has not been in the mansion for many years, the courtyard has always been taken care of without much effort.
However, the Marquis of Zhongyong was a well-known filial son and paid special attention to the old lady's affairs.
Ye Zhen needs the support of the Marquis of Zhongyong to contend with the old lady.
She catered to the old lady's preferences, inquired about her likes and dislikes from the old servant, and personally went to the shop to add or replace several pieces of furniture and decorations for her.
She then went to the flower shop and picked out many precious fresh flowers and potted plants. The dishes cooked on the stove were all the ones that the old lady used to love to eat. Ye Zhen specifically instructed that they be cooked until soft and tender so that they would be easy to digest.
The servants felt that the young mistress was considerate and attentive to the old lady in every way, and the old lady could not find fault with her. The Marquis of Zhongyong nodded in satisfaction.
“Mother, your child is a good child, thoughtful and filial. Please teach her if she doesn’t understand something in the future.”
At the dinner table, Marquis Zhongyong said this to the old lady.
He worried that the old lady would cause trouble for Ye Zhen, which would lead to disharmony in the household.
The old lady smiled and nodded, "It is indeed a good thing; it is a blessing for our Xie family."
She was not troubled at all, which put the Marquis of Zhongyong at ease.
Then the old lady put down her chopsticks and sighed, "If I had known earlier that Ye Zhen had these abilities, I would have let her assist Madam Liu in managing the household."
This once grand marquis's residence shouldn't have ended up in such a desolate and deserted state.
In the past, when she returned to her residence, the table would be full, with her grandchildren, granddaughters, and daughters-in-law surrounding her, creating a lively and joyful atmosphere.
Right now, there was only her, her son, Ye Zhen, and her grandson on the table, and she felt very sad looking at them.
She then said to Ye Zhen earnestly, "Child, although I was not very satisfied when you first entered the household, now that you are a member of the Marquis's mansion, you should treat the Marquis's mansion as your home and not be a stranger."
The words did indeed accuse Ye Zhen of hiding his talents and deliberately watching the Marquis's mansion be ruined by Lady Liu.
She felt that Ye Zhen was responsible for all of this, and she took her anger out on him.
Ye Zhen also put down his chopsticks. "Grandmother, please forgive me. I have never been in contact with high-ranking families before, and I did not mean to hide my talents."
She directly brought the old lady's unspoken message to the forefront.
"oh?"
The old lady looked surprised. "I've always felt that managing a household is no easy task, especially for a family like ours. There are so many intricacies involved that it would take a long time to explain them all."
You do have talent; you don't seem like a novice at all, which makes my old self and Mianmian look incompetent."
That's a really hard question to answer.
The old lady had previously relinquished her management authority because the Marquis's estate was large, and she was too old and lacked the energy.
If Ye Zhen insists that she has never been in contact with anyone, but in fact manages the household quite well, it would undoubtedly be a slap in the face to the old lady.
This is an extremely unfilial act, something that even ordinary juniors would not dare to do.
But if Ye Zhen says she's not a novice, then it means she was lying before.
Marquis Zhongyong dislikes dishonest people, and Ye Zhen's good impression of him will be greatly diminished.
This would also make Marquis Zhongyong suspect that Ye Zhen was not sincere towards the Marquis's mansion. As a housekeeper, she would naturally be able to see through Liu's tricks, but she stood by and watched, even laughing at the situation.
This was even more against the taboo of the Marquis of Loyalty and Valor.
The old lady had malicious intentions.
But Xie Jinyao had already used this trick.
Ye Zhen said calmly, "It's Ye Zhen's fault for not explaining things clearly to Grandmother."
Near the village where Ye Zhen grew up, there was a nunnery. The nun in the nunnery had been the mistress of the prefectural government, and Ye Zhen learned some things about managing a household from her.
But the prefectural government couldn't compare to the marquis's mansion. Ye Zhen had only heard of it, and besides, her husband had died shortly after their marriage. Ye Zhen was consumed by grief and wanted to fulfill her filial duties to her husband and serve her mother-in-law well. She paid no attention to anything else and dared not be disrespectful in front of her mother-in-law.
She raised her eyes and slowly said, "To be honest, if it weren't for what happened on the estate, I would still think that my mother-in-law loves me."
Ye Zhen trusted her mother-in-law and therefore thought everything about her was good.
Liu was the old lady's daughter-in-law, and the old lady had entrusted her with the management of the household.
Ye Zhen had only been married for three years and was also a daughter-in-law. She was burdened by filial piety, and even the old lady couldn't see Liu Shi's problem. So how could she have the right to blame Ye Zhen?
Ye Zhen used this to retaliate against the old lady.
The old lady dared not admit that she knew everything about Lady Liu, otherwise she would lose her son, the Marquis of Zhongyong.
No matter how glamorous she is now, without her son, the Marquis of Zhongyong, she is nothing.
She was still smiling on the outside, but inside she was seething with rage.
Marquis Zhongyong was not oblivious to the subtle wit between the grandfather and grandson.
Liu was most adept at superficial appearances.
She not only fooled Ye Zhen, but also completely outmaneuvered him.
Marquis Zhongyong, deeply moved by this, tried to smooth things over, saying, "That's absolutely true. When the mother-in-law is around, the daughter-in-law always wants to be the head of the household."
She's being forced into this situation now; with Madam Liu gone and Jin Yao being so disappointing, and Mother getting old, she can't burden you.”
Ye Zhen continued, "There are still many things I don't understand, and I feel anxious, afraid that I won't do them well. But I think it's always right to do my best."
These words resonated deeply with the Marquis of Zhongyong. "Well said," he said, "everything in this world requires dedication. We should keep that in mind."
The old lady looked at Ye Zhen for the first time.
This granddaughter-in-law is no ordinary person!
If she keeps bringing this up, she'll only get herself into trouble.
So she brought up another matter, "Where is Tingzhou? Has no one told him whether I'm returning home today?"
It was Ye Zhen's responsibility as the head of the household to notify everyone in the mansion.
Ye Zhen replied, "My brother's servants reported that he has been busy these past few days and is not at home."
She didn't neglect her duties; she was just not home.
In fact, she hadn't seen Xie Tingzhou for several days. Wanxing said that he seemed to have gone out of town.
The old lady's attempt to find fault with Ye Zhen ended in failure once again.
They had no appetite and the banquet ended quickly.
Marquis Zhongyong was no idle man; he spent a day with the old lady, and then went off to attend to other matters the next day.
The old lady missed her young grandson, so she brought him to live in her courtyard.
The youngest son has his grandmother to take care of him, and the old mother also has younger relatives to keep her company, so she won't be too lonely. The Marquis of Zhongyong is happy to see this happen.
When he returned home the next day, he found his son avoiding him, seemingly fearful, just like when he had just returned to the capital.
The Marquis of Zhongyong was puzzled, so he picked up his son and asked him a question. Unexpectedly, Xie Lanzhou was so frightened that he burst into tears.
He kept saying, "Lan'er, be good, Father, don't lock me up..."
When the servants were summoned for questioning, it was discovered that they were actually the old lady's unruly servants who had told Xie Lanzhou about Liu Shi being imprisoned on the estate and guarded by men sent by the Marquis.
Xie Lanzhou's initial closeness to Marquis Zhongyong was disrupted by his mother's imprisonment, which caused them to drift apart again.
Marquis Zhongyong was so angry that he wanted to kill the barbarian slave, but although the barbarian slave was an adult, he only had the mind of a child.
Moreover, she had served the old lady for many years and was extremely loyal to her. The old lady appreciated her greatly, so the Marquis of Zhongyong had no choice but to have her beaten with twenty strokes of the cane.
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