Chapter Twenty: The Turning Point

  After dinner, the old lady was in a bad mood and couldn't find any reason to trouble her daughter-in-law, Gualya. The duke's mansion had many servants, so the old lady didn't need Gualya to serve her. If she forced Gualya to attend to her, it would only spread rumors that she was mistreating her daughter-in-law, which would enhance Gualya's reputation for being filial and give Zhiyuan a good name. The old lady could only swallow her anger and comfort herself by thinking that time would be long. Seeing the sly smile at the corner of Gualya's mouth, as if mocking her, the old lady was furious and didn't believe she could control Gualya in the future.

  "When the parents were still alive and hadn't divided the family property, everything was managed by the old master. Although the old lady had a bit of a biased mind, she had been in charge of the household for her whole life and attached great importance to material possessions, so she quickly thought of letting"

  Zhiyuan's wife looked at him with a mixture of dissatisfaction and relief: "I heard you're going to be promoted to the third rank? As a high-ranking official, your salary will definitely increase. Your two younger brothers are not doing well and still need your support as the eldest brother. The Duke's mansion appears prestigious, but it's all superficial. They lack silver coins. If it weren't for their granddaughter, Zhiying, saving someone who knew how to repay kindness, the Duke's mansion wouldn't have such wealth."

  From the old lady's mouth, Shu Yao understood roughly that her cousin went to the temple to pray for blessings for her second aunt and saved a distressed medicinal merchant. It is said that merchants are greedy for profit and light on righteousness, but this person was an exception, extremely grateful to her cousin Li Zhiying, and used his connections to send ginseng and other benefits to the Duke's mansion as well.

  The old lady saw that Madame Gualjia didn't respond, and directly said: "Zhiyuan's salary in silver?"

  "Mother, according to the rules of the Duke's mansion, hand over half to the official."

  Zhiyuan said: "I have two sons and one daughter under my knees, I also need to plan for their marriages."

  "The marriages of our sons and daughters are all arranged by the officials." The old lady naturally hoped that Zhiyuan's salary would be fully submitted, but Guwalgiya said: "It's better to follow the rules. Our master has submitted too much, outsiders think it's filial piety, but it's not good for my second and third brothers."

  Guarjia's implicit meaning is that they are already married with children, and still need to be supported by their elder brother, which is embarrassing. What face does Zhi Cheng have to contend for the title? The old lady hesitated for a moment and smiled lightly: "My intention is also according to the rules, it's settled like this."

  "Yes." Zhiyuan replied, the old lady said with trust in Guanjia: "I think you're a clever one. In the past two years, my spirit hasn't been as good as before, and the affairs of the house have already been discussed openly. The third daughter-in-law and fourth daughter-in-law are helping me take care of things. Although the keys to the account books and warehouse are still with me, most of them are taken care of by Qichen and Ban Chen. As people get older, their spirit and eyesight decline, and they just wait for the good fortune of their children and grandchildren."

  The old lady took a deep breath and continued, "You also help out," gesturing to Da Yutou to hand the key over to Guwalgiya. The third house's Madame Zicheng's wife, Tongjia, saw the key and her smile was slightly stiff, her eyes burning with a fierce light. She had been helping the old lady manage the household chores, but the financial power had always been in the old lady's hands, she was just an errand runner.

  "I'll hand over the vessels in the mansion to you, and you can also ask for more refined ones. There are many vessels and decorations in the warehouse that have been around for some years, which are used during New Year's sacrifices."

  Third Aunt balanced it out, Old Madam was not entirely confused, the dishes were most prone to breakage, Guan Jia's reception of the task may not necessarily be a good thing, with a hint of schadenfreude: "Mother trusts Second Sister-in-law, you have a great responsibility."

  Guarjia smiled brightly as she took the key, saying: "Mother, rest assured, I won't lose a single item. Third brother and sister are right, the ritual vessels are a huge responsibility!"

  Third Madame's smile seemed a bit stiff, Shu Yao thought that Third Auntie's toothache was acting up again, and looking at Old Madame, she didn't seem too comfortable either. Shu Yao suddenly felt a little sympathetic towards them, apparently they hadn't realized that Eldest Madam wouldn't take losses easily. She remembered that Eldest Madam had mentioned in passing that the person in charge of utensils was usually the matriarch. Old Madame only thought about the loss of utensils and how Guan Jia's family would be spending money, but she hadn't expected that Guan Jia would casually mention the ritual vessels and they ended up losing out. Shu Yao watched with great amusement, casting admiring glances at Eldest Madam.

  The old lady was really fed up, and on the pretext of resting, she sent off Zhiyuan's family early. She found an excuse to scold her eldest daughter-in-law, Nala. At this time, Nala, who was usually weak and widowed, became the old lady's punching bag. Nala knelt in front of the old lady with a sincere and fearful expression. Her daughter, Shuyue, shrank her body, nodded humbly, and bit her lip, wanting to speak up for her mother but not knowing where to start.

  It was Li Ziqing who comforted the old lady, and only then did Nala get up. Nala cast a tearful glance of gratitude at Li Ziqing, who smiled faintly. The weak Nala was actually useless; she just felt sorry for her.

  The old lady sent all the daughters-in-law back and had a private conversation with Li Zhiqing, discussing whether the second wife, Guwalgiya, had any ulterior motives. Li Zhiqing was already suspicious of Guwalgiya's intentions, perhaps because they came from the same place. She didn't want to recognize Guwalgiya, nor did she want Guwalgiya to ruin her goals. The old lady was the best person to deal with and test Guwalgiya, even if Guwalgiya felt wronged, would she dare be disobedient to the old lady?

  If Guajia was a Qing dynasty woman, then she was really unlucky. She truly fulfilled the saying "You were born when I wasn't, and I was born when you're old". She didn't need to think about Ah Ge anymore. Li Ziqing also thought that she should be more careful in her actions. When taking good things out of the space, she needed to find a good excuse. That merchant was very obedient, Li Ziqing made up a story about San Shi Brain God Dan for him to use, and he believed it, being extremely loyal to Li Ziqing, afraid that she wouldn't give him the antidote.

  How could Li Ziqing bear to give him the most precious and useful elixir, even if his space was mysterious? The Three Corpses Brain Elixir was just a trick, an evil joke. The ancients were too superstitious about the unpredictable gods and ghosts.

  Returning to the humble courtyard, this secluded yard was the residence of Shu Mu Lu Zhiyuan's family. Zhiyuan brought a hint of apology, but Guwalgiya smiled and said: "Doesn't the old master know me? Looking at the seclusion, I can also make it bustling and comfortable. They want to take advantage of our family, humph, let's see if I'm suitable or not." This... this... madam, for husband thinks that mother is kind-hearted.

  Gua Lijia couldn't help but glance at Zhiyuan, took the tea cup handed over by Shuyao, and pushed it to Zhiyuan, saying: "I expected you'd say that. Never mind, don't expect you to handle household matters, just focus on being a loyal official."

  Zhiyuan tastes tea, "Without a virtuous wife as a helper, it's hard for a husband to have recent achievements."

  Gual Jia smiled, "What can I help with? It's because Master is an honest official and our family is down-to-earth that we have today." The couple looked at each other and smiled, their affection was palpable. Shu Yao leaned against Gual Jia, enjoying the love of her parents, she was very satisfied with her current life, leisurely and peaceful, without any disturbance.