“Everyone shut up!” The old master slammed the table with a thunderous clap. “Do you even respect your elders? Is this how your parents taught you manners?”
Duan Mingxi let out a cold laugh. “Grandfather, you’re absolutely right. Mingxi indeed hasn’t been fortunate enough to receive any guidance in manners from the Marquis and his wife.”
The room fell deathly silent.
No one had expected Duan Mingxi to dare talk back to the old master!
The old madam frowned. “Mingxi, what kind of talk is that?”
“I speak to people like people and to devils like devils!”
Has Duan Mingxi gone mad?
If not for the banquet at Shangyang Palace, the old master and the old madam would have surely had her locked in the ancestral hall to kneel for days and learn some proper discipline.
But now…
The old madam gritted her teeth in anger. If only she’d known Duan Mingxi was this unruly, she would have sent Huirou instead.
Hindsight is something that can’t be bought for one thousand in gold!
Duan Mingxi had no patience to play games with fools anymore. Seeing the old master’s face turn cold as ice, she chuckled lightly and said, “Grandfather, you’re working hard for the futures of Second and Third Uncle, but the family is out of money, isn’t it?”
Too many wolves and too little meat—climbing the ladder of officialdom requires money.
The old master’s brow twitched. He was about to scold her for talking nonsense when Mingxi continued, “The family’s out of money, but I’m not. Isn’t the reason you’ve been tolerating me and keeping me here all about my money?”
“Mingxi, how can you say such things? You were lost outside for over ten years, and the family can’t love you enough…”
“Love me? If this is the Marquis and Madam’s idea of love, I’d rather not have it—don’t you agree, Grandmother?” Duan Mingxi interrupted the old madam with a sneer.
Madam Jiang’s face turned red, only to pale in anger as Mingxi’s words nearly caused her to faint. What kind of sin had she committed to raise such a child?
“Mingxi, we’re still family. Let’s talk this out properly,” the old master said, staring at his thorn-covered granddaughter.
For a fleeting moment, as he watched Mingxi stand tall and unyielding in the hall, the old master couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret—if only she’d been born a grandson.
Don’t fear people or situations; grasp their weak points and negotiate from a position of strength. If it was a grandson, what’s there to worry about for the Marquis’s Household’s future?
“The Marquis Madam sees me as an eyesore no matter how she looks at me. It’s as if I’m her mortal enemy, not family. People who don’t know better might think I’m her sworn enemy.”
“Shut your mouth!” Madam Jiang shouted sharply, pointing at Duan Mingxi. “Do you really think I wouldn’t dare do anything to you?”
“What would you do to me? Why don’t we go strike the imperial drum and present our case before His Majesty? Let the entire capital see and hear who’s right and who’s wrong in this family. I dare—do you?”
Madam Jiang dared not. Her expression darkened further as she stammered, “No matter what, I’m still your mother. To defy your birth mother is to be unfilial.”
“Then why don’t you go ahead and accuse me? Before you do, I’ll file a petition against Duan Huirou for attempting to poison her elder sister and against you, my birth mother, for colluding with Duke Gao’s household to embezzle my personal savings.”
“You…” Madam Jiang trembled all over, her face turning pale with fear, her jaw quivering uncontrollably.
“The marriage proposal from Duke Gao’s family—did you all really think I was a fool to be easily deceived? Such a good match, and you care so much for Duan Huirou. Why didn’t you arrange for her to marry him? If I hadn’t exposed this farce, you’d have long tricked me into accepting this engagement, wouldn’t you? What kind of mother does that? You’re a wolf in sheep’s clothing!”
“Duan Mingxi, you’re crazy!” Duan Huirou shouted in panic, clutching her mother for support. Madam Jiang was on the verge of fainting.
“Speaking the truth is madness? Duan Huirou, what do you think will happen if I expose your poisoning scheme? Do you think the noble families of the capital will still want you as a daughter-in-law?”
“You wouldn’t dare!”
“Would I? Why don’t you try me?”
Duan Huirou was so terrified by Duan Mingxi’s glare that her legs felt weak, and cold sweat streamed down her back. She couldn’t bear to imagine what would happen if Duan Mingxi followed through—it would ruin her entirely.
“Mother, say something!” Duan Huirou pleaded tearfully, turning to Madam Jiang.
Duan Mingxi ignored the panicked mother and daughter and turned instead to the old patriarch. “Grandfather, shall we discuss the next steps privately?”
Only by controlling the patriarch could Mingxi truly hold the Marquis’s Household in her hands.
The Second Madam and Third Madam exchanged uneasy glances, both aware that their earlier closeness to Duan Mingxi had been motivated by her substantial personal fortune. They both fell silent, embarrassed by their initial intentions.
The Third Master, who had remained silent, suddenly stood up. He looked at Mingxi and asked, “What money? Why don’t I know about this?” He then turned to his parents. “What’s going on here?”
The Third Madam quickly tugged at her husband, trying to calm him. “This isn’t the time to stir things up.”
“Old Three, stay out of it!” the Old Madam snapped. “Everyone, leave now.”
But the Third Master refused to leave. His expression darkened as he scanned the room. “Mingxi says the Household is out of money. What does that mean? How could this household possibly run out of funds?”
In his impression, how could the Marquis’s household, with such a large estate, run out of silver?
The third madam abruptly stood up, grabbed the third master by the arm, and started dragging him outside. “We’ll talk about this at home.”
The third master flung her hand off so forcefully that the third madam nearly slammed into the wall. Fortunately, a maid quickly caught her.
Furious, the third madam glared at the third master and snapped, “What are you causing a scene for? How much do you and the second master really know about the household’s situation when you’re not managing it?
Eldest brother and sister-in-law run the household. If you want to know where the silver went, go ask them! Why are you taking it out on me? Are you suggesting I spent it all?”
The Marquis household’s façade of respectability was instantly torn down.
The third master looked at his silent sister-in-law, then at his mother, whose eyes were avoiding his gaze, and finally at his father, whose face was dark as iron.
So where did the money go?
Meanwhile, outside the door, Madam Xiao’s face had turned pale with fear behind the curtain. She had arrived late because she was handling tasks her mother-in-law had assigned her, and upon hearing the argument break out inside, she quickly dismissed the maids and servants stationed at the courtyard gate.
Standing guard at the door herself, Madam Xiao listened, her heart pounding harder with every word.
The Marquis household is out of money?
How could that be possible?
She knew this year’s expenses had been more frugal than last year’s, but she had never thought it could mean there was no money left.
If the household truly had no money, then even if she and her husband eventually took over, they would only inherit an empty shell. Apart from appearances, what would be left?
Just the thought of it sent chills down her spine. If it came to that, she might even be forced to supplement the household with her dowry.
Terrified by the thought, Madam Xiao resolved inwardly: Keep going, Mingxi. Keep stirring things up. There has to be a resolution.
Madam Xiao didn’t dare enter the room but stayed just outside, gripping her handkerchief so tightly her palms were damp with sweat, her back cold with fear.
If there truly was no money, what would they do?
The sudden thought of dividing the household occurred to Madam Xiao, and the idea startled her.
But with the old master and old madam still around, how could the household possibly split?
Just then, Mingxi’s voice rang out again from inside. Madam Xiao instinctively leaned closer to listen.
Her younger sister-in-law was a capable one—perhaps she would find a solution.
After all, Madam Xiao had no intention of ending up penniless.
