These days Madame He was back in charge of the family. She was already busy enough. However, Jiang Tianqi’s marriage with Chi made her rather sad. Now she was scolded by her husband, because of which she was so angry. After all, Madame He was a mother-in-law. She was not afraid that she couldn’t find someone to release her anger. Although He Shuijin shouldered heavy responsibilities and Madame Shi was badly ill, there was Madame Zhang.

Hence, Madame He bore the anger to see off her husband and immediately called Madame Zhang to her and scolded her, “How did you do it?! I told you to guard against the first branch! But you let them collude with Qiu Yelan of the fourth branch here. This time, they showed their ability with the help of Qiu Yelan. Even Jiang Yahong, the b*tch who gave birth to a son, was promoted by your grandfather. How could you be stupid like this? I think everything for you. You’re a fine one. You work ahead of them but like a dead person. You know nothing at all.”

Then she sighed, “Why did I let you blockhead become my daughter-in-law? Qiu Yelan has made contributions to the fourth branch since she was married. Even if you can’t be like her, at least you shouldn’t always help other branches and ignore us.”

Releasing her pent-up emotions, Madame He felt better.

However, Madame Zhang cried sadly and was sent back to her room.

Her son was not old enough to get married, so Madame Zhang didn’t have a daughter-in-law to release her anger. Besides, her husband, Jiang Yayi, was a typical playboy. His wives were all shrewd, and so Madame Zhang had no one to turn to. She had to hide in the room and wept out her grief to the nursing mother.

These days young masters in big families spent more time with their nursing mothers than with their biological mothers, so they had very close relationships. Although Ge was Madame Zhang’s nursing mother, she loved Madame Zhang like a mother did. When knowing the whole story from soup to nuts, she felt so heartrending. Therefore, she suggested, “Why don’t you make things go big? If not, your mother-in-law will do this to you again and again.”

Madame Zhang was afraid. She said, “She treated me like that when I didn’t do anything. If I do as you said, she will treat me much worse.”

“Oh, my dear kid. I think you are too kind to protect yourself.” Although Ge was a servant, she had a clear mind. Ge reminded Madame Zhang, “There are only three wives in the third branch. Madame Shi lost her kid at the end of last year. She is still ill now. If your mother-in-law did this to her, it would be bad for herself. If she pushes so hard that Madame Shi commits suicide, and if the Shi Family knows it was her and tells this to Old Master and Madame, Madame won’t help her because she doesn’t like her all the time. As for the fourteenth madame, she is the niece of your mother-in-law, and she is competent. Your mother-in-law won’t treat her like that. So, think about who will be the unlucky person when she’s mad?”

Madame Zhang suddenly understood and said, “Both of them won’t change in a short period.”

“So if you don’t make this big, she will take her anger out on no one else but you.” Ge said. Then Ge said in a low voice, “This twelfth lunar month, young master’s subordinate sent two young twin sisters to him. Young master hasn’t been here for one night since the first day of the first lunar month. Servants here are all snobbish. If your mother-in-law always scolds you, you will lose your dignity, and those b*stards won’t respect you anymore.”

Ge said sincerely, “Think about the eighth madame in the fourth branch. Madame loves her more than other mesdames. Now she is finally pregnant. Madame sends her best maids to her and still feels worried. And Madame let the sixteenth madame keep an eye on her every day. Think about it. Even if she gave birth to a young master, would it be easy for her to bring up her son? Do you want your children to live that kind of life in the future?”

Madame Zhang compared herself with Madame Tao Junior. She found that she was too kind to be a daughter-in-law of the Jiang Family. Then her eyes became indifferent and said, “We should think very carefully about the way we let things go big. Now the court is in a mess. If we deter my mother-in-law but irritate my father-in-law and even the Old Master, my children will have no future.”

After all, Madame Zhang’s children were ordinary people. Their talent was far from being complimented and protected by the elders in the family and promoting their own family. There were too many great grandchildren in the Jiang Family. People of Marquess Qin’s age might not know all of them when they got older. However, Jiang Yayi was incompetent and he was not the firstborn. If Madame Zhang wanted to do what Madame Zhuang did, she needed to think it twice.

Ge also couldn’t figure out the optimal choice. She thought for a while and was suddenly enlightened, “As long as we let your mother-in-law have scruples and dare not bully you at will. If you’re afraid that the master and the Old Master will not like it, you don’t have to make trouble. Just find the right person.”

“Who?”

“The master now likes Mistress Chi more than his wife. And Mistress Chi has a better temper. The day before yesterday, my little granddaughter accidentally bumped into her in the garden. She was so scared that she immediately knelt down and pleaded guilty. However, Mistress Chi helped her up, took fruit and cakes, and made my little granddaughter laugh. Then she called someone to send her back.” Ge squinted and said, “Although she is suspected of deliberately winning over the masses, she is the master’s mistress. What she plans to do goes to the lady, doesn’t it?”

Madame Zhang thought about it and asked Ge, “Since she has such a relationship with us, you can take a set of hair ornaments from my room tomorrow and visit her!”

Chi was taken into the Jiang Family by He Shuijin, just to deal with Madame He. Now another daughter-in-law of Madame He bribed her for help, which was exactly what she wanted. That night, she complained in the arms of Jiang Tianqi, “Today Madame Zhang gave me a set of hair ornaments. I think that set of hair ornaments is excellent. I’m afraid it’s the most valuable one in Madame Zhang’s dowry! I can’t accept it. After listening to the people who sent it, I’m afraid they will be worried if I don’t accept it.”

Jiang Tianqi was very surprised and asked, “What is it?”

“Yesterday Madame called Madame Zhang over and scolded her for no reason!” Chi said with an innocent face, her eyes wide open, “It’s said that she even spoke that she regretted that she chose Madame Zhang as her daughter-in-law. Madame Zhang was scolded so much that she felt disgusted with herself. Going back to the room, Madame Zhang called the nursing mother to take care of her children and wanted to commit suicide.”

“What?” Jiang Tianqi asked and frowned. He had a good impression of his daughters-in-law. Although he thought that He Shuijin was the best, Madame Zhang gave birth to children since she got married. She never made any trouble and treated the elders with respect and filial piety. And she also got along with other concubines and their children properly. As a father-in-law, he thought that Madame Zhang was a good daughter-in-law.

Now he heard that she was scolded by Madame He and wanted to commit suicide, so he was a little angry. He asked, “Is she OK? Have her families come and comfort her?”

“No, fortunately, she was stopped by her nursing mother!” Chi twisted her handkerchief, worried, and said, “It’s just that Madame Zhang’s worry is reasonable. Since Madame He said she regretted choosing her as her daughter-in-law, how could she have the face to stay in the Jiang Family? If she asks her family to pick her up, the Zhang Family will be ashamed. What about other daughters of the Zhang Family? More importantly, what about her children? So the only way for her is to die so that Madame He can choose a daughter-in-law she likes. The Zhang Family will not be ashamed, and her children can also be taken care of by their stepmother. She called her nursing mother to send her hair ornaments. She wanted me to ask you one thing. That is to tell others that she died of a serious illness, leaving the final dignity for Zhang and her children.”

Speaking of this, she quickly wore a delicate and touching look, “Master, I don’t know what mistake Madame Zhang made but I can’t bear it when seeing the pathetic sight of her nursing mother. If Madame He does not want to be her daughter-in-law, can you leave her the last dignity?”

Jiang Tianqi was so angry and said, “F**k that d*mn b*tch!” Then he got up and went to Madame He’s room.

After her husband fell asleep, He Shuijin went to the study. Xian had been waiting here. He Shuijin whispered the story of the incident, “Chi said that in order to make others believe, she has suggested that Madame Zhang pretended to hang herself. Of course, the premise is that she must be saved in time.”

“There are three daughters-in-law, two of whom hate her!” He Shuijin said and sneered, “Madame Shi doesn’t know the secret! When I get the evidence to show her, Madame Shi will hate her more than Madame Zhang. Even if she is a mother-in-law, the three daughters-in-law would like her to die. If she died, no one would know what will happen to her.”

Xian said with a smile, “Now she won’t feel good. Just now, the master went to her room and scolded her. According to Mistress Chi, the master asked her to return the hair ornaments sent by Madame Zhang. Then he took two sets of jewelry from his private bank. One set was given to Mistress Chi, and he forced Madame He to take the other to comfort Madame Zhang by herself. He also said that if something happened to Madame Zhang, the master would punish her.”

“It’s just a small part. After all, I’m ill and the accounts haven’t been settled yet.” He Shuijin shook her head. “The third branch is the chief of Marquess’s Mansion, and she is an important role. Now Madame Shi is badly ill. No matter how much my father-in-law dislikes her, she won’t really get down now.”

“What’s next?” Xian asked with a little disappointment.

He Shuijin sneered and said, “She thinks I’m too capable and will affect her. Then I will let her know that she’s a waste that affects my father-in-law.” She said, “Give her all the things that can be dealt with later and postponed. No stopping from morning till night. If she doesn’t feel tired, she’ll be bothered endlessly.”

Xian said anxiously, “In case she really falls ill, who else in the third branch will shoulder her responsibility?”

“It doesn’t matter.” He Shuijin said coldly, “If the third branch can’t manage, there is the fourth branch and the eighth branch. If all of them couldn’t, there would be Madame. If we let others take charge of the family, the worst result is that they take some advantages. I do not lack money. Even if I lost my money, I can earn it again. But there is only one chance to let my father-in-law see clearly how useless my dear aunt is. Just once.”

At other times, if Madame He was not able to do it, she could give it to her niece and daughter-in-law. When He Shuijin finished, Madame He took the result to Jiang Tianqi, and that would be her credit. But now, He Shuijin had more important things to deal with, and she was already sick. Who else could Madame He ask?

Jiang Tianqi and Marquess Qin hated the useless and valued the talent most. Why did Marquess Qin tolerate Madame Zhuang? Because he valued Jiang Yadan. Why did he immediately send his doctor to He Shuijin when she got sick this time? Because he valued the competence of He Shuijin. Madame Shi, who was also his own granddaughter-in-law, lost her own son and had been ill for so long. Marquess Qin had never given her such treatment.

He Shuijin said with fierce eyes, “When you become a worthless waste in the eyes of the elders and also block the way for the younger generation to make progress…”

Because the work of accounting was not finished, Qiu Yelan heard a little about what happened in the third branch. When she saw Madame Zhang became haggard after one night, she couldn’t help sympathizing with the daughters-in-law of the third branch. She thought that having such a mother-in-law as Madame He was…

However, this incident not only implicated Empress Dowager Ye as the real murderer of the emperor but also was the internal contradiction of the third branch. She couldn’t comfort Madame Zhang, so she could only pretend that Madame Zhang was haggard because of hard work and said, “Please take care of yourself, Madame Zhang. Although there are many things, we will finish them together.”

It was not good for Madame Zhang to complain with her, so she nodded and smiled bitterly. That was the end.

Qiu Yelan thought that since she had told her husband the emperor’s poisoning and her husband also promised to try to be lenient, and then there was nothing to do with her.

However, as soon as she left, she was invited to the back hall. There was only Qiu Yelan and Madame Tao. Seeing her coming in, Madame Tao said solemnly, “Empress Dowager Ye wants to see you before she will confess… Tianluan has promised her. These are the things I have prepared for Yongfu. Please send them to Yongfu for me.”

Qiu Yelan was surprised. “See me? Why?”

Madame Tao frowned and said, ” How should I know? Just go.”