Chapter 354: A Group of Old Men

She hurried down the steps, grabbing Zhao Qiao’er’s wrist.

“Qiao’er, tell me clearly! Is this true?”

Her grip was strong, and her long nails dug deep into Zhao Qiao’er’s flesh.

Zhao Qiao’er winced in pain and whispered, “Mother, let’s talk inside…”

“Talk inside about what!” Ms Qin suddenly raised her voice, “Is it true that you were divorced? Is it!”

Her voice was so sharp that it changed pitch, causing the servants to snicker once more.

Zhao Qiao’er couldn’t hold back any longer, and tears streamed from her eyes.

She forcefully shook off Ms Qin’s hand, no longer caring about saving face.

“It’s all because of you. They… they opened the ancestral hall… accused me of poisoning… ruined the Lin Family’s reputation of many years…”

Zhao Qiao’er choked and couldn’t continue speaking, pulling out a crumpled divorce letter from her pocket.

Ms Qin snatched the letter, glanced at it, and seeing the official seal, her face turned from red to white, then from white to green.

She suddenly raised her hand and slapped Zhao Qiao’er hard: “Useless thing! You couldn’t even hold onto a man!”

Zhao Qiao’er’s head spun with the slap, her face burning with pain. She held her face, looking at her mother incredulously: “You blame me? If it weren’t for you back then, I would…”

“Shut up!”

Ms Qin sternly interrupted, glancing cautiously at the servants who were listening intently, finally realizing she should avoid them.

She grabbed Zhao Qiao’er’s sleeve and dragged her into the house, “Come, let’s talk inside!”

Zhao Qiao’er entered the house, only to see that the situation inside wasn’t much better than in the courtyard.

The once exquisite zitan wood furniture was covered in a thick layer of dust, several of the more valuable vases were nowhere to be seen, replaced by coarse pottery jars.

The window paper on the windows had several holes for some time, with sunlight slanting through the gaps.

As soon as Ms Qin entered the house, she released Zhao Qiao’er’s hand and paced back and forth.

“It’s over, all over! You’ve been divorced and sent back home, what are we going to live on, just us two?”

Ms Qin’s face was filled with urgency, as she had hit rock bottom. She had already pawned everything in the residence that could be turned into silver.

She was planning to go to the Lin Family in the coming days to ask her daughter for some silver to tide them over, but unexpectedly Zhao Qiao’er was sent back by the Lin Family.

Just thinking about it made Ms Qin anxious.

Ever since Zhao Zun and the others left for Canzhou after the new year, Ms Qin was the only master left in the Prince Mansion.

At first, it was fine. Ms Qin, being the only master in the Prince Mansion, ordered the servants around with a sense of authority, as she still had some private money.

But besides what Mr. Liu took, there were over twenty servants in the mansion who had been bribed by her and were not yet dismissed by Zhao Zun. Including those in her own courtyard, there were over thirty.

With over thirty servants serving her as the sole master, she indeed lived a very leisurely and prestigious life.

However, good times didn’t last long. The expenses for feeding and clothing over thirty mouths, along with the monthly wages, amounted to a considerable sum.

Zhao Zun took the house deeds, land deeds, and everything valuable in the Prince Mansion.

The properties of the Prince Mansion were all converted to silver notes by Mr. Liu and taken away by Zhao Zun.

So, the little bit of pitiful private money she had ran out in just three months.

Without money to pay the monthly wages, the servants naturally stopped obeying her. Every day, they would eat at mealtime, then gather in threes and fours to chat or go back to their rooms to sleep once full.

Amusingly, the servants only cooked for themselves. They were indentured to the Prince Mansion, so they ate the mansion’s food with a sense of entitlement.

The servants ate without working, and the mansion became dirty and disorganized. When the rainy season came, weeds grew all over.

At that moment, Ms Qin realized she wasn’t keeping servants, but a bunch of freeloaders.

Ms Qin was frustrated, wanting to scold these servants, but they talked back.

Even if they were indentured servants, they still had a right to a certain monthly wage.

The sharp-tongued servants said that since Ms Qin delayed their wages, they would delay their work.

If she wasn’t satisfied with their work, she should sell them.

But Ms Qin wouldn’t have needed their words if she had their indentures to sell them, would she?

She wanted to beat them, but only her two personal maids still obeyed her. With the three women, she couldn’t overpower so many people.

Couldn’t outscold them, couldn’t beat them, couldn’t sell them, and for the past two months, Ms Qin looked at these hot potatoes every day and felt utterly depressed.

Ms Qin anxiously paced around the room for a while, then suddenly stopped as if she had thought of something, staring at her daughter.

“How much silver did the Lin Family give you for divorcing?”