Chapter 189: “Supporting the Back”

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Seeing that the steward did not respond, Leng Qing Yu pushed the ledger back toward him.

“I haven’t been at the Hou residence this month. The Old Madam is in charge of the household. If they want to give gifts or have expenses for food and drinks, they can take it from Zhong Gong’s account. The Marquis’s monthly allowance is paid to Zhong Gong’s account, and the Old Madam can handle it.”

“This…”

The steward stood frozen, but he heard Leng Qing Yu continue speaking:

“As for the monthly allowances for the second and third households, I was too lenient before. Even though they’ve been separated, I still felt the need to support them with money. But recently, I’ve realized, even children as young as ten or eleven in the village are working to help their families. So why can’t they?”

“It’s said that spoiling a child is as bad as killing them.”

“As the eldest sister-in-law, by giving them money to support them, I’m actually harming them. It’s time they learned to be independent.”

The steward opened his mouth but couldn’t say a word. He was stunned. Was the Madam going to completely withdraw from managing the family?

In just one month, how had the Madam changed so much?

“Madam, this month’s accounts have already been reviewed by the Old Madam. She sent me all the way here to bring the ledger to you for your approval. The Old Madam said that after all these years, she is no longer familiar with the accounts, and you were the one managing them all along!”

“Familiar?” Leng Qing Yu sneered.

“When the Old Madam appointed me as the housekeeper, she didn’t even give me the key to Zhong Gong’s warehouse.”

“It was only through my own efforts and using my family’s resources that I managed to support the entire Hou residence.”

“At that time, my plan was to prove myself through hard work so the Old Madam would look at me with new eyes, since she opposed our marriage. But now, looking back, everything seems like a joke.”

“The Old Madam knows full well about Lu Ting En’s despicable actions, yet she pretends to be ignorant, spending her own money while saying that I’m arrogant because of my favoritism.”

“Mother and son, both so good at pretending.”

The steward had no idea what Leng Qing Yu was thinking. Seeing her angry expression, he assumed that she was upset because the Marquis had not come personally and tried to explain on the Marquis’s behalf:

“Madam, the Marquis has been very busy with official matters lately and couldn’t make it, but he still cares about you deeply…”

“Steward Lu, just pass on exactly what I said to the Old Madam. I have no further business here, so I won’t keep you any longer.”

Leng Qing Yu didn’t want to hear his excuses and directly asked him to leave.

“But Madam…”

The steward didn’t finish his task and looked anxious.

At this moment, Ye Xin Ran stood up: “Steward Lu, didn’t you hear my mother’s words clearly? Do you plan to stay at our house any longer?”

When Steward Lu saw Ye Xin Ran’s attitude, he realized that she wasn’t going to let him say a word.

However, going back empty-handed would make it hard to explain to the Old Madam.

Weighing the options, he thought that the Madam might be more lenient with him than the Old Madam, so he tried to persuade her again:

“Madam, it’s fine for me to return empty-handed, but if the Old Madam gets upset, I fear she might direct her anger at you!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Steward Lu felt a sharp pain on his leg.

Xiao Huai’an, holding a broom, was swinging it and shooing him away.

“Please move aside, you’ve dirtied my family’s ground!”

After speaking, he swiped the broom again, sending Steward Lu flying two meters away.

Steward Lu: “…”

“Hey, don’t swing the broom towards me!”

Xiao Huai’an: “With such filth standing in front of me, who else should I sweep if not you?”

Steward Lu was forced out of the Xiao household, looking back three times as he left.

Leng Qing Yu acted as though she didn’t see any of it.

At this moment, her attention was entirely on Ye Xin Ran, and she felt an indescribable excitement.

“Xin Ran, what did you just call me?”

Ye Xin Ran: “Lu Madam.”

Leng Qing Yu: “No, I clearly heard it! You called me ‘Mother’! You called me ‘Mother’!”

Indeed, Ye Xin Ran had called her “Mother” just now.

She couldn’t tolerate a steward acting so shamelessly, constantly mentioning the Old Madam and the Marquis, as if calling on them would force Leng Qing Yu to back down.

Hearing this, Ye Xin Ran couldn’t help but want to support the woman beside her.

After all, Leng Qing Yu now had a daughter!

If anyone wanted to bully her mother, they’d first have to ask if the daughter agreed.

Seeing how emotional Leng Qing Yu was, Ye Xin Ran stopped insisting and softened.

“Okay, okay, you’re my mother. From now on, I’ll call you ‘Mother.’ Is that okay?”

“Okay!”

Leng Qing Yu excitedly grabbed Ye Xin Ran’s hand, unable to calm down for a long time.

Steward Lu, watching from a crack in the door, saw everything.

Before coming here, he had vaguely heard that the Madam had recognized her biological daughter.

But if this is her biological daughter, what about the one at home?

It seemed that Steward Lu suddenly understood.

The Madam had recognized her own daughter, but the Marquis still favored the one at home.

So now, there was some conflict between the two of them.

Thinking of it this way, Steward Lu’s mind cleared up.

No wonder the Madam was acting this way! She must be angry with the Marquis.

The one who untangles the bell must be the one who tied it. Unless the Marquis personally steps in, it would be very difficult for the Madam to calm down.

But if he went back empty-handed, the Old Madam would definitely punish him.

Thinking about the Old Madam’s methods, he felt a chill in his heart!

…

A thousand miles away, the Old Madam of the Marquis’s household was throwing a tantrum.

When Jin Zhi was combing her hair, she accidentally pulled out a strand of hair, and in her anger, the Old Madam poured a cup of scalding tea on Jin Zhi’s body.

Jin Zhi was trembling from the burn but dared not cry out in pain.

She just knelt on the ground and bowed, apologizing.

“Old Madam, please calm down. It was this servant’s clumsiness that harmed you. Please do not let it affect your health.”

Jin Zhi had been serving the Old Madam for more than ten years.

The other maidservants saw that even Jin Zhi had been punished, and none of them dared to speak. They all knelt down in silence.

The Old Madam let out a sigh, relaxed her expression, and said to Jin Zhi: “Get up, go change your clothes, and then come back to attend to me.”

“Yes!”

Jin Zhi answered and left.

After returning to her room, she discovered that the spot on her waist where the tea had burned her had developed a series of blisters.

The pain was like being pricked with needles.

She hastily applied some ointment to the wound, gritted her teeth, changed her clothes, and returned to the Old Madam’s side.

At that moment, the Old Madam was resting with her eyes closed. When she heard Jin Zhi enter, she asked, “Are you feeling better?”

Jin Zhi quickly answered, “Thank you for your concern, Old Madam. It’s not a big issue.”

“Don’t think that because I’ve kept you in the household for so many years, I will treat you leniently.

People can become complacent. Once you show them a little kindness, they begin to forget who they are.”

The Old Madam closed her eyes and said, “Just like that woman. Does she think that after all these years in the Marquis’s household, her position is secure?

Without my permission, she dares to stay out so long!

I want her to know that even if she never comes back, she must still obediently hand over the food and resources of the Marquis’s household!”