The next day, Chun Zhi and Chun Tao came over carrying a stack of account books.

Looking at the numbers they had calculated, Mrs. Chen, even though she had mentally prepared herself, was still shocked.

Jiang Yuanxi, who was sitting in Mrs. Chen’s arms, was even more surprised.

[My mother actually added so much money to the Duke’s residence.]

A total of twenty thousand taels!

When Mrs. Chen married into the family, her dowry, along with the shops she brought as part of her dowry, was at least one hundred thousand taels.

In addition to filling the Duke’s residence’s deficit, she had also given gifts during festivals.

Altogether, it added up to at least thirty thousand taels.

Yet, this money was fed to wolves.

The Jiang family grew wealthier by the day, while Mrs. Chen’s dowry was shrinking more and more.

“Chun Zhi, how much silver is left in the accounts?” Mrs. Chen asked.

“Replying to the madam, there are still five thousand taels of silver,” Chun Zhi replied.

Mrs. Chen frowned, “Jiang’s fabric shop makes two thousand taels in revenue a month, and with the other shops, there should be at least thirty thousand taels. How could there be so little?”

Chun Tao explained, “While the madam was giving birth, the second branch secretly withdrew quite a bit of silver.”

The second branch spent money like water, and now that the second branch had taken over management, it wouldn’t be long before the Duke’s residence was back to its former state.

With the entire Duke’s residence only having five thousand taels, if word got out, wouldn’t they be laughed at?

“Take back that five thousand taels and then take all these account books to the second branch,” Mrs. Chen ordered.

She didn’t plan to leave them a single coin.

Wu Cui Rou, having gained control over the household management, was so happy that she couldn’t sleep at night.

Even when Jiang Qisheng visited other concubines, she paid no mind.

But when she opened the account books and saw them, she was immediately dumbfounded.

She then took the books to the Old Madam to complain. Not long after, the Old Madam sent someone to summon Mrs. Chen.

“Madam, the Old Madam and the Duke request your presence.”

The messenger was the Old Madam’s trusted maid, Wang Mama, and her tone was not friendly.

Chun Zhi was worried.

If Mrs. Chen took all the silver away from the Duke’s residence, the Duke would likely punish her.

Mrs. Chen changed her clothes and decided not to take her daughter with her this time.

One, to avoid hurting her, and two, to avoid any unpredictable remarks from her daughter.

When they arrived at Cangwu Courtyard, both the Duke and the Old Madam were already waiting for her. Wu Cui Rou wore an expression that seemed to enjoy the show.

“Greetings, Father and Mother,” Mrs. Chen greeted.

The Duke remained stern-faced, but it was clear that the Old Madam had to speak on matters concerning the inner courtyard.

“Mrs. Chen, you gave control of the household to the second branch, but have you also taken all the silver away from the accounts? Is that true?”

Mrs. Chen responded calmly, “Yes, it is true.”

The Old Madam was furious, “Now that the second branch controls the household, and you’ve taken all the silver, what does this mean?”

Wu Cui Rou, wiping her tears, said, “Sister-in-law, you didn’t consider the second branch. It’s almost time for the monthly silver to be distributed, and now you’ve made the second branch look bad on purpose, haven’t you?”

Mrs. Chen pretended to be innocent, “Father, Mother, Sister-in-law, I thought you already knew.”

The three of them exchanged glances.

Knew? Knew what?

Mrs. Chen stood up straight, and Chun Zhi handed over an account book to the Duke.

The Duke flipped through a few pages, his face turning as dark as the bottom of a pot.

Mrs. Chen said, “In the past years, the Duke’s residence was in financial difficulties, and I added quite a bit of my dowry to cover the gap, totaling about thirty thousand taels.”

“Now that the Duke’s residence is making money again, I thought it would be a good idea to replenish my dowry.”

The Old Madam was about to speak, suggesting that once something was brought into their house, it naturally belonged to them, but Mrs. Chen interrupted her.

“I thought that the Duke’s residence, such a large and prestigious household, wouldn’t be greedy for the dowry of a wife.”

The Duke snorted coldly.

If the word got out that the Duke’s residence was after their daughter-in-law’s dowry, how would he keep his dignity as the Duke of An?

Their entire family would become the laughingstock of the capital.

But the Old Madam didn’t see it that way.

When Mrs. Chen married into the family, her dowry was a lavish sight, and everyone who saw it was envious. If these silver and shops ended up in her hands, wouldn’t that be even better?

The Old Madam smiled and walked up to Mrs. Chen, holding her hand.

“Mrs. Chen, you’re part of the Duke’s residence, we’re family. In a family, we don’t differentiate between you and me.”

[Ugh, how shameless.]

Mrs. Chen’s heart skipped a beat.

Why was this little troublemaker here?

Jiang Yuancheng was holding Jiang Yuanxi and hiding outside the door.

Jiang Yuancheng had intended to visit his younger sister, but he didn’t expect her to ask him to bring her here.

As a good older brother, Jiang Yuancheng naturally agreed to help. But he didn’t expect to overhear such a conversation.

Jiang Yuanxi continued to grumble.

[They say they don’t differentiate between you and me, but they clearly want to take my mother’s dowry. Do they have skin made of titanium alloy?]

[How shameless!]

Jiang Yuancheng mentally agreed, “How shameless,” but then wondered, what exactly was titanium alloy?

Hearing the Old Madam say this, Wu Cui Rou was even more delighted.

“Sister-in-law, we’re family, so why separate things? In the end, everything belongs to the Duke’s residence.”

The Old Madam shot Wu Cui Rou a sharp glare. If you don’t know how to speak, don’t speak!

“Xin Wan, you’ve been part of the Duke’s residence for many years and have contributed a lot. We all know how hard you’ve worked.”

If it were in the past, Mrs. Chen would have been deeply moved by the Old Madam’s words, even crying.

But now, seeing their hypocrisy, she felt disgusted.

She calmly withdrew her hand from the Old Madam’s.

“What you’re saying is true. We are family, and that’s why I believe you wouldn’t be like other wicked mothers-in-law who try to calculate their daughter-in-law’s dowry.”

“Mother, you’ve always loved Xin Wan, and I’ve always known that.” Mrs. Chen said, even squeezing out a couple of tears.

[My mother, she’s got an Oscar-worthy performance.]

Jiang Yuancheng: Oscar, what’s that?

The Old Madam didn’t expect Mrs. Chen to respond like this.

Now, if the Duke’s residence didn’t return her dowry, it would make her seem malicious.

“Enough!” After a long silence, the Duke finally spoke.

The Duke of An, with a cold face, said, “The Duke’s residence wouldn’t covet your dowry. Whatever is missing, we will make up for it later.”

“Father!” Wu Cui Rou cried out.

She had seen the account books too. A full thirty thousand taels, minus the five thousand Mrs. Chen had already taken, left twenty-five thousand taels.

Where could she find so much money?

Wu Cui Rou was even a bit resentful.

The Duke of An, with a pained expression, took out several silver notes from a drawer in his study, then asked the Old Madam to find some more. Finally, they managed to gather the money.

Mrs. Chen happily took the silver notes and returned home.

Before Mrs. Chen came out, Jiang Yuancheng quickly took Jiang Yuanxi back inside.

Mrs. Chen pretended not to know that they had gone out.

At dinner that evening, Mrs. Chen was in such a good mood that she ate two bowls of rice.

Jiang Fengyuan, surprised, asked, “What happened today? Why is Mother so happy?”

Having been by Mrs. Chen’s side for so long, Jiang Fengyuan knew her well.

Mrs. Chen recounted the day’s events and also mentioned the situation with the Chen family that Yuanxi had told her about.

Jiang Fengyuan was thoroughly disappointed with the Duke’s residence.

They had treated the first branch poorly, but now they even had the audacity to go after his father-in-law’s family.

When the Duke of An’s residence had been in trouble, it was his father-in-law who had helped them survive.

Jiang Fengyuan held Mrs. Chen’s hand, feeling deeply indebted to her.

The next day, Mrs. Chen received a message from the academy early in the morning.

It was said that the principal of Tian Shan Academy had asked them to come to pick up their child.

Jiang Fengyuan, unable to attend the court that day, took a leave and went to the academy with his wife and daughter.

On the way, Jiang Yuanxi, still half asleep, was fed milk and soon fell back into a deep sleep.

When they arrived at Tian Shan Academy, Jiang Fengyuan discovered they weren’t the only ones there.

Several other officials had arrived as well.

When the inspector, Zheng Guang, saw Jiang Fengyuan, he was stunned.

As far as he knew, Jiang Yuancheng was an extremely talented scholar, rare even in Tian Shan Academy.

So if the principal had called them in, it seemed understandable.

Thinking this, Zheng Guang felt much more at ease.