Wen Lingrao casually stuck the hairpin into her styled hair, glanced at herself in the mirror, and smiled nonchalantly. “Let them complain. Let her complain.”
“Miss!” Banxia was even more anxious. “That is the Imperial Noble Consort! What if Her Ladyship believes their words and issues a decree to scold you, or worse, summons you to the palace to answer for your crimes? What will we do then?”
“Banxia,” Wen Lingrao turned around and suddenly asked an unrelated question, “have you ever watched a play?”
“Ah?” Banxia was taken aback. “I’ve seen a few. During the New Year, the manor would hire a theatrical troupe.”
“On stage, when those villains go to file a complaint or fetch reinforcements, what usually happens?”
Banxia thought for a moment and said hesitantly, “They seem quite arrogant at first, and even more arrogant when their reinforcements arrive, but in the end, they always get slapped in the face?”
“Exactly.” Wen Lingrao stood up and pushed the window open. “Therefore, the more anxious they are to file a complaint or fetch reinforcements, the more it shows they have no other options; they are at the end of their rope.”
She turned her head back, a playful smile curling the corners of her mouth, and hummed softly:
“Go ahead, go ahead, hurry and invite the Buddha.”
Banxia didn’t understand what “the Buddha” meant, but seeing her mistress so composed, she felt strangely reassured.
Since waking up, it was as if her mistress had gained divine insight—she could foresee everything and handle anything.
If she said it was fine, then it would certainly be fine!
“Then… Miss, what shall we do next?” Banxia rubbed her hands together, looking ready to follow her mistress into another confrontation at any moment.
“Eat when it’s time to eat, drink when it’s time to drink. Sit back and watch the play.” Wen Lingrao paused. “Oh, and have someone guard the inside and outside of the courtyard well for me. Without my permission, don’t let even a fly in. Especially those from the Rongxi Residence and Chu Qirui’s side.”
“Yes! I will go and give the orders right away!” Banxia ran off, full of energy.
Meanwhile, inside the Rongxi Residence.
The doors and windows were shut tight, and the thick curtains were drawn securely.
Old Madam Chu was half-reclining on the couch, her eyes bloodshot; she seemed to have aged ten years overnight.
Chu Qirui sat on a chair below her, his left cheek covered in thick medicinal ointment and a slap mark still visible on his right cheek.
“Mother…” his voice was hoarse and filled with resentment. “That venomous woman is simply not human! Are we really just going to let it go? I cannot swallow this insult!”
“You must swallow it even if you can’t!” Old Madam Chu opened her eyes abruptly, her gaze gloomy. “Now you know you can’t swallow it? What were you doing earlier! I told you to keep her stable, take it slow! But you, you ran off to find that harlot on the night of your wedding! And even brought her into the house! Leading to this mess!”
Chu Qirui shrank his neck under the scolding and muttered, “How was I to know she would become like this? She was very easy to manipulate before.”
“The past is the past! The present is the present!” Old Madam Chu interrupted him. “It is we who misjudged her! That is not a docile sheep at all; she is a wolf in sheep’s clothing! No, she is a madwoman! A bandit!”
“Rui’er, now that things have reached this point, there are some things I must tell you. Our Marquis Changning Manor looks glorious, but it has long been hollowed out from within. Your grandfather and your father neither knew how to manage money nor could they let go of their pride. Many years ago, they secretly squandered a large amount of silver from the manor. All these years, to keep up appearances, they have even accrued a massive debt outside, with interest rolling over, and we can barely hide it any longer.”
Chu Qirui raised his head in shock. “What? Mother, why have you never told me this?”
“What use would it have been to tell you?” Old Madam Chu gave a bitter smile. “Could you have conjured money? I had hoped that when you married Wen Lingrao, we could use her dowry to fill the void, and there would still be plenty left for us to spend. But now, not only can we not get our hands on that dowry, but we have also been caught by that madwoman!
She holds a Shangfang sword and has the backing of the Imperial family; we cannot win in a direct confrontation. But those creditors don’t care whether we have a Shangfang sword! It is almost the New Year; if we cannot pay the interest, and the news gets out, the Marquis Changning Manor will be truly finished! We might even lose our noble title!”
Chu Qirui broke out in a cold sweat listening to this. He finally realized that the situation was far more serious than he had imagined. “Then what should we do?”
“What to do?” A ruthless look appeared on Old Madam Chu’s face. “Fortunately, it is not as if we have no path left. For years, our manor has secretly pledged loyalty to Imperial Noble Consort Xi and the Fourth Prince. The Fourth Prince is capable, and the Emperor favors him; he is the most likely to become the Crown Prince. Our manor’s fate has long been tied to the Fourth Prince!”
She looked at her son, saying every word clearly: “Wen Lingrao’s dowry is not just for filling the manor’s holes; it is an important capital for the plan to support the Fourth Prince in his bid for the throne! This matter absolutely cannot fail!”
Chu Qirui’s heart raced. He had no idea his family was involved in something as massive as the struggle for the throne!
“But Wen Lingrao doesn’t listen to us at all now.”
“Therefore, we must suppress her! Grab the dowry back!” Old Madam Chu’s eyes were cold. “If the hard way doesn’t work, we’ll use the soft way, the devious way! No matter how arrogant Wen Lingrao is, can she be more arrogant than the rules of the palace, or the principle of filial piety?”
“Does Mother mean?”
“I have already had Madam Qian take my token to the palace gate to request an audience with Imperial Noble Consort Xi.”
Old Madam Chu sneered. “Madam Li, who serves the Consort, was a bosom friend of mine in my youth, and she has held the Consort’s deep trust for years. I have already sent someone to invite her, using the Consort’s name, to visit me, an old woman who has been angered to illness by an unfilial daughter-in-law.”
Chu Qirui’s eyes brightened. “Madam Li? An old matron from the palace is the most well-versed in etiquette. With her stepping in to use the pressure of filial piety, and pinning a few crimes on her, I don’t believe we can’t subdue that madwoman!”
“Yes,” Old Madam Chu nodded. “As long as Madam Li takes her down, locks her in the woodshed, and slowly breaks her spirit. At that point, what can that little maid by her side do? We will always find a way to get our hands on her dowry list and the keys to the storehouse. Once the money is spent and the matter is settled, what good will her fussing do? Would the Emperor really investigate a dowry and fall out with the mother of his future Crown Prince just for a cousin?”
“Mother is truly far-sighted!” Chu Qirui became excited, pulling on his facial injury and wincing in pain. “When that time comes, I will surely make that venomous woman pay! And the child in You Yuyan’s womb as well.”
“Don’t rush that.” Old Madam Chu waved her hand. “If the child is born a boy, it will be another card for us to hold against the Wen woman. Right now, the most important thing is to invite this ‘Buddha,’ Madam Li, to suppress the ‘Monkey King,’ Wen Lingrao!”
Mother and son discussed for a long time, settling every detail.
Wen Lingrao walked out of the main hall without stopping, heading straight toward the accounting office of the manor.
Banxia, who was following behind, thought her mistress was returning to her own courtyard to rest. Surprised to see her taking this path, she trotted to catch up.
She lowered her voice and asked, “Mistress, where are we going?”
Wen Lingrao did not answer; she didn’t even lift her eyelids.
She knew very well that while the Marquis Changning Manor looked decent on the outside and the heir, Chu Qirui, appeared respectable in public, the inside had long been hollowed out.
The Old Marquis was capable enough of maintaining the status quo but lacked the ability to expand, and the manor’s assets had only been flowing out, not in, for years.
By the generation of Chu Qirui’s father, they only knew how to put on airs and not how to make money; the manor’s income decreased year by year.
So, where was the money coming from?