Chapter 188 Mother and Son Contest
The 17-year-old Xiu'er finally understood the principle that men and women should not be too close to each other. This time when she entered the mansion, she no longer went to Xiaoxiangyuan to stick to the Second Master every day. She also acted much more low-key and looked like a real lady from a noble family.
In two years, she has changed, and so has her cousin's wife. Xiu'er discovered that her cousin's wife is not only so outstanding that people can't take their eyes off her, but also knows how to win over her man. Her cousin's wife finally came to her senses and realized that women can't live without men, and she actually seduced her cousin into the east wing.
Every bit of news from Xiaoxiang Courtyard touched Xiu'er's heart all the time, and sent a hint of danger to her . She was a little impatient. The ups and downs in the East Wing had brought her patience to the brink of collapse. At this time, Xiu'er was really overwhelmed by her obsessive love. She had long forgotten that her cousin's wife was the legitimate wife of her cousin who was married with eight sedan chairs. She forgot everything in Xiaoxiang Courtyard, which was just the most ordinary life of a couple. She just wanted to destroy it all madly.
After all, she is grown up now. Although everything in Xiaoxiangyuan drives Xiu'er almost crazy, she understands that her plan is not yet complete and she has to wait. But she can't let her cousin's wife have so much free time. So, she goes to her aunt to seek advice again.
"Aunt, Xiu'er heard that my cousin goes to the east wing every day these days, sometimes he stays there for the whole afternoon. My cousin's wife is the same. She doesn't persuade my cousin to go to the study . In broad daylight, she lets my cousin stay in the women's room and neglects his work."
"Xiu'er is right. This is not what a grandmother should do. As a wife, she doesn't know how to persuade her husband to manage the family business. Instead, she hangs around the house every day and instigates him to do something else. It's time to take care of it. The Xiao family's ancestral business can't be destroyed in Jun'er's hands."
"What my aunt said is true. It's just that my cousin's wife has become more and more beautiful in the past two years. Any man will be attracted to her. If my aunt punishes my cousin, my cousin will be reluctant to let her go, which will hurt the relationship between my cousin and my aunt. In my opinion, my aunt should coax my cousin's wife and let her persuade my cousin from time to time."
"Coax her. I've never heard of a mother-in-law coaxing her daughter-in-law."
"Aunt, my cousin's wife is not sensible, please don't bother with her. My cousin dotes on her very much now, I'm afraid that if you teach her a lesson, it will cause unrest in the whole house."
"I don't think she dares!"
After hearing what Xiu'er said, the first wife immediately became angry, looked at Xiu'er, sighed and said:
"Hey, I don't know what sin I committed in my previous life to end up with such a wife. If Second Madam was half as gentle and sensible as Xiu'er, I wouldn't have to worry about this. I'm just afraid that if I don't take care of her anymore, it will be too late if Jun'er's heart is really seduced by her. As the saying goes, a son can be taken care of by his mother at most."
"What Auntie said does make sense, but..."
As he was speaking, Baozhu came in and replied:
"Madam, Madam Liu, the housekeeper, wants to see you. She has something important to tell you."
“Please let her in.”
After a while, a woman came in hurriedly behind Baozhu. As soon as she entered the door, without waiting for the eldest lady to ask her anything, she took a few quick steps, fell to her knees, and cried and said:
"I beg the Madam to save me, the master. I kowtow to you. Please save my life, as I have been with the old lady since we were young and have served the master and the Madam."
The eldest wife was shocked when she heard this. She sat up straight and asked:
"Madam Liu, calm down. Speak slowly. What happened to Steward An? In the Xiao Mansion, without the words of the eldest master and me, who dares to touch Steward An?"
"I don't know what happened. I was fine all morning. I was preparing for the Seven-Qiao Festival. Then the servant of General Manager An came and told me that the Second Master had found out that General Manager An had embezzled the government's money. He sent someone to arrest him and question him without saying anything."
When Aunt Liu said this, she stole a glance at the eldest wife, who looked surprised. She continued:
"Madam, please understand. My family has been following the eldest master since we were young. We have been diligently managing the affairs of the Xiao Mansion. How could we dare to be negligent? Over the years, even if we have not made any contributions, we have worked hard. I didn't expect that I would end up being tied up and questioned. It's really like sitting at home and waiting for disaster. I wonder if the second master believed in someone's instigation and did such a rash thing. I beg the eldest lady to persuade the second master, but I'm afraid it's too late. The second master has done something irreversible, and I have no hope in this life!"
"Where did Jun'er take Manager An?"
"I heard that he was interrogating in the outer living room."
After hearing this, the eldest wife stood up and shouted:
"Baozhu, have someone prepare the sedan chair and go to the outer living room!"
…
Manager An knelt on the ground with his hands tied, looking at the accounts in front of him with fear. He had underestimated this young master. He had been running the mansion for many years and had good information. He had not heard anything about when the Second Master checked these things. When he heard that the Second Master was going to take over the affairs of the manor, he was a little cautious. Later, he saw that the Second Master was hanging out in the east wing every day and had never handled any business, so he became relieved.
Over the past year, the Second Master's business was getting smaller and smaller while he was in the south. The business in the south was almost swallowed up by Shangguan Jun'er, the owner of the Fulishan Copper Mine. The Second Master returned to the north in disgrace, but he still had no ambition to make progress and was obsessed with women all day long. When he was secretly cursing the Xiao family for having another prodigal son, the Second Master swiftly put the evidence of his embezzlement in front of him, leaving him with no way to defend himself. How could he not be shocked at this moment?
Thinking that all the money he had embezzled was given to the first wife as a gift, he felt a little relieved. Now he could only grit his teeth and hold on until the first wife came, and then he would be saved. If he admitted it first, the first wife would be powerless to save him. Thinking of this, he said:
"I don't know where these accounts came from, but I believe that someone must have framed me. Please don't trust others without any evidence. You haven't been in the mansion for the past two years, so you are unfamiliar with these things and it's possible to trust others. Please let me meet the first wife. She will definitely be able to tell the truth from the false."
"Manager An is really not crying until he sees the coffin. What do you mean by without evidence? The account in front of you is the ironclad evidence. Does Manager An still want me to tie up that foreman Jia and the shopkeeper Sun to confront him?"
Hearing this, Manager An shuddered and thought to himself that if he escaped today, he must find a way to deal with these two people. Seeing that the Second Master was looking at him coldly, he said:
"Second Master must have believed the slander because he was young. I don't blame you for kidnapping me. I just ask you to let me see the first wife."
Xiao An neither admitted nor denied his guilt, but only asked to see the first wife. This made Xiao Jun even more certain that his mother must have been involved in this matter. This completely disappointed Xiao Jun, who had originally had some expectations for his mother.
After all, Xiao An had some status, so the Second Master couldn't torture him. He knew that Xiao An was stalling until the First Madam came to rescue him. The Second Master was also waiting, waiting for the Prefect of Pingyang to send people to arrest Xiao An. By then, he would see that the First Madam could not protect him, so there was no need to worry that he would not confess.
The two were facing each other when a servant came to report that the eldest wife had arrived. Xiao An suddenly sat down on the ground and breathed a sigh of relief. Xiao Jun listened and said,
"Please come in"
As soon as she finished speaking, the eldest wife came in, supporting Baozhu, followed by Ziyue, Madam Liu, and all the maids and servants.
Seeing his mother coming in, Xiao Jun hurriedly stood up to greet his mother and asked her to sit down. When the first wife saw Xiao Jun bowing, she snorted coldly and said:
"My son has grown up and is no longer under his mother's control. In Jun'er's eyes, I am no longer his mother!"
As the eldest wife spoke, she sat down in Xiao Jun's seat, her eyes reddening.
After all, she was his mother, and he could not disobey her no matter how dissatisfied he was. Seeing his mother like this, Xiao Jun felt a little powerless in his heart, so he sat down below his mother and said quickly:
"I don't know what my son has done to displease his mother. My son is young and reckless and doesn't know what to do. If he does something wrong, his mother will teach him a lesson. But he must not get so angry that he gets sick ."
"Jun'er is worried that I'll get sick from being angry. I think Jun'er is hoping that I'll die soon so that he won't be restricted."
When Xiao Jun heard this, he quickly stood up and knelt in front of the first wife and said:
"The son was unfilial and made his mother angry. His mother taught him not to say such things. His mother's words really left her son with no place to rest."
When the First Wife saw Xiao Jun kneeling, her anger subsided a little. After all, this son still listened to her. She also knew that what she had just said was a bit too much. Seeing her son kneeling on the ground, she felt distressed and wanted to ask him to get up, but she thought about how ignorant what her son had just done. After all, she was the mistress of the house, and Xiao An was her man. Such a big thing, but he kidnapped someone without telling her. It would be better to teach him a lesson to prevent him from doing more reckless things in the future. So she simply let the Second Master kneel there.
While wiping his eyes with a handkerchief, he spoke:
"Butler An has been following the old lady since he was young, serving the master. For so many years, there must be some affection for him. Even if he has no merit, he has worked hard. Jun'er was tied up without a word today, and even I, the mistress in charge of the family, didn't say a word. Does Jun'er still have his parents in his eyes?"
"Mother, you may not know. Some time ago, someone reported that Manager An embezzled the government's money when he was in charge of renovating an outer manor. I did not believe it at first and wanted to investigate thoroughly to clear Manager An's name. However, I only investigated three manors. Not counting the small amounts of money Rick had withheld, Manager An had embezzled more than 23,000 taels. I was so anxious that I wanted to find Manager An immediately to verify the matter. I forgot to tell you. Please forgive me."
"Jun'er has not been in Pingyang for the past two years, so he is not familiar with the affairs of the mansion. Xiao An has been serving the master and managing the affairs of the mansion since he was young. He has always been loyal and conscientious. He has offended many people over the years, and they all hope that he will be in trouble. They say that he embezzled the mansion's money. It must be a false accusation by a villain, but Jun'er actually believed it. Since you are young and ignorant, let it go this time. Jun'er, you must think twice before doing anything next time, and you are not allowed to be so reckless again."
After the first wife finished speaking, without waiting for Xiao Jun to reply, she shouted to the servants on both sides:
"Someone, untie Xiao An and let him sit down."
The two servants responded quickly and stepped forward to untie Xiao An.
When the Second Master saw this, he said to his mother:
"Mother, Manager An did embezzle money. The accounts are clear and the evidence is irrefutable. Mother can send someone to confront Jia, the foreman who is in charge of the construction and materials of the outer manor, and Manager Sun. One question will reveal the truth. Your son asks you to investigate and find out if someone has really framed Manager An. After you investigate, you can clear Manager An's name."
"Jun'er is right. I will look into this matter in detail. Jun'er, don't worry about it. But there are so many things to do in this mansion and I can't leave him for a moment. Before we find out, Xiao An can continue to be the steward. Jun'er, get up too. The ground is cold."
