Quickly wear salted fish, she won by lying down

Chapter 1706 The Country Girl Looked Down Upon 27
When Madam Chen saw Linlang arrive, she quickly invited her to sit inside.

The Prince's Palace occupies a large area, and since there aren't hundreds of sons like some families, each household has a spacious living area, with each household basically having a large courtyard with three courtyards and a garden.

Although each household was allocated a large courtyard with three sections and a garden, Chen's living space was not large because she had been demoted to a concubine by Master Li. She and another concubine lived in the east wing of the third section of their household.

This type of east wing room consists of three main rooms and two side rooms. She lived in one room and one side room on the right side of the east wing room, while another concubine lived in one room and one side room on the left side of the east wing room, sharing the central hall.

The current Madam Li lives in the main room of the third courtyard.

When Linlang entered the house, she found that the furnishings in Chen's room were quite valuable, which was normal, since Chen came from a merchant family.

Back then, Consort Wu, the birth mother of Master Li, was a shrewd woman. She knew that her son was an illegitimate son and would only have the title of General of the State with a meager salary. Given her son's extravagant spending habits, she knew he would not be able to endure a hard life after leaving the family. So, she cleverly chose a merchant's daughter for Master Li, who brought a large dowry with her, thinking that this would ensure her son would have a good life after leaving the family.

Therefore, the reason why Master Li did not divorce Madam Zhou's mother was not because he boasted that he had a conscience, but because of a practical problem—he needed Madam Zhou's mother, Chen's, money.

Even if the concubine gave birth to a son, she was still just a maid and had no money. So, Master Li wanted both: he wanted his son to inherit the title and he also wanted money. Therefore, he did not divorce Chen, but only demoted his wife to a concubine. Every now and then, he would take money from Chen.

It was one thing for Li Si to need money from Chen, but he also had a terrible temper and treated Chen and her three daughters horribly. He would constantly bring it up and berate Chen. Chen was foolish and didn't understand that Li Si needed money from her, but she couldn't bring herself to do it because she was a man and didn't want to spend her wife's dowry money. So, he would pick fights and manipulate her, making her feel guilty and that giving him money was her duty. She actually succeeded in this, feeling guilty for only giving Li Si daughters. Therefore, she didn't complain when Li Si demoted her to a concubine. She was even grateful that he hadn't divorced her, thinking that if he had, she wouldn't be able to live a normal life. So, she didn't feel any resentment towards Li Si for asking her for money while also scolding her.

Linlang was also amazed by Chen's behavior. She thought that it was no wonder that Grandma Zhou, who was clearly a member of the imperial family and the granddaughter of a prince, was so timid and hesitant. With a mother who had been manipulated by others and a father who had beaten and scolded her since childhood, how could she be as confident as other members of the imperial family?

Based on Linlang's observations over the past few days, this Master Li is truly a scoundrel. Although he hasn't developed a gambling addiction, he spends money extravagantly. After squandering his monthly allowance, annual allowance, and even the money from his mother, Consort Wu, he still doesn't have enough. Every now and then, he would come to Madam Chen to ask for money. Under Master Li's repeated demands, Madam Chen's dowry has been completely drained. She has started to want to sell the estates her family gave her, and sometimes she would also ask her maternal family for money, all to give to Master Li.

Once the estate is sold off and there's no more source of income, and she can't keep asking her maternal family for money, Chen's life in the fourth branch will probably become even more difficult. After all, Master Li kept her around because she had money. Now that she's broke, he might force her to ask her maternal family for money, or send her back if they don't give her any. It's hard to say, given Master Li's character; he might actually do it.

In order to force her to ask her family for money, Master Li might actually threaten Chen by saying he would divorce her and make her ask for it.

If Chen Shi is no longer available, and Master Li Si has already spoken his words, he will feel ashamed if he doesn't put them into practice. In the end, he might really send Chen Shi back.

Once she returns to her parents' home, it's uncertain how her family will treat Chen Shi. After all, Chen Shi is not young, and her parents are even older. While her parents are still alive, her family treats her well, but once they are gone, it's hard to say whether her brother and sister-in-law will treat her the same way. Therefore, Linlang feels that this Master Li Si needs to be dealt with. Otherwise, with Master Li Si holding her back, she's afraid she won't be able to take care of Chen Shi, even if Madam Zhou entrusted her with that task.

Moreover, with Master Li Si dealt with, Madam Chen still has some money, and the household will provide monthly and annual stipends, so she can live a decent life. After all, Master Li Si is the source of all of Madam Chen's suffering, so if she doesn't deal with him, who should she deal with?

Linlang had already decided to get rid of Master Li, but naturally she wouldn't tell Chen about it. After all, Chen had been manipulated by Master Li, and if she told Chen about it, Chen wouldn't be happy. Instead, she would probably worry that she couldn't live without Master Li and might even stop her from doing it, or even tell Master Li.

Chen looked at Linlang and asked with a respectful smile, "Grandma, what brings you here to see me today?"

Mingming's original identity was Linlang's aunt, but because she was scolded by Master Li Si so much, her mind was filled with PUA, and she was demoted to a concubine. Now she treats Linlang like this, which makes Linlang feel sad for her. She thinks that this woman is really unlucky to have married someone like Master Li Si.

She called Linlang "Grandma," naturally following the way Grandma Zhou addressed her, since Linlang was Grandma Zhou's sister-in-law.

Linlang said, "I just wanted to ask if there's anything missing here, or if there's anything you need. If so, you can let me know."

Mrs. Chen hurriedly replied, "No, no, I'm perfectly fine."

Although her daughter married into the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, some people laughed at her for marrying a country bumpkin. But when her daughter returned to her parents' home to visit her, she told her not to care about those jokes. She said that even if the Zhou family came from the countryside, they were now dukes, and she would be a duke's wife in the future. How many people here could become duke's wives? The ridicule now was just because their mindset hadn't changed yet. In a few years, when they got used to the Zhou family, they would realize how good their marriage was, and they would probably even envy them.

Mrs. Chen felt that her daughter was right, so she didn't care about other people's jokes, and she would never look down on Linlang's background like some people do.

Actually, some people in the mansion also laughed at the second wife's family, thinking that it was strange that the second wife had married a village girl. But she thought that since the emperor of this dynasty could make a commoner woman his empress, the royal family did not care so much about social status. So what was wrong with the second wife's son marrying a village girl?

Besides, this daughter-in-law is no longer a village girl; she's the legitimate daughter of a duke. Her background should be that of a duke's legitimate daughter. How can we still cling to her past identity and insist on calling her a village girl?

Even a real village girl is acceptable, let alone someone who isn't a real village girl at all. She's the legitimate daughter of a duke, so what's wrong with that?