Quickly wear salted fish, she won by lying down

Since Consort Wu and Master Li Si both passed away, Madam Li Si's attitude towards Madam Chen has become better day by day. After all, Madam Chen's daughter is the heir apparent of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, and Madam Chen's daughter's sister-in-law is also her niece-in-law from another branch of the family. She can come to visit her every day, so how could Madam Li Si dare to treat Madam Chen badly?

Furthermore, now that she no longer receives the subsidies from Consort Wu, and her husband's monthly allowance and annual stipend have also disappeared after his death, the family's income has drastically decreased, making life difficult. She still relies on Madam Chen to occasionally provide subsidies for her and her son. How could she dare to do anything to Madam Chen when she has to ask for money? After all, Madam Chen is not an ordinary concubine. Her daughter and son-in-law have powerful connections, and even her daughter and sister-in-law have powerful connections. A concubine with powerful backers naturally wouldn't dare to use the same tactics a principal wife uses on a concubine on her.

Besides, she was the legal wife back then, and she was just a concubine who rose to power. She was afraid that people would say she was shameless if she tried to use the same methods that legal wives use on concubines on Madam Chen. So, after Master Li Si died, Madam Li Si has been very well-behaved.

As long as Madam Li Si behaves herself, Madam Chen can live a good life with the remaining dowry, subsidies from her maternal family, monthly allowances and annual stipends from the household, and money given to her daughter on festivals and birthdays. She lives better than most people in the household. Linlang only needs to make sure she is not bullied by Madam Li Si. She is not lacking in money.

Seeing that her mother was doing well, Grandma Zhou was also in a good mood. The gloom that her father had cast on her when they were at her parents' home, demoting her to a concubine and scolding them from time to time, had completely disappeared.

However, when Grandma Zhou returned to the mansion this time, she also told Linlang some things that were troubling her.

"Ever since Second Uncle passed away, and your second cousin took his family away, he's been gambling away the family fortune just like Great-Grandpa. I heard he's almost bankrupted them. Second Madam often comes to her parents-in-law, asking for their advice on how to stop him from gambling. Madam and Master have called him over and talked to him a few times, but it's no use. He still does what he wants. If this continues, their family's money will soon be gone. Second Aunt thinks you're very smart, so she wants to ask you for advice on what to do. Sister, what do you think we should do?"

Linlang said, "When he first came to the capital, he was tempted to gamble, but I managed to stop him with my cheating skills. Plus, his grandfather and father kept an eye on him, so he was always well-behaved. Now that his grandfather and father have passed away, he has no one to control him, so it's normal for him to go crazy like this. If you, Second Aunt, can really be ruthless, break his legs and make him bedridden. That would solve the problem. Otherwise, after Great-Grandpa squandered his fortune, our family will suffer the same fate. They'll probably have to sell their house in the capital to pay off Second Cousin's gambling debts, and then they'll be broke and have to go back to the countryside. In other words, Second Aunt will be rich for ten years and then back to square one. If you can't be ruthless, let her think about it: do you plan to be rich for only ten years and then go back to your miserable life in the countryside, or do you want to be ruthless and break Second Cousin's legs so you can continue to live a rich life in the capital?"

After listening, Grandma Zhou nodded and said, "Your idea is a solution that can solve the problem once and for all, but..." Grandma Zhou hesitated and said, "Can Second Aunt really be so heartless? After all, he is her son."

Linlang said, "If she can't bring herself to do it, your sister-in-law will be in trouble in the future. After the second branch of the family squanders all their money, they definitely won't want to go back to the countryside and live that miserable life they did before. They'll definitely ask the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion for money. Will you give it to them or not? If you don't, people will say you don't care about the second branch's life. If you do, a gambler is a bottomless pit. Once he knows the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion will cover for him, he'll continue to gamble recklessly. So, sister-in-law, you have to think of a way to persuade your second aunt. I think even if your second aunt isn't willing, your younger cousin is. After all, the second branch's assets don't just belong to your second cousin; your younger cousin also owns them. Why should he squander them all by himself? If you persuade your younger cousin first, and then persuade your second aunt together, it shouldn't be a problem."

Although Master Zhou has passed away, Madam Zhou is still alive, so the second branch of the family hasn't divided the property yet, and their money is still in the common treasury. Zhou Silang is all grown up and about to get married, so naturally he doesn't want his elder brother to squander all the family's money. After all, he has a share in that money. He doesn't care if Zhou Silang squanders his own money, but he can't stand it if Zhou Silang squanders all of his. Madam Zhou said, "Eldest sister is right. I'll try to persuade Second Aunt."

Then Grandma Zhou continued, “Actually, I can be ruthless and not give them money. Although I have heard my grandfather mention that when the family was poor, he went to the Zhenguo Duke’s Mansion to borrow money, but the Duke’s Mansion didn’t give it to him and ignored him. But our situation is different from when my grandfather went to the Zhenguo Duke’s Mansion to ask for money and the Duke’s Mansion didn’t give it to him. After all, when my grandfather went to the Zhenguo Duke’s Mansion to ask for money, my great-grandfather had already passed away and no one in the family was gambling anymore. It was a bit too cold-hearted for the Duke’s Mansion not to lend money. But the gambling addict of the second branch is still around. If we don’t give him money, it will be a bottomless pit and he will keep asking us for money. I think it’s normal to do this. Outsiders probably won’t say anything about me. After all, there are many good-for-nothing gambling addicts in the capital.”

Linlang said, "That makes sense, but there will always be people who don't like our family and will use this to criticize you. So it would be best to have your second aunt break your second cousin's legs so that he can stay at home obediently."

That was indeed true, so when Madam Zhou returned home, she told Madam Zhou and Zhou Silang about it.

Because it was her own son, Madam Zhou hesitated. Although she was indeed frightened by the scene of Granny Zhou saying that she would be forced to return to her original form and continue to live a miserable life in the countryside, he was still her own son, and she was a little reluctant to part with him.

But just as Linlang said, Zhou Silang agreed without hesitation to break his brother's legs, saying that even if they weren't broken, he should be locked up and watched by servants, and not allowed to go out.

If his mother disagreed, he would want to separate from the family. He wanted half of the money his father had received from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. Then he would leave the mansion and not get involved with his brother's family anymore. No matter how much his brother misbehaved, he would not be short of money.

Although Zhou Silang was young at the time, he still remembered the hardships he had endured as a child. He didn't want to live that kind of life again, so he naturally agreed to Grandma Zhou's suggestion.

There's no such thing as a thief who can guard against thieves for a thousand days; it's only possible to do so. Therefore, when Madam Zhou finally agreed, she had her eldest son's leg broken. (End of Chapter)