Raising a wife? The mistress of the Hou family divorced and remarried her younger uncle

Chapter 13: Finding the Fox's Tail
Xuedan accompanied Lu Yunshu out of Meilan Garden.

Xuedan said, "Young lady, the young lady is becoming more and more aggressive now. She talks back to the first lady and no longer pampers the fourth lady. She is still as nice to our young lady as before."

Lu Yunshu glanced at the box in Xuedan's hand and said, "Do you think my sister-in-law is doing me a favor by giving me a box of precious jewels?"

"Isn't it?"

"Fourth sister is so favored, and my sister-in-law humiliated her in public and gave me such fine jewelry. She must hate me to death."

Xuedan was surprised. "Since the girl has seen it, why did you accept it?"

"I'd be happy to piss off Lu Yunxiu."

Lu Yuntang also came personally to return the jewelry. Su Qingwan followed suit and gave him a pair of excellent jade bracelets. Lu Yuntang loved them so much that he left happily.

The Lin Mansion is so small and well-informed. Lin and Lu Yunxiu also received the news. Lu Yunxiu was crying and refusing to return Xie Zhaolan's dowry. Seeing Su Qingwan acting like this, she couldn't help but sneer, "I thought she had changed her temper and really become tough, but it turns out she is a paper tiger. It seems that she was just being quick-witted in the dining hall, and she gave up when she returned. She also gave such good things to the second and third sisters. I'll see how she compensates me later!"

Lin said, "Zhaolan has always been modest. I think she was just disappointed for a moment. She didn't mean to humiliate you. Return these things. She has a lot of good jewelry in her storehouse. She will definitely give you better ones."

"Hmph, I guess so!" Lu Yunxiu asked the maids to return the things.

Most of the things in Meilan Garden were sent to Lu Yunxiu's yard, except for the insert screen and the standing screen, one of which was in the old lady's yard and the other in Lin's room. The old lady had been recuperating in the old house for more than a year. After Xie Zhaolan passed away and Lu Feng remarried, she never came to Beijing. Lin thought that the screen was noble and wanted to please the old lady, so she sent it to her room. It was easy to deal with it while the old lady was not back home.

She really loved the screen in her room and looked at it every day. The Xie family was wealthy and had spent a lot of effort on their daughter's dowry. It was a good thing and she was reluctant to bump it.

Since Su Qingwan had said in public that the screen would be returned, they couldn't keep it for the sake of their face. Thinking of how Su Qingwan treated Lu Yunshu and Lu Yuntang, she hinted that the screen would be returned to her courtyard, and the Lin family didn't care.

The things were delivered to Meilan Garden. Nanny Li took the list and counted them. She kept a record of how many things Lin and Lu Yunxiu had moved away. The things were returned in a haphazard manner. There were some miscellaneous items, and Su Qingwan didn't want to argue with them. There were two large boxes of jewelry alone, not to mention the rare treasures, furniture, etc. in the courtyard. Su Qingwan's eyes were slightly cold. It was really bullying.

The eldest wife's family all lay on my sister's body and sucked her blood, wishing they could suck her bone marrow dry.

Lu Yunxiu thought that Su Qingwan would treat her like Lu Yuntang and Lu Yunshu, and would add some things and say some soft words. She was arrogantly waiting for Su Qingwan to please her, but she didn't expect Su Qingwan to count the things and order her to leave. "Second sister and third sister returned the things, but not only did you not take them, you also gave them jewelry. Why are you so mean to me?" Lu Yunxiu asked dissatisfiedly.

Su Qingwan said calmly, "I can give my things to whoever I want to give them to. It's none of your business."

Lu Yunxiu was furious, but couldn't do anything to Su Qingwan, so she left in anger and turned to Lin to complain.

Su Qingwan ordered people to move all the things back, and after everything was packed up, she took Luzhu out. Now that she had the dowry in her hands, she naturally had to take back the shop as well.

In the main courtyard, Lin listened to Lu Yunxiu's crying with an unhappy look on her face. She thought that Xie Zhaolan was really rebellious and didn't even give them and their daughter any face.

She was annoyed by Lu Yunxiu's crying, so she said a few perfunctory words and used her own dowry to subsidize Lu Yunxiu, and finally coaxed her daughter. After Lu Yunxiu left, Nanny Chen beside Lin said, "The eldest young master's wife must be resentful and deliberately targeted Madam and the fourth sister."

Lin had a severe headache. She was restless early in the morning, full of worries. She pinched her brows and asked, "Do you think... is she really Xie Zhaolan?"

"Her personality has changed. She says soft words but does hard things, and won't suffer any loss. But looking at that face and that temperament... she is indeed the eldest young master's wife." Nanny Chen said truthfully.

Lin said sullenly, "Except for her face, everything else is different. Her temperament, tone of voice, and eating habits are nothing like Xie Zhaolan. I'm afraid she is a lowly maid from somewhere, pretending to be a ghost."

"My wife, even if you are angry, you have to hold it in. No matter whether she is... she has the support of the eldest princess."

Lin knew very well that if he had only been meritorious in saving the emperor, how could he have received such an imperial decree to protect the entire family? It must have been an extraordinary favor.

"She is strong and overbearing, relying on the support of the eldest princess. Li Xueying is stupid and bad-tempered, neither of them is easy to deal with. Brother Feng is having a hard time, and I don't know how the fight will turn out. When I agreed to this marriage, I thought I could get into the Earl's Mansion. Now, it's good enough that we don't become enemies." Lin said viciously, "Xie Zhaolan, how can you come back from the dead!"

Nanny Chen hurriedly advised, "Madam, no matter how dissatisfied you are, you have to endure this period of time. The eldest young master's wife in the deep mansion has never suffered and has not learned a lesson."

"Yes, no matter who she is, I will find out who she is. But now she is protected by the imperial decree, so I will avoid her for now. When the storm is over, she will have her time!"

(End of this chapter)