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

Chapter 17 Humiliation
Lin said, "The power of housekeeping has always been given to the eldest daughter-in-law. Zhaolan has been in charge of the household for several years. She is steady and calm, and the family is in order. If I continue to give it to her, my mother will feel at ease."

"Yes, I'll follow mother's arrangements!" Su Qingwan acted submissive.

Li Xueying frowned, "No, I don't agree. I am also the eldest daughter-in-law, and I am no different from Xie Zhaolan. Why should the housekeeper's power be given to her?"

Su Qingwan naturally pretended to compete with her, "Li Xueying, go out and ask around to see which concubine can surpass the principal wife. Besides, you are pregnant, and the baby is not even in place yet, and I am still waiting for you to give birth to a son to adopt to me. There is no need to work so hard, having children is more important."

Li Xueying was so angry that she felt dizzy. Although giving birth to a son for adoption was a temporary solution after she and Lu Feng discussed it, Su Qingwan's words upset Li Xueying greatly. She thought viciously that Xie Zhaolan must die before her son was born. How could the son she had carried in her heart for ten months call Xie Zhaolan mother?

Xie Zhaolan is now competing with her for the position of housekeeper. How could Li Xueying give in?

Lin sat on the mountain and watched the fight between tigers, drinking tea leisurely. Her headache was gone and her body felt comfortable. She had two daughters-in-law with generous dowries. Without Xie Zhaolan, there was still Li Xueying. No matter what, the money had to be spent on the Lu family.

"Xie Zhaolan, you come from a merchant family and grew up in Jiangnan. How many dukes and nobles in the capital do you know? How much do you know about the marriage relationships and interest conflicts between the clans? You are in charge of the household expenses, and you will send out invitations. Who among the nobles in the city is willing to attend the banquet? What do you have to compete with me for the right to be the housekeeper?" Li Xueying came from a powerful clan, and her tone was full of contempt and arrogance.

Su Qingwan's eyes were red, and she looked like she had been wronged. "Mother, I have been the housekeeper for several years and have never made any mistakes. Even if I have no merits, I have worked hard. Mother trusts me and hopes that I will continue to be the head of the family. I also want to do my best. But since Li Xueying claims to be from a famous family and is better at household chores than I am, then let her take over. But I have to say this in advance. If Li Xueying is unable to do it, even if she begs me, I will not take back the housekeeper's power."

Lin was confused by Su Qingwan's behavior. She thought that Xie Zhaolan stopped giving money because she was divorced from the Lu family, so she plotted against Li Xueying and threw the hot potato away. She didn't expect that Xie Zhaolan was interested in the housekeeping power. Li Xueying was arrogant and spoiled, so it was not as easy to control as Xie Zhaolan. Moreover, in terms of dowry, although the Earl's Mansion was a noble family, in terms of wealth, it was not as rich as the Jiangnan wealthy Xie family.

Li Xueying's personality is so domineering. Will the housekeeper be willing to make up for the shortfall like Zhao Lan did?

Lin couldn't help but feel a little regretful. She wanted to appease Su Qingwan and leave a way out. Li Xueying said, "I learned housekeeping from my mother when I was ten years old. If you can manage it well, how can I not manage it well? Mother, rest assured to recover from your illness, leave everything at home to me."

She will not lose to Xie Zhaolan if she fights for face instead of bread.

After she became the housekeeper, the first thing she did was to stop the monthly salary of Meilanyuan. Then she would see how Xie Zhaolan would come to beg her.

Lu Feng felt relieved, thinking that Xueying was worthy of being from a famous family, she was sensible and understanding. With her in charge of household expenses and making friends with the clan, his path to success would surely be smooth.

"There are so many things going on at home. Xueying, you need to take care of them. If you don't understand something, just ask your mother."

"My dear husband, I will manage the household well so that you don't have to worry about anything. You work hard for the court, and I will take care of the household affairs properly."

Lu Feng was moved and said with emotion, "It is my great fortune to marry such a wife!"

Lin was hesitant to speak. Seeing Lu Feng's affectionate look, she felt like something was stuck in her throat and felt dizzy. Although she intended to plot against Li Xueying, she didn't expect that Li Xueying would be provoked by Xie Zhaolan's words and take over the housekeeping so quickly. Su Qingwan smiled softly, "Since you have taken over the housekeeping, you should settle some accounts first. The silks, satins, jewelry, gold and silver utensils, etc. that Lu Feng gave you when he betrothed you are worth 8,000 taels of silver. When you got married, he paid another 5,000 taels of silver, a total of 13,000 taels. Will you pay it back, or will your mother pay it back?"

Lin, Lu Feng and Li Xueying all changed their expressions. Lu Feng's face turned pale. "The gift list when I proposed marriage was prepared by my mother. It is the private property of the Lu family. The marriage was also funded by the public. Xie Zhaolan, how can I, a man of seven feet tall, use my wife's dowry to propose marriage and hold a banquet?"

Su Qingwan said calmly, "Luzhu, show him the account book."

"Yes!" Lu Zhu handed the account book to Lu Feng. Lu Feng took a look and saw that it was the money that Lin had withdrawn from Nanny Li. There was also an IOU written on it and a seal on it. It was his mother's handwriting and also her private seal.

Lu Feng looked at Lin in shock, "Mother, what's going on?"

Li Xueying felt even more insulted and snatched the account book to take a closer look.

Lin felt as if she had been slapped in the face. Her face was burning with anger and she said, "Zhao Lan, we are all family. Why do you have to be so fussy about me using a little of your money?"

At this time, Lin looked at Su Qingwan with disgust. The Xie family was just a business family. It was a great blessing for them to marry into an official family. Of course, the Xie family's money should be used to honor the Lu family. What did a woman like Xie Zhaolan need so much money for?
Su Qingwan's expression was slightly cold. Lin was usually a dignified and calm woman in the backyard. She was quite resourceful and valued her face the most. Now she was exposed for using her daughter-in-law's dowry and trying to blackmail her morally. She didn't care about her face at all.

"Mother, Lu Feng just said that as a man of seven feet tall, how can he use his wife's dowry to arrange the betrothal? If this gets out, how will his colleagues view him? Lu Feng will probably be laughed at in the future. Isn't it enough to make a fool of himself on the wedding day? Are you going to add another one?"

Lu Feng's face was extremely embarrassed. He wanted to curry favor with the powerful and rise to the top, but he was most concerned about his reputation. If people knew that he used his wife's dowry to marry a concubine, he would never be able to see anyone in his life.

"Mother, give her the money back." Lu Feng shouted, his chest heaving.

Lin's eyes went dark. To pay out more than ten thousand taels would be like asking for her life. She had used threats and bribes to get tribute from the Xie family business over the years, but she still didn't have that much money.

"Mother, what are you standing there for? Give her the banknote. Do you want your son to be laughed at by others?"

Lin felt a throbbing pain in her temples, and laughed in anger, "Feng'er, when we betrothed, mother told you that you don't have to be too ostentatious when marrying a second wife, as long as the betrothal gifts are decent. It was you who wanted to save face and give Xueying dignity. Now the betrothal gifts are all with Xueying, why is mother the one to return them?"

Li Xueying was furious when she finished reading the account book. When the Lu family offered a betrothal, the whole house was filled with red. All the sisters in the family envied her. Although she married a man of lower status, the Lu family was a noble family. Although Lu Feng was from a branch of the family, he was still a relative. He was also from a scholarly family. Lu Feng was outstanding in appearance, and he passed the imperial examination at a young age. He had a promising future and was handsome. The betrothal was so generous that Li Xueying was proud to show off and felt that she had married a good family.

Who knew...it was actually Xie Zhaolan's dowry! !
She had never suffered such humiliation since she was born.

(End of this chapter)