A wicked mother swaps her son and sucks his blood? The true legitimate daughter is reborn and goes o

"Which vault should we go to to withdraw the silver?"

As Liu's mother stepped through the door, she was startled by the old Marquis's voice and gaze.

With a clatter, the key fell to the ground.

Liu's mother hurriedly knelt down and reached out to pick up the key, but the butler snatched it away first and handed it to the old Marquis.

Keys to the main room and warehouse!

The old marquis recognized him at a glance.

Most of the Hou family's wealth is stored in the main house's storeroom, which has been entrusted to Liu Shi for safekeeping in recent years.

"Grandfather, Yan'er is not extravagant. It's just that Second Aunt felt sorry for Yan'er being frightened last night, so she wanted to buy some jewelry to calm her nerves. It was Second Aunt who wanted to give Yan'er the jewelry," Song Qingyan said.

She didn't realize what the situation truly meant.

She only wanted to appease her grandfather and didn't want to bear the bad reputation of being "extravagant".

She wasn't wrong; it was Liu who suggested giving her jewelry.

"Yes, Father-in-law, your daughter-in-law feels sorry for the young lady being frightened and wants to give her some jewelry to calm her nerves," said Madam Liu.

"To calm your nerves?"

The old marquis's gaze grew colder, and he suddenly raised his voice, "You used the eldest son's money to give her jewelry to calm her nerves?"

Lady Liu was startled by his fierceness.

But he still didn't see anything wrong with it, saying, "Yan'er is the eldest daughter of the main branch, and she should rightfully use the money of the main branch."

The old marquis was almost laughing in anger.

Over the years, Madam Liu has been in charge of the household affairs of the Marquis's mansion. She has done nothing wrong, and she has no selfish motives towards the children of the eldest son's family. On the contrary, she always puts Song Mingtang and Song Qingyan first.

Everyone says that Lady Liu is selfless and upholds the hierarchy of legitimate and illegitimate children in the Marquis's mansion.

He was also very satisfied with Liu.

Thinking back to his journey back to his residence, he encountered a court official.

The official said to him, "Lord Song, I never knew you were so wealthy. The pearl headdress you wore last night was quite an eye-opener."

I also heard people talking about how Lady Liu spent a fortune on pearls to make a pearl headdress for Song Qingyan.

He then realized that Liu's kindness towards Song Qingyan was almost to the point of spoiling her.

He doesn't care who spoils whom.

But if such pampering brings trouble to the Marquis's mansion, he can't just ignore it.

"Liu, go and bring over all the keys to the Marquis's mansion's storeroom. From today onwards, you can manage the keys to your second branch of the household, but you don't need to interfere with the others anymore," the old Marquis declared.

Liu felt as if she had been struck on the head. "Father-in-law, no, father-in-law, what did I do wrong? I will definitely change."

Even if someone has the power to manage the household, they will be hindered at every turn if they lose the key to the storeroom.

She can't lose the key!

But the old Marquis had already made up his mind. Moreover, that set of pearl jewelry was too ostentatious, and now everyone probably thought that the Yongning Marquis's mansion was rich.

The Emperor must also think so.

I wonder how much blood the Marquis's mansion will have to shed this time.

The old Marquis was distressed by the loss of money and harbored even more resentment towards Lady Liu and Song Qingyan.

They have damaged both the reputation and the profits of the Marquis's mansion; the two of them are truly foolish and hateful.

The old marquis, seething with anger, barked at his steward, "Steward, go with Granny Liu again. Make sure you don't forget any of the keys!"

The butler obeyed and quickly brought back the keys.

The old Marquis took away the keys to the Marquis's mansion's storeroom, and also took away the keys to the main storeroom.

How could Lady Liu be willing to let the power she had always held be taken away?

With a pale face, she asked the old Marquis, "Why? Father-in-law, why did you take away my keys? I have always managed the Marquis's mansion very well."

"Why? Have you forgotten that pearl headdress? You let Qingyan flaunt it at the palace banquet. Do you think just donating that pearl headdress is enough?" The old Marquis was furious.

Liu was as stupid as a pig.

How dare you ask why?

Only then did Liu realize the seriousness of the matter.

Her father-in-law was blaming her for ordering that pearl headdress, which he said had brought trouble to the Marquis's mansion!

"Those pearls were a gift from Qingning. It's all Qingning's fault." Madam Liu's eyes flickered, eager to shirk responsibility.

These words were so heartless that the servants felt deeply hurt upon hearing them.

He flaunted his wealth by taking other people's pearls and then blamed them.

Liu seemed to think that this reason was untenable.

She hurriedly added, "Father-in-law, if you take the key away, who will take care of it? You are getting old, and only your daughter-in-law can shoulder this responsibility in the household."

Thinking of this.

Lady Liu finally felt a little relieved.

Since no one is in the Marquis's residence, only she can keep the key; the old Marquis can't take it away.

But the Marquis's mansion has never had more than one daughter-in-law.

Lady Liu had always been in charge of the household affairs of the Marquis's mansion, and had completely neglected Lady Lu, but Lady Lu was the true mistress of the Marquis's mansion.

Song Qingning looked out of the hall.

The sun was shining brightly outside the hall, and Xiang'er was already waiting silently in the sunlight.

Song Qingning smiled and gave Xiang'er a look.

Xiang'er understood and immediately came in. "Madam sent me to ask what happened here just now, why was it so noisy?"

The lady she referred to was Lady Lu, the wife of the Marquis.

The old marquis narrowed his eyes.

How could he, the dignified Marquis of Yongning, be threatened by a mere Lady Liu?

He immediately replied, "The keys to the Hou Mansion's storeroom and the eldest son's storeroom should be managed by the eldest son's family. As the matriarch, Madam Lu should also be in charge of managing the household affairs."

"Liu, go and fetch the mistress's seal and return it to Lu."

Lady Liu was struck dumb.

"No, no, I won't hand it over. Madam Lu is frail and can barely take care of herself. How can she manage such a large manor?" Madam Liu said anxiously.

She tugged at Song Qingyan, signaling her to say something on her behalf.

But the old Marquis didn't give them a chance.

"Steward, go and fetch it again. Also... Qingyan." The old Marquis looked at Song Qingyan.

The cold gaze sent a chill down Song Qingyan's spine; she had a bad feeling.

But then she heard her grandfather say, "You lost face in the palace last night. Your reputation for extravagance is never good. I have a way to salvage some of your reputation."

"Grandfather, are you going to help me?" Song Qingyan was surprised and delighted, but the chill she had just felt still lingered.

"Of course I'll help you," the old Marquis said.

"Over the years you have acquired quite a few pieces of jewelry. Now that Runan County has suffered a disaster, the Emperor is collecting donations from various households."

"Take out all your jewelry and donate it to the Marquis's mansion. Let the world and the Emperor see your sincerity, and they will know that your extravagance has been misunderstood."

The old Marquis was very shrewd in his calculations.

This time, the Yongning Marquis's mansion will definitely have to spend some money.

Rather than taking what belongs to the Marquis's family, it's better to take what belongs to Song Qingyan.

She has to clean up the mess she made.

After saying these words, the steward brought the household seal, and the old marquis took the seal and the key, then turned and left.

Completely ignoring Song Qingyan's astonishment and dejection.

Take...her jewelry?!

"How could you take my jewelry? Second Aunt..." Song Qingyan instinctively turned to Liu for help whenever she encountered a problem.

But Lady Liu was also preoccupied with her own problems at the moment.

Her key and the family seal were taken away, and she was so angry that her face turned red, her eyes filled with defeat and resentment.

not only that.

The manager of Jinyuzhai, who had been waiting for a long time, stepped forward with the bill.

"Madam, Miss Song, if you still want these things, you can pay for them. If not, I'll take them back. But that damaged jade bracelet..."

"If you don't pay the full price, you'll have to go see the authorities."