Dream of the Red Chamber: Start by gaining Zhao Yun's martial prowess, and be ennobled in a sin

Madam Xing picked up her teacup, took a leisurely sip, pondered for a long time, and then spoke:

"The old lady is absolutely right! Regardless of whether it was Sister Feng who lent money at exorbitant interest rates, or whether it was my sister-in-law who subsidized her family."

"But the incident undeniably happened. After all this commotion, the household has lost face, and I also feel that neither of them is suitable to continue managing the household!"

Regardless of the consequences, Madam Xing wanted to solidify these two matters first and then seize the power to manage the household from Sister Feng and Madam Wang.

Upon hearing this, Grandmother Jia's face darkened. How could she not know what this foolish eldest daughter-in-law meant by jumping out at this moment!

You stupid woman, you think you can manage the household? You're delusional.

Even though Lady Wang and Sister Feng made mistakes, they still held a much higher place in Grandmother Jia's heart than Lady Xing.

Although Grandmother Jia was furious that the two of them disregarded propriety and undermined each other.

But no matter what, Madam Wang is Baoyu's mother, and Fengjie can win her favor, but what does Madam Xing have?

She would never allow her eldest daughter-in-law, Madam Xing, who came from a humble background and was not very bright, to run the household!

Wang Xifeng and Madam Wang knelt on the ground, heads bowed, their expressions different.

Madam Wang merely glanced at Madam Xing with disdain, not bothering to argue with her.

She didn't really care about what Grandmother Jia told her not to manage the household affairs.

Because besides her and Sister Feng, there was no one else in the household suitable to be the mistress of the house.

She knew that Grandmother Jia had no good feelings towards Madam Xing and would never allow Madam Xing to manage the household.

After considering all the factors, since Sanchun is not yet married, the possibility of her becoming a steward is slim.

Then only his daughter-in-law, Li Wan, as the eldest grandson's wife, was suitable to step forward and temporarily act as the housekeeper.

So, the power to manage the household still rests with the second wife, what's there to panic about!

How dare my daughter-in-law disobey me!

So, although it seems that she and Sister Feng both suffered heavy losses, she actually came out on top.

Wang Xifeng had obviously thought of this as well, her expression turning gloomy. She had finally managed to wipe out the Lai family, Wu Xindeng, and others, so that there would be no one to hold her back in the future.

She was truly unwilling to see the promising situation reaped by the second wife, and with a face full of grievance, she cried out in a pitiful voice:

"Third brother, old lady, I really didn't know about lending money at exorbitant interest rates. It was all done behind my back by Wang's daughter-in-law!"

"Third brother, as you know, I'm busy every day at the manor, so these unruly servants inevitably take advantage of my absence. You must put in a good word for me..."

As Wang Xifeng spoke, a few tears welled up in her eyes.

This time, she mainly pleaded with Jia Jing, knowing that only if Jia Jing spoke up for her and supported her could the situation be turned around.

After everything that happened today, she finally understood.

Even the old lady has to give way to the third brother. Ultimately, the decision on who manages the household depends on the third brother's wishes; the old lady's opinion doesn't count.

She prided herself on having treated Jia Jing fairly well, and today she even sent someone to inform him, and in Rongqing Hall she even helped him propose to clean up the household servants.

Moreover, since both she and her third brother were from the eldest branch of the family, she was considered one of her third brother's own people, much closer than the second branch.

However, to Fengjie's surprise, before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted sharply by Madam Xing:

"Shut up! Sister Feng has a silver tongue; she can make even black seem white! If you're wrong, it's always because your servants did it behind your back!"

"Wang's daughter-in-law is your personal maid; who would believe you didn't secretly instigate her? Are you really that clean and respectable yourself?"

"Bah! Why don't you take a look at yourself in the mirror? Ask your servants how many of them believe your story!"

"You clearly did something wrong, yet you show no remorse. What are you pretending to be wronged for? Everyone in this household knows your fiery temper, Feng..."

Madam Xing could not stand by and watch Wang Xifeng clear her name; she had never liked this daughter-in-law who was close to the second branch of the family.

At this moment, I wish I could curse her to death and utterly discredit her, and not allow her to make a comeback!

Wang Xifeng, her face flushed with shame and embarrassment after being scolded by Madam Xing, said in a plaintive voice:

"I...I never..."

Before she could speak, tears streamed down her face. At this moment, she appeared somewhat pitiful, a stark contrast to her usual decisive and shrewish nature.

As her mother-in-law, Madam Xing naturally held her in a superior position, so she couldn't argue with her!

Madam Xing pressed her advantage, shouting again at the weeping Wang Xifeng:

"Sister Feng, don't pretend! You said it was all done by Wang's wife behind your back."

"I'm asking you, how could Wang's daughter-in-law have gone to the treasury to withdraw her monthly allowance in advance without your permission?"

"For so long, the household has been frequently delaying the payment of monthly wages, and you didn't know at all? Hasn't anyone complained to you? Are you trying to fool us?"

After being scolded by Madam Xing, Sister Feng, with her beautiful phoenix eyes red, said in a low voice:

"I'm so ashamed to live like this, Madam! I manage all the big and small matters in the household, at least eighty or a hundred."

"I'm so busy every day that my feet barely touch the ground, how can I possibly pay attention to everything thoroughly? And how can I possibly be aware of everything my subordinates do!"

"Just like how Wang Shanbao's wife did so many wrong things back then, even daring to bully her third brother, wasn't Madam unaware of it?"

Wang Xifeng was not the type to just take a scolding without retaliating. Seeing that Madam Xing was relentlessly pursuing her and determined to solidify her guilt, she had no choice but to speak up and defend herself.

She immediately retaliated by bringing up the past incident of Lady Xing's maid, Wang Shanbao, and even specifically pointed out that she had bullied Jia Jing in the past.

Madam Xing was furious at Feng Jie's words, especially Wang Shanbao's wife's matter, which struck a nerve. She stood up and angrily said:

"Stop talking nonsense! This is about your own business. You've been two-faced and hypocritical for a long time!"

"You've never respected me, your wife. You're a terrible daughter-in-law!"

"The old lady said that whether it was your fault or your failure to manage your subordinates properly, you can't escape blame. So why are you shamelessly pretending to be aggrieved here?"

"I think it's a good thing you don't interfere in the affairs of the household!"

Madam Xing didn't bother to discuss the issue of lending money at exorbitant interest rates with Sister Feng. Instead, she directly judged Sister Feng as having poor character, acting as her mother-in-law.

This is an extremely harsh criticism of Sister Feng! It's no exaggeration to say that her reputation has been damaged!

Seeing the conflict between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the eldest son's family, Madam Wang felt a sense of satisfaction.

Grandmother Jia's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. This eldest daughter-in-law was truly incredibly stupid!

I originally intended to downplay this matter and push the blame onto the servant, but she's making a big deal out of it.

She even directly attacked Sister Feng's character as the mother-in-law, saying that this was something that should have been said at this time.

Suppressing her anger, Grandmother Jia asked Madam Xing with a calm expression:

"So, in your opinion, who should be in charge of this household?"