Marrying a treacherous official

Faced with such unfounded accusations, Yunji would never suffer in silence like other women. No matter what, she always insisted on persuading people with reason.

Aunt Du hurriedly reached out to stop her, "Madam, just bear with it, don't pay attention to what that person said."

Yunji gently brushed her hand away. "Auntie, I can't bear it anymore, and I can't tolerate this either."

She walked steadily to Zheng Shi and greeted her with proper decorum.

"I've met my mother and my great-aunt."

"You're the Gu family woman that the master married?"

Zheng was the most senior among the women in the clan; even Old Madam Cui had to respectfully address her as "elder sister-in-law."

Relying on her position, she acted arrogantly and domineeringly in the Marquis's mansion. She would confront the new bride with insults and abuse at the slightest disagreement, and no one dared to stand up and say a word to dissuade her.

"I'm asking you a question, why aren't you saying anything?"

"Auntie, you don't know, Master is very protective of her. You can't easily speak ill of or scold the First Madam."

Yu sat idly to the side, fanning the flames.

Upon hearing this, Madam Zheng could no longer suppress her rising anger. In front of the clan, she was determined to give Yunji a severe scolding.

"You are too weak and keep giving in, which is why your new wife under your command bullies you and you have to split up the family."

The moment the words "separate the family" were uttered, the entire main courtyard fell silent.

Yu's silence silently confirmed the truth and credibility of these words.

While the Marquis is still alive, the new bride has already caused a scandal by dividing the family property. Such immorality and filial impiety have committed the first of the seven grounds for divorce. The Cui family clan has every right to decide to kick Yunji out of the house.

Yunji stood before the two elders and replied with a faint smile:

"Whose property does my great-aunt want to divide?"

"What a sharp tongue she has, always good at spreading rumors and gossip."

Madam Zheng, leaning on her cane, slowly stood up, walked unsteadily to her side, and shouted in a menacing voice:

"Who exactly is it that never goes to the main courtyard to pay respects to their mother-in-law morning and evening, and to serve her with utmost respect? And who is it that, while their parents were still alive, caused a ruckus by moving to a separate courtyard, usurping the power of the mistress of the house, and displaying the majesty of the mistress of the house to the outside world?"

"Forgive my ignorance, but please enlighten me, Grandmother, which family has such a corrupt tradition that it has raised such an unfilial and disrespectful woman? Aren't you afraid of becoming the laughingstock of the entire capital?"

Despite Zheng's furious outburst of insults, Yunji remained detached, saying lightly:

"Unlike our Marquis's mansion, where our grandmother was kind and compassionate, and devoutly recited scriptures to pray for the smooth and peaceful life of the mansion. She never mentioned dividing the family property. Our mother managed the household affairs, and her division of power brought prosperity to the whole mansion. She also never mentioned dividing the family property."

She pressed on, her sharp tongue gleaming, "But I wonder, whose family is being divided when my great-aunt keeps talking about dividing the family property?"

These words instantly awakened Zheng Shi. She turned around abruptly and looked at Lady You, the Marquis, who was sitting idly to the side, her eyes filled with anger at being schemed against.

The division of the family property, which neither of the two heads of the Hou family had mentioned, was shouted out by her, an "outsider." Wasn't the Hou lady using her as a pawn to secretly reap the benefits?

Once the arrow is released, there's no turning back.

Since Zheng had already stepped forward to take on this mess, she was determined not to slink back in disgrace and lose face, never to be able to hold her head high in front of the younger generation again.

"Has the First Madam ever been assigned to a different courtyard?"

"Grandma, you don't know this, but I was just following Grandma's instructions to help my mother."

When Yunji mentioned the past, her deep affection was evident in her words.

"After giving birth to the Third Master, Mother's health deteriorated significantly. Three months ago, she put aside the household affairs and went to the West Villa to recuperate, leaving the internal affairs to the dowry nanny."

She brought up the old matter in front of Madam You, intending to slap Madam You in the face.

"Unexpectedly, that old woman lost her discipline and became so arrogant that she didn't respect her master. She spoke carelessly and almost caused the Marquis to lose his title and be impeached by the officials. In a fit of anger, the Marquis banished the old woman from the manor. Only then was I ordered to take over the affairs of Qinghui Courtyard and the Four Great Estates."

Everything she said was true, but the reason was not like that.

However, the logic was so rigorous that anyone who heard it couldn't help but nod in agreement.

Madam You sat on the rosewood armchair, her expression unchanged, but inwardly she gritted her teeth in hatred.

Madam Zheng pressed on, still unwilling to let her off the hook, saying:

"What is the meaning behind the First Madam's decision to send the maids and servants back to Minghe Hall?"

"It's still about relieving my mother's worries."

Yunji has always held grudges. The past when Madam You made things difficult for her is still vivid in her mind. New and old grudges surged up at once, and she returned them all in front of her clansmen.

"The three hundred acres of farmland that the Emperor bestowed upon my uncle have been left unattended. I begged my mother for help, but unfortunately, she was even more short-handed than I was. The stewards were all doing multiple jobs, and they couldn't spare a single person to manage my farmland."

She flattered Madam Cui, saying:

"Fortunately, my grandmother lent a helping hand and transferred the servants of Beizhuang to my name for management. I transferred the servants to Qinghui Courtyard so that I could free up manpower to be assigned to Minghe Hall, thus relieving my mother's urgent need for manpower."

The matriarchs in charge of the household all understood the implied meaning in those words.

No matter how heavy the household affairs were, there would always be someone available to help the First Madam.

Lady Hou showed no regard for the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, taking things to such an extreme. No wonder the First Madam so "dignifiedly" revealed the matter, making it known to everyone in the clan.

Seeing that Lady Hou remained silent and let her take the lead, Madam Zheng suspected that everything Lady Gu said was true, which was why Lady Hou had no face to argue.

Now that she's isolated and helpless, it's become that she's the one causing trouble for no reason. She doesn't even know where to put her face!

But she was used to being domineering and was unwilling to bow down to a junior, so she continued to pester him:

"Has the First Madam performed the morning and evening greetings for the Lady of the Marquis?"

"some."

Yunji thought to herself that paying respects to Madam You on the first and fifteenth of the month in Cishou Hall could be considered a morning and evening greeting.

Zheng insisted on finding out her mistakes so that she could severely reprimand her.

"Is it someone who goes to pay their respects every day?"

Yunji could no longer try to get away with it by being vague.

Although her grandmother had previously exempted her from the morning and evening greetings, in the eyes of the clan elders, especially under Zheng's reprimand, this matter was utterly improper.

She couldn't reveal her grandmother's good intentions in order to protect herself, thus putting her grandmother in a difficult position.

Just as she was about to relentlessly endure Zheng's insults, Granny Kong steadily walked up to her and said:

"The master summoned the madam over so that they could sit down and dine together."

Yunji looked in the direction from which Granny Kong had come and saw Cui Zeming standing outside the moon gate, drawing his longsword from its sheath and blatantly holding it in his hand, letting the longsword gleam with a cold light.

The usually arrogant Zheng was so shocked that she fell silent.