A Beautiful Duchess with a Dark Heart – Chapter 116

Chapter 116

Madam Qi’s eyes widened, and she nodded vigorously.

At this moment, the two of them were like close friends, complaining about the melodramatic aspects of their lives.

“Isn’t that exactly how it is?! Concubine Xiu Yun entered the residence at six years old. If he wanted to marry her, he had over ten years to settle it. Why the hesitation? Could it be that I, Cui Fengying, was desperate to marry into the Qi family? Although the Empress arranged the marriage, she did inquire beforehand. He could have politely declined! As if he deserved me forcing the issue!? What a joke!”

The two of them looked at each other and laughed, finding amusement amidst their shared grievances.

“Madam, in the future, I’ll tell you my stories when I can! These people are simply beyond reason!” Wen Yu said coldly, her face filled with scorn.

Madam Qi nodded in agreement. This girl was truly to her liking. “I’ll prepare a pot of good wine when the time comes, and we’ll laugh at them heartily! However, this Concubine Xiu Yun in my family is no ordinary person! I haven’t figured it out either: Tan Shi always puts on airs, being indirect and thinking she’s profound, but her true intentions are obvious! She’s incredibly superficial! How could she possibly have such a relative?!

She truly is a captivating beauty…

But in terms of appearance… she’s far inferior to Madam Hu. And not as beautiful as you! But… every gesture she makes carries a certain charm, incredibly elegant and unrestrained. It’s a beauty that’s hard to describe… I always feel that she’s either not related to the Tan family or that Tan Shi found her to win people’s hearts…”

“But she entered the residence at five or six years old. That’s a bit too early,” Wen Yu helped analyze.

“Yes, I don’t understand either… Let me continue: I gave birth to Qi Xiao, and two months later, Concubine Xiu Yun gave birth to Qi Hua…”

Madam Qi paused for a moment before continuing. “Tan Shi said she loved both grandsons very much, loved them… immensely! So, she wanted to take them both to her own courtyard to raise. And she claimed: Let the little brothers grow up together from a young age, so they’ll have a good relationship. She also said, Let me rest and recover properly!”

“Of course, I was unwilling, but at that time, I was still a new bride, shy and reserved. My husband was always busy outside, and we rarely had time to see each other. This time, he came to me and said: Be understanding of Mother’s good intentions, otherwise, it would be unfilial…” It was only at this moment that she finally realized how things had come to this.

“I had no choice but to let them take the children. I always thought I’d find a chance to bring them back.”

But how could she possibly bring them back?

When Qi Xiao was old enough to understand things, Madam Qi discovered…

“Haha… how old was Qi Xiao? I called him over to talk to him. He turned and ran, hiding behind Old Madam. In the end, rumors spread that I was dissatisfied with Tan Shi and always took it out on my son…”

If this continued, she would become a laughingstock. She thought of a way, coaxed her husband, and gave birth to Qi Wu.

“This time, my mother-in-law wanted to repeat the same trick and take Xiao Wu away as well.

But coincidentally, my father-in-law went to Xining, and my husband went to Shaanxi… I had also transformed from a shy new bride into a resentful wife. It was no longer easy for Tan Shi to manipulate me!”

Madam Qi protected her courtyard like an iron fortress, even asking her own family to intervene, and turned a deaf ear to the rumors outside.

Tan Shi tried every means but failed, so she wrote letters to her father-in-law and husband to complain.

Madam Qi burned her husband’s letters without even reading them.

Thus, she finally had a handsome, capable, and caring son.

Thinking of Qi Wu, a smile appeared on Madam Qi’s lips.

“When Xiao Wu was just starting to understand things, my mother-in-law started to win him over desperately, even asking Qi Xiao to lead Xiao Wu to her. I was at my wit’s end, so I gritted my teeth and sent Xiao Wu out of the capital to study, away from that mess.”

As time flew by, it was time for her sons to get engaged.

Unsurprisingly, no one asked for her opinion. Tan Shi made all the decisions.

“…The Xu family of Earl Ping’an, a declining family with good-for-nothing sons and daughters of questionable character. Xu Minghui, with her vulgar beauty and shallow personality, I knew she met Qi Xiao under Tan Shi’s arrangements. But I had no proof! Qi Xiao played the hero, and Xu Minghui acted weak and admiring. He took the initiative to propose to her.

What could I do if I disagreed? Tan Shi made the decision!

They seemed to be a match made in heaven, and they even resented me, thinking I looked down on Xu Minghui…

“Heh, I do look down on her! And then, my reputation as an evil mother-in-law spread far and wide.”

Madam Qi couldn’t help but laugh bitterly as she spoke.

Not to mention the wife of Old Madam’s own grandson, Qi Yue, and the wife of Qi Hua, born to Concubine Xiu Yun, Wang Shi… In terms of family background, talent, manners, and dowry, which one of them could compare to Xu Minghui?

“Now, Old Madam Tan, bypassing me, has directly handed over the household management to Xu Minghui. She controls the family’s daily expenses and even manages to skim some silver from it. She feels that her great-grandmother loves her the most and doesn’t even put me, her own mother-in-law, in her eyes!”

Qi Xiao was actually quite happy about it!

“The family’s properties in the capital are managed by the second son, Qi Hua.

✿✿✿

The elite troops of the Qi Family Army are in the Marquis’s hands, with Qi Youduan and Qi Yue assisting him.

The properties in our hometown are also in the Marquis’s hands.

Qi Youyi, taking Qi Xiao with him, travels all over the place. Wherever there’s trouble, they go there. They spend most of their time in Shaanxi. When they finish their work and return to the capital, they should be able to bring back some of the control, right?! Heh, what a life of toil!”

Even she, an “outsider,” could see clearly: Father-in-law and Mother-in-law valued Qi Youduan and Qi Yue.

Qi Youyi favored Qi Hua, born to Concubine Xiu Yun, the most.

Qi Xiao was the eldest son and grandson, seemingly in control of the Qi family, but what did he actually have in his hands?!

Madam Qi rambled on, venting her dissatisfaction.

“Wen Yu, the Qi family hasn’t given anything to my Xiao Wu! His studies at the Qin Family Academy, his martial arts training, it’s all been taken care of by the Cui family! The expenses, they were all paid by me, his mother!

Xiao Wu said, he doesn’t care about anything from the Qi family. If he wants something, he’ll earn it himself! That’s the son I raised!”

Madam Qi looked proud: The one I, Cui Fengying, personally raised is the most promising!

“Madam, you’re truly admirable! After listening for so long, this Old Madam Tan has planned everything meticulously: giving the property to her niece from her maternal family, giving the power to her own sons and grandsons…”

“Isn’t that right?” Madam Qi clapped her hands. “Usually, she loves to beat around the bush, even for trivial matters. It’s exhausting… But isn’t it all for those things? I, Cui Fengying, don’t care about them at all.”

“I asked you to come today because I wanted to tell you in advance that the old woman also had plans for Xiao Wu’s marriage. It’s disgusting, so I won’t go into details. Before I came back this time, I really slapped her in the face!”

“How did you do it?” Wen Yu asked, looking excited.

“Haha… I spread the word that I had a dream, a dream about Old Madam Zhao ━ my mother-in-law! I said: I haven’t been sleeping well! Then, I tearfully lamented my unfilial piety, saying I never served my mother-in-law and never visited her grave, not even knowing how tall the grass on her grave had grown.”

She spoke with such heartfelt emotion that people were reminded…

Right! The current Old Madam Qi is the second wife. There was an original wife before her!

Oh my, why is it up to the daughter-in-law to think of this? Why doesn’t Qi Youyi, her own son, remember?

Heh! Nurturing kindness surpasses birth kindness, I guess!

The people in the capital really talked about it for a while. Even with Tan Shi’s usually thick skin, she was embarrassed.

For so many years, she had been smooth sailing in the Qi family, acting arrogantly. She blended seamlessly with the noblewomen of the capital. Perhaps she had already forgotten that she was just a second wife without any family background…

It had been so many years since she encountered such a situation. In her anger and frustration, she truly fell ill.

But she would never let people see her as a joke. She put on a brave face and praised her eldest daughter-in-law: She’s well-mannered, a filial and good daughter-in-law!

Haha…

“Then, I wrote a letter to the Marquis, saying that I wanted to return to our hometown to repair the ancestral tombs, hold a memorial service for my mother-in-law, and renovate the ancestral home, which would require a large sum of money from our hometown’s properties.”

“My father-in-law was probably left with no choice but to agree in his reply. So, I took Xiao Wu and Xiao Si back home and took control of the properties in our hometown.”

“Just now, Wen Yu wanted to tell you, why shouldn’t we claim the Qi family’s properties?! Even if we take them and donate them during a famine, it would be a good deed. This brilliant idea, with your personality, you wouldn’t have thought of it. Who came up with it for you?” Wen Yu asked playfully.

“Hahahahaha…” Madam Qi loved her playful demeanor. “It was a good friend of Xiao Wu’s. Xiao Wu just relayed the message. Actually, he doesn’t care about these things either.”

“It’s a great idea!”

Madam Qi looked a bit embarrassed. “Actually, in those grand households in the capital, there are even more schemes and darkness than in ordinary families. You are the one I personally chose, so I feel responsible for you. I’m telling you all this because I want you to be prepared. I’ve arranged Xiao Wu’s marriage, and that old woman will definitely cause trouble! But with me and Xiao Wu here, you don’t have to be afraid!”

“Madam, although I’ve only heard you speak, I can understand that if you weren’t loyal and righteous, you wouldn’t be so upset…”

These words touched Madam Qi’s heart. If she hadn’t given birth to Qi Xiao before figuring things out… she would have long requested a divorce letter and left!

Her family wouldn’t have looked down on her. She could have traveled the world, painted the skies and the earth, how could she have ended up so stifled?

But she gave birth, and if she left, what would happen to Qi Xiao?

“You’ve hit the nail on the head! Now, let me tell you about our family’s assets…”

Hehe, Wen Yu was about to benefit. The dutiful mother-in-law was incredibly generous.