A Beautiful Duchess with a Dark Heart – Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Behind the Scenes, a Mother Instructs Her Daughter

Facing a mountain of account books, Yuan Shi had a headache.

Even though she was used to it, with the accounts all memorized, handing over something she’d held for so many years still inevitably caused chaos.

More than ten years! Touching these things, her heart ached with a heavy feeling.

Since childhood, she had been proficient in poetry and literature, had beautiful handwriting, and even had insights into the depth and difficulty of the imperial examination questions each year. But when it came to these mundane affairs, she was truly clueless.

After getting married, she followed her husband to his official post.

Being away from home was different. Her husband was busy with official duties, and the household’s food, clothing, housing, and transportation all fell on her shoulders. At the very beginning, when she first took over, she was clueless and inevitably panicked, causing quite a few messes.

Fortunately, her husband was tolerant.

Running a household required money! Especially if one wanted to live a refined life.

Before long, he handed all these matters over to her. Facing such numerous and complex properties, she worried a lot. During those days, she worked tirelessly day and night, seeking advice and making calculations.

There was the frustration of taking wrong turns and the satisfaction of unexpected gains. It could be said that these properties had reached their current state thanks to her hard work. Looking at the neat and tidy accounts, every income was clearly recorded.

As for the expenses… at that time, for some reason, she had an extra thought.

She only recorded large sums and marked them as withdrawn by her husband.

Then, she kept track of those expenses in her own small account book.

Her and her daughter’s clothing and jewelry, social interactions with female friends, hiring tutors for her daughter, financial support for her maternal family… only after looking through it from the beginning did she realize that she had spent a lot of silver over the years.

Some expenses, she had even forgotten…

It was fortunate that she kept the accounts this way, otherwise how could she hand them over?

It is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality…

Entering the social circle of noble ladies in the capital, introducing her daughter to the circle of young ladies in the capital, finding a good husband for her daughter, and then there was the dowry…

She had seen those official wives without family properties, their hands always tight when spending. Would she have to be like them? Then, for whom had she toiled for all these years?

After much thought, she couldn’t help but feel a bit resentful towards her husband. With his abilities, why couldn’t he have prevented this? How did it come to this?

Wen Huan came in and saw her mother’s solemn expression. “Mother, what’s wrong?”

Yuan Shi didn’t look at her. “Sit down.”

Why so serious? Wen Huan sat down cautiously. “Are you looking at the accounts?”

Yuan Shi remained silent, until her daughter became nervous. “Mother… what’s wrong?”

Closing the account book, she said calmly, “Usually, I have taught you a lot. But after all, it’s not as clear as learning from a real-life lesson. This time, you have learned a lesson.”

“Mother, what are you talking about?” Wen Huan’s heart was uneasy.

“This time, the matter of you buying gifts was not only caught by Wen Yu, but she also used it against you.”

Upon hearing this, Wen Huan instinctively resisted. “Mother! How can you say that?!”

“You are a grown woman. In two years, you will be married. Mother won’t hide it from you…”

Her attitude made Wen Huan even more nervous.

“Your maternal grandfather’s family has a good reputation, but their assets are not abundant. When I got married, my dowry was very limited.”

In fact, although it wasn’t much, it wasn’t as meager as it later became. It was precisely because she had an affair with Wen Qian and got pregnant, which directly angered her grandfather, who then fell ill and died. Her family directed all their anger at her, treating her extremely harshly.

If her husband hadn’t given her all his private savings… she would have truly lost face.

“After I entered the household, your mother followed your father to his official post. Life at an official post is different from home. Food, clothing, housing, transportation, maintaining relationships, managing servants, and raising you three siblings all require silver. Although the Wen family and your father can provide for us without any problems, for you and I, mother and daughter, to spend as freely as we do now on clothing and other things, we rely on these…” She patted the pile of account books. “These are… the dowry of Wen Yu’s mother.”

Wen Huan blinked, feeling a little dizzy.

All along, she had whatever she wanted.

She had never thought about where the silver came from, and suddenly her throat tightened, unable to speak.

“When these were first handed over to me, it was right after the previous one passed away, and everything was in chaos. It took a lot of effort…”

“Mother… why are you… bringing this up now?” Wen Huan suddenly had a bad feeling and asked cautiously.

“Wen Yu came to claim them.”

“She, she came to claim them?! Ridiculous… truly ridiculous! She asks for them, and they must be given? Father handed them to you, you managed them, why should she get them just because she asks?!”

“Although mother managed them, although I can decide how to spend the silver earned, it doesn’t mean these things belong to us.”

“But… that’s not how it should be!”

“There’s no other way… Everything that could be moved has been moved. After selling them, I bought properties under my own name. But it’s only a small portion, these cannot be touched.”

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“Mother, Wen Yu… Grandmother and Father both dislike Wen Yu, who would stand up for her?”

“Her maternal uncle!”

“But, didn’t they say her maternal uncle committed a crime and was demoted to a place thousands of miles away?”

“He’s back. Besides, she’s just leveraging his influence. Understand?” Yuan Shi looked at her daughter seriously. “Even if her maternal uncle is just a commoner now, having this connection, she can still utilize it.”

“Just a commoner, Father can crush him!” Wen Huan said dismissively.

“Your father is about to be promoted and move to the capital, countless people are jealous and watching. That’s why she dares to act so boldly.”

“She’s so cunning! Did her maternal uncle teach her that?!” Wen Huan suddenly realized.

“It’s possible, but we won’t speculate.”

“Then how can you say it’s because of me?!” Wen Huan said unhappily, she couldn’t stand this the most.

“Because you did something wrong, she took advantage of the situation and exposed it. Your elder brother is getting married, many people are coming to the house. Besides, your grandfather is also coming back.”

When she heard about her grandfather, her mood became a little gloomy. She had only met him a few times and was a little afraid of him.

“The two elders have been at odds for many years. Your father is outstanding and can support your grandmother. Because your grandfather moved away, your grandmother can smile every day. As long as your father holds his ground, your grandfather can’t cause trouble. However, if there’s a problem with your father…”

Wen Huan was furious. “That bitch Wen Yu! Mother, if she had this in mind, she would have brought it up sooner or later, how can you blame me?!”

“You still don’t understand… Your grandfather is probably not unaware of the dowry matter. He just doesn’t care. But your father actually hit Wen Yu…”

Wen Huan pursed her lips, looking at her mother nervously.

“He hasn’t seen his legitimate eldest daughter for so many years. Your father, a man like him, would hit his daughter… If word gets out, Wen Yu’s reputation will be ruined, but can your father escape unscathed? Your grandfather will seize this opportunity and use it to suppress your father?!”

“How can it be so…” This was beyond Wen Huan’s understanding.

“Mother is telling you this today, not to blame you, but to reiterate what I’ve told you before. If you want to climb higher, you can’t be petty in your actions. Doing something foolish out of anger and getting caught is not worth it.”

“Mother! I understand.” Although still unconvinced, she didn’t argue further. “Then, do we really have to give these to her?”

“We must!”

“Huh? Mother!” Wen Huan’s eyes lit up. “Those people have been working under you for so long, don’t they all listen to you? Just a little sabotage, and she’ll be finished. Hmph! I wouldn’t give her anything, even if it means burning it all!”

“So you didn’t listen to anything I just said!!” Yuan Shi suddenly became very stern, her voice sharp and piercing.

Wen Huan’s eyes reddened after being yelled at.

Yuan Shi didn’t comfort her, but continued speaking sternly, “Since we have to hand it over, then let’s do it readily! Unwillingness and resentment, we can find a way to get it back with interest later! But we can’t be hesitant or sneaky, it’s demeaning! I usually think you’re very smart, why are you so stupid at this moment?!”

“Mother… I…” Finally, she cried after being scolded by her mother.

“Enough!” Yuan Shi said impatiently, “Why are you crying?! I didn’t comfort you, didn’t agree with you, because… no matter when, one must find the path that maximizes advantages and minimizes disadvantages.”

She raised her head, recalling her life. She had always done things this way!

“You can’t have all the good things in the world. There must be giving, before there can be receiving!”

She straightened her neck. “For example, this time, your father feels very guilty towards me. He gave me all the properties he manages and his private savings. Our life in the capital will be minimally affected by this incident.

I have the ability to make money grow. In the future… if there’s a chance to get these back… then wouldn’t I have more than I do now?”

Yuan Shi stroked the account books, a confident smile on her face.

“Ah! Mother! You’re amazing! Yes, yes! We can definitely get them back! As long as we get through this current hurdle… just a girl, we can find a way to get rid of her, and get everything back, every single penny!”

“That’s for later.” Yuan Shi looked at the pile of account books. A young girl, what would she know?

Handing them over to her would be a waste, and by the time they got them back, who knows what state they would be in!

It was truly heartbreaking!

“Mother… don’t be angry, we’ll do it as planned.”

“Yes. I hope you can grow from this experience.”

Yuan Shi once again began to instruct her daughter behind the scenes. “After your father’s promotion, the people we interact with will be different from the past. Those shrewd people in the capital, they use their power to oppress others, hide knives behind smiles, there are plenty who engage in deception. Even I have to study hard and experience it carefully.

If you want to climb higher step by step and crush Wen Yu under your feet, you must prioritize the bigger picture, be calm and collected, and not let your emotions show on your face. In these few days, I will be watching how you interact with Wen Yu. Don’t be outdone by an orphan!”

Yuan Shi looked at her daughter sternly.

“Yes, Mother!” For the first time in her life, Wen Huan felt the need to think more carefully.