Chapter 124: Mrs. Xing Presses On After Victory

Mrs. Xing picked up her teacup, took a leisurely sip, hummed and hawed for a long while, then said:

"What the old lady said is absolutely right! No matter whether the matter of lending money at interest was done by Feng Jie or not, and no matter whether the matter of subsidizing her natal family was done by the younger generation or not,"

"But the fact is, the incident definitely happened; after causing such a scene, the household has lost face, and I also think those two are no longer fit to continue managing the household!"

Mrs. Xing, without further ado, first wanted to nail down these two matters, then take away the household management authority from Feng Jie and Lady Wang before saying anything else.

Upon hearing this, Jia Mu's face darkened; how could she not know the meaning behind this foolish eldest daughter-in-law jumping out at this moment?

With your stupidity, you also want to manage the household—it's nothing short of wishing you were blind!

Even if Lady Wang and Feng Jie made mistakes, their weight in Jia Mu's heart is still far greater than that of Mrs. Xing.

Although Jia Mu was angry that the two disregarded decorum and undermined each other,

But no matter how you say it, Lady Wang is Baoyu's mother, Feng Jie can win her favor, and what does Mrs. Xing have?

She could never allow Mrs. Xing, a low-born, witless eldest daughter-in-law, to take charge of this household!

Wang Xifeng and Lady Wang knelt on the ground, heads lowered, their expressions differing.

Lady Wang merely gave Mrs. Xing a contemptuous glance, deeming it unworthy to argue with her.

As for Jia Mu's suggestion that she not manage the household, she didn't really care.

Because aside from her and Feng Jie, there was no one else in the household suitable to be the matriarch.

She knew Jia Mu had no fondness for Mrs. Xing whatsoever, making it impossible for Mrs. Xing to take over household management.

After weighing things up, San Chun had not yet left the cabinet, so the chance of her managing the household was slim.

Then the only suitable candidate was her own daughter-in-law Li Wan, as the eldest granddaughter-in-law, who could step in to temporarily act as the household manager.

In that case, the household authority still resides in our second branch—what is there to panic about?

Could it be that our own daughter-in-law would dare not to obey us?

Thus, although it appears she and Feng Jie are both losers, in fact she still holds the advantage.

Wang Xifeng evidently had also realized this; her expression darkened, and after much effort she had cleared out the Lai family, Wu Xindeng, and others, leaving no one to restrain her.

She truly did not want to see the splendid situation be snatched away by the second branch, and with a face full of grievance she cried out:

"Third Brother, Old Lady, I truly had no knowledge of the money‑lending affair; it was all done behind my back by the wife of Wang's servant!"

"Third Brother, you also know that I am constantly busy running about the household, so it's inevitable that these crafty slaves find loopholes behind my back; could you please speak a word for me?"

Wang Xifeng said this, and a few tears fell from her eyes.

This time she mainly addressed her pleas to Jia Jing, knowing that in the present situation only Jia Jing speaking up for her and backing her could turn the tide.

After today's series of events, she also came to understand things clearly.

Even the old lady must give some face to the third brother; ultimately who gets the household authority still depends on the third brother's opinion, and what the old lady says doesn't count.

She considered herself to have always been on decent terms with Jia Jing; today she even specially sent someone to inform him, and on Rong Qing Tang she cooperated with him in proposing to clean out the household slaves.

Moreover, she and the third brother are both from the main branch, so she naturally counts as one of his own people, far closer than the second branch.

But Feng Jie never expected that she hadn't even finished speaking when Mrs. Xing loudly cut her off:

"Shut up! Feng Jie's silver tongue can turn black into white! Whenever you're at fault, it's just the servants below doing it behind your back!"

"The wife of Wang's servant is your concubine—who would believe it wasn't your secret instigation! Are you really so pure and proper?"

"Pah! You don't even hold a mirror up to yourself; ask the servants below—how many of them believe your excuse?"

"You've clearly done wrong, show no remorse, and yet here you are putting on a show of grievance—who in the household doesn't know your temper, Feng Laizi?"

How could Mrs. Xing stand by and watch Wang Xifeng whitewash her own guilt? She has always disliked this daughter-in-law who is close to the second branch.

At this moment she wished she could scold her to death and ruin her reputation, not allowing her any chance to turn things around.

Wang Xifeng, scolded by Mrs. Xing, flushed with embarrassment, her fair face slightly reddened, and she cried out:

"I… I never…"

Feng Jie wanted to speak, but tears came first; at this moment she appeared rather pitiful, a stark contrast to her usual fierce and decisive Feng Laizi demeanor.

As Mrs. Xing is her mother‑in‑law, her status naturally suppresses her, so she also finds it hard to argue back!

Mrs. Xing, seizing the moment, again shouted at the weeping Wang Xifeng:

"Feng Jie, don't put on an act either! You claim it was all done behind your back by the wife of Wang's servant."

"I ask you, without your word, how could the wife of Wang's servant go to the silver vault and draw monthly funds in advance?"

"For such a long time, the household often delays the monthly stipend payments—you didn't know a thing? Not a single person ever reported it to you? You're just trying to fool ghosts!"

Feng Jie, after being berated by Mrs. Xing, had her beautiful phoenix eyes reddened, and she spoke in a low voice:

"Madam saying this about me, I really have no face to live on! I manage all the big and small affairs of the household—there aren't a hundred items, there are eighty."

"I'm busy to the point my feet never touch the ground; how could I possibly attend to every detail? How could I know every little thing the underlings do?"

"Just like when Wang Shanbao's household committed so many mistakes, even the third brother dared to bully them—wasn't the madam also unaware then?"

Feng Jie is not the type to just take a scolding without talking back; seeing Mrs. Xing press on relentlessly, wanting to pin the blame on her, she could only open her mouth to refute.

She immediately countered by bringing up the old matter of Mrs. Xing's maid, the Wang Shanbao household, and specifically pointed out how they had once oppressed Jia Jing.

Mrs. Xing was fuming at being contradicted by Feng Jie, especially this matter of the Wang Shanbao household, which felt like a stab to her lungs; she rose to her feet and shouted angrily:

"Don't go off on tangents! What we're discussing now is your affair—your honey‑laced words and double‑dealing haven't been just a day or two!"

"You've always looked down on me, this madam, and your daughter‑in‑law's character is simply not up to par!"

"The old lady also said, whether it's you who did it or your lax supervision, you can't escape blame, yet here you are grandly pretending to be wronged!"

"I think it would be best if you didn't meddle in household affairs at all!"

Mrs. Xing also didn't bother arguing with Feng Jie about the money‑lending matter; directly, as a mother‑in‑law, she pronounced Feng Jie's character to be unacceptable.

This can be said to be an extremely harsh rebuke toward Feng Jie! Even damage to her reputation is no exaggeration!

On the side, Lady Wang, seeing the mother‑and‑daughter‑in‑law conflict of the main branch, felt somewhat relieved in her heart.

And Jia Mu's old face was as black as a pot bottom; this eldest daughter‑in‑law is truly hopelessly stupid!

I had originally wanted to downplay this matter, push it onto the servants and be done with it, but she is still here making a big fuss.

Moreover, she directly, as mother-in-law, attacks Feng Jie's character, saying she is lacking— is this something that ought to be said now?

Jia Mu suppressed the anger in her heart, her face pale, and asked Mrs. Xing:

"Then, according to your opinion, who should manage this household?"