Chapter 98: You Just Need To Listen To Me
Madam Zhou’s eyes flickered slightly, with some hesitation in her heart.
Seeing this, Madam Kang Zhou continued to press harder.
“Jiang Ruanxi is just scaring you here, deliberately making the matter sound so serious to create a gap between you and me, to make us turn against each other. Then no one will help you come up with ideas, and she can bully you as much as she wants. Don’t fall for her trick.”
Madam Zhou had already been wary and disgusted with Jiang Ruanxi deep down. Now with Madam Kang Zhou saying this, the balance in her heart had gradually tilted.
They had grown up together since childhood, so Madam Kang Zhou understood what Madam Zhou was thinking with just one expression.
Knowing that she had already been swayed by her words, she added more fuel, persuading her with reason and emotion under false pretenses.
“My good sister, how could I harm you? Think about it yourself—who is the one with blood ties to you, and who is the closest to you?”
Yes, her own sister was the one with blood ties to her. Although Jiang Ruanxi had lived under the same roof with her for so many years, she had no blood relation to her, and their relationship was not close.
Moreover, lately, she had been paying less and less attention to her.
Madam Zhou’s heart completely sided with Madam Kang Zhou. “Sister, I naturally believe you.”
Unexpectedly, with just a few words from her, Madam Zhou completely believed her. Madam Kang Zhou felt extremely proud inside.
As long as Madam Zhou believed her, even if Kang Qihui could not win over Wei Chang now, this trip was not in vain.
She wanted to get rid of Jiang Ruanxi and then take her dowry for herself.
Madam Kang Zhou’s eyes turned, and she pretended to casually say, “Sister, you told me before that the Lin Family’s silver money is now all in Jiang Ruanxi’s hands. If you want it, what should you do?”
Madam Zhou did not think much of it, assuming Madam Kang Zhou was just chatting casually.
“She handles the usual household expenses. She gives me a little every month for daily spending. If there are other expenses, I directly ask her for them.”
Madam Kang Zhou’s mouth twitched, looking at Madam Zhou with hatred for her incompetence.
“No wonder Jiang Ruanxi has you under control. How can you be so honest? Why not find an opportunity to ask her for more money and save some private property for yourself?”
“We are all one family, and the Lin Family’s industry does not have much left. Many of the Lin Family’s expenses are deducted from her dowry. How could I have the nerve to ask her for it?”
“You treat her as family, but does she treat you as family?” Madam Kang Zhou continued to stir things up. “Besides, she says the Lin Family’s industry is gone, and you just believe her? Now that she has married into the Lin Family, her dowry is also the Lin Family’s money. Why do you need to divide it so clearly with her?”
Madam Zhou seemed to somewhat understand and somewhat not, probing as she asked, “Sister means…”
“Her methods are so powerful; it’s hard to guarantee she won’t take the Lin Family’s industry for herself. You need to quickly make her spit it out, casually save some pocket money for yourself. In the future, when you can’t move anymore, you won’t have to look at others’ faces, right?”
This undoubtedly hit Madam Zhou right in the heart. Last time, for Lin Ningkun’s future prospects, she had put in all her remaining dowry.
Now her hands were so tight that she didn’t dare go out and was reluctant to buy a decent piece of jewelry.
Moreover, Jiang Ruanxi had now reduced the monthly allowance to less than ten taels of silver per month, which was simply not enough.
If she had to ask Jiang Ruanxi every time, she really couldn’t bring herself to do it.
“Then what should I do?” Madam Zhou completely believed Madam Kang Zhou. “She doesn’t respond to soft or hard approaches; I have no way to start.”
A gleam flashed in Madam Kang Zhou’s eyes. “If open methods don’t work, we can try covert ones. Sister, you just need to listen to me.”
**
Jiang Ruanxi returned to the room and called Hong Ye over.
“Go deliver a message to the clan leader, and tell him about what Kang Qihui did today.”
Hong Ye was stunned but quickly understood, her eyes shining with excitement, her face full of a brilliant smile as she gave Jiang Ruanxi a thumbs up.
“Madam, this move of yours is truly brilliant. Once the clan leader knows that the Kang Family people are doing these things and losing the Lin Family’s face, he definitely won’t let them continue staying in the Lin Family. The Old Madam will have no choice but to make them leave.”
“Whether they leave or not is still uncertain. I just see that Mother has been too idle lately; I need to find something for her to do, right?”
Jiang Ruanxi went to the desk, wrote a letter, sealed it, and handed it to Hong Ye. “Have someone send this letter to Second Miss. Since Aunt is here, she should come to visit, right?”
Ever since Jiang Xuerou’s matter, Lin Qingxu had not returned to the Lin Family, not even contacting her at all.
Even when her noble title was stripped in the Lin Family, she had not come back.
However, it was understandable. Her nominal daughter-in-law had gotten together with her own biological younger brother, and her nominal grandson had almost become her nephew. With such a chaotic relationship, how could she have the mood to come back.
Fortunately, the final result was that the bloodline was not disordered.
But just this matter alone was enough to make her the laughingstock of the Capital, unable to hold her head high in the Li Family.
When Lin Qingxu received the message, she hesitated several times but still agreed.
The next day, she returned to her maternal home.
Upon seeing Jiang Ruanxi, her expression was still a bit unnatural. “Second Sister-in-law, I am truly sorry. Our Marquis has been very angry these days, and I haven’t had time to come back to visit.”
Although she did not say what he was angry about, Jiang Ruanxi knew it was because of Lin Ningkun and Jiang Xuerou’s matter.
She warmly took her hand as before. “Second Sister need not explain. I understand your feelings. The one who should apologize is me.”
“How have you wronged me, Second Sister-in-law? You are also a victim. Who would have thought that Second Brother, with his dignified appearance, could do such a shameless thing.” Lin Qingxu did not vent her anger at Jiang Ruanxi for this matter.
On the contrary, she felt that Jiang Ruanxi definitely did not know about Lin Ningkun doing such a dirty thing.
Keeping a pampered common outer chamber was one thing, which would mostly ruin his own reputation, but hooking up with Jiang Xuerou was clearly stepping on the face of the Lin Family clan members and the Li Family.
That was not all; Madam Zhou knew about it and even helped Lin Ningkun conceal it, which was simply aiding the tyrant.
“After the Marquis learned of this, he was extremely angry and did not allow me to return to my maternal home. Fortunately, Xiao Ge’er is indeed his biological grandson. After some time, the Marquis’s anger subsided, and I bitterly pleaded with him before he agreed.”
Seeing her pale face and swollen cheeks, Jiang Ruanxi understood that the matter was probably not as simple as Lin Qingxu made it seem on the surface.
“By the way, I heard you say that Aunt is here?”
After some pleasantries and sighs, Lin Qingxu finally got to the main point.
“Yes, she…”
“Oh, Qing Xu, you’ve come.”
Before Jiang Ruanxi could finish speaking, Madam Kang Zhou’s loud voice came through.
