Tianliangyuan

Chapter 332: Sister-in-law is like a mother

Xie Qiao isn't a bad person, just a bit arrogant.

Upon learning that her two half-sisters had received a raise while she had not, she was naturally upset and went to her mother in tears to demand an explanation.

So, Madam Lin went to Madam Yu to demand an explanation, and after a while, the matter escalated to the point where it reached the old lady's ears.

Fortunately, there was no one else in the house at the time, so no one could see the family's shameful secret.

"What's going on! This is outrageous! There are so many guests in the house right now, can't you even behave yourselves?"

Madam Lin wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, looking aggrieved. "Mother, it's not that we're being unreasonable, it's just that Second Sister-in-law went too far. There's always been a distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children. How can our dignified Duke's mansion possibly break this rule?"

Madam Yu said coldly, "Sister-in-law, don't talk nonsense! There is a distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children, and I have never broken this rule."

"Hmph! You talk a good game, but now that Sanlang is in power and his wife is favored by the Emperor, you're all eager to curry favor with him. Who doesn't know that those two concubine's daughters are getting better every day? If it were just some food, clothing, and daily necessities, that would be one thing, but now even their monthly allowances have increased! Second sister-in-law, you're so biased!"

The old lady was taken aback upon hearing this and looked at Madam Yu: "The monthly allowance has been increased?"

Madam Yu quickly stood up and bowed: "Reporting to Mother, that's not true. But the food has been improved. This was something that Sanlang's wife specifically mentioned to me, and you agreed to it at the time."

The old lady nodded: "Yes, I know about this. These young ladies are at the age of marriage, so they really can't have a bad diet. If they don't look well when they go out, people will say that we are mistreating our illegitimate daughters."

Madam Yu nodded: "That makes sense. So, apart from the food, the only other thing is the clothing for all four seasons. The same rules apply, the fabric hasn't changed, but there's just one more set for each season."

The old lady thought about it and realized it wasn't a big deal. After all, they were all of marriageable age, and girls need to dress up nicely to find a good match.

"Fourth brother's wife, your second sister-in-law is right. I agreed to all of these things. And if your second sister-in-law said there was no increase in monthly allowance, then there definitely wasn't."

"impossible!"

Xie Qiao stepped forward and pointed at Xie Chan and Xie Juan: "You two tell me yourselves, has the price gone up or not?"

The two sisters dared not challenge their fifth sister, so they forced themselves to reply.

“Grandmother, our monthly allowance started to increase from the first month after Third Sister-in-law entered the family. The monthly allowance is two strings of cash and six hundred coins.”

Xie Juan followed closely behind: "Grandmother, my monthly allowance is the same."

The old lady and Madam Yu exchanged a glance before realizing something was wrong.

"Your monthly allowance is still the same as before, six hundred cash. I haven't raised it!"

After Yu finished speaking, she thought of Xu Zhaozhao and said, "Mother, perhaps Sanlang's wife made a mistake. I have already made separate payments to her for the expenses of the eldest son's family, as you know."

The old lady nodded and soon ordered someone to invite Xu Zhaozhao over.

"Zhaozhao, tell me yourself, what happened?"

Xu Zhaozhao thought it was something big, but it was just a small amount of money, so why was the fourth branch of the family making such a big fuss about it?

"Grandmother, there are no problems with the money and accounts sent by Second Aunt. Their monthly allowance is one string of cash and six hundred coins. The remaining one string of cash was added by me as the head of the eldest branch. This was also done after consulting with Third Brother."

The old lady squinted, as if realizing that she seemed to have overlooked something.

Yu was quick-witted and understood in an instant.

Xie Zheng agreed. Xu Zhaozhao had used the name of the eldest branch to promote her, which was actually a subtle way of telling everyone that although the sixth and seventh young ladies were born out of wedlock, they were legitimate daughters of the Duke's mansion, and their father was the Duke. This was unlike the daughters of the second and fourth branches, who, even if they were born of the legitimate wife, were only the nieces of the current Duke.

At that moment, Ms. Yu felt a chill run down her spine.

She never expected that Xu Zhaozhao, the new bride, would be willing to stand up for her two illegitimate daughters.

At this moment, she was extremely grateful that she had never mistreated these two illegitimate daughters; otherwise, she feared she would have been targeted by the eldest son's family.

Before Xiaolin could react, she said sarcastically, "Oh, the eldest son's family is really different! Not only do they give us clothes and jewelry, but they also give us a raise in monthly allowance. Third son's wife, you've gone too far. They're all sisters, so why do you only care about these two illegitimate girls and ignore us and the girls from the second son's family?"

Oops!

Madam Yu was secretly annoyed, regretting that she hadn't shut up Madam Lin sooner.

Upon hearing this, the old lady's expression changed slightly.

Xu Zhaozhao smiled and said, "What are you saying, Fourth Aunt? My cousins ​​all have close elders to take care of them, so why would I need to do anything? It's my sixth and seventh sisters who, as the eldest daughters of the main branch, have always troubled Grandmother. Now that I, as their sister-in-law, have married into the family, it's only natural that I should help Grandmother share her burdens. Although I am not an elder, my mother-in-law passed away early, so it's not too much for me to say that an elder sister-in-law is like a mother, is it?"

The old lady glared at Madam Lin with a stern face, "You're so quick to speak!"

Kobayashi's expression froze; she seemed to have forgotten about this.

If we really put Xu Zhaozhao's actions on the table, even if it caused a scene in the palace, we would have to praise her for being magnanimous and reasonable as a sister-in-law. Who could say that she didn't know the rules?

The eldest son's family has no proper matriarch, so what's wrong with her, as the eldest daughter-in-law, helping to take care of her two half-sisters?

Not only is it correct, it deserves a lot of praise from the elders!

Ms. Kobayashi awkwardly shut her mouth, her head bowed, not daring to look at anyone in the room.

At this moment, Xie Qiao realized that she not only failed to get justice for herself, but also seemed to have caused trouble.

"Alright, it wasn't a big deal to begin with. We were negligent in this matter, and Sanlang's wife did the right thing. Xie Chan and Xie Juan are both from the eldest branch of the family, and as their elder sister-in-law, Sanlang's wife naturally has to take good care of them."

Madam Yu immediately stated, "Mother is right. Zhaozhao is also doing this for the good of our Duke's Mansion."

The old lady nodded, agreeing that her second daughter-in-law was the most reliable.

"Since that's the case, there's no need for the eldest son's family to make separate subsidies from now on. Forget about the subsidies from before. Second son's wife, from now on, raise the monthly allowance for the sixth and seventh sons to two strings of cash and six hundred coins. As for other expenses, you and the third son's wife can discuss and arrange them."

"Yes, mother."

Madam Yu knew perfectly well that the old lady had figured out the key to the matter.

Although she was born out of wedlock, she was the legitimate daughter of a Duke, and also the future Duke's younger sister.

Therefore, they really cannot be treated as ordinary concubine daughters.

In particular, Xie Zheng had no biological brothers or sisters, and in terms of blood relations, his two half-sisters were the closest to him.

Ms. Yu actually felt a little regretful; she should have realized this sooner.