A Warning

Both the old lady and Lady Wei were well aware of this.

Therefore, Lady Wei tried her best not to cross the old lady's bottom line. She only scolded and beat Zhao Yuanliang, Zhao Ruyu, Zhao Rurui, and a few concubines and servants from the second branch of the family. As far as the old lady was concerned, as long as Lady Wei's words and actions were not excessive or overstepped the line, the old lady would turn a blind eye to her.

Now that Lady Wei and Xu Xi have had a conflict, the old lady knows that Lady Wei is angry and has a bad temper. She is smart enough not to face Lady Wei directly, but instead asks Zhao Yuanliang to speak. This is to avoid the two sides getting into a heated argument that could escalate and lead to a family division.

Everyone was in the mansion, and soon the three of them arrived at the main courtyard one after the other.

As the eldest sister-in-law, Lady Zhu was like a mother to her, so she didn't need to be too discreet with her brother-in-law, Zhao Yuanliang.

Once the three of them were all present, the old lady spoke up, "Yuanliang knows about Miss Xi's matter. However, your elder brother and sister-in-law do not. A-Jin, you should tell the Marquis and his wife about it."

Matron Jin then recounted the whole story to Zhao Yuanxun and Lady Zhu.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yuanxun frowned and looked at Zhao Yuanliang: "Second brother, the unrest in your household is causing Mother no peace. She's already exhausted these past few days, and now that we've brought Miss Xi back, she still has to worry about these trivial matters. If this continues, I'll have to separate your branch of the family. That way, Mother won't have to worry about you all the time."

His ideas differed from the old lady's.

He was sickly from childhood and felt his lifespan was limited, so he took a detached view of wealth and luxury. In addition, he lacked energy and had no desire to bother with the trivial matters of managing a large family, so he always advocated dividing the family property. Let the Marquis's mansion fall into ruin; he only wanted to live a more leisurely and peaceful life for the rest of his days, instead of having a large family scheming and quarreling, causing his elderly mother worry and keeping his wife Lady Zhu, busy.

The mere mention of dividing the family property sent Zhao Yuanliang into a panic. He knew he was incompetent, unable to manage household affairs or control his wife. The leisurely life he enjoyed now was entirely due to his stepmother, elder brother, and sister-in-law.

"Mother, elder brother, I will discipline Lady Wei properly, and I will treat Miss Xi well and never let her suffer any injustice," he promised.

The old lady took a leisurely sip of tea, placed the teacup on the table, and scoffed, "Second Brother, haven't you told me many times to discipline Lady Wei properly?"

Zhao Yuanliang's face immediately turned bright red, and after a long while, he stammered, "Then... then what does Mother think we should do about this?"

"As the head of the second branch of the family, it's natural that you should make the decision." The old lady naturally wouldn't give anyone a handle to use against her, so she simply passed the buck back to Zhao Yuanliang.

Having spent over thirty years with his mother, Zhao Yuanliang knew the old lady quite well.

He stood up and bowed deeply to the old lady. "With Mother and Elder Brother in the hall, how can Yuanliang make decisions? All matters concerning the Second Branch are at the behest of Mother, Elder Brother, and Elder Sister-in-law."

The old lady shook her head. "If it were anything else, I would intervene. But now it's a matter of family ties. If I interfere, Lady Wei will go outside and say that I'm separating them, and I'll be the one in the wrong."

She said earnestly, "Second Brother, you need to stand up for yourself. If you always give in to Lady Wei like this, won't she take advantage of you after we separate from the family? How will you live then? You have to make a decision about Miss Xi's matter. Miss Xi told me that she never suffered a single grievance in the Xu Family for over ten years, but when she returned home and saw her own mother, she was constantly beaten and scolded. Rather than that, she should go back to the Xu Family."

As she spoke, her eyes turned cold, and her expression became very serious. "I'm making this clear today, if Miss Xi goes back to the Xu Family, your second branch of the family will be separated. I can't afford to have a daughter-in-law like that."

"Mother," Zhao Yuanliang said, bowing deeply again in fright, "Mother, please don't say such things."

Having said that, he guessed what the old lady meant. He hesitated for a moment, then tentatively asked, "How about I have Miss Xi move out to live? What do you think, Mother? Miss Xi grew up in the countryside and city without anyone to teach her, and she'll be getting married in a couple of years. If she stays with you for the next two years, you can personally raise her so that she won't be criticized or have her reputation tarnished when she marries into her husband's family."

"So..." he said with a forced smile, "I'm afraid Mother will have to go through all this trouble." With that, he bowed deeply again.

The old lady hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly nodded. "Alright."

She turned to the First Madam and said, "Go and have someone prepare the Tea Tasting Residence. Then go to the Second House and take the things prepared for the Fifth Miss there. For the next while, the Fifth Miss will be living in the Tea Tasting Residence."

"Yes," Lady Zhu stood up and replied, then went out to instruct people to tidy up the Tea Tasting Residence.

Pinming Ju is located not far from the main courtyard. It is a small courtyard with a small yard. There are only three rooms in total, and the word "pin" is in the character, so it is named Pinming Ju. Therefore, although the grandchildren of the Hou family wanted to live closer to the old lady, and gained a lot of favor from the old lady, there were too few houses in Pinming Ju, and the courtyard they lived in was not even half the size of the yard they lived in. Not only was it uncomfortable to live in, but it was also very embarrassing.