All Hail Cousin Brother

116 Bad News

In the afternoon, Nanny Li went to look for Mother Yang. Only then did she realize that Mother Yang hadn’t taken the initiative to look for her because she was with Chun Xiao and couldn’t leave.

She knew that something bad had happened.

Immediately after, she followed the people from the manor into the residence. The people that Steward Zhou had brought had caused trouble in the residence, and she was worried, so she asked Nanny Li to secretly go to Ting Lan Courtyard to listen to the news.

In the end, Nanny Li saw that her master had left the government office. Without even bothering to listen to the news, she rushed back to the main courtyard to report to her.

She quickly got someone to change her clothes and was about to rush to Ting Lan Courtyard.

Unexpectedly, Yu Youyao had indeed led Old Master here and trapped Mother Yang and Steward Zhou in the main courtyard. It was obvious that she had been set on fire.

This was why Yang Shuwan had cried and complained when she saw Yu Zongzheng.

At first, Yu Zongzheng still felt that Madam Yang’s words made sense, but as he listened, he felt that something was amiss. “You mean, Butler Zhou and Mother Yang are trying to accuse you?”

Yao Yao hadn’t mentioned this just now. She had only said that Mother Yang and Steward Zhou had deceived their superior and concealed their mistakes.

Yang Shuwan was stunned for a moment before crying her heart out again. “They were already tied up and brought to the main courtyard. Wouldn’t they have accused me? Why didn’t you bring them elsewhere?”

Yu Zongzheng’s expression darkened even more. “Are you blaming Yao Yao for leading them to you? Do you think she deliberately brought Steward Zhou and Mother Yang here to criticize you?”

Yang Shuwan’s face turned pale. She quickly said, “I-I didn’t say that!”

Yu Zongzheng said angrily, “You didn’t say that, but that’s exactly what you meant.”

Seeing that her master was angry, Yang Shuwan had a bad feeling. She hurriedly denied, “I really didn’t mean that…”

Seeing that she was still quibbling and was about to flare up, Yu Youyao took a step forward. “Father’s leg hasn’t recovered yet, so you can’t get angry. It won’t be good for your health. Mother is recuperating in the main courtyard, and I’m afraid you don’t know the details of what happened earlier, so she has some misunderstandings about me. When I explain it clearly to Mother, Mother will naturally understand.”

Yu Zongzheng took a deep breath and calmed his anger. He remained silent with a dark expression.

But when Yang Shuwan heard this, she knew that something was wrong.

According to the situation, after Old Master returned to the residence, was there any other inside information that Nanny Li had not found out?

So what she had said earlier had backfired?

Yu Youyao bowed to Yang Shuwan and continued, “Mother has been in charge of the household for many years, and she has worked hard and done a lot. This time, Mother has been seriously ill, and Grandmother has asked me to manage the household because she wants to share Mother’s burden. I’m young and inexperienced, and I’ve never been in charge of the household seriously in the past, but I’m very cautious and don’t dare to be careless at all. I’m worried that if I don’t do a good job, not only will I not be able to share Mother’s burden, but I’ll also burden her. I’m also very careful and don’t dare to make any mistakes.”

Yu Zongzheng nodded as he listened. It was obvious that this was the reason why she had discovered the collusion in the main kitchen. It was obvious that she was really trying to manage the household.

Yang Shuwan’s face stiffened. She did not know whether to laugh or cry. For a moment, she did not know what to say.

Yu Youyao continued, “I also felt that since all the vegetables in the manor had grown, why were they still buying so many vegetables outside? I asked, and Mother Yang said that the weather was cold this year and that the vegetables in the manor hadn’t grown well. I thought that the other crops must have also been affected, so I met with Steward Zhou to discuss reducing the rent.”

Hearing this, Yang Shuyuan suddenly tightened her grip on her handkerchief. She opened her mouth, wanting to interrupt—

“Who knew that the person Steward Zhou had brought along would cause trouble in the residence. As the head of the household, how could he tolerate this? He didn’t expect that Mother Yang and Steward Zhou would collude and covet the money in the residence.”

Yang Shuwan’s eyes widened in shock. They hadn’t mentioned her at all. So, Butler Zhou and Mother Yang didn’t implicate her?

Then why had Yu Youyao brought Mother Yang and Steward Zhou to the main courtyard to look for her?

Yu Youyao looked ashamed. “I was still young and hadn’t experienced such an important matter, so I panicked for a moment. I thought that since Mother was the mistress of the household and I was only helping to manage the household, there were some important matters in the family that needed Mother’s decision to show how important the rules in the residence were. Therefore, I brought Steward Zhou and Mother Yang over to look for Mother, hoping that Mother would make a decision. I didn’t expect that Mother would misunderstand. I was in the wrong. Mother, don’t be angry. It’ll be my fault if you’re angry.”

When Yang Shuwan heard this, her vision darkened and she almost fainted on the spot. Her head, which had stopped hurting a few days ago, started throbbing again.

If this matter did not implicate her, then what she had said the moment she met the Eldest Master just now would be measuring the stature of great men by the yardstick of small men Furthermore, the one who was judged was her stepdaughter, and she did so in front of the Eldest Master and many people in the residence.

In that case, her reputation as a gentle and magnanimous mother would probably be greatly reduced.

A person’s reputation had to be accumulated slowly.

Back then, as the daughter of a concubine, she had married into the Yu Residence as a second wife within a hundred days of the first wife, Madam Xie. Even then, she had been criticized by many people. It was only after she had entered the Yu Residence that she had used a lot of money to win people’s hearts and become known as a loving mother. Then, she had slowly built up her reputation as a gentle and magnanimous person. In the past few years, she had finally established herself in the noble circle of the capital.

However, this time, even though the residence was closed off, it involved the matters of the village. There were too many people involved and there should be some news outside.

Seeing that Yang Shuwan hadn’t said anything, Yu Youyao was a little panicked. She quickly said, “It’s my fault for making you work so hard for the residence. Please forgive me.”

Yang Shuwan’s head hurt terribly. Her mouth trembled as the words left her mouth…

However, Yu Zongzheng shouted back, “Madam Yang, even if you don’t know about Steward Zhou and Mother Yang’s greed for the money in the residence, you were in charge of this family previously. You were also at fault for not doing your job properly and managing the household properly. This matter should have been handled by you. Don’t put on airs.”

“I…” In front of so many people, Yang Shuwan was on the verge of collapse, and her ears were ringing.

However, she thought to herself, It’s over, it’s over. After this commotion, even if I use my recovery as an excuse for her to hand over the right to manage the family, Master wouldn’t feel guilty about it at all.

He would probably be even more dissatisfied!

After figuring this out, Yang Shuwan knew that Yu Youyao had deliberately dug a hole for her to jump into.

However, she had shot herself in the foot. She had handed over her authority as the head of the household, but she had not gained anything. Instead, she had made Yu Youyao, who was a good-for-nothing, take the opportunity to play dirty tricks.

However, the more Yu Zongzheng spoke, the angrier he became. He suddenly raised his voice and said, “Yao Yao’er is only a half-grown child. Now that this has happened, not only did she not deal with it privately, but she also didn’t report it Old Madam. Instead, she directly brought them to you and let you deal with them. This is to save your face and let the servants see your dignity as the mistress of the household, so that they won’t dare to criticize you because of this.”