Chapter 258: Birthday (1)
Chu Lian’s offer was completely out of Matriarch He’s expectations. She stiffened for a moment in surprise before tears gathered in the corners of her eyes.
She knew roughly how much Guilin Restaurant earned in a month. Manager Qin had previously been one of her servants after all.
She also knew that Dalang’s wife had brought up that idea purely out of jealousy. In order for their family to stand stably, the inner court had to be at peace or in balance. The matriarch was gratified that Chu Lian was able to make such an offer for the greater good. At the same time, she lamented how much Madam Zou had changed.
In the end, she made the final decision. “Sanlang’s wife, since you have the heart to do so, you’ll be the one to pay for your mother’s medicine fees from now on. However, only do so within your own capability and don’t push yourself too hard. No matter what happens to you afterwards, you still have this old woman here to support you!”
Chu Lian’s almond-shaped eyes turned upwards in a smile. “Granddaughter-in-Law understands! I won’t be too shy to ask for help from Grandmother!”
Matriarch He dwelled in thought for a moment before turning to Madam Zou and speaking, “Dalang’s wife, this old woman did not expect the family’s shared properties to have declined to this state. The blame for this can’t be placed on your shoulders, since you didn’t have a capable steward to help you manage these properties. I gave Sanlang’s wife a manager before, so I’ll send you one as well. He’ll help you with managing the estate’s properties!”
Madam Zou looked up in shock right after Matriarch He finished speaking. Her lips trembled and parted as the urge to reject this arrangement flooded her being. However, when she met Matriarch He’s sharp old eyes, any hope of struggling faded away.
It seemed like Matriarch He had already detected those small tricks she had pulled with the estate’s properties beforehand, but the matriarch hadn’t bothered to stop it due to her trust in her. Now that she was starting to target the third branch with her schemes, Matriarch He naturally wouldn’t continue letting her greed run free.
Now that Matriarch He had placed a manager by her side with a completely upright reason, she probably wouldn’t be able to continue appropriating funds in secret.
Madam Zou was filled with regret. Not only had she failed to steal Guilin Restaurant, but she had even lost her source of income to boot.
When Matriarch He saw that Madam Zou had remained silent and was simply looking downwards at the floor, the matriarch frowned and raised her voice with an unhappy tone, “Dalang’s wife, did you hear me?”
Madam Zou’s body shook once. Matriarch He’s rage showed clearly through her voice. “Granddaughter-in-Law hea.. heard you.”
Matriarch He had already been feeling unwell these two days. After facing such a huge problem in the morning thanks to Madam Zou, her head was starting to ache.
“Alright, since there’s nothing else to discuss, all of you should return. Bring Little An and Little Lin back with you too.”
Madam Zou was currently feeling very low, so she left quickly with her two daughters.
Chu Lian was one step behind her. Just as she was about to step out of Qingxi Hall’s entrance, someone with a clear voice called out from behind.
“Third Young Madam, please wait.”
Chu Lian paused and turned back to look, only to see Matriarch He’s handmaid Muxiang and a few maidservants carrying some exquisite wood boxes.
Muxiang hurried over in two strides, “Third Young Madam, the weather has turned cold, so the matriarch has sent this servant over to escort you to Songtao Court.”
Thus, with Muxiang supporting her arm on one side and chatting to her, Chu Lian returned to Songtao Court. Following that, Muxiang instructed the maidservants behind her to place the brocade-lined boxes on the parlour’s table.
“These are some rewards that the Empress Dowager bestowed upon the matriarch. There’s a handsome white fox fur coat within; it’s quite a rare treasure due to its purity. The matriarch said: a white fur coat like this wouldn’t suit her at her age, but it will fit Third Young Madam perfectly. There are also a few brand new exquisite ruby and sapphire accessories. The matriarch ordered this servant to bring these over to Third Young Madam as well because they’ll go along perfectly with the outfits the palace sent over for you!”
Chu Lian accepted the gifts and had Senior Servant Zhong send Muxiang off. She returned to her own little study, knowing very well that these gifts were Matriarch He’s way of compensating her.
She had taken a look at that white fox coat earlier. It was brand new and hadn’t even been worn, so it was indeed a rather expensive gift. If not for that ruckus today, this fox coat would most likely have been given to that sister-in-law of hers, Madam Zou.
Of course, the reason Chu Lian knew this was because she had read about it in the story before.
However, due to her arrival in this story, she had changed some of the events.
Just as Chu Lian was about to sink into her thoughts, Wenlan came in to pass a message. “Third Young Madam, Manager Qin has come over. He’s waiting in the parlour outside.”
Chu Lian stood up to meet Manager Qin.
In less than fifteen minutes, they were done with the meeting and Manager Qin left.
Senior Servant Gui had been standing behind Chu Lian during the meeting. She had a bewildered expression on her face as she asked, “Third Young Madam, what is this about?”
Just now, she had watched as Chu Lian gave Manager Qin a letter and listed out three questions. Manager Qin was to put up these three questions at the entrance of Guilin Restaurant with a notice to announce that anyone who could answer all three questions correctly would get a free meal at Guilin Restaurant.
Chu Lian smiled mysteriously, “Don’t worry, momo! It’s not anything bad. It’ll be a surprise!”
Senior Servant Gui was even more confused. She couldn’t even start to guess at what her master was trying to do now.
Nonetheless, with Chu Lian’s guarantee, Senior Servant Gui felt reassured.
