The Night Before the Divorce, She Was Reborn to Before Her Marriage - Chapter 29

“With such a massive problem, why didn’t you take the initiative to ask the Second Branch for help?” Madam Wei inwardly cursed Madam Mu for being an idiot. This major matter was about to be ruined by her.

Madam Mu was terrified now and faintly guessed that she was probably in trouble. Thinking of the consequences, her legs went soft, and she plopped onto her knees, trembling as she said, “I went to find the Second Madam, but she played dumb, saying she didn’t understand the estate’s various affairs and told me to ask the steward.”

“The Second Branch is doing well—no work done, yet she gets all the good reputation.” Madam Wei was extremely vexed. To ensure the Second Branch helped willingly, she had spoken highly of their righteousness to all the ladies who came to visit her.

Madam Mu knelt on the floor, afraid to speak, fearing she would incur Madam Wei’s wrath.

“Approve Yu’er’s money for his expenses first. Conceal the other matters for now, and just continue managing as usual. If you dare to let this out, I will definitely not spare you,” Madam Wei warned.

Madam Mu bit her lip. “Madam, the cost of the Eldest Young Master’s social engagements is simply too high. I’m afraid it will be difficult to carry out your wishes.”

Madam Wei glared at her fiercely.

“I am willing, but the steward has been managing every expenditure extremely strictly lately…” Madam Mu said timidly.

Madam Wei was enraged. “I think he has rebelled against the heavens! Has he forgotten who promoted him step by step?”

After speaking with the steward, she learned that the estate’s income and expenditure were about to collapse, forcing him to strictly control the destination of every piece of silver. Once the Old Madam Ning found out the severity of the accounts, she wouldn’t tolerate this corruption, and they would all be held accountable.

Madam Wei could only grit her teeth and pay for Ning Yu’s social expenses herself first. However, her personal savings were not substantial, and she had already given away a large amount when her daughter married. Relying solely on her money to support her husband’s and son’s spending was not a long-term solution.

The Confrontation at the Qin Garden

Madam Wei could no longer pretend to be recovering and rushed to the Old Madam Ning to lodge a complaint against the Second Branch. She claimed the Second Branch was insincere, promised to help, but hadn’t done one proper thing. Everything was managed by Madam Mu alone, and now that the accounts had minor issues, the Second Madam was indifferent and only knew how to enjoy herself.

The Old Madam Ning was furious. She could tolerate other matters, but she would never forgive a lack of care toward the Duke’s estate.

Thus, as soon as Madam Ning appeared in the Qin Garden, she heard the Old Madam speak coldly, “Since you do not treat the Duke of Ning’s estate as your home, and are so adept at pretense and unwilling to contribute to the estate, you should return to your Princess’s Residence!”

Madam Ning froze, and Ning Fu’s expression changed. For a married woman, these words were extremely severe.

Although Ning Fu had anticipated that her Grandmother would believe Madam Wei’s inflammatory remarks, she had not expected such harsh language.

She immediately turned cold. Just as she was about to talk back to her elder, Madam Ning blocked her.

“What does the Old Madam mean by this?” Madam Ning, however, managed to remain cordial.

“Explain yourself properly! Why did you verbally agree to help manage the household affairs, but now leave Madam Mu in charge alone?” The Old Madam Ning forcefully struck her cane, showing the extent of her anger.

Madam Ning smiled faintly. “Madam Mu is sharp and capable. She has managed all the estate’s large and small affairs in an orderly manner all by herself. It is possible that your daughter-in-law cannot manage things better than she can.”

“Sharp-tongued,” the Old Madam Ning sneered, seeing her so insincere and using excuses to brush her off. “Since you will not admit your mistake, then go kneel.”

“Grandmother, I’m the one who didn’t want Mother to manage,” Ning Fu stepped out from behind Madam Ning and knelt down with a cold expression. “If anyone should be punished, it should be me.”

“Stop this nonsense! Ruyi, take Miss Four away,” the Old Madam Ning said displeasedly.

“I know my Aunt (Madam Wei) is the daughter-in-law you personally chose, and you favor her. You initially disagreed with my mother’s marriage, which is why Grandmother has always been partial to my Aunt. When my Aunt wanted to preside over the household management alone back then, Grandmother never criticized her. But when it comes to my mother, simply because she no longer wants to interfere in these matters, you order her to return to the Princess’s Residence. I feel it is unfair to my mother.”

Ning Fu continued, “Grandmother’s actions are not a worthy example for the younger generation to learn from.”

This stripped away the thin veil of formality. Criticizing an elder was an act of great disrespect.

However, Ning Fu had to speak these words and accepted the punishment.

The Old Madam Ning was publicly shamed. She had not expected her usually obedient granddaughter to defy her so openly. Hardening her heart, she said, “Go kneel by the front gate. You are not allowed to get up until I give the order!”

Ning Fu, however, knelt down and kowtowed to Madam Ning. “Mother, I will still say the same thing—don’t manage the household affairs. Not long ago, I heard the two nannies in the treasury mention that the Duke’s estate accounts are problematic. Since you were never qualified to manage them before, please be careful not to take the blame upon yourself now.”

She had deliberately excluded Madam Ning. She was the Old Madam Ning’s direct granddaughter, and her grandmother wouldn’t truly hold a grudge against her. She was also a young lady who was still considered immature, so her actions could barely be written off as “childish blabber.” It was better for her to be labeled as willful than for her mother to suffer injustice.

Furthermore, she had subtly revealed Madam Wei’s scheme. Though she couldn’t specify the severity of the financial problems, Madam Wei would certainly understand. If Madam Wei didn’t want the Grandmother to know that the accounts were not just “a little problematic,” but were actually fifty thousand taels in deficit, she would have to approach Madam Ning privately.

Madam Ning looked at her daughter, her eyes red.

“Go! Go investigate! I want to see who is gossiping and stirring up trouble,” the Old Madam Ning shouted angrily.

Ning Fu felt a hint of irony. She knew in her heart that her Grandmother was angry not because the two nannies were spreading lies, but because she didn’t want people to know her own true intentions. Although the Grandmother never said it, she secretly hoped that her mother’s dowry money could be used to support the Duke’s estate.

Therefore, she had to make both the First Branch and her Grandmother understand the meaning of propriety. Her mother’s personal dowry was unrelated to the Duke’s estate; it was due to the capability of her maternal grandmother’s family.

Her father’s attitude was the key to this. Her father usually failed to distinguish between the small family (his wife and children) and the large family (his extended family). He still believed they were all one family with his elder brother and mother, which is why the First Branch and her Grandmother had lost their sense of boundary.

Today, Ning Fu was determined to make her father see how much suffering her mother endured because he couldn’t distinguish between the small and large families. She also needed to teach her Grandmother and Madam Wei the meaning of propriety. This was even more important than the Duke’s estate’s accounts.

She lowered her eyes and said, “Dongzhu, please take my mother back first.”

Madam Ning naturally refused, unable to bear her daughter being tormented. But seeing her daughter’s determined eyes, she knew she couldn’t miss this opportunity. Swallowing her heartache, she followed Dongzhu and left.

Ning Fu knelt down properly. This kneeling lasted two full hours. She had no padding beneath her, but she didn’t utter a single sound.

The Old Madam Ning was both heartbroken and angry. At the same time, she blamed Madam Ning for raising the child poorly, believing the child needed to learn a lesson. She simply stopped looking at her.

The Father’s Anger

When Ning Zhenyuan (Ning Fu’s father) returned to the estate, he immediately sensed something was wrong.

The Heting Garden was unusually quiet. He frowned and pushed the door open, only to see his wife in tears.

He had been married to Madam Ning for nearly twenty years and rarely saw her cry. The last time he had seen her like this was when A-Fu (Ning Fu’s nickname) fell into the water.

“What happened?” Ning Zhenyuan reached out to wipe her tears, immediately worried.

Madam Ning pushed his hand away. She also held resentment toward him. If he hadn’t been so agreeable, she wouldn’t have completely lost the struggle for household management to Madam Wei back then, and today’s conflict wouldn’t have happened.

Dongzhu sobbed, “Second Lord, Miss Four was punished to kneel by the Old Madam today. Please go save Miss Four quickly!”

Ning Zhenyuan’s heart sank. Without stopping to ask more, he immediately walked toward the Qin Garden.

As soon as he entered the garden, he saw a frail figure kneeling, swaying slightly. The next moment, the girl collapsed forward.

“A-Fu!” Ning Zhenyuan’s heart clenched. He practically ran over and saw that his daughter’s face was pale, her lips were colorless, and she had passed out.

He gently picked her up, placed her on the bed, and anxiously ordered the servants to summon a physician.

“Mother, why did you punish A-Fu today?” Ning Zhenyuan asked.

“Naturally, because she committed a mistake,” the Old Madam Ning replied coldly.

“What mistake?” Ning Zhenyuan insisted on a reason.

The Old Madam Ning remained silent.

“A-Fu has always been obedient and sensible. What mistake could she possibly have committed that required you to treat her this way, Mother?”