The old lady's newly added wrinkles all smoothed out with laughter. "I don't know how happy I am to hear you say this. Those who need to study can study, and those who need to embroider can embroider. If this is true, the family will be stable. If the family is stable, anything can be accomplished. Grandmother, I am really relieved now."
Hua Zhi wanted to kneel down and admit her fault, but she was supported before her knees touched the ground. "Grandma knows what you want to say. It's not your fault. It's your Third Aunt who went too far. Don't hate her. She is short-sighted and can only see what's happening right now, but she doesn't have bad intentions. Just like you said, you are family. Family members may have conflicts and contradictions, but they are still family after all. When she encounters difficulties, you still have to help and protect her, don't you think so?"
"Yes, I understand what grandma means, and I won't bear a grudge against Third Aunt."
"Grandma knows that you are a good child. Your third aunt doesn't understand. She just thinks that being the head of the family is a good thing. She doesn't know how much pressure and hard it is for the head of the Hua family now." Looking at her granddaughter who had lost weight, the old lady felt uncomfortable. As long as she could hold on, she didn't want to let a girl who had just come of age work so hard.
Grasping her granddaughter's thin arm, the old lady said softly, "It's hard for you."
"My granddaughter didn't feel it was hard." Hua Zhi remembered that there was one thing she hadn't reported yet, so she took the opportunity to change the subject: "Let grandma know. This time when I went to the farm, my granddaughter got angry with Chen Jin's family and gave them three acres of land to farm."
"His family and I have a deep connection, so I'll just give him a fine and forget it."
Hua Zhi shook her head. "If it was just a small matter, I wouldn't get angry with him. But do you know what he did? When I first arrived at the farm, I saw his son robbing a tenant's daughter. If I hadn't rescued the girl by chance, she would have been raped. How could she have survived if she had encountered someone with a strong temper? Who will be held responsible for this in the end? Later, I checked again and found that the 30% rent you set for the farm was 40%. You never waived the rent in disaster years, and you still had to collect the full 40%. He made a lot of money from it, but our Hua family has to bear this bad reputation. If we let such a person go, how can we convince others in the future?"
The old lady's hands were shaking with anger. She knew that the family had taken advantage of her many times over the years, but she thought that no matter how bold Chen Jin was, he would only withhold some rice and grain. She never thought that he would be so bold!
Hua Zhi gently stroked the old man's chest and said to him in a gentle voice, "I'm not telling you this to make you angry. You've done your best for Chen Jin, and you can explain it to anyone. I'm the one who punished him, and I'll take responsibility for these things in the future. You are the pillar of the Hua family, and as long as you are well, the Hua family will be well. You believe in me, don't you?"
"I believe you, of course I believe you." The old lady calmed down and held her granddaughter's hand. At first, she believed in it because of the old man, but now it's because she believes in her! Compared with her, the third daughter-in-law is too arrogant.
"The Chen family bought a house over the years, and I asked someone to take care of it. I also kept separate accounts for some banknotes and silver. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. I plan to use them for other purposes."
"Grandmother knows you know what's going on." The old lady nodded to Nanny Su, who understood and took out a few banknotes from under her pillow. "This is the money from selling the house outside the city. I'll give it to you too."
"Yes, I'll come and tell grandma in detail after I've settled the matter. Even if you trust me, I should still tell you where the money went so that you can have an idea and not worry."
Seeing her grandmother looking tired, Hua Zhi put aside the family tradition she had been planning to talk about. She helped her grandmother back to bed, then squatted down to take off her shoes and helped her lie down. "My granddaughter, am I sorry to disturb your rest at this time? It's still early, you should get some more sleep."
"It's like this when you get old. You feel sleepy from time to time, but you can't sleep for long. You've been busy outside for so long, so you should take a good rest. Grandma sees that you've lost a lot of weight, so don't let your health get damaged by working so hard."
"Yes, granddaughter knows."
At this time, the Zhu family was also very lively. Nanny Lin lay on the ground and cried, "What Auntie said is really like stabbing a knife into Madam's heart. Since the incident of the Hua family, has Madam ever asked her natal family for help? She is doted on by her natal family, how could she not care about her natal family at all and drag the Zhu family into this quagmire? You said that if the eldest girl broke off the engagement, it would affect the girls of the Zhu family to get married. You are forcing the eldest girl to death!"
"Bang!" The teacup broke into pieces, and the tea splashed all over the floor. Old Madam Zhu was so angry that she was shaking, and her voice seemed to be rubbed with ice chips. "Good, good, really good, I didn't know that my Zhu family had such a good daughter-in-law who cares so much about her husband's family!"
The eldest daughter-in-law of the Zhu family knelt on the ground with a pale face, not daring to say a word to defend herself. She did not expect, never expected that her sister-in-law, who was always so easy to talk to and had no temper, would suddenly do this.
Nanny Lin seemed to have seen nothing and continued, "The Hua family knows that now that they have lost the emperor's favor, it is not good to drag down their in-laws and old friends. They also know the golden rule that even if they drag everyone down, the master of the Hua family will not come back. That's why they asked the wives of each room to send letters to their parents' home to temporarily cut off contact. It is definitely not what my aunt thinks. Please understand, old lady."
Madam Zhu closed her eyes and calmed down, "Big Boss's wife, you go out first."
"Mother..."
"go out!"
Ren, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Zhu family, bit her lip and lowered her head as she retreated. She had to think about how to make up for this matter. She would accept any punishment, and only hoped that this matter would not be reported to the master.
The old lady dismissed everyone else and said, "Lin Shuang, stand up and answer."
Nanny Lin Shuang stood up in response, her eyes still swollen and tears on her face.
"Who asked you to sing this scene?"
Lin Shuang hesitated, not knowing whether he should tell the truth.
"How could I not know Xuan'er's personality? Even if she was bullied by Ren and cried under the quilt, she would not think of coming to me to complain. You are also a decent person. If someone didn't give you advice, you would not have used such a trick. Is it Zhi'er or Bolin?"
"Nothing can be hidden from the old lady. It was the eldest daughter who asked me to come here. She said that the lady was soft, but there was another person who was not soft." Lin Shuang showed some pride on her face. "Let the old lady know that the eldest daughter is now in charge of the Hua family. When the aunt sent someone, the eldest daughter went to the farm for some things. When she came back today, she found that something was wrong with the lady, and she quickly found the servant who betrayed her master, and asked me to come to the Zhu Mansion."
After a pause, Lin Shuang changed the subject, "The eldest lady didn't mean to let me mess up. She just did this because she felt sorry for Madam. She also said... and also said..."
"Just tell me what you want to say."
"Yes, the eldest girl said that she doesn't rely on anyone, nor does she need anyone. In fact, it was the eldest girl who suggested that the women of each family cut off contact with their natal families. Neither the old lady nor the madam of the Hua family intended to ask the Zhu family for help."
PS: It’s the last day of February, girls who have monthly tickets please vote quickly.