After Huangfu Yue helped Consort Zheng alight from the carriage, she took out a large number of tables, chairs, and benches from her spatial dimension. Subsequently, she retrieved cooking utensils and ingredients from her spatial dimension and handed them over to her elder sister-in-law, Zhu Jiayi.
She instructed Zhu Jiayi to inform the kitchen staff to prepare lunch and to have the stable hands see to the horses and ensure they had grass to eat.
"From now on, all these matters will be your responsibility, Elder Sister-in-law. Can you manage?"
"Of course," Zhu Jiayi nodded busily.
"Thank you for your hard work, Elder Sister-in-law."
"It's not hard at all; these are all minor matters. Not tiring at all," Zhu Jiayi replied with a smile, shaking her head.
"Jiayi, you are the eldest sister-in-law. You should help Yue'er share more of the burden in the future. Do what you can and don't always wait for Yue'er to do everything," Consort Zheng said as she walked over.
"Yes," Zhu Jiayi readily agreed.
"Then I'll leave things here to you... Yue'er, I find the scenery in this area quite pleasant. I'd like to take a stroll nearby. Will you accompany me?" Consort Zheng extended her hand to her granddaughter.
"Yes," Huangfu Yue immediately agreed and immediately placed her hand under her grandmother's, allowing her to be supported.
Huangfu Yue knew that her grandmother had something she wanted to discuss with her privately.
After Huangfu Yue and Consort Zheng left, Zhu Jiayi immediately went to instruct the kitchen staff and stable hands to get to work, not noticing that someone had been quietly observing her.
Zhong Liangshu's gaze followed Zhu Jiayi, her beautiful eyes flickering with an unreadable expression.
Suddenly, Xu Yuqing entered Zhong Liangshu's line of sight. Xu Yuqing walked past her, clearly intending to sit on a nearby ornate chair to rest.
Zhong Liangshu spoke, not to greet Xu Yuqing, but murmuring to herself, "Has Huangfu Yue handed over the household management to her eldest sister-in-law!"
Her voice was neither loud nor soft, just enough for Xu Yuqing to hear, but not others.
Upon hearing Zhong Liangshu's words, Xu Yuqing immediately stopped in her tracks, her delicate brows furrowing.
Earlier, she had seen Huangfu Yue instructing the kitchen staff to prepare lunch and the stable hands to tend to the horses, but she hadn't paid much attention.
She had thought Huangfu Yue was trying to be lazy. It was only after hearing Zhong Liangshu's words that she realized something was amiss; Huangfu Yue had indeed handed over the household management to Zhu Jiayi.
And listening to Consort Zheng, who told Zhu Jiayi to help Huangfu Yue share more of the burden and do what she could, clearly meant she agreed to Huangfu Yue transferring the household management to Zhu Jiayi.
How could this be!
Even though Zhu Jiayi was from the main branch and the eldest grandson's wife, she couldn't possibly be given all the household management authority, leaving nothing for herself.
Xu Yuqing was both anxious and angry. Her face fell, and she began to scold, "No wonder some people spoke up for a certain person earlier, stood on that person's side, and tried desperately to curry favor with that person. It turns out they had an agenda!"
She looked at Zhu Jiayi, her eyes filled with mockery and fury.
Zhu Jiayi was not foolish; she naturally knew Xu Yuqing was scolding her. However, she couldn't immediately grasp the meaning of the words, nor understand why she was being scolded.
Zhu Jiayi furrowed her brows slightly. After about a minute, she finally understood what Xu Yuqing was implying and why she was scolding her.
Zhu Jiayi's face also darkened. She composed her elegant features and retorted, "Stop projecting your own petty thoughts onto noble hearts!"
"Zhu Jiayi, who are you calling petty?" Xu Yuqing, already annoyed, became even more enraged. Her face full of anger, she pointed at Zhu Jiayi and shouted.
The surrounding people immediately turned their attention towards them, and some daring individuals even came forward to watch. Zhu Jiayi noticed this and her brows furrowed even tighter.
Just as Zhu Jiayi was about to call out for the servants to move away and attend to their own tasks, Xu Yuqing lunged forward and glared at her, pointing at her nose and shouting, "Why aren't you speaking now? Why aren't you looking at me? I asked you, who are you calling petty? Why aren't you answering? Are you scared and afraid to answer!"
Zhu Jiayi's brows knitted together as tightly as possible. She met Xu Yuqing's gaze and said, "Xu Yuqing, please know when to stop."
She was truly reaching her limit!
Xu Yuqing was infuriated. "Good for you! You call me petty and then tell me to know when to stop, making it seem like it's my fault. This is simply going too far!"
"Mother, don't argue with Auntie!"
Pulled by Fang'er, Huangfu Ying, who was standing behind, saw her mother getting increasingly angry, her face turning dark, looking like she wanted to lash out. Frightened and worried, she broke free from Fang'er's hand, ran to her mother's side, grabbed her skirt, and begged loudly, her voice laced with a thick sob.
Why is Mother arguing with someone again!
Why does Mother love to argue with people so much...
Xu Yuqing lowered her gaze to her daughter and frowned. This little girl...
"Auntie, please don't argue with my mother," Huangfu Ying looked at Zhu Jiayi, her large eyes blinking pleadingly.
Zhu Jiayi looked at Huangfu Ying and sighed, "It's not that I want to argue with your mother, it's that she wants to argue with me!" She felt helpless herself!
"How dare you, Zhu Jiayi! You're the one who started it, and now you're blaming me!" Xu Yuqing was beside herself with rage and cursed loudly.
"You were the one who called me petty first, clearly intentionally wanting to argue with me and pick a fight. Now you're saying I'm the one who wants to argue... How can you be so shameless, so utterly shameless!"
Zhu Jiayi was so angry she laughed. "Who exactly started the argument first, who intentionally wanted to argue and pick a fight... And you have the nerve to call me the one who started it and is blaming others, calling me shameless and brazen. Between the two of us, who is truly shameless and brazen!"
She had tolerated Xu Yuqing's behavior repeatedly. Yesterday, she had even spoken well of Xu Yuqing to her sister-in-law, but it was all for naught. Xu Yuqing was becoming more and more outrageous, and she couldn't tolerate it any longer. Otherwise, Xu Yuqing would think she was afraid of her, easy to bully, and would only press her advantage further.
"You wicked woman, how dare you bully me like this... Do you think because you are the eldest sister-in-law, and you've curried favor with Huangfu Yue and Grandmother, you can bully me as you please with them as your backing! Let me tell you, I, Xu Yuqing, am not someone to be trifled with!"
Xu Yuqing was furious. She rolled up her sleeves and was about to strike Zhu Jiayi, completely unaware that someone was secretly chuckling behind her.
This is truly exciting!
Zhong Liangshu found a chair and sat down, watching with great interest.
She wondered if Zhu Jiayi could defeat Xu Yuqing.
"Second Mistress, don't go too far!" Before Xu Yuqing could strike Zhu Jiayi, Zhu Jiayi's maid stepped in front of her to protect her mistress, blocking Xu Yuqing's aggressively extended hand.
"Good! Not only is the mistress daring to bully me, but now even the servants dare to bully me! It seems you wretched servant have grown tired of living, and I'll beat you to death!"
Xu Yuqing looked at the maid who dared to stop her, raising her hand to slap the maid's face fiercely. To her surprise, the maid dodged.
Xu Yuqing's rage intensified, practically bursting with fury.
"Mama Song, Fang'er, Fen'er, what are you all standing around for? Hurry up and help me teach this dog-like servant a lesson, beat her to death!"
Xu Yuqing turned to look for the servants from her own household. Seeing them standing behind her with anxious expressions, she immediately frowned and beckoned to them.
"Let's see who dares to lay a hand on the people in my household!" Zhu Jiayi glared at Mama Song and the others, shouting loudly.
Zhu Jiayi's dowry wet nurse exchanged a look with all the servants in Zhu Jiayi's household, and Zhu Jiayi's servants immediately stepped forward.
Not only did Zhu Jiayi have the servants who originally attended to her, but she also had Mama He and two maids who previously served Huangfu Yue, but Huangfu Yue found them unworthy and had them serve her children. Therefore, she had a significant advantage in numbers, doubling the number of servants compared to Xu Yuqing's side.
Xu Yuqing was not foolish. Seeing that Zhu Jiayi had more people on her side, she knew that if a fight broke out, her side would suffer a great disadvantage.
What would she do? Would she concede?