After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 231 Controlling the Cui Family
Zhu shook her head as she listened. "Mother, if you ask me, you are too kind. If I did that, my heartless mother-in-law would have already taken action against me! If all else fails, send her to a nunnery to practice Buddhism, so she won't cause trouble at home."

Madam Zhu disagreed. "I can keep an eye on her at home, but if I let her out, who knows what she might do when she goes crazy? Your elder brother has a mistress and children living outside. I can't let her find someone before I do."

Madam Zhu was shocked. "Mother, you really intend to find those two? What if they aren't our sons?"

Madam Zhu didn't like what she heard and scolded her sternly, "Even if he's not our son, he's still a member of the Zhu family bloodline. Didn't you say that?"

Zhu was a little embarrassed. She had only said that casually to annoy Cui that day, but she didn't expect her mother to remember it.

Madam Zhu glanced at her daughter and then inquired about the Su Chunsen family's situation, "You said your eldest brother took the initiative to ask that family to serve his mistress, why is that?"

In her view, her son was smart and shrewd, and would never willingly hand over any leverage to the other party. Using the Bai family's servants was extremely risky, so it would be better to find an inconspicuous servant from their own home under some pretext! At the very least, they could buy a few from a slave trader. There must be a reason why he did this.

Zhu pursed her lips, not wanting to think at all. "How would I know what my brother is thinking! If you ask me, the Su family isn't anything special. Su Chuan is a complete coward. Bai Feng, that bastard, cheated on me with Cui Lan, and Su Chuan was willing to take the blame for Bai Feng."

And then there's his mother, who's served in my mother-in-law's courtyard for so many years, yet she's never gotten ahead and is constantly being tripped up by Granny Li. His father, needless to say, is honest, dull, and has no temper; I can't stand him at all.

Madam Zhu looked at her foolish daughter and couldn't help but sigh, "You call others foolish, but aren't you foolish too? You don't even know that the maid who came with you as part of your dowry climbed into your bed, yet you dare to laugh at others?"
The Su family were all servants; how dare they disobey their master's orders? They probably harbored a lot of resentment!

"Mother! Are you still my own mother? How can you talk to your own daughter like that!" Zhu's cheeks puffed up with anger.

Madam Zhu silently pondered the relationship between the Su family and the mistress. Her son must have trusted the Su family to not betray him, which was why he dared to let them serve the mistress. However, her son had no connection with the Su family. The only possibility was because of the mistress.

The mistress has a connection with the Su family!

Having figured it out, Madam Zhu suddenly stood up, her face filled with barely suppressed excitement. "Where do you think the Su family's ancestral home is?"

"Dongdongmen Village".

After Madam Zhu left, Madam Zhu personally went to Madam Cui's courtyard.

The bleakness of winter made the courtyard look even more dilapidated, and coupled with the poor condition of the woman who owned the courtyard, it seemed even more lifeless.

Madam Zhu pushed open the door and quickly went inside.

Bilian bowed with red eyes.

The crying and wailing displeased Madam Zhu, and her expression showed displeasure. "How is your master?"

Today is the second day of the Lunar New Year. In previous years, Cui would have gone to her parents' home early, but this year there has been no sign of her.

Bilian replied cautiously, "Madam, my mistress had a fever last night and just recovered today. She won't eat or drink, and I tried to persuade her for a long time but couldn't."

Madam Zhu's face instantly darkened, and she angrily retorted, "What? Are you trying to threaten me with death so that I'll give in and adopt your Cui family's child as you wish?"

"Cui! I'm making this crystal clear to you today: everything in the Zhu family belongs to those who flow with Zhu blood! I would rather find a husband for my illegitimate granddaughter than allow you to adopt a child from the Cui family. Give up on that idea now!" Cui suddenly stood up, roaring at Madam Zhu with an agitated expression. "I also bore children for the Zhu family! Why can't I have a say in my own children's lives?! Since you don't agree to me adopting a child from the Cui family, fine! Then none of you will have a chance to touch my dowry. I'll send it back to my parents' home right now!"

When she got married, the Cui family was at the height of its power, while the Zhu family was far inferior to the Cui family. Her parents doted on her and gave her a very generous dowry. Over the years, no girl in Zhaohua County has had a dowry that can compare to hers.

Madam Zhu looked at her in shock, then laughed in anger, "Cui, do you know what kind of woman would send her dowry back to her parents' home?"

Bilian knelt down in terror and begged for mercy, "Madam, Madam, my mistress is ill. She's talking nonsense. Please don't hold it against her, Madam! Please forgive my mistress this once!"

Cui's arrogant expression softened slightly, but she still refused to admit her mistake.

Seeing her like this, Madam Zhu immediately frowned. "Someone, bring the steward and the accountant here. Bilian, today you will go with the steward and the accountant to count your mistress's dowry. If your mistress's dowry is less than expected in the future, I will consider it as if she sent the things back to her parents' home."

"Since that's the case, the rest of the Zhu family won't keep them either. We'll send them all back, including you two, master and servant!"

Cui's pupils dilated, and he trembled with anger.

As soon as Madam Zhu left, Bilian hurriedly crawled to the bedside and pleaded, "Master, please stop making trouble. The Cui family has already fallen. They have always coveted your dowry. We used to be able to secretly supplement it, but now that Madam has spoken, if you continue to supplement it, I'm afraid you will be kicked out of the Zhu family."

Isn't that exactly what the Cui family wants? If you lose your dowry, the Cui family will despise you, leaving you destitute and alone. We can't let you end up in such a miserable state!

"Then what do you think I should do?" Cui Ruyi murmured, her eyes unfocused.

Zhu Yixuan's two illegitimate daughters in the backyard are both grown up. Even if she were to take them under her name now, she wouldn't get any good results. In addition, she used to look down on the women in the backyard and set many rules for them. It's likely that the two children still resent her, so it's unrealistic to expect anything from them.

Besides them, there's also that mistress and bastard child somewhere. If things continue like this, everything in the Zhu family will have nothing to do with her.

But if she makes a fuss, no one will listen to her.

Cui Ruyi became increasingly unwilling to accept it and knocked over the medicine bowl next to her.

Bilian was startled, but quickly came up with a solution: "Master, you can apologize to Madam and have her adopt a baby from the clan. Wouldn't that solve the problem?"

Cui Ruyi didn't want to, but this method was indeed the best one for her.

So the master and servant tidied themselves up and went to apologize to Madam Zhu, asking to adopt her.

Madam Zhu was well aware of their intentions, but she waved her hand impatiently and said indifferently, "My son is still alive and well, young and strong. What kind of talk is it to adopt a child now! We'll talk about everything when my son comes back."

Both master and servant turned pale.

They've really lost their minds. They're only focused on solving the immediate problem and have forgotten that Zhu Yixuan is still alive. In that case, it's really not wise to rush things.

But the mistress and that bastard child cannot be kept.