The system asked me to chase his wife

The lady said kindly and generously, "Uncle, you still have a childlike heart. I have another book here. If you haven't had enough, you can take it and continue playing."

The old patriarch was ridiculed by the lady-in-waiting, his face turned blue and red. He looked at the account book, then at the lady-in-waiting, and a gleam of light flashed in his eyes.

"Humph! What is the intention of my niece's wife to use fake accounts to frame my son?"

The clan leader's expression softened as he spoke; he had made up his mind to default on his debt.

The Madam would certainly not indulge his bad habits. She sneered, "I have plenty of receipts and letters. I can even find the Western merchant your son negotiated with. If you insist that it's fake, then tell His Majesty. I just don't know if His Majesty will believe me or you?"

When the clan leader saw that the lady had brought up the issue of His Majesty, he knew that playing dumb would not work.

He gnashed his teeth and said, "If you tell His Majesty about this, my entire Xiang family will not be able to escape. Can your Duke's Mansion be spared?"

The Duke's Mansion is also a branch of the Xiang family. The clan leader firmly believes that the Madam Dowager is afraid to act rashly and would not dare to really do that.

The Madam laughed, "Uncle, you are confused. Even if our Duke's Mansion is a member of the Xiang family, it is your eldest branch that did this. It has nothing to do with our Duke's Mansion. Over the years, the eldest branch has never provided any money or grain to our Duke's Mansion. How could Your Majesty be angry with the Duke's Mansion?"

Xiang Yingqi's greed is both a good thing and a bad thing. His actions have put a sword hanging over the heads of the Xiang family, including the Duke's Mansion, which is a bad thing.

However, due to the greed and selfishness of the eldest son's family, the Duke's Mansion had nothing to do with the corruption case, which was a good thing for the Duke's Mansion.

The clan leader's expression froze after hearing what the old lady said, knowing that he was under the old lady's control.

He stood in the yard with his head raised and his hands behind his back. He sighed for a long time and began to play the emotional card with the lady.

"Niece-in-law and I are all family, why do we have to make such a fuss?"

The lady was not moved at all. She said, "It is precisely because we are all family that I came to ask my uncle first, how should this account be handled?"

The old patriarch looked at the lady with earnest eyes, and for a moment his back bent, as if he had returned to the past.

"Of course it was destroyed. How could my niece-in-law keep something that would bring disgrace upon our family?"

The lady looked at the clan leader and directly stated her request: "If uncle really cares about the family, please promise me one thing."

"what?"

"Let the Duke's Mansion branch off from the Xiang family!"

"No!"

Naturally, the clan leader would not agree to the lady's request.

The lineage of the Duke's Mansion was separated once before, but later on, when they became successful, the Xiang family played the family card and finally recognized the lineage of the Duke's Mansion back again.

Now is the perfect time to enjoy the shade under a big tree. Xiang must be crazy to split off the lineage of the Duke's Mansion.

But the old lady's attitude was extremely firm, and she also held the lifeline of the Xiang family in her hands. What could be done even if the clan leader didn't want to agree?
At that time, other families heard the news and rushed over. When they saw the old lady forcing the clan leader, they cursed and accused her, saying that the Duke's Mansion was disrespectful to the clan elders and was unfilial.

"Enough!" The patriarch's face turned grim as he stopped the disturbing tribesmen.

He looked at the lady who was protected by the servants in the center and said through gritted teeth: "I agree to this!"

The lady raised her lips and said lightly: "Uncle is wise."

After the deal was settled, the lady-in-waiting immediately asked the clan leader to go to the ancestral hall to revise the family tree. The clan leader originally wanted to delay for a while using the excuse of being unwell, but the lady-in-waiting did not give him a chance.

There was no choice but the clan leader led everyone directly into the Xiang clan ancestral hall. When the Xiang clan members from other branches saw the clan leader asking for the family tree, they realized what the lady was going to do.

The eldest branch of the Xiang family was the first to become restless. Guo pushed through the crowd and wanted to go up to the old lady to talk to her, but was stopped by the servants of the Duke's Mansion.

Guo could only scream in a shrill voice: "Sister-in-law, what are you doing? You can't even write two characters for Xiang with one stroke. What good will it do to the reputation of your Duke's Mansion if you make such a fuss?"

Guo's words instantly won everyone's approval, and everyone echoed her.

Some people try to persuade others with kind words, while others try to threaten others with their reputation.

The lady ignored the noise, but the clan leader thought they were too noisy and shouted "Quiet!"

In front of the clan members, the clan leader personally changed the family tree.

The lady took the handwritten letter from the clan leader and said, "I will send it to the government to have it registered and stamped. After the name is approved, we will be two families from now on."

The clan leader accepted the words of the lady with a pinched nose. He could not speak directly about the account book in front of the clan members, but hesitantly said, "Can my niece-in-law hand the things over to me?"

The clan leader knew that the purpose of the lady's action today was to eliminate the clan. He had done everything she said, and it was time for her to hand over the account books.

After all, if this matter is made public, it will not be good for anyone. Although the Duke's Mansion will not be blamed by His Majesty, its reputation will be bad after all.

After hearing what the clan leader said, the lady shook her head and said, "If this thing is in the hands of the Duke's Mansion, my cousin will be more restrained in his behavior, which is also a good thing for the Xiang family."

Just think of it as her last bit of kindness towards the Xiang family as their daughter-in-law.

"You!" The clan leader didn't expect that the lady was playing a trick on him. He glared at the lady with a fierce look on his face and was about to order the clan members to stop the lady.

But the servants brought by the Madam Dowager all had some martial arts skills, and even though the Xiang family had a large number of people and strong forces, they could not do anything to the Madam Dowager.

After the servants knocked down a group of people, the rest of the Xiang family members dared not move anymore. They looked at the old lady and Qiao Yuandong and his group with hatred in their eyes.

Facing the angry stares from the crowd, the lady was not afraid at all.

She looked at the clan leader and said calmly, "I hope the clan leader can control the hands and mouths of the clan members. If those tactless people come to the Duke's Mansion, or if I hear any of the Xiang family members say something bad about the Duke's Mansion, then don't blame me for handing the things over to the government. Uncle, you don't want the old man to send the young off, right?"

The clan leader said bitterly: "That's your cousin!"

The lady said as a matter of course: "Not now."

Facing the Xiang clan members who were unaware of the inside story, the lady even gave them the extra account books before leaving. The Xiang family should know clearly how much the eldest branch of the Xiang clan had earned over the years and how much it had given to the public.

This move will naturally lead to internal strife within the Xiang family, but what does this have to do with the Duke's Mansion?
After dealing with Xiang's problem, the lady did not stay in Xiang's house, but took Qiao Yuandong to the carriage.

The carriage was clattering along the wide street. The old lady leaned against the carriage with her eyes closed to rest. Qiao Yuandong stayed quietly beside her.

Suddenly, the Madam said, "You don't have to pay attention to the Pang family. They won't make things too difficult for the Duke's Mansion. They just want to take advantage of the opportunity to make some money."

Qiao Yuandong was surprised that the lady suddenly brought up this matter. She was stunned for a moment and just responded lightly.

I think it was after the lady woke up that Ji Tong quietly told her what happened after she fell into a coma.

After all, the Pang family is the old lady's family, but from the old lady's tone, it seems that she does not have much expectations for the Pang family.

Judging from the Pang family's actions, they really can't be expected to help with anything. Since the lady has guaranteed that the Pang family will not be embarrassed, Qiao Yuandong doesn't care about it.

The lady then asked, "As for An'er's marriage, do you have any idea about it?"

Qiao Yuandong knew that the lady wanted to cut off the Pang family's thoughts directly, so he asked this question.

She thought for a moment and said, "Anger has chosen the fifth daughter of Commander Liu. You have seen her at the racecourse. She has a kind character and is straightforward. The Liu family has a clean family background, so she is a good match."

The lady also thought of Liu Wuniang. She felt that the round-faced girl was very pleasing to her eyes at that time. It turned out that Qiao Yuandong also had high hopes for this girl.

"Although the Liu family has a lower official position, this is secondary. The most important thing is that the family tradition is very good. I have seen the boys of the Liu family a few years ago. They are well raised."

The lady expressed her approval of Qiao Yuandong and Xiang Xiu'an's vision.

Qiao Yuandong smiled helplessly: "It's just that Madam Liu didn't like our An Ge'er."

A look of astonishment flashed across the old lady's face, and Qiao Yuandong then told her what the Liu family meant.

Upon hearing this, the lady sighed for a long while, with a hint of approval in her eyes. She was not angry because of the Liu family's rejection.

"This is long-term vision. When choosing a son-in-law, most people will first look at the family background. They just want their daughter to fly up to the tree and become a phoenix immediately, but who cares about the situation of the husband's family?"

The lady sighed, took Qiao Yuandong's hand and said, "It is families like this that we should respect. Even though they are not very prominent now, they still have a lot of luck!"

Qiao Yuandong nodded and said, "Grandson's wife has learned a lesson."

The lady then asked Qiao Yuandong about the Liu family. Qiao Yuandong had wanted to marry into the Liu family some time ago, so he naturally knew something about them.

When the lady heard that Madam Liu was still choosing a husband and had not yet decided on Liu Wuniang's marriage, she couldn't help but become anxious.

"Since they haven't gotten engaged yet, our An Ge'er still has a chance. Madam Liu rejected our family only because she's worried that her daughter will suffer if she marries into the family. At most, we can just show some sincerity."

"What does Grandmother mean?"

The lady made up her mind: "Prepare the gifts and I will go to the Liu family to propose marriage myself."

This was the lowest possible attitude. With her qualifications and status as the lady dowager, she went to the Liu family in person to propose marriage, which clearly expressed her importance to Liu Wuniang and her respect for the Liu family.

Qiao Yuandong was worried that the lady would not be able to bear it, so he could not help but persuade her: "Grandma, take a rest first. It won't be too late to go tomorrow."

The lady waved her hand and refused.

"This kind of thing must be settled early, so as to avoid more trouble. If I go there tomorrow, and the Liu family has already booked another family, wouldn't An'er be heartbroken if she knew about it?"

Qiao Yuandong curled his lips at what the lady said, and seeing that she was in good spirits, he let her go.

The carriage drove back to the Duke's Mansion. Qiao Yuandong prepared generous gifts as instructed and accompanied the lady on a visit to the Liu family.

Mrs. Liu was surprised that the lady-in-waiting would come to visit her in person. She was shocked and began to wonder about the lady-in-waiting's purpose.

When she saw Qiao Yuandong traveling with the lady dowager, she vaguely knew why the Duke's Mansion came to visit today.

Madam Liu, who had figured out the whole thing, was even more shocked. How could her Fifth Mother have deserved the title of First-Rank Lady to come to her house in person to propose marriage?
Such a humble approach to asking for the princess’ hand in marriage is more like this!
When Qiao Yuandong proposed the idea of ​​marriage, Mrs. Liu had considered it, but she refused because she was worried that the Duke's family was too high-ranking and she was afraid that Wu Niang would be bullied by her in-laws.

Now that the lady had come in person, all the worries in Mrs. Liu's heart disappeared.

She politely welcomed the guest in person, and the two sides exchanged pleasantries warmly for a while before getting straight to the point.

The lady said directly that she was attracted by Liu Wuniang's words, and said that the population of the Duke's Mansion was simple, and that Xiang Xiu'an was ambitious and hardworking, which made Mrs. Liu's eyes sparkle.

It is no secret in the capital that the Duke's Mansion has a small population. If Wu Niang could marry into the Duke's Mansion, she wouldn't have to serve her mother-in-law or take care of her younger brothers and sisters-in-law. How much trouble would she be saved just by this?

Besides, Madam Liu had met Xiang Xiu'an. The child was a handsome man. He had a hereditary title but was still willing to study hard. This kind of character alone was precious.

Ever since Mrs. Liu put Xiang Xiu'an in the role of her own son-in-law, the more she looked at Xiang Xiu'an, the more satisfied she became.

And as far as she knew, her little girl had a very good impression of the young master of the Xiang family, and she often mentioned Xiang Xiu'an's name.

But she herself hasn't realized it yet, tsk!
Seeing that Madam Liu was interested, Qiao Yuandong also joined in, saying that if Liu Wuniang wanted to be the housekeeper after she married, she would be willing to give up her power.

Madam Liu smiled and waved her hands repeatedly: "My dear mother-in-law, you are embarrassing Wu Niang. She is not capable of managing a household with her brain."

At first, Madam Liu did want to teach Liu Wuniang how to manage the household, but the child inherited her father's love of wielding swords and guns, and was impatient with the calculations in the backyard, so she had to give up this plan.

Mrs. Liu thought that at worst she could ask Wu Niang to find a second son to marry, so she wouldn't have to take care of household affairs and could just live as a wealthy young wife.

Qiao Yuandong was amused by Madam Liu's words "mother-in-law". She looked at Madam Liu who hadn't realized she was talking nonsense and asked, "Madam Liu, do you agree?"

Mrs. Liu then realized that she had said something wrong. She did not hesitate and directly and generously accepted the marriage.

(End of this chapter)