Raising a wife? The mistress of the Hou family divorced and remarried her younger uncle

Chapter 30 Family Banquet
As the sun was setting, someone from the main courtyard came to invite us.

The Lu family has the custom of having a reunion dinner on the first and fifteenth day of every month. Today is the fifteenth day, the night of the full moon. Each room usually has three meals in its own courtyard, and only on these two days do they have to eat in the main courtyard.

When Su Qingwan brought Luzhu, the table was already prepared. The men's and women's tables were separated by a screen. There were only Lu Shaoqing, Lu Feng, Lu Ming and Lu Jing on the men's side, but the women's table was full.

Li Xueying sat next to Lin, which was supposed to be the seat of the eldest daughter-in-law. Su Qingwan didn't mind and sat down in the empty seat next to Zhang.

Except for Aunt Zhou, all the women in the mansion came.

There were poultry, vegetables and fruits on the table, which was considered a rich feast for an ordinary family, but it was considered shabby for the Lu family, who had always been extravagant.

The freshest and most expensive river food was a steamed river fish, and the soup stock was not made from poultry, but a vegetable meatball soup. Of the dozen dishes, most were vegetables. The only fruits were plums, and Lu Yunxiu even doubted whether they were grown at home, as they were not of good quality.

On the men's side, Lu Shaoqing and his sons and brothers were discussing government and current affairs. On the women's side, Lu Yunxiu looked unhappy. She said, "The table is full of greens and there is no meat at all. It's unpalatable. Sister-in-law, we have been eating these dishes for the past few days. I am tired of them. Can you change the style?"

Li Xueying's face was extremely cold. "If you don't like it, you can buy it yourself. The kitchen only has this much food every day. With so many people eating, it's good enough to have meat every day."

"I only have two taels of silver per month. What can I buy with that?" Lu Yunxiu was very unhappy. She couldn't even buy new clothes at will. Her life was miserable.

Lu Yunshu and Aunt Zhou's monthly wages in the courtyard were also reduced. They also had complaints in their hearts, but they did not say it out loud like Lu Yunxiu. Lu Yuntang was still relatively good, as Zhang could subsidize her. She loved beauty and coquettishness, and Zhang doted on her, buying her whatever she wanted, so she did not notice anything unusual.

"Before I got married, the monthly allowance of unmarried girls in my family was only two taels. Fourth sister, you think it's too little. How much do you want?" Li Xueying's tone was full of sarcasm. You are a girl from a fifth-rank official's family, but your monthly allowance is the same as that of the girls in the Earl of Anping's mansion. And you still think it's too little. It's nonsense.

Lu Yunxiu complained, "The day before yesterday, I went to Linlang Pavilion and picked a hairpin. I didn't bring enough money, so Chen Lanzhu snatched it from me. Ping'er came home to get it, but the accountant said you didn't agree. The hairpin was snatched away by Chen Lanzhu, who also laughed at me for pretending to be rich. I am too embarrassed to see anyone."

Lin's face was not looking good either. She patted Lu Yunxiu's hand to comfort her. Li Xueying sneered and said, "A hairpin costs sixty taels. Do you know how much your father's salary is?"

Everyone was shocked, "..."

Su Qingwan couldn't help but raise her eyebrows. Li Xueying openly mocked Lu Shaoqing for having a low salary? How unscrupulous and arrogant!

Lin said angrily, "Xueying, shut up. Your sister just wants to buy a hairpin. What's the harm if you give her money?"

Li Xueying showed no mercy. "It costs sixty taels for fourth sister to buy a hairpin. There are so many people in the family. Will they have enough food to eat and the slaves will not be paid their monthly wages? There is no money in the treasury. If you want to buy a hairpin, you have to use your own money. You have to use the public account. Who will give her the subsidy? If mother is angry, then just tell her that you will be in charge of fourth sister's accounts in the future. You can give her whatever she wants. I will ask you for it later." Lin kept silent, her face flushed and then pale.

Lu Yunxiu was spoiled by her family and had never been scolded like this. Her eyes turned red and she cried, "When my eldest sister-in-law was the manager, I could buy whatever I wanted. I had new clothes and jewelry every month. The food was not so shabby. If you can't manage it well, you should let my eldest sister-in-law manage it."

Su Qingwan was having dinner and watching the show. She didn't expect to be dragged into this and frowned. She had a grudge against Li Xueying for killing her sister, and she also hated Lu Yunxiu's selfishness and greed.

"You are really good at making arrangements." Su Qingwan mocked indifferently, "Fourth sister once said that I am the daughter of a merchant and I stink of money. You'd better not use my money, lest it be contaminated by my stink."

Lu Yunxiu was stunned, staring at Su Qingwan with grievance and anger. She was clearly speaking for Xie Zhaolan, so it would be fine if she was not grateful, but why was she cursing?
Li Xueying was so angry that she almost crushed the teacup, and her eyes were dark red. When she took over the housekeeping power, she knew that she had been fooled by Lin. She was angry and aggrieved, and had a quarrel with Lin. Lin said that Zhaolan, the housekeeper, had not made any mistakes in three years, and had never complained of being tired. She could manage it, but why couldn't she?

She was arrogant and conceited. She stole Xie Zhaolan's husband and was willing to kill her. When she married into the Lu family, she thought that she must do better than Xie Zhaolan and that the Lu family would never regret marrying her.

Lin's provocation had a strong hold on her. Her pride would not allow her to admit defeat, and she did not want to use her dowry to fill the bottomless pit of the Lu family.

She readjusted her monthly allowance and cut back on her expenses on food, clothing, housing and transportation. Fortunately, Lu Jing's salary and rewards were generous enough that she didn't have to use her dowry to fill the hole.

To be fair, for an unmarried girl, two taels of monthly allowance, new clothes every season, and fresh poultry for every meal is already a very good life. If it were not for Lu Jing's salary and rewards, the Lu family would not be able to live such a good life.

However, Xie Zhaolan kept the Lu family members nagging and willingly filled the holes in the Lu family. The Lu family lived a more extravagant life than most marquis' houses. She cut down on household expenses. In less than ten days, Lin hinted that she was not a good housekeeper. Lu Yunxiu came to ask for money several times, and the servants also felt that the reward was too little. She was overwhelmed, but she was also very attentive in housekeeping and managing the house in an orderly manner. Now Lu Yunxiu pointed at her nose and scolded her for not being as good as Xie Zhaolan, which touched Li Xueying's sore spot.

Li Xueying was not the type to accept things passively. She slammed the table angrily, causing the cups and plates to clang. "Since I became the housekeeper, I have worked hard and never let you feel cold or hungry. The salaries of the three masters in the family are limited. If you want to live a splendid life like a princess, you should urge the masters to get promoted. Otherwise, where will the money come from?"

The men's seat and the women's seat were separated by only a screen, so whispers could not be heard, but they did not suppress their voices during the quarrel. Lin was anxious and panicked, and Li Xueying could be said to be rebellious and disobedient. Lin's decades of pretending to be virtuous and loving was completely ruined, and she raised her hand and hit Li Xueying fiercely.

"Shut up, you evil creature!"

Li Xueying was not one to stand there and take a beating, so she stood up to avoid it, accidentally knocking over the hot soup in front of her, spilling the boiling soup all over the table. Lu Yunshu and Lu Yuntang stood up screaming, while Su Qingwan also stood up with Zhang and backed away, but they didn't notice that they bumped into a warm and hard chest from behind.

The men heard the noise and hurried out. Lu Jing didn't expect to be bumped into by Su Qingwan. The pearl hairpin on her head left a red mark on his chin. He subconsciously supported Su Qingwan to prevent the pearl hairpin from hurting him.

(End of this chapter)