I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 156 Joys and Sorrows Are Not Shared

"No need for further words," the old lady of the Duke of Wei interrupted Madam An's complaint.

Madam An called out, "Aunt!"

Bang! The old lady of the Duke of Wei slammed her hand on the table. "Insolence!"

Mrs. An shut her mouth in alarm.

"Madam An, if you don't want to be the Duchess of Wei, there are plenty of women in the An family who would be willing!"

Unexpectedly, her aunt was so harsh on her for just a few complaints. An's eyes reddened with grievance. "I understand, I will go and make the arrangements now."

An hurriedly bowed, then turned away, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed as she left.

Granny An stepped forward to soothe the old lady, "Don't be angry, Madam. Madam is straightforward and doesn't understand these subtleties. You can teach her slowly."

"Discipline? She'd have to be willing to learn first!"

Others are two-faced, appearing harmless on the outside but malicious on the inside. But this fool, An, does the opposite. She looks smart, but she has no brains at all. She uses all her energy to torment the first wife and orphan girl and to embezzle public funds!
Her reputation was ruined by Tang Zhao's repeated schemes, and her marriage was strained. She hadn't grown a single heart. How could she have chosen such a fool to enter the household?

The more the old lady of the Duke of Wei thought about it, the angrier she became. She couldn't help but say, "Do you think I want to marry that little slut into the Prince's Mansion in a grand manner? Does the Duke of Wei's Mansion dare to disobey the Empress Dowager's decree? If she had used her brain even a little, she wouldn't have said such ridiculous things!"

Lady Wei, who was furious at the height of her anger, calmed down and ordered, "Send a message to the Duke about this matter."

"Tell Zheng'er that for the sake of the greater good, we must give up what we have to give up, no matter how reluctant we are."

After waiting a while longer, seeing that the old lady was no longer speaking, Granny An went down to arrange for someone to deliver a message.

As soon as Mrs. An returned to the courtyard, she threw herself onto the bed and burst into tears.

Zhao Mama dismissed the servants and stepped forward to silently accompany her, saying, "If Madam wants to cry, then cry your heart out. This old servant will stay with you."

An cried more and more aggrievedly, “I only asked a few more questions, and my aunt threatened to divorce me! I have worked hard for twenty years, bearing children for the Tang family, and I don’t get the slightest reward in return!”

Zhao Mama sighed. She had listened to the whole thing with the lady and naturally understood her grievances. Although the old lady's words were harsh, it was because the lady was too tactless.

After waiting for Madam An to finish crying, Granny Zhao took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears and gently comforted her, "Madam, whose idea do you think it was to let the Third Miss enter the Prince Wei's residence?"

Who else could it be? "Of course, it's the old lady."

“The old lady has no right to interfere in the Prince of Wei’s inner court,” Zhao Mama shook her head. “It was the Empress Dowager, or rather His Majesty, who decreed that the Third Miss be allowed to enter the Prince of Wei’s residence.”

Lady An stopped crying. "Why did Your Majesty do this?"

"This old servant does not know," said Granny Zhao. She was ignorant of court politics, but she had lived in the An family and the Duke of Wei's mansion her whole life and believed that she knew the old lady quite well. "The old lady may know, but as you can see from what just happened, whether the old lady knows or not, she does not want to tell you, Madam."

An's tears flowed down her cheeks again.

Granny Zhao advised, "Actually, Madam doesn't need to know. Madam just needs to do as the Old Madam instructs."

"The old lady is your aunt and the daughter of the An family. Even for the sake of the An family, the old lady would not harm you."

“But Aunt wants to register that little slut under my name!” “Wouldn’t that be even better? If the Third Miss is registered under Madam’s name, she will have no connection with that person in the Buddhist hall. You can do whatever you want with her in the future,” Zhao Mama reminded her. “You can also use the Third Miss to manipulate that person in the Buddhist hall.”

Mrs. An stopped crying, then slowly sobbed, "But tomorrow..."

"This old servant does not understand the deeper meaning behind the old lady and the duke's arrangement for the second young lady to enter the crown prince's residence, but this old servant understands that the old lady and the duke will definitely not give up the rightful and powerful crown prince and support the Wei prince, whose chances of winning are not great."

If that's the case, then they've really lost their minds!
Lady An thought about it and agreed. The Crown Prince was the eldest son of the current emperor, and as long as he didn't make any major mistakes, he was a shoo-in for the next emperor.

As for the Prince of Wei, who was vying for the throne with the Crown Prince, even if he didn't die, he would be exiled or imprisoned. As for the women in the Prince of Wei's household, they would not have a good ending either!
As An thought about it, she seemed to already see the tragic scene of Tang Wan being exiled to Lingnan with the Prince of Wei after the Crown Prince ascended the throne, where she was humiliated and trampled upon.

“Granny is right, I was wrong,” Madam An rubbed her reddened eyes. “I will arrange for someone to prepare for the little wretch to be registered under my name in three days.”

"Oh, right, send someone to tell Ming'er so she can prepare," Madam An said, her heart aching at the mention of her daughter. "Send another thousand taels of silver along with it."

"Yes!" Granny Zhao agreed and went down to make the arrangements herself.

After calming herself down, Ms. An cleaned her face and did her makeup again, and began making grand preparations for the important event of registering names three days later.

When the news reached Shouning Hall, the old lady was both surprised and pleased with An's change. She smiled kindly at the uneasy Tang Wan and said, "Once your name is written into the family genealogy, you will be An's legitimate daughter, the third legitimate daughter of the Duke of Wei's mansion. From now on, you will have no relation to the one in the Buddhist hall."

Tang Wan lowered her head and rubbed her sleeves, remaining silent.

The old lady didn't care and continued, "Before you get married, you will live in Shouning Hall and learn the etiquette of embroidering your wedding dress."

Tang Wan whispered, "I want to stay with my mother."

The old lady pretended not to hear, "As for your dowry, your grandmother will prepare it herself. Although it can't compare to your second sister's, it won't be a bad deal for you."

"Grandmother," Tang Wan raised her voice, "I won't get married, I just want to stay with my mother."

The old lady took a sip of tea. "Third Miss is tired. Someone, take Third Miss back to her room to rest."

Several burly female servants grabbed Tang Wan's arms and led her away.

"How dare you! Let me go! Let me go!" Tang Wan flailed about with her feet off the ground. "Grandmother, I won't marry him! I won't marry the Prince of Wei!"

"Father promised me I could choose my own husband!" Tang Wan shouted. "I'm going to tell Father, I'm going to ask Father to make the decision for me!"

With lightning speed, Granny An stuffed the handkerchief in her hand into Tang Wan's mouth.

Only after Tang Wan was carried away whimpering did the old lady smash her teacup.

"What a shameless wretch! Since ancient times, marriages have been arranged by parents and matchmakers. Which family's children's marriages aren't decided by their elders? How dare you dream of finding a husband on your own!"

The old lady was so angry that her chest ached. "It's all Zheng'er's fault," she said, "she spoiled the mother and daughter so much that they didn't know their place."

When Granny An realized something was wrong, she immediately sent someone to fetch a doctor, and the entire Shouning Hall was in chaos.

Inside the Crown Prince's residence, Tang Ming brought the letter close to the candlestick, and after it had burned halfway, he threw it into a copper basin, quietly watching the ink on the paper turn to ashes.

"Misfortune may be a blessing in disguise, and a blessing may be a misfortune in disguise," Tang Ming said, touching his lower abdomen with a smile in his eyes. "It's truly heaven's help."