Quick Transmigration: Reversing the Life of a Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character

Lu Zhiyao cursed inwardly, "I could just ask my sister-in-law to send me some."

"Fourth son's wife, shut up!" The old lady at the head of the table shouted, stopping Zhao Shi, who was about to speak again.

The First Madam quickly spoke up: "Fifth Sister-in-law, you're joking. Why would you need your in-laws to send such a small gift? It was my oversight, and I apologize to you. The servants are stupid too; I'll give them a good scolding later. Don't worry, the Fifth Branch's allowance will be sent over immediately."

"Then thank you for upholding justice, sister-in-law." Her tone remained light and casual.

She thought to herself: What are you pretending for? The old lady doesn't know, but how could the first lady, who is actually in charge, not know? It's their business if they want to deal with the fourth branch of the family, but they can't use Lu Zhiyao as a scapegoat. I won't get involved in your underhanded struggles. If the fourth lady dares to take away her allowance, she'll just put it out in the open and make the old lady and the first lady make up for it. Otherwise, she'll go and buy it with fanfare, or go to her parents' house to get it. Let's see who loses face.

The old lady glared at Zhao Shi fiercely, ordered everyone else to disperse, and left the eldest madam to speak.

"You know?"

The First Madam nodded: "Reporting to Mother, someone informed me yesterday that the Fourth Branch had taken advantage of the Fifth Branch in the past, and the Fifth Sister-in-law had not reacted. I was planning to save this matter for after the birthday banquet."

The fourth sister-in-law wanted to exert her influence over the household affairs. However, Aunt Lian still had some favor with the father. The affairs of the outer courtyard were related to the reputation of the Zhou family, so the father would be cautious and would not allow the fourth brother to participate. But the affairs of the inner courtyard could be delegated without affecting anything, and the father would give Aunt Lian some face.

It wasn't that she wanted to seize power, but as the eldest son and eldest daughter-in-law, if something went wrong in the inner courtyard, it would be her and the old lady who would lose face. In that case, she would still have to step in to smooth things over. Her fourth sister-in-law wasn't shrewd, and with Aunt Lian on top of that, the two of them had their desire to skim off the top written all over their faces. It would be crazy for her to let them have their way.

"Fifth son is my own flesh and blood. If he tramples on my face, I will lose face too. The Lu family is not to be trifled with, and there's also the heir's wife of the Marquis's mansion. She protects this younger sister like the apple of her eye. Before, when Fifth son's wife was in poor health, she didn't care about these things. You could keep your leverage up. Now that Fifth son's wife is healthy and has strength, she naturally can't let anyone ride on her head. Keep an eye on her in the future," the old lady said in a softened tone.

Compared to her two sons whom she raised herself, her younger son, who was raised by her father-in-law, was not as close to her, so she was more biased towards her two sons and daughters-in-law. But compared to her illegitimate son, she naturally had to protect the one she gave birth to.

"Understood," the First Madam replied quickly.

When Lu Zhiyao first married into the family, she was not good at socializing and did not like to talk. Later, after she became pregnant and gave birth, her health deteriorated day by day. She looked like she didn't even have the strength to speak. She was even mistreated by the servants. It was her family who found out and took away the original steward and several servants and sent them to Tao Shi.

The Lu family and the Marquis's mansion went to great lengths to find her a renowned doctor from afar, who actually cured her. Unexpectedly, Lu Zhiyao, now recovered, was a reckless and unruly woman. She openly declared she wouldn't participate in the power struggles within the Zhou family's inner quarters. Her actions today were a direct declaration: if you use the fifth branch as a pawn, I'll have the head of the family make up for it. If she had been even a little slow in agreeing, the Lu family might have dared to send the fifth branch a large-scale monthly allowance. What would become of the Zhou family's reputation then? Wouldn't the fifth brother be even more alienated from his parents and brothers?

"Go ahead and keep an eye on the fourth son's wife. There can't be any mistakes at the birthday banquet." The old lady added another instruction. She wanted to teach her illegitimate son's wife and the concubine behind her the same thing. They could do whatever they wanted at home, but they couldn't have any problems in front of outsiders.

"Don't worry, Mother, I've prepared everything. I'll make sure you don't miss anything."

"That's good."

The other Zhou family ladies left the old lady's courtyard. Lu Zhiyao walked slowly as always, and Zhao Shi deliberately slowed her pace as well. Only when she was a distance away from the courtyard gate did she grit her teeth and say, "What does Fifth Sister-in-law mean?"

"Fourth sister-in-law, I suggest you don't mess with me. I'm not interested in what you want and I won't fight for it. You sisters-in-law can fight for it however you want, just don't drag me into it."

"Fifth sister-in-law, is this the tone you use when you talk to your sister-in-law?"

Lu Zhiyao stopped and stared at the top of Zhao's head: "Fourth Sister-in-law, were all these new hair ornaments included under the guise of purchasing for the birthday banquet?"

Zhao panicked: "What nonsense are you talking about? This is my dowry."

"You know perfectly well whether it's part of your dowry or not, Fourth Sister-in-law. I have no intention of vying for the management of the Zhou family's inner courtyard. You're now facing the three wives above you. But if you insist on provoking me, I won't be polite. Guess who will take over the management of the household, even if the Old Madam, the First Madam, and the Second Madam can no longer manage things?" This is a hidden rule among aristocratic families. No one would leave their legitimate daughter-in-law, who comes from a prestigious family, unused and instead use a concubine's daughter-in-law from a humble background.

"You're already so well? Managing things isn't an easy job," Zhao said in surprise.

"Heh~, Chunmei and Xiahe can manage the affairs of the Zhou family's inner quarters perfectly well." Do they really think that the maids trained by aristocratic families are just there to eat for free? The reason that Tao was sent to be the head of the inner quarters was because they were afraid that the young maids would not be able to handle things in front of other masters. But if it is just to manage the general affairs of the inner quarters, she can handle it with ease. She just needs to sit in the back and keep watch.

For example, the First Madam only needs to keep those few managers in check; how could she possibly do everything herself? Wouldn't that be exhausting?

"you,"

Lu Zhiyao was a little tired and quickly cut off the conversation: "Fourth Sister-in-law, if I were you, I wouldn't make another strong enemy for myself."

Was it that the First Madam was not comprehensive enough, the Second Madam was not shrewd enough, or the Third Madam was not tactful enough? How could Zhao Shi still have the energy to pull the Fifth Madam to the opposite side?

With the old lady in tow, there are four insurmountable mountains ahead. And she still dares to provoke Lu Zhiyao, who isn't even involved. Does she think she's not going to die a miserable death already?

After saying that, he left with his servants in a flurry.

Zhao was left standing there, deep in thought.

Back in her own courtyard, the Third Madam took a sip of tea and spoke with her wet nurse.

"Madam, is Fifth Madam directly revealing her hand?"

The Third Madam smiled slightly: "Didn't they already make their intentions clear? A wife of the youngest legitimate son, with two legitimate brothers and sisters-in-law above her, only a fool would bother to manage this thankless and exhausting household."

Actually, she envied Lu Zhiyao. The Third Master was also an illegitimate son, but because his birth mother was the old lady's dowry maid, he had a natural alliance with the old lady and was not too feared. But in the end, there was still a layer between them. The Third Master worked hard to manage the household affairs, but in the end, he was just doing the work for someone else. When the family was divided, how much would he get?

The advantage was that the third wife wasn't short of money like the fourth wife, but the third wife herself wasn't short of money either. Her family was originally merchants and very wealthy, and her dowry was substantial, consisting entirely of gold and silver. Because she had a younger brother who excelled in his studies and passed the imperial examination at the county level, which elevated her family's status, she had the opportunity to marry into the Zhou family, an official family.