哈哈漫画

The third part began when the Xu Family was exonerated, and she returned to the home she had longed for day and night.

People said Xu Xinyue was lucky to have such a talented daughter, who became the second female general in the dynasty. But Xu Xinyue didn't care about these accolades; she only wished for her daughter to be by her side.

At banquets, she would listen to the ladies discussing Li Xia's great achievements. Xu Xinyue would then take out a carefully treasured jade tablet from her dressing table box. This was a carving Li Xia had made and given her when she returned from Hai City. At the time, Li Xia sensed her days were numbered, so she carved a statue of Xu Xinyue pulling her ear. In the carving, Xu Xinyue's face showed anger, but her eyes revealed concern. Li Xia's mouth was open in pain, but her face wore a smile.

Xu Xinyue reached out to pinch Li Xia's little ear. "You heartless girl," she said, "How could you leave so suddenly without even saying goodbye? Forcing me to bury my child before myself."

Wang Hong entered the room and saw his mother holding his sister's jade carving, lost in thought. He knew Madam Xu was thinking of his sister again. He also missed that brilliantly talented sister. "Mother," he called.

Hearing Wang Hong's voice, Xu Xinyue came back to herself, carefully put away the jade, and stood up. "Hong'er, you're back. Did everything go smoothly at the Ministry of Works today?"

After passing the imperial examinations, Wang Hong had entered the Ministry of Works with Li Hui's help. Wang Hong had been interested in woodworking since he was young. Li Xia had left behind many woodcarving works, including a small water wheel. After entering the Ministry of Works, Wang Hong thought it could be made into something practical. Recently, he had been researching with the ministry staff, and today they had successfully tested it.

As Wang Hong described how Li Xia's small water wheel could be enlarged and made into a wooden structure to irrigate farmland and reduce manual labor, Xu Xinyue felt proud of her daughter's ingenuity.

"Mother, sister's spirit in heaven surely wouldn't want you to be sad," Wang Hong said, stepping forward to help Xu Xinyue sit down.

Xu Xinyue patted Wang Hong's hand. "I know, Xia'er wouldn't want me to be sad. I'm not sad, I just... I just miss her a little." As she spoke, Xu Xinyue's tears fell uncontrollably. Her daughter had been so young; how could she be gone? She couldn't understand why Heaven had taken her so early.

"Mother, you still have me and Cheng'er. Now that sister is gone, we must live well and stay by Cheng'er's side," Wang Hong said. In his heart, he also couldn't accept why his unparalleled, talented sister had suddenly left. But he understood that the living were more important.

"You're right, Cheng'er still needs us," Xu Xinyue said, thinking of how young Lu Liucheng was when he lost both parents. She hadn't expected Lu XuanNing's love to be so deep that he followed her daughter.

As mother and son were talking, they heard noises from outside. Wang Hong frowned. "They're arguing again."

Xu Xinyue's stepson, Wang Xiao, had passed the imperial examinations and entered the Hanlin Academy, with a promising career ahead. The Wang family wanted to arrange a marriage for Wang Xiao. However, because of what Wang Dong and the elder Mr. and Mrs. Wang had done when Wang Hong was born, there was still a thorn in Xu Xinyue's heart. She didn't want to be involved in Wang Xiao's marriage arrangements at all.

The elder Mr. and Mrs. Wang had originally worried that Xu Xinyue would harm Wang Xiao, but over the years, Xu Xinyue had kept her hands off. Now they were dissatisfied, feeling that Xu Xinyue was not caring enough for her stepson.

They wanted Xu Xinyue to use her connections to find a noble lady for Wang Xiao. After all, Xu Xinyue's daughter Li Xia had been a female general of the dynasty, and her son-in-law was a hereditary marquis, both of high status.

Xu Xinyue completely ignored these hints. Wang Dong, understanding Xu Xinyue's feelings, took the initiative to ask his former superior to find a suitable match for Wang Xiao – the second daughter of a count's family.

The new daughter-in-law, Lady Li, looked down on Xu Xinyue as a stepmother-in-law of lower birth. With the support of her husband's grandmother, the elder Mrs. Wang, she wanted to take over the household management.

Little did she know that Xu Xinyue had no desire to manage the messy affairs of the Wang family. Seeing that Lady Li wanted to manage the household, she very readily handed over the authority, only managing the affairs of her own and Wang Hong's courtyard.

After taking over the Wang family's affairs, Lady Li discovered that the family was only outwardly prosperous, with actual expenses being quite difficult to manage. She suspected that Xu Xinyue had embezzled the family's wealth and wanted to check the accounts. Xu Xinyue wasn't afraid of Lady Li not checking the accounts; when she saw her intent to do so, she laid out all the accounts from when she had married into the Wang family for Lady Li to see.

Lady Li and her people spent a month checking the accounts and discreetly inquiring from the Wang family's old servants. Only then did she understand why Xu Xinyue had so readily handed over the authority. The Wang family had no significant assets in common, and their current comfortable lifestyle was entirely due to Xu Xinyue's capable management and substantial contributions from her dowry.

Naturally, when Xu Xinyue handed over the authority, she stopped using her dowry to supplement the family's expenses. Lady Li regretted her actions, but having taken over the household management and enjoyed the power, it was impossible for her to give it up.

Lady Li began to cut expenses, directly selling off unnecessary personnel. Daily meals were also adjusted; luxurious delicacies were out of the question. Every day, it was plain porridge and simple dishes.

Xu Xinyue had her own money and a small kitchen in her courtyard. She simply used her own funds to stock the small kitchen, living very well. Lady Li saw this with envy but could say nothing; she could manage everything else but not her step-mother-in-law.

Moreover, Xu Xinyue had Wang Hong, the grandson of the Marquis of Pacifying the South. She regularly associated with noble families like the Beining Marquis Manor and Chengen Marquis Residence, as well as prestigious families like the Li family.

Lady Li dared not and could not interfere. The elder Mrs. Wang, who had enjoyed a good life for over a decade, suddenly found her lifestyle drastically changed. The number of servants in her quarters hadn't decreased, but the quality of food, clothing, and daily necessities had declined. Her daily morning bowl of bird's nest soup had been replaced with white fungus soup. Her seasonal wardrobe of four sets of clothes had been reduced to two, and the fabric had changed from luxurious brocade to ordinary silk.

This was unacceptable to her. She confronted Lady Li several times. Lady Li secretly resented the elder Mrs. Wang for encouraging her to seize power, causing her to take over without understanding the situation clearly. She found herself stuck in a mess. Lady Li had no intention of being like Xu Xinyue, using her dowry's income to supplement the family for over a decade. Her dowry was for her own and her future children's use only.

When the elder Mrs. Wang asked, Lady Li simply said there was no money in the common fund. Why was there no money? Because the Wang family had few common assets and no income.

Wang Dong also noticed the changes but didn't dare confront Xu Xinyue. He took some money from his private funds and put it into the common fund. However, Wang Dong's private funds were limited, and he needed money for himself as well.

It's difficult to go from luxury to frugality. The elder Mrs. Wang was very dissatisfied with Lady Li. There were frequent conflicts between them, and several times the elder Mrs. Wang approached Xu Xinyue, wanting her to take over the household management again. Xu Xinyue, having finally rid herself of this troublesome task, would not take it back. She either changed the subject or pretended not to hear, watching the two of them fight.

"Mother, I've spoken with the Minister. Starting next month, I'll take a three-month leave. Let's go to the southern border," Wang Hong said, worried that Xu Xinyue's constant sadness wasn't good for her. He thought of taking her to see the person she had been longing to meet.

"You're just like your sister, always thinking of me," Xu Xinyue said, looking at the grown-up Wang Hong and lamenting her own helplessness.

"I want to see what kind of formidable grandmother Cheng'er talks about. I also want to see Hai City and the ocean," Wang Hong said sincerely, his eyes filled with longing that Xu Xinyue could clearly see.

"Alright, let's go together," Xu Xinyue said. She also wanted to see what Crescent Moon Island, which Li Xia had never forgotten, looked like.