After Rebirth, She Becomes the Revenge Queen
Chapter 29 - 028 The Old Lady is Unwell!

Chapter 29: Chapter 028 The Old Lady is Unwell!

Fu Jun was almost choked to death by Mrs. Fu’s words!

Everyone knew that ever since Mrs. Fu married into the Fu Family, she had been gentle and virtuous. Although not completely meek and submissive, she generally never stood against him directly. Even when he sought her approval for public expenses, she rarely protested. Who would have thought that at such a critical juncture, she would adopt such an attitude?

Furious, he retaliated, "Ning Family! Don’t refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit! You are part of the Fu Family; how can this matter be unrelated to you?!"

Mrs. Fu glanced at him, "If you say so, then I might as well not be part of the Fu Family. Not only I, but even Zhen Er and Jia Er can follow my surname."

Fu Jun was enraged to the point of smoking through his seven orifices, only resenting the fact that with the Prefecture Chief present, he couldn’t immediately slap her a few times to vent his anger!

Despite that, his fists were clenched so tightly that oil could come out, "I let you hold the position of the house mistress gloriously as an Imperial Decree lady, you should know to prioritize the bigger picture, don’t be ungrateful!"

"How am I being ungrateful?" Mrs. Fu responded earnestly, "Why don’t you think carefully, did I utter even a single falsehood? Mother has blamed me for household management issues more than once or twice. If I still didn’t know how to act according to her wishes, wouldn’t I have been an Imperial Decree lady for nothing all these years?

"Not to mention all of that.

"The truth of this matter hasn’t been clarified yet. Why did Zheng An go fishing in another village has not been figured out. What if the other side provoked first, and Zheng An and his companions retaliated? A few hundred taels of silver is a small matter, but if I took matters into my own hands and compensated them, wouldn’t it confirm mother’s and your ineffective management? Could mother not be incensed afterward? Wouldn’t the Fu Family’s reputation be tarnished?

"Moreover, Zheng An and his companions have always followed mother’s direction. Are you sure whether mother was aware of this or not? You haven’t even asked how the Elder Lady would handle it, and you’re already rushing to compensate with money. Aren’t you afraid it would ruin mother’s plans?

"You’re usually an extremely smart person, how could you be so muddle-headed today?"

The sincerity and weight of these words caught even the furious Fu Jun off guard.

It’s impossible for Mrs. Fu to wholeheartedly care for him; he wouldn’t be naive enough to think so.

But even if she spoke more falsehoods, there’s still some truth in her words!

Zheng An belonged to the Old Madam Fu, that’s an undeniable fact. The Old Madam had retreated to the back courtyard, but she was just over fifty, her vigor was very good, and she was reluctant to hand over the household to her daughter-in-law too early. She always meddled in household affairs, and the estate in the southern suburbs was under her control. Not consulting her was indeed imprudent!

The phrase "ineffective management" burdened him immensely. While giving money could settle the matter quietly, doing so without question and letting them lead by the nose would indeed be akin to lifting a rock only to drop it on one’s own foot!

This realization quickly calmed him down. He then glared at Mrs. Fu and returned to his seat, saying to the Prefecture Chief, "I have not yet inquired about the full story from the house servants. I request permission from my lord to first seek clarity to avoid any omissions."

The Prefecture Chief furrowed his brow, "Mr. Fu, go ahead and ask."

Meanwhile, Mrs. Fu walked out and instructed Jin Zhu to fetch the recently delivered premium pre-rain tea from the main residence for hospitality.

Fu Jun asked Zheng An, "How exactly did today’s dispute arise?"

"Master!" Zheng An eagerly replied, "Today’s incident was not started by us! The river where Qi Quan was fishing indeed didn’t belong to our estate, but neither did it belong to the neighboring village; it was a common boundary river, where Qi Quan often fished for shrimp. Today he wasn’t even fishing but was called by me to open a sluice gate for irrigating the fields, when these two claimed to be villagers from the neighboring village and stopped him.

"They said this river was maintained by them annually and that our estate had no share in it, hence we couldn’t draw water. A dispute arose between us..."

Fu Jun frowned.

Mrs. Fu had guessed right; this indeed was related to the estate and not a case of Zheng An and his companions stirring up trouble!

Mrs. Fu said, "Since it’s a boundary river, the villages on both sides certainly share its maintenance; how could only they maintain it?

"Master, I remember we only bought this estate recently and haven’t maintained it. We should check with the previous owner. If the former owner dispatched people for maintenance, then these two are purely stirring up trouble."

Fu Jun looked towards Zheng An, who panicked, "Madam, you might not be aware! The previous owner hurriedly sold because they were relocating out of the capital. Where could we find them to verify this now? The Elder Lady knew all about this!"

On the other hand, Hu Yi coldly snorted, took out a piece of paper from his bosom, and said, "This is a certification document issued by our headman about the river maintenance, which clearly states that only our village has been maintaining that stretch of the river over the years!

"Prefecture Chief, this bears the headman’s seal. If there’s any forgery, I willingly accept punishment!"

Spiky sensations crawled down Fu Jun’s spine.

His gut told him this couldn’t be true; the estate was next to the river, the previous owner would not have neglected maintaining the river.

However, now there was no way to prove that their estate maintained the river while the other side had a certification document, making Zheng An and his companions truly stand on flimsy ground!

After reviewing the document, the Prefecture Chief asked, "Mr. Fu, do you have any objections to this?

Clenching his teeth and taking a deep breath, Fu Jun looked at the house servant, "Go to Rongfu Hall and verify, is this true or not?"

On the other side, Fu Zhen immediately raised her hand, "I’m quick on my feet! I’ll go!"

With that, she swiftly dashed down the long corridor!

Fu Jun swore he’d never seen her move so rapidly in his lifetime!

...

When Fu Zhen arrived at Rongfu Hall, the news had naturally spread there, and Nanny Qi was waiting by the entrance for the scouts to report back.

Upon seeing Fu Zhen, she immediately tensed up and turned back into the house without a word.

Fu Zhen paid no heed, striding across the threshold with a loud shout of "Granny, something’s wrong!", then ignoring the maids trying to stop her at the corridor, she barged straight into the main three rooms.

The Old Madam Fu, who was lying anxiously on the recliner under the east window due to the matter at the front yard, jumped with a start upon hearing "Something’s wrong, Granny!", and shot up from the recliner!

"Granny! It’s bad news!

"Your coercion and appropriation of your daughter-in-law’s dowry to buy private properties, your harshness to your daughter-in-law and grandchildren, and your indulgence of father’s favoritism towards concubines over his wife, all these things—Zheng An is going to testify about them!"

Fu Zhen leaped through the threshold, glanced at the lady on the couch cloaked in silks, a bowl of bird’s nest beside her, pushed Nanny Qi away with both hands, and in a stride darted forward!

"He got into a fight with villagers from the neighboring village and claimed in front of the Prefecture Chief that the estate is under your control, and you are aware of all their actions on the estate!

"Now he refuses to go to jail and threatens to expose all these dirty secrets! Granny, father urges you to make a decision quickly!"

These thunderous words bombarded Old Madam Fu’s ears, leaving her no time to first admonish her behavior or reproach her harsh language!

She suddenly jumped again from the couch to the ground, her eyes as big as gongs staring at Fu Zhen, "Say that again!"

Just then, the house servant sent by Fu Jun arrived in pursuit, "Reporting to Granny! The Eldest Young Mistress’s statement is inaccurate, Zheng An actually said that due to urgent matters, the previous owner left the capital, and there’s no way to verify if there were any river maintenance practices!"

Fu Zhen turned, her voice even louder than before, "Then did he or did he not say that Granny knows everything? Did he or did he not admit they were fishing and shrimping on the riverbank? Did he or did he not admit they got into a dispute with the other side? Is the certificate they provided real or not?

"Zheng An stirred this up with the government, and the Prefecture Chief already accused father of poor management right in his face and even threatened his career, now forcing father to explain himself—is this true or not!"

"..."

The house servant was speechless, unable to utter another word!