Chapter 157

"Family Leader, since Eldest Young Miss Qin has spent all the money on the association, and now the government has taken over, our Qin family’s plan can no longer proceed, can it? What should we do about this loss?" An elder of the Qin family asked.

Originally, he wasn’t an elder who supported Qin Mazhu’s claim to lead the Qin family. However, due to his superior abilities compared to others, Qin Mazhu couldn’t remove him from his elder position. Thus, the other party remained a thorn on Qin Mazhu’s side to this day.

This elder was aligned with his younger brother, and naturally, he now supported his younger brother’s son as well. Even though he operated covertly to avoid raising suspicions about his actions, his performance had improved significantly this year. Although he still couldn’t compete with Qin Majiao, Qin Majiao’s main disadvantage was lacking strong backing.

His mother had passed away, and now he was raised by a furen who allowed his sister to cause substantial harm to the family. In truth, these issues had nothing to do with the Qin family at all. The damages they were discussing pertained to the shops originally belonging to the Li family, didn’t they?

Why, then, did these people count it as the fault of Yueqian and her mother? In fact, couldn’t the mother and daughter do whatever they wanted with those shops? They weren’t even the Qin family’s assets to begin with!

This was the selfishness of the Qin family, speaking so shamelessly. Naturally, it made Ailing, who sat quietly pretending to look worried, feel deep contempt inside. And Qin Majiao? The man currently wearing a furious expression, as if ready to punish his troublesome sister, was usually a good-natured person. However, deep down, he was quite pleased that his sister was causing the worthless Qin family such headaches.

These people fought over benefits amongst themselves. Did they really think he, as the eldest son of the Qin family leader, cared about the position of family leader in this ridiculous household?!

His ambitions lay beyond the Du Region. Even now, his work with the Hu Region was going smoothly. Of course, smoothly in this context meant the Qin family had no idea about it!

Anyway, ever since his sister and mother showed they didn’t care about the Qin family when he was young, Qin Majiao had been seeking a way out for all three of them from this wretched Region.

“I don’t think the family leader can provide an answer. What about you, Furen? Won’t you say anything? You’re the one who caused the family to lose its benefits. Do you really care about the Qin family? Haven’t you held the position of principal wife without contributing anything? Using your position to support your only daughter to destroy the Qin family—is that acceptable?” Hearing that, another elder chimed in, joining the fray.

Playing with the family leader might be a bit difficult but playing with Ailing is not hard at all. This woman is arrogant and always looks down on others, which has caused many people to despise her. Fortunately, she has a significant weakness—she desperately wants the position of principal wife and is afraid of meetings where she is at fault. If there is something she does not feel guilty about, she will argue vehemently.

But if she knows she is genuinely at fault, she will remain silent.

Such is this foolish woman, the prototype of the mother of that little villainess Qin, who has caused such revulsion among people!

“This-this matter, I will call Qian’er and speak to her again,” Ailing said.

“You are utterly thoughtless! Do you think that after the royal decree has been issued, your daughter’s decisions will still matter?! As the principal wife, how can you be like this?”

“B-but if that’s not the case, I will call Qian’er back. If she marries into Young General’s manor...”

“That is even more absurd! Now, even the emperor knows that Eldest Young Miss Qin is married to a man from the Mu family. I’ve heard they were both summoned to discuss the association. If they pressure Eldest Young Miss to divorce and marry Young General, how do you think that will turn out?! By then, even Young General won’t dare accept this hot potato!”

“Then what else can I do? The situation has come to this,” Ailing seemed to have no solution, her voice rising slightly, but this only opened the floor for others.

“Family Leader, you can see that your principal wife is not fit for her position. Besides, keeping her in this role is useless. Eldest Young Miss Qin has left the Qin family, and it would be challenging to have her marry Young General. Wouldn’t it be better to punish and demote the principal wife, send her to a temple to repent, and marry a new principal wife who could enhance the Qin family’s reputation?”

"You all! This matter has nothing to do with my mother. How can you do this?" Upon hearing this, Qin Majiao immediately objected he decision, his face flushing with anger.

"Ha! Eldest Young Master, are you so agitated because you fear that your position as the next family leader will be in trouble? In the end, have you ever considered the Qin family, or do you only think of yourself?"

Faced with this accusation, Qin Majiao couldn’t say anything further. If he spoke up, it would imply he was eager for the position of family leader. But if he didn’t speak... his deserving mother would be punished. So, Qin Majiao stared intensely at his father. Ultimately, the decision rested with him.

Qin Mazhu pondered for a moment. It seemed that what the elders were saying made sense. If he wanted the Qin family to remain powerful and suffer minimal impact, he needed to handle this matter properly. Aligning with another influential family was the right choice. If the eldest daughter couldn’t establish a connection with the general’s family, then how about making the Deng family’s daughter his new principal wife?

He imagined Furen Deng would be delighted with this development!

"Good. Send a matchmaker to the Deng family to propose a new principal wife for me," the Qin family leader ordered. Ailing, who was sitting there, collapsed in front of him.

The woman’s eyes turned red, and tears streamed down uncontrollably amid the joy of many others. Naturally, deep down, the mother and daughter were just as pleased!

"Dear, if you truly intend to demote me, then I will request a divorce from you! I cannot bear not being the principal wife. If you plan to do this... it’s better to give me a divorce papers!" Who would have thought that the principal wife would be so attached to her position? Just because she wouldn’t be the principal wife, she wanted a divorce?

"Father, if that’s the case, then remove me from the Qin family as well. Now that my sister is no longer part of the Qin family, and if my mother is no longer your wife, then I will no longer use the Qin family name. Please reconsider your decision." Qin Majiao knelt down next to Ailing.

This made Qin Mazhu so furious that his mustache trembled violently. The idea that this mother and son duo would go so far as to oppose him and threaten to leave the family to force him to change his decision—how could Qin Mazhu tolerate such behavior?!

Of course, the foolishness of people cannot be easily corrected. Even after being provoked by Yueqian to be expelled from the family, they had not learned their lesson. The mother and son were playing a drama like young girls, yet they did not suspect anything.

He would soon realize just how grave his decision was and that it would be too late to amend it. In the future, both he and the entire Qin family would have to worry and be cautious, not daring to do anything to offend the mother and son. Otherwise, it would inevitably affect the relations between Regions.

And not with a small Region, but a Region that the Du Region was a vassal state, the Hu Region

While the Qin family was undergoing significant changes, Yueqian was calmly reviewing Qu Yi’s work.

The girl had made great strides in her skills, possibly because she received full support in terms of equipment and materials, all funded by Yueqian. Doing what she loved had allowed Qu Yi to improve rapidly.

"Your skills are now good enough to sell embroidered cloth, but it’s still not at the level for the upper class. The designs are beautiful, but the details are not quite there yet. You need to pay more attention to that," Yueqian pointed out the flaws. Qu Yi examined her work, noted the mistakes, and resolved to improve next time.

"Yes, Miss."

"For now, you don’t need to attend lessons with Huan’er. You should spend all your time refining your skills. In one month, you will have to work hard for me."

"Miss, do you mean..."

"Because you’ve been here a long time and we all trust you, I will tell you that our family’s plan is to move to the Bai Region. Your master has secured a promise from a high-ranking official in the Bai Region to make him a mayor in a developing region. Therefore, what we will need most is money."

"M-Miss!" Qu Yi was slightly shocked. She had always known that her master and mistress were capable, but she never imagined they had plans that extended so far.

Moving to another Region was no small matter. If done recklessly, they could be seen as spies and easily executed. Therefore, this made Qu Yi fearful. However, the mistress mentioned a high-ranking official’s promise, and the position of mayor was not a minor role. Qu Yi knew that the future was well planned by the master and mistress. They loved their siblings dearly and wouldn’t risk taking them if it weren’t safe.

Qu Yi wasn’t afraid of dying. Now, she thought that she wouldn’t be able to meet the expectations of her master and mistress!

"Don’t feel too pressured. When we reach the Bai Region, I will first buy you a small shop. You can then spend your time embroidering and earning money to support us. Since we don’t know how harsh it will be there, you will be left alone in a neighboring Region for a while," Yueqian explained her plan.

Even though the young maid was not very old, she was mature beyond her years. Yueqian was confident that the girl would manage and do her job well. Additionally, as a governor, Yueqian and Mu Heng would be able to travel easily, unlike common folk who found it difficult to move around.

Well, at least they would be in a relatively good position, with soldiers at their service...

"M-Miss, thank you for believing in me! This foolish Qu Yi will do her best and will definitely help you and the master!" Given such trust, even if she wasn’t confident in herself, Qu Yi wouldn’t refuse. Even though she wasn’t sure about her own skills, she decided she just needed to ensure she was up to the task.

She would practice, practice more, and become the best embroiderer, making as much money as possible for her mistress and master!

"You don’t have to push yourself that hard. After all, I already have quite a lot of money. But money... it’s always good to earn more, which is why I came up with this plan. I hope you’ll cooperate well." If it were anyone else, Yueqian might worry about them cheating her out of money, but this was Qu Yi, someone who was extremely loyal even in the novel. Therefore, she trusted the other party to carry out this task.Or even if Qu Yi did cheat her, Yueqian’s income was still enormous. She wouldn’t be in any real hardship.