【Quick Wear】My Years as a Mother-in-law

After a quarter of an hour of conspiracy, the two decided to find the real Qi Lao Si first, and the fake one in the house must be driven out.

Yun Xi is in charge of the backyard, Qi Xian is in charge of the family business and the front yard, and the most important thing is not to let the fourth brother get involved.

At this time, the little maid outside reported that the food was here, and Yun Xi asked her adopted eldest son to stay with her for dinner.

The Qi family attaches great importance to rules. They once missed the opportunity to deal with the palace because their competitors belittled the Qi family as nouveau riche without rules. Later, the Qi family paid more attention to rules, at least on the surface.

No words are spoken when eating, and no words are spoken when sleeping.

After dinner, Yun Xi looked at Dong Zhu in confusion: How is it going?

Dong Zhu lowered his head and looked at the young master who was not paying attention, and nodded: OK!

Yun Xi raised the corners of her mouth slightly. Qi Cao had almost one-third of the Qi family's assets, so she had to take them in her hands first. As for the public and external assets, she would also take the public assets in her hands, and let her adopted son manage the external assets first.

"Xian'er, come and take a look at the list. Your grandmother has her dowry, the filial piety of the younger generations, and some private money. Although it's unfilial, mother must take a look and have an idea of ​​the amount."

Yun Xi took the lists handed over by Dong Zhu and invited her son to look at them together.

Qi Xian nodded. That was right. The Qi family did not have enough wealth. His father had told them before he left that they would not have lavish burials and that the good things would be kept for the development of the Qi family. Of course, since he said they would not have lavish burials, Qi Xian had privately decided to bury some treasures with his father and grandmother. After his mother passed away, she would naturally receive the same treatment.

As the two of them looked through the various lists, Yun Xi couldn't help but sigh, "Although your grandmother has a bad temper, she manages the household well. These money and treasures must be kept well. Only some of them can be given out after the granddaughters get married. The rest must be hidden well."

The custom of lavish dowries was prevalent in Zhao State. Although married women could not share the family property, their dowries were no less than those shared by their brothers. Therefore, Qi Cao practiced frugality in the Qi family, saying that since there were so many illegitimate granddaughters to marry, it was natural to save more dowries.

Qi Xian looked at the list back and forth, and suddenly found something. He flipped through it again, becoming more and more anxious. He turned to look at Dong Zhu, "Dong Zhu, are all the things in Grandma's yard on the list?"

Dong Zhu nodded and said calmly, "Master, those three old lists were already there. Steward Qi and I checked them one by one, crossed out the missing items, and copied them out again after the master reviewed them. The extra list is Steward Qi's list of items not on the three lists. All the items have been stored in the old lady's storeroom."

Yun Xi looked at Qi Xian curiously, "Son, is there a problem? Is there something missing?"

I secretly asked the system, "Tongzi, what's missing? It looks like he's about to cry."

The system quickly replied, "It's a pair of dragon and phoenix pendants, awarded by the current crown prince. They are the Qi family's last resort. Qi Xian's wife stole them and took them back to her parents' home."

"I see."

Qi Xian checked the list for the third time. Dong Zhu was a little nervous because, under the old lady's order, she and housekeeper Qi moved out all the things from Cuixiyuan, the deceased ancestor's home.

All of the ancestor's clothes and worthless furniture were buried with him. The mahogany bed frame was said to be given as a dowry to the youngest daughter, and there was also a precious black rosewood screen with flowers in bloom, which was to be given as a dowry to the fifth daughter. The other furniture was very ordinary and was already in the tomb.

There were no precious flowers or plants in the back garden of Cuixiyuan. All that was planted were vegetables, which were not precious. She took a look at them but didn't pull them out, and asked the kitchen to use the ones there first when cooking.

Apart from these, Cuixiyuan has been emptied.

Qi Xian's face darkened, his hands trembling, and he wanted to say something. Seeing Dong Zhu, he called out, "Mom, let's go to the warehouse and take a look."

Yun Xi slowly stood up and put on a coat, "Okay, then go check it out."

The two of them went to the large warehouse in Lanxuan Courtyard and began to check. They were busy from mid-morning to noon and checked three times. Qi Xian followed his mother into the house dejectedly and waved to let Dongzhu go out. Dongzhu lowered his head and left quietly, closing the door and standing guard at the door.

Yun Xi waited quietly. Sure enough, her eldest son soon lost his composure and trembled, "Mother, the former King of Qin, now the Crown Prince, once came to South City and encountered some difficulties. Father helped him, so the Crown Prince gave him a pair of dragon and phoenix pendants before he left. That was the Qi family's last trump card, and now it's gone."

Qi Xian was about to cry. Yun Xi's face was solemn and she didn't take it seriously. What was lost was more than just a pair of dragon and phoenix pendants.

No matter how careful you are, you can never prevent a thief from within your own family. If you want to maintain internal stability in your Qi family, you must find the thief.

"What should I do? Mother, that is the prince's token!" Qi Xian knelt on the ground, covering his face, not knowing what to do.

Yun Xi gave him a look of disdain. No wonder he hadn't been able to control the Qi family's business for five years. He was truly incompetent. What was the point of being anxious now? "Go find him quickly! What's the point of crying?"

"Xian'er, let's look for this matter secretly first. I don't think your grandmother would harm the Qi family. She must still be at home."

Yun Xi's eyes rolled around. Keep looking. When you turn around and look inside the Qi family, you will find that it is already a mess.

"Yes! He must still be at Qi's house! Mom, I'll go right away."

Qi Xian ran away crying.

The day after the burial of the ancestor of the Qi family, the Qi family closed its doors to visitors. Qi Xian began to look for the dragon and phoenix pendants around the house. Yun Xi took advantage of this time to quickly and accurately seize the power of the family, and took inventory of her own private property, that of her deceased husband, and that left by the old lady, and finally prepared to start sorting out the public property.

These things are tedious but not difficult. As long as you have power, things are easy to handle.

What is the essence of power? It is the control over people.

If power is likened to a knife, consisting of a blade, a handle, a sheath, and the person wielding it, the blade represents the ability to harm you. I have the power to harm you, to punish you without your consent, and to deprive you of certain rights and benefits. This is the power to harm, the foundation for the enforcement of all rights. (This explanation of power is based on a video on TikTok.)

The husband dies and the son follows the wife. Qi Xian is the head of the Qi family. In this era where filial piety is more important than anything else, Yun Xi asks for power, and Qi Xian cannot refuse. He orders his mother to be the head of the family, and no one has any reason to object. At this time, power is immediately exercised, and no one can stop Yun Xi from taking control of the backyard.

Yun Xi formed her own team, including Dong Zhu and the six newly promoted maids. She had her own people. These five people absolutely obeyed her orders. This was her blade. She mastered absolute violence, and her orders were enforced. No one in the inner courtyard could stop her.

Very brutal and effective.

The handle of the knife represents information and the ability to collect information. Information is divided into other people's inner thoughts and external events.

The information collection in the inner courtyard relies on Dong Zhu and six maids, and the outside world relies on Butler Qi. Fearing that the original owner's biological daughter would be harmed, Yun Xi arranged for Butler Qi to send people to monitor the concubine and the fourth lady, waiting for the right time to exchange her back.

The ability to collect information is crucial. The reason why the original owner's husband is more powerful than Qi Xian is because he has his own team and a strong ability to collect information. He knows the relationship network of officials in Nancheng, the basic situation of the inner courts of various officials, the changes in the court's policies, etc. Qi Xian can always collect information keenly and make appropriate decisions at the right time.

But Qi Xian couldn't do it. His team was inherited from his father, and their loyalty was greatly reduced. Moreover, he had no awareness of collecting information and would not bribe those little ghosts to find out the movements of the King of Hell, which made the Qi family somewhat weak.

He is a very unqualified operator.

What is the scabbard? The scabbard is justice, the foundation of all morality that is believed and obeyed by people.

In order for Yun Xi to gain the trust and respect of the servants in the inner courtyard, she needs face. The greater the power, the higher the level of morality required. I am Qi Ming's legitimate wife, and I deserve respect. I am the mother of the head of the Qi family, and he must be filial to me, so it is moral and reasonable for me to hold power.

Finally, there is the surgeon. How the surgeon can better use the blade, handle and scabbard and balance the three, that is, the level of the surgeon's execution of power, is easy to understand, but also the most challenging.

"Xian'er, you have to learn to master this knife. When to hide it? When to show it? How to gather information? And how to maintain the moral high ground? If you don't use it well, this knife may backfire on you and cut you down."