The cousin's family is extremely wealthy; she deserves to be a concubine.

“But Madam Shen doesn’t know about our family’s past. I’ve tried to subtly inquire about it many times, but she still does things her own way. She thinks I’m trying to take back the power of managing the household and has started to challenge me.”

Recalling the past, the old lady seemed somewhat dejected. "Back then, you spoiled Concubine Shui terribly. Madam Shen felt wronged and only cared about holding onto her power as the head of the household. The more I suppressed her, the more she rebelled. At that time, our Marquis's Mansion became a laughing stock among the powerful and influential people in the capital."

"Fortunately, your little sister gave birth to the eleventh princess in the palace. It's probably because our family's neglect of domestic affairs has made us a laughing stock, so the emperor has rewarded us. Only now can I feel a little relieved and go back to my Fushou Hall to chant sutras."

"I thought that life would just go on like this, and now that my eldest daughter is getting married, it will be my second daughter's turn next year, and I feel much more at ease."

"Who would have thought that at this critical juncture, your wife would be so narrow-minded as to set her sights on your niece's dowry? It's really beneath her dignity."

Lord He couldn't help but interject, "Wasn't this someone you personally chose?" Given his status, he could have married even a princess or a duke; Shen's family background was indeed somewhat lacking.

The old lady's nearsighted eyes widened, and she picked up her cane and struck Lord He twice.

"You unfilial son. If you hadn't been so self-righteous back then, secretly taking sides behind my and your father's back, and leaving behind such incriminating evidence, would I have been able to choose a wife for you from those humble families?"

"If it weren't for the current leniency, would you still be standing here making sarcastic remarks?"

"Although the Shen family comes from a humble background, they are the best among the worst. Who would want to marry someone of equal social standing to our family? Don't people know what's going on in other families."

Even if they wanted to give up a concubine's daughter, I wouldn't want them to have the title of a marquis's wife for nothing.

In other words, your father acted decisively back then, first relinquishing his military power, which saved our entire family from being implicated by you.

We finally settled down, and then you secretly kept a mistress named Shui behind my and your father's back. You kept her, fine, but your father's mortal enemy found out.

If your father hadn't gotten wind of this first and relinquished his position of real power to His Majesty, handing it over to his current confidant, do you think you could still be peacefully marrying wives and taking concubines?

"If it weren't for your father and me mediating on your behalf, you wouldn't even have been able to marry someone like Ms. Shen."

"Mother!" I am your son, after all. Please consider my feelings when you speak.

Who wouldn't want to bet on the merit of following the dragon's lead?

Above the Marquis's mansion is the Duke's mansion, and above the Duke's mansion is a king of a different surname.

Besides, there are differences between different marquis mansions.

He was just unlucky and followed the wrong person.

Look, even if he made the wrong bet, his family will still enjoy wealth and prosperity.

If two of their descendants become successful, with the wealth inherited from their ancestors, how could their family not rise up!

Lord He got up and helped his mother to the main seat, poured her a cup of good tea, and with a fawning smile, coaxed her.

"My son is just hoping to further advance the family's legacy. My little sister, who is with the current emperor, gave birth to a princess, but only received the rank of Zhaoyi. Yet the man back then promised me that I would at least be a Guifei."

"If my sister were to have another son, that position wouldn't be out of the question; it's not impossible to give it a shot." Lord He felt his blood boil as he recounted those days, but alas, it was all for naught.

"Shut up, you old hag! You can't just bring up those things from the past as a joke!" The old lady was so angry that her chest hurt.

"Hehe, it's just the two of us in the house." Lord He massaged the old lady's shoulders and coaxed her gently, "It was indeed my carelessness regarding the Shui family matter."

Although Lady Shui was relegated to a lowly status due to her family's influence, her connections were far-reaching. Furthermore, when the Shui family's property was confiscated, the publicly available wealth was limited. Her son secretly believed that Lady Shui was key to finding that hidden fortune.

The old lady glanced at her own son and said, "Oh, so the Marquis has lost both wealth and beauty these past few years. I wonder if he managed to get any significant information out of Madam Shui?"

Lord He touched his nose sheepishly, not daring to look at his mother, "I'm just... I'm still trying to gain her trust."

"Hmph! I think you're just blinded by beauty, not after that illusory gold and silver. If you really had endless wealth, would you be begging for it?"

Even the most wise and sagacious person today cannot find it, so how could you possibly find it?

It wasn't that she was badmouthing her own son, it was just that... "You've put in so much effort and money for the Shui family for over ten years, and you've seen your son get married and your daughter get married, but you've still gained nothing."

But your indifferent Shen family has actually been subsidizing our Marquis's mansion with money, supporting this household for you!"

Lord He blushed with embarrassment at his mother's words, saying, "Mother used to like Shui Shi very much too."

"The Shui family used to be the maternal family of a prince, and one of their daughters was a favored concubine. Do you think I can just throw a tantrum at a girl from their family?"

"And if I were truly heartless, would I have agreed to let the Shui family into the family?"

"Of course, if I had known that letting her into the family would cost your father his life and Er Ya's life, I would have stopped her with all my might." As the old lady spoke, her spirits visibly weakened.

"Mother, it's my fault."

"Alas!" the old lady sighed. "Well, it's all fate."

The Shui family name was just an excuse. The events of that year cannot be explained in a few words.

Your father... in the end, it was our Muqing Marquis's mansion that attracted the attention of certain people. In order to protect our mansion's wealth and status, your father risked his life and gave up his position, which earned him His Majesty's forgiveness of our family.

"Your father's death was worthwhile; otherwise, our whole family would be living in some desolate wasteland."

"Yes, it's all my fault for being such a good son, otherwise Father wouldn't have..."

"Enough, stop crying. Your tricks won't work on me."

"Back then, your father died, leaving a will saying that his descendants did not need to observe mourning. Taking advantage of His Majesty's slight guilt towards our family, your little sister successfully entered the palace and risked her life for the family."

I thought your sister would live a lonely life, but I never imagined that His Majesty, a truly benevolent ruler, would give your sister a child.

In this life, she finally has something to look forward to. I just hope that she can live a smooth and successful life like this.

"After the little princess gets married, our family won't expect to curry favor with her, but if she ever asks us for anything, we'll help her out in any way we can."

"Yes, son will remember. I will also explain it to Zhang-ge'er."

"Hmm." Then the old lady dropped another bombshell, "Shui has been keeping a low profile in the backyard all these years. I thought that once she had a stable life, she would behave herself. I never expected that you and she had been hiding a big secret from me."