The mistress has no feelings, why do you provoke her?

The following day, Ruyi Residence.

After Zhou woke up, she called for her mother, Qi, to come in and serve her, just as she always did.

I called out twice, but there was no one there.

"Where is he? Where did he go?" Zhou shouted angrily.

A short while later, a maid ran in from outside, saying in a panic, "Madam, I'm here."

When Zhou saw that it was a maid from outside, she frowned in displeasure: "Call Qi Mama over here to help me with my washing and grooming."

Over the years, she had long been used to having Aunt Qi comb her hair; she wasn't used to having anyone else do it.

"We haven't seen Qi Mama since early this morning, and this servant doesn't know where she went," the maid replied fearfully.

Madam Zhou snorted angrily: "This Qi Mama is becoming more and more lazy because she has been in the mansion for so long."

Zhou knew about Qi's mother's shady dealings in private.

However, since she had been with him for a long time, Zhou Shi turned a blind eye to it.

Now that she doesn't even respect herself, how could Zhou not be angry?

"Go, bring her here to me."

The young maidservant hurriedly responded and turned to call Qi Mama in to serve her.

Before long, the maid returned.

Seeing that she was alone, Zhou asked, "Where is Mama Qi?"

"Reporting to Madam, the steward of the backyard said that no one saw Qi Mama last night."

"What?" Zhou asked in surprise, "She hasn't gone home since last night, where the hell has she gone?"

The young maidservant lowered her head and shook her head haphazardly.

Zhou was furious and said angrily, "Give the order to find her and bring her back to me. She's really gone too far."

The maidservant hurriedly relayed Zhou's instructions.

Afterwards, Zhou called her back to serve her and help her with her personal hygiene.

After getting dressed, Zhou sat down at the dining table.

On the table, there were only two dishes, a soup, and a bowl of rice.

Thinking that no food had been served, Zhou said, "Let's serve the dishes."

The maid looked at her with a troubled expression: "Madam, this is breakfast."

"What?" Zhou was shocked and pointed at the two plates of vegetarian dishes on the table. She said angrily, "A plate of green vegetables and a plate of tofu, is this something for humans to eat? Even a dog wouldn't eat it. Is this how the kitchen is trying to fool me? Go and call the person in charge in here."

The maidservant responded and hurriedly went out. A short while later, she led in a thin steward.

The steward's surname was Zhang, and he was mainly responsible for Zhou's food, drink, and other daily needs.

He stepped forward and greeted Madam Zhou, then replied with a bitter face, "Madam, please calm down. The mansion is short of money, and all the courtyards have cut back on expenses. Our Ruyi Residence is doing relatively well, at least we have two dishes. Other courtyards only have one dish. Moreover, the young mistress said that we will not make any new winter clothes this year. We will just have to make do with last year's clothes and make new spring clothes in the spring."

Madam Zhou slammed her fist on the table in anger: "It shouldn't be this difficult. If outsiders saw this, they would think that our Marquis's mansion is starving."

What a terrible Song Wenjun! How dare she treat her like this!

I'll teach her a lesson.

Manager Zhang dared not reply, and only looked down at his toes.

Just as Zhou was thinking about how to torment Song Wenjun, a commotion arose outside.

A maidservant came in and reported, "Madam, people from the Second and Third Hospitals have arrived. They are all waiting for you to make the decision."

Zhou suddenly realized that the people from the Second and Third Hospitals probably couldn't stand the simple meals and had come to her to complain.

She felt utterly overwhelmed, as the entire Hou family relied on their ancestors' savings for food and drink.

If this continues, we will eventually run out of money.

After thinking for a moment, Madam Zhou said to the maid, "Let them in."

Since Song Wenjun was the one who caused this trouble, then let the Second and Third Hospitals go after Song Wenjun.

"Sister-in-law, what kind of situation is this?" A figure flashed in through the door, her voice preceding her arrival.

The newcomer was dressed in a luxurious short jacket adorned with begonia blossoms and rabbit fur trim, and wore warm fox fur gloves.

Her hair was adorned with a gold hairpin, and a jade headband was tied around her forehead, exuding an air of wealth.

The visitor was none other than Madam Lü from the Third Hospital; she was the wife of Gu Sicheng, the third master of the Gu family.

Third Master Gu is the old Marquis's nephew and Gu Huaizhou's cousin.

After marrying into the Marquis's household, Lady Lü gave birth to a son.

Although he had a son to rely on, Third Master Gu was a good-for-nothing, only passing the lowest level of the imperial examination and remaining stagnant ever since.

For years, she had relied on the Marquis's mansion for her livelihood. As long as the three courtyards had food and drink, Madam Lü was quite content.

Until recently, she had been eating nothing but vegetables and tofu for every meal, and she couldn't take it anymore.

After discussing it with Madam Min from the Second Hospital, the two of them came to Madam Zhou's place.

Seeing her anxious look, Zhou pretended not to understand and asked, "What's making you so anxious, sister-in-law? Sit down, have some tea, and tell me slowly."

How could Madam Lü possibly drink it? She clapped her hands and asked Madam Zhou to judge: "Auntie, the Marquis's mansion can't bully people like this. When the old master was alive, it was agreed that the title would be given to the eldest brother, and he would have to support the second and third courtyards and their entire family. Wasn't that the agreement?"

"Yes, that's right." Zhou couldn't deny it.

When the old master was alive, he established a family rule that no matter who received the title, they had to support their other cousins.

Seeing that she had admitted it, Madam Lü continued, "But what kind of mess is this? We don't ask for great wealth and status, but at least it should be presentable. Is this kind of food fit for human consumption?"

After saying that, she pushed Min's arm and said, "Second sister-in-law, don't you think so?"

Min was the most shrewd; she didn't say a word after entering the room and kept observing Zhou's expression.

Seeing that she didn't object, he went along with what Madam Lü said and said, "Yes, Auntie, I don't care, but the children can't stand it."

"It's one thing if the food is a little inferior, but isn't it a bit excessive not to make winter clothes?" Madam Lü slapped her hand loudly. "The children are at the prime of their lives, and they are young ladies and gentlemen of the Marquis's mansion. Wouldn't it be a laughing stock if they wore old clothes?"

After listening to the two women finish speaking, Madam Zhou spoke up: "Now Wenjun is in charge of the household, and this decision was made by her. I cannot make the decision myself."

Lady Lü and Lady Min were slightly taken aback; Lady Zhou was clearly trying to shift the blame onto Song Wenjun.

The two women exchanged a glance, and Madam Lü said angrily, "Then let Wenjun come over. As her sister-in-law, I want to ask her in person."

Zhou readily agreed, "That's fine too."

She looked at the maid and said, "Hong'er, go and call the young mistress over."

"Yes, Madam." The maidservant hurriedly went out.

In Qiufeng Courtyard, Song Wenjun was about to sit down to eat when she saw Zhou's maid enter the room.

Hong'er curtsied to Song Wenjun before replying, "Young Madam, the First Madam requests your presence."

Song Wenjun's eyes flickered, and a faint smile appeared on her lips as she asked, "Did you say anything?"

"The First Madam didn't say." Hong'er's eyes darted around, not daring to tell the truth.

Song Wenjun understood immediately; what else could it be besides food and expenses?

She stood up and said to Xiaotao, "Let's go take a look."