"I didn't realize you can't even handle such a small thing."
She said nothing and let her scold her. After the Old Madam finally got tired of scolding, Riya stepped forward, placed the household keys on the table, and looked at the Old Madam.
Her expression was sincere.
"Old Madam, you are right. I am still young and don't know how to handle such a big household."
The Old Madam was stunned. She had never expected this.
Everyone else in the room was also stunned. They never thought that just because she was scolded once, she would give up the household management power.
How could she be so stupid? After all, holding the household management meant holding power in one's hands. Who would willingly return it? If it were them, they would never give it up, even if they were scolded every day.
That was why everyone looked at her as if they had seen a ghost.
After coming back to her senses, the Old Madam forced a smile and said,
"Daughter-in-law, there's no need for this. You just need to pay more attention next time."
She pushed the keys back toward Riya.
But Riya didn't take them. She stepped back.
"No need, Mother. I think you can handle this responsibility better. Please keep it."
Seeing her resolute face, the Old Madam understood that she was serious and truly didn't want to handle it anymore.
She became anxious. She only wanted to remind Riya that the real power in the mansion was still in her hands. She never thought Riya would really return it just like that.
This was the first time she had ever seen someone give back household management power.
Seeing that it couldn't be pushed back, she took the keys.
She thought to herself, "She really thinks this mansion can't be handled without me. Before, I was the one managing it. If I didn't want to retire, I would never have given it to her.*
It was just that she had grown old and didn't want to deal with all the heavy work anymore, so she thought of letting Riya handle it.
In short, she didn't want to do the work, but she wanted the power.
She wanted the crown, not the weight that came with it.
Seeing this, the other concubines were secretly delighted. They all thought they might get the household management now. After all, the Old Madam was getting old and might not be able to handle everything. They all decided to fight for it.
Among them, one was the happiest.
She was the first wife's cousin. She had come after the first wife's death to take care of the children, hoping to become his concubine—or even his wife.
But at that time, he was still grieving and didn't take any concubine. Even so, she had a much better relationship with the prime minister since she was related to his wife.
Also, because the children really liked her, she had already been thinking of asking them to say a few words to their father.
Riya didn't care about the internal fighting happening in the mansion because of her. She was quite satisfied—she didn't need to do this thankless work anymore.
Just then, she asked,
"Mother, can I go back to my maternal home?"
The Old Madam looked at her in surprise. From her knowledge, Riya's relationship with her maternal family was not good. From her malnourished appearance, it was quite obvious. So why did she suddenly want to go there?
But she didn't care.
"Sure."
"Mother, can I take a few nannies from the mansion?" Riya asked.
The Old Madam looked at her with a weird expression, but Riya didn't care.
"Sure," the Old Madam said, waving her hand.
Hearing the positive answer, Riya felt relieved and went back to her courtyard.
But the same thing happened again.
All the good food was taken by the other maids, and she was given only the leftovers.
From this behavior, even after reprimanding them, she understood that these people were too stupid to see which way the wind was blowing.
After lunch, she took these servants back to the Wen family.
---
By the time she entered the Wen mansion, they already knew she was coming. Everyone was waiting for her in the hall.
As soon as she entered, her grandmother started scolding her.
"Girl, what kind of thing is this—coming here so suddenly? How can you be so insensitive?"
Her stepmother chimed in,
"Yes. Don't you know this is your grandmother's sleeping time? How can you be this insensitive?"
Her stepsister also said innocently,
"Or do you think that now you're the Prime Minister's wife, you're looking down on the Wen family?"
Hearing that, everyone's face turned ugly.
"Outrageous!" Master Wen slammed his fist on the table, ready to reprimand her.
But she interrupted him.
"It's not me who is looking down on you. It's my mother who does."
She pointed toward the maids and said,
"That's why she gave me servants who don't treat me as their master and even spread rumours in the Prime Minister's mansion."
Everyone looked at Madam Wen. They couldn't believe that a woman who always presented herself as a good mother could do such a thing.
Upon hearing this, Madam Wen panicked.
She thought to herself, "What happened to this girl? Before, she was always obedient and timid. She never dared to utter a word, even when bullied. How does she now have the nerve to come here and complain?"
Madam Wen denied it and said,
"You must have misunderstood."
Riya said impatiently,
"I am not here to understand. I am here to return these servants, because I don't need this kind of servant."
Hearing that, Madam Wen became anxious. 'If these servants came back, then who would pay attention to what's happening in the Prime Minister's mansion?' she thought.
But Riya didn't care. She turned around to leave.
"Stop."
Just then, a sharp voice came from behind.