During this time, Old Man Feng had finally returned to living a life fit for a human being.
The past few years had been truly miserable. When he first came to the capital, all he wanted was to have enough to eat and wear, and not have to do heavy labor.
Later, when Tao Niang brought him to this three-section residence and he discovered she had servants and a profitable business…
Old Man Feng’s goal shifted from just having enough to eat and wear to enjoying rich food every day and having people wait on him.
He had achieved that goal.
Recently, his desires had grown again. He now hoped to have delicacies every day and have money coming in as well—
But now, Tao Niang had started cutting back on their standard of living…
A flicker of light passed through Old Man Feng’s eyes. He couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.
From the information he had subtly gathered recently, Tao Niang seemed to be in the cosmetics business.
He didn’t know where she got the formulas. Those kinds of things were usually sold at a high price with good profit margins. If he could get a piece of that pie…
Just thinking about it made his heart burn with desire.
Just then, the sky suddenly darkened, heavy rain began to fall, bringing with it a long-awaited coolness.
After a while, Tao Niang returned home.
The moment she arrived, the servants informed her that the Feng family was looking for her. She let out a cold laugh.
The day she found out the Fengs were “begging” at the Sheng residence, she was so furious she felt her lungs would burst.
She was terrified that if she delayed even a moment, it would cause trouble for Mingzhu, so she rushed over as fast as she could and brought the Fengs back.
Ever since Tao Niang entered the Sheng residence, she had looked down on the Feng family. Now, with them old, weak, and crippled, she held them in even greater contempt.
As soon as this Feng family moved into her house, they started causing all kinds of trouble. They demanded rich food every day, yet their stomachs seemed like bottomless pits.
Each of them could eat in one meal what would feed an ordinary person for an entire day.
Old Lady Li and Little Mrs. Li were always sneaking around with shifty eyes, stealing valuable ornaments wherever they could.
The two little cripples spent their days leering at any woman in the household between the ages of thirteen and thirty.
Once, they cornered a key worker involved in making incense and tried to assault her. Fortunately, Mo Gu discovered them…
If that worker had been violated, she surely wouldn’t have been able to go on living. Wouldn’t that have cost Tao Niang money?
What a pack of lazy, greedy, gluttonous, sex-crazed fools!
Even looking at them made her feel disgusted!
If it weren’t for the recent news about Mingzhu allegedly mistreating servants—two maids had died in her courtyard—which put the Sheng family under intense public scrutiny…
Tao Niang would have definitely found a way to lock the Feng family up, ensuring they’d never have another chance to cause trouble and get in her daughter’s way again!
But there had been some good news lately. Tao Niang had just recently learned that Fourth Girl and Fifth Girl had ended up at the Sheng residence by chance.
Fifth Girl had accidentally been poisoned and misunderstood Mingzhu, which led her to reveal her identity.
Thankfully, the poison was eventually neutralized, and the misunderstanding with Mingzhu was cleared up.
Moreover, “Huang Shi” didn’t seem to have made things difficult for Fourth Girl and Fifth Girl and even arranged for them to work for the Third Young Master and the Fifth Young Master…
Since the Third and Fifth Young Masters had a good relationship with Mingzhu, they would surely treat Fourth Girl and Fifth Girl well, if only for Mingzhu’s sake.
In the future, if Fourth Girl and Fifth Girl worked hard, maybe they could even change their status.
A few days ago, Tao Niang had written to Mingzhu to update her on the shop’s profits.
She also took the opportunity to ask if Mingzhu could look after Fourth Girl and Fifth Girl in the future, and also expressed a wish to meet with them…
But Mingzhu, perhaps too busy or preoccupied with something else, hadn’t replied yet.
Tao Niang could only wait.
She first had her servants push her back to the rear courtyard. They helped her wash up and change her clothes.
She didn’t have much of an appetite, so she had half a bowl of congee with four small side dishes.
Not long after she finished eating, Old Man Feng, Old Lady Li, Feng Laoda, and Feng Laoer all arrived.
“Tao Niang, you sure have gotten arrogant as a daughter-in-law! Can’t even be bothered to come see your own father-in-law and mother-in-law—”
“Mother, you can see my legs. It’s not that I don’t want to come see you both, it’s just that it’s difficult for me to get around…”
Tao Niang said indifferently.
“Pah—”
Old Lady Li glared viciously, hands on her hips as she spat.
“Who do you think you’re fooling? You have so many servants around you, they can’t push you?
If it’s really so hard for you to get around, then why are you out gallivanting every day?”
Tao Niang was utterly fed up with Old Lady Li.
But she knew Old Lady Li was just a stupid paper tiger. So she simply ignored her and waited to see how long the others could hold back.
Sure enough, when she remained silent, Old Man Feng put on a stern face and scolded Old Lady Li a few times, finally shutting her up.
“Wife…”
Feng Laoer spoke up.
These days, Feng Laoer’s feelings were complicated.
On the surface, he was living like a king, but inwardly, it was hard to bear.
A grown man being supported by his wife—it was humiliating.
Besides, the way Tao Niang looked at him these days, and how she treated him, it didn’t seem like she considered him her husband at all.
In his older brother’s and sister-in-law’s words, Tao Niang treated him like a beggar she’d picked up off the street…
His pride as a man was crushed, and Feng Laoer was feeling resentful.
Remembering what his father and older brother had just said, Feng Laoer unconsciously swallowed a couple of times before stumbling over his words.
“Thanks to you, we’ve been living a good life lately… Marrying you was a blessing from my past life, pure luck…”
Tao Niang just listened, not responding.
Feng Laoer wasn’t very sharp, and he was clumsy with words. He seemed to forget what he wanted to say and looked awkwardly at Old Man Feng and Feng Laoda.
Feng Laoda’s mouth twitched, but he quickly forced a smile and took over.
“Sister-in-law, we came not only to express our gratitude but mainly because we want to help you out.
Look at you, a woman, and with your legs in such a state, having to run around outside every day—
Father, Mother, Second Brother, we’re all worried about you—
Anyway, we men are just sitting around the house with nothing to do. We might as well help you manage the business…”
Tao Niang finally understood what the Feng family was after. It made her feel as disgusted as if she’d eaten a dead rat.
“Help me with my business?”
Her voice rose sharply.
“Among all of you, who can write or do arithmetic?
Who knows how to blend fragrances? Or understands medicine to develop beauty recipes?”
The sarcasm in Tao Niang’s tone and expression was unmistakable.
With several servants watching, the Fengs all lost face.
In the past, Old Lady Li would have already grabbed Tao Niang by the hair and slapped her.
But given their current situation, Old Lady Li held back somewhat. She didn’t resort to physical violence but still launched into a tirade.
“What do you mean by that?
I don’t believe for a second that every little maid in your courtyard can write, do arithmetic, blend fragrances, or knows medicine!”
“Of course, there are servants who do odd jobs. But you people—some are old, some are crippled, some are useless—can any of you even do odd jobs?”
The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.
Feng Laoda managed a stiff smile. “Sister-in-law is right. We really aren’t skilled, but we can learn…”
Old Lady Li quickly nodded.
“Exactly! If you can do it, why can’t the men in this family do it too?
Tomorrow, just hire a scholar to teach them! I guarantee they’ll learn it right away!”
She made it sound like scholars were as common as cabbages in a field, and the Feng men were like reincarnations of literary stars.
Feng Laoer chimed in, saying something about how a woman shouldn’t have to work so hard, that men should handle everything…
