"The second condition is that from now on, my mother and I should have rations twice as good as those of the madam of the Prime Minister's Mansion and the legitimate eldest young lady," Feng Yuqin said calmly.
"You're daydreaming!" Feng Qing was the first to object. "You two have made no contributions to the mansion at all, yet you still want to be so extravagant. Do you think the silver in the mansion falls from the sky?"
"We've made no contributions? Since my mother married into the Prime Minister's Mansion, all her dowries have gone into the mansion's treasury. Have you ever calculated how much profit those shops and manors have made each year? Or should I calculate it for you and ask you to make up for all the silver you've owed us in the past decade? Only then would it not be a daydream?"
"Fine, I agree," the Second Madam immediately stopped Feng Qing, who was about to say something else.
"Mother!" Feng Qing looked at her mother in disbelief. She couldn't understand why her mother, who had been so overbearing before, suppressing Feng Yuqin and her mother to a position lower than that of the servants, was now making concession after concession.
"Very well," Feng Yuqin ignored Feng Pingqiu's increasingly gloomy face and continued, "As for the third condition..."
"Feng Yuqin, don't go too far! Are you going to keep making conditions endlessly?" Feng Pingqiu stared at Feng Yuqin angrily.
Feng Yuqin glanced at her scumbag father and then fixed her eyes on the Second Madam. Smiling, she asked, "Second Madam, do you think I still need to mention the third condition?"
The Second Madam was so angry that her palms were already bloody.
She took a deep breath, suppressing the impulse to strangle Feng Yuqin, and then said, "Go ahead."
"Rong'er?" Feng Pingqiu frowned, his tone tinged with dissatisfaction.
The Second Madam trembled slightly. Looking up at Feng Yuqin, she said with a hint of grievance, "My lord, it's my fault today. I'll make it up to you later, okay?"
Seeing her like this, Feng Pingqiu didn't say anything more, but his expression towards Feng Yuqin and her mother grew more and more dissatisfied.
If it weren't for his plan to officially divorce Yan Aoyun and drive the two of them out of the mansion three days later, he would never have stood here listening to Feng Yuqin's demands.
"Eldest Young Lady, please continue. I'm listening," the Second Madam forced a not-so-attractive smile and said to Feng Yuqin.
"My mother needs someone to take care of her, and there's no one in my courtyard. So, Second Madam, please give me some silver. I want to go out and buy a few maids and guards to take care of my mother and me," Feng Yuqin said calmly. "As for the guards, there are so many things to do in the courtyard. I can't possibly handle everything myself from now on, can I?"
"Eldest Young Lady, there are many maids in our mansion. You can choose at will, including the maids in my courtyard. If you take a fancy to any of them, just take them. As for the guards, your father has some. We'll select some for you later," the Second Madam said in a seemingly earnest tone. "After all, these maids and guards are well-known to us, and their indentures are in our mansion. We can trust them more."
Feng Yuqin sneered. "That's what makes you feel more at ease. It has nothing to do with me. If you don't want to give me the silver, that's fine. I'll just take this food box out and let everyone take a look."
Feng Pingqiu and Feng Qing, father and daughter, both looking angry: "..."
If it weren't for the Second Madam holding them back, they would have rushed up and beaten Feng Yuqin up at this moment.
In their eyes, Feng Yuqin was just being insatiable.
"Fine, I agree," the Second Madam nodded.
Feng Yuqin stretched out her delicate little hand, a faint smile curving her lips. "Give me the silver."
The Second Madam was taken aback and said reluctantly, "Eldest Young Lady, can I send someone to give you the silver later?"
She was trying to delay for as long as possible. If she could delay until three days later, when the mother and daughter had left the mansion, she wouldn't have to give the silver.
How could Feng Yuqin not see through the Second Madam's plan?
"Second Madam, you have no room to bargain," Feng Yuqin said simply. The initiative was in her hands. She would get the silver whenever she wanted.
"If you don't want to give it, that's fine. Just hand over all the shops and manors from my dowry now," Yan Aoyun said coldly from the side.
The Second Madam was so angry that her whole body was trembling, but she still said to the maid beside her, "Go and get the silver."
"Triple the amount," Feng Yuqin said calmly.
"What?" The Second Madam was confused, and so were Feng Pingqiu and the others. They didn't understand what she meant.
"Triple the silver for buying the maids and guards," Feng Yuqin added calmly.
"Don't even think about it!" Feng Pingqiu roared.
"Feng Yuqin, are you buying maids or masters? Why do you need triple the price?" Feng Qing also roared angrily.
"Who cares what I buy?" Feng Yuqin said coldly. "Whether you give it or not, it's up to you, Second Madam."
The Second Madam gritted her teeth in hatred.
Up to her? Did she really have a choice?
"Go and get triple the silver," the Second Madam said coldly to her personal maid.
Hearing this, Feng Yuqin saw Feng Pingqiu's angry but consenting expression, and her expression grew colder.
Yan Aoyun was used to it, so she didn't feel anything.
After all, over the years, Feng Pingqiu had always listened to the Second Madam in everything in the mansion.
Feng Yuqin sat at the table, tapping her hand on the table. She had originally wanted to say a few words to the Gold-Gobbling Beast.
But thinking that Feng Pingqiu was there and that she knew Feng Pingqiu had several very capable secret guards, she didn't dare to take the risk, worried that her possession of the divine beast would be discovered.
She looked at Yan Aoyun and said, "Mother, sit down. It may take a while for the maid to get the silver."
Seeing her daughter like this, Yan Aoyun didn't know why, but she felt that her daughter must have meant more than just asking her to sit down.
Sure enough, as soon as Yan Aoyun sat down, Feng Yuqin propped her chin up and said lazily, "Mother, look, this man is your husband, but he listens to a concubine. Isn't this called favoring a concubine and neglecting the wife?"
The servants around thought Feng Yuqin's words were too bold.
It was not good to talk about such things in private, but she was actually talking about them in front of the people involved.
"Feng Yuqin, the Fourth Prince of Dongyuan Kingdom should really come and see what you're like. If he knew how vulgar and unrefined you are, do you think he would still support you?" Feng Qing said contemptuously.
Feng Yuqin gave Feng Qing a cold look and said to the Second Madam, "Second Madam, if you keep making noise while we're waiting for the silver, I'll have to increase the amount of silver again."
The Second Madam: "..."
Feng Pingqiu: "..."
Feng Qing, who was so angry but held back by the Second Madam and not allowed to speak: "..."
Seeing that they finally fell silent, Feng Yuqin nodded in satisfaction and continued chatting with her mother.
Seeing her daughter in high spirits, a hint of doting flashed in Yan Aoyun's eyes. "Back then when you were going to marry far away, mother couldn't do anything for you. Now that the marriage didn't go through, you must be more careful when looking for a man in the future. You can't marry a man like this who favors a concubine and neglects the wife."
Feng Yuqin nodded obediently. "Mother, don't worry. Daughter has no intention of getting married for now. When I do want to get married, my man will definitely not have any other concubines. After all, if a man can favor a concubine and neglect the wife today, he'll do the same thing when a more beautiful woman appears."
As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the three people across from them changed.
Feng Pingqiu looked at the Second Madam and said, "Rong'er, don't worry. You'll be the only woman I love in my life."
Feng Yuqin narrowed her eyes slightly. She didn't expect this scumbag father to react so quickly.
But she quickly recovered, a hint of cunning flashing in her eyes. She continued chatting with her mother. "Mother, did he ever say such things to you?"