Chapter 11: Splashing Power

He was quietly moved aside by Du Jingyi.

With a polite smile on his face, he said, "Please be careful with the imperial gifts."

Upon hearing this, the two old men nodded eagerly, clearly standing on the same side as Du Jingyi at the moment, eager to put their recent unpleasantness behind them.

Leaving aside the details, just the gift of ten thousand taels of gold from the imperial family would cover the living expenses of their entire family for quite some time. They couldn't help but anticipate it eagerly.

Lady Wei and her descendants stood to the side, wearing a feigned smile. She was calculating more than just the surface rewards and therefore didn't show the same greed as some of the other family members.

Unfortunately, her ability to feign didn't extend to her grandchildren, who appeared to have inherited some of her disdainful nature.

Especially the almost nine-year-old Shang Zhiyin, who always carried herself with an air of superiority, looking down on those around her.

For her part, Liu, the widowed sister-in-law, observed with cold eyes, maintaining her silence. Without any notable support from her own family, she had to focus on raising her son within the family.

Soon, the returnee, Shang Ji, came back. The three old lady immediately stepped forward, craning her neck to look behind him, asking with a smile, "Young Master, why don't I see anyone carrying in the boxes?"

Everyone understood her intentions, but it seemed her plans had fallen through. Shang Ji glanced at her indifferently and deliberately provoked her by saying, "The storage in Xitang Court is too small. Even the dowry of the Du family won't fit, let alone these imperial gifts. I've instructed Luo Yuan to take the items to the General's Mansion, where the storage is larger. In the future, if I achieve some more military merits and receive more rewards, it's just a matter of course."

His words were a slap in the face for everyone expecting to enjoy the rewards. The coveted ten thousand taels of gold had crossed paths with them but eluded their grasp, leaving them seething with resentment.

At his remark, the rotund fifth old man dashed out from behind and almost collided with the three old lady, shouting, "What do you mean by this? Are you really moving out? With so many people in our mansion, are you just going to ignore us all?"

Shang Ji, tall and burly, looked down at the fifth old man, sending shivers down everyone's spines. His disrespectful attitude made the elders of the third and fifth branches blush with anger.

Challenging Shang Ji upfront was beyond them, so they redirected their anger toward the more pliable Shang Yukuan, who immediately became the target of their rage.

Shang Yuquan blushed at the mention of his childhood nickname, "Gou Dan" (dog eggs). It was a name he had abandoned when he left his rural home to join the mansion.

When Lord Shang was alive, he would often mention his nickname, so much so that even the old masters of the third and fifth households had developed the habit.

Whenever they wanted to throw a tantrum, they would cry out "Gou Dan, Gou Dan."

It was all to make Shang Yukuan remember the affection of the past, and to force him to agree.

Du Jingyi watched quietly.

These people were constantly seeking death and survival.

She had been married for three years and often heard interesting stories from the North Courtyard.

But seeing was believing, and today she had a good opportunity to see for herself.

Sure enough, soon after, the fifth old master began to cry and curse.

"We've barely survived those days of starvation and death everywhere. We've lived to this age, thinking we could have a good life, who knew...look at your unfilial son, he's trying to kill us."

The fifth old master wailed incessantly, and the third old master followed suit.

He put his hand to his chest and began to pant heavily.

"He's cursing us to die!"

It seemed like they were about to reach a point of extreme anger and desperation.

And with that, the three old mistresses and five old mistresses didn't care about their reputations, they let down their hair and began to beat their chests and cry hysterically.