The last one was proposed by Wei Changying and was very reasonable, "The family uncle and aunt haven't been good to their seriously wounded nephew, who has come back from serving the country, because they don't understand the tough life and the bravery of the soldiers on the frontier. The ancestors of the Shen Family founded the family on their military achievements, so the family members must not forget the harshness of battles or despise soldiers! Therefore, if the family uncle and aunt could go to the East River Town for a short stay to experience the horrible atmosphere of the frontier, they might truly recognize their mistakes."

Almost every year, East River Town fell into different hands. Otherwise, most of the houses wouldn't be empty.

The Chanyu's position in the western tribes was in danger, but people like him from the western tribes were fierce. The more desperate he was, the more frantically he started wars, in an attempt to win back his people.

For example, Tu Lu had carried out a raid on Diecui Pass.

As there had been a capable person leading in Diecui Pass, Diecui Pass wasn't taken. This was also because Diecui Pass had excellent defenses, was difficult to access, and was cared for seriously by the Shen Family. As for East River Town, a deserted town, where people could find few houses with intact roofs, held only ruins, so what else was there?

In that place, Shen Cangfeng had been hurt for the first time! His martial arts skills stood out from all others and he was protected by Men of Sacrifice from the Thorn Hedge! He hadn't been injured when he had acted as bait, but in East River Town, he had been struck by two arrows and had got cut several times in the raging battle!

Just how would Shen Chu and his wife fare?

In particular, they had mistreated the hero, a young master from the lineal branch, who had been wounded in service of the country. These days, Shen Cangfeng, who had been living a tough life in the East River Town, had taken the lead in doing everything, so he was spoken highly of and admired by people in the army. Despite the fact that he had received these compliments and admiration, if any ordinary soldier knew that he would be in a coma because of his serious wounds and would be mistreated after returning from the brutal battle on the frontier, he would... Now although they weren't actually being treated like that, they had experienced the same hardship, so if they heard of such a thing, they would become furious. Otherwise, they would be no different from a dead person.

Therefore, if Shen Chu and his wife went to East River Town, they would probably be decapitated by some ruffians from the army in the middle of the night, before people from the western tribes could get to them first!

Nobody thought that Wei Changying had made this request only out of concern for her husband. They all suspected that the maidservant, who everybody agreed was detestable and should be killed, as a senior had casually said, was the real cause of Wei Changying's determination to make Shen Chu's and his wife's lives difficult. Wei Changying had politely said, "My old family is the Wei Family in Fengzhou, which is lucky enough to have a place in this country. I have received a good education from my family since I was small, so how could I not know what a woman should do? This is the first time I have met you all, so I dare not say whether I am a jealous and horrible woman. However, you could write to my family in the capital and ask Father and Mother about this. If Father and Mother say I am not virtuous, I will be willing to leave immediately." Thus, although she had said these things, everyone believed that the third young madam of the lineal branch was an indeed very jealous woman.

Although the maidservant had wanted to seduce Shen Cangfeng, she had failed. All the people had agreed to kill her in order for Wei Changying to vent her hatred, but surprisingly, Shen Chu and his wife who had given the maidservant to Shen Cangfeng couldn't escape from her revenge, either.

So, it would be best not to offend her in the future. She was the wife of the next Family Head and had given birth to Shen Cangfeng's lineal eldest son whom he hadn't seen yet. The Family Mother position of the Shen Family was essentially in her hands!

Many of the seniors thought of Wei Changying's grandmother, Old Madam Song who was known to be a mistress of strategy. She kept Wei Huan, the Family Head of the Wei Family, under her control. She had also oppressed the second son of a concubine mother for decades, though he was in his prime and capable, and should have already started his training to become the next Family Head. And now her lineal grandson had grown up and even her son had completely recovered!

Having had such an example, she must have learned things. As the favorite granddaughter of the Old Madam who had shown such ruthlessness that it made people who knew the inside story tremble, Wei Changying had probably received tactics directly handed down by the Old Madam.

They thought that Wei Changying would become an old madam just like Old Madam Song in the future. Therefore, having dealt with the Shen Chu thing and returned to their mansions, the seniors told their children and grandchildren behind closed doors, "Do not mess with Wei Changying!"

Since the seniors had advised their children and grandchildren not to do that, Wei Changying could smoothly carry out what she wanted to do next. The first thing she did was to gather enough servants.

Shen Chu and his wife had been sent to East River Town to die and the manager Shen Tingshu had been removed from his post. Now there was no one taking care of what they had been in charge of and these things all concerned the ancestral hall, so Wei Changying couldn't just ignore this problem. She asked Shen Die, who had come to Western Liang earlier than her, to recommend some suitable people to replace them temporarily.

As for whether the temporary replacement could become permanent, it naturally depended on the performance of the people.

Wei Changying thought that the seniority of Shen Chu and his wife was a problem. If they hadn't been her uncle and aunt, she would not have had to visit the seniors one by one to get their support and ask them to officially carry out the punishment.

Thus, she dropped a hint to Shen Die that he should recommend people whose seniority was below Shen Cangfeng's.

Shen Die recommended Shen Youjia's younger brother, Shen Youyi, and his wife, Mrs. Min, to replace Shen Chu and his wife. Although Shen Youyi and his wife called Wei Changying the third aunt, they were not young and they were both over forty years old, an age when people were usually modest. As for Shen Tingshu, since he was a servant, Wei Changying told Shen Die to recommend a young servant who was articulate and efficient to replace him. This aligned exactly with what Wei Changying had said about Shen Tingshu being too old.

In this way, she filled the posts left by Shen Chu and his wife, and Shen Tingshu.

However, Wei Changying wasn't satisfied. She had said since Shen Chu and his wife had looked after the ancestral hall for many years, they had been corrupt. However, because they had been sent to East River Town and were family, she wouldn't pursue them more. Nevertheless, she wouldn't let the other people involved go. One senior thought that the daughter-in-law of his junior was being too dramatic. Shen Xuan was in his prime. Shen Cangfeng had just started to increase his authority in the family and expand his contacts. But his wife couldn't wait to be in charge, so he said, "Mingpei Hall has its own rules. It is not like the Wei Family."

Those words apparently showed his hatred towards Wei Changying as a woman and especially as a daughter-in-law.

In the end, Wei Changying had told Shen Canghui to invite all the seniors they could to Mingpei Hall. She pointed to some of the account books which she and Mrs. Huang had checked overnight, and which could prove that Shen Chu and his wife and some others had stolen thirty percent of the money for improving the ancestral hall every year. She said with a sneer, "The family gives money every year to improve the ancestral hall. One reason is that we don't want to forget our ancestral heritage. The second reason is that the spirits of our ancestors are in this hall, so we must not neglect them. However, they were so greedy that they even dared to steal the money that should be spent on improving the ancestral hall! And they did it every year. Not punishing unfilial and unvirtuous people like them is indeed not a rule in the Wei Family in Fengzhou. So, in the Shen Family, people can forget about the spirits of the ancestors and the work the ancestors did? You all think we can just let things go, but I don't think I can do it. You are all seniors and in front of you there is no place for me to speak, so I'm planning to write to the capital to ask for advice from Father and Mother!"

This gave the seniors a headache. They secretly cursed Shen Chu and his wife for being useless. The couple had been in charge of the Mingpei Hall for many years. It was inevitable that they would fill their own pockets, but why couldn't they have balanced the accounts? Now the third young madam of the lineal branch had come, and within only a few days, she had found something. She talked about the spirits of the ancestors and their achievements, but that was not enough. She straightforwardly threatened to write to the capital to report them!

They then thought that the senior who had come to speak was really looking for trouble, "We know she is Old Madam Song's lineal granddaughter and brought up by her personally. Shen Xuan and his wife don't mind what she does, so why do you need to come out and say anything?! The Shen Family in Western Liang has always belonged to Shen Xuan's family! Shen Xuan and Su Xiuman aren't saying anything, which means they apparently approve of her behavior. As soon as Wei Changying arrived in Western Liang, she made such a big move, so perhaps she has even been given this advice by them!"

The senior disliked her but his behavior actually helped Wei Changying to set up her prestige! This woman was young, but she had support from the entire Ruiyu Hall and the lineal eldest son, Shen Cangfeng. Her position in the family was established. Unless Shen Xuan and Madam Su or Shen Cangfeng didn't like her, all these so-called seniors could do nothing to her!

The seniors tried to ease the situation, agreeing that the crime had been proven. Wei Changying's decision to punish these people was absolutely right!

Wei Changying said to the senior who had criticized her but stayed silent this time, "I know you place great importance on rules. I heard your criticism and I don't dare to ignore it. This is why I invited all the seniors to come together to discuss it. From what I have learned from my old family, I think this is the right thing to do, but you disapprove. You are experienced and senior, so you must be much more knowledgeable than a junior like me, a woman. Now the account books are here and the people who have checked the books are also present, so please take a close look at them. How should we deal with this matter?"

Her words put the senior in an awkward situation. He immediately looked embarrassed, but Wei Changying ignored the explanation, given to him by the others, that the senior didn't feel well these days so he couldn't read the account books. She insisted, "I am young and a woman. Mother and my sisters-in-law are more senior than I am. Even though they are far away in the capital, there you are, my seniors, living here near the ancestral hall, so it is not my role to investigate these things. However, now my husband is resting due to his injury, and my fourth brother-in-law is a person who should do big things and doesn't want to be bothered by these trivialities. I am worried that my husband must work while he is making his recovery, so I work on his behalf."

The senior's face turned deathly pale. Wei Changying sighed and said, "I know I am young and inexperienced. I am taking care of the place on behalf of my husband, but I am worried that I might not do a good job. It is fine if I'm laughed at, but it won't be good if I embarrass my husband and the clan. Therefore, I'm being careful. I take your opinions seriously. Please tell me what I should do, so I will know how exactly I should do it. After all, I didn't grow up here in the Shen Family as you did, though I have been married into the Shen Family for a while and have given birth to the Shen Family's child. Before I came to Western Liang, everyone was worried about my husband's injury, so my elders there didn't have time to say much. I have always thought that the rules in the six gentlefolks are basically the same! Now that I have heard your words and realized they are different. Please be generous and teach me something!"

She then respectfully said, "I will never forget the kindness of your teaching!"

Having waved away all the seniors, the straightforward Zhu Shi smiled and said to Wei Changying, "I guess that that senior will be sick when he gets back."

"It would be better if he should be too ill to work!" While Wei Changying was slowly sipping her tea, Mrs. Huang spoke with a sneer, "As the saying goes, a woman who gets married is like spilt water. Young madam, you haven't been married for many years but you have given birth to the little young master. So how could you not be a member of the Shen Family? That senior himself could not represent the Shen Family in denying your position! Did he think our young madam is young and easy to bully? If the Family Head and the Madam had been here, or if the Old Madam of the Wei Family in Fengzhou had been here, he would have never dared to offend our young madam even if he had been allowed to do so! All the other seniors said nothing, but he alone thought he was right. He has lived most of his life for nothing!"

Wei Changying put down her teacup and smiled gently, saying, "Anyway, he is the only one who couldn't think straight. The other seniors are still reasonable people. He can't stir up anything anyway. If he understands where he should stand and says he is sick tomorrow, Granny, you send someone over to deliver a gift to console him. We should be polite."