BDSMST -Chapter 2 Cutting Off My Allowance? Perfect—From Now On, the Sky Is High and the Birds Fly Free!

“What did you say?! You want to take Xuan’er to the countryside estate?”

Early the next morning, an angry roar from the old Marquis Gu Yuan rang out inside the main hall of the Marquis of Yongning’s residence, Rong’an Hall.

Jiang Suisui, dressed in plain clothing, knelt in the center of the hall with her back straight. Behind her, Gu Xuan was also kneeling, his shoulders pressed down by two stout servant women. His face was still full of defiance.

“Yes, Father.” Jiang Suisui raised her head and calmly met the scrutinizing gazes of her in-laws seated in the place of honor. “Xuan’er has grown unruly to this extent—setting fire to the storeroom and nearly causing a catastrophe. As his stepmother, I failed to discipline him properly and cannot escape responsibility. The capital is too prosperous; it may only spoil his temperament further. I respectfully ask Father and Mother to permit me to take him to the countryside estate for a period of time—to temper his sharpness, to let him understand the hardship of farming, and to learn what duty truly means.”

Her words were flawless—she admitted fault while wrapping her true purpose in dignified reasoning.

At the head seat, the old Marchioness Zhou, adorned in gold and jade, let out a cold snort, her prayer beads clicking rapidly in her fingers.

“You speak more prettily than an opera singer! I say it’s not that Xuan’er is unruly—it’s that you, as the mistress of the household, lack tolerance! He’s still a child. He merely burned a few worthless items of yours in play, and you stormed into his courtyard with a blade! If this gets out, what face will our marquisate have left?”

Worthless items?

Jiang Suisui sneered inwardly. Those “worthless items” had been the dowry her so-called father had spent half his life preparing.

“Mother is correct in her reprimand.” Jiang Suisui lowered her eyes, her tone neither servile nor arrogant. “Precisely because I am incompetent do I feel unworthy to be the Young Heir’s mother. Rather than remain in the residence, clashing with Xuan’er day after day and risking greater disaster in the future, it would be better for me to take him to the countryside. Out of sight, out of vexation. When he has matured and understands reason, I will bring him back to apologize before Father and Mother.”

Both the old Marquis and Marchioness were stunned.

They had assumed Jiang Suisui had come to complain tearfully, demanding that Gu Xuan be severely punished—after which they could step in to mediate, showcasing their “fair and loving” authority as grandparents.

Who would have thought she would voluntarily ask to take this hot potato and leave?

Gu Xuan himself was bewildered, staring at Jiang Suisui in disbelief. Had this woman gone mad? Wasn’t she the one who loved the marquisate’s wealth and glory most? She was willing to go to that desolate countryside?

Old Marchioness Zhou narrowed her eyes. She didn’t believe Jiang Suisui could possibly be that kind-hearted.

“Hmph. You want to take Xuan’er to the estate? I fear you merely wish to mistreat my precious grandson out of sight.”

“Mother worries too much.” Jiang Suisui looked directly at her. “Xuan’er is the only legitimate grandson of the marquisate and my husband’s sole bloodline. I would not dare harm him in the slightest. I only believe that a change of environment may help him find peace. Furthermore, my husband fights for the nation at the border, yet I cannot even properly guide his son in the rear. I feel deeply ashamed. Going to the estate may also count as fulfilling filial duty in his stead—and atoning for Xuan’er’s mistakes.”

By invoking Gu Yan, she softened the old Marquis Gu Yuan’s expression somewhat.

The boy was indeed too unruly. If this continued, he would be ruined. Sending him to the estate to suffer a little hardship might do him good. After all, the estate belonged to their family—where could they possibly go?

Still, they couldn’t let this merchant’s daughter feel too triumphant.

The old Marquis and Marchioness exchanged a tacit glance.

Marchioness Zhou cleared her throat and put on a benevolent façade.

“Very well. Since you possess such a ‘loving mother’s heart,’ it would seem unkind for us to stop you. However, cultivating one’s character at the estate requires ‘austere living.’ From today onward, all provisions and monthly allowances to your courtyard will cease. The residence will not allocate you a single coin. Of your attendants, only that personal maid of yours may accompany you.”

After speaking, she looked at Jiang Suisui smugly, waiting for panic, for tears, for desperate pleas.

A pampered marquisate lady—without money, without servants, dragging along a burden of a child—once she reached that impoverished countryside, she would last no more than three days before crawling back in tears!

And then, wouldn’t she be completely at their mercy?

Even Gu Xuan, kneeling on the ground, wore a gloating smile. He could already imagine this bad woman starving and kneeling before him in humiliation.

Yet Jiang Suisui simply listened quietly.

Then she bowed deeply, knocking her forehead firmly to the floor.

“Your daughter-in-law thanks Father and Mother for granting my request.”

There was not a trace of reluctance in her voice—rather, there was unmistakable lightness, as if a burden had just been lifted.

The smug smile on Marchioness Zhou’s face froze.

The old Marquis frowned.

This wasn’t how the script was supposed to go! How was she… actually happy?

Jiang Suisui didn’t care what they thought. Her goal was achieved, she didn’t want to stay a second longer.

“Then I will return to pack immediately and set off at once.”

With that, she rose to her feet. Without sparing the scheming old couple another glance, she turned and walked away.

As she passed Gu Xuan, she paused and looked down at him.

Gu Xuan felt a chill crawl up his spine under her gaze, yet he stubbornly lifted his chin and glared back defiantly.

Jiang Suisui suddenly bent down, leaned close to his ear, and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear:

“Little brat, don’t celebrate too soon. From today on, your good days are over.”

Then she straightened up and left, ignoring the sudden change in Gu Xuan’s expression.

Back in her deserted courtyard, Chunxing was pacing anxiously in circles.

“Madam! How did it go? The old Marquis and Marchioness—they…”

“Settled.” Jiang Suisui entered the room and began packing her bundle, in such a good mood she almost wanted to hum a tune.

“Settled?” Chunxing followed her inside, baffled. “They agreed? Just like that?”

“Mm. They agreed.” Jiang Suisui rummaged through her wardrobe, tossing the most plain and durable old clothes into the bundle. “But they’ve cut off all our money. Only you’re allowed to come with me.”

“What?!” Chunxing’s shriek nearly lifted the roof. “No… no money? Then what will we eat at the estate? And the Young Heir—oh heavens! Madam, what are we going to do?”

“Who says we can’t survive?” Jiang Suisui tied the bundle shut and turned back to look at Chunxing, who was on the verge of tears. She grinned like an office worker who had just won the lottery.

“Chunxing, remember this: to some people, that place is barren mountains and bad waters. But to me,” her eyes shone brilliantly, “it’s not some beginner’s village—it’s a treasure map.”

At last, she would break free from this cage.

No more disgusting in-laws.
No more meddlesome servants.
No more that absent, so-called husband she barely ever saw.

The sky was vast and the sea boundless—she could finally act as she pleased.

As for money?

A 21st-century overachiever who had mastered modern agriculture and corporate management—was she really going to be stumped by a lack of funds? What a joke.

Chunxing stared at the radiant confidence on her mistress’s face, momentarily stunned. Ever since last night’s fire, Madam seemed like a completely different person.

Someone she didn’t recognize—yet strangely made her feel reassured and willing to trust.

“S-So… we’re leaving now?”

“Yes. Immediately. Right now!” Jiang Suisui hoisted her bundle. “One second later, and I’m afraid they’ll change their minds!”

When Jiang Suisui, together with Chunxing and a forcibly stuffed-into-the-carriage Gu Xuan, rode out of the marquisate gates in a drafty, broken-down carriage under the watchful eyes of onlookers eager for drama, Nanny Zhang beside the old Marchioness asked in confusion:

“Old Madam, you’re just letting them go like that? What if that merchant’s daughter really gains a foothold at the estate…”

Marchioness Zhou curled her lip in disdain.

“Gain a foothold? You overestimate her. A pampered young lady who’s never touched kitchen water, dragging along Xuan’er, that little ancestor—within ten days, she’ll crawl back obediently and beg me. I want her to understand that without the marquisate, she is nothing.”

“Just wait. There will be a good show to watch.”