Taking a deep breath, Old Lady Zhao offered some advice: "Don't you still have jewelry?"

How can a widow have the nerve to wear such a thick and heavy gold bracelet, especially one with silk wrapped around it?

If you take it to a silver shop, you can at least exchange it for more than one hundred taels of silver.

There are also hairpins on the head and pendants on the ears.

Old Mrs. Zhao scanned Gu Qingcheng's body again and again, and had already estimated the price of her jewelry.

No less than three hundred miles of silver.

Moreover, Old Mrs. Zhao was sure that the Gu family probably had more than just these jewelry.

If all else fails, you can still borrow money.

Jie Yuangong's mother and other loan sharks were also willing to lend money.

By the way, you can also pretend to be sick and say you want to buy expensive ginseng.

As long as you discuss it with the doctor in advance, you can get the money.

There are also a few little girls around Gu. Tsk tsk, if they were sold, they would all make money.

...Old Mrs. Zhao has used all these methods.

When her son was taking the imperial examination, she sold her eldest daughter.

When her son could not pay the tuition for the academy, she "married" her second daughter.

If he had not married Qian later, his youngest daughter would probably have died.

Pretending to be sick was one of the methods used by Old Lady Zhao to coax the Qian family out of their dowry. It was simple and crude, but also the most effective!

Gu Qingcheng: ...I really underestimated Old Lady Zhao. This person is not only extremely bad, but also vicious!

"I dare not! My Dalang will be unhappy!"

Gu Qingcheng deliberately acted weak and timid, and Old Mrs. Zhao was furious when she saw her cowardly look.

"You are the elder, the widow who raised him, how could you--"

A mother is actually afraid of her son?

"No! I've never raised a family!"

Gu Qingcheng said honestly, "My husband used to make money. When he passed away, he also left us the house, land, and money."

"My Dalang can also make money. He can earn more than one hundred taels of silver just by writing a prescription for someone."

Gu Qingcheng almost told Old Lady Zhao directly that I was a waste.

Old Mrs. Zhao: ...There are actually such lucky women in this world.

Why?

We are all women, and I feel like I am soaked in coptis water, bitter from the inside out.

As for Gu, she can rely on her husband and son and doesn't even have to support her family!

Old Mrs. Zhao's already twisted heart became even more envious, jealous and hateful.

She wanted even more to deceive this lucky stupid woman.

But Gu Qingcheng would just say, "I listen to my son."

Zhao Qingyun is now an adult and a young scholar. It is only natural for his mother to rely on him.

Gu Qingcheng no longer had the concerns she had in her early years, and the words "listen to my son" were written on her face.

Old Mrs. Zhao: ...I have never seen such a hopeless piece of mud.

"Forget it, forget it. I was trying to help you, but I didn't expect—" You are so useless.

"Also, the test questions must not be spread outside. Even to your son, you can't tell anyone."

"Otherwise, if something goes wrong and you offend the noble, your son will be implicated as well!"

Old Mrs. Zhao is greedy for money, but she has not lost her mind.

Since he was sure that he couldn't trick Gu Qingcheng, he could only give her all kinds of warnings.

"oh!"

Gu Qingcheng responded, and after returning, she told Zhao Qingyun about the matter.

Zhao Qingyun nodded, "I understand! I'll tell the master."

Mr. Tang has returned to Beijing.

Zhao Qingyun went to visit.

Mr. Tang was very happy to see his young disciple Zhao Qingyun, and called several other disciples in the capital.

After the brothers met, the senior brothers tested the junior brother on the spot and found that he was indeed a talented and outstanding talent.

Coincidentally, the eldest senior brother is the Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion, and he is very likely to be the chief examiner in the spring examination next year.

If this is really cheating in the scientific examination, the eldest brother will be the first to bear the brunt of the consequences.

If he is just a retainer of the princess and is deliberately using the money to defraud people, he must also be dealt with properly.

Zhao Qingyun didn't hesitate and went straight to his senior brother's house.

A month later, a retainer died in Princess Changping's mansion.

Zhao Zhi seemed to be frightened and fell ill.

During the Chinese New Year, Zhao Zhi's family was also in a gloomy mood.

Old Mrs. Zhao didn't bother to plot against others. She was busy taking care of her son and beating and scolding Qian every day.

Qian's life became increasingly difficult.

Many times, she wanted to go to the pharmacy to buy some medicine, sprinkle it into the pot, and die together.

But when she saw her young children, she couldn't bear to leave.

...Forget it, let’s just endure it like this.

If my husband passed the imperial examination, our lives might be better!

…

"Mother, I have my eyes on someone. He's a candidate who came to the capital to take the imperial examination and passed at the age of fifteen. Duke Jin'an even made an exception for him and accepted him as his last disciple."

"This family has excellent traditions, and the local magistrate even wrote an inscription: A family of good deeds!"

"My mother is kind, and the clan members are friendly to each other, but their family background is a little shallow."

"However, Nanping's status is noble, so he doesn't need to use a high-ranking family to complement him."

The key point is that Princess Nanping’s health is too poor.

Families of similar status to hers in the capital all avoided her as much as possible.

Nowadays, most young ladies start looking for a husband when they are twelve or thirteen years old.

You can get married after you reach the age of 15.

Princess Nanping is already sixteen years old this year, but she hasn't even found a marriage yet.

Those who knew the inside story knew that Princess Nanping was in poor health and could not find a suitable marriage partner.

People who don't know the inside story might even suspect that the royal family does not value Nanping and mistreats the only remaining bloodline of the Huo family, which is why they are delaying the engagement for her.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!