Jiang Xuening was stunned. Over the years, Yan Ling had indeed given her many nice things.

But what does this have to do with Xie Wei?

Can you please stop looking at your daughter-in-law like a wicked mother-in-law, finding fault with everything about her?

Therefore, she couldn't help but bicker with Xie Wei again.

Chu Yuan personally draped a blanket over You Fangying and instructed the driver to hurry, showing great consideration.

Yu Fangying felt a chill, sneezed, rubbed her nose, and blushed.

Ultimately, it was her fault today.

"Who knocked you into the water? Did you see clearly?" Chu Yuan asked.

You Fangying lowered her eyes and shook her head, "I didn't see clearly, I only know that he was a porter on his way, so it probably wasn't intentional."

"Be more careful next time, and remember to bring plenty of money with you when you go out."

You Fangying nodded, and suddenly she felt a bit like a normal sisterly friend.

Therefore, she moved her lips and asked, "You, you really didn't go with Prince Yan and the others just now because you were short of money? When you enter the palace on a chosen day, I heard that the companions will not only be tested on literature, etiquette, and incense, but also on the zither. Everyone else will surely prepare a good zither as carefully as Miss Jiang, but if you don't, won't you be laughed at by others?"

As she listened to her, Chu Yuan's lips slowly curved upwards, and by the time You Fangying finished speaking, her smile was wide open.

You Fangying touched her face. "Second sister, what are you laughing at? Is there something dirty on my face?"

Chu Yuan leaned against the car wall, her smile undiminished. "Fang Ying, with you worrying about me like this, I wouldn't care even if I didn't have a zither."

But how could a noble family like the Earl's Mansion not have a single zither?

You Fangying realized what was happening, blushed with embarrassment, and secretly regretted that she shouldn't have said those words.

But after a while, he couldn't resist again, "I didn't use up the money you gave me to visit my aunt last time. How about we pool our money and buy a good zither?"

She knew those wealthy ladies all too well, comparing their clothes, food, headwear, and aura. The current You Yue... she didn't want her to be looked down upon by outsiders.

Chu Yuan remained calm about this, saying, "No need. You can use that money as capital for your business. There's no need to spend it on something like this."

Our family is what it is, why make pointless comparisons?

You might win in one competition, but do you have to compete every time?

"Trying to appear more important than you are, if you do it too often, you'll eventually be exposed. Wouldn't that be even more embarrassing?"

You Fangying seemed thoughtful, then wiped her large eyes and asked, "Second sister, do you know I like business?"

Chu Yuan smiled but remained silent.

Not only do I know that, I also know that you're going to make a lot of money in the future!

Presumably, You Fangying and Jiang Xuening only had a short time to meet, so they probably didn't have time to talk about the batch of raw silk that Xu Wenyi had that was sure to increase in price.

So, she has to shamelessly seize this opportunity to make money!

...

As usual, Yan Ling spent 3,000 taels of silver to buy Jiang Xue Ning a "Banana Hermitage".

"You guys go first, I'll take another look," Xie Wei said to Lü Xian.

After the two left, he casually walked into the accounting room inside the music shop, where he saw Lü Xian counting silver notes.

He held out his hand, expressionless. "Give it to me."

Lu Xian, with his handsome scholarly face, looked miserable. "Xie Ju'an, I went through a lot of trouble to find those five zithers. Even if you don't let me make the lion's share, you should at least give me a fee for my hard work, right?"

Xie Wei didn't say anything, but walked behind the desk and sat down naturally.

I picked up an account book at random and slowly flipped through it.

Jian Shu stepped forward and snatched the silver note from Lü Xian's hand, saying irritably, "You're still complaining? Who knows how much you've been embezzling!"

"You—" Lü Xian was unconvinced, but the next moment, Xie Ju'an pointed a few points on the ledger with his fingertip, "More than 5,000 taels are missing. Do you want to take it out yourself, or should I take it out for you?"

Lu Xian stared wide-eyed in disbelief: "You understand general affairs too?"

"Heh." Jian Shu scoffed from the side, "You've never seen anything like this!"

When faced with Xie Ju'an, a man of almost supernatural intelligence, Lü Xian had no choice but to resign himself to his fate and hand over all the money he had on him.

She fumed, "That's all we have! We're still short 1,000 taels, and we've already used it all up!"

Upon hearing this, Xie Ju'an wasn't too angry. Water that is too clear has no fish, and besides, Lü Xian and he weren't just in a superior-subordinate relationship.

For a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations to deign to deal with such money for him was already an extraordinary act of kindness.

Xie Ju'an closed the ledger. "There are four zithers left. The 'Duyou' zither is also quite good. Have someone send it to the You residence and say that it was a gift from me to Miss You the Third. I will not pursue the one thousand taels you are short."

"Huh?" Lü Xian exclaimed in surprise.

He knew perfectly well what his relationship with Yan Ling was like.

He just accepted Yan Ling's money, so why is he now giving a gift to a Miss You he's never even heard of?

This is very unusual!

Lu Xian's gossipy nature immediately ignited, and he grabbed the sword book, asking, "What's the background of this Miss You San? Is she very beautiful? Judging from his expression, could it be that he's taken a liking to her?"

"Cough cough!" Jian Shu pinched him, warning him not to talk nonsense.

Xie Ju'an ignored his erratic behavior and said indifferently, "The remaining three zithers are confiscated."

Lu Xian was furious: "Xie Ju'an, you are a heartless person! You wait, evil people will be punished by heaven!"

As evening fell, he took his zither and eagerly knocked on the door of the You residence.

I still can't help but wonder what kind of person Xie Ju'an was who could send gifts to him.

Speaking of which, Xie Ju'an, who was so averse to women that he was almost homosexual, has inexplicably become close to a few women lately.

One of them is the second young lady of the Jiang family, who is indeed quite beautiful, and also has a bit of an arrogant and fierce air about her.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!