Shen Qing didn't sleep all night and got up before dawn.
Chunju came in to help her change clothes and put on makeup.
"Have the old lady's daughter and son-in-law arrived?" Shen Qing sat at the dressing table, but her gaze was not on the bronze mirror. Instead, she stared at the beige oil paper on the latticework window.
Chunju continued to adorn her hair with flowers: "I didn't see it either, but I heard from the other maids that the whole family of five came and stayed in the side room of the old lady's courtyard."
The Gao family had three courtyards. Gao Liushi lived in the innermost courtyard, and Shen Qing lived in the middle courtyard.
To get to the inner courtyard, one must pass through the middle courtyard, which means that Gao Liu's son-in-law could very well have sneaked from the inner courtyard to the middle courtyard.
Recalling the furtive figure outside the bathroom door last night, Shen Qing gritted her teeth.
After dressing up, she took Su Lan and Chun Ju to the dining hall.
Gao Liushi was holding a baby boy who was a few months old in her arms, surrounded by two little girls who looked to be two or three years old, and a plump young woman sitting with them.
This must be Gao Yuanxiang, the daughter of Gao Liu.
Shen Qing entered the room, but the people seemed not to see her until she sat down at the dining table, at which point Gao Liushi gave her daughter a wink.
The mother and daughter must have already talked to her.
Gao Yuanxiang forced a smile and looked at her sarcastically, "Hello, sister-in-law, Yuanxiang greets you."
Shen Qing didn't give her a friendly look, openly scrutinizing her from head to toe before coldly asking, "How long do you plan to stay?"
Gao Yuanxiang was taken aback, not expecting that the once weak woman would dare to treat her in this way. Her anger flared up, and she was about to teach her a lesson.
Shen Qing knew what she was going to do and spoke to Gao Liushi before she could, saying, "The silk weaving factory has expanded, and all 50,000 taels of silver have been spent. We still owe wages and payments to the printing and dyeing factory. We might have some trouble with the monthly interest from Master Zhao in a few days. Do you have any silver?"
Her casual tone made the fact that she had no money to pay the monthly interest seem even more real.
Gao Yuanxiang heard everything clearly, and her anger at scolding her subsided, her attention turning to the Gao family's financial situation.
Madam Gao was startled and quickly handed the baby boy in her arms to her daughter, on the verge of tears: "What should we do? We can't even pay the monthly interest, and Master Zhao will start threatening to kill us again!"
It seems like only yesterday that she was arrested and flogged at the county government office. Even now, the thought of not having enough money to pay the monthly interest makes her buttocks ache.
Tears welled in her eyes from fear, and she clung to Shen Qing's hand as if grasping at a straw: "What should we do? What about the monthly interest?"
Shen Qing glanced at Gao Yuanxiang: "How about borrowing some from my sister-in-law?"
Madam Gao Liu nodded repeatedly, "Alright, alright." She turned to look at Gao Yuanxiang, "Do you have five hundred taels of silver? Can you lend it to your sister-in-law first?"
Gao Yuanxiang stammered, "Where would I get any money? If I had money, why would I need to go back to my parents' house?"
Shen Qing sneered, thinking to himself: As expected, he's back to take advantage of the Gao family.
However, she didn't object to Gao Yuanxiang bringing the children to live in the Gao family home; what she disliked was Gao Yuanxiang's sneaky husband.
Thinking of this, she reminded Gao Liushi: "Why don't we ask your brother-in-law? Isn't he in business?"
Madam Gao nodded hurriedly, stood up shakily, and was about to go find her son-in-law.
Having been beaten so badly, Shen Qing could make her swallow her pride and ask her son-in-law for money with just a few words.
Seeing this, Gao Yuanxiang pressed her back down, saying, "I'll go borrow it!" Then she ran towards the side room.
Shen Qing watched her flustered figure, a mocking smile playing on his lips.
"Little beggar!"
The child's innocent voice pulled Shen Qing back to reality, and she turned to look at the source of the sound.
Then Gao Yuanxiang's eldest daughter used her chopsticks to hold Su Lan's chopsticks, preventing Su Lan from using them.
Shen Qing raised her hand and moved her chopsticks away: "Why are you pressing down on other people's chopsticks?"
"My mom said she's a beggar! Why should a beggar take my steamed bun? I won't let her take my bun!"
Su Lan blushed and lowered her head, not daring to speak.
Seeing this, Shen Qing felt both heartache and anger. She looked coldly at Gao Yuanxiang's eldest daughter and said sternly, "Su Lan is my disciple! And you, you have your own homes but don't live in other people's homes. Who is the beggar here?"
Upon hearing this, the eldest daughter immediately burst into tears.
The crying was so loud and shrill that it almost blew the roof off!
Madam Gao was still worried about the monthly interest, and now, with her granddaughter making a fuss, she became irritated and scolded, "Enough! What are you crying for! Are you mourning a funeral?"
Then he looked at Shen Qing: "You're the same! You're cursing your own family for some unknown brat!"
Chunju stepped forward and covered Sulan's ears to prevent her from hearing these insulting words.
Shen Qing coldly looked at Gao Liushi and said, "Sulan's mother works in a silk factory. She is honest and hardworking. Sulan is also intelligent and kind. She is not some child of unknown origin. I have no children of my own, so I took Sulan with me. She is both my apprentice and like my own child. If you scold her, isn't that the same as scolding me?"
Gao Liu choked, realizing that she was angry, and swallowed her words without saying a word.
After being arrested and tortured at the county government office last time, and the downfall of the second branch of the family after Gao Laosan's death, she knew that only Shen Qing could support the Gao family and give her a decent life.
She absolutely dared not offend Shen Qing, much less kick her out.
"Grandma!" Gao Yuanxiang's eldest daughter ran to Gao Liu's side, pointed at Shen Qing, and said in a shrill voice, "Kick her out! She's a beggar too! She didn't help Uncle have a baby, she's useless in the Gao family! She's a hen that can't lay eggs! Get rid of her!"
Madam Gao quickly covered her granddaughter's mouth.
Shen Qing laughed loudly.
It turns out that Gao Yuanxiang usually said this to her, so she made all the children learn it.
A three-year-old child has not yet developed their own critical thinking skills and learns everything from their caregivers.
However, Shen Qing was not angry.
She'll kick Gao Yuanxiang out sooner or later.
She reassured Su-lan to eat properly, and then quietly ate her meal herself.
There's another tough battle to fight later, so we need to eat our fill first.
Today, we must drive Gao Yuanxiang's husband out of the Gao family!
But Gao Yuanxiang didn't reappear until she had finished breakfast.
She still had to go to the silk factory and didn't want to wait around, so she went to urge Madam Gao: "Did Yuanxiang manage to borrow the money? If not, I have to go. You can wait at home for Master Zhao to come with his men!"
After saying that, he took Su Lan's hand and got up to leave.
Just as I turned around, I saw Gao Yuanxiang walk in triumphantly.
Shen Qing raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile, "How did it go? Did your sister-in-law manage to borrow the money?"
Gao Yuanxiang rolled her eyes at her, walked over and sat down next to Gao Liushi, and said smugly, "The child's father went back to get the money, and he'll bring it over as soon as he gets it! Mother, don't worry! We'll cover the monthly interest for you!"
Shen Qing feigned surprise: "Brother-in-law went back? He went back to his hometown?"
Gao Yuanxiang sat up straight, her neck ramrod straight, as if she had done something extraordinary: "Yes! Go back and get the money to pay the monthly interest!"
Shen Qing knew that Gao Yuanxiang's husband had probably run away and would never come back.
There's a money exchange right outside the door, just walk straight and turn right. Why go back to your hometown to withdraw money?
This beast has run away; he probably won't return until the Gao family becomes rich and powerful again.
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