In the past, whenever Yuan Zhao came over, Yuan Musheng would hang her head without raising it, and would ignore her when she spoke.
Yuan Zhao was very surprised that he took the initiative to talk to her today.
When she saw her skinny son, her heart was filled with heartache.
The eldest son who used to be bright and handsome has now become like this.
She stood there and hadn't gotten closer. Yuan Zhizhi in her arms flapped her arms and stretched her body towards Yuan Musheng.
【I want a hug from big brother! Big brother, a hug! 】
Yuan Zhao held her to prevent her from falling. Yuan Musheng heard his little sister's thoughts and a faint smile appeared on his face.
Yuan Nan'an behind him also smiled.
These days, she often brings Zhizhi to Jingsi Pavilion, and Zhizhi always makes her elder brother happier.
Yuan Zhao carried Yuan Zhizhi and walked towards Yuan Musheng. He sat down beside him and asked tentatively, "Musheng, do you want to hug Zhizhi?"
Yuan Musheng reached out and took Yuan Zhizhi in a rather unskillful manner.
As soon as Yuan Zhizhi sat in her eldest brother's arms, she started giggling.
He looked at the pink and tender little ball in his arms. When she smiled, two dimples appeared on her face, and her eyes were like crescent moons.
These days, every time he sees his younger sister, his depressed and gloomy mood becomes much lighter.
Of course, the main reason is that my legs have recovered.
He also knew that this "miracle" was due to Zhizhi.
Although he was in Jingsi Pavilion during these days, he knew everything that had happened in the mansion from Yuan Nan'an and the talkative servant outside the door.
My father betrayed and deceived my mother for many years, and my grandmother's mistress was vicious and wanted to kill me.
My mother is having a hard time, my second sister is still young, and my third brother is missing.
If he continues to be so listless, how can his mother and sisters survive in the Wei Mansion surrounded by jackals?
Yuan Nan'an also sat over and stirred the charcoal fire in the basin.
Looking at the scattered pieces of charcoal, a sharp gleam flashed in Yuan Zhao's eyes.
But when he turned to face the three children, he became gentle again.
"Today, my mother asked the kitchen to prepare a lot of delicious food and brought a stove and charcoal. Let's have dinner together!"
Yuan Musheng gently pinched Yuan Zhizhi's little hand, looked down at his little sister with tenderness in his eyes, and replied "Okay".
————
When Wei Wanxue returned home and went to Xingyu Lane on the first night, she was happy to have a reunion dinner.
But at the dinner table, Wei Shaoqing suggested that she use her own private treasury to make up for the remaining deficit from the stolen property.
Wei Wanxue's face immediately turned gloomy.
The theft in the Wei Mansion was none of her business, so why should she use her private vault to pay it back?
But she forgot that all the money she had squandered in Yangzhou and the capital over the years was given to her by Wei Shaoqing.
And what Wei Shaoqing took were all Yuan Zhao's things.
The old lady knew her daughter's temper. Seeing that her daughter and son were about to quarrel at the dinner table, she patted Wei Wanxue's hand and comforted her:
"Don't worry, these things are in the Wei family warehouse, aren't they still ours?"
"Now I just want to shut up Youyou and prevent her from ruining the reputation of your sister-in-law and nephews."
The "sister-in-law" the old lady was referring to was naturally Bai Ruyue.
Wei Wanxue looked at her mother and brother and sister-in-law who had reached an agreement at the dinner table, so she could only pout and reluctantly agree.
Wei Shaoqing also took this opportunity to appease them: "Don't worry, after the New Year is over, the rewards from the capital and the tributes from the fiefdoms will arrive again. By then, we will be much more comfortable."
Hearing Wei Shaoqing's words, the eyes of the other three people at the table lit up.
Yes, according to past practices, after the New Year, the Wei Mansion will have a lot more gold, silver and treasures.
Yuan Zhao, the sick one, won’t be used anyway, so they can get a lot of it by then!
Wei Wanxue contributed a portion with tears in her eyes, and finally all the lost property in the warehouse was recovered.
The old lady, Wei Shaoqing, Bai Ruyue and Wei Wanxue emptied the private vault. They couldn't help but feel distressed when they saw the empty vault.
After all, their private treasury had been maintained by Yuan Zhao for all these years, and now it had been emptied just to make up for the lost property from the Wei family's warehouse.
Zhao Ping quickly sent the collected money and property to Yuan Zhao.
Yuan Zhao looked at the carts full of treasures with a cold look in his eyes.
This is the blood that the Wei family and Xingyu Lane have sucked from her over the years.
Wei Wanxue secretly watched at the door, waiting for the treasures to be unloaded and transported back to the warehouse so that she could take back her share immediately!
But after waiting for a long time, the truck was still not unloaded.
Yuan Zhao was not in a hurry. He asked Zhao Ping to park the carts outside the main gate of Wei Mansion and asked Gan Tang to take people to count them one by one according to the list.
The purple heartwood boxes were opened one by one, and the gold, silver and jewelry inside immediately blinded everyone's eyes.
Outside the main gate of the Wei Mansion was the main city street, and Yuan Zhao's move attracted many passers-by.
Zhao Ping was very puzzled and repeatedly confirmed with Yuan Zhao: "Your Highness, are you sure you want to inspect it here?"
With so many people coming and going and so much treasure, wouldn't such an action be too ostentatious?
But Yuan Zhao didn't seem to care. He just said, "It's too troublesome to move around. Let's just test it here."
When Zhao Ping heard this, he thought Yuan Zhao was considerate of the officials working in their government office, and he admired Yuan Zhao even more.
It took Gan Tang and his men nearly half a day to count all the property.
"Your Highness, everything is here."
Yuan Zhao nodded and looked at the heavy snow falling from the sky again.
She said for no apparent reason, "Master Zhao, the weather in Yangzhou this year is very unusual."
Zhao Ping was stunned at first, then nodded and sighed, "Yes, in previous years, Yangzhou would only have one or two light snowfalls. This year is very strange. The heavy snow has not stopped since the beginning of the twelfth lunar month." At this point, he couldn't help but look worried. "This heavy snow was too cold and too sudden. Many women, children, and the elderly have frozen to death..."
Yuan Zhao turned his head and glanced at Zhao Ping.
She had recently asked someone to investigate and found out that Zhao Ping was a good candidate to be an official.
He served as an official for twenty years, rising step by step from the county level. He was honest and capable, and was very much loved by the people.
Ten years ago, he could have taken over the post of Yangzhou prefect, but because of the arrival of Wei Shaoqing, he had to take a subordinate position.
He has been working diligently over the years, but he has always been outshined by Wei Shaoqing, and his ambitions have been difficult to achieve.
Yuan Zhao thought about this and didn't say anything else, but just gave Gan Tang a look.
Gan Tang understood, and she slowly walked down the stairs towards the crowd of onlookers, then raised her voice and said:
"My fellow villagers, I believe you all know that the storehouse of my Wei Mansion was robbed some time ago."
At this time, the main street outside the Wei Mansion was surrounded by three layers of people in a semicircle, and most of the people on the street came to watch the fun.
Wei Wanxue was still hiding behind the gate, not knowing what Yuan Zhao was trying to do.
Bai Ruyue happened to be out on the street with Wei Tianci and his sister today. When she heard that the front of Wei's mansion was full of gold, silver and treasures, she drove her carriage over to take a look.
When they heard about the theft at the Wei Mansion, everyone started talking about it:
"Yeah, everyone knows this!"
"Wasn't it that woman from Xingyu Lane who had an affair? She also has a genius son named Wei Tianci!"
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