Madam Lu interrupted, "Fang is right, you don't know the cost of firewood and rice until you're in charge of the household! You returned to the manor and immediately gave away 100,000 taels of silver. I, the old lady of the Duke of Zhenguo's manor, have no objection to your relief efforts for the disaster victims, but you should also check how much silver is left in the public accounts!"
"Such a large Zhenguo Duke's mansion, with hundreds of people to support, what are you going to do with Uncle Qing and Madam Fang if there's no money? Are you going to let the whole mansion starve?"
"But……"
"There's no 'but' about it. I've made up my mind. That's how it'll be done! Otherwise, you can forget about me, your mother!"
Zhu Yu looked up. It seemed the old woman had finished scolding him. He only gained two hundred points; her fighting power was lacking.
11,250 points.
He thought it would at least go up by 500, but it's pointless to listen to such a bunch of rubbish.
The morning breeze still carried a slight chill, slipping through his hair and brushing against his brow. Zhu Yu reached out and ran his hand through his hair.
Seeing his actions, Old Madam Lu was so angry that she pointed her finger at his nose and said, "You, you, you, do you not know the slightest bit of your mistake?!"
Zhu Yu obediently bent down: "Grandmother, don't be angry. Getting angry is bad for your health. You have a rosy complexion and are in good health. If you get sick from getting angry, and then have to go to Ganlu Temple to pray for blessings, you won't recover in a short time."
After saying that, he smirked, rolled his eyes, and left with his two maids, Li Feng and Qi Yu.
Right now, with Lu Xiaoyun's body, it's not feasible to go against this old woman. However, today's events have increased his score again, bringing him one step further away from exchanging with Lu Xiaoyun.
He still has time.
Because of the pressure of filial piety, Fang was ultimately not sent to the estate.
The people were released from Cuijuzhu and moved back to Haitangyuan.
Lu Jinmi raised an eyebrow at Zhu Yu triumphantly.
Thanks to the insistence of the Duke of Zhenguo and Lu Yucheng, Zhu Yu was ultimately not imprisoned in Tongjia Courtyard, where he spent his days in quiet confinement.
Back at Tongjia Courtyard, Li Feng burst into tears: "How could the old lady do this! The stepmother swallowed up all of the madam's dowry and hid it outside. How come she didn't see a single thing!"
“Miss, didn’t the Duke say that when Madam went there, she personally told him that all these things were to be left to you? The Old Madam must know that too, how could she just let this matter go so easily?”
Watching the servants carry out his belongings, which he had only moved to Tongjia Courtyard a few days ago, one by one, Li Feng's tears flowed freely.
Qi Yu clenched her fists: "Miss, do you think we should beat them up? If you give the word, I will beat them all out immediately, and I guarantee that not a single thing will leave this courtyard."
Zhu Yu shook his head, saying that beating them wouldn't solve the problem.
Qi Yu clenched her fists so tightly they cracked: "Miss, this matter cannot be left like this."
Of course, he couldn't let it go like that. He not only wanted to get back what belonged to his brother and Lu Xiaoyun, but he also wanted to make the Fang mother and daughter pay the price.
But not now.
Zhu Yu lowered his brows, lost in thought, always feeling that he had overlooked something.
I finally remembered today.
The death of the original owner's birth mother!
He stepped onto Lu Yucheng's courtyard.
Qi Yu was told to stay behind and watch over the servants who were moving things.
Qi Yu was dressed in a tight-fitting outfit, and his face was as cold as an ice cave, making the servants who were carrying things tremble with fear.
When this maid first came to the manor, the young master and she had a fight in the front yard, and even the young master only managed to draw with her.
"elder brother."
Lu Yucheng was alone in his study, lost in thought, holding a portrait in his hand.
Upon seeing Zhu Yu enter, he quickly put the portrait away.
"Xiaoyun, what's wrong? What did Grandmother say...?"
Zhu Yu smiled and sat down opposite Lu Yucheng: "It's alright, it's Mother's stuff, I'll get it back sooner or later."
Lu Yucheng looked at his sister in surprise, the feeling that his sister seemed like a completely different person growing stronger.
"I'm not just talking about Mother's things, I'm talking about how Grandmother talked about you, you..."
Lu Yucheng gave a bitter smile: "I'm sorry, sister. If I had known you were living like this in the manor, I would never have left you alone in Shengjing."
In the past, whenever he and his father returned to Beijing, his sister was not close to them, but she got along very well with his stepmother and her daughter. Little did he know that it was all a lie.
What he and his father saw was what Fang wanted them to see.
Zhu Yu waved his hand: "What's this? Fang Shi and Lu Jinmi used to scold me even more fiercely. I'm used to it."
In Lu Xiaoyun's words, they have already developed immunity.
Lu Yucheng clenched his fists. His sister was right. What belonged to their mother would be taken back sooner or later, and not a single penny would be left to them.
Zhu Yu saw the folded portrait next to Lu Yucheng and reached for it, asking, "What's this?"
Lu Yucheng twitched the corner of his mouth but didn't say anything.
Zhu Yu unfolded the painting: "Hey, it's Qi Wanting, the daughter of the Marquis of Nanyang. What are you doing with her portrait, brother?"
Lu Yucheng blushed slightly: "No, it's nothing."
Zhu Yu smiled mischievously: "Brother, you wouldn't happen to like her, would you?"
Lu Yucheng's face turned even redder: "I've never even met her, how could I possibly like her? Yes, it was the Emperor who said he would bestow a marriage upon me. Originally, the imperial decree for the marriage was to be issued after the Lantern Festival, but so many things happened afterward that it was delayed."
"However, after the morning court session this day, the Emperor summoned my father and spoke of this matter. It is estimated that the imperial decree to bestow the marriage will be issued in the next couple of days."
"Sister, you...you know her?"
Zhu Yu laughed and said, "I wouldn't say we're very familiar, but this Miss Qi is a talented woman. If you can marry her, you won't lose out. Besides, I've heard that she has a very good personality."
When he prepared the register of noble ladies in the capital for Qi Shaocheng, he had already learned about these women from prominent families, and this girl was quite good.
Lu Yucheng scratched his head sheepishly: "Really?"
As long as they could treat each other with respect, that would be fine. He never thought that the marriage bestowed by the emperor would allow him to live in harmony with the woman. In families like theirs, marriage was not something they could decide for themselves.
Zhu Yu chuckled: "I heard that Princess Ruoling is going to hold a flower viewing party in a couple of days, and Miss Qi will definitely be on the invitation list. Then I can take a look at her from afar."
Lu Yucheng chuckled.
"Brother, you were five years old when Mother passed away. Do you remember what kind of person she was?"
Lu Yucheng shook his head: "I only remember that my mother was an extremely beautiful and gentle woman. She often held me under the crabapple tree and sang songs. I don't remember anything else."
He was too young then, just a blurry shadow.
All that remains is a portrait of my mother.
Although the Begonia Courtyard is still called Begonia Courtyard, not a single begonia tree remains in the courtyard.
More than ten years ago, when he and his father returned to Shengjing, they found that there were no crabapple trees left in the crabapple courtyard, only peonies.
Fang said that last winter was extremely cold and all the crabapple trees were frozen to death.
Lu Yucheng remembers that time very clearly. After his father returned from the Begonia Courtyard, he sat in the study for a whole day and night.
He only heard his father mutter a few words: "Nothing is left."
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