Chapter 193: The Poor
Qin Jingshu's head was about to explode at this moment.
She had managed to maintain a good situation with great difficulty, but her second brother kept holding her back.
She was only six years old, and it was not easy for her to think of these words. Why was her second brother always so unscrupulous? Qin Jingshu couldn't help feeling tired.
Even though she had tried so hard, someone still came over to question her: "Master, Miss, Madam asked me to come over to ask why it took so long?"
When Qin Jingshu saw the old nanny beside her mother, her heart skipped a beat. She couldn't understand why she was a respectable lady in the Duke Xian's mansion, but still felt scared when she saw the maid beside her mother.
"It will be handled quickly here. Please ask Madam to let mother wait for a moment." Qin Jingshu said softly.
The old nanny nodded slightly, and after looking Qin Jingshu up and down with a stern look, she said, "Miss, Madam has high hopes for you. I hope you know what you should and shouldn't do."
Qin Jingshu, behind the curtain, bit her lower lip so hard that it was almost bleeding, but she was totally unaware.
Seeing that the old nanny was about to leave, Qin Er said loudly, "Nanny, go back and ask mother to give me a few hundred taels of silver. I've caused trouble here."
Qin Jingshu looked at Qin Er's self-righteous appearance. It seemed that her brother had the confidence that she had never had before.
When the old nanny heard this, she responded and turned away. Not long after, she came back with a dozen banknotes in her hand.
From beginning to end, no one doubted Qin Er at all.
Qin Jingshu wanted to stop him, but according to the Qin family's rules, girls cannot refute what boys say outside. It was already her limit to say a few words to ease the situation for her brother whenever she could. Now she could only watch everything develop in a worse direction.
Qin Er threw out a dozen banknotes and said, "This much money is enough for you to receive treatment many times. Sister, it doesn't matter if they are newly-appointed scholars. They are just a bunch of poor people who are trying to extort money."
After saying this, he completely put the matter aside and rode back.
Silver bills flew everywhere and scattered on the ground, but no one on the road dared to pick them up.
Niu Niu squatted down, gathered all the banknotes together, and then handed them to Qin Jingshu.
Qin Jingshu didn't answer.
Niu Niu directly put it into the hands of the maid beside her.
"What our family wants is not money, but justice." Niu Niu said loudly.
"Hey, this little girl has integrity!"
"What's the use of integrity? She just said she didn't want the dozen banknotes. It looks like at least three hundred taels. This little girl is really stupid."
Listening to the whispers of the people around her, Niuniu didn't change her mind at all. She just said, "My lady, my father and godfather don't need the medical expenses from your family, but the coachman's injuries are very serious. He has five children and the whole family depends on him for money."
Qin Jingshu was proud of her status. She would apologize to the Jinshi and Juren, but she would never apologize to the coachman. She asked the maid to take a handful of silver and hand it to the coachman.
The coachman huddled in the corner, covering his bloodied face. He watched the big shots arguing and never expected to get compensation. He was a coachman and casually mentioned his family situation on the way, but he didn't expect that Niu Niu actually remembered it all.
The driver was looking at the handful of silver handed to him. With the money, he could treat his facial injuries and would not burden his family. As for an apology, that was definitely not something a lowly person like him should think about.
He even didn't dare to take more and only took two taels of silver. He was afraid that if he took more, the Xian Guogong Mansion would hold a grudge against him.
Gu Mingda looked at this scene, and after a little thought, he understood the driver's idea and said, "Take it all. It's not easy for you to make a living. This is what you deserve."
The driver was stunned for a moment.
Qin Jingshu also said: "Since it is given to you, just take it directly. We in the Duke of Xianguo Mansion don't lack this little money."
After the driver received the money, he immediately knelt down and thanked Qin Jingshu profusely: "Thank you for your kindness. With this money, I can go back and buy a few acres of land, and my sons won't have to worry about not being able to find wives."
For the common people who were watching, the titles of Juren, Jinshi, and Duke's Mansion were all empty talk; the silver they got was real. They envied the coachman to the extreme. Although his face was covered in blood, he got dozens of taels of silver.
"The coachman is from the carriage and horse business, but this family didn't take anything. Isn't it a huge loss?" Some people also felt sorry for the Gu family.
The Gu family didn't care about the money for apology. Old Lady Gu in the carriage put down the curtain and said, "Second brother, I'm tired. I want to go to the city and rest early."
Gu Mingda responded quickly. He was helped up by the servants of the Sun family. He then looked at Qin Jingshu and said, "My mother is old and in a hurry to go to the city. Miss, please go back."
Qin Jingshu stood there, too ashamed to find a crack in the ground to hide, but her brother could hide, but she couldn't. She could only bow again in front of Gu Mingda and Sun Jiaxing and said, "My brother is rude, please forgive me."
After saying this, the little girl could no longer bear the pointing and talking of the people around her, so she turned around and ran away.
"Brother Gu, don't worry. Duke Xianguo's Mansion will come to apologize sooner or later." Sun Jiaxing comforted him.
Gu Mingda had never expected that he would run into such a behemoth as soon as he arrived in Beijing, but he couldn't just not protect his family and let the playboy bully him.
"Brother Sun, what is the current situation of Duke Xian's Mansion in Beijing?" Gu Mingda asked.
Sun Jiaxing said: "The old Duke Xian had made great military achievements, but the current Duke Xian did not inherit his father's business and is now serving in the Ministry of Rites."
Gu Mingda immediately understood that the father is as good as the son, and the current Duke Xian had no real power.
Sun Jiaxing continued, "Duke Xian's father-in-law is Elder Chen, and Duke Xian's second wife's cousin is the current head of the harem: Concubine Li."
Gu Mingda knew that these two people should be the biggest backers of the Duke Xian's Mansion now.
After all this commotion, the team in front finally loosened up, and the Gu family finally entered the capital and went directly to the house that Manager Luo had lent them to live in.
Everyone was exhausted, but Old Lady Gu dragged her tired body and held Zhang Yuniang tightly, saying, "The family is not short of money now. You are the wife of a juren. Go buy a few maids to serve you. This way, you won't lose face when you interact with others."
Zhang Yunniang felt that this was unnecessary.
"Mom, there are so few chores around the house, why can't I do them myself? Isn't that how we lived before?" Zhang Yunniang said gently.
"In the past, our family was poor, so we had to live frugally. Now our whole family has moved to Beijing, and the second son may become an official in the future. You should also act like an official's wife. Our Niuniu is also a future official's daughter, and you can't be called a pauper anymore." Old Mrs. Gu was obviously irritated by Qin Er's words today.
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