"Miss, I've made some meat porridge, as well as your favorite pork buns and roast duck from your favorite roast duck restaurant. Please have some."
Xue Jinluan stared at the roast duck in the food box for a long time. The roast duck in that restaurant was very expensive, costing half a tael of silver for one duck.
After her monthly allowance was cut, she probably wouldn't be able to eat roast duck for three months.
A hint of resentment flashed in his eyes. It was all that woman's fault. She was shameless and dragged others down with her.
She only has six taels of silver left.
What can you do with six taels of silver if you go out? You can easily spend it all.
If you have no money to spend for three months, then if you divide the six taels of silver you have, you can only spend two taels of silver a month. Two taels of silver can last a long time for an ordinary family.
But it's different for these young ladies from aristocratic families; they seem to live a life of endless glamour, with no worries about food or drink.
However, the funds provided by the government were insufficient to meet her needs.
If you want to dress smartly and look presentable when you go out, you need money; you have to pay for it yourself.
Two taels of silver could only buy two decent clothes.
She would be staying here for another two days, during which she would have to pay for all her food and drink herself. If she wanted to eat something nice, the two taels of silver she could afford for the month would be gone in no time. Thinking about how short of money she would be then, Xue Jinluan bit her lip.
"Xiao Tao, go to my bedroom and pawn all my old jewelry that I don't use anymore."
The maid Xiaotao was taken aback. "Eh? Miss, although those pieces of jewelry are all old, they are all your favorites. You've always been reluctant to take them out. Why do you suddenly want to pawn them?" After saying that, Xiaotao paused for a moment, thinking of the punishment her mistress had received.
Having been fined three months' worth of monthly salary, he wouldn't have enough money to spend.
"Miss, why don't you go and talk to Madam? She'll definitely give you some pocket money."
Xue Jinluan gripped her sleeves tightly.
"Don't tell Mother. If she finds out, even if she gives me money, she'll definitely scold me. I don't want to hear her say that I'm inferior to Xue Qingluan in every way."
The maid Xiao Tao fell silent; her young mistress was indeed no match for the eldest young lady.
The madam always compares herself to the eldest son's family, and even her young lady is compared to the eldest daughter of the eldest son's family.
But there's simply no comparison.
In the Xue family, everyone knows that neither the young lady nor the third branch's Miss Hongluan can compare to Miss Qingluan, especially in terms of talent.
Let alone comparing her to the eldest young lady, she can't even compare to Miss Hongluan.
The eldest daughter of the main wife, Qingluan, is proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
Miss Hongluan from the third wife's family is very skilled in embroidery.
While her daughter is certainly exquisite and dazzling in terms of dress and appearance, she is rather lacking in talent and artistic ability.
No wonder their mistress always points her finger at her daughter and calls her a good-for-nothing.
She couldn't bear to listen to the vile words the lady uttered, but it was an undeniable fact that her young lady was indeed inferior to the two young ladies.
Xue Jinluan took a bite of the sliced roast duck, but found it tasteless. After chewing a couple of times, she put down her chopsticks and narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.
"Xiao Tao, go and keep an eye on Xue Qingluan for me. If nothing unexpected happens, someone should deliver jewelry to her door."
"If she rejects you, then you do this—" Xue Jinluan waved to Xiao Tao.
Xiao Tao leaned closer to listen, and after hearing the whole thing, she froze. She turned her head in disbelief and glanced at her young mistress.
“Miss, isn’t what we’re doing a bit too much… What if we get caught? No! This will definitely be discovered.”
Xiao Tao shook her head vigorously, offering weak words of comfort.
“Miss, let’s not do this. If the madam and the others find out, or if the whole manor finds out, you’ll probably be beaten to death.”
"Miss, if you're short of money, I think you should ask Madam for some. At most, you'll just get a scolding. But this is no small matter; you shouldn't do such a thing."
If the household finds out about this, the young lady will probably be beaten to death. If word gets out, her reputation will be completely ruined.
Xue Jinluan's face darkened, and her voice turned cold.
Are you going or not?
Xiao Tao bit her lower lip tightly, looking troubled.
How is this any different from stealing?
Let alone the young lady being beaten to death, this little maid will be the first to suffer, and might even be sold off.
"Miss, would you... like to reconsider?"
"It's just a piece of jewelry. The He family definitely won't care. The He family is extremely wealthy. Would they care about a piece of jewelry?"
Yes, they definitely won't question it. They won't question it; they'll just accept it.
"We'll be completely undetected." Xue Jinluan murmured to herself as she finished speaking, trying to reassure herself.
This is just too much of a gambler's mentality, isn't it?
Xiao Tao nodded reluctantly. She had no choice; she was just a maid, and she could only do whatever her mistress said. If she didn't listen, there was nothing she could do. But if she really told the madam this, her mistress probably wouldn't want her anymore.
Even if she is not taken care of, she will still be sold off.
Since they'll all be sold off anyway, I might as well give it a try. Maybe it'll really be as the young lady said, that no one will notice and we won't be discovered.
As soon as Helsin returned to the He family mansion, he sent someone to deliver the set of pink jade jewelry he had bought in the commercial building to the Xue family mansion.
The package was delivered to the Xue family residence early in the morning. Before noon, He Shuang entered Helsin's study with a joyful expression to report the good news.
"Master, Miss Xue accepted that set of jewelry. I didn't expect her to keep it this time. I thought it would be sent back to the manor."
"It seems there's potential in your relationship with Miss Xue. I'll go tell Madam right away, so she can share in the joy."
Helsing was practicing calligraphy when he heard the sound. He paused for a moment, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"Women can never escape the temptation of these things. No matter how high-minded they are, there will be a day when they compromise."
He Shuang smiled.
"Once Madam finds out about proposing marriage to the Xue family, she will definitely put it on the agenda, since the Xue family has already expressed their agreement."
This piece of jewelry wasn't just a simple gift; it had a deeper meaning. The fact that the jewelry was kept suggests there's something going on.
Taking advantage of this momentum, her mistress will definitely go to the Xue residence and have a good chat with them.
Perhaps, good things are about to happen to her master.
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