Chapter 25 Calculating and Degrading
The Anping Marquis's residence had just experienced a turmoil; the Marquis of Anping had been whipped and was unable to get up.
Lady Hou had been bedridden for a long time, and the shock of the ransacking of her home made her even weaker.
The Hou family mansion was always managed by Li Nanke's second aunt, Madam Sun, who instructed the servants to deliver dinner to each courtyard so that everyone could eat their own meals.
Zilan placed the food on the table, her hands trembling with anger.
"The Second Young Mistress has gone too far. She said that the manor is currently short of money and that from today onwards, each courtyard will only have two dishes for dinner."
I've never seen the Marquis's mansion so poor before. Today, the young master's wife said she wanted to raise money for the young master's fine, and suddenly the mansion is so poor that they can't even afford to eat.
Whom is she humiliating? She's clearly putting on a show for us. I'll go find them.
He then prepared to pack up the food and leave.
"Sister Zilan, no need."
Li Nanke stopped Zilan and gestured for her to set out the food.
Zilan's eyes widened.
“If the young lady and the young master’s wife can swallow this insult, this servant cannot.”
"It's not that I'm holding back, it's just that now is not the time to get angry over a meal." So Sister Zilan took the meal to her grandparents' courtyard.
Or take a stroll around my second aunt's yard, and I guarantee they'll eat two dishes, no different from us.
If you then bring a food box and make a scene, it will make it seem like Mother and I are the ones who are being unreasonable.
My second aunt is always very thorough in her work and would never allow anyone to find fault with her at a time like this.
Besides, she knew in her heart that it was true that there wasn't much money in the Marquis's account, and that her second aunt was putting on an act for them.
Zilan was furious and wiped away her tears.
"How are we supposed to eat this plate of stir-fried vegetables and tofu? It's clearly meant to annoy us."
Apart from the Marquis's wife, no one in the entire manor asked whether we had raised enough money to pay the fine.
Upon hearing this, Song Yi was so saddened that tears streamed down her face again.
Li Nanke's round face showed no anger or sadness.
In her dream, she had already seen through the true nature of her grandfather and second aunt's family. Compared to what happened on the road to exile, this little thing was really nothing.
"Since everyone else can eat it, we can eat it too. Let's talk about this later."
As she spoke, she picked up a piece of tofu with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth. Then, she squinted her eyes in satisfaction and called out to Song Yi.
"Mother, this tofu smells so good! It's so smooth and slippery, like clouds in the sky. And this green vegetable is so crunchy. Mother, have a taste."
She picked up a piece of green vegetable with her chopsticks and brought it to Song Yi's mouth.
Song Yi was preoccupied with worries and had no appetite at all.
But look at my daughter, her big, grape-like eyes wide open, her fair face filled with intense longing.
"Mother, we need to eat our fill so we'll have the strength to save Father."
Song Yi's eyes welled up with tears, and she silently cursed herself for being such a fool.
In the two days since the accident, all she has done is cry.
She is an adult, a mother, yet she still needs her eight-year-old daughter to comfort and protect her.
She's a useless mother.
Song Yi sniffed, forcing back her tears, and leaned over to eat the vegetables Li Nanke had brought in.
Then, she forced a tearful smile.
"Yes, Ke'er is right, the vegetables are really delicious."
Seeing that her mother had finally stopped crying, Li Nanke smiled.
After eating, both mother and daughter were sleepy and tired.
Yesterday, my house was ransacked, and I barely slept all night. Today, I've been running around all day again.
Li Nanke was at an age where he was very sleepy, and as he sat in the chair, his little head was nodding off.
"Ke'er, go to bed with your mother."
Song Yi gently patted her arm and bent down to hug her.
Li Nanke suddenly woke up, rubbed his eyes, and jumped off the chair.
"Mother, go to sleep. I'm going back to my own courtyard to sleep."
After saying that, he stood on tiptoe and gave Song Yi a quick kiss on the cheek, then ran off into the distance.
"This child."
Song Yi shook her head and recited a sentence, feeling as if all her worries had been dispelled by her daughter's kiss.
Li Nanke returned to her room but didn't go straight to sleep. Instead, she rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought, while waiting for Zisu to come back.
Just as she was about to fall asleep again, Zisu finally returned.
They were also half-supporting and half-carrying someone, who was Tao's mother, whom they had rescued on the street that afternoon.
"Madam Tao was injured, and the official carpenter thought it was bad luck. I thought she would need to rest for a while, but when I mentioned that I wanted to buy her, she immediately agreed."
"This servant has already paid the deposit and arranged to go to the Bianjing government office early tomorrow morning to complete the contract."
Tao's mother struggled to kneel down and kowtowed deeply to Li Nanke.
"This servant thanks you for saving my life, and also for your help to the Jiang family's daughter earlier."
Madam Tao knew that if she hadn't met Li Nanke today, her young mistress, Miss Jiang, would probably have died within days of being exiled.
If it weren't for Li Nanke, she would have been beaten to death on the spot by the yamen runners today.
So this kowtow was truly sincere.
"From now on, my life belongs to you, Miss, and I will be at your beck and call."
Li Nanke asked Zisu to help Tao's mother up.
"You should focus on recovering first. We can talk about the rest after you've recovered."
He then instructed Zisu to take Tao's mother downstairs to settle her in.
Zisu settled Tao's mother in and returned quickly.
"I heard from Zilan that Mama Qian is urging the young master's wife to sell both shops? Selling the shops might be a temporary solution, but without them, wouldn't they be left with nothing?"
When Zisu started studying with Li Nanke, she also learned a lot of characters. She was almost fifteen years old and her speech and behavior were already quite mature.
Fearing that Li Nanke might not understand, he explained the reasoning to her in detail.
"...This servant feels that this matter is inappropriate. Madam Qian is in such a hurry, I'm afraid she has other intentions."
Of course, Mrs. Qian had other ideas.
Li Nanke smiled and whispered some instructions in Zisu's ear.
"Go do me another favor tomorrow morning..."
The next morning, Qian's mother came back excitedly to report that she had found a buyer.
"Manager Liu ran around to many places overnight and finally found someone to take over. The other party knows that we urgently need money, so they promised that we can sign the contract this morning and get the money as soon as we sign it."
"Manager Liu has chosen Gaosheng Tower as the location. Madam, please get ready quickly, let's go sign the contract now."
Song Yi was overjoyed and immediately urged Li Nanke to hurry up.
"Ke'er, let's go quickly."
Li Nanke jumped off the chair.
Mrs. Qian looked hesitant.
"The girl is still young, why bother coming along? Signing contracts to buy and sell shops isn't fun at all. She'd be better off staying home and playing with the eldest young master and the second young lady."
The eldest son and the second daughter that Mama Qian mentioned were actually her second aunt's children.
Li Nanke looked up at Qian's mother and grinned.
"Mom, why won't you let me go with you? Is it because you feel guilty?"
Aunt Qian.......
It's that same sentence again.
Damn, I feel guilty.
She gritted her teeth and said, "I was just worried that you might be bored, Miss. Since you want to go, then go ahead."
He told himself secretly, "What am I afraid of? She's just a little girl with yellow hair who can't even understand a contract."
Once these two shops are sold today, she will have completed the task given to her by the madam and can return to the Song family to retire.
Gaosheng Building.
Li Nanke led Song Yi into the private room, where Manager Liu, who had a goatee, immediately handed over a contract.
He then introduced, "This is the buyer, Zhang Jiulang. Zhang Jiulang knows the situation of the Marquis's mansion, so he is willing to pay three thousand taels to buy the two shops."
This is the contract. If the Crown Prince's wife finds it acceptable, let's sign and affix our seals."
Although Song Yi was disappointed when she heard the price, at least she had enough money to pay her husband's fine.
Just as they were about to sign, Li Nanke walked over with his hands behind his back and peeked at the contract.
"Wait a minute..."
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