"He can pay it back slowly. But he borrowed 600,000 taels of silver from the Ministry of Internal Affairs when he opened his government, and he hasn't paid it back yet!" Xu Lingyi said with a smile, "He Chengbi won a great victory in Fujian, and the emperor wants to take the opportunity to strengthen the defense of southern Fujian. Last year, the Yellow River burst its banks, and this year Zhejiang suffered a severe drought. The emperor needs money in many places. He can slowly delay paying back his previous debts, but at this moment, where can he borrow money from?"

Eleventh Lady couldn't help but laugh: "Did Prince Yong borrow it openly or secretly?"

Borrowing openly would be like calling the emperor poor. Borrowing secretly, Xu Lingyi took out so much money in one go, and he wondered if the emperor would be suspicious of the Xu family's financial situation.

"Of course I will borrow openly." Xu Lingyi said with a smile, "I will take out 200,000 taels, borrow 200,000 taels from the silver shop, and borrow another 100,000 taels from relatives and friends. It won't be much to borrow."

Eleventh Lady felt something was wrong: "Such a large sum of money, and you just paid off Prince Yong's debt like this. Will the emperor be jealous and ask you to donate more?"

"Donate it if you want." Xu Lingyi laughed, "At worst, I can sell the farm in Daxing and the shop in Yanjing."

"Not really!" Eleventh Lady said in surprise, "The shops in Yanjing are on East and West Streets. If we sell them, we won't be able to buy them back even if we have money."

"I was afraid he would force me to sell it!" Xu Lingyi didn't care. "If the old doesn't go, the new won't come. Don't worry, you won't suffer any loss."

While the two were talking here, Jiang had already arrived at Xu Sijie's study.

"My husband, what's wrong?" She sat on the bed and touched Xu Sizhun's forehead with the back of her hand. "Where do you feel uncomfortable?"

"I'm fine." Xu Sizun didn't expect Jiang to come in person. He sat up embarrassedly and said, "I haven't seen my fifth brother for a long time. I came here to talk to him, but I didn't expect to fall asleep." As he said this, he laughed twice.

"My husband has been helping my father-in-law with the chores these days, so I think he is tired." Jiang smiled and called Baozhu, "Go and make a pot of ginseng tea for the fourth master."

"No need," Xu Sizhun said hurriedly, "I'm with my fifth brother!"

"That's right." Jiang smiled and said, "Husband, let's go back then!"

Xu Sizhun couldn't stay here any longer, so he went back to the house with Jiang.

Jiang personally brewed ginseng tea and sat beside him, smiling as she watched him drink the tea.

"Husband, it will be the ninth day of the ninth lunar month in a few days. How did your family celebrate this time of year in previous years?"

Xu Sizun saw that there was something else in her words and asked, "Do you have any ideas?" His eyes fell on her abdomen.

"I'm in this state, so I have to stay at home. Otherwise, it would be a sin to make grandma and mother worry." Jiang said coquettishly, "I was thinking, if there are no special customs in the mansion, why don't we host it and invite grandma, mother, fifth aunt, uncle and aunt in Sanjing Hutong to come to our house to appreciate chrysanthemums and eat crabs. What do you think?"

Xu Sizhun was a little hesitant.

He had just been reprimanded by his father, but he threw a grand banquet without any intention of reflecting on himself. If his father knew about this, he would probably be even angrier.

Jiang took it to heart.

But she also has her own intentions.

"Don't you think it's a bad idea, my husband?" Jiang said with a smile, "It's best to invite the elders on Double Ninth Festival. I also heard from my eldest sister-in-law that my uncle will go out to collect debts after Double Ninth Festival. We can just take this opportunity to get together. Otherwise, we have to wait until the New Year."

"Collect the debt!" Xu Sizhun was very surprised. Although the couple did not spread the news that Xu Siqin helped Fang with the dowry, there is no such thing as a wall without cracks, and Xu Sizhun had heard something about it, but he did not expect Xu Siqin to collect the debt.

Jiang nodded and said with emotion: "I used to think that my uncle was a cheerful person, but I never thought that he was a down-to-earth person. If it were someone else, who would go out in the wind and rain to collect the debts? Just send a trustworthy manager." She added, "From what my sister-in-law said, the main reason why my uncle wanted to collect the debts was that he wanted to take this opportunity to do some business to supplement the family income."

"No way!" Xu Sizhun was a little unconvinced, "Third uncle should have a lot of money in his hands."

"If you just sit back and eat, you'll end up with nothing." Jiang said, "After all, Third Uncle has been separated for so many years, and he doesn't have a proper job. If he uses one less, he'll have to be tight on money. But Third Uncle is from the Yongping Marquis's Mansion after all, and the social events and visits throughout the year are a huge expense. My eldest sister-in-law often uses her own money to help out. My eldest uncle doesn't want to use my eldest sister-in-law's dowry, and plans to do some small business. My eldest sister-in-law advised my eldest uncle that there are also tricks to doing business. Why not help my eldest sister-in-law manage the dowry accounts first, go around and have a look, and then open a shop when you have a rough idea of ​​the business in your mind. Not too late. The uncle thought it made sense, so he started to help his sister-in-law manage the accounts. Sometimes when the accounts were not clear, he would inevitably go to the farm to check. If he met businessmen on the way, he would naturally chat with them. As a result, the uncle took advantage of the time when the accounts were collected to do a few business deals and made money. Gradually, he also got the hang of it. I heard that he is planning to open a shop on East Street or West Street in Yanjing in two years!" He laughed again, "I heard from my sister-in-law that in the past, the third uncle had the final say on everything in the family. Now the eldest uncle has taken on the responsibility of supporting the family, and the third uncle has to discuss everything with the eldest uncle!"

Xu Sizhun's eyes lit up when he heard this.

Jiang saw it all and was delighted. She simply talked about Jin.

"My husband doesn't know yet, does he? Third uncle is just an empty shell!"

Xu Sizhun was shocked: "Who told you that?"

"Third uncle's sister-in-law said it herself." Jiang smiled, "She said that Third uncle's salary was not enough to buy two days of rice. But Third uncle's colleagues are richer and more generous than each other. Third uncle can't act alone, right? But if he follows the crowd, Third uncle was just a small flag bearer in the Imperial Guard, and he couldn't get any benefits. If he wants to change jobs, even if father-in-law or fourth uncle comes forward to help speak, he still has to make arrangements. Otherwise, others will think you are stingy and will never deal with you again. They will not take care of you when there is anything good. Third uncle simply didn't look for anyone and tried to make friends with his superiors. He spent a lot of money every New Year. For this matter, Third uncle's sister-in-law sold the house she brought as a dowry."

"How can you sell the house that came as a dowry?" Xu Sizhun asked in astonishment, "Can Third Uncle and Big Brother just let them do whatever they want?"

"I asked the third sister-in-law the same thing." Jiang said, "The third sister-in-law said that more firewood and more rice are not as good as more days. The eldest uncle and the eldest sister-in-law saw that they were having a hard time, and they protected them everywhere, even when they went to the street to buy a box of pollen, they gave them double. How could they ask the eldest sister-in-law for money again? So they went back to discuss it with her family. When Lord Jin heard that it was for this matter, he agreed without saying a word. He also said that this matter has its priorities, and the third uncle's most urgent task is to find a way to be transferred to the Wucheng Bingmasi to be the head of a region. If the house is gone, they can buy another one, but this opportunity is gone, and it cannot be bought even if there is money."

At this point, Jiang glanced at Xu Sizhun deeply and said, "It can be seen that if this is to do something serious, whether it is selling fields or land, there is no elder in the family who will not support it."

"Really?" He was shocked by his wife's words. He seemed a little absent-minded while holding the ginseng tea.

"Why not?" Jiang smiled and said, "Look at the fifth brother. Because he wants to pursue a career in government, there is already a master in the family, and my father-in-law even asked my eldest uncle to introduce Mr. Chang to him. Look at the sixth brother, he wants to learn martial arts, and my eldest brother-in-law not only looks for a master everywhere, but also went to Beijing in person. Even the seventh brother, Old Marquis Sun sent two masters here. Just think about how much effort it took. But no matter whether it is my father-in-law or Old Marquis Sun, no one thinks it's troublesome, because it is related to the future of the fifth and sixth brothers. So, we must distinguish between the important and the urgent."

Xu Sizhun said nothing.

Jiang knew that she had to stop talking today. If she went any further, it would only cause Xu Sizhun to be disgusted.

She stood up with a smile, and pointed out the topic of the day: "My husband, you should take a rest after drinking the ginseng tea! I will be giving birth soon, and I am counting on my husband to make a decision for me when the time comes!"

"Oh!" Xu Sizhun came back to his senses, "Don't worry, I will definitely accompany you when the time comes."

Jiang smiled and helped Xu Sizhun take out the pillow behind him and replace it with a small square pillow, then helped him lie down.

Xu Sizhun was not sleepy at all, but he did not want to refuse his wife's kindness, so he lay alone in the inner room where one could hear a pin drop, tossing and turning thinking about Xu Siqin and Xu Sijian.

Yuan Baozhu's wife, who was in the hall with deep worry in her eyes, saw Jiang coming out and hurriedly went to greet her, whispering, "What's wrong? Is the fourth young master not angry?"

"I've said everything I need to say." Jiang was unsure, "It all depends on what the fourth young master thinks!"

"The fourth young master is a smart man." Yuan Baozhu's wife hurriedly comforted her, "He will definitely understand your good intentions."

"I'm just doing my duty as a wife." Jiang said this, but secretly prayed in her heart that Xu Sizhun could understand her intentions.

Yuan Baozhu's wife looked at it and hesitantly called out "Fourth Young Madam": "Look, Madam, should we send a message to her..."

In this way, even if the fourth young master continues to do as he pleases, their girl will have less responsibility.

"Mom is really thoughtful." Jiang said hurriedly, "Hurry up and arrange for someone to pass the message over! Mother-in-law may have been worried too!"

* * * * * *

"This Fang is really good at talking." Eleventh Lady asked Amber, who was talking back and forth, with a smile, "Did Jian'er's wife really sell the house she came with as a dowry? Why haven't I heard about this?"

"Yes, I sold it." Amber smiled, "But I felt that the place was not good, so I sold it and moved to a smaller house in a better location."

Eleventh Lady smiled, turned around and said to Xu Lingyi, "Having a virtuous wife is like having a treasure. Lord Marquis, should you be relieved now?"

Xu Lingyi actually breathed a sigh of relief.

He thought for a moment and said, "I have something I want to discuss with you!"

Eleventh Lady listened carefully.

"What do you think about pairing Yingniang with Jie'er?"

Eleventh Lady was very surprised.

In her mind, they were cousins.

"That child has been lovable since she was young." Xu Lingyi pondered, "Jie Ge'er is about the same age as her. She likes flowers and plants just like you, and you are her aunt. If she marries into our family, our family will never treat her badly, and you will have a companion. What do you think?"

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PS: Please read the updated version tomorrow at noon!

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