Chapter 393 Extra 3

The second wife gave up her share to subsidize Pei Tong, not to let the Yang family squander it.

When she heard this, she was so angry that she trembled. She sat up straight and asked nervously, "What did Ah Bei say?"

Gu Xi sighed and said, "No one is stupid. My uncle was naturally unwilling. My mother-in-law even had a big fight with him over this."

She gave Pei Fei some advice. In the spring, he should go to study in an academy outside. If anyone asked about it, he should say that he had asked his second uncle Pei Xuan to keep the silver. If anyone wanted to borrow money, they could go to Pei Xuan.

Although Pei Fei has been in the capital for several years, there are differences between men and women. In addition, the first wife later disliked Gu Xi and often slandered her in front of her two sons. The relationship between Pei Fei and Gu Xi was very distant. This time, Gu Xi gave him advice, which was unusual for him. He was surprised and suddenly realized some of the reasons why the first wife disliked Gu Xi before.

It should be the same as being angry at him now - not listening to her and helping the Yang family wholeheartedly.

But the Yang family had already distanced themselves from them because of his eldest brother's failure in the college entrance examination. Why should they still bother to curry favor with the Yang family?

No matter what, Pei Fei was a direct descendant of the Pei family and had never suffered any humiliation. Although his business was not going well, few would ridicule him in front of him. He still had a youthful arrogance and did not look down upon the Yang family's behavior.

Not only did he take Gu Xi's words to heart, he also argued with his mother and said to the first wife, "I don't care how you discuss it. No one can touch my share. If mother thinks that the affairs of my uncle's family are more important, I remember that mother still has a lot of dowry. It's better to sell it to help my uncle's family, which can be regarded as returning the property to its original owner."

The eldest wife was so angry that she kept scolding Pei Fei for being "selfish".

Pei Fei sneered and walked away.

Gu Xi thought Pei Fei was quite interesting, so he simply added fuel to the fire, saying, "In the past, we had the protection of the Pei Mansion, so no one noticed it. Now that we have set up our own business, we have to spend money everywhere, and at a high price. For example, for this year's charcoal, the Pei Mansion ordered part, the Tao family, the Fei family, and the Qin family donated part, and our family bought part at the market price, and the other part was snatched up, which was twice as expensive as the market price. This was because my second aunt helped to make a call, and the shop didn't make much money for me. With all this going on, our family's expenses are more than 4,000 taels of silver a year. Now there are only more than 10,000 taels of silver left in the public treasury. Otherwise, you can give a little more, and we can collect 20,000 taels and send it to my uncle's family. It can also be regarded as a favor from us.

"But in this case, what should we do with the public expenses? I need your advice.

"Should my uncle and I split the bill equally? Or should each of us come up with a fixed amount? Splitting the bill equally is easier, we can continue to spend as we did in the past. Coming up with a fixed amount, we can spend as much as we can each year. If it's not enough, we can reduce the number of servants at home. If it's still not enough, we can save on food and clothing. It should be able to support us for several years."

He also said, "In my opinion, it would be better for each of us to compare with a fixed amount. Otherwise, if we only use as much as we need, it will only cost us money and we will end up wasting it all."

This is to cut down her expenses!

The eldest wife would never agree to it. But the family's money was in Gu Xi's hands. If she wanted to move, she had to go through Gu Xi, which would alarm Pei Xuan and Gu Chang. The eldest wife felt that if things really came to that, it would only make the Yang family lose face and make people think that her family was going to fall.

She hated him, but she didn't say much to Gu Xi.

As long as she didn't tell him the truth, Gu Xi would pretend to be ignorant.

When the second wife heard that Pei Fei had rejected the first wife, she was relieved and asked with concern: "Have you really spent four thousand taels of silver a year in recent years?"

There weren't so many when she was in charge.

Gu Xi smiled and whispered to the second wife, "How is that possible! If I didn't say that, I don't know what trouble my mother-in-law would cause!"

The Second Wife sighed as she listened, patted her hands and said, "I'm sorry to trouble you. Things will definitely get better when your brother returns to the capital."

The Sun Gao incident became a big deal, and in order to avoid the rumors in the capital, Gu Chang went to Baoding to serve as the prefect four years ago.

Pei Xuan felt it was a bit of a pity, but he still had Pei Chan and Pei Bo to take care of, so he could only express his feelings to the Second Wife in private.

Gu Xi, however, was very confident.

She knew that the Yin family would help her brother with the plan.

After chatting with the Second Wife about her family's daily life, the housekeeper came in and asked, "Do you want to clean up the small courtyard in the west separately?"

Gu Xi knew that this was where she used to live in Pei Mansion.

She listened.

The second wife thought for a moment and said, "Should we clean it up? We don't know who else will come with us besides the young master of the Wei family? If there are too many people, it would be bad to let them all live in that small courtyard. If it's just the young master of the Wei family, it would be best to clean up a quiet courtyard."

The old woman smiled and agreed and left.

Gu Xi couldn't help but ask: "The young master of the Wei family? Whose in-law is he?"

She intended to arrange a marriage for Pei Fei so that the 45,000 taels of silver that Pei Fei left in her hands would not end up in the hands of the first wife. She wanted the Yang family and the first wife to see it but not be able to enjoy it.

It is unlikely that the familiar families would marry Pei Fei. Instead, it would be more likely that the second daughter of the Pei family would marry into the Yang family, or the fourth daughter of the Pei family would marry into the Hu family. If there were daughters from the side branches, they would be a good match.

The second wife smiled and said, "He is a relative of your third aunt's family. Their youngest son used to study in the county school, and Mr. Fang taught him. Later, Mr. Fang passed away, and the child studied with Old Master Yu for a period of time, and Old Master Yu recommended him to your third uncle. The child is going to graduate this year, so he followed your third uncle here."

Gu Xi was shocked.

She knew that Yu Tang's brothers were good at business, but she didn't expect that one of them was a scholar.

I am not afraid of having money, but I am afraid of having someone in my family who can become an official.

Gu Xi couldn't help but force a smile, and said, "Third Uncle still has time to teach people to read! I never thought of that. Is that Young Master Wei very smart? From the tone of his voice, he seems to be quite young. Have you met him?"

"I haven't met him." The second wife smiled and said, "He should be a good person. Otherwise, considering your third uncle's character, he would not bother to take in a student even if he had nothing to do. The child is still young and has not been engaged yet. Your third aunt came to the capital this time and wanted to find a suitable marriage for him. In addition to asking me, she also asked Madam Yin. I think that considering Madam Yin's character, I'm afraid she has already thought about all the girls of the right age in the capital. When your third aunt arrives, she should have good news for her."

Yin Mingyuan had been hanging around in the Hanlin Academy for the past few years, seemingly uninterested in a career in politics. His health was still as sickly as before, but he had published many books. Some even said that he might become the most famous scholar in this dynasty, and the people in the Hanlin Academy therefore had special respect for him.

Xu gave birth to one child after another and is now the mother of four children.

The first three are sons, and the youngest is a daughter. She got married last month, but she has not had a one-month ceremony yet.

Gu Xi had asked why before, and the Yin family just told outsiders that the weather was too cold, so they would not hold a full-month ceremony, but only a hundred-day ceremony.

Could it be that Xu wanted to wait for Yu Tang to come to the capital?

This thought flashed through Gu Xi's mind, but she immediately rejected it.

It's not like Xu really has the final say in the Yin family, so how could she change her daughter's celebration just to wait for Yu Tang to come to Beijing?

However, Xu really knows a lot of people. If she acts as a matchmaker, no matter whose face it is for, there is a good chance of success.

She thought of Pei Fei.

Gu Xi shook his head in his heart.

If it were in the past, she could ask the Second Wife to ask Mrs. Xu, but now... families like the Yin and Li families rarely send her invitations to their weddings. Even if she asked Mrs. Xu, she would only politely refuse.

But she was still very curious whether Xu could help.

She smiled and said to the second wife, "I wonder what kind of person Young Master Wei is looking for? If Young Master Wei's marriage can be settled, please tell me. I want to hear some interesting stories, too."

The second wife smiled and said: "The child's family is a country squire, and he is white. I am thinking that he must be looking for someone who can help him."

As for whether it is financial support or career support, you will have to meet Yu Tang to know.

As the two were talking, Pei Dan suddenly came over.

The second wife was so frightened that she almost dropped her teacup. She asked the maid who came to report: "Why did she come back without any notice? Where is the aunt? Did she send her back? Did she bring Sen'er with her? What does she look like?"

Sen Ge'er is Pei Dan's eldest son.

The maid was a little confused by the second wife's question and said, "The aunt is fine and happy. She didn't bring the young master here. She said she had something to ask you and left after asking."

"This child!" The second wife was still worried. She stood up to greet him, but Pei Dan lifted the curtain and walked in.

"Mom!" she called happily.

Compared to when she was a girl, she has grown a little taller and a little fatter, but her complexion has become better and her personality is more cheerful and lively than before.

Seeing that Gu Xi was also there, she smiled and called Gu Xi "Auntie", then took the arm of the second wife and said in a hurry: "Don't worry about whether I have eaten or drunk. I accompanied my mother-in-law to visit Old Madam Zhang. She took Sen'er home. My carriage was behind, so I turned a corner and came to ask you if Third Aunt is coming? And with two little cousins? I met the eldest aunt of the Zhang family at Zhang's house. She went to see Mrs. Yin a few days ago. Mrs. Yin said that Third Aunt will come to the capital in a few days, and she is helping Third Aunt's brothers from her mother's family to look for people!"

What a mess!

The eldest daughter of the Zhang family married the son of Yang Chunhe, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy. Yang Chunhe thought highly of Yin Mingyuan. It is said that Xu was the matchmaker for this marriage.

The Second Wife smiled and frowned, saying, "I think you've been playing around with Madam Yin. Don't mess around with her in the future." She added, "Your Third Aunt is indeed going to the capital in the next two days, and your grandmother will come with her. I will go to Tongzhou with your father and Ah Hong to pick up your grandmother and your Third Uncle. I will tell you two days in advance. You should also tell your aunt."

Let's continue with this schedule tomorrow^O^

(End of this chapter)