Chapter 446: Debt Repayment
However, Chen Jia thought that Jiang Yan even returned the half-tied silver to him, and he must have felt very uneasy. He didn't want to embarrass her, so he said to the servant who brought the silver: "Go back and tell your cousin that I received the silver, and she doesn't have to rush to return the remaining 52 taels. I don't have any use for the silver at the moment."
The servant nodded and went back home to report to Jiang Yan.
Jiang Yan breathed a sigh of relief, but then he started to worry about how to pay Chen Jia back as soon as possible.
She must not accept gold and silver jewelry, otherwise people outside would think that her brother and sister-in-law treated her unfairly.
The monthly allowance was only twenty taels of silver, and it had to be saved for at least three months. By that time, it was almost the New Year.
Whose debt is still delayed until after the Chinese New Year? How unlucky!
But if there is any human interaction during these three months, it won’t be enough money before the New Year…
She felt uneasy just thinking about it, and couldn't help but pray secretly that nothing would happen to her aunts and uncles at home before the New Year.
But things often happen that the more you fear something, the more likely it is to happen.
A few days later, news spread from the Lu family that Grandma Lu had given birth.
The Lu family had few descendants, and Dou Zhao was worried about Old Madam Lu and Princess Ningde after hearing this.
She thought that the reason Song Yichun remained silent about Jiang Yan's affairs was all due to the suppression of him by the two old ladies, and Jiang Yan was married, so she took Jiang Yan to the Lu Mansion to visit Grandma Lu.
Jiang Yan was a little worried and asked, "Is it appropriate for me to go?"
After all, her identity is unknown now.
"Suitable! Why not?" Dou Zhao had to say tactfully: "The two old ladies are particularly sympathetic to you. They didn't attend Song Han's wedding because they felt sorry for you. If you go, the two old ladies will only be happy and will never dislike you. The more people interact with each other, the closer they become."
Jiang Yan felt it would be inappropriate to go empty-handed.
Dou Zhao smiled and said, "Don't worry, I have already prepared some medicinal herbs and supplements in your name. The maids will give them to Grandma Lu when the time comes. You just need to follow me."
At that time, Jiang Yan entered the mansion wearing only a set of clothes, and that set of clothes was bought for her by Chen Jia. Dou Zhao knew best how much wealth she had, so how could she let Jiang Yan spend money?
Thinking of this, she recalled what happened a few days ago when Jiang Yan sent someone to meet Chen Jia.
In order to let Jiang Yan treat Yizhitang as her own home and do whatever she wanted, Dou Zhao did not let anyone tell her about Jiang Yan's every move. But Jiang Yan lived in Yizhitang after all, and some things could not escape Dou Zhao's eyes.
She pretended to be relaxed and asked Jiang Yan: "Why did you look for Chen Jia? Did you encounter any difficulties?"
How could Jiang Yan tell Dou Zhao that she had borrowed money from Chen Jia? Wouldn't that mean she would have to ask Dou Zhao to pay her back?
She said, "I asked him to help me find out about Li Liang."
Dou Zhao was not as angry and resentful as Song Mo about this matter. He could understand Jiang Yan's feelings, so he smiled and said, "Don't worry, your brother is not the kind of person who doesn't know right from wrong. He may be angry with Li Liang for a while, but Li Liang has protected you after all. When he calms down, he will naturally figure it out."
Jiang Yan nodded continuously.
My brother did not hurt Li Liang.
She couldn't help but blame herself secretly.
I really am judging others by my own standards.
Even my sister-in-law believed in my brother so much, but I went to ask Chen Jia how my brother dealt with Li Liang.
Fortunately, my brother didn’t know what he had done. If he knew what I had said to Chen Jia, he would definitely be sad.
Thinking of this, she felt more and more that she should not let her brother and sister-in-law know that she gave money to Li Liang.
If her brother and sister-in-law knew about this, they would definitely think that she didn't trust them and suspected that they had abused Li Liang.
When we arrived at the Lu Mansion, Madam Lu and Princess Ningde were both there.
The two old men seemed to have aged several years in an instant.
Mrs. Lu blamed herself even more and said, "Since I knew she was feeling unwell, I should have let her stay in bed and rest. Who knew she was pregnant?"
Grandma Lu tried to comfort her mother-in-law: "How can you be blamed for this? It was my own carelessness. I am so ashamed to hear you say that!"
Old Madam Lu said, "Okay, okay, don't blame yourselves. There is a destiny between people, and this child is not destined to be with our family." Then she said to Mrs. Lu, "You should take care of the family's income these days, don't let Zhan'er's wife work too hard, let her rest well." And she said to Grandma Lu, "Don't think about anything, take care of your body, and you will have children in the future."
The two nodded, but their expressions still showed shame.
Old Madam Lu left Dou Zhao and Jiang Yan in the room to counsel Grandma Lu, and she and Princess Ningde returned to the banquet room.
Miao Ansu knew that Dou Zhao and Jiang Yan had left the house, and he immediately took action.
She asked Liu Hong to coax Fu Ye to come to her room to play, while she hid in the next door room and eavesdropped on the conversation between Liu Hong and Fu Ye.
After talking about all sorts of things, the topic turned to Song Han's wedding.
Liu Hong said, "The Dou family is so rich, and they are legitimate relatives of the Song family. Why are they so stingy when the Second Master gets married, and don't even give a gift? Aren't they afraid that the Crown Prince will blame them?"
Fu Ye chewed the candy in her mouth.
This candy is so sweet!
It is indeed made according to the recipe that came from the palace.
Exactly the same as in Madam's house.
It can be seen that this second wife has invested a lot of money!
She was smart enough to ask the people around the Madam. If she had asked the people around the Osmanthus Courtyard or the Second Master, she would probably not have found out anything in a year or two!
With candy still in her mouth, she put her hands on her waist and said loudly, "The Dou family is not stingy! Just look at the gift the Dou family gave to the eldest master and you will know how rich the Dou family is. Why would they care about such a small amount of money? It's just because something happened in the family a few days ago. Everyone is saying that the second master is the concubine's son brought back by the Duke. In order to make the second master a legitimate son, the Duke also replaced the eldest daughter born to the second master and Mrs. Jiang... The prince has fallen out with the Duke because of this matter! If the people of the Dou family come to make a fuss about the second master's marriage, the prince will be unhappy!"
Liu Hong was shocked and couldn't help but look next door.
Fu Ye understood immediately.
Either Miao was next door or Ji Hong, Miao's most capable maid, was next door.
As the thought flashed through her mind, she heard the sound of breaking porcelain from next door.
Liu Hong came back to her senses, forced a smile, and said, "You are lying, right? The Duke's wife is giving birth in the mansion, and there are so many people around her. Even if you can hide it from Madam Jiang, you can't hide it from the capable maidservant beside Madam Jiang, right? Don't fool me!"
"Why would I fool you?" Fu Ye said unhappily, "If you don't believe me, just ask anyone and you'll know. Otherwise, how come the cousin from Bishuixuan looks exactly like Madam Jiang? Why didn't the cousin go back to the Jiang family but came to live in the Song family? Why didn't Madam promote the second wife but promoted the cousin instead?"
The eldest grandmother of the Lu family had a miscarriage. Logically, the madam should have invited her sister-in-law Miao to visit the Lu residence. Why did she leave Miao behind and bring her cousin instead? Wasn't the madam afraid of being blamed by the uncle and aunt of the Lu family?
Miao Ansu was in such a mess that she didn't even know when Fu Ye left.
She sat alone in silence until it was time to light the lamps. The maids came over to light the lamps, and the glaring light woke her up.
She had never felt so lonely as she did today.
"Has the Second Master come back?" Miao Ansu asked Ji Hong.
Song Han didn't have any work, but from the fourth day after his marriage, he went back to the academy to study, using the excuse that the Duke's homework was too strict. He left home early and returned late every day, working harder than the students in the Imperial College.
Ji Hong said uncomfortably, "Second Master is back and changing clothes in the small study."
All the things Song Han used before he got married were moved to the small study.
Miao Ansu suddenly understood what was going on and asked, "Are they Qixia and the others serving us?"
Ji Hong nodded.
Miao Ansu was furious.
He slept with his own maid, but still let his former maid serve him. What's the logic behind this?
Could it be that she thought this was a brothel?
Miao Ansu was about to run to the study room, but Ji Hong held her back tightly: "Second Madam, you just got married. If you make any noise, it will be your fault even if it's not your fault. Besides, the Second Master is in an awkward position now. If you do this, he will only bear a grudge against you!"
Miao Ansu calmed down.
When Song Han returned to his room, she was able to ask him with a smile whether he had had dinner yet, and personally brought him water for washing his feet. After he went to bed, she told him in a gentle voice that Dou Zhao had taken Jiang Yan to the Lu family, and tested him by asking, "What do you think, should I also prepare some things to visit Grandma Lu?"
Song Han's expression suddenly became unclear.
He was silent for a long while before he said, "My sister-in-law is the matriarch of the clan. She has her own arrangements for these matters. If she invites you, you should go; if she doesn't invite you, you should not just go randomly, lest you be impolite and be laughed at. Besides, you haven't been specially informed that Grandmother Lu is having a baby, so why are you going to join in the fun?" His tone sounded very impatient, and after he finished speaking, he turned around and lay down.
Miao Ansu looked at the two beds that were clearly separated by a blanket, and tears welled up in his eyes due to grievance.
She also turned over and lay down with her back to Song Han.
Song Han's mind was completely occupied by the fact that Dou Zhao took Jiang Yan to Lu's mansion, and he was too lazy to pay attention to Miao Ansu.
Dou Zhao, you are really going too far!
No matter what, he was the second master of the Duke of Ying's Mansion, but she didn't take him seriously at all. She would rather take Jiang Yan to the Lu family than take Miao!
What do they want to do?
Do you want to force him to give up his status as the Second Master of the Duke of England?
His hands were clenched into fists so tightly that he didn't even feel his nails digging into his palms.
Jiang Yan was in a difficult situation when he returned from Lu's mansion.
After they talked with Grandma Lu for a while, it was already noon. The Lu family invited them to dinner, and Grandma Lu personally hosted a banquet for them. Several young people in the Lu family were there, and the sister-in-law gave each child a red envelope as a reward.
She panicked at that time.
Fortunately, her sister-in-law had been prepared and put a reward in Yinghong's hand, so she did not embarrass herself.
Old Madam Lu also said that after a few days, when Grandma Lu had finished her confinement, she would invite them over for dinner and to listen to opera.
This time she didn't know and didn't prepare to be famous herself. Next time, could she ask her sister-in-law to reward her?
Although each child was only rewarded with two silver ingots of one tael each, the total amount of silver given to the four children of the Lu family was no more than eight taels. But in this way, she would not be able to repay Chen Jia's money before the New Year.
What to do?