Chapter 18
Chapter 18
When Wen Shuse returned to the Xie family, the sun had already set. After getting off the carriage, she was taken by Old Madam Xie to the courtyard. When she returned to the house at sunset, there was an extra makeup box in her arms.
At night, the master and his two servants lit a lamp and opened the box that Old Madam Wen had given them today. What they saw was a dazzling array of treasures. The gold and silver treasures piled up in the two boxes were eye-catching.
Xiangyun approached with the lantern in hand, illuminating the pile of gold and silver, and exclaimed with wide eyes, "My wife is not a spendthrift, she is clearly a fortune-bringing wife..."
Wen Shuse shrugged her head and didn't feel happy. This box of things meant that her grandmother had given her all the Wen family's property.
Wen Suning was right. His uncle was an official in the court, and the eldest branch of the Wen family would have to move to the Eastern Capital sooner or later. Now that his grandmother had given the family property to him, only that house was left.
The eldest wife will have to leave tomorrow, and she doesn’t know what will happen tonight. She is worried and asks Aunt Qing, “Have you told Qiuying?”
Aunt Qing nodded, "The little girl didn't agree at first, but I said I would sell her and not let her follow the eldest lady to Dongdu, so she agreed. If the eldest lady and the first lady really want to take the house, she will immediately inform the second lady." Seeing that she was still worried, Aunt Qing advised, "Don't think about it, madam. Who is the old lady? She has supported the family for decades after the master left. Back then, the Wen family was almost unable to make ends meet, and the second master had no money to go to private school. The old lady didn't even mortgage the house. Now the first wife wants to sell the house and buy a house in Dongdu. Will she agree? Madam, don't worry, the old lady knows what's going on."
That was true, but she couldn't bear to see her grandmother being bullied.
Wen Shuse asked Aunt Qing to put the box away. Thinking of Wen Suning's appearance today, he couldn't help getting angry again, and leaned on the reclining chair to complain, "These years, everyone has been counting on father and third brother to make more money outside to subsidize the household expenses of a whole house. The name is good, it is to revitalize the family and bring honor to the ancestors. But look, what is the situation now? In the eyes of outsiders, the Wen family has a promising future. It is the eldest uncle, the fourth-rank official of the Ministry of Works, how impressive, and the eldest and second brothers, who go out in a bright and bright way and have a promising future. Speaking of father, who doesn't know that he is a fisherman? Like father, like son, and third brother was led astray by him. He didn't study, but had to carry the crabs in the sea. The eldest lady's calculations are loud and clear. The whole family goes to Dongdu to enjoy a good life, and wants father and third brother to go there to be their money bags. This is not brotherhood, I'm afraid it's better than Bodhisattva."
She had been keeping it to herself at the Wen family, fearing that her grandmother would hear her. Now that she was back at the Xie family and there were only Aunt Qing and Xiangyun around, she began to talk without stopping.
The maids and servants outside also noticed that Third Grandma didn't seem to have a very happy trip home, and when they heard the anger inside, they all tensed up.
Wen Shuse hated it so much, "What I hate most in my life is people who ask for money..."
"Is the third sister-in-law here?"
The complaint was interrupted by a young lady outside the door, and Wen Shuse kept silent.
Nanny Fang didn't want to let anyone in, "Second Madam, Third Madam has gone to bed."
"It's so early. I've been waiting for her for the whole afternoon. Why is she resting now?"
"Second Madam..."
Nanny Fang failed to stop them. Footsteps rushed in from outside, getting closer and closer. As soon as the curtain was opened, before Wen Shuse could get up from the armchair, the young lady in front of him looked around the room and finally set her eyes on Wen Shuse. Without any room for negotiation, she said, "Third sister-in-law, give me a hundred taels of silver. I have my eyes on a bracelet. I will buy it tomorrow."
On this blade...
Aunt Qing and Xiangyun were both sweating.
Nanny Fang knew that Wen Shuse was in a bad mood, so she hurried over to persuade Second Lady Xie, "It's late tonight, and Third Lady has just returned. Second Lady should come back tomorrow."
Madam Xie frowned and said, "No, I can't sleep tonight if I don't buy the bracelet. Sister-in-law only needs to say yes. It won't bother her. Nanny can get it for me."
My third brother has always been like this in the past.
Wen Shuse's eyes twitched. It seemed that she was the golden Buddha who could not escape being robbed wherever she went. So she calmed down and asked her, "What kind of bracelet did you buy, Madam?"
"The Cui family's new products arrived in the spring..."
"What is it made of that costs one hundred taels?"
"Although one bracelet only costs twenty taels, I'll buy two, and the rest..." Suddenly she stopped talking, and the second lady looked impatient, "I've already told my third brother, he asked me to find you, just give it to me, why are you asking so many questions?"
Xiangyun was so angry that his eyes were glaring. He had never seen anyone asking for money like this. This person was even worse than the eldest wife of the Wen family.
Just as she was about to explode, Wen Shuse turned around and ordered her, "Go get my purse."
Xiangyun turned around and angrily went to look for her purse. The second wife of the Xie family was standing in the room waiting. Wen Shuse didn't even look at her. He turned around and asked Aunt Qing, "Where was I talking about just now?"
Aunt Qing remained calm and said, "Third Grandma was talking about money."
"Yes, money." Wen Shuse continued, "People say that one should not accept charity. I don't know what he is thinking when he asks for money. Is he shameless..."
Suddenly, he remembered and looked at the Second Lady in front of him and explained, "Don't worry, Second Lady. I'm talking about my Wen family's family affairs."
Without caring about the Second Lady's expression, Wen Shuse continued, "You are not an orphan. You should go to your parents to ask for money. Even if you are an orphan, you still have your brother. Brothers are unreliable. People are always healthy. You don't have the ability to make money. It seems that other people's money is blown by the wind..."
Seeing Xiangyun handing over the purse, Wen Shuse untied the tie and dumped out everything inside. He lowered his head and used his fingers to fiddle with it. After a moment, he raised his head and looked at the Second Lady with an apologetic look, "It's such a coincidence that there are only these copper coins left in the purse. If you don't mind, you can take them all?"
—
That night the whole house was in an uproar.
The second lady hugged the first lady and cried, "She gave me a few dozen copper coins as if I were a beggar. No, she called me a beggar and asked me if I had no father or mother..."
The eldest lady was so angry that she felt dizzy before her eyes. If it wasn't for the fact that it was getting late, she would have rushed over to the old lady and kicked that ignorant person out.
The next day, after washing up, without even having time to eat breakfast, the eldest lady brought Mrs. Xie to the old lady's yard. As soon as they arrived, they told Mrs. Xie what Wen Shuse said last night, exaggerating it, "I married into the Xie family and lived with the master for half my life. Today, because of a little money, I was reduced to a beggar by a yellow-haired girl from outside. Others call me the eldest lady, but I don't deserve it. I am so embarrassed today..."
The eldest lady first belittled herself, then criticized Wen Shuse from top to bottom, and insisted that the old lady give an explanation. Just as they were arguing, a servant came hurriedly outside the door and said as soon as he entered the door, "Madam, several shop owners are blocking the gate of the courtyard, saying that they want to settle accounts with the eldest lady. No matter how you drive them away, they won't leave and must see you..."
The eldest lady was stunned. "What account?"
When the eldest lady came to see Old Madam Xie and cried, the owner of Xie's shop happened to come to settle the account, and Uncle An brought the man to Wen Shuse.
The shopkeepers followed the custom of previous years and would first deduct a sum of money for the inner house expenses. Every shop had such an account book, which was full of records of the goods that the eldest wife of the Xie family had withdrawn.
The powder used by the eldest lady and the spices used by the Xie family were all drawn from the shop...
In previous years, even when the Second Madam was at home, this account was crossed out from the account book. But today, the Third Madam flipped through the account for a while and suddenly said, "I don't recognize this account."
"The masters of the mansion go to the accounting office every month to withdraw money for powder and spices. How could they go to the shop to get goods? The masters are usually busy with work and can't remember these things. I can only let you add some. Who knows whether it is true or false? I'm sorry for these accounts of yours today. I can't recognize them."
When the shopkeepers heard this, they were shocked and hurriedly defended themselves, "Third Madam, these were indeed sent away by the masters of the mansion. How dare we, the servants, put them on the account privately..."
"That doesn't make sense." Wen Shu looked at them suspiciously. "Uncle An said that you all have at least five years of experience as shopkeepers. Logically, you wouldn't make such a mistake. The shop is open for business, and you collect money with one hand and give goods with the other. Even if they haven't been sold, the goods should still be there. Now the money doesn't match the goods. Since you say your accounts are clean, then go find whoever took it and ask for it back."
Before one wave subsides, another thunder roars.
After hearing this, Madam Xie was stunned for a moment, then turned to glance at the stunned face of the first lady. The heart disease that had plagued her for many years was finally cured. She silently prayed in her heart that the Bodhisattva had appeared, her eyes rolled, and she fainted.
"Old lady..."
"Mother......"
"Quick, go call the palace doctor." Nanzhi helped the person into the inner room. Seeing that the eldest lady had followed, he said without hesitation, "The old lady hasn't recovered from her last illness yet. The eldest lady, please don't provoke her. If something happens to her, how will I explain to the first and second masters?"
Damn it.
The Madam had no choice but to go back first. As soon as she arrived at the gate of the courtyard, she was surrounded by several shopkeepers, "Madam, please settle the accounts for this month first..."
"The servant has a few pens in his hand as well."
"And the servants here..."
The eldest lady was overwhelmed. "What's wrong with you? Who gave you the courage to block the door?"
The shopkeeper simply knelt down before her and said, "Madam, please forgive me. You are the wife of the deputy envoy, and you are of noble status. You will definitely not embarrass us servants for just a few dozen taels of silver..."
As the shopkeeper, he was speechless today when asked by a young lady. Compared with the missing accounts, the reputation he had worked hard for all these years was the most important.
No matter what the eldest lady said, the few people remained unmoved and tried their best to find the creditors to pay the debts.
Except for the first lady, the other masters of the first house were not spared, and the house was in chaos for the whole morning.
The eldest lady was so angry that she was fuming. After she finished dealing with the matter, she rushed into the yard angrily to look for someone. Wen Shuse had already gone out with Aunt Qing and Xiangyun to buy flower pots.
After hearing this, the eldest lady's heartbeats began to beat fast. She turned to ask Nanny Fang, "Where's the third child?"
"The Third Young Master is not here either. He didn't come back yesterday or the whole night."
The eldest lady said something cruel, "Okay, then wait for the master to come back and find him."
—
Wen Shuse went to Qiao City.
I had just sent the shopkeeper away and was sitting alone in the yard enjoying the breeze. Suddenly, I could no longer smell the fragrance of flowers that I used to smell. I thought of buying a few flower pots and putting them in the yard.
I suddenly mentioned going out.
During this shopping spree, they bought a bunch of things. By the time Ri Yu and his two servants came around, their arms were already full, but they hadn't bought any flower pots yet.
Xie Shao and Zhou Kuang were squatting in the teahouse. The window on the second floor was open, and they could see most of the movement in Qiao City at a glance. Zhou Kuang leaned against the window and watched several people approaching from afar. He vaguely recognized Wen Shuse and stared at her closely. He was sure that she was the one who came closer, and hurriedly reached out and patted Xie Shao opposite him, "Hurry, sister-in-law, sister-in-law..."
Xie Shao accompanied Zhou Kuang out of the city to chase someone yesterday. He did not return home all night and returned to the teahouse in the early morning to continue guarding the person. He was dozing off with his head supported by his hand, and when he heard the words, his eyelids lifted, and he turned his head to look down nonchalantly.
In the bustling crowd, there stood a bright and dazzling young lady, with her hair pinned high and a shawl tied around her neck. The dazzling sun was shining on her. It was the girl from his family.
It seemed like he met an acquaintance and stood there without moving.
Wen Shuse did meet an acquaintance, the lady from the Wei family, whom he usually did not get along with.
"Isn't this Second Madam Wen? I haven't seen you for a long time. Are you okay now?" Seeing that Wen Shuse didn't say anything, he continued, "At first, when I heard the servants talk about it, I couldn't believe it. Didn't Second Madam Wen tell everyone before that she was going to be Madam Ming's sister-in-law? How can she get married just like that? And she's marrying..."
Wen Shuse was holding a bunch of things, feeling tired and in no mood. "Madam Wei, you want to ask me why I married Xie San, right? Yes, I got my retribution by marrying a rich and stupid dandy. My husband doesn't love me and my elders don't love me. I'm not happy. Are you satisfied, Madam Wei?"
Unexpectedly, she actually started to scold herself. Madam Wei was very upset and quickly took the maid away.
Wen Shuse still couldn't keep the pile of things in his hand steady, and they fell to the ground with "bang, bang, bang".
Zhou Kuang upstairs couldn't help but let out an "Eh~".
When Wen Shuse raised his head, he only saw Xie Shao sticking his head out of the window. Their eyes met and his face froze. He thought to himself that when people are unlucky, even drinking water will get stuck in their teeth.
It was too coincidental that he was caught saying bad things about him twice. Before the people upstairs could get angry, Wen Shuse planned to take the initiative, "I think it's not good for my husband to always listen to others like this."
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