Chapter 13 The Five Thousand Taels Hole
The last time she and her second sister-in-law went up the mountain to worship Buddha, their carriage and the Jiang family's carriage were facing each other on the mountain road. According to the rules, the Lu family's carriage should reverse, so her second sister-in-law ordered the driver to reverse.
After they had walked for a while, before the Jiang family carriage left, the man in the carriage lifted the curtain and said, "Thank you, young lady." Only then did she realize that the person sitting in the carriage opposite was the young marquis, and she began to suffer from lovesickness from then on.
"You silly girl, your mind is always thinking about men! Don't jump too high, Jiang Xu is a hostage, maybe he will even lose his life one day." Chen tapped her daughter's forehead angrily.
"Mother!" Lu Wanrou pouted, "How could that be? Liaoyuan Marquisate is in its heyday, and His Majesty still has to rely on them for the war in the south!"
"Well, it would be great if you could marry into the Marquis's Mansion," Chen was calculating in her mind, "but the things in Jinxiuzhai are too expensive, costing thousands of taels of silver. If you can't marry into the Marquis's Mansion, then we will lose a lot!"
"Mother! You should ask my second sister-in-law to pay back the debt in Jinxiuzhai, otherwise Manager Wen won't let me buy on credit." Lu Wanrou shook Chen's elbow and said, "Mother, it would be better if you can manage the accounts yourself. Why should we have to look at Fang's face?"
On the way back home just now, she stopped by Jinxiuzhai to buy some Dongzhu jewelry, but the shopkeeper Wen said that the Lu family had some unpaid debts, a total of 5,000 taels of silver, and would not allow her to buy on credit anymore.
"Don't give me any bad advice! I'm old and I'm too lazy to take care of the accounts." Others may not know about the Jiang family's mess, but Chen knows it very well. She doesn't want to take care of it even if it's given to her.
Lu Changqing's father used to eat ginseng that cost a thousand taels per branch. The Lu family was already heavily in debt long before Fang Qianxue came into the family. The eldest son, Lu Changli, was also a playboy, often spending lavishly on brothels. The Lu family was able to maintain its status over the years thanks to Fang Qianxue's dowry and subsidies from her parents' home.
"But I really want to buy that pearl hairpin!"
Chen gently lifted the lid of the teapot, a smug smile on her face, "I'll talk to your sister-in-law about the Jinxiuzhai matter when she comes. I'll tell her and ask her to take out the money."
If Fang Qianxue had not married into the Lu family, the money would have been confiscated long ago.
Humph, they deserve the Fang family’s money!
As the mother and daughter were talking, they heard the curtain at the door open.
Fang Qianxue led the maid in and glanced at the two people in the room: "Mother is looking for me? Wanrou is here too."
"Qianxue, I have something to discuss with you," Chen looked Fang Qianxue up and down, with a hint of surprise in her eyes, "The Queen Mother has issued an order, ordering Miaoyan to enter the palace during the Flower Festival."
After Xu came in, Fang Qianxue was not depressed at all. Instead, her face was full of rosy glow. Compared with the sickly Xu Miaoyan, this beautiful complexion... Tsk tsk, one is like a beautiful flower in the world, and the other is like a cabbage hit by frost.
"Mother should talk to Xu about this." Fang Qianxue sat down on the couch opposite Chen and crossed her legs impatiently.
She is busy!
Tomorrow is Yuaner and Yaoer’s third birthday. Lu Changqing is indulging in Xu Miaoyan’s tenderness and says he is too lazy to do it. When asked, he just says “no money”.
Fang Qianxue would not let her children suffer any injustice. Not only did she want to hold the birthday party, she also wanted to use this birthday party to return to the circle of noble ladies in Beijing.
"You also know that Xu doesn't have many good clothes, so I took the initiative to buy her a few. Otherwise, she would have entered the palace in shabby clothes, which would have been a disgrace to our Lu family." Chen picked up the teacup and took a sip. "You go and pay the debt to Jinxiuzhai. It's not much, just five thousand taels."
"Five thousand taels is not a small amount," Fang Qianxue glanced at Lu Wanrou beside her, "It seems that mother not only bought clothes for Xu, but also bought a lot for my sister."
"I just bought a few things by the way," Chen patted the back of Lu Wanrou's hand, indicating that she was relieved, "Anyway, you can go and pay it back. I will say a few good words for you in front of Changqing."
"A few nice words? Haven't I filled enough holes for the Lu family over the years?" Fang Qianxue took a deep breath and looked at the old woman opposite. "The clothes that Yuan'er, Yao'er and I have together cost less than five thousand taels. Mother actually said that it's not much money. Since it's easy to say, you can fill the hole yourself."
"Your clothes are cheap because you don't deserve them!" Lu Wanrou stood up suddenly and said contemptuously, "Two children are so young, it's good enough to have a few pieces of rags to wrap them, why would they make good clothes?"
"Forget it," Chen pulled Lu Wanrou to sit down, "Qianxue, I know you feel uncomfortable, but don't you think about it? Miaoyan is a female official in charge of silkworms. Wanrou may be able to marry into the Marquis' Mansion if she dresses up. As for you... what's the point of wearing Jinxiuzhai's clothes? Changqing won't even look at you."
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