Chapter 4 Worthless Trinkets
After Song Zhimian returned to the Song residence, Madam Ding quickly learned what she had done that day.
"The young lady first went to Chunbuwan for tea, and must have heard the tea drinkers talk about the Censorate's fundraising efforts for the northern lands."
Later, he donated twenty taels of silver.
"Judging from the fact that twenty taels of silver was too little and would damage the reputation of the Marquis's mansion, he also donated the hairpin he was wearing." The person who had been secretly following them reported to Madam Ding in a low voice.
As she listened, Ms. Ding nodded and chuckled softly.
Only after the man finished his report did Madam Ding say something with a smile.
"Our young lady truly cares about the soldiers in the north! How kind of her!"
"Yes! It's all thanks to your teachings, Madam!"
After the young lady returned, she seemed to have told the coachman that she would be going out again tomorrow.
She said she still has a lot of jewelry and other items that she no longer needs, which she will donate tomorrow.
"Madam, would you like to..." the person reporting immediately bowed and replied.
Ding waved her hand, and her maid immediately slipped a silver note to the person who had reported.
"If Miss wants to do good deeds, then go ahead and do them!"
In short, our Marquis's mansion has already donated the money it was supposed to donate, and the money donated by these children is just icing on the cake.
It's ultimately good for the reputation of the Marquis's mansion.
Which young lady doesn't have a few pieces of jewelry she doesn't need to wear?
"If you want to donate, then donate! It's good for the Marquis's mansion to have a good reputation!"
The person who made the report immediately took the silver note and left.
Ding's mother, who had been following Ding's family, finally came over at this moment.
"Madam, Miss... is she trying to gain a good reputation for herself?" Madam Ding asked in a low voice.
Mrs. Ding chuckled softly, then stood up with the help of her mother.
“Every unmarried girl wants a good reputation, and I’m glad she did.”
But no matter what she did, she couldn't change anything.
Her fate was already predetermined; whatever fate she was destined for, she would have.
What good is her reputation?
In the end, won't she still have to marry a brute who's the same age as the Marquis?
No matter how kind or well-regarded one is, people will only say that our Marquis's family knows how to raise children, and they will only think that the children from our Marquis's family are good.
It won't be long. The deputy general will be back in about half a month. Then the marriage certificate will be changed, and we can just prepare a dowry and marry her off.
Good reputation...
"That's all just talk!" Ding chuckled as she looked at the lotus flowers growing in the water vat in the courtyard.
Mrs. Ding immediately offered a few compliments.
Yes, what else does that young lady have besides being the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Zhongyong?
Before, with the Third Madam protecting her, no one dared to go too far. Now that the Third Madam is gone, the eldest daughter's only way out is to marry according to the Marquis's arrangements...
That very evening, Lady Ding told Marquis Song Kaishan, the Marquis of Zhongyong, about what Song Zhimin had done during the day.
"Sister Mian is really something. If you're short of money, you can tell me!"
Donating the hairpin she was wearing would make outsiders think that the young lady of the Marquis's mansion couldn't even afford a few dozen taels of silver.
"I'll have my maid send her fifty taels of silver tomorrow," Ding muttered as she helped Song Kaishan change his clothes.
Song Kaishan also heard about Song Zhimin's donation of silver to the Censorate.
The order at the Inspection Department was maintained by the patrol battalion. As soon as Song Zhimin arrived there, someone reported to him.
Song Kaishan thought Song Zhimian was just there to join in the fun, but he didn't expect...
"Let her go! It's not bad that she's thinking of the soldiers in the north!"
The third son died in the north, so the fact that she remembered him is a small token of her affection.
"She doesn't have many days left to stay at home. Have you arranged everything?" Song Kaishan frowned as he looked at Ding.
"Rest assured, my lord, everything is in order!"
"By the way, what about Qing-ge'er..." Ding asked Song Kaishan cautiously.
"Once Sister Mian gets married, Vice General Wu will immediately transfer Brother Qing to the commander's tent."
"Da Yu will definitely win this battle against the barbarian tribes. Qing Ge'er just needs to wait to claim credit."
Song Kaishan devoted himself wholeheartedly to his only son, Song Yaoqing.
"It's still you, Lord Marquis, who are thinking of Qing-ge'er. Qing-ge'er has been working for his third uncle for a year, and he's still just a lowly grain and fodder escort officer."
"If it weren't for the Prince... Humph!" Madam Ding looked dissatisfied.
"Alright! Qing-ge'er is still young, he has plenty of opportunities! Take your time, he'll achieve success someday." Song Kaishan changed the subject.
He didn't want to say too much about his third brother.
...
The next day, Song Zhimian took Cuiguo with her and carried a wooden box as she prepared to go out.
Before leaving, she still had to talk to Mrs. Ding as usual.
When Ding saw the wooden box in Song Zhimian's hand, she immediately asked Ding's mother to bring the box over for a look.
A quick flip through the box revealed a collection of old-fashioned hairpins and other similar items.
While Ding nodded outwardly, she inwardly felt utterly contemptuous.
These things... Heh, even the most respectable maids and concubines in the Marquis's mansion wear better clothes than this.
"Young Miss is so kind! I have also prepared twenty taels of silver for you."
"Miss, take it with you!" said Madam Ding, placing the two ten-tael silver ingots into the wooden box.
Song Zhimian calmly accepted it.
"Mother, I should be able to handle these things myself, right?" Song Zhimian asked calmly.
Ms. Ding smiled gently.
"Of course, this is your own stuff, Mian-jie. You can do whatever you want with it. Don't worry too much."
The eldest daughter of the Song family should still have some composure.
"Alright, go quickly! Come back sooner rather than later," Ding urged Song Zhimian.
Song Zhimian gave a slight curtsy and turned to leave.
After Song Zhimin left, Song Zhiqing, who was sitting to the side, asked with a disdainful look, "Mother, those things could be sold for over a hundred taels of silver!"
"They're all worthless trinkets; even your head maid might not be interested in them."
She's willing to use it to gain a good reputation, so be it!
"Come on, some jewelry has been sent over from Linlang Pavilion. Mother will take you to take a look. If you find any nice pieces, keep a couple."
Song Zhijing immediately put Song Zhimian's matter aside and happily followed Ding Shi out.
...
Over there, Song Zhimian and Cuiguo quickly arrived at the house they had visited the day before.
Cui Guo was left outside by Song Zhimian to watch others line up to donate money, while Song Zhimian herself took the wooden box and went into the room where the appraisal was being conducted.
As soon as Song Zhimian entered, she saw that there were two more people in the room than yesterday.
Besides the female manager, there was also the elegantly dressed man and a woman in her thirties who was already sitting at the table looking at the account books.
The woman was dressed in the official robes of the Censorate, her hair was tied up with a jade crown, and she wore no makeup, yet she was still radiant and beautiful.
With just a glance at the woman's fourth-rank official robe, Song Zhimian knew that the woman in front of her was the famous Ye Yunshu, the Minister of the Censorate!
"Greetings, Lord Ye!" Song Zhimian quickly curtsied.
Ye Yunshu then put down the ledger and looked at Song Zhimian.
"You are... Song Zhimian, the eldest daughter of the Song family. Was it you who wanted to see me yesterday? You said you had something to donate to the North in exchange for grain?" Ye Yunshu asked softly.
Song Zhimian nodded, then placed the wooden box in her hand in front of Ye Yunshu.
Ye Yunshu opened the wooden box, and the female steward and Prince Qi immediately came over.
They both wanted to know what kind of good thing Song Zhimian would only take out when she saw Ye Yunshu.
only……
The contents of the box seemed quite ordinary.
"A pair of gold pendants, damaged, can only be valued at the price of gold, let's say ten taels!"
The three kingfisher feather hairpins, with the kingfisher feather color worn off and beyond repair, can only be priced as ordinary gold hairpins, at sixty taels of silver.
A pair of jade locks, the jade quality is average, but the carving is ingenious, worth 150 taels.
Two pairs of jade rings, of average quality, worth fifty taels…
Ye Yunshu carefully appraised each item in the box, even giving a very fair price to a pair of silver bracelets.
After taking out the last pair of silver bracelets, Ye Yunshu was about to ask Song Zhimian if everything was here.
But he paused for a moment when he saw what was inside the box.
With just one glance, Ye Yunshu, who had spent her entire life dealing with all sorts of financial ledgers, immediately recognized it.
This box has a hidden compartment.
Seeing Song Zhimian looking at her expectantly, Ye Yunshu picked up the box and slowly began to feel it...
With a soft click, the hidden compartment of the box opened.
Ye Yunshu looked down and saw a thick gift list inside...
"Is this what you wanted to donate?" Ye Yunshu didn't take out the gift list directly, but instead placed her hand on it.
Song Zhimian nodded.
"Yes! This is exactly what I want to donate!"
Ye Yunshu looked at Song Zhimian's somewhat childish yet resolute face, thought for a moment, and then looked at the other two people in the room.
"You two, get out first!"
The female manager immediately went outside and stood guard there.
King Qi still wanted to struggle a bit more...
"Your Highness!" Ye Yunshu simply glanced at Prince Qi calmly.
King Qi could only sigh, get up, and walk out through the back door of the house.
Only Song Zhimian and Ye Yunshu remained in the room.
"What is this?" Ye Yunshu asked, looking at Song Zhimian.
“My mother left me her dowry!” Song Zhimian said softly.
"But you're going to donate all of these now?" Ye Yunshu kept looking into Song Zhimin's eyes.
"Yes! I want to exchange more food and fodder for the soldiers in the north," Song Zhimian replied softly.
Ye Yunshu touched the booklet, thought for a moment, and then looked at Song Zhimian again.
Does your father know?
Song Zhimian didn't speak, but simply shook her head gently.
"You donated so much, and you only took it out when you saw me. You must have something to ask for, right?" Ye Yunshu continued to ask.
"Yes! I do have a request, but it's definitely not something that would put you in a difficult position."
"I... just want to find a way to survive!" Song Zhimian also looked into Ye Yunshu's eyes.
For a long time, Ye Yunshu remained silent.
Song Zhimian was unaware that Ye Yunshu had already gone through all the information she knew about the Song family in her mind.
Finally, Ye Yunshu spoke.
"Within the bounds of the law, I can help you!"
Song Zhimian breathed a sigh of relief.
She gave a deep bow this time.
"Thank you, sir!"
"Okay, now you can tell me what you want me to do!"
"Remember, I only listen to the truth!" Ye Yunshu closed the hidden compartment of the box again.
Song Zhimian then quietly repeated her request...
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