Chapter 200 Something Big Happened
Duke Qin looked embarrassed.
He was really embarrassed by how many things had happened in Cuiwei Pavilion over at Hangzhi's place over the past year.
Feng didn't blush, her first reaction was that Gu Qingning had cooked the accounts.
"How can there be such a big difference? Are you lying to us?"
She picked up the account books and looked through them one by one.
The more I looked at his face, the uglier it became.
“Their bird’s nests and other supplies are actually used more than my yard?”
Gu Qingning nodded, "In addition, here is the money that the Second Young Master has withdrawn from the account over the past year."
"As for the New Year gifts, the Feng family originally prepared one, but Madam Yuan said that she would prepare an extra one for the Feng family according to the specifications for the Guangping Marquis' Mansion."
"Mother, what do you think about this?"
It’s all the Feng family’s business, so naturally, let Feng worry about it themselves.
Duke Qin also looked over.
Mrs. Feng said with an embarrassed expression, "This year is Yuan'er's first year of marriage, so the gift must not be light. After all, she is the legitimate daughter of the Feng family."
Duke Qin: "She agreed to be his second wife. If you do something beyond the rules now, won't the rules of the whole mansion be disrupted in the future?"
Mrs. Feng felt her face burning, but she still insisted on defending her niece.
She looked at Gu Qingning and said, "Qingning, let's do what Yuan'er said about the New Year's gift. However, her share of the expenses will be considered as a loan from her mother's account, and we will pay it back to her later."
Gu Qingning: "Then I'll write a note to my mother and you can sign it when the time comes."
Feng gritted her teeth angrily, "Okay."
After solving this problem, I looked at the women in Cuiwei Pavilion and found that they spent more on food, clothing and other expenses than I did.
Feng took out all her anger on Shen Ruoying.
"This isn't her first pregnancy, and we don't know if she can give birth. Every time we have to spend so much money, and the money in our Duke's Mansion doesn't come from the wind!"
"It's fine if we've already used it this year, but it's Chinese New Year, so we'll cut it in half!"
After Feng finished speaking, she turned to look at Duke Qin, "Duke, what do you think?"
Duke Qin nodded and said, "Qing Ning, just do as your mother says. If Cuiwei Pavilion has any objections, let them come to us."
Gu Qingning: "The money that the Second Young Master spent..."
After Lu Hangzhi joined the Ministry of Rites, although his official position was not high, he had many social engagements.
There was also the extra money he spent on coaxing Shen Ruoying.
His salary was too little, and he was extravagant, so in that one year, he had spent more than two thousand taels of silver from the Duke's Mansion's public account!
Duke Qin's face darkened again.
When Feng saw that Duke Qin was angry, she remembered that the silver she had lent out before had increased several times.
It’s definitely enough to cover the cost of the flight!
She said quickly, "Duke, Hangzhi has just entered the court as an official. Although his position is not high, he cannot avoid socializing. Some expenses are justified."
"But it's indeed a bit too much this time. I'll use my private property to make up for it later."
After hearing what Feng said, Duke Qin's expression improved.
"You're right. Hangzhi has been appointed as an official in the imperial court, so his expenses have increased. I'll double the amount he can spend each month."
Feng smiled knowingly.
Duke Qin thought that he could not favor one over the other, after all, Jing Yu's wife was still here.
He then said to Gu Qingning: "Jing Yu's share will also be doubled."
Gu Qingning: "Yes, father."
Feng's face darkened again in an instant.
Everyone knows that Songtao Pavilion is extremely wealthy, so why did they give Lu Jingyu an additional share?
But she dared not speak out.
Feng was in a bad mood and immediately took her anger out on Gu Qingning. She asked Gu Qingning, "Have you kept a record of Zhao Jing's son's expenses?"
Although Zhao Jing became the concubine of the Duke's Mansion, the son she gave birth to had nothing to do with the Duke's Mansion.
You must never spend the Duke’s Mansion’s money!
Gu Qingning: "Aunt Zhao only received her share of the monthly allowance, and did not have any extra expenses. I guess Mr. Sun's daily expenses are all Aunt Zhao's private property."
Feng: "How can Zhao Jing be so rich?"
Gu Qingning didn't respond.
Feng felt embarrassed and stopped talking.
It was snowing outside again, so Gu Qingning got up and left.
Mo Yu was already standing nearby, holding an umbrella.
Here, Banxia reached out and held Gu Qingning's arm, and the three of them slowly walked into the falling snow.
The snow had just fallen, the weather wasn’t cold at all and the road wasn’t slippery.
Gu Qingning simply walked slowly and admired the snow scene.
Lu Hangzhi wanted to give New Year gifts to his colleagues and wanted to withdraw money from the account, but was told that Gu Qingning had come to the main courtyard.
Just happened to meet.
Another winter has passed in the blink of an eye.
Lu Hangzhi looked at Gu Qingning, who was visibly pregnant, and felt very complicated, including bitterness and regret.
Thinking of the constant turmoil in Cuiwei Pavilion, he felt sad.
Now he has learned his lesson. When he sees Gu Qingning, he bows and greets her.
"Hello, sister-in-law. I was just looking for you to withdraw some money from the account."
He felt a little ashamed when he said the latter sentence.
Gu Qingning: "If the Second Young Master wants to withdraw money, I'm afraid it will be your share for next year. Otherwise, why don't you go discuss it with your mother first?"
Lu Hangzhi was rejected and felt a little angry.
When I looked up again, I saw that Gu Qingning had turned around and was slowly walking away surrounded by people.
The flakes of snow were flying bigger and bigger, blocking his vision.
Gu Qingning walked slowly on the snow, making a crackling sound. They walked quite far away. Mo Yu turned back, feeling a little depressed.
"Still there, look!"
Lu Hangzhi is still looking at her?
Gu Qingning didn't care. She walked away leisurely, leaving a trail of footprints on the ground, and slowly moved away from Lu Hangzhi.
The fact that the two of them got engaged in the first place was somewhat of a fate.
But there are too many things mixed in this fate.
Putting aside the need for revenge, although Lu Hangzhi has many shortcomings, he can still be tolerated for the time being.
However, it was only after spending every day with Lu Jingyu that Gu Qingning truly understood.
Lu Hangzhi is far inferior to Lu Jingyu.
Gu Qingning deliberately asked Lu Hangzhi to borrow money from Feng.
Feng, who thought she was going to make a fortune, always doted on her son.
With a stroke of his pen, he gave the last five hundred taels he had on hand to his son to use for giving gifts and entertaining.
But on the day before the Chinese New Year, something big happened in the capital.
Li Yundong, the brother-in-law of the Minister of Revenue, is a famous imperial merchant in the capital. He is also the leader of the money lending industry in the capital during this period.
Because in the past year or two, many people have tasted the sweetness of his hands, so they put more money in his hands.
But who would have thought that at the end of the year, when everyone was waiting to settle the usury, Li Yundong swept away all the silver and ran away to Xiliang Kingdom!
The wife of the Minister of Revenue was so angry at her own brother that she fainted on the spot.
The main reason is that the amount of money Li Yundong has is really huge. He may have started secretly transferring assets a few months ago.
The secret was kept secret.
Emperor Minghe even thought that the other party might transfer the silver to Xiliang and convert it into food, which would be even more dangerous.
Emperor Minghe ordered martial law throughout the city and searched for Li Yundong's accomplices.
His family, and even the family of the Minister of Revenue, were also taken under control.
As a close and trusted minister of Emperor Minghe, Lu Jingyu was also busy for most of the day and only returned home after dark.
Duke Qin asked quickly, "How is it going? Has Li Yundong been caught?"
Lu Jingyu shook his head. "He has already fled to Xiliang. We have only intercepted less than 20% of the goods. Eighty percent of the silver and goods were taken to Xiliang by him."
Duke Qin frowned, "He has evil intentions!"
Lu Jingyu: "More than 30 high-ranking officials in the capital have lent money to Li Yundong."
"It varies. The highest is a hundred thousand taels! Now that His Majesty is furious, these people have been implicated as well."
Originally, the officials and the people did not care about the matter of the Great Chu issuing seals.
But if something goes wrong, it will be serious.
He paused and looked towards Gu Qingning.
"Qing Ning, you have been in charge of the private property of the Duke's Mansion and Song Tao Pavilion. You have not participated in lending money at high interest, right?"
Gu Qingning shook her head. "I have never been involved in the matter of placing a pawn. Whether it is the accounts of the Duke's Mansion or the private property of our Songtao Pavilion, the accounts are all clear."
Lu Jingyu nodded, "That's good, this matter should have nothing to do with our Duke's Mansion..."
Before he could finish his words, Feng, who was standing next to him, suddenly felt dizzy and passed out.
"Ma'am, what's wrong with you?"
"Quick, go call the court doctor!"
A quarter of an hour later, Feng finally recovered.
When everyone found out that she had put all her dowry and private property in pledge, Duke Qin was so angry that his mouth was shaking.
"Are you so short of money?"
Others just put in some spare money, it's okay if it's a small amount.
In the end, Feng Shi lost everything?
Feng cried, "After you don't let me manage the household, what money can I have? The monthly income from those private properties is only a few hundred taels of silver. What's the use of it?"
Duke of Qin: "A few hundred taels a month, a few thousand taels a year, do you know how long this is enough for ordinary people to live on? Why are you still not satisfied?"
Feng: "But who would complain about having too much silver?"
Duke Qin choked and was speechless.
"Greed is insatiable! Fortunately, I didn't let you be the housekeeper, otherwise this Duke's Mansion would be destroyed in your hands!"
After hearing this, Feng cried even louder.
But she still begged, "Duke, can you think of a way to help me get the silver back?"
Duke Qin was so angry that he laughed, "I don't have that ability! You are so ambitious, go after her yourself!"
Feng looked at Lu Jingyu hesitantly again.
Lu Jingyu: "The money cannot be recovered for the time being, and His Majesty still wants to find out who loaned the money. Mother, you just wait for the Dali Temple to summon you for questioning."
Feng: “…”
His eyes rolled back and he fainted again.
The main courtyard was too chaotic, so Lu Jingyu protected Gu Qingning and returned to Songtao Pavilion.
When they entered the main house, they found that the heating was burning brightly, and the warmth in the house dispelled the coldness in their bodies.
Lu Jingyu sighed, "My stepmother is stupid. How could she touch the loan shark? And even if she did, how could she lose all her wealth?"
Gu Qingning had just sat down, her eyes half closed, her eyelashes trembling slightly.
She said slowly: "I induced her to do this."
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