Judging by the timeline, it will be two more years before the eldest cousin, Marquis Yun, can return to the capital. In other words, the earliest they will have a chance to make a contribution is next year.
In the previous life, the Rong Prince's Mansion was the mortal enemy of my eldest cousin.
Madam Su was somewhat worried. "Little Ranbao, there's no such thing as being able to guard against a thief for a thousand days. In a couple of days, your mother will have to go to the palace to check the accounts of the Imperial Revenue Department. We always have to go out, and we can't guard against them every day and every night. Why don't you resign from this guest minister position, leave the capital, and go back to Dingzhou or Taizhou?"
Xiao Youran shook her head. "Mother, the Jiang family's third son is now in charge of the border army in Dingzhou. If we go back to Dingzhou, we will inevitably bring trouble to the Su family. We should go back to Taizhou, but not to avoid the Yong'an Marquis's Mansion. I have a feeling that the Yong'an Marquis's Mansion is about to have some bad luck. We can go back to Taizhou to reunite with our great-aunt after we have watched their downfall."
They were going back to Taizhou; they wanted to bring their great-aunt and her entourage back to the capital in a grand and glorious manner.
Before that, she needed to resolve the hidden danger posed by the Yong'an Marquis's residence.
She didn't want to live a life constantly being watched and hunted down, so naturally she wanted to make them taste the same pain.
She then inquired about the matter of entering the palace, "Mother, when is Mother scheduled to enter the palace through the Imperial Recruitment Bureau?"
Su said, "Lord Ye said it would be around July 28th. However..."
She looked worried. “Since ancient times, no woman has ever had a place in the imperial court. I come from a merchant family, and even a noble family like the Marquis of Yong’an finds me too greedy. I’m afraid that the officials in the court would see me as a cockroach and wish they could stomp on me.”
Xiao Youran tilted her head and thought for a moment, "Mother, I have a feeling that Lord Ye did help with the matter of requesting a title for you last time, but perhaps, more importantly—the Eldest Princess."
Mrs. Su was startled. "You mean...?"
"The Eldest Princess has a close relationship with the Emperor, and it was because she spoke well of you that the Emperor adopted her advice. Therefore, you need not worry about matters of the court. The Emperor will surely overcome all opposition." During her three days at the Eldest Princess's residence, she noticed a palace eunuch constantly waiting outside her courtyard. Every day, he would wait for the palace to deliver nourishing soup and personally serve it to Aunt Jinxiu. Jinxiu treated him with great courtesy and repeatedly expressed her gratitude.
Moreover, Yueyue told them that her uncle, the emperor, was indeed very kind to her and her mother.
Therefore, she guessed that the eldest princess must have been involved in her mother's investiture.
The princess's assistance is likely inextricably linked to Senior Brother Da Bai.
Mrs. Su sighed, "I hope so."
Xiao Youran blinked. "Mother, don't think about these things. Let's send someone to find out what's going on in the Yong'an Marquis's mansion!"
...
Inside the Yong'an Marquis's residence, Jiang Mingwei was clinging to the Yong'an Marquis's wife, crying uncontrollably, "Mother! Please! Those disaster victims are so pitiful, they're counting on this porridge every morning!"
Lady Yong'an was furious. "They're pitiful, but aren't we? You've emptied our manor. What will we eat and drink?!"
"Mother! We still have Father's and Elder Brother's stipends, and the wealth the Earl's family has accumulated in Dingzhou over the past century. Mother, I know you still have money, please, please give us some! The rice I transported out a few days ago has all been cooked. If there's no porridge to distribute today, they will starve to death!"
"Their lives or deaths are none of our concern!" Lady Yong'an said weakly. "Mingwei, stop making a fuss. The manor is completely empty; we have no money left!"
Jiang Mingwei refused to believe it, "Mother, you said the same thing a few days ago, but the Earl's mansion is still eating and drinking well, isn't it?"
Lady Yong'an didn't want to see her troublesome daughter anymore, so she called for a servant to drag her out.
Jiang Mingwei struggled and cried out, "Mother! Does this mean that all these years, our Earl's Mansion has only lived off Second Sister-in-law's dowry? Without her dowry, does our Earl's Mansion have nothing?"
These words struck a nerve with Lady Yong'an, who was so angry that she stepped forward and slapped Jiang Mingwei, saying, "Don't mention that bitch's dowry again!"
Jiang Mingwei covered her face in shock, "Mother... Mother, you hit me?"
From childhood to adulthood, her mother loved her the most; otherwise, she wouldn't have let her eat and drink so much that she became a big fat person.
Lady Yong'an regretted it as soon as she finished hitting him. "Mingwei, please stop making a fuss. I'm very tired. I've been having nightmares these past few days. You should go out now, I need to catch up on some sleep."
Jiang Mingwei blurted out, "Did Mother do something wrong that made her have nightmares?"
She has always been the type to speak her mind without thinking.
Lady Yong'an was so angry that she was about to raise her hand to slap you again, but in the end she put it down and covered her chest. "If you weren't my daughter, I would have you dragged out and given thirty lashes!"
Jiang Ming softened his voice, "Mother, please give me a little more silver! The price of rice has gone up quite a bit... You see, I'm doing good deeds for the Earl's family. Doing good deeds will bring good reputation to the Earl's family, and you will also receive blessings. Maybe you won't have nightmares anymore!"
Lady Yong'an was in a real headache. After hearing the last sentence, she inexplicably believed it. Heartbroken, she took off the jade bracelet from her wrist and said, "Fine, I'll pawn it."
Jiang Mingwei happily accepted it, "Thank you, Mother!"
Before leaving, she asked, "Mother, did you run into Xiao Youran yesterday? She's gone back from the Princess's residence. Should we bring her over to stay for a few more days?"
"Absolutely not!" Lady Yong'an strongly refused. Why invite this jinx back into her life? How much more could she possibly squander in the Earl's mansion?
This jinx, doesn't she want to bankrupt the Earl's family? She even tricked her daughter into donating grain and goods!
Despite her resentment, she could only do as her son said and temporarily refrain from provoking the mother and daughter.
Jiang Mingwei said "Oh" to indicate that she understood, "Then I'm going to do something big with her!"
Using the entire family fortune for disaster relief is considered doing something big? Lady Yong'an felt a pang of heartache again.
"You rascal! You rascal! Get out of here right now!"
Jiang Mingwei chuckled and left.
Lady Yong'an didn't want to say anything more. She put her hand to her forehead, lay down on the bed, and closed her eyes.
She secretly wondered if she would have those terrible nightmares again during the day.
For the past two or three days, she has been having nightmares and unable to sleep soundly.
Sure enough, she soon started snoring softly.
But in her sleep, she dreamed once again of being chased and killed in a desolate mountain.
Oh no, not being chased by people, but by wild animals.
She fled in a panic, stumbling and rolling, her whole body aching terribly. This time, a pack of wolves blocked her way. She looked around blankly, unable to find any cliff or anything like that; even suicide seemed impossible!
Soon, wolves surrounded her and pounced on her, tearing her apart.
"Ahhh—" She struggled violently with her hands and feet, but was always restrained by the wild wolf. She could clearly feel the excruciating pain of her flesh being torn off.
She really wanted to just faint from the pain.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com