Chapter 16 She was supposed to be his wife, but she became someone else's
Luo Fu returned to the inner courtyard and just turned around the hanging flower gate, she saw the old lady leaning on a cane, supported by Nanny Li, standing outside the courtyard gate and looking over here.
Luo Fu lifted her skirt and walked over to support the old lady. "It's so hot outside. Why are you standing here for no reason? What if you get a heat stroke?"
The old lady looked like she had been standing outside for a while, with sweat on her forehead.
Love hurriedly took a handkerchief to wipe her, then covered her head with it and helped her into the room.
The old lady didn't care about that. She just held her hand and asked, "Fu'er, why did you come back so soon? What went wrong?"
Shanglu and Honeysuckle, who were following Luo Fu, were both smiling. Honeysuckle said, "Don't worry, old lady. Not only did nothing go wrong, but it went very smoothly."
Shang Lu also said, "As soon as the young lady entered, the inner court messenger asked her to come back to sort out the internal affairs. She will be entering the capital in two days."
The old lady was not happy after hearing this: "So fast..."
Love was also heartbroken and could only hold her grandmother's hand tightly.
When I returned to the room, Cui was still sitting there. Luo Zhen had come in at some point and was sitting beside her.
Seeing Luo Fu helping the old lady in, Luo Zhen stood up and said with a smile: "Congratulations, second sister, congratulations, second sister, you have been chosen so quickly. Once you enter the palace, you will surely be able to thrive and win the heart of the emperor."
Her smile contained a hint of gloating.
Seeing this, Cui Shi was afraid that Luo Fu and the old lady would discover something, so she stood up and blocked Luo Zhen behind her, saying with a smile, "We all heard it in the room. I said earlier that the second girl's beauty is just right for entering the palace. She is truly invincible. The second girl will definitely have unparalleled luck in the future."
She then ordered the maids and servants, "Since the messenger said they will leave in two days, why don't you quickly pack up your girl's things!"
The maids and servants all responded and immediately became busy.
The old lady said, "Only Fu'er is tidying up here. As a wife, don't you care?"
Cui's smile remained unchanged: "Don't worry, old lady, we agreed on this earlier, how could I break my promise? I have already prepared the second girl's dowry.
"Our house has a rule that a concubine's daughter is to marry off with eight hundred taels of silver, six quilts, six new suits of clothing, and six sets of jewelry. But the second girl is going to enter the palace, and I must not let her suffer any injustice. We agreed to follow Zhen'er's share, so here it is. Old Madam, look, this is Zhen'er's dowry book."
She asked the maid beside her to hand the dowry book to the old lady.
The old lady opened it.
The dowry was six thousand silver coins, six houses in the city, and three farms.
There were also hundreds of thousands of clothes, jewelry, and cloth, and more than two hundred maids and servants.
The old lady knew that these were only a small part of what was given openly. In private, Cui would give the eldest girl more subsidies.
These subsidies will not be counted for Fu'er.
There is no way to say this.
The old lady said, "Fu'er is going to enter the palace. She can't take all those houses, farms and extra servants with her. It would be better for you to exchange them for cash."
The smile on Cui's face froze: "Old lady is really thoughtful."
She glanced at the maid beside her, who then stepped forward and said, "Since the old lady wants to convert it into cash, she must calculate it carefully. Please wait a moment, I will ask the maid to bring the abacus."
The old lady nodded and then sat down on the chair.
Soon, the maid brought out an abacus, and the two women counted together, starting with the clothes and jewelry, and working their way down.
Love is about to leave, and it would be foolish to give in now.
Without asking the old lady for help, she said, "A set of jewelry containing gold and jade would cost at least fifty taels, but the two ladies are charging five or six taels a set. Although they have such jewelry, it is hardly worthy of being presented in a formal setting..."
As she spoke, her face showed confusion and embarrassment, and she looked at Cui: "Madam, did you really prepare such head ornaments for my elder sister?"
The smile on Cui's face was almost gone.
I thought this little kid didn't know the price of these things.
As for the old lady, she had never worn good clothes when she was young, and she was old and her eyesight was blurry. She showed her some inferior goods she had prepared, and then asked the pawnshop people to bargain with her for a lower price, so it was not a problem to fool her.
Who would have thought that this little rascal, who usually looked insignificant, could now hit the nail on the head with just a few words, and was obviously knowledgeable.
If we take out those inferior products and let her catch them, it will be difficult to explain it.
"That's what I was saying. A set of jewelry worth five or six taels is definitely not something a family like ours can afford. It would be a laughing stock."
Cui finished her words and looked at the two maids. "I clearly prepared the finest head ornaments for the second girl, but how did you turn them into five or six taels of junk? You two old fools, how dare you steal things in front of me, the old lady, and the two girls?"
The two maids were so frightened that they knelt on the spot. Fortunately, one of them was smart and quickly explained, "Madam, I am wronged. Five or six taels is only the price of one piece, not the whole set of headwear. We were just about to continue the calculation."
Cui looked at Luo Fu and said, "Second girl, there is indeed a calculation method for making this headgear, but these two maids are too ignorant to explain it clearly in advance. If you are angry, you can punish them!"
Luo Fu also seemed to understand: "So that's how it is. It's just a small matter, not worth any punishment."
Cui said, "Okay, then I'll let them continue."
Love nodded.
Cui looked at the two maids and said, "Get up! If you make a mistake again, even if the Second Young Lady doesn't care, I won't forgive you!"
The two old women nodded in agreement, stood up and picked up the abacus again.
This time, we are extremely cautious and dare not lower the price. All prices are within the normal market range.
In this way, it was not until nightfall that the number was finally figured out.
The total amount is nine thousand two hundred and thirteen taels.
The old lady was afraid that it would be difficult to carry Luo Fu, so she asked Cui to exchange it for a silver note.
Cui could no longer laugh.
This is nearly ten thousand taels!
I didn't realize it at first, thinking it was only six thousand taels, so I just fooled around and got away with it.
Who knew it could roll into so many pieces?
Now that the time has come to take the money, I feel the pain.
But now she is in a difficult situation. The envoy from the inner court is in the front yard. If she wants to go back on her word and make this little bitch make a fuss, then everything will be over!
Cui had no choice but to accept it.
But it was delayed and the banknote was not delivered until the next evening.
But Love was not happy at all.
That night, she stayed in the old lady's yard.
The grandfather and grandson talked all night.
The next day, Luo Fu was dressed up, said goodbye to the tearful old lady, Luo Yuanshan and Cui, and left the Luo Mansion surrounded by eunuchs, carrying the scutellaria and honeysuckle, as well as some old daily necessities.
There was already a long line waiting outside the Luo Mansion.
It stretches out to where it is not visible from the street.
There were dozens of horse-drawn carriages alone.
There were also hundreds of guards wearing armor, with long swords on their waists and riding tall and fine horses.
The people in Yanzhou City had never seen such a scene before, and they all crowded in the aisles to watch.
Pei Ji was also among the crowd.
His eyes followed the person surrounded by the crowd.
It was a look he had never seen before.
She was dressed in gorgeous clothes, with her black hair tied up in a complicated bun, and pinned with hairpins, rings and flowers.
As you walk, it feels like lotus flowers are blooming with every step.
She should have walked up to him like this.
But now it’s because of the Luo family.
Pei Ji's wife became someone else's!
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