Zhou Shuyan returned to the modern era, but the ancient palace was completely silent. The rustling of the servants was even quieter than before. Aside from the occasional imperial physicians coming in and out of Fengyang Palace, or the Emperor's furious reprimands, the rest of the palace was completely silent.
The various families outside the palace were in dire straits. Because of the misfortunes of the concubines in the palace, their families were implicated. Not to mention the officials in the capital, even the dukes and marquises were facing their own troubles.
The Ministry of Revenue, which was under the control of the Imperial Noble Consort's uncle, was short of three million taels of silver, all of which were owed by noble families. Among them, the Ningyuan Marquisate owed 880,000 taels of silver. The Emperor was furious and ordered that if the debt was not paid within six months, the Ningyuan Marquisate's title would be revoked.
The vast Ningyuan Marquisate was shrouded in a cloud of gloom. A thorough liquidation of the family's ancestral property still couldn't cover the outstanding debts. It was rumored that the Rongguo Duke's residence had been raided today, and the entire family had been stripped of their titles, reduced from high-ranking dukes to commoners.
At this moment, Lord Gu was extremely anxious, and the people from other houses also gathered together to wait for Lord Gu to make a decision. Gu Yankai also sat down below, frowning and thinking, until his name was called by Lord Gu.
Gu Yankai stood up and bowed, asking, "Father, do you have any instructions?"
Lord Gu stood up and made his decision: "Boss, the Marquis' Mansion is in trouble now, and we can only rely on you."
Gu Yankai, who was confused, looked at Lord Gu in confusion. Lord Gu stroked his beard and said, "If you marry the daughter of the salt merchant, you can solve the difficulties of the Marquis' Mansion."
Gu Yankai stumbled and stood up again, saying in disbelief: "Father, my daughter-in-law Qin is pregnant, my child..."
Before he could finish his words, Lord Gu waved his hand and said, "Qin Shi is unfit to be a wife. She only cares about love affairs all day long. After she gives birth to the unborn child, a courtyard will be reserved for her in the mansion."
Gu Yankai, who was deeply in love with Qin, refused to comply. He knelt down and kowtowed, begging, "Father, I only have Qin in my heart. Please don't separate us. I can take Bai in as a concubine, but she must not replace Qin as my wife."
Marquis Gu, who seemed to have aged ten years during this period, was also thinking the same thing. Marrying a merchant's daughter as his principal wife was considered a scandal by outsiders. However, the only family that could come up with such a large sum of money to help out was the Bai family, and they had only one daughter as their principal wife.
The father and son were in a stalemate for three days. Unexpectedly, when the pregnant Qin heard about this, she became so worried that she died in childbirth. Having lost her beloved, Gu Yankai was in a daze at Qin's funeral, while Lord Gu sent someone to the Bai family in the south to propose marriage.
"Miss, someone from Ningyuan Hou's Mansion sent a visiting card, saying that they will come to our house in the afternoon." The maid Lancao came in to report.
Sitting at the desk, Mrs. Bai hummed softly, not even raising her head, concentrating on the account book in her hands. After a while after the maid left, Mrs. Bai raised her head and looked at a painting on the wall of the study.
She came back a month ago and was at a loss for three days after her return. It was not until Bai's father mentioned the matter of Marquis Gu Yuan's Mansion that Bai suddenly came to her senses.
The august Marquisate treated her like a disgrace. Born into the humblest of the scholar-farmer class, even though she had brought millions of taels of silver to marry into the Marquisate, she was still not recognized by the family, and her husband hated her to the core.
Bai was lost in her memories when her father came in and said with a smile, "Nannan, the Ningyuan Marquis's family should be here to propose marriage this afternoon. Your marriage into the Marquis's family is just around the corner, and now your father will have no regrets."
Her father had only one daughter, and he had spent all his money on her, even going to great lengths to find her a marriage with a well-off family. She couldn't let his love go unrewarded. The marriage had already been arranged, and she couldn't refuse. A smile spread across Bai's face. "Father, I will live a good life. Don't worry, father."
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