Chang Yue smiled and said that she was overthinking it. "You can't spend all of it on a normal day because you have other allowances. There are fixed allowances for food, clothing and daily necessities. So, apart from giving tips, you don't usually need to touch this money. But at the beginning of the month, you give all your monthly salary to your family. You only have one tael left. You will have to wait until next month to receive your monthly salary."
Only then did Su Yushan realize that the maids' lives were relatively normal, with their basic needs for food, clothing, and daily necessities being met, but they didn't have much spare money.
If you are not favored, the servants will not pay attention to you and will serve you cold food, and there is nothing you can do about it. If you are fortunate enough to be favored, you can receive more extra rewards, such as the jewels that Hongli gave her. However, in Su Yushan's opinion, those things are beautiful but useless. They can neither be pawned nor given away. What use are they if they are just sitting in the house?
The other maids all had subsidies from their maternal families, but the original owner's family was poor and she also had to subsidize her family. At present, Su Yushan only had one tael of silver left, which was not even enough to buy a gift for Princess Gao. Life was really hard!
Fortunately, Su Yushan was not a pessimistic person. She always believed that there was always a way to overcome difficulties. When she ran out of money, she planned to go to the accounting office for an advance. However, when Changyue went to the accounting office to ask, the master disagreed, saying that there was no precedent for this and that it would only be possible with the Fourth Master's consent.
Left with no other choice, Su Yushan had to borrow it.
Chang Yue asked her who she planned to borrow from, and Su Yushan smiled mysteriously, "Naturally, the richest one."
Hongli had stayed at her place for the past two nights, and Su Yushan was unsure whether he would come over tonight. She only hoped that he would come tonight so that her plan could proceed smoothly.
Perhaps Heaven heard her prayers, for that very night, Hongli came to Tingfeng Pavilion again.
Su Yushan was quite different tonight; she proactively poured him tea and water, her smile radiant. Seeing this, Hongli couldn't help but feel curious.
"What's wrong with you today? Why are you being so attentive? Is something the matter?"
"Fourth Master is wise; nothing escapes your discerning eye." Since he had already seen through her, she stopped beating around the bush and spoke frankly, "To be honest, I actually want to borrow some money from you."
In Hongli's memory, Su Yushan didn't care about money and was only interested in food. Today, when he suddenly heard her mention silver, he couldn't help but be suspicious and looked at her with a questioning gaze.
Despite his suspicions, Hongli did not refuse and asked her directly, "How much do you want?"
Su Yushan slowly raised two fingers. He thought it was two hundred taels, but to his surprise, she said, "Two taels of silver."
"Two taels? You're asking me for only two taels?" Hongli suddenly found it amusing. "You don't need to be so polite with your man."
She didn't need too much, Su Yushan said truthfully, "I want to prepare a congratulatory gift for Princess Gao, but I'm short two taels of silver, so I wanted to get an advance on next month's salary. But the accountant disagreed, and I had no choice but to ask you for help."
His woman still had to ask him for money. She had no family to rely on, and her life was so difficult. Hongli felt ashamed and apologized:
"It was my oversight that I only gave you gold and silver jewelry, but not a reward. The maids' expenses have always been managed by the accountant. I have never been involved and do not know the specific amount. I only found out today that your monthly salary is so low. The monthly salary is a rule set by the court and cannot be easily changed, but I can give you one separately."
As they spoke, Hongli took out a silver note and handed it to her, saying, "I don't have much on me, so use this first, and I'll give it to you when I have time."
Su Yushan took it and saw that it was actually a 100-tael silver note, which was equivalent to 20,000 yuan! "I don't need that much, two taels will do."
He usually gives his servants one or two taels of silver, so how could he only give her two taels? "I'm not asking you to pay it back, so what are you afraid of? Take it! Consider it your private stash; it might come in handy someday."
She really only wanted to get two taels in advance. "But this is too much. Do you have any loose change?"
He couldn't possibly offer any loose silver. "I'm your man, it's only right that I give you money. If you feel ashamed to accept it, then you're treating me like an outsider."
Having said all that, Su Yushan couldn't refuse any longer. "Alright then! Thank you for your kindness, Fourth Master. I'll keep it for when I need it."
She carefully folded the banknotes and placed them in a small box, which she then locked.
For Hongli, these one hundred taels were insignificant, but for Su Yushan they were extremely precious.
Seeing this, Hongli casually asked, "Next month is your birthday, what kind of gift would you like?"
"Huh? Really?" Su Yushan looked bewildered. She didn't know the original owner's birth date. Hongli had seen it in the Bazi (Four Pillars of Destiny) chart. He had only glanced at it casually and had a vague recollection of it; it seemed to be early October.
"You, you don't even remember your own birthday. When will you ever regain your memory?"
Su Yushan thought to herself: Memories can't be restored; the original owner's first half of life has been erased. She can only follow this path and start a new life.
"Actually, I think losing your memory is not necessarily a bad thing. With a blank mind, you have fewer worries."
That's true. At least she doesn't remember Zheng Lin now. Once she regains her memory and recalls her past with Zheng Lin, I'm afraid she won't be willing to stay by his side anymore.
Zheng Lin was a ticking time bomb, capable of igniting her anger at any moment and destroying their relationship. Hongli knew this perfectly well, but didn't elaborate, instead steer the conversation back to the previous topic.
"Whether you regain your memory or not, I will protect you. Think about what kind of gift you want, and I will prepare it for you in advance."
Since Hongli had asked her to speak, she wouldn't hold back. "I'd like to go out for a trip on my birthday, but I don't know what fun places there are in the capital. Your Highness, you travel often, so you should know quite a bit, right?"
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
