It takes a full hour to get from the garden to the capital.

Before the carriage even entered the gate, the Sheng family already knew that the Queen Mother had arranged another marriage for Sheng Xiyan.

Thinking of his colleagues bowing and saying "congratulations" to him, Sheng Xing'an couldn't stop the anger in his heart.

Madam Sheng Liu gently advised, "Master, don't be too anxious. Wait for Sister Yan to come back and ask her and you'll know."

She was no more than twenty years old, with a gentle appearance, an egg-shaped face and willow-shaped eyebrows.

"Sister Yan has always been well-behaved and sensible, she would definitely not intentionally cause trouble."

"I'm afraid there's some misunderstanding."

It would have been better if she hadn't said anything. After she said this, Sheng Xingan couldn't control his emotions anymore and he flew into a rage, "You're still speaking for her?!"

"She must have been so stubborn that she brought this disaster upon herself."

"Otherwise, why did the Queen Mother arrange a marriage for her when there were so many people in the garden?!"

The more he talked, the more he felt that this was the truth. He said angrily, "She has already been engaged, but she still has no sense of shame. She has brought shame to our Sheng family!"

"Big girl."

A maid's voice greeted her from outside the door, and the curtain was lifted.

Sheng Xingan stopped and turned to look. A slender figure stepped over the threshold. Without thinking, he picked up the teacup on the table and threw it over.

Bang!

Sheng Xiyan retracted her steps, and the teacup fell to the ground and broke into pieces. The boiling tea splashed everywhere, but not a drop fell on her.

Sheng Xiyan lifted her skirt and stepped over the debris on the ground without changing her expression. She bowed in a standard manner: "Father. Mother."

Sheng Xingan glared at her fiercely and shouted, "Kneel down."

The servants in the room all lowered their heads, not daring to breathe loudly, for fear of incurring the wrath of their masters.

"Sister Yan, please talk to your father." Mrs. Liu gave her a look, telling her not to disobey Sheng Xingan and to kneel down first.

Sheng Xiyan raised the imperial edict in her hand and asked, "Father, do you think there is something wrong with the Queen Mother's edict?"

Her eyes are clear, calm and serene.

Sheng Xingan choked: "..."

How could he dare to say openly that the Queen Mother's will was wrong?

The curse that was about to come out of his mouth turned around, and he asked with strong anger: "What did you do in the garden?" His face was full of disgust, and he had already condemned Sheng Xiyan in his heart.

"I don't know." Sheng Xiyan said calmly, "I just heard that today in the garden, His Royal Highness Prince Zhao and Crown Prince Zhou had a fight for some unknown reason, and Crown Prince Zhou fell into the lake. Later, the Queen Mother arranged a marriage for my daughter."

"What does this have to do with you..."

Sheng Xingan's voice suddenly stopped, and his expression changed from anger to forbearance and then to silence.

There was a smile on Sheng Xiyan's lips. She stopped at the point and spoke vaguely, leaving enough room for imagination.

Sheng Xingan's expression was uncertain. Seeing this, Liu said, "Master, don't blame Sister Yan. She didn't want to..."

"She doesn't want to?" Sheng Xingsheng's anger rekindled, "If she didn't want to, she shouldn't have agreed to the Queen Mother's arranged marriage. Marrying a second daughter would bring disgrace to our Sheng family. It would be better for her to be hanged early to preserve her chastity!"

Mrs. Liu hurriedly advised, "Master, please don't say it. Sister Yan will take it seriously."

"Don't worry, mother. I won't take it seriously."

Sheng Xiyan smiled at Liu, as if she didn't notice her frozen expression for a moment, and said as a matter of course: "I don't think father is serious. It's fine if his daughter dies, but how will father explain to the Queen Mother and the Emperor?"

"Although you are saying these words in our own house, walls have ears. Father has probably forgotten what happened at the Zhang family earlier this year."

"My daughter heard that the blood of more than a hundred people in the Zhang family has not yet dried up in Caishikou."

These few words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Sheng Xingan's head, making his whole body chilled.

Looking at his eldest daughter, whose almond-shaped eyes were bright and sparkling, she was as beautiful as the spring flowers blooming in April. She looked more and more like his deceased wife, which made him feel disgusted.

Sheng Xingan waved his hand impatiently and said, "Go down."

"yes."

Sheng Xiyan responded and then said, "Father, my daughter's marriage was arranged by the Empress Dowager. I'm sure you won't let my daughter's dowry be too shabby."

"I still have several younger sisters who are still unmarried. I don't ask for anything, but I just ask my father to return my mother's dowry to me."

In the Da Rong Dynasty, dowry was a woman's private property. If a woman died without children, it would be taken back by her parents' family. But if she had children, it would be divided equally among her children.

Sheng Xiyan said what she needed to say, pretending not to notice Sheng Xingan's extremely dark face, and left the imperial edict and went out happily.

As soon as she left, Sheng Xingan picked up a teacup and threw it out fiercely, gritting his teeth and saying, "This rebellious girl!"

"Master, calm down." Mrs. Liu stroked his chest to comfort him. "Sister Yan didn't mean it. Talk to her nicely next time and she will understand."

"Does she really think that Xu's dowry is worth millions of gold and silver?" Sheng Xing'an sneered, "Wanru, go pack up Xu's dowry and give it to her. She dares to be so arrogant just because she is going to marry into the Zhenbei Palace. I want to see how badly she will fall in the future!" After saying that, he turned away.

Liu's face changed immediately and her fingertips trembled with anger.

Madam Sun quickly asked the waiters in the room to leave, and then helped her sit down, comforting her: "Madam, don't worry, even if you give all those things to the young lady, what will the young lady be able to do?"

"Fangfei is keeping a close eye on him for you."

Fangfei is Nanny Sun's biological niece. All of her family members were born in the Liu family as part of their dowry, and they are also the most trusted people in the Liu family's mansion.

"The eldest girl will be a widow once she gets married, and it will be inconvenient for her to show up in public. When the time comes, you can pick a few trustworthy maids for her to take care of the farms and shops. With Fangfei in charge, I guarantee nothing will go wrong."

"Don't worry."

Liu nodded slowly.

Although Xu's dowry was not as rich as ten thousand taels of gold and silver, it was at least sixty-four taels, and it also included land and property deeds. The annual interest alone was several thousand taels of silver.

Liu claimed to be from a scholarly family, but her family was honest and upright, and they didn't have much gold and silver, so her dowry was barely 64 taels. It was the same 64 taels, but if you look at it in detail, there is a big difference. She also has a son and a daughter, so she has to consider them, right?

Originally, she and the wife of Yongning Marquis had a tacit understanding, but fate played tricks on them...

Liu sighed and said, "Fangfei is wronged."

By placing Fang Fei next to Sheng Xiyan, she also wanted Fang Fei to be the concubine of the Zhou prince. The Zhou prince was handsome and noble, and Fang Fei had already fallen in love with him. As a maidservant who came with the dowry, it was normal for her to be taken in by the aunt. By promising her this glory and wealth, she could also fulfill her loyalty.

But now...

Why.

Mrs. Liu thought for a moment and said, "Go tell Fangfei that as long as she works hard, I will not treat her unfairly."

Nanny Sun smiled and flattered her, "Madam has always loved Fangfei the most."

She was thinking in her mind that she would quickly call Fangfei out to talk to her, so that the girl wouldn't be frustrated and lose her composure.

Fang Fei was in a really bad mood right now. She followed Sheng Xiyan in silence all the way back to Cailing Courtyard.

There was no housekeeper in Sheng Xiyan's courtyard, only two second-class maids, Fangfei and Xigui, two third-class maids, and a rough maid and a maidservant. Because Fangfei was given by Madam Liu, she was in charge of everything in the courtyard.

After Xigui helped Sheng Xiyan wash up, she hung her half-dried black hair to dry, went to the small study, and sent Fangfei to pour tea.

Sheng Xiyan opened a secret compartment on the desk, took out a set of silver needles from it, rubbed them in her hands for a while, with a look of nostalgia on her face.

This was left by her grandfather.

Sheng Xiyan's mother's surname is Xu, and she is Sheng Xing'an's first wife.

When she was less than eight years old, Xu died early, and Sheng Xing'an married Liu, now Mrs. Sheng.

The Xu family has been practicing medicine for generations. When Grandpa Sheng was young, he fell seriously ill on his way to Beijing for an imperial examination. He was saved by Sheng Xiyan's grandfather. Grandpa Sheng was grateful for the kindness, and the two families visited each other frequently, becoming close friends, and later arranged marriages for their sons and daughters.

But doctors are just middle-class people. After Old Master Sheng passed the imperial examination and entered the officialdom, his official position rose step by step in the following years, and the gap between the Xu family and the Sheng family became increasingly larger.

Sheng Xing'an looked down upon the marriage arranged for him by Old Madam Sheng from the bottom of his heart. When Old Madam Sheng was alive, he was still restrained and concealed it. But after Old Madam Sheng passed away, he no longer had any concerns. As soon as the mourning period was over, he immediately took a girl from a scholar's family as his concubine.

When she was young, Sheng Xiyan once went back to her hometown with Xu to visit her relatives. Xu stayed there for less than a month, but Sheng Xiyan lived in the Xu family for more than a year and also learned some medical knowledge from old lady Xu.

Sheng Xiyan still remembered that her grandfather once said that she was extremely talented and had great potential. If she were a boy, she would definitely inherit the Xu family's fortune. He also gave her the set of silver needles that he had used for decades.

But later, my brother got lost when he went out to see the lanterns. My mother was filled with grief and remorse, and she became seriously ill. My grandfather hurriedly took her back to the Sheng family.

Unfortunately, her mother jumped into the lake and died before she could come back...

It has clearly been a lifetime ago, but when I think back to that time, it still seems as if it were right in front of me, and I feel suffocated and unbearable in my heart.

In her previous life, the medical books and medical notes left by her grandfather were brought to the Yongning Marquis Mansion as her dowry. She would often read them when she had nothing to do.

She actually knew that she did not "die of illness"...

A hint of bitterness appeared on Sheng Xiyan's face. She closed her eyes, and after three breaths, she opened them again, her vision gradually becoming clearer.

Sheng Xiyan put the needle bag in her sleeve pocket. At this time, Fangfei came in with some tea.

Sheng Xiyan sat leisurely and ordered, "Go and get the account book of my yard."

Fang Fei froze for a moment, then smiled and said, "Miss, why did you suddenly think of looking at the account book?" As she spoke, she put the teacup in her hand on the desk.

Sheng Xiyan took a sip of hot tea and asked, "Can't I watch it?"

Fang Fei said dryly, "I'll get it right away."

Soon, Fangfei came over with an account book and a mahogany carved box, and said, "Miss, you have a total of 19 taels of silver. Here is the account book."

Sheng Xiyan took a look at the opened mahogany box and found only a few pieces of silver and a few silver ingots inside.

She remembered that when she was in the palace, her monthly allowance was five taels. After so many years, she only had nineteen taels in total?

Haha, it's quite a mix of odds and evens.

Sheng Xiyan nodded slightly, picked up the account book and flipped through a few pages.

The account book was recorded in great detail, including rewards for servants, snacks and drawing books purchased from outside the mansion, and small items such as rouge and embroidery thread. In short, all the monthly allowance was spent every year.

The palace had an allowance for pens, ink, paper, and inkstone, cosmetics, and jewelry every quarter. She only needed to add a little extra, and that was no more than two or three times a year.

If she had not been reborn, she would not have known at her age that the prices in the capital were so "high". Even a bag of preserved honey cost one or two taels of silver, and a small box of rouge cost ten taels of silver...