Fifteen years ago, when Shen got married, her dowry was ten miles long and became a famous story. Now, it took a full hour to move all the dowry out of the gate of the Marquis' Mansion and it took ten horse-drawn carriages to complete it.

Lady Mu, the Duke's wife, and Chu Qianchen did not stay and said goodbye as everyone in the Chu family saw them off.

This incident was like a huge rock falling into a lake, causing a huge wave in the capital.

Just as the Madam had expected, the fact that so much dowry was carried away from the Marquis's Mansion could not be hidden from so many eyes in the capital. In just one day, many people knew that Shen Zhi, the eldest aunt of Duke Mu's Mansion, was going to divorce her husband.

In the Great Qi Dynasty, there had never been a divorce among noble families. Moreover, Shen was the mistress of the marquis's mansion.

When the officials in the capital heard the news, most of them felt that it was not real.

However, Shen's dowry had indeed been moved away, and judging by the way the Mu Mansion did things, this was almost certain.

Each mansion was discussing the matter privately, and members of the Chu family and other families that were close to the Yongding Marquis' Mansion could not help but come to inquire in person.

Some of these visitors really care, some are just curious, some come to watch the show, and some are more or less gloating...

For the old lady, the visits of these people were like slapping her in the face one after another. However, she could not say anything bad to them and could only speak vaguely. In the end, the old lady simply asked the doorman to close the door and refuse visitors.

When Rongfu Hall welcomed the "uninvited guest" again, the blue-clothed maid guarding the corridor was already a little impatient and almost wanted to order the little maid to drive the guest away. When the other party came closer, she realized that the visitor was Madam Zheng, the housekeeper in charge of purchasing.

The blue-clothed maidservant did not dare to offend the maids in charge, so she hurriedly greeted Madam Zheng and went in to report to the lady.

After a while, Nanny Zheng was welcomed in.

Madam Zheng was also in a dilemma, so she said to the Madam leaning on the kang, "Madam, it's time to pay the money for purchasing rice and grain.

The noble families buy all kinds of rice, grains, fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, etc., and usually settle the bill once a month. Today, the store owner came to collect the payment in person, so the housekeeper had to come even though she knew that the lady was in a bad mood.

The lady had a headband two fingers wide on her forehead and looked sickly.

The head maid was gently massaging the lady's legs.

The lady's head was still aching. She raised her hand to rub her temple and asked, "How much silver is left in the treasury?"

She asked this question to Nanny Wang.

Since Shen returned to her parents' home, Nanny Wang has been helping the Madam with the accounts these days. She is naturally clear about the amount and replied awkwardly, "Five hundred taels."

Nanny Wang frowned deeply, a worried look on her face.

Since Chu Lingxiao was exiled, life in the Marquis' Mansion has not been as good as before, but a lean camel is still bigger than a horse, and the situation can't be much worse. In fact, when Shen returned the account books and cards to the lady a few days ago, there was still money in the treasury.

However, Chu Lingyu was beaten severely, so the Marquis' Mansion invited many famous doctors and imperial physicians from the capital to see him. The doctors' consultation fees, medicine fees, and various tonics were all paid from the public treasury, and money was spent like water.

In addition, several stores also came to settle accounts these days, such as materials for spring clothes, some expenses for purchasing lanterns for the Lantern Festival, and some other miscellaneous expenses.

A lot of money was spent on Chu Lingxiao alone. For example, on the day Chu Lingxiao returned to Beijing, Chu Lingyu specially arranged for the Jinyiwei to escort him. For example, the lady felt that Chu Lingxiao had suffered in Youzhou, so she bought him a lot of things, from clothes to various tonics.

In addition, Chu Lingxiao had just received an assignment from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and in order to entertain his superiors and colleagues, he withdrew a lot of money from the public treasury.

All these expenditures are recorded in the accounts.

Nanny Zheng was shocked when she heard this, then she lowered her head and sighed in her heart: There are only 500 taels of silver in the treasury of this marquis's mansion.

The rice eaten in the Marquis' Mansion is naturally not the same as the rice eaten by ordinary people. They are all top-grade rice flour, such as green-stem rice, rouge rice, etc. For example, the lower-quality rouge rice costs half a dollar per catty, and the best quality costs eight taels of silver per catty.

A mere five hundred taels of silver is not even enough to buy rice and grain.

"How is this possible!" the lady blurted out in disbelief and suddenly sat up from the kang.

There has always been at least 30,000 or 40,000 silver coins in the public account. Even if the income is a little less now, it is not to the point where there is no money!

It’s only the beginning of the new year. At the end of last year, my family had just received the income from the shop and the farm.

Nanny Wang felt bitter. In fact, she had also tactfully reminded the Madam that there was not much money in the treasury, but because the first wife, Shen, had intended to cut the family expenses, the Madam was very unhappy about this. Nanny Wang did not dare to say more and could only stop there.

Nanny Wang asked cautiously, "Madam, can I bring you the account book?"

The lady nodded in agreement.

So, Nanny Wang quickly brought the account book over.

She brought two account books, one was the one handed over by Shen before, and the other was a new account book, which started recording from the day when the power of finance was returned to the lady.

The lady first flipped through the new account book. She read it slower and slower, more and more carefully, and her face became extremely solemn.

I didn't notice it when I was spending it before, but now that the lady has looked through the account books, she realized that she has indeed spent a lot in the past few days.

Each amount may seem small, but when added together it becomes a large amount.

After the lady finished flipping through the new account book, she went to flip through Shen's old account book. Most of the records in the old account book were from last year.

When the lady saw a bill for ten thousand taels, she couldn't help but stop and take a closer look.

This ten thousand taels was the money that Chu Lingxiao's family used to spend when he was imprisoned last year.

The lady looked through it again and again, and later looked through the new account book a second time, and was sure that there was really no money in the account.

It is only the end of January and the new year has just begun, but the public school is empty.

The rent of the shop is collected quarterly, and most of the Chu family's other businesses also only pay their profits once a quarter, so it will take until early April at the earliest.

How should I spend the next two months?

The lady began to panic.

Madam Zheng asked politely, "Madam, would you like me to ask the store to wait a couple of days before…"

The lady raised her hand to interrupt Nanny Zheng and looked at her with disapproval, her brows furrowed.

This is just a small amount of silver. If the Marquis' Mansion doesn't pay today, the store owner will inevitably suspect that the Chu family is going to default on the debt. Of course, the lady can't stand those merchants talking about whether the Marquis' Mansion has money behind her back.

The lady held the account book in her hand, took a deep breath, and told Nanny Wang, "Go get some from me."

The lady had no choice but to use her private savings to pay for the bill.

Nanny Zheng breathed a sigh of relief, and waited for Nanny Wang to bring the banknote. She took the banknote and left in a hurry, but as soon as she left the house, she started to worry again.

Judging from the dates, the shops that supply chickens, ducks, geese and pork to the palace will come to ask for payment in the next two days.

Nanny Zheng happened to pass by Madam Liu and Madam Zhang who were hurrying over here, and Nanny Zheng hurriedly made way for Madam Liu.

So, the next guest arrived in the warm room of Rongfu Hall.

The lady leaned back on the kang again, looking worried.

On normal days, Liu would still ask how the lady was doing, but now she was not in the mood and said straight to the point, "Mother, my husband didn't sleep all night last night. He just fell asleep when I came. Mother, I want to get some money to buy some ginseng and blood swallows for my husband."

Liu made this trip specifically to ask for tonic medicine for Chu Lingyu.

During this period, the lady felt sorry for Chu Lingyu's suffering and sent him all kinds of tonics like water.

But now the lady knew that there was no money in the account, and she couldn't help but frown.

Wang Ma, who knew the Madam well, knew what she meant as soon as she saw it, so she asked on her behalf, "Second Madam, how much do you want?"

Liu said, "Mother, five hundred taels should be enough for my husband to eat for five days."

The lady couldn't help but widen her eyes in shock.

Five hundred taels for five days means Chu Lingyu has to take one hundred taels of tonic every day, which means three thousand taels a month and thirty-six thousand taels a year.

Can the Marquis's Mansion afford it? !

The lady's eyes turned to the two account books on the coffee table, and her heart suddenly sank.

She covered her chest in pain, breathing rapidly.

Nanny Wang quickly helped the lady to calm down, patting her on the back and giving her some sniffing salt.

"One hundred taels a day?" The lady's voice seemed to be squeezed out from between her teeth, her eyes sharp, "Are you feeding the second son with gold and silver?"

Liu was already in a bad mood because of Chu Lingyu's injury. When she heard what the lady said, it was like adding fuel to the fire. She burst into anger and said in a crackling voice: "Mother, what do you mean?!"

"I'm just asking for some money to buy tonic for my husband. It's not like my family can't afford it. Is it necessary for you to be so sarcastic?"

"Your daughter-in-law also knows that you have always been partial to your uncle. Now that your husband is paralyzed, I'm afraid you dislike him even more. Do you disown this son now?"

Liu's voice became increasingly sharp and excited, as if it was going to puncture the eardrums.

The lady had finally calmed down, but now she was stimulated again. Her breathing became rapid again and her face turned pale.

Seeing this, Nanny Wang was frightened and panicked. She shouted, "Madam, please don't get excited. You will get sick if you get angry!"

"Someone, go call the doctor!"

There was chaos in Rongfu Hall. Two maids ran out in a hurry to call a doctor for the lady.

After a while, people from the first, third and fourth houses heard the news and came and gathered in Rongfu Hall. There was another commotion. The other three houses accused Liu of making the lady sick, while Liu cried and shouted, complaining about how miserable Chu Lingyu was and that the second house had been wronged.

The mansion was noisy for a while, and it was not until dark that peace returned to normal.

The next day, the lady went to Duke Mu's mansion in person, and brought the patriarch and elders of the Chu family with her.

"Niece-in-law, please listen to my advice. You also have children, so you have to consider them."

"We know you've been wronged. If there's anything, we can sit down as a family and discuss it."

"Think about it carefully. The Chu family will never let you take Mu Ge'er away. There has never been such a rule. Even if you file a complaint with the emperor, it will be useless."

“…”

The clan leader and the elders talked to each other, some played the good guy and some played the bad guy, trying to persuade the Shen family not to divorce.

No matter how the Chu family threatened or bribed them, or how they used their elders' pressure, Shen remained calm. She believed that Chu Qianchen could find a way, so she didn't want to say much and served tea to see the guest off.

From beginning to end, Shen never mentioned the fact that Kang Hongda had a crush on Chu Yunyi. Even the Chu family didn't find this shameful, but she found it disgusting!

The lady had no choice but to go with them.

After leaving the Duke's Mansion, the clan leader comforted the lady, "Sister-in-law, Mu's surname is Chu, and no mother can abandon her child. Don't worry, put this matter aside for now and slowly persuade your niece."

"As the saying goes, the first push is strong, the second is weak, and the third is exhausted."

The clan leader meant to delay it for now. After a while, Shen would naturally calm down.

The lady could only agree, but she felt bitter in her heart. If Shen didn't come back, the Yongding Marquis's Mansion would be in trouble.

The lady returned to the mansion in embarrassment, and Shen never went back to the mansion again.

Chu Yunmu also never returned to the Marquis' Mansion. He stayed in the Prince Chen's Mansion and lived with Chu Yunyi.

After getting drunk, Chu Yunyi acted as if nothing had happened and his personality was still as proud and frivolous as before. Apart from practicing martial arts or going to the military camp for training every day, he would play with the little brat Chu Yunmu.

“Swoosh!”

At Yunzhan's command, Chu Yunyi and Chu Yunmu shot their arrows almost at the same time, and both arrows hit the target.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

The two brothers were fifty steps apart. One shot the arrow from a hundred steps away from the target, while the other shot the target from fifty steps away.

Chu Yunmu was so happy that her face turned red. She turned around excitedly and boasted to Chu Qianchen who was not far away: "Chu Qianchen, I hit it!"

In comparison, Chu Yunyi was much calmer. He plucked the bowstring nonchalantly, as if to say, this was no big deal.

Chu Qianchen clapped twice in cooperation.

In Chu Yunmu's opinion, the applause was naturally for him.

Although he is a little worse than Chu Yunyi now, he is still young. In another two years, when he grows taller and stronger, he will definitely be better than Chu Yunyi!

The little brat raised his chin high in pride, and his tail was almost up to the sky.

Humph! Chu Yunyi was too lazy to argue with him. Anyway, Chu Qianchen definitely couldn't count on the little brat to support her, he was too young.

Yunzhan: “…”

Yunzhan could guess what the brothers were thinking even with his toes. He thought: With the prince here, how can it be your turn? Yunzhan put on a solemn expression and shouted with a straight face: "Continue!"

So, Chu Yunmu quickly stood facing the target again, with his head up and chest out, then took the arrow, put the arrow on the bow, hooked the string, and drew the bow... This series of actions was already very skillful, as if it was engraved in his bones and became a subconscious reaction.

The brothers shot their arrows at the same time again.

Chu Qianchen smiled and said to Yunzhan: "Yunzhan, I leave it to you."

The prince is really good at choosing people, Yunzhan is really good at taking care of children! Chu Qianchen thought as he turned around without any reluctance, and then saw Gu Jue standing at the entrance of the training ground wearing a moon-white cloak, and smiled brightly.

She took two steps at a time and stepped forward, grasped Gu Jue's hand, and asked, "He's gone?"

The "he" Chu Qianchen was referring to was the Crown Prince Gu Nanjin. When he mentioned him, his cold phoenix eyes were filled with disdain, as if to say, why is the Crown Prince here again! !

Chu Qianchen had originally intended to go to the outer study to find Gu Jue, but when he was halfway there, he heard that Gu Nanjin had come to the palace, so he temporarily changed his route and went to the parade ground, thinking that Chu Yunyi and Chu Yunmu should be practicing archery in the parade ground at this time.

"Yeah." Gu Jue responded, first gathered her cloak for her, then took her hand and walked back.

Chu Qianchen asked casually: "Today is the 24th, right?"

"Yes." Gu Jue guessed what she was going to ask, and said, "The Prince of Andaman will leave tomorrow. The prince just asked me if I want to accompany him to see them off from the capital."

The marriage between the two countries has been full of twists and turns and has experienced many variables. Because the emperor had a serious illness before, the date of Haoren's departure was postponed again and again, and it was not until now that it was settled.

Tomorrow, Prince Andaman and Yuan Zhitong, who had just been named a princess, would leave the capital, and the crown prince would be responsible for seeing them off.

“…” Chu Qianchen pursed his lips, disapproving in his heart.

She shook their clasped hands, as if she was acting coquettishly, but also as if she was asking him a question.

Gu Jue knew what she was thinking and smiled: "I'll tell him I won't go."

Chu Qianchen's face instantly brightened, she felt that the prince was so well behaved and she liked him the most.

She stopped, then stood on tiptoe, raised her hand and rubbed the top of his black hair, and the action was almost like saying -

Your Majesty, you are so good! Gu Jue didn’t wear a crown today, her long black hair was half tied up and half loose, which was convenient for her.

Chu Qianchen squinted her eyes and smiled, finally understanding why he liked to rub her head so much.

Amber, who was a few steps behind, was so shocked that her jaw almost dropped. She thought her daughter was too bold to even dare to rub the prince's head.

Chu Qianchen stood on tiptoe with some difficulty. When he withdrew his hands, his feet returned to their original positions and he stood upright.

"I will grow taller!" She looked at him with her chin up, her lower jaw and slender neck forming a pleasant curve, and she smiled proudly and confidently.

She was telling the truth. Based on her experience in her previous life, she could still grow at least two inches.

Gu Jue was stunned for a moment, then laughed out loud, his beautiful eyes and eyebrows relaxed like rippling lake water.

He liked her unbridled attitude towards him and her carefree smile.

This is the smile that can only come from knowing that you are favored.

He also wanted her to have such a smile forever.

Waves of joyful laughter spread with the gentle breeze of early spring, and the magnolia flowers on the branches bloomed more beautifully, with a rich fragrance that was refreshing.

On the 25th day of the first lunar month, the envoys of the Hao Kingdom, along with Princess Anxing and her entourage, left the capital from the South Gate in a mighty procession and set off for the Hao Kingdom. They were personally escorted by the imperial guards, led by Gu Nanjin and officials from the Ministry of Rites.

The team was quite large, and with the princess's cartloads of dowry, the people who came to watch were amazed.

Gu Nanjin accompanied the people all the way to Wuliting before ordering the accompanying imperial guards to stop.

Next, he would toast to the Prince of Andaman on behalf of the Emperor and wish the envoys from the Hao Kingdom a safe journey.

In front, the farewell ceremony was proceeding in an orderly manner under the auspices of officials from the Ministry of Rites; in the back, an unexpected person also arrived at Chu Qianhuang's carriage.

"Aunt, why are you here?" Chu Qianhuang looked at Aunt Jiang outside the carriage, feeling a little surprised and a little moved.

She did not set out from the Chu family today, but entered the palace last night, and then set out from the palace early in the morning with Yuan Zhitong.

She never expected that Aunt Jiang would come to see her off, after all, no one from the Chu family came.

Aunt Jiang's eyes were filled with tears, and she sobbed and said, "How could I not come? You have traveled thousands of miles, and I am afraid that if I don't come today, I will never come again in this life..."

Chu Qianhuang reached out from the carriage window, wiped Aunt Jiang's tears with her handkerchief, and comforted her: "I'm fine, everything will be fine. I can take care of myself."

"Aunt, please go back and take good care of Brother Yi." Chu Qianhuang lowered her voice and said solemnly, "I will also try my best to take care of Brother Yi... and find a way for him to inherit the title."

She was confident that if she went to the Hao Kingdom, she would be valued by Uhaduro. Then she could ask the Hao people to come forward. A word from Uhaduro would be more effective than anything she could do. The emperor had no ambitions and only wanted to be on good terms with the Hao Kingdom and maintain peace between the two countries. He would agree.

Chu Qianhuang thought confidently, her eyes exceptionally bright.

"Sister Huang..." Aunt Jiang held Chu Qianhuang's hand tightly, wanting to say something but stopping herself, as if she was reluctant to let go.

Chu Qianhuang couldn't help but remind him again: "You must remember that father cannot be trusted."

The entire Da Qi convoy was filled with a sad and depressing atmosphere.

Including Princess Anxing Yuan Zhitong, no one went to Hao Kingdom voluntarily, they just had to go. When they thought about the long journey and the fact that they would never have the chance to return to Da Qi in this lifetime, all these people were furious.

Perhaps only the Prince of Andaman and his entourage of envoys from the Hao Kingdom were eager to return home.

After Andaman drank the wine, he smashed the glass to the ground heavily, feeling very angry.

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince of Da Qi, we will take our leave now!" Andaman bowed to Gu Nanjin in the Da Qi etiquette, "In the words of your Da Qi, it means 'see you later'!"

Andaman gestured to his entourage and set off along the official road at the forefront.

Until this moment, Andaman felt relieved. He had thought that the Emperor of Da Qi would drag his feet, doing this and that, and that he would encounter some obstacles when he wanted to bring Chu Qianhuang back to Hao. He did not expect that everything would go so smoothly.

The convoy soon went away.

Aunt Jiang had also boarded the Chu family's carriage and turned around to return to Beijing.

Crown Prince Gu Nanjin and the Ministry of Rites stayed at Wuliting for a while before Gu Nanjin turned his horse around and said, "I have to go back and report to my father."

Whenever Gu Nanjin mentioned the emperor, his expression and tone were unusually heavy, which was also noticeable to the accompanying officials of the Ministry of Rites. The emperor's dislike for the prince was known to everyone in the court, and the prince's position was in jeopardy.

After a while, the area around Wuliting became empty. The sound of horse hooves could be heard in the distance gradually fading away, and dust and mist were rising.

Before the dust on the official road settled, there was a commotion in the woods on one side.

A convoy of about twenty people came out of the woods with five horse-drawn carriages. The carriages were ordinary, loaded with boxes of goods, and looked like a caravan.

Leading the group was a man in green riding a white horse. The green veil on his head hid his features but could not hide his tall and straight figure.

The middle-aged man following closely behind him quickened his horse's pace somewhat anxiously, and was only one horse head behind Uhajaro, while reciting the name "Andaman" in a sneering tone in Yihao language.

Did Andaman think he could accomplish great feats for Uhadhara? It's not that easy!!

The young man Qinglai flicked his whip and said with great energy, "Sir, it's time for us to set off!"

Chiang Rai's eyes sparkled like the rising sun in the eastern sky. He had been waiting for too long.

The others also looked at Wuhejialou's back with burning eyes. He was thin and tall, like a mountain.

Just looking at this back figure will give the people behind him immense courage and make them feel a sense of peace and belonging.

A gentle breeze blew in, blowing away the thin gauze under the veil, revealing the young man's graceful chin, gentle yet firm.

"Let's go."

On the official road, the sound of chaotic horse hooves soon rang out again...

(End of this chapter)