Although Mr. Zhang was angry, he also took Mrs. Zhang's face into consideration and did not let Li Shangcai go back to his hometown in disgrace. He only left a remote house for him to live in.
If he could be honest and do his job, and wait for a period of time when the rumors have died down, and Madam Zhang persuade him, then he could act nice in front of Master Zhang, and maybe he could coax him into changing his mind.
Zhang Baoyu was so angry that he lost his mind for a moment. It was not until he got out of school that he realized that Madam Zhang was still the mistress of the mansion, and Master Zhang had no other punishment except house arrest. It seemed that he was planning to let the matter go.
If I were to run to Mr. Zhang and tell him the rumors outside, it would not only cause more trouble to his father, but I might also be accused by others of not knowing how to relieve his father's worries.
Zhang Baoyu sat in her room, took a sip of the tea handed to her by the maid.
"What's going on over at Tingyuxuan?"
There were three maids standing by, all of them were confidants left by the previous lady. The eldest maid, Banqin, was much older than the other two and had just been promised to the son of the housekeeper a few days ago.
Banqin lowered her head and said, "Master said not to let Madam go out casually, but this morning a maid sneaked out of Tingyuxuan. I felt suspicious because she was carrying something in her arms, so I had someone follow her. She went straight to Master Li's new residence, and her arms were full of gold and silver. There was no less than a hundred taels of silver alone."
Zhang Baoyu sneered: "She really loves her brother. I'm afraid Tingyuxuan is about to be emptied out. So, is our Zhang Mansion just a warehouse? She can give away anything. If everyone is like her, even if our family has a gold mine, it won't be enough for her to dig."
Her tone became worse: "Did the maid see who it was?"
"She looks unfamiliar. She was sent back from a house that was repossessed outside. Her name is Xingyue."
Zhang Baoyu lifted and put down the teacup lid, making a clanging sound. "Have you checked that?"
"I've checked, and there was indeed a drowned person. I've also asked those who knew that person, and it's true that Master Li had been causing trouble before that person's death, all under the guise of the Zhang Mansion. Besides that, he also took possession of an innocent young prostitute, who is still trapped in Master Li's house with his bond."
This bastard has caused trouble to others but he can still live so carefreely. He even dares to let the Zhang family cover for him. He has been living a comfortable life for the past few years by taking advantage of his sister and has almost forgotten his own last name. Does he really think he is the master of the Zhang family?
Zhang Baoyu was furious, but she couldn't control her father yet, so she had to find another way.
"The key to the warehouse is here. From now on, you must clearly count the dowry my mother left behind. If anything is missing, whoever took it must return it. And you are not allowed to take anything from here in the future, otherwise you will be treated as a thief."
Banqin murmured yes, then turned around and told the other two maids to do as the young lady wished.
Mrs. Zhang came from a poor family. When she was brought into the Zhang Mansion, she only had a sedan chair and a wedding dress, nothing else.
She was able to live such a comfortable life and help her younger brother, but the financial power in the family was not clearly divided. It was Master Zhang's tacit approval that she used the things left by Zhang Baoyu's mother.
Now they have to use the dowry left by their mother to feed the blood-sucking siblings. Zhang Baoyu is not happy about it and turns around to act coquettishly with Master Zhang.
She said that she was getting older and her stepmother didn't care about her at all. If she got engaged to someone else in the future, all these things would have to be used as dowry. She had already spent all of it before even leaving the house. How could she hold her face up in her husband's family in the future?
Mr. Zhang has only one son and one daughter, and he loves his daughter, who has been independent since childhood, very much. These things were originally meant for the girl, and Mrs. Zhang made a mistake. Mr. Zhang was angry, but now his daughter wants to take back the dowry, so how could Mr. Zhang refuse? He readily agreed.
Mrs. Zhang didn't have much left, as she had given all the rest to Li Shangcai. Moreover, the ones she picked from the warehouse were all of high price. Now if she was asked to return them, she simply couldn't take them out.
But since the head of the household had given the order, she dared not disobey, and sent someone to Li Shangcai to retrieve the things that had been sent, leaving him only a few dozen taels for himself.
Now the brother and sister were short of money. Mrs. Zhang had to sell most of her jewelry to barely fill the hole. She gritted her teeth but it was useless. She could only hate Zhang Baoyu in her heart for asking for her things back.
It is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. The brother and sister have been extravagant for so long, and now they suddenly have to be frugal, how can they get used to it?
However, after just a few days, Li Shangcai could no longer bear it and went to Madam Zhang every day to cry poor. Madam Zhang was also having a hard time and could not even afford new clothes, so how could she have money to give him?
Forced into a corner, Mrs. Zhang became obsessed with the land deeds that Mr. Zhang kept in his study. Taking advantage of the slight easing in their relationship, she stole a few deeds from the study and sold them for money.
Mrs. Zhang felt guilty at first, but after stealing a few times without being discovered, she became bolder and stole more and more frequently.
The two of them gradually became better off, but Mrs. Zhang was smart enough to know that they shouldn't be too blatant, so the two of them became much more frugal with their money than before.
Zhang Baoyu saw all of this, but she kept it to herself and didn't mention it. It was just the beginning, and Mrs. Zhang would definitely not stop.
She was waiting, waiting until the amount became so large that Mr. Zhang could no longer forgive the two of them, and then it would be appropriate to take action.
Yang Anchen would ask Zhang Baoyu about the affairs of Li Shangcai and his sister every day, and would take the initiative to tell Zhao Luochuan as soon as there was any news.
Li Shangcai was warned by his sister to keep a low profile. Although he wanted to capture Yang Donghu immediately and torture him to vent his anger, he also knew that the situation was different now and he should not act rashly.
His house was taken back, and the brothers who had occupied it were all sent away and no one knew where they went. Li Shangcai only forced Cao'er to stay with him.
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