Although Madam Meng had various grievances about the second branch of the family purchasing a new house, she still liked the house. Even if the second branch refused to give her the deed for the time being, she would still have to move in first.
She didn't want to live under the same roof with the second wife's family for even a moment longer. Once she moved in, she could persuade the old lady from time to time to hand over the house deed.
With this plan in mind, Meng Hun couldn't wait to go see the new house early the next morning.
This wasn't her first time visiting this house. Long before the Wei family's troubles, when she had the idea of dividing the family property, she had already started looking around for places, and she had her eye on this one.
Having finally obtained the keys and contract today, Madam Meng felt as if her dream had come true. The only thing troubling her now was her eldest son Wei Chengxu's case; however, visits were currently prohibited, and the trial was delayed, leaving her feeling utterly helpless and anxious.
Today, Madam Meng brought her daughter, Wei Shuyao, with her. In the carriage, Madam Meng couldn't help but say, "Yao'er, you're not fully recovered yet. You shouldn't be running around so much."
“But Father accompanied Grandmother to see the doctor, how can Yao’er watch Mother busy alone?” After saying this, Wei Shuyao lifted the curtain and looked outside.
She was naturally afraid of hardship and fatigue, but her desire to move out of the second house was even stronger than her mother's. How could she resist seeing her future home with her own eyes?
The carriage gradually came to a stop. Wei Shuwan looked at the two large black lacquered doors facing the street and exclaimed with delight, "Mother, is this the place?"
Madam Meng looked down and nodded with a smile: "This is it. When Mother came here with that broker last time, she took a liking to it at first sight!"
Wei Shuyao was also overjoyed. Although the Wei family mansion where they were currently living could not compare, there was only a small Peach Fragrance Courtyard in the mansion that belonged to their eldest son. How could it be as comfortable as having the entire courtyard here?
Wei Shuyao, supported by Caizhu, was the first to get off the carriage, followed by Meng Shi, who happily opened the gate of her house with the key in hand.
The courtyard was quite spacious, but because no one had lived there for so long, the weeds that hadn't been cleared were already ankle-deep. The covered walkways on both sides looked quite magnificent at first glance, but upon closer inspection, there were many places where the paint was peeling and faded.
Further inside, the spacious hall, spanning five bays, was almost completely empty except for a few worn-out old items, a stark contrast to when Meng had visited half a month prior.
I don't know if it was the original owner or that damned broker, but they took away everything in the house that still had some value.
The mother and daughter's initially joyful expressions gradually turned calm, as if they had been doused with a bucket of cold water.
Meng brushed the dust off the old table and chairs, sighed, and said, "It seems that if we really want to move in, we'll have to spend a lot of money."
Not only did they have to hire someone to repair the veranda and clear the weeds from the courtyard, but they also had to replace all the furniture and other items. All in all, it was no small sum.
"Originally, I harbored selfish intentions, hoping to split a few hundred taels with the broker, intending to use that money for expenses. But I never expected it to end up like that..."
“Mother, although last night was embarrassing, fortunately the government only punished the broker, and Zhao Cheng took the blame for everything, saying it was all his own doing, and the second branch of the family didn’t say anything.”
"Heh, do you really think Zhao Cheng's words could fool Sun Lurong and your cunning third sister? They only refrained from revealing the truth because of your grandmother."
"Besides, such things as floating goods without paying a cent are commonplace. It's usually a case of 'the people don't complain, the officials don't investigate.' The fact that the authorities came knocking means there's a traitor inside! I'm afraid the second branch of the family saw through our scheme from the very beginning and just played along. In the end, they satisfied your grandmother's wishes by settling us down, without spending much money at all."
Wei Shuyao was not unaware of these principles, but what could she do? The eldest branch of the family had to live at the mercy of the second branch's mood.
She could only advise, "Mother, let's go back and tell Grandmother about the situation here. After Grandmother tells Second Uncle, he will definitely provide more money to help us repair it. Since they promised Grandmother that they would take good care of us, they can't just give us half of what they promised."
Madam Meng understood, but she was still furious: "If they were truly interested, they should have thought of this themselves, yet we have to keep shamelessly begging them."
"When they were down on their luck, we were also trying to clear our names. Now, how much sincerity can we expect from them?" Wei Shuyao saw things clearly. But she quickly revealed a mysterious smile: "However, they have their clever plans, and we have our own ways to overcome them."
Madam Meng looked at her daughter with suspicion: "Yao'er, what do you mean by that? Could it be that you've come up with a way to deal with them?"
"The best way to deal with a stingy person is to steal!"
"Steal?" Meng frowned.
Wei Shuyao smiled and reached into her wide sleeve to pull out a palm-sized white jade bottle. Meng was stunned: "Isn't this the antique displayed in the treasure pavilion of Zhaoshui Hall?"
"That's right. Although this thing is small, it is carved from a whole piece of mutton fat jade. The Wei family is not short of small but valuable items like this. As long as we take one or two pieces every time we go out, we will have no shortage of money when we resell them."
Meng first showed a hint of surprise, but quickly calmed down: "Once or twice is fine, the Wei family has many maids and servants, and sometimes it is difficult to investigate. But if it is much less, it is hard to guarantee that the second branch will not become suspicious. If it makes a big fuss, I am afraid that in the end we will also have difficulty clearing ourselves."
This is the lesson Meng learned from her repeated attempts to scheme against the second wife, only to find that she had ultimately shot herself in the foot.
Wei Shuyao, however, was unconvinced. "Mother, don't worry. I just had the coachman take Caizhu to the West Market. There's a skilled craftsman from the Western Regions there who's best at making imitations. Caizhu will let him inspect the antiques she's bringing. If he can make them, we can replace all of the Wei family's valuable antiques with fakes without anyone noticing!"
Meng took a deep breath. Although she was a little apprehensive, she looked around the bare main room and made up her mind.
As the saying goes, fortune favors the bold. Besides, they're family after all, and with the matriarch keeping things under control, even if the truth comes out one day, the second branch of the family will only treat them leniently, just like before. They won't actually send them to the authorities for a few antiques!
“Alright, we’ll do as you say! If the second branch is heartless, they can’t blame us, the eldest branch, for being unjust!” Madam Meng said resolutely.
As the mother and daughter strolled around the main room waiting for Caizhu and the coachman to return, they suddenly heard a noise outside, as if someone had broken in.
Madam Meng was startled: "What happened outside?"
Wei Shuyao was equally frightened, shaking her head as well, naturally unaware of the situation. However, after thinking for a moment, she reassured herself, "We're in a busy area; there shouldn't be any thieves here..."
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