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  Chapter 6

  Ming Xuan left An Tai Yuan, and a few golden lights had already seeped out from the eastern horizon.

  She tucked the hand warmer Snow Essence had handed her under her cloak, close to her chest, and walked towards the Jade Washing Pavilion, saying, "Last night was so cold, I was worried that it would snow again today, but fortunately the weather is cooperating, it looks like its going to be a sunny day."

  Since entering November, several heavy snowfalls have fallen in a row. The entire Shengjing is covered with white snow, like a huge ice cellar, and the sun has not been seen for a long time.

  Xue Su said, "I said, when I got up early, I felt it wasnt as cool as yesterday. The old people in the government office told me that although our Shengjing is very cold when winter begins, once we pass the Twelfth Month, the weather should gradually warm up."

  She suddenly smiled, "Miss Biao is afraid of the cold, last night you had two portions of silver frost charcoal burned, if its not warmer today, our monthly charcoal allowance will be used up in no more than two days."

  Although it was said in a joking tone, there were also a few serious words, and the tone hid worries and anxieties.

  Ming Xuans footsteps stopped, she turned around and asked, "Is it that all the money exchanged last time is gone?"

  Xue Su forced a smile, "Please add 50 taels of silver for the fragrance oil that Sheng Auntie asked for, 100 taels of silver for the old lady to build a shed and distribute porridge to comfort the villagers, 20 taels of silver were spent on those golden ingots as rewards, plus some miscellaneous expenses, and last time we exchanged that half-gold crown for 200 taels of silver, which has almost been used up."

  She took charge of the household at Ruiyu Pavilion and began to manage the familys finances.

  Miss Qis monthly allowance was ten taels of silver, which could be enough for a small family to live on for half a year if they were frugal, but in the Hou Mansion it was not enough. Making friends with the wives and maids of other courtyards required spending money, asking people to gather information required spending money, when older or younger relatives in the household had birthdays one had to think of ways to scrape together birthday gifts, and when the respected aunties of various courtyards had birthdays one also had to contribute gift money.

  Ten taels of silver is fundamentally insufficient.

  In the past two years, there were still some silver coins left in Sanlangs private account, but they could only be spent lavishly and by the first half of the year, they had already begun to struggle with income not covering expenses. The dowry of the third wife was quite substantial, but most of it consisted of land deeds and house deeds, which were all temporarily kept by Old Mistress after the sudden departure of the third wife.

  Cant just take the contract from the old lady and sell the house and land to raise money...

  The remaining antiques, calligraphy and paintings, and jewels were too dazzling and could not be moved.

  The old lady often bestowed gifts over the years, but those precious items were all recorded in the households ledger. They could be displayed and played with, given to other sisters, or accidentally broken, but they couldnt end up outside in a pawnshop. If someone with ulterior motives saw them, they would think that the Hou Manor was going bankrupt!

  After all the calculations, only the red lacquer boxes with the character "gēng" on them were left in the west wing of the warehouse. These were the betrothal gifts given by Han Xiu, the former Left Censor-in-Chief, to Seventh Miss. Since he broke off the engagement, these sixty-eight chests of gifts were never taken back. This was originally a large sum of money, but for a woman who had been jilted, it would be a great shame and humiliation. No one in the entire Xī Yù Gé dared to mention this matter in front of Seventh Miss.

  Xue Su thought that if it werent for the fact that she really couldnt take it anymore over the past two months, she would never have said those words.

  Miss Qi seemed to have picked up a treasure...

  "Ming Xuan pursed her lips, The golden crown we found last time, is there still half of it left? Today the mansion is crowded, lets take this opportunity to ask Dan Hongs older brother to take it to the money house to exchange for some silver. If Miss wants to stay in the Shu Yu Pavilion, we should make her stay comfortably, even if Silver Frost charcoal is precious, burning a few more pieces wont cost much."

  Her face suddenly showed a smile of interest, "Those two boxes of gold masks may not be worth much money, but they can still support us for several years without worrying about food and clothing."

  Antique paintings and calligraphy are hard to pawn without being traced, but gold bangles, earrings, and hairpins are different. Once melted down, their original designs cant be seen, so they can be taken to a money shop to exchange for silver.

  Xue Su hesitated, "But those are..."

  "Those are all mine, arent they? If theyre mine, I can do whatever I want with them, right? In that case, whats the problem?"

  She pulled Snow Essences body over a bit, lifted the hair that tightly covered her forehead, pointed to the deep and shallow marks on her temples, and said seriously, "I was injured in the head, and many things from the past are not well remembered. To be honest, I even cant remember what the Left Censor-in-Chief looks like. Every time there are guests in the mansion who see me, they always look at me with such a pitiful gaze, as if I were the most pitiful person under heaven."

  Ming Xuan shook her head, "Actually, I dont think so myself. Its something that cant be remembered, whats there to be sad about? Ive been with you for three years, have you ever seen me get sentimental about it? I, Gu Ming Xuan, never dwell on the past and wont waste my heart on someone who isnt worth it. That person ruined our engagement, so all these things are mine by right and reason, and I can use them with a clear conscience. In the past, I didnt need to use them, but now that I do, why cant I?"

  Xue Su was taken aback for a moment, "Miss..."

  Ming Xuan gently patted her shoulder, "I know my situation is not good. Encountering such a thing once in a lifetime is enough, I absolutely cannot repeat the same mistake."

  She let out a soft sigh, "Lets go back, Miss Timekeeper must have woken up by now."

  Xue Su turned around after a while, and said, "Well, Miss doesnt mind anymore, what else is she concerned about?" She raised her head to see that Ming Xuans thin back was already some distance away, so she quickened her pace to catch up.

  The moonlit door, a branch of flowers sways slightly, and a few snowflakes fall evenly, with a soft sigh that seems to exist or not.

  Li Linxiao saw Ming Xuan enter the house and grabbed her arm, shaking it, "You promised to wake me up early!"

  Ming Xuan smiled and said, "Its really called, answered with a voice and rolled over to sleep again, I couldnt call it up, that cant be blamed on me."

  She is actually very envious of Lin Yue.

  A person with a clear mind sleeps soundly. Those who hide too many secrets and have too many worries cant sleep well, and wake up at the slightest movement. Like her, she hasnt slept for three whole years.

  Lin Xue felt a bit embarrassed and pulled Ming Xuan down to sit, "I didnt go pay respects, did Grandmother scold me?"

  Ming Xuan shook her head, "Grandma is worried about you, how could she blame you?"

  She repeated what Old Lady Zhu had said, "After weve finished breakfast and changed our clothes, well have to go. The people from the Fu Guo Gong and Lu Guo Gong will probably arrive first. To be honest, I havent entertained guests in three years, and those sisters and younger female cousins of mine are all a bit indistinguishable to me now - it was only last year that they came to Shengjing and I saw them then. Remind me later so I dont make a fool of myself."

  Ling Xue smiled and nodded, "Mm."

  Dan Hong had laid out the breakfast, and Ming Xuan began to move her chopsticks. "Eat a bit more to fill your stomach, so you wont be hungry later and unable to get up to find something to eat."

  The banquet started at the hour of the tiger, and most of the guests had arrived by then. The various halls and rooms for receiving guests were all prepared with pastries and tea, but the host family was usually too busy to have time to eat. Ming Xuan was experiencing this for the first time, but she had previously heard a lot of news from Xue Suo, so she roughly knew what to expect.

  Ling Xue ate while asking, "Last night seemed noisy in the southeast corner, I remember that side is the Moon Brocade Pavilion, what happened?"

  Although she slept soundly, Ming Xuan got up halfway and Snow Su came in to talk to her. She was still dazed but had some awareness.

  Ming Xuan didnt hide it from her, and told the words that Madame Hou said in Antai Temple, "It doesnt matter, Eldest Aunt was just being cautious. Its a pity for Eighth Sister, she had been looking forward to this banquet for so long, but ended up missing it like this."

  Although she felt a bit suspicious in her heart, she couldnt think of any reason why Madame Hou had to drive Ming Ju away. Moreover, she and Ming Ju had never interacted before, so she didnt want to think deeply about it either. Whatever Madame Hou said was what it was!

  Li Linxiao listened and clapped her hands with a laugh, "Gu Mingxiu has finally gotten his comeuppance today!"

  Theres a bit of schadenfreude in it.

  "Ming Xuan asked strangely, Whats going on between you and Eighth Sister?"

  Lin Xue let out a cold laugh, "Thats not it, I just cant stand her pretentious attitude. In our manor, I think shes not as beautiful as Er Jius mothers familys Xiaojie, not as slender as the new Wu Jiejie, and not as elegant as Liu Jiejie. And if were talking about being gentle and refined, she cant even compare to Xiang Jiejie. Shes just a concubine-born daughter of a lowly servant, how can she be more arrogant than the Duchess?"

  Her second sister-in-law was the princess of Chenghuai Wang, and her temperament was very gentle and kind.

  Ming Xuan smiled lightly and said, "Everyone has their own temperament. Dont just talk, eat some more."

  She instinctively didnt want to talk more about Ming Tian, so she changed the subject.

  Li Linxiao couldnt help but gaze at her with some emotion, "Xuan jiejie, you really have a good temperament. Its such a pity that my third brother is already engaged to the granddaughter of the Mei Hanlin family, otherwise it would be great if you could be my sister-in-law!"

  She had barely finished speaking when she realized her mistake, and hastily covered her mouth. "Goodness gracious, look at me, Im so reckless with my words! Xuan sister, I didnt mean to offend you, please dont take it to heart."

  If this gets out, it will indeed tarnish his reputation.

  But this was in the Yu Ge, Ming Xuan didnt mind, she smiled and said, "You also know youve misspoken, lets just drop it here, dont be reckless outside. No more idle chatter, eat quickly!"

  Lin Xuan stuck out her tongue and saw that Ming Xuan was really not angry, so she felt relieved and started eating with gusto.

  Ming Xuan thought in her heart that Eldest Aunt was indeed a formidable figure, and on the marriages of her three sons, she had truly exhausted all her thoughts.

  The eldest son of Pingchang Hou, Li Shaozhen, married the eldest daughter of Dingxiang Hou, Shen Shi. The Shen family had been in charge of military affairs for generations and had been enfeoffed as marquises and appointed as generals. Shen Houye was known for governing his household with martial law, and Shen Shi did not disappoint, being able to manage household chores and having a good physique. In just five years after marrying into the Li family, she had already given birth to three sons. The second son, Shao Heng, married a noble princess from the royal family of Chenghuai Wang, who was not only of high status but also had a good temperament. As the Li family was already wealthy and powerful, they chose the granddaughter of Mei Hanlin as the wife for Li Shaoqi. Mei Hanlin had served as the sacrificial wine administrator of the Imperial Academy, and although his rank was not high, he was renowned for his virtuous character, which was considered the most noble quality.

  She was thinking about it when the second girl, Ziyu, from the Taian courtyard hurried over to invite her, "The wife of the Duke and several ladies have arrived. The old lady is asking Seventh Miss and Cousin Miss to go over!"

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