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  Chapter 27

  The next day, Dan Hong came in to serve her. Ming Xuan told her, "Go to the front yard after a while and see if my brother is there. If he is, ask him to run another errand for me, go to the money shop outside to exchange some silver coins, I have an urgent need."

  Dan Hongs elder brother, He Gui, worked in the purchasing department and could enter the Hou Mansion without needing to show his ID. In the past, he had helped with several matters and handled them well, proving himself to be a reliable person. Ming Xuan didnt have anyone trustworthy at her disposal, so for now, she could only rely on He Gui to help her with these errands.

  Dan Hong was somewhat surprised, "The money we got from exchanging that half gold crown is still here, and later on, Madame Hou sent someone to deliver another hundred taels of silver, so we still have some silver on hand."

  Xue Su also spoke up, "Misss silver money is all under my management, and there are about 270 taels left, which is enough for us to spend for a while. Why do you need to go out and exchange money again?"

  The daily expenses of Yu Ge Lou are all paid by Gong Zhong. If there is no grand celebration, they can save some money and rely on these silver coins to support themselves for a good period of time. The boxes sealed with the character "Geng" in the warehouse contain Misss private belongings. Although its not a pity to exchange those gold ornaments for silver coins, if the noise gets too loud and someone in the mansion notices, the first person to feel uneasy would be Madame Hou.

  The noble lady from a prestigious family is reduced to pawning things just to make ends meet. Isnt this a slap in the face of the madam of the manor?

  Xue Su understood this principle, and Ming Xuan naturally did too. She sighed softly and said, "I thought of Fourth Brother last night and couldnt sleep all night, tossing and turning. No matter whether hes dead or alive, I just want to get news about him as soon as possible. Shen Er Ye from Dingxiang Hou Mansion was appointed as the Protector General of the Western Regions and left for Xizang at the beginning of the year. Eldest Sister-in-law from Longxi is from the Shen family, so Ive already asked Third Brother to take a letter over and ask Shen Er Ye to help look into it."

  She paused, her eyebrows furrowed even more deeply, "But even if we make inquiries like this, who knows when well get any definite news. Ive thought it over and over, but its still better for us to send someone personally to investigate carefully, using both methods at the same time, that would be more reliable."

  Going to Western China to look for someone is a huge expense, and the amount of silver money needed is by no means small.

  Xue Sus expression turned solemn, and she hesitated before asking, "Fourth Master is not just the Fourth Master of the Third House. If this matter is not reported to Old Lady Hou and Madame Hou, and Miss acts on her own, would that be proper? If Madame Hou finds out, Im afraid..."

  If it were the day before, Ming Xuan would still have avoided talking about her feelings as a concubine, but after a night of deep thought, her mind had changed. A bitter smile played on her lips as she said in a low voice, "Foolish girl, the Hou Mansion doesnt lack a fourth master, but the third house cant do without him. Look at all the noble families in Jing City, which one isnt either inheriting titles or branching out? If it werent for Grandmothers efforts to hold everything together, each branch of the Gu family would have gone their separate ways long ago. By then, if Fourth Master still hasnt returned with news, the third house of the Gu family will be finished."

  She lowered her eyes, "Xue Su, Ill be getting married soon!"

  The great uncle has been succeeded to the title for six years, and the reason why he didnt divide the family property in the first three years was to gain a reputation for being extremely filial. These past three years, he still hasnt mentioned this matter, probably due to grandmothers efforts to maintain it. Grandmother had long since handed over all the management rights of the estate, and no matter what, she wouldnt argue with Madame Hou, living in seclusion like this was all for the promise of "not dividing the family property temporarily", so that she could marry out as the legitimate daughter of the Hou estate.

  Once youve left the house, Madame Hou will bring up dividing the family property again, and Grandmother wont have any reason to continue stubbornly holding on.

  The second uncle has made a lot of money in the Ministry of Revenue, and his wife also has a lot of money. Over the years, the amount of silver and money contributed by the second house to the public is actually more than that of the first house. If it werent for the sake of making the marriage of the eldest son and daughter more impressive, with Jian Shis cunning and stinginess, she would have already been clamoring for a family division. Ming He will be married in March, and after Ming Xians marriage is settled, at most one year later, she can also get married. At that time, the second aunt will no longer have any scruples, and its likely that she will make more noise than Madame Hou.

  This family is doomed.

  Xue Sus heart skipped a beat, as the fourth master had been missing for three years without any news, and was lost in battle. Although he was not listed among the dead, there were too many cases of unidentified bodies during the war. It seemed that the Hou Mansion had already confirmed the fourth masters death, so they stopped sending people to look for him over the years. According to the Zhou Dynastys laws, such a situation could be reported to the government as missing, and if the fourth master did not appear when the family property was divided, then the third house would lose its share of the inheritance.

  No wonder Miss wanted to go privately and didnt alarm Old Lady or Madame Hou...

  Although the first wife has been in charge of the household for years, the second wife is shrewd and must have taken most of the benefits from the public purse. However, since the Empress entered the palace, Madame Hou has not stopped sending silver and money into the palace through various means. Since the second wife did not make a fuss about it, those things were probably the first wifes private property. The palace is like a bottomless pit, so if she can get an extra share of the third houses wealth for free, Madame Hou will certainly be willing.

  The old lady doesnt care about anything anymore, even if she has a million unwilling thoughts in her heart, what can she do?

  Xue Su thought for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Theres a piece of pearl clothing in that box, with each pearl shining brightly and plump, all of the highest quality. Recently, its been popular in Shengjing City to embed pearls on shoe tips and sleeve mouths. Yesterday, I heard Fang Sans maid say that Jingbao Pavilions pearls are all sold out!"

  Ming Xuan listened and knew that Xue Su had already understood. She nodded with relief, "I have the same intention, but I dont know if He Gui can handle this task well."

  She lowered her eyelids slightly, then suddenly raised her head and said to Dan Hong, "Why dont we go invite Brother Biao in for a chat? Ill ask him myself!"

  Inside the inner courtyard, if something was lacking, they would often call in someone to buy it and have them go out to make the purchase. He also had a cousin working at the Shuoyu Pavilion, so calling him in to discuss things wouldnt attract attention.

  Tan Hong finished dressing and hurried out to look for He Gui.

  Xue Su asked again, "We have the silver, but who will we send to Xizang? Miss, have you thought it through? The war is raging over there and the merchants from several nearby cities are fleeing inland. Im afraid even a generous reward wont be enough to tempt anyone to go, especially since this is a private matter..."

  Ming Xuan hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Actually, I do have someone in mind. The birth mother of Fourth Brother, Jiang Shi, has a younger brother named Qian San. I heard from Yan Niangniang that hes currently working at an outside shop and isnt doing very well."

  Xue Su thought for a moment, then nodded and replied, "There really is such a person. In the Antai Courtyard, theres someone named Xiao Su, whose father and brother happen to be working in the same shop as Qian San. When I went to see Hong Tao Sister, she mentioned this person before. Its said that after Jiang Niang gave birth to Fourth Master, Madame took charge and promoted Qian San, changing his status from a slave, saying that it wouldnt do for Fourth Master to have an uncle who was still a slave. At the time, this matter was even spread as a good story, with everyone praising Third Madames magnanimity."

  She paused slightly, "In the past few years when Sanfang was in power, that Wang San seemed to have been a manager of the shop. Later, when the fourth master had an accident, he lost his backing and fell out of favor. It is said that he spoke out of turn, offended someone, and also lost several business deals under his hands. The young master could only remove him from his position as manager, but as the fourth masters uncle, it was not good to dismiss him casually, so he still lingered in the shop."

  Xue Su thought for a moment and still had some doubts. "It sounds like this Wang San is not very reliable, Miss. Do you really want to ask him to go find Fourth Master?"

  Ming Xuan nodded, "Qian San has already left the household register and is no longer a slave of the mansion. If he wants to leave the shop, its easy for him to do so, not only will no one stop him, but everyone will probably be happy to see him go, thinking that hes going back to his hometown, no one will suspect where hes really headed, this is the first point."

  She pursed her lips and continued, "He is the cousin of my fourth brother. Apart from me, no one else wishes more for my fourth brothers safe return than him. His wealth and status are closely tied to that of my fourth brother. If my fourth brother returns, when the family property is divided in the future, he will be the sole owner of three houses. Although the family fortune may not be extremely prosperous, it will still be much better than a small household. Even if Qian San were to take over as the manager of the house for my fourth brother, it would still be better than his current situation of being bullied at the shop."

  The emperors edict was initially unclear, only stating that Gu Yuanshan would be sent to the Western Frontier Army to serve the country, without explicitly stating whether he was being exiled or imprisoned for his crimes. This meant that the current emperor had not yet made a final decision on Gu Yuanshans case, and there was still room for maneuver. As long as she could find him, as long as he was still alive, no matter what method she used, she would definitely bring him back to Shengjing.

  Xue Su nodded busily, "Miss said so, indeed Qian San is a suitable candidate."

  Ming Xuan murmured, "Tomorrow Im going to Qingliang Temple. This is an opportunity. Think of a way to see Qian San."

  In a moment, Dan Hong returned to report that He Gui had arrived, and Ming Xuan went to the main house.

  He was about seventeen or eighteen years old, tall and straight, with a face that wasnt particularly handsome but had regular features. He stood in the house with his head bowed, looking at his nose with his eyes downcast, not once glancing around with a thieving gaze, appearing very steady and polite.

  Ming Xuan saw him for the first time and felt that he was quite pleasant, so she added a few more friendly tones to her voice. She saw that Xue Su had already sent Xiao Yatou out of the courtyard, and there were no other people in the house, so she didnt bother with formalities either. She got straight to the point and said, "Im Dan Hongs cousin, so I wont waste time on polite talk. He Gui, I urgently need money and want to ask for your help to exchange some silver again. The amount might not be small, and apart from you, no one else can know about it. Can you do that?"

  She hesitated for a moment, "If its not convenient, dont force it. I only ask that you keep this secret for the sake of Dan Hong."

  He Guizhou furrowed her brow slightly and thought for a moment before asking, "Miss, how much do you need to exchange? And what item are you looking to exchange it with?"

  Dont answer hastily, but first understand the situation clearly.

  Ming Xuan felt that He Gui was even more reliable, and she instructed Xue Su to bring over a bag of pearls that had already been sorted out. "There are about five or six bags like this one, as well as some loose precious stones and broken gold pieces - all of unknown origin. Id like to ask for your help in selling them and exchanging them for silver, which can be stored at the national bank used by everyone. That way, no matter where we go, well be able to easily use it."

  She raised her voice slightly, "He Gui, is it possible?"

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