Qi Shui Shui stood in the grand hall, gazing at the aged woman seated on the high dais opposite her. Though her hair was white, her presence was elegant, clearly indicating she was from a noble household.
In her impression, the steward of the Xie manor had a sharp, almost vulgar demeanor, hinting at a concubine. Thus, Qi Shui Shui stepped forward and said, "This humble one, Qi Shui Shui, greets the First Madam of the Xie manor."
Lady Liang, having been in the ancestral hall for some time, was aware of Qi Shui Shui from Bai Yan Lou, and knew Xie Xu had always been her favored guest. If she had previously believed Xie Xu sought Qi Shui Shui merely for pleasure, seeing the woman's appearance now, her expression grew solemn, and a flicker of panic arose within her.
"Miss Qi, what brings you here?" Lady Liang inquired.
Qi Shui Shui was direct, glancing at A Cui, who followed her.
A Cui promptly produced a stack of Xuan paper.
Qi Shui Shui asked, "First Madam, do you recognize the handwriting on these?"
Xiang Jie took them from A Cui and handed them to Lady Liang.
Lady Liang took a look, her eyebrows furrowing. How could she not recognize this handwriting? It was Xie Xu's.
Seeing Lady Liang's silence, Qi Shui Shui sneered, "It is rumored that the matriarch of the Xie manor is a noble lady. Could it be that you wish to be like us common folk, to deny and renege on your debts?"
Lady Liang closed her eyes in resignation, as if enduring.
After a moment, she said, "Certainly not."
Qi Shui Shui and A Cui exchanged glances, remaining silent.
"Steward Zhang," Lady Liang called out.
Steward Zhang quickly approached Lady Liang, awaiting her command.
"Go, and according to these IOUs, pay Miss Qi the full amount," Lady Liang said, handing all the IOUs in her hand to Steward Zhang.
Steward Zhang took them and, after a careful calculation, his face showed difficulty.
"What is it?" Lady Liang asked.
Steward Zhang swallowed a few times and said, "First Madam, to be frank, the Xie manor does not have this much silver. To repay it might require selling half of the Xie manor."
"Not enough?" Lady Liang looked astonished. She admitted that Xie Xu had quite a few romantic debts outside, but according to her memory, the Xie manor was capable of bearing this amount. What did he mean by "not enough"?
"Then where is the silver?" she pressed.
Steward Zhang's face fell, and he dared not speak.
Lady Liang looked at him, recalling that the inner court had been managed by Madam Zhen for so many years, and her heart already knew the destination of the silver.
She looked up at Xiang Jie, her head maid, and said, "Xiang Jie, go to the ancestral hall and fetch my chest."
Xiang Jie, upon hearing this, naturally knew what Lady Liang intended to do. She spoke up, "First Madam, this cannot be! You only have that little dowry left, and now that Master is gone, if you give it all to Qi Shui Shui, what will you do in the future?"
Lady Liang shook her head. "Xiang Jie, I have married into the Xie manor, and I am of the Xie family. Now that Master is gone, I must do my utmost to preserve the Xie manor. Do you understand?"
Xiang Jie nodded. She certainly understood that, but she truly couldn't bear to see her mistress enduring such humiliation.
"First Madam," she said, taking a deep breath and mustering her courage, she whispered into Lady Liang's ear, "First Madam, isn't the heir apparent in the manor? Your maid sees that if the heir apparent can help, perhaps Miss Qi's IOUs..."
"Nonsense!" Before Xiang Jie could finish, Lady Liang slammed the table in anger.
Xiang Jie was frightened and dared not speak.
Lady Liang said, "Cang'er is from the Prince of Xian's manor. If you want Cang'er to help the Xie family, speaking of it would be like prostitution. Isn't this smearing the Prince of Xian's manor?
If you want Cang'er to use his status to pressure Miss Qi, it would be said that the Judicial Inspection Office is bullying a courtesan."
"But, Madam, you also know that Master rarely stayed the night. These IOUs from Miss Qi might be forged," Xiang Jie still had some lingering doubts.
Lady Liang waved her hand. "Xiang Jie, Master is gone. It's better to have one less trouble than one more. You want me, a noble lady, to haggle with a prostitute? What kind of disgrace is this? Never mind, hurry up."
Xiang Jie wanted to say more, but receiving a stern glance from Lady Liang, she bit her lip and ran out.
When she returned, she held a small chest.
Qi Shui Shui's eyes widened as she saw the chest.
"Give it to her," Lady Liang gestured to Xiang Jie.
Despite Xiang Jie's immense reluctance, she could only hand the chest over.
Qi Shui Shui took it, and she and A Cui quickly opened the chest to examine its contents. Suddenly, halfway through, her expression changed. "Why is there so little?"
Lady Liang initially didn't believe her. She stood up and leaned closer to the chest, only to discover that several items were missing.
"First Madam, you don't intend to repay this debt, do you?" Qi Shui Shui scoffed.
Lady Liang closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, taking off the bracelet from her wrist. "This was given to me by my mother when I married. It's a family heirloom. Is it enough?"
Upon hearing "family heirloom," Qi Shui Shui's eyes lit up. She took it with both hands and nodded, "Enough, enough!"
After speaking, she pulled A Cui and prepared to leave.
"Wait," Lady Liang called out, stopping her. She then gave Steward Zhang a look.
Steward Zhang, seeing this, quickly brought ink, brush, paper, and inkstone and handed them to Qi Shui Shui.
"Write a guarantee, ensuring you will not harass the Xie manor again," Lady Liang said.
Once Qi Shui Shui received the money, she was naturally not hesitant to do anything. With a casual sweep of her hand, she pressed her palm print and turned to leave.
Zhong Li and Lu Wu Xie emerged from the yamen long after the usual office hours.
Yong Hua Street was bustling with activity. Numerous vendors and shops began to call out, earning their last bit of money for the day.
It was a rare moment of leisure for the two. Lu Wu Xie sent Lin Jin back and led Zhong Li for a stroll through the streets.
"You've worked hard," Lu Wu Xie took the small chest from Zhong Li's back.
This was the first time he had carried something for her. He hadn't realized before, but he found it wasn't light.
"It's nothing. This is my specialty. Once the pigskin is stewed tomorrow, I can make human skin masks," Zhong Li said, her gaze inadvertently drifting towards the street scene.
"In a few days, it will be Laba Festival," Lu Wu Xie followed her gaze, seeing that many small stalls had started selling congee, he couldn't help but say, "I remember when I was young, my father was busy with state affairs and rarely home. My mother would lead me to the small kitchen to make Laba congee."
"The heir apparent's mother must have been a gentle person." Zhong Li could imagine the beautiful Xie Yun Xia leading the young Lu Wu Xie in the kitchen, and a smile involuntarily curved her lips.
"Li'er," Lu Wu Xie said as they walked. He casually bought a bag of hot roasted sweet potato, peeled off the skin, and handed it to Zhong Li. "The congee my mother made was very special. She would put some sweet potato in it."
Zhong Li looked at the hot, fragrant sweet potato in her hand. "Actually, it's because you liked eating it, isn't it?"
Lu Wu Xie heard this and gave a bitter smile. "Yes, I've liked it since childhood. But Father thought it was something only the poor ate. Mother always secretly bought it for me to eat, for fear of Father seeing and reprimanding me."
"His Highness was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He must have felt that some foods would lower his status." From Zhong Li's understanding of the history of Southern Yue Kingdom, the former emperor doted on Lu Feng Yang the most, as he was the son of Empress Ruan, and had even reserved the throne for him. Perhaps this was also another reason for the Ruan family's rebellion twenty years ago.
She looked at Lu Wu Xie beside her, who was eating the sweet potato with a look of great enjoyment, and smiled. "In fact, food has no high or low status. As long as you like it, it is the most precious and rare thing."
After speaking, Zhong Li lowered her head and began to eat the sweet potato in her own hand.
Lu Wu Xie was taken aback. He turned his head to look at the woman beside him, who was chewing delicately, and his lips involuntarily curved.
"Heir apparent! Heir apparent!" Just as the two were about to leave Yong Hua Street and return to the Xie manor, Lin Jin, who had already returned, suddenly appeared behind them.
Lu Wu Xie retracted the gentle smile on his face and looked at Lin Jin, who had driven the carriage to their side. "What is it?"
"My maternal grandmother has fainted."