"I think this little girl's words are quite reasonable," Su Chenghai quickly chimed in. "Fourth Brother, even when dismissing beggars, you have to throw them some silver to make them leave, let alone someone of our relation."
Su Yunmo sat on Su Qingtian's lap, swinging her little feet. "If Father doesn't want to lend to Second Uncle, then Momo can lend it to you."
Su Chenghai glanced at her dismissively. "How much money can a little girl like you have?"
Su Yunmo tilted her head. "Mother said Momo's monthly allowance has no upper limit, I can have as much as I want."
The eyes of the two men in the room turned green.
Su Qingtian, in particular, was filled with envy and jealousy.
Su Chenghai suddenly stood up. "Is that true?"
The little dumpling cupped her chin with both hands. "But Uncle needs to meet a condition to get money from Momo."
"Fine, I'll agree to any condition," Su Chenghai readily agreed.
"You agree so readily? You're not going to trick Momo, are you?" The little dumpling looked suspicious.
Su Qingtian thought his daughter was getting dumber. Where was the sharp, calculating demeanor she had when she first arrived at the General's Mansion? This was a question that didn't need asking; Second Brother was definitely tricking her.
"Of course not. When has Second Uncle ever lied to you? Besides, your father is here too," Su Chenghai said, his eyes shining. "How much are you planning to give Second Uncle?"
Su Yunmo put her little finger in her mouth, blinked, and thought for a while. "Is fifty thousand taels okay?"
Su Qingtian immediately spat blood. "No!" That was half his salary for half a year!
Su Chenghai glared, veins popping on his forehead. "Who says no? Fourth Brother, that's not right. If you don't want to lend me money, is it okay for my little niece to lend it to me?"
Su Qingtian was speechless. That was still his money, damn it!
Su Chenghai anxiously rubbed his hands and looked at the little dumpling. "Quickly, tell me your condition."
Su Yunmo took her hand out of her mouth. "People say that if you borrow and repay, you can borrow again. Uncle needs to repay the money on time."
Su Chenghai quickly nodded. "Of course."
"But you've never repaid the money you borrowed from Uncle," Su Yunmo said, a hint of worry appearing on her little face.
Su Chenghai's expression stiffened, and he immediately straightened his back. "Who says I haven't repaid it?"
"Su Xiayue is outside. She came to play with me today and told me," the little dumpling sighed. "Actually, Momo really wants to lend it to you, but with Uncle acting like this, Momo is really worried~"
That damned girl, Su Xiayue, daring to ruin his plans! Su Chenghai gritted his teeth in hatred but didn't show it. He said softly, "It's Second Uncle's fault. Second Uncle has been too busy these past two days and forgot about it."
"Oh, I see," the little dumpling widened her eyes, putting on an innocent expression. "Then why doesn't Uncle repay the money first, to set an example for Momo, and then Momo will lend you the money?"
This 'innocence' appeared as 'foolishness' in Su Chenghai's eyes. He had only borrowed five thousand taels from the eldest brother in total, which was worlds apart from fifty thousand. If he repaid that smaller sum first, once he got his hands on the fifty thousand, he would immediately spend it and ensure they couldn't find him!
"Alright, Second Uncle will do as he says. I'll go and repay the money right now. You wait." Su Chenghai brushed the dirt off his clothes and left like the wind.
After he walked out the door, he grabbed the little dumpling by her collar and set her down, staring at her intently. "My dear ancestor, you're not actually planning to give him that much money, are you?"
It was only right for family members to help each other when in need, but the problem was that his second brother was different. Nominally, he was borrowing money to pay off debts, but in reality, he had picked up gambling like their third brother, spending all the borrowed money on food, drink, and debauchery. Giving him money was like pouring it into a bottomless pit.
Su Yunmo tugged at her little skirt. "Father doesn't like Momo giving money to Second Uncle? Then Momo won't give it."
Su Qingtian was stunned. "You won't give it?" So readily?
"Yes, Father doesn't like Momo lending money, so Momo won't lend it," the little dumpling spread her hands and shrugged. What was that saying again? Oh, right, children speak their minds. She thought Second Uncle wouldn't be so foolish as to take a little girl's words seriously.
"Momo?" Su Xiayue poked her head in from the doorway.
"Father, Momo is going out to play~" The little dumpling waved her hand and skipped away.
Su Qingtian watched her retreating figure, his mouth twitching, his head buzzing. After a long moment, he shouted, "Butler! Quickly tell someone to guard the mansion gates. If Second Brother comes again, do not let him in!"
Su Yunmo exited the hall. Su Xiayue scratched the back of her head, looking puzzled. "Momo, what's wrong with Second Uncle all of a sudden?"
"What's wrong?"
"Just now, when he left, he bumped into me, glared at me fiercely, and said he was going to repay the money." Su Xiayue was confused. But he had been loudly declaring just two days ago that he would absolutely not repay the money!
"Perhaps he suddenly had a change of heart." Su Yunmo took a lollipop from her glazed lock, unwrapped the paper, and put it in her mouth.
"Is that so?" Su Xiayue couldn't figure it out, so she stopped thinking about it. "Actually, I came to find you today to discuss something." She stared at the candy in the little dumpling's mouth. "Tomorrow is Grand-Ancestress's birthday. I ordered a very beautiful jade bracelet for her, but I only paid the deposit~" Although her uncle gave her pocket money every month, the bracelet was very expensive. Even if she used all her money, it would only cover half. "Let's each pay half the money, and it will be a joint birthday gift for Grand-Ancestress, okay?"
Su Yunmo took out the lollipop and nodded. "Okay." She wasn't good at choosing gifts anyway. The lollipop was maltose, shimmering with a wheat-colored luster in the sunlight. Su Xiayue swallowed, wanting to say thank you, but what came out was, "Thank you, I won't eat it."
Su Yunmo: "..."
Since Qianxue was not around, Su Yunmo took Su Xiayue to sneak out of the mansion and head to the jewelry store Su Xiayue had mentioned. Upon entering, the shopkeeper was absent, and a shop assistant was tidying up at the counter. Su Xiayue went in first, sucking on the lollipop, mumbling indistinctly, "Wushang came to Dinghu last time... gave top grade..."
Shop assistant: "???"
Su Yunmo glanced disdainfully at the candy-gobbling girl and took a small token from her, tossing it over. "We placed an order last time."
The shop assistant caught the token. "Certainly, please wait a moment. I'll go find it. Misses, please have a seat." He made a gesture to 'please' and then took out a ledger to check the accounts.
Su Yunmo poked Su Xiayue's face. "Look at how you're eating. Did Uncle mistreat you?"
Su Xiayue gave her a mournful look. "Momo, you're still young. You don't understand the troubles of people like us growing up." She was currently losing her baby teeth, and her uncle's wife had strictly forbidden her from eating sweets. This was because Qingjie's childhood self had eaten too many sweets, and when she lost her teeth, she hadn't been careful, resulting in cavities.