The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 98: Insatiable
Chapter 98: Pushing the limits
Chun Tao added: “Mammy, you don’t know that our eldest daughter can do horse stance for an hour now. She has strength now because she has iron sandbags wrapped around her hands to practice calligraphy. I was worried like Mammy before, but later I saw that the eldest daughter was getting better and better. Even Doctor Hong said that the daughter looked better than last winter, so Chun Tao listened to our daughter on these matters.”
Nanny Tong then nodded, and continued to rub Bai Qingyan’s hands to warm her up.
On the way back, Nanny Tong was always talking. She also mentioned that the two concubines’ masters who came from Shuoyang’s hometown to attend the funeral had just gone to see Dong and say goodbye.
Bai Qingyan was not surprised that the people from Shuoyang’s hometown said goodbye. The momentum of forcing the emperor to kill Prince Xin in front of Wude Gate today was so huge, and they were also afraid that if the emperor got angry, they would be implicated.
“As a result, before the two concubines left, the eldest son of the old patriarch of the Shuoyang family arrived. As soon as he entered the house, he told the Crown Prince’s wife that before the Duke of Guo went to war, the Shuoyang family had sent people to the Duke’s Mansion to discuss with the Duke of Guo… After the New Year, they planned to buy land for the clan, rebuild the ancestral hall, ancestral tombs, and school, and invite great scholars to give lectures.”
Bai Qingyan was quite surprised. Although his grandfather had always responded to requests from his hometown in Shuoyang, why didn’t he say a word about this matter before he left?
Seeing Bai Qingyan seemed to have doubts, Nanny Tong continued, “This gentleman said that it was originally agreed that this matter would be dealt with when the Duke’s Mansion returned to Shuoyang to deliver the New Year gifts, but now the Duke’s Mansion has suddenly encountered a disaster, and the old clan leader meant that… the clan did not dare to trouble the Duke’s Mansion, so they asked this gentleman to bring the account book to the prince’s wife. In total, it costs 450,000 taels of silver! Whether it is silver notes or cash, it must be prepared before they leave tomorrow. He also specifically said that this was the old clan leader’s intention.”
Nanny Tong deliberately emphasized the word “necessary” because she wanted Bai Qingyan to know that this person from Shuoyang was taking advantage of the fact that there were no men in the Zhenguo Mansion and was asking for such a high price.
Chun Tao’s eyes widened: “Is this robbing money or asking for money?! The Bai family has such a big thing now, and they sent two concubines to attend the funeral, and they left before the funeral was over! Now a master from the main branch has come, and he actually came to ask for money!”
Chuntao has always had a good temper, but she was also very angry.
Bai Qingyan lowered his eyes and thought about it carefully.
The people from Shuoyang dared to act so confidently, not only because they bullied the Duke of Zhenguo’s Mansion because there were no men, but also because their grandfather had treated them too politely and easily, which led to their bad habits.
There is a saying that goes “A little bit of kindness will be repaid with a big bit of hatred”, and she had already warned her grandfather and father about this.
Maybe it’s because men’s minds are always different from women’s…
My grandfather said that blood ties are the only thing in this world that cannot be measured by money. Moreover, the Bai family ancestral hall is in Shuoyang, thanks to the care of the clan members. The current clan leader is my grandfather’s uncle within the fifth degree of mourning.
My father said that what a military family like the Duke’s Mansion lacks the least is worldly things. If they can use worldly things to ensure the safety and well-being of their family members, there is nothing wrong with the prosperity of the Bai family.
My grandfather and father were kind-hearted, but the so-called clansmen from Shuoyang’s ancestral home had long lost their gratitude. They only regarded the Duke’s Mansion as their money bag and could take whatever they wanted from them.
There are many gentlemen in the world who know how to repay kindness, like Qin Shangzhi, but there are also many ungrateful people, like the Bai family.
Bai Qingyan paused and asked, “What did mother say?”
“I don’t know yet. Right now, the eldest son of the Shuoyang clan leader and the two concubines are at the Crown Prince’s wife’s place, explaining the accounts in detail to her and complaining about how the money is not enough…” said Nanny Tong.
She stood in the corridor, lowered her eyes and thought for a while, then raised her eyes and said, “Let’s go and take a look…”
·
Bai Qingyan walked to the corridor of the main hall and saw the little maid was about to salute. She signaled the little maid not to make a sound and stood in the corridor, staring at the lanterns swaying in the wind on the opposite eaves, listening quietly to the movements in the hall.
Dong closed the account book casually and threw it aside, sneering: “Whether it’s repairing the ancestral hall, the ancestral tomb, or the school, it’s reasonable for each family to contribute! But the Duke and the Prince didn’t explain this matter before they left. My cousin entered the Duke’s Mansion, and he didn’t burn incense or offer sacrifices. He just talked to me about the silver! After finally burning incense, he told me that I must prepare 450,000 taels of silver by tomorrow. 450,000 taels of silver is not a small amount. Do you think the Duke’s Mansion is a bank?”
Over the years, my father-in-law and my husband have indulged the Shuoyang clan, and have allowed them to be ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth, and to take whatever they want from the Duke’s Mansion. Not only that, but they also take it for granted, as if the Duke’s Mansion owes them anything? !
Bai Qiyun, the eldest son of the old patriarch from Shuoyang, was stabbed and looked unhappy. He gritted his teeth and said, “I came here on the orders of the old patriarch, sister-in-law… What do you mean by making excuses and saying that the Duke didn’t explain? Are you saying that the clan members are lying to you about the Duke’s Mansion?”
Seeing his eldest brother being so arrogant, the older concubine wiped his sweat and hurried out to smooth things over: “Don’t blame me, my cousin is here just because he was ordered to do so. He is too anxious. You see… because of the tense war in southern Xinjiang, the price of Kunshan jade has doubled, but we can’t reduce the materials when repairing the place where the tablets are placed, otherwise how can the ancestors rest in peace? Isn’t this the truth? Before he came to see you, my cousin told me that the old clan leader specifically reminded us before he came that the Duke’s Mansion must not pay for everything in the current situation. The Duke’s Mansion only needs to pay the bulk, and we clan members can make up the rest ourselves.”
“Now that the Duke and the Crown Prince have passed away, if you, the mistress of the Duke’s Mansion, cannot make up your mind, then I will take the account book to see the Grand Princess!” Bai Qiyun said, waving his sleeves.
“Okay!” Mrs. Dong smiled and pressed the corners of her lips with a handkerchief, then picked up the teacup, “Then go ahead, cousin! Please make yourself at your leisure…”
Seeing that Dong was serving tea to see off the guests, Bai Qiyun felt a lump in his throat. How could he get into the backyard without Dong sending someone to lead the way? !
Dong felt the same as Mingjing. She knew that after the Bai family’s funeral, they would have to return to Shuoyang to protect these orphans and their mothers. But the more this was the case, Dong could not let them step on her head like this today. Otherwise, when they returned to Shuoyang in the future… they would exploit them even more unscrupulously.
If she tolerated and complied with him today, the Bai clan would not be grateful, but would become even more demanding. She had been too kind to them in the past, so that they would resent her if she did not do what they wanted. This was a living example.
Before coming, Bai Qiyun’s father, who is also the clan leader, told Bai Qiyun that all the men in the Duke’s Mansion had died in the battle in southern Xinjiang, and only the women were left in the Bai family. They didn’t know whether the baby in the Fifth Madam’s belly was a boy or a girl, and the Duke’s Mansion could not be without a man to support it, otherwise the title would have no one to inherit. He asked Bai Qiyun to discuss with the eldest princess and mistress Dong to adopt Bai Qiyun’s second grandson into the Duke’s Mansion.
Bald author: I’m sorry everyone, I’m stuck on writing. I haven’t been in the right state for the whole day… I’ve been writing and deleting, and I’m not satisfied with any of it. Today’s update will probably, possibly, be just two updates. I’ll try to make up for it for you all when I’m more confident!