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  Fu Chun Hou Shizi Jian Cheng Yun is not the biological brother of the second wife, Mrs. Jian.

  He was chosen by Fuchun Hou from his old family clan as a successor for the sake of continuing his title. If we talk about means and talent, the heir naturally has them, but if we really talk about blood kinship, it's not actually close, and the birth father of the heir and Fuchun Hou are only cousins.

  Jian Cheng Yun moved to Shengjing from his hometown of Huai En more than a decade ago, already married at the time. He wasn't raised by Fu Chun Hou himself as a child, and even his marriage hadn't been arranged by Fu Chun Hou's hand. As a result, the father-son relationship was naturally very shallow, with only respect and obedience remaining. In the face of his second wife's cruelty and humiliation, he could only endure and yield, tolerating her abuse.

  But since he was able to stand out from among the many brothers in Huai En's old family and obtain this wealth, it would not be something that is easy to conserve.

  Ming Xuan thought of Madam Zhu's birthday, when Ming Xiao dared to call her aunt's name in front of a room full of guests, and ordered Jian Sese around, it can be seen that the second aunt's attitude towards her brother-in-law was so bad. There is a reason why the Rich Spring Marquis has just had a stroke and the second house has encountered disaster, and the second aunt associates these two things together, although it comes from her guilty conscience, but there may also be some truth to it.

  She thought for a moment and asked, "I wonder if Second Aunt has sent any letters to the Crown Prince's consort?"

  Gu Minghe is the legitimate wife of the Crown Prince of Qingping, and it is said that after her marriage, she gained the trust of both the King and the Crown Prince. Now, she is in charge of managing the household affairs and overseeing the entire Qingping Royal Palace. When something happened to Jian Shi, it was impossible for her not to seek help from her own daughter, yet she had Minghe come find herself to discuss these matters.

  Ming Xuan is not the young lady from the second house, although she married into the prestigious Pei family, her own situation is not good. This is something that everyone in Shengjing City knows, and Jian Shi can't possibly be unaware of it.

  Ming Xuan's eyes suddenly dimmed, and then a few strands of resentment ignited. She said in a harsh tone, "Sister only cares about her own reputation, not helping mother come up with a plan to get that money back is one thing, but actually... actually saying that losing the printed money is an unlucky and despicable thing. Those dirty bills are gone, just consider it as borrowing money to avoid disaster, buying a lesson, and also telling mother not to run around asking people for help anymore."

  "She said unfairly, 'Reason is not wrong, but after all, it's her own mother! Now she is the noble and virtuous wife of the county prince, but what she ate, used, wore, and wore in the past. Which one didn't come from that dirty money? Her mother originally planned to collect all the money back by next spring and stop doing it, but now it's good, the bamboo basket is empty, and nothing is left."

  Ming Ru and the Third Master of Anguo Gongfu had set their wedding date for next May, roughly in line with the original intention of the Jian family to marry off their daughter with great fanfare and then wash their hands of her. The amount of silver that had been embezzled was staggering, enough to allow the Second House to live a life of luxury and abundance.

  Ming Xuan's eyes drooped slightly, and she said in a low voice, "It's a pity."

  She felt a bit disgusted with the leech-like behavior of Fang Yinzhu, but Second Aunt had helped her out when she was in dire straits, so it wasn't right to say anything else. One word of regret was already the most comfort she could offer.

  Ming Xuan had not yet been meticulous enough to notice Ming Huan's subtle emotional expressions, she just furrowed her brow and whispered tearfully. "This matter dare not be told to Grandmother, going to ask Eldest Uncle he is also unwilling to get involved, later my mother thought of seeking an audience with Empress Shu, if she were to say a word, the Emperor would settle it, wouldn't that be the end of it?"

  She hesitated for a moment, looking at Ming Xuan with a difficult expression. "But my relationship with the Empress has never been close, what can I say to her? My mother is not a noblewoman and doesn't have the opportunity to enter the palace to pay respects to Her Majesty, so before I came today, she asked me that if I were to meet Seventh Sister, could I please ask you for help to put in a good word with the Empress?"

  Ming Xuan was taken aback, she had expected Ming Shu to have some request, but never thought that Ming Shu would be so straightforward and ask her to help plead with the Empress. Not to mention that this matter is impossible to achieve, even if it were a trivial matter, how could she dare to go to the palace at this time?

  The Empress Dowager favored Shu Fei, and she was also pregnant with the Emperor's child. Many eyes were fixed on her, and many people who harbored jealousy and resentment waited for her to make a mistake. On the cusp of the storm, Ming Xuan couldn't avoid it, so why would she still go knocking on the door?

  She thought for a moment and said, "Shi Mei, it's not that I don't want to help Er Bo Mu, but I'm really unable to. Shu Fei and I are both sisters, without an imperial summons, we can't enter the palace. Moreover, now that Her Majesty is pregnant again, if these troublesome matters were to disturb her, I fear His Majesty would blame us, which wouldn't be a good thing for Er Bo Mu either."

  Her eyes couldn't help but reveal a few hints of disappointment, yet she didn't force anyone to do anything difficult. She just hung her head and stared blankly at the scenery in the courtyard, her whole person lacking any spirit.

  "Ming Xuan couldn't bear it anymore, and after some thought, she said in a low voice, 'Tenth sister, listen to me. Money is just external wealth, losing it is regrettable, but it doesn't hurt the foundation. If we continue to make a fuss, people will get involved, and it won't be worth it. As her niece, I don't dare speak directly to Second Aunt, so I'm using gentle words to persuade her, hoping she'll listen.'"

  She paused, "Actually, the princess is not wrong, letting go of the printed money is against the law, but since the silver was confiscated by the Ministry of Revenue and no one was implicated, it's already a great face-saving measure. Go back and advise your aunt to be at ease, just consider it as breaking fortune and disaster."

  Ming Ru remained silent for a long time before speaking, "Actually, I understand the reasoning too. It's just that... Mother said that our household will be divided soon, but over the years, most of the family assets have been squandered by Eldest Aunt. The once prosperous Yongning Marquis Manor now looks grand on the surface but is actually empty inside. She just wants to save some money for everyone to live a better life in the future."

  Everyone stands at a different angle, and their views are naturally vastly different.

  Ming Xuan nodded in understanding and gently patted Ming Xia's hand, "As long as the green hills remain, there is no fear of lack of firewood."

  She changed her tone and asked softly, "Isn't Yongning Marquis Manor going to divide the family soon?"

  "Apparently, it was grandmother who said so, and Eldest Uncle has already agreed. They're just waiting until next year's ancestral worship day to open the ancestral temple, invite the clan elders, go over the accounts with Gongzhong, and then they'll be dividing the family property."

  She hastily added, "Actually, among the noble residences in Shengjing City, our kind of household is relatively rare. Most are families that inherited titles and split up, having both advantages and disadvantages to living together or separately."

  As soon as the words fell, a woman dressed in a matronly attire came forward and saw Mingyu. She hurried over to pay her respects and said, "So Miss Ten and Seventh Aunt are together, it's easier for me to find you. Miss Ten, Fourth Madam sent me to look for you. The wife of Duke An Guo and the young lady have arrived, making a fuss about wanting to see Miss Ten."

  It was actually Fourth Madam Xue's personal maid.

  Ming Xuan stood up with some difficulty and said to Ming Huan, "When I came, my mother told me to follow Fourth Aunt. Now that the wife of Duke Anguo and her daughter have arrived, I must go to pay my respects. Later, if I have time, I will come back to look for Seventh Sister."

  She will be marrying into the Fang family of Anguo Gongfu in the future, and her future mother-in-law and younger sister-in-law want to meet her, she can't avoid meeting them.

  Ming Xuan hurriedly smiled and waved his hand at her, "Go quickly, don't keep Madame Anguo waiting."

  Second Aunt's troubles, she can't help. Ming Que sighed here, and she didn't feel comfortable listening to it either.

  So the four madams' attendants led Mingyu and her maid to the front, and Mingxuan felt a slight sense of relief. She stood up and gazed out at the scenery in Chunlanting, seeing before her a pond with varying depths, its lotus leaves somewhat wilted and looking desolate. However, a group of wild ducks swam into view from afar, bringing vitality to the stagnant water's surface.

  The water's edge was cool, and Dan Hong helped Ming Xuan put on his cloak, saying in a low voice, "Madam, I heard from Chang Geng that in the past few days, several wealthy families in the city who were involved in counterfeiting money have been searched. I heard that many families are implicated, and at first, I just thought it was an interesting piece of gossip to listen to. Who would have thought that even the second lady of the Hou estate is also implicated? It's just that Dan Hong didn't tell you about it in time, which was a mistake."

  She paused slightly, "I heard that the confiscated silver was countless, and the amount taken from the second lady is probably considered small."

  When the once prosperous Yongning Marquis Manor was still just an empty shell, it's easy to imagine how those old aristocratic families who were gradually declining fared. The ladies of the house had to find ways to fill the gaps in their finances by lending money to usurers, although they never openly discussed it, but actually it wasn't unusual, some just had more capital than others.

  The interest is rolled over with the principal, and the amount will definitely not be less.

  Ming Xuan gave her a deep and meaningful glance, "Did you hear what Chang Geng said?"

  Without waiting for Dan Hong to respond, her eyes deepened and she took a deep breath before saying, "In the past few years, the four borders have been constantly at war. Before the new emperor ascended to the throne, there was also the struggle of the five dragons seizing the throne. With internal and external troubles, the national treasury is probably not very full. Now that the Western Xia war has started again, this battle requires silver.

  The national treasury is empty, and this battle cannot be avoided. Waiting for the annual land tax to be collected will take some time, so in the meantime, it's inevitable that some extraordinary measures must be taken. Issuing paper money goes against the law, but collecting these ill-gotten gains would also be unjust if someone were to cause trouble over it. This strategy is originally a good one...

  When Han Xiu left for the Western Frontier, there was no one in the court who could match wits with Pei and Yang. At this sensitive moment, the Emperor's move would offend those fallen nobles involved in the silver stampede, and the court would likely be in an uproar for quite some time.

  At this time, a sudden noise came from the front, as if something had happened.

  She hastily ordered the maid left by her sister to go and investigate, and soon the maid came back to report, "It is said that Yang Youzhong and Ding Guogong quarreled for some reason and even started fighting. Ding Guogong's personal attendants went to mediate, but were pushed away by Yang Youzhong, and they...they died!"

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