Liu Zhenghui stopped rummaging for money and valuables. He turned around seriously and stared at his quarreling parents in the hall. A strange expression flitted across his face.
Just then, a middle - aged man led a group of people into the room, pinching his nose in disgust. "Who is Liu Anping?"
Liu Anping was startled. He quickly stepped forward and said, "I'm Liu Anping. May I ask who you are..."
The middle - aged man looked down his nose. "I'm Gu An, the steward of the Gu family. The old lady sent me to tell you that you are limited to move out within two days. Otherwise, don't blame us for being rude!"
Liu Anping trembled and pleaded with a long face, "Steward, it's not that we don't want to leave. We're really short of money... We don't even have the travel expenses to go back to Quzhou."
Gu An had come prepared. He took out a money bag from his sleeve. "Here are five taels of silver. When our young lady left the Liu family back then, she took four taels of silver with her. Now we're returning it to you, and giving an extra tael as interest. Take the money and get out quickly! It's our young lady's kindness. If the master and young master of our mansion see you again, they'll surely teach you a lesson!"
Liu Anping thanked Gu An profusely and saw him off. These five taels of silver were truly a lifesaver for them. He sighed with emotion, "If I had known that Liyue's father was so wealthy, back then..."
Miao quickly tugged at his sleeve. "Life and wealth are predestined. It's an old matter. Why bring it up again?"
Liu Anping snorted. "What did I say? I'm saying that if you had treated Liyue well back then, things wouldn't have turned out like this. You heard it today. The Marquis Mansion treats that servant girl Yunniang so warmly, as if she were a mistress."
Miao felt bitter. She thought that Yunniang had taken her place. But what was the use of saying these things now? She only hated Gu Liyue for not caring about their old affection at all.
Liu Zhenghui's eyes flashed. Taking advantage of his parents' quarrel, he stealthily reached for the money bag.
Miao was quick - eyed and snatched the money bag away. She shouted angrily, "What do you think you're doing? This is the last bit of silver in our family. Do you still want to take it? How could I have given birth to such an unfilial son?"
Liu Zhenghui shouted back, "All the money in the family belongs to me. Since you gave birth to me, you should support me. If you don't have money, why don't you go and earn it? If you can't earn it, go and ask Gu Liyue for it. She ate our family's food for ten years. Five taels of silver is like sending off a beggar!"
Amid the chaos, Liu Anping slapped Miao twice. Heartbroken, she ignored them and wiped her tears as she made her way to the Feng family's house several streets away.
Liu Qinting walked into the side room with a straight face. She glared at Miao and scolded her harshly, "What are you doing here again? Didn't I tell you that I'm having a hard time? I have no money, no money, no money! Don't come again. You're just embarrassing me."
Miao was even more heartbroken. Her face had been slapped by the princess's maid today, and then by Liu Anping when she got home. It still burned painfully, and she was sure it was badly swollen. But her daughter didn't even ask about it.
Liu Qinting said impatiently, "Are you leaving or not? Do I have to drive you out?"
Miao said aggrievedly, "Qinting, I'm your mother..."
"You're my mother? You know you're my mother, but where's the slightest bit of a mother in you? You and Father only care about Brother. So if you have something to do, go to him. Why come to me?"
Miao grabbed Liu Qinting's sleeve. "Qinting, I'm not here to ask you for money. Your younger sister gave us five taels of silver. I'm just feeling so stuffy in my heart. I just want to talk to you..."
"Cousin?" Liu Qinting was stunned. She immediately came back and sized Miao up and down. She led her to a low table, told someone to serve tea, and poured a cup for Miao. "Drink some water. Tell me slowly."
It was already late, but it wasn't autumn yet. Even at night, it was sweltering. Miao gulped down the water in one go. She sighed and told her everything that had happened today.
Liu Qinting was completely confused. She grabbed Miao and asked, "Wait, Mother. Do you mean that Gu Liyue is now the wife of a wealthy family?"
Miao shook her head. "Not a wife. She's not married. Her father's family has found her. Her father is the young master of the Marquis Mansion. Now, she's also a young lady of the Marquis Mansion."
Liu Qinting shot up from her seat. How could this be? In her previous life, Gu Liyue had lived to be forty years old, and there had never been any news of her father's family.
Miao sighed deeply. "Your aunt is very scheming. Gu Xian is the young master of the Marquis Mansion, but she actually hid it from your father and me. She really didn't treat us as family. We were so stupid..."
Liu Qinting's heart was in turmoil. "No, Mother. Didn't we say before that Gu Liyue came to the capital to be an embroidery woman?"
Miao waved her hand. "Yes, she came to the capital to be an embroidery woman. Then, by chance, she met the Gu family, and they recognized her as the lost young lady."
Liu Qinting gritted her teeth in hatred. She didn't know where things had gone wrong. Clearly, in this life, she had snatched Gu Liyue's life, but why was she still the one in a mess?
She had thought that once she got engaged to Feng Lanqing, she could become an official's wife. Now that she had become an official's wife, she realized how difficult her mother - in - law was. Under the pretext of filial piety, her mother - in - law required her to pay morning and evening respects and serve her at night. And Feng Lanqing had only been interested in her for a short time. Now, his concubine had come in and was showing off with her pregnancy. There were also two maids waiting to get pregnant and rise in status through their children.
Her mother - in - law picked on her every day, disliking her for not being presentable and for not being able to bear children. But to have a son, a husband and wife needed to be intimate. How many days a month could she sleep in her own room? And on those days, Feng Lanqing didn't even come to her room.
On the contrary, Gu Liyue, who didn't become an official's wife, had suddenly become a young lady of the Marquis Mansion.
Liu Qinting slammed her hand on the table, and all the teacups on it crashed to the ground.
The old maid outside rushed in. Her eyes bulged as she shouted, "Oh, this set of teacups costs two taels of silver. How could you just smash them?"
Liu Qinting was furious. "What did you say?"
The old maid said unhappily, "I'm not wrong..."
Liu Qinting slapped her across the face. "I'm the mistress of this mansion. Who do you think you are, daring to tell me what to do?"
The old maid covered her face and glared at her hatefully. She simply didn't bother to clean up and turned around to leave.
Liu Qinting's eyes were red with anger. The servants in the mansion didn't take her seriously. She was living a worse life than Gu Liyue in her previous life. Why? In her previous life, Gu Liyue also didn't have the support of her natal family. Although her mother - in - law and Feng Lanqing ignored her, at least the servants in the mansion respected her. Why was it different for her?
Her eyebrows shot up, and she asked Miao again, "Mother, you said that Gu Liyue gave you money?"
Miao shook her head and sighed when she mentioned this. "She's not that kind - hearted. Those five taels of silver were only given because your father and I made a fuss today. I guess she was afraid of damaging her reputation, so she wanted to use the money to get us out of the capital."