The sight of the object reminded her of the person, and Yuzhu's eyes were already red.
"Our mistress loved playing the zither most in her life and was once tutored by a famous master. This 'Purple Moon' zither was a gift from that master, and our mistress cherished it dearly. Who would have thought that after the young mistress passed away, it would gather dust here..."
Yuzhu choked with sobs and couldn't continue.
Yun Xi hugged the guqin tightly and looked around at the things in the warehouse.
"Are these all my mother's dowries?"
She had heard Yuzhu talk about the grand occasion of her mother's wedding back then. It was truly a magnificent wedding procession stretching for miles, indicating that her maternal grandfather's family had provided a generous dowry.
Yuzhu looked at the things in the warehouse and wiped away her tears.
"All the things the Su family provided back then were rare treasures, almost each one priceless. Originally, three warehouses couldn't even hold them all, but now, there's only this one left. And there were countless fertile fields and shops, but now they're all in the hands of Lady Jiang. I don't know how much will be left by the time you get married."
Yuzhu looked extremely indignant and hated Lady Jiang to the core.
Yun Xi pondered for a moment and patted her on the shoulder.
"It's okay. She won't have any more chances in the future."
What belonged to her mother, she would take it all back, not a single bit less!
Even if she returned them to the Su family or sold them all and distributed the money to the poor.
She would never let Lady Jiang continue to devour her mother's belongings to feed her greed!
The mistress and the maid inspected the warehouse once, selected a jade gourd ornament, and then carried the 'Purple Moon' zither away. They rushed to the palace in a hurry.
The queen was naturally overjoyed to receive what she liked and pulled Yun Xi to talk for quite a while.
Before Yun Xi left, the queen promised her that she could come to the palace for help at any time if she encountered difficulties.
Yun Xi wasn't polite and immediately put forward a request, which the queen readily agreed to.
After bidding farewell to the queen, Yun Xi followed the palace maid out of the queen's bedroom and walked north all the way until she reached the palace corridor that she had to pass through when entering the palace.
Only then did Yuzhu relax. She tugged at Yun Xi's sleeve and whispered.
"Miss, you didn't like going to the girls' academy before. Why did you suddenly change your mind and ask the queen to grant you a quota?"
After Emperor Gaozu established the Liu Kingdom, he vigorously implemented policies, which quickly improved the war - torn and devastated Liu Kingdom and brought it unprecedented prosperity.
Back then, Empress Dowager Xiao, who had fought side by side with Emperor Gaozu, also carried out reforms: she abolished the traditional concept of "a woman without talent is virtuous".
She established a girls' academy next to the Imperial Academy in the capital.
The female relatives of officials above the sixth rank in the capital could enter the girls' academy through a rigorous examination.
Those above the third rank were entitled to one quota each year to recommend an eligible girl from their family to enter the academy. The eligible age range was from fourteen to seventeen.
Each year, only a very small number of girls managed to enter the academy by their own abilities. However, the noble ladies in the capital still fought tooth and nail for it.
Last year, the prime minister asked Yun Xi if she wanted to enter the girls' academy, but Yun Xi refused.
This year, Yun Xi had come of age, and the quota from the prime minister's mansion had been given to Yun Ni, who was fourteen years old...
Seeing that Yun Xi didn't answer, Yuzhu suddenly had an idea. She looked at Yun Xi in surprise.
"Miss, are you thinking of getting married?"
Since they had seen their mistress's remaining dowries in the morning, Yuzhu had noticed that the miss was a bit different.
She had even said that "Lady Jiang won't have any more chances in the future".
Thinking about it this way, was the miss planning to get the mistress's dowries back by getting married?
Thinking of this, Yuzhu couldn't help but feel happy.
This was really a good idea!
Seeing Yuzhu beaming as if she was about to get married soon, Yun Xi almost rolled her eyes to the sky.
"Yuzhu, can you be a bit more ambitious? I'm planning to be a parasite in the prime minister's mansion for the rest of my life. Don't curse me!"
The noble ladies entered the girls' academy mainly to polish themselves and find a good marriage.
However, she had her own plan for the future - she must expand her network.
Previously, she had been framed by Lady Jiang and deeply experienced the feeling of being alone and helpless. Therefore, she wanted to change.
And the girls' academy was the best place she had chosen!
Yuzhu's lips twitched.
"Miss, your ambition is really 'far - reaching'. Apart from eating, I really can't think of anything else."
Speaking of eating, Yun Xi's eyes instantly brightened.
"How about we go to Fumanlou for a big meal after we leave the palace?"
As she said that, she patted the bulging money bag around her waist.
Silver was a good thing, especially at this moment, when it could be most useful!
Yuzhu was speechless, while Yun Xi had a bright smile on her face. The palace maid leading the way in front reminded her.
"Miss Yun, there are palace maids cleaning up ahead. Please be careful."
Yun Xi was just about to respond when she suddenly heard the sound of "clattering" horse hooves behind her. The sound was approaching from afar at a very fast speed.
She turned around and saw a handsome young man on a magnificent horse, looking valiant and heroic!
When she saw who it was, Yun Xi instinctively turned her head and faced the wall.
As the young man rode past, Qi Rong sneered at the corner of his lips and whipped his horse.
The palace maid couldn't dodge in time and knocked over the bucket, which happened to land at Yun Xi's feet.
"Ah, miss's skirt!"
Yuzhu exclaimed and quickly squatted down to wipe it.
Looking at the dress splashed with sewage, Yun Xi waved her fist at the disappearing back.
"Is it allowed to ride horses in the palace?"
The palace maid looked embarrassed and answered honestly.
"No. But Prince Xian is an exception."
The palace regulations seemed to have no effect on Prince Xian at all.
Arrogant! Too arrogant!
Yun Xi gritted her teeth but was helpless.
She was determined to eat to her heart's content later to comfort her young and injured heart.
However, before her wish came true, her money bag was stolen!
"Miss, it's him!"
Yuzhu pointed at the little boy who had just bumped into Yun Xi and hurriedly chased after him.
Yun Xi's foot injury hadn't fully healed yet, and it still ached faintly when she ran. But for the sake of food, she was determined to fight!
With a burst of energy, she took three steps in two and actually ran in front of Yuzhu.
That little boy was very cunning. He dodged and turned, making them out of breath. Then he slipped into a shop.
Yun Xi put her hands on her hips and bent over to catch her breath. When she looked up, she saw "Hongjitang".
It was actually a pharmacy?
Did pharmacies also take on other businesses nowadays?
Just as Yun Xi was lost in thought, the little boy was grabbed by the back of his collar and thrown out.
"Humph, let you steal my food money!"
Yun Xi was just about to step forward to catch the boy when she saw him suddenly kneel down crying, facing the direction of the pharmacy.
"Please, give my mother some more medicine! Without the medicine, my mother will die! I really have money this time. Look!"
As he said that, the boy took out the money bag and took out a few silver ingots from it with his dirty little hands. There was a flattering smile on his face.
"I'll pay off all the debts I owed before. Please save my mother!"
Looking at the exquisitely embroidered money bag and then at the shabby clothes on the boy, the pharmacy clerk shouted angrily.
"Get out of here! Who knows where you stole the money from?" They didn't want to get into trouble!
"Miss?"
Yuzhu had just caught up and hadn't figured out what was going on yet, but Yun Xi walked up to the boy and pulled him up from the ground.
When the boy saw who it was, he was instantly terrified and was about to run away again, but Yun Xi said.
"Give his mother the medicine. This money is from me! Come on, go in with me!"
The boy looked skeptical, but seeing that this elder sister was so beautiful, like a fairy, he immediately let down his guard.
He went into the pharmacy with Yun Xi.