nucmednet Chapter 169 The Current Situation of the Marquisate
Chapter 169 The Current Situation of the Marquisate
Emperor Xuanwu was greatly enlightened at Huicui Tower and returned home with great success.
Xiao Lizi followed behind with two large packages. In addition to the thermos cup, the packages also contained a set of glass tea sets and a large bag of miscellaneous candies: chocolate without the packaging, crisp candies, fruit candies...
It turns out that Emperor Xuanwu was like a little child and loved sweets!
Zhongyonghou Mansion
After Qiao Zien returned to the Marquis' Mansion, she plunged into the quiet and peaceful Zizhu Garden and began to study hard, preparing for the upcoming autumn examination.
On weekdays, he not only devoted himself to studying various classic books, but also often went to the respected teacher recommended to him by Zhen Yu, Mr. Gu, to listen to his teachings and carefully completed a series of mock examinations.
Thanks to the careful guidance of the experienced and knowledgeable Mr. Gu, as well as his own intelligence, the knowledge accumulated from two lifetimes, his unremitting diligence in solving questions and repeated practice of doing papers, Qiao Zien's academic level has improved by leaps and bounds, and his outstanding performance has repeatedly won high praise and recognition from Mr. Gu.
Apart from occasionally visiting Chen Ruotong in Huicui Building, Qiao Zien rarely leaves the house, locking herself up in this small courtyard all day long.
Taking food safety issues into consideration, Qiao Zien specially set up a small kitchen in Zizhuyuan.
Although her adoptive father Qiao Zhenbang had sent three servants to serve her, Qiao Zien politely declined all of them.
Qiao Cai was the only one who was responsible for cooking for him, washing his clothes, tidying up the garden and other trivial matters every day. He arranged everything in an orderly manner, which made Qiao Zien very satisfied.
I have to say that Qiao Cai is indeed very capable. Not only does he take on a lot of work, but he also has superb cooking skills. The dishes he makes are colorful, fragrant and delicious, and very much in line with Qiao Zien's taste preferences.
Because of this, the monthly allowance that Qiao Zien gave to Qiao Cai was the most generous in the entire marquis's mansion, three taels of silver per month, which was even comparable to the monthly allowance of the young masters in the various courtyards.
Qiao Zien returned to the Marquis' Mansion again, and her arrogant and wealthy appearance made some people sick!
Qiao Yuyan and Qiao Zirui stared at him intently, the resentment in their hearts surging like a tide, and they gnashed their teeth in hatred.
Back then, after Qiao Zien went to Pingyang Mansion, the entire mansion finally ushered in a rare period of peace.
Qiao Zirui's status as the eldest son was raised, and his crazy appearance gradually subsided and became a little docile because Qiao Zien, the fuse, was no longer there.
Even Tian, when she learned that Qiao Zien had passed away, felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders, and her condition instantly improved.
Although she was confined to her house, Qiao Zhenbang turned a blind eye to it after a while. Tian was able to visit the underwear workshop on the farm occasionally.
However, just over five months later, Qiao Zien returned again! This made the mood of Tian's mother and son fall to the bottom again, and the slight relaxation and joy they had just felt disappeared in an instant.
Tian had a premonition that Qiao Zien would cause some trouble once he came back, causing unrest in the mansion.
If Qiao Zien hadn't returned to the Marquis' Mansion last time, how could she have gotten sick? How could her eldest son have been devastated and lost his fertility? She had to avenge this!
By the way, ever since Qiao Zien left the Marquis' Mansion on the 16th day of the first lunar month, the Marquis' Mansion seemed to be back on track.
After Aunt Yao took over the housekeeping power, she took the trouble to check the accounts one by one.
She discovered that there was a huge deficit of tens of thousands of taels of silver in the mansion! And at this time, there was only a mere 3,000 taels of silver left in the public treasury.
What's worse is that after Qiao Zien took away 500 taels, there was very little cash left in the entire mansion, only about 2,500 taels.
How can such a huge mansion support daily expenses and the operation of various affairs with just this little bit of silver?
It is obvious that Tian must have secretly transferred a large amount of money to another place, keeping it for himself and enriching himself.
After learning the truth, Aunt Yao immediately reported the scandal to Qiao Zhenbang.
When Qiao Zhenbang heard this, he flew into a rage and ordered Tian to immediately return the embezzled silver. Otherwise, he would divorce her and expel her from the mansion.
Faced with Qiao Zhenbang's thundering rage, Tian was terrified and had to hurriedly send the butler Qiao to Su Kexin to borrow 5,000 taels of silver for emergency use.
At the same time, she did her best to piece together the private money she had saved over the years, hoping to collect another 5,000 taels to fill the gap in the public treasury.
On the night of the 16th day of the first lunar month, her underwear workshop was robbed, causing her to suffer heavy losses. She also had to spend a lot of money to buy fabrics and some tools, so she didn't have much money on hand and had to borrow.
Although Su Kexin and Tian are partners in business, as the saying goes, "brothers should settle accounts clearly", let alone it is just a mutually beneficial and symbiotic cooperative relationship.
Five thousand taels of silver! This is definitely not a small amount, how can it be lent out so easily?
What would we do if this money never came back like a stone in the sea?
Therefore, a mere IOU is far from enough, and more reliable guarantees are necessary.
So, Su Kexin asked Tian for the title deed of the farm where underwear was produced on the outskirts of the city as collateral.
In fact, Su Kexin secretly hoped that Tian would not be able to return the money on time.
You know, the farm is large in area and has a very advantageous geographical location. If you really want to use five thousand taels to buy it, it may be difficult to get it.
Once Tian is unable to repay the debt, then this big manor will naturally fall into his hands! Thinking of this, Su Kexin couldn't help but secretly rejoice.
During this long yet short month, Tian took great pains, racked his brains, and ran around to borrow money. He finally repaid the 12,000 taels of silver from the public treasury in full.
When Qiao Zhenbang saw the huge pile of silver with his own eyes, the gloom in his heart was immediately swept away, and a long-lost smile unconsciously appeared on his face.
Because of this, he no longer treated Tian's previous house arrest punishment as harshly as before.
Not long after, the two brothers Qiao Zirui went to Qiao Zhenbang together, begging him to lift the house arrest order against Tian.
Looking at the three young and sincere faces in front of him, Qiao Zhenbang finally softened his heart. Considering the father-son relationship, he finally nodded and agreed, allowing Tian to regain her freedom.
Speaking of Aunt Yao, she is really an expert in managing household affairs!
Under her meticulous management, the entire mansion was well organized and of high quality in terms of food, living, and daily expenses. Despite this, the money spent was very little.
Seeing this situation, Qiao Zhenbang decisively decided to let Aunt Yao continue to be in charge of household affairs.
When Tian learned that she had been released from prison, she was overjoyed. However, when she thought about the fact that she had lost her power as the housekeeper, she did not dare to express any dissatisfaction openly, even though she was unwilling.
In desperation, she had to choose to give in and compromise for the time being, thinking that she would make long-term plans in the future and slowly plan how to take back her own power.
After all, a mere concubine dared to bully her, the principal wife, and she would get even with her sooner or later!
One day, she would make that Aunt Yao pay the price and completely destroy her!