Quickly wear salted fish, she won by lying down

When Madam Chu heard that Second Madam Chu was asking Linlang for so much money, she couldn't help but scoff and said, "It can't be less than a thousand taels. Anyone who didn't know better would think you owed her several thousand taels of silver. If she comes to collect a debt, you have to give her at least a thousand taels. How could she have the nerve to ask for that much!"

Then he said to Linlang, "Don't lend her money just because you're her sister-in-law. Even if you say you're lending it, given her family's situation, if you lend her money, it's like throwing good money after bad, and you'll never get it back."

Linlang nodded and said, "I thought the same as my sister-in-law, so I ignored her."

Grandma Chu said, "I was just worried that you're young and easily embarrassed, and that you might get swayed by her words, so I came to check on you."

Linlang quickly replied, "Thank you for your concern, sister-in-law."

This older sister-in-law is quite nice; after all, she wouldn't have come over to remind her if she didn't genuinely care about her.

Then she confessed, "After she saw that I wouldn't lend it to her, she did say some unpleasant things to me. The people around me, seeing that she dared to say such things to me, chased her away."

After seeing that Linlang wouldn't lend her money, Second Madam Chu said that Linlang was not a kind person. She clearly had tens of thousands of yuan in savings, but she didn't help her sister-in-law. She was too selfish.

Linlang had plenty of maids and servants around her, so they couldn't let Second Madam Chu speak of their mistress like that. Naturally, they immediately chased Second Madam Chu away.

Grandma Chu said, "That's right. Don't listen to what she says, just don't lend her money."

Linlang nodded in agreement, then said, "My sister-in-law manages the household and has a lot of savings. If she asks you to borrow, she'll probably ask for even more."

Grandma Chu laughed and said, "You're quite clever; you guessed it right away. That's right, guess how much she wanted to borrow from me?"

Looking at Madam Chu's expression, Linlang said, "Six thousand taels? Eight thousand taels?... Surely it can't be ten thousand taels?"

Grandma Chu nodded sarcastically and said, "It is exactly ten thousand taels."

Linlang gasped, "How dare she ask for so much money? She asked me for five thousand taels right off the bat, and I already thought she was shameless. But she actually asked my sister-in-law for ten thousand taels! If an ordinary family is in trouble, lending them a hundred taels to tide them over is already considered a very good relationship. But she asked for ten thousand taels right off the bat! Is she trying to empty someone's pockets? Not only did she give all her dowry to her family, but she also wants to send our dowry to her family?"

Grandma Chu said, "I can see that this second son's wife is just as unreliable as the second son. I guess if she can't borrow from us, she'll go to other people in the mansion to borrow. I'm afraid some people will fall for it. After a while, when the other party urges the second son's wife to repay the debt, and she can't, the second son's family will become a laughing stock."

After all, there are many masters and mistresses in this mansion, and many of them have money. However, whether Second Madam Chu can borrow it is uncertain. Perhaps some fools will lend it to her.

Later, Chu Yue also heard about this. When Lin Lang said that she hadn't lent the money to Second Madam Chu, he breathed a sigh of relief and said the same thing as First Madam Chu: "This Second Sister-in-law, when she asks you for money, you must remember this: never lend it to her. I heard that she has a gambling brother in her family. No matter how much money you put in, it's useless. She won't pay you back."

Linlang already knew that Chu Er's maternal family only had this one son who had grown up, so he was extremely spoiled. Such pampering was bound to cause trouble, especially since others knew that he was the only son in his family and that his family would cover for him no matter what he did. Too many people would try to tempt him to do bad things because they knew that no matter how big the trouble he caused, his family would help him cover it up.

Unlike families with many sons, like the Zhou Prince's Mansion, where having many sons diminishes one's value, if a son causes trouble outside, the family won't bail him out. If he has no money, he has to pay it back himself. Expecting the family to cover his debts is impossible; otherwise, the other sons would follow suit, and the father would be left without a job. So, if Second Madam Chu couldn't borrow money from the mansion, that was fine. But if she did borrow and couldn't pay it back, expecting Second Son Chu or even the Zhou Prince's heir to pay it for her was out of the question; she would definitely make a fool of herself.

Since Grandma Chu only had one brother, it's quite normal that someone would lure her brother into gambling, turning him into a gambling addict.

With such a sole male heir becoming a gambling addict, how could Second Madam Chu's family not quickly decline? No amount of money could withstand his gambling.

The reason why Second Grandma Chu borrowed money this time was because her brother's gambling addiction kicked in. He wanted to gamble, but the family didn't have enough money for him to gamble. He made a huge scene, smashed things in the house, and threatened to kill himself, demanding that the family raise money for him. Second Grandma Chu's mother had no choice but to come to her daughter to borrow money. This is also why Second Grandma Chu asked for an exorbitant amount, because if she asked for too little money, it wouldn't be enough for her brother to gamble.

The fact that her family supports gambling, instead of beating her brother to make him behave, shows that her family is a bottomless pit and will never recover.

So when Linlang heard Chu Yue's words, she naturally said she understood and told him not to worry.

Later, Linlang heard that Second Grandma Chu had actually managed to borrow money and appease her brother.

When Linlang heard about this, she couldn't help but smile, thinking to herself that she would really see the Second Madam Chu make a fool of herself in the future.

Not long after Princess Qingyang got married, the Chengen Duke's Mansion sent a message to Linlang, saying that the old Duchess was seriously ill and wanted to see her.

Upon receiving this news, Linlang informed the Crown Princess of Zhou and, accompanied by Chu Yue, returned to the Chengen Duke's Mansion. Although she had married into the Zhou Prince's Mansion, the Crown Princess was still worried about its safety, so she had her son accompany her, along with guards. Now she should be safe.

The Duchess of the Old State was already over seventy years old. In ancient times, seventy was considered a long life, so it was quite normal for her to become seriously ill and pass away.

When Linlang arrived, the old Duchess seemed to be experiencing a final burst of lucidity, still quite lucid, and was distributing the little private money she had left.

Compared to the private savings of the Duke and Duchess Chengen before they asked her for money, the old Duchess's current private savings are worlds apart. It's said that the private savings are being distributed, but in reality, there are only two or three thousand taels of silver, and there's not much to distribute.

The old Duchess immediately divided the money equally between her two sons. Most of her jewelry was given to the Duchess of Cheng'en and the Second Duchess of Song, but she also kept two sets for Linlang.

Although it was only two sets, not many, just a small token from the old Duchess, the Duchess of Cheng'en couldn't help but glare at them, clearly feeling that they were hers and not wanting Linlang to take them. However, the old Duchess was about to pass away, and she couldn't say anything at this time, so she only glared at Linlang a few times. Chu Yue, who was standing to the side, saw this and frowned, glaring back on Linlang's behalf. (End of this chapter)