After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 1043 Loan
Early the next morning, Cao Gengyun came to Hai's house again.

Haitang rushed to her cousin's house in the front yard under the pretext of delivering breakfast, and overheard Cao Gengyun going to the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion to persuade Wu Ke.

Cao Gengyun spent a lot of effort to persuade Wu Ke to accept the full amount of money from the three teachers to buy the old corner of the Wu Mansion. Although the amount was only two thousand, it should be able to temporarily alleviate Wu Ke's current financial difficulties.

Cao Gengyun also sighed and said, "I also advised him not to alienate himself from the Zhou family. He already owes so much debt anyway, so he doesn't care about owing more. He will be able to pay it back in the future, so why make things difficult for himself? Rebuilding his old house as soon as possible will not only be convenient for his brother and sister, but they can also move out of Cheng'en Marquis Mansion as soon as possible, and they don't have to trouble the Zhou family to worry about their affairs. Unfortunately, he just doesn't want to ask the Zhou family again, saying that he was powerless before and could only rely on the Zhou family for financial support, so he shamelessly accepted the money from the Zhou family. Now that he is able to support himself and his sister, how can he have the face to ask the Zhou family for money again? The Zhou family is not very wealthy, and they should spend their money on more appropriate places."

Although the Zhou family is not very wealthy, as a prominent family in Chang'an, they are not poor either. It's just that the Zhou family uses the surplus money every year to subsidize the border army's military expenses or to support the old subordinates and their families, so there is not much spare money in the account. Wu Ke lives in Chang'an and depends on the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion. In fact, he knows this very well. In the past, he could only accept the Zhou family's financial support with a thick face, but now he thinks that he is not short of money and should not ask the Zhou family for money again. As a descendant of the Wu family, he has been protected by the Empress Dowager and the Zhou family. He has survived to this day and has been awarded a title by the new emperor. He lives a comfortable and prosperous life, and there is no possibility of him becoming an official in the future. He has made no contribution to the country, and thinking of the deeds of his ancestors, he feels more and more guilty. If he does not borrow money from the Zhou family, he can save more money for the Zhou family to use on military expenses, and he will feel much better.

Although Wu Ke was a little stubborn, the reason he gave this time did not seem to be completely unreasonable. Cao Gengyun could not persuade him any more yesterday, so he could only tell him to find a way to raise some money, whether by borrowing or some other means, to first rebuild the main house of the Wu Mansion, and then he would move in, marry a wife, hold a decent wedding, officially announce the return of the Wu family to the powerful circles in the capital, and then marry his sister off in a grand manner.

This was not something he could do simply by saving money and trouble. His dignity, the dignity of the Wu family, was also the dignity of the Empress Dowager, Prince Kang, and the Zhou family. The Empress Dowager and the Zhou family had protected the orphans of the Wu family for many years, and they could not have protected them and turned them into beggars, unable to even take out the money to marry a wife or a sister. The previous emperor returned the Wu family's property, and the new emperor conferred a new title on the Wu family, but the heir of the Wu family lived like this. Whose face was he slapping?

Wu Ke finally understood the seriousness of the matter and promised Cao Gengyun that he would consider the matter carefully. Cao Gengyun was worried at the time, and before leaving, he went to see the son of Chengen Hou and chatted for a few words before saying goodbye.

He thought: "I guess Wu Ke will come around soon. Now is not the time for him to be so stubborn. Even if the Zhou family is short of money, they will not hold back at this time. They will squeeze out some money to support the Wu family. What's more, the Zhou family used to worry about the military expenses of the Northwest Frontier Army. Now that the cabinet has changed people in charge, they will no longer withhold the money and food of the frontier army. I think the Zhou family no longer needs to pay out of their own pockets to subsidize the army, and they will gradually become more comfortable."

Xie Wenzai and Lu Bainian both breathed a sigh of relief when they heard this. The former smiled and said to Cao Gengyun, "Old Cao, thank you for your hard work this time. Old Lu and I tried to persuade him but failed. Fortunately, we have you!"

Cao Gengyun waved his hands: "If you hadn't laid the groundwork in advance and thought of several powerful reasons for me, I wouldn't have been able to convince him. Now I just hope that he can understand the big picture and stop being so stubborn. The late emperor was very mean to the Wu family when he was alive. Before his death, he left an edict to redeem the past mistakes so as not to damage his reputation as a wise king. Whether it was the Empress Dowager, the Queen Mother, the new king, or the cabinet and the army, they were all helping the late emperor to cover up. At this time, why is Wu Ke, a half-grown child, making a fuss? Is it good for him and his sister to let outsiders know about the embarrassment of their Wu family? Even if he doesn't think about himself, he should think about his sister. His sister is the Princess of Kang, and she will always have to deal with the royal family and the women of the royal family. If people laugh at her for being poor, how can she survive?!"

Xie Wenzai smiled and poured tea for his old friend: "Calm down. Wu Ke is a smart child and will understand our painstaking efforts. You can just rest assured." Lu Bainian also started to talk about the little things that happened yesterday. He talked to Cao Gengyun and advised him to eat more breakfast. Haitang took the opportunity to withdraw and returned to his room, thinking for a long time.

When Haijiao returned home from the yamen again, he was invited by his younger sister Haitang to the boudoir in the backyard.

Haitang handed him a small box and a letter: "Brother, please go to Cheng'en Marquis' Mansion for me and give this to Wu Qiong. If she is not here, you can ask her brother to pass it to her."

Haijiao was a little curious: "What is this?" There was nothing but the letter, but also the small box with a lock on it. No one knew what was inside. It was so light, as if it had no weight. He shook it a few times, but didn't hear any sound.

Haitang told her brother, "Grandma gave me 10,000 taels as a dowry, of which 5,000 taels are in gold and 5,000 taels are in silver notes. Here are 3,000 taels of silver notes. I want to lend it to Wu Qiong for three years without charging her any interest."

Haijiao was surprised: "What?! But this is your dowry!"

Haitang replied calmly, "This is the money from the bottom of the box. It will not be shown to others. The money that will be known to outsiders is counted separately. Grandma gave it to me just in case I might need money in the future. In this case, it doesn't matter whether I have these three thousand taels when I get married. Wu Qiong will be the Princess of Kang in the future, and her cousin is the Earl of Cheng En. Am I afraid that she can't pay me back the three thousand taels? I know she is in trouble now, but she has to listen to the arrangements of others whether it is her dowry or where she lives before getting married. She can't make any decisions at all. I feel sad for her every time I think about it. It's fine if I can't help, but if I can, I still want to help her. I don't have anything else, just this little money. Whether she uses it to help repair her ancestral home or keep it as a dowry, it's up to her. I have been asking her about the news in the palace over the years, so I'll take it as a reward for her."

Haijiao had never thought that Xiaomei would borrow money from others out of her own pocket. Could it be that Xiaomei was engaged to Jin Jiashu and had contracted his bad habits?
He looked at Haitang, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

Haitang smiled and said, "Brother, don't worry about it. Just think of me as paving the way for the future. I have known Wu Qiong for many years, but after I came to Beijing, I lost the opportunity to meet her, and our relationship has become more distant. But with this loan, if she is grateful to me, we will be closer when we meet again in the future. When the time comes, when I follow Brother Jin to the palace or go to other families for banquets, she, the Princess Kang, will be my guide. Even if someone wants to embarrass me, she will protect me. Isn't this a good thing?"

Haijiao blinked and smiled, "It would be even better if King Kang is grateful for our family's kindness and gets closer to us. Okay, I'll run an errand for you and ask Wu Ke to accept the banknote - he has to accept it. This is for his sister, not for him. He can't decide whether to accept it or not!"