Raising a wife? The mistress of the Hou family divorced and remarried her younger uncle

Chapter 32 Pay off the debt
Since Lu Jing had spoken, the matter was settled. Lu Shaoqing turned away, and Lin hurriedly followed to comfort her. Lu Feng couldn't take care of Li Xueying, and was contradicted by Su Qingwan. He looked unfriendly and glared at Su Qingwan, wanting to get angry, but Su Qingwan didn't take him seriously and turned away.

Lu Zhu lowered her voice and said excitedly, "The room was so noisy that several of us maids were lying by the window watching the show. Li Xueying was really brave and dared to say anything."

"She has someone to back her up, so of course she's brave." Su Qingwan smiled and tapped her nose. The master and servant walked through the winding corridor, and a voice came from behind, "Sister-in-law, please stay!"

Lu Jing came walking on the moon, the moonlight cast a layer of gentle light on him, blending with his coldness and hostility, and his tall figure was cast a shadow by the moonlight.

"Is there something?" Su Qingwan didn't look happy with him and was very cold.

Lu Jing bowed politely, "Sister-in-law has been in charge of the household for many years, and you actually want your dowry to make up for the shortfall. It was my oversight. How much did you fill in the gap? Give me a list and I will pay you back in full."

Su Qingwan was surprised. As far as she knew, Lu Jing's salary and rewards were all given to the public. How could he still have money to pay back? She said with a fake smile, "It cost five thousand taels just for Lu Feng to marry Li Xueying. Are you sure... you can pay it back?"

"Sister-in-law, tell me the amount and I'll pay it back."

He listened to every word of the quarrel in the hall today. The Lu family is connected by blood, and he regards Lu Shaoqing as his father. He does not want him to be ridiculed in public, nor does he want his brother to be laughed at. It is really unpleasant to say that he is thinking about a woman's dowry. No man with a backbone would do such a thing.

Su Qingwan chuckled and said calmly, "Mother has been asking for money from Xie's company for the past few years. The shopkeepers have all kept accounts, and the equivalent of about 7,000 taels of silver. The dowry I made up for is about 20,000 taels of silver, and I won't bother about the other miscellaneous things. If my third brother wants to pay it back, I'll be happy to pay him back 25,000 taels of silver, and the account will be written off."

Lu Jing stood silently in the wind, only hearing the noisy chirping of cicadas in midsummer.

A family’s expenses for three years, twenty-five thousand taels of silver?
He suspected that his eldest sister-in-law was deliberately making things difficult for him, but thinking of the women in his family who were all wearing pearls, jade, silk and satin, Lu Jing said calmly, "Okay, sister-in-law, please wait for a few days, and I will return everything."

Su Qingwan was not targeting the person, but the matter. Lu Jing was busy with official duties, and men did not care about household affairs. He might not know that the Lu family oppressed his sister to seize her dowry. He might think that it was his salary and rewards that supported the Lu family. Logically, this matter had nothing to do with Lu Jing. The money he earned supported the whole family. But after he learned the truth, he returned the money immediately to protect the reputation of the Lu family. Compared with Lu Feng, this was the head of the family who was cultivated with all his heart.

Be responsible and be able to shoulder responsibilities.

She didn't want Lu Jing to have an easy time, so she said calmly, "Do you know why mother was able to get the shopkeepers of Xie's business to pay the tribute as scheduled?"

"I'd like to hear the details." Lu Jing looked at her deeply.

Su Qingwan taunted, "Because of you, my mother hinted to the shopkeepers that the Jinyiwei are the Shura King of Hell, and if they make trouble for us, our shop will be difficult to run. We are merchants with low status, and we can't afford to offend the deputy commander of the Jinyiwei."

Lu Jing was the feared deputy commander of the Jinyiwei. He had heard countless harsh words and suffered countless abuses when he led people to confiscate homes and exterminate families. He did not care about Su Qingwan's sarcasm, and this was an irrefutable fact.

"It's my fault. If you run into trouble while doing business, you can come to me and I'll take care of it." Lu Jing was also knowledgeable and sensible. He didn't beat around the bush with Su Qingwan and directly gave her compensation and promises. Su Qingwan liked to talk to smart people who understood quickly and were sensible.

After Lu Jing returned to the courtyard, he called Li An and asked him to count the private property in his hands and how much silver he could get by selling it. Li An followed the order and quickly sorted out Lu Jing's private property without asking the reason.

He made a rough estimate and found that there were about 15,000 taels of silver. The old lady raised her children with a few acres of thin land and two shops. When her daughter got married, she took part of the family property, leaving her sons with a small amount. After Lu Shaoqing and his brothers became officials, they were sent to other places. With their promotions, they gradually became well-off, but they were not a wealthy family.

When Lu Jing was young, he joined the army. Although he had seized money from the enemy, he was not the commander-in-chief and earned very little. After returning to Beijing, he joined the Jinyiwei, but he was not interested in making money. It was not until he was promoted to the deputy commander of the Jinyiwei and became the most trusted confidant of the emperor that he gradually earned a huge amount of money. Money and power have always been inseparable.

Big merchants cannot survive without power. Some merchants who want to travel in Beijing and get access to the Jinyiwei have to avoid Lu Jing. Just one wealthy businessman in Beijing gave Lu Jing a manor and a forest.

He has only been making money in the past two years, and his accumulation is already substantial, but it is a drop in the bucket compared to the huge wealth of the Xie family.

Li An suggested asking the second wife to sell the property in their hands, but Lu Jing refused after a little thought. Part of his private property was given to Zhang to manage, and the other part was in his hands. There was no reason to take it back and sell it after giving it to Zhang. Moreover, he knew his mother's temper. If he lost his property, he would probably be so worried that he would not be able to eat or sleep well for three days.

"Go and borrow it."

Li An: "...Okay!"

The deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard wanted to borrow 10,000 taels of silver, and many wealthy businessmen were willing to lend it to him. Lu Jing sold his private property and collected 25,000 taels of silver in three days. He exchanged it for silver notes and sent Li An to deliver it to Meilan Garden.

Lu Zhu held the banknote in her hands, surprised and surprised. She smiled at Li An for the first time and praised Lu Jing for his wealth. Li An said, "The master borrowed foreign debts to pay off the eldest young lady's debt."

Green Bamboo, "..."

This matter soon spread throughout the Lu family. Zhang was so angry that she scolded Lu Jing, "Why do you owe Zhaolan money? Zhaolan didn't say anything. Why are you pretending to be a good person? They bullied and exploited Zhaolan. What's the point of you going to clean up the mess? Your aunt took Zhaolan's money and bought land and shops outside. She has to pay back the money. Why should you do it? You worked hard to earn a little family property, but you used it to fill their holes. You want to piss me off to death!"

In recent years, Zhang had become less aggressive because her son was trying hard to improve himself. She tried to cultivate herself to be virtuous. However, she was so angry at Lu Jing that she broke down and started scolding him with red eyes.

Lu Jing has always been patient and gentle with Zhang. "Mother, although my aunt is greedy, she has been very kind to my uncle and father. After my father died, my uncle and aunt never treated us badly, and my uncle raised us with great care. I don't want others to poke him in the back and scold him for coveting his daughter-in-law's dowry. We are a family, we all prosper together and suffer together. If this matter gets out, it will be embarrassing for everyone."

Zhang was furious, tears streaming down her face. "Zi Yu, your uncle's kindness to us mother and son is remembered by mother, so your salary and reward were all given to Gongzhong without mother saying a word. But you are too naive. Supporting a family is not a matter of a day or a night. You heard the quarrel that day. Zhaolan raised Diao's family with fine clothes and delicious food. No one wants to live frugally. If you use the money to pay Zhaolan back, the first wife will think you are rich. Mother loves you and doesn't want you to be swayed by the kindness and contribute to the family all your life."

(End of this chapter)