After being asked such a series of questions, Shen Shuxi followed her cousin's example and pursed her lips and remained silent.
But after calming down, Wei Changying suddenly thought: "Could it be that the eldest sister's dowry was burned in the imperial capital. She left in a hurry and didn't bring anything to Xiliang. Therefore, she was worried about Xi'er's dowry when she left the cabinet in the future, so she usually Always talking about it...Xier heard it from the sidelines, so she tried her best to save things? "
She was angry, funny, and a little compassionate in her heart. Her eyes softened when she looked at Shen Shuxi. She held her hand and said gently: "You are still young, and your elders will worry about these things for you... Besides, although our family has been broken before, You’ve got a lot of good things in the imperial capital, but how old are you now? You still have at least ten years left, and you’re still afraid that there won’t be a lot of money for you by then?”
He touched her little hand and warned, "Don't do this again in the future, and Xie'er is wrong too! How can you ask your sister for something by promising benefits? Who do you think your sister is! Look back, aunt Let him go and apologize to you..."
Unexpectedly, when she said this, Shen Shuxi suddenly raised her head and said anxiously: "No, Xi'er only helped the fourth brother for the benefit promised to him. If he can't get the benefit, how can Xi'er save money?"
money
Chief Wei Ying said in a daze: "You...you should have monthly money, right?"
Shen Shuxi's maid who was waiting in the hall was caught by her glance, and she quickly came out and said: "Returning to the third lady, the fifth lady has been receiving monthly money since last year, and it was given by my aunt. One month. Twenty taels of silver."
The monthly income of the other younger members of the Shen family before the age of ten was five taels of silver a month. According to the prices before the fall of the imperial capital, this was probably enough for an ordinary family of three to live for a month.
This is because most of them live in deep houses and compounds, and all their food and clothing come from public sources. They didn’t go out much before they were ten years old, and they didn’t have much money to spend. It's just saved for them.
After you reach ten years old and move around a lot, it starts to add up. But generally speaking, it's not much. When Shen Zangli and his wife were there, Shen Shuming received fifty taels of silver a month from the public school. Occasionally, he found excuses to ask for a little more from the Liu family. If his grandparents fawned over him, he could get more. A little bit... but if you are gambling, even taking Shen Shuguang's monthly money idea is not enough.
If Shen Shuming didn't engage in gambling and just interacted with his companions as usual, fifty taels of silver a month would actually be enough. People who can live a little better can even save money.
But Shen Shuming had already received an official status from his father Yin at that time, and was officially brought into the official career by his elders.
Shen Shuxi, who had been pampered in the backyard, had four times the monthly income of her cousins, so why did she still need to save money
Wei Changying asked tentatively: "What do you want to save money to buy? Can my aunt buy it for you?"
"... Xi'er just wants to save money." Shen Shuxi's eyes lit up when she heard this, but then dimmed again, and she shook her head.
"Just saving money?" Wei Changying felt a headache, "Why are you saving money? If you save it and don't spend it, what are you doing there?"
Looking at his niece who bowed her head and remained silent again, Wei Changying sighed secretly: This niece doesn't come around often, and I've never seen her causing trouble before. Why does she become such a big trouble when she gets into trouble
Let's not mention what happened yesterday. Fortunately, Shen Shuxie is still doing well... At such a young age, he is obsessed with money, so if he is from a humble family, forget it.
Maybe there will be some words to help you live your life.
But Shen Shuxi is a legitimate daughter of Mingpeitang!
With such a status, no matter how much she likes money in her heart, on the surface she has to act like a lady, so as not to ruin the reputation of the Shen family, which is also good for her own future!
And what about Shen Shuxi
He didn't even say anything about his cousin's benefits, and even acted in public as if he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to save money in this way in the future... Wei Changying felt that since his eldest sister-in-law Shen Zangzhu was able to marry Su Yuxian back then, it was normal for her to do so. Is it impossible to teach such a short-sighted junior
What exactly is going on
She steeled herself and asked, "Why didn't you say anything? Could it be that you like necklaces and jade pendants instead of saving money? Like jewelry and saving money are two different things. I guess it's because you're not good at novels at your age?"
This was both a test and a way to smooth things over for Shen Shuxi - it is normal for little girls to be attracted to exquisite jewelry. Even though Shen Shuxi hasn't paid filial piety yet, she doesn't wear it either! Loving hairpins and loving money are two different things. At least the former sounds less vulgar...
As a result, Shen Shuxi still lowered her head, but said resolutely: "To tell my aunt, no. The reason why Xi'er accepted these two things is because she knew that if she sold them, she could get a lot of money back!"
"..." Wei Changying stretched out his fingers to lift her chin and asked with squinted eyes, "Then what are you going to do after you get the money back? Do you just like looking at a pile of money?"
Shen Shuxi hesitated for a moment, but actually nodded seriously!
Wei Changying knew she was lying as soon as he saw her hesitant expression. However, although this little guy was not good at lying, his tone of voice was surprisingly tight. After that, she asked questions here and there, but she still refused to tell the reason.
Later, Wei Changying thought of a way to deceive her. Seeing that Shen Shuxi was about to be fooled, Shen Shuyan, who was standing by the wall, intervened to remind her sister. Shen Shuxi suddenly woke up, closed her mouth again, and put on a fake face. The attitude of "I won't even say a word if you beat me to death".
"Drag her down here and take her to a side room to stand!" Guard Chief Ying ordered the people around him angrily.
After sending away the troublemaker Shen Shuyan, Shen Shuxi had already killed her strategy of not answering. Wei Changying turned to question the people serving her, but these people were all confused.
After much deliberation, Wei Changying had no choice but to send someone to keep an eye on her while he rushed to the side room to question Shen Shuyan. She finally asked, and Shen Shuyan said solemnly: "I promised Xi'er not to tell. Even if Third Aunt asks me to stand here, I won't tell!"
"Are you really a good sister?" Wei Changying glared at her, "You should have some sense of control at your age!"
Shen Shuyan heard the irony in her words about what happened yesterday, she shrank her head guiltily, and pouted again: "I won't say it anyway!"
After tormenting her for a long time, she really couldn't bear it and refused to speak.
Wei Changying didn't know whether the reason they hid was a big or small matter. If it was a small matter, beating her would be too much. And she knew that Shen Shuyan was angry with her parents in the past, and that meant she went on a hunger strike. Now that the New Year is approaching, she is too busy with all kinds of things. Don't let her niece think about it. If she does it again... Wei Changying doesn't have the leisure to give it. Get yourself into such trouble.
So in the end it was a failure.
After returning to the main hall, Wei Changying ordered the sedan to be prepared.
Shen Shuxi thought she had to go out for something, so she was visibly relieved.
Unexpectedly, the soft sedan arrived at the gate of the courtyard, but Wei Changying took her hand and said: "Come with me to see your eldest aunt!"
The girl herself refused to tell, and the people around her didn't know the reason either. The only option is to find Shen Zangzhu who raised her.
Sure enough, when Shen Shuxi heard about going to find Shen Zangzhu, she immediately became anxious: "Third aunt, please don't go to the eldest aunt, okay? Xi'er knows that she is wrong. If you are still not happy, just beat Xi'er! Xi'er I must not tell my eldest aunt!”
Wei Changying ignored her and forcibly carried her into the sedan - Shen Shuxi struggled desperately, but how could a tiny child like her resist Wei Changying
Seeing that her struggle was fruitless, Shen Shuxi began to cry.
While crying, he begged Wei Changying not to look for Shen Zangzhu, muttering something like Shen Zangzhu was already very sad. Wei Changying listened with a cold face, thinking: "This child feels sorry for the eldest sister, and is very filial. But since this is the case, she should not help Xie'er run and play in the snow. Isn't this causing trouble for the eldest sister? ? And I want Xie’er’s necklace and warm jade pendant—”
Speaking of which, it was not Shen Shuxi who made the necklace and the warm jade pendant herself. Until now, Wei Changying had not noticed that his son was missing these two things.
Firstly, she didn't know when Shen Shuxie was picked up yesterday, and she didn't see her son's dress at that time; secondly, after Shen Shuxie came back, he and the servants who accompanied him to the sixth room were all afraid of being punished by Wei Zhangying. Chang Ying himself was worried about his son's body, so neither of them paid attention to the two accessories.
But this does not mean that these two ornaments are unimportant - because they are not belongings to the Shen family, but are Wei Changying's dowry, which Wei Changying used when he was a child. Regardless of their value, their meanings are very different.
At this moment, Wei Changying forced his niece to go with him to see Shen Zangzhu, not only because he wanted to find out the matter, but also because he wanted to get the things back tactfully, even if he had to exchange them for something better.
As Shen Shuxi begged and cried all the way, the soft sedan stopped lively outside the yard where Shen Zangzhu lived.
Shen Zangzhu had been watching her niece return, and when she heard the cry, she ran out to greet her. He called Shen Shuxi heartily and prepared to comfort his niece with sweet words, but he didn't want Wei Changying to step out with his heels. His sleeves were clearly wet from Shen Shuxi's crying.
Seeing this situation, Shen Zangzhu was stunned.
But she quickly understood and said gratefully: "The third brother and sister are busy with their affairs, why do we need to send Xi'er here in person? Just let her people come back with her."
"Sister, I'm afraid I have to ask you something." Wei Changying went to hold Shen Shuxi, but Shen Shuxi cried and let go of her hand, trotted two steps, and threw herself in In Shen Zangzhu's arms, she burst into tears!
Shen Zangzhu was so distressed that he hurriedly wiped her with a handkerchief and coaxed her in a low voice. She was thinking about what happened to Wei Changying and Shen Shuxi. How could this child cry like this when he never liked to cry? Thinking again that Shen Shuxi was like this, but Wei Changying still came over and refused to let him go - what did she want to ask
But he still brought the two of them into the house, and when they got to the hall, he waved away the idlers, hugged Shen Shuxi, who had been coaxed all the way in, and was now sobbing softly, and asked, "What are the three younger siblings talking about?"
Wei Changying told the story in a few words, and Shen Zangzhu couldn't help but be stunned!
"I have never said anything about family finances in front of Xi'er - who is this bastard who randomly teaches a bad lady?!" Shen Zangzhu's face turned livid with anger! Her father and brother were both dead, and the only bloodline left was that of Shen Shuxi. Although it was a pity that she was not a male heir, it was still better than nothing.
In the past two years, Shen Shuxi has completely become the pillar of Shen Zangzhu's survival - now she finds that her niece seems to have been taught a wrong way, how can she not be angry? I'm almost going crazy!
This was the first time for the servants to see the always elegant aunt-in-law getting so angry. Her eyes swept down as if she wanted to choose someone to devour. They were so frightened that they all fell down on the ground, kowtowed and cried out for injustice!
"Why doesn't eldest sister know?" Wei Changying saw that those servants didn't seem to be hypocritical. In fact, there shouldn't be such stupid servants. Shen Zangzhu may have left the impression of being amiable on his servants in the past two years. But whether Shen Zangfeng or himself, in the past two years, in order to establish his authority, he had killed more than one or two servants because of fighting.
When Wei Zhang Yingzheng felt that the matter had no clue, he did not expect that Shen Shuxi would do something - she cried with tears on her face and said: "Auntie, I want to save money myself."
Before the two elders could ask why, she continued, "Because I heard people say, 'Money can make the world go round.' They also said that if there was too much money, there would be nothing impossible in the world! I … I want to save a lot of money to buy my father, mother, and younger brother back!”
Shen Zangzhu and Guard Chief Ying were suddenly startled. The people in the hall noticed something strange and hurriedly fell silent.
After a moment of dead silence, Shen Zangzhu hugged her niece hard and cried loudly! (To be continued)