Luo Shimin stared closely at Qi Surong, who looked directly at him without fear: "General Luo, do you want this outfit on me, or this bracelet given by the emperor, or this Tianyin Qin?"
Luo Shimin's face was gloomy and silent, but he was weighing the pros and cons in his heart.
When Qi Surong said this, he was undoubtedly reminding him that the Qi family has been in business for a hundred years, and even if it encounters changes, its influence in the capital cannot be underestimated. Luo Shimin came from a rough background, and his family status and vision were far inferior to those of the famous aristocrats in the capital. Even if the Qi family is reduced to a thatched cottage, they are still phoenixes, their status is gone and their power is still there.
The girl in front of me already shows her elegant demeanor at such a young age. She can be so calm, maybe she has something to rely on, so she shouldn't push it too far.
Luo Shimin figured this out and said with a smile: "Miss, why did you say that? How dare you offend the general? Well, the baggage has been searched. Madam Qi, Miss Qi and the young master, please excuse me."
As he spoke, he stepped forward and stepped on the clothes scattered on the ground as if unintentionally, leaving footprints of different depths.
The faces of the stewards and maids showed anger.
Qi Surong looked on with cold eyes. This man was narrow-minded and stingy, and was destined not to be on the stage. Just bear with him and let him go, and you'll have to wait and see about him in a few years.
Qi Surong said: "Ping'er, pick up all the baggage, let's go."
Ping'er hesitated for a while, then called the other maids to start cleaning up together.
"Hahaha." Luo Shimin laughed a few times and shouted to the surrounding soldiers, "Hurry up and drive these idle people out. We still have to count our belongings, but we don't have time to continue to waste time with them."
"Yes!" The surrounding soldiers responded loudly.
They speeded up and drove people from Qi's mansion around.
No one in Qi Surong's group dared to be violent. Among a group of people running around in a hurry, they walked smoothly.
After walking out of the gate of Qi's house, there were many people watching the excitement standing on the street. Qi Surong ignored them and just looked back at the plaque on the gate of Qi's house.
Farewell, Qi Mansion.
Carrying a few banknotes and a list of the Qi family's collection, she walked to the other side of the street with her mother, younger brother and several servants.
Pedestrians on both sides of the road pointed at them and talked about them.
Qi's mother lowered her head, feeling ashamed and angry, while the others also shrank. Qi Surong knew how many people were watching their jokes, but now that the matter had come to this, it was better to deal with it calmly. In her previous life, she cared too much about other people's eyes, which was why she pushed herself into a desperate situation.
"Rong'er, what should we do now?" Qi's mother asked in confusion. The Qi family's houses, shops, and property in the capital were all confiscated, and now they have become truly "clean and white."
"Go to East Street Wangu Lane." Qi Surong replied, "Let's find a private house to stay first."
"Wangu Alley?" Mother Qi asked doubtfully, "Wangu Alley is at the end of East Street and is quite remote. Why should we settle there? Why don't we go find my mother-in-law's cousin for help first."
"Mom," Qi Surong sighed, "With our current situation, how can we trouble our relatives and friends? Even if they are willing to help, we can't let them."
"You're right, you're right." Qi's mother nodded lowly and followed her obediently towards East Street.
After turning a few lanes, the surroundings became quieter and quieter. There were fewer onlookers, and everyone's expressions were obviously relaxed.
"Is this here?" Qi's mother looked at the small house in front of her, which was only two yards away, and asked.
Qi Surong nodded: "Well, this is it."
"Are we going to buy it?"
"Yes, I heard someone say not long ago that there are several houses for sale in this area, and we just happened to buy one to make our home."
"Are we still going to stay in the capital?" Qi's mother was worried. Almost all the dignitaries in the capital have dealings with the Qi family. Now that the Qi family has been sealed off, how can they have the dignity to stay in the capital? "Why don't you find an inn to stay in first and wait until your father comes back to make plans?"
Qi Surong sighed secretly that her mother still didn't know that although the emperor did not punish his father this time, he was not allowed to leave the capital. His father is a military general who has made great contributions to the Wei State. He specializes in tactics and is good at military training. How could the emperor let such a general escape his control
They could no longer leave the capital, at least not until their charges were cleared.
"Mom, staying in an inn is too wasteful. There are so many of us, and our daily consumption is not low. Besides, we are not sure when dad will come back. If it is only a month or two, how can we afford to wait?"
"This?" Qi's mother hesitated.
Qi Surong continued to persuade: "I estimate that buying this house will only cost more than 3,000 taels. It seems to cost more than living in an inn, but you don't need to worry about being homeless. Moreover, there are many people in the inn, which is far less so. Quiet place."
"That's true. But more than three thousand taels? Rong'er, do we still have money?" Mother Qi seemed to have remembered something and asked, "Hasn't all the money in our bags been confiscated?"
Speaking of this, the wet nurse beside her became strange. She clearly remembered that she did not put the money in the bag, but kept it in her arms.
Qi Surong said calmly: "It's okay, I still have enough money to buy a house."
In fact, Qi Surong stuffed the banknotes and broken silver in their bags temporarily. She knew that Luo Shimin would make things difficult for them. How could he let them go so easily if he didn't satisfy his villainous ambition? She just gave up a small part of her interests and kept the greater interests.
I just hope that my father's concubines won't be too stupid and put all the money in their bags.
Qi Surong glanced behind him and found that there were two concubines following him. Qi Surong didn't have any special feelings for them. Maybe she had disliked them before, but now she just regarded them as passers-by. If she had the chance, she would try to get rid of them.
After convincing Qi's mother, Qi Surong asked the steward to go to the owner of the house to discuss the purchase.
What Qi Surong meant was that it didn't matter if the price was a little higher, the key was to be fast.
There was actually another reason why she chose this house.
Qi Surong's eyes moved to the opposite side of the house, where stood a century-old house. Due to its disrepair, the appearance looked a bit dilapidated. But in a few years, a big figure will be welcomed here, and that is the old prime minister of the Wei Kingdom and the imperial master Wang Qinghe. After he resigned, he moved here. Because of his arrival, the houses near Wangu Lane increased with the tide, and many dignitaries bought houses here. Unlike his father, who was a military general, his reputation came from his political achievements, character and profound knowledge. On the battlefield, his father may have had the power of a man in charge, but in the court and in the capital, Wang Qinghe was a powerful figure with absolute influence.
If Qi Surong wants to clear his father's name, this person is crucial.
Half an hour later, Qi Surong and others successfully moved into the house, spending nearly three thousand taels, which was half of her total property. In the days to come, they must save money and find another way out.
This house is about the size of two courtyards of Qi Mansion, with more than thirty rooms. The house is relatively clean and the furniture is complete, but they are all ordinary items, simple and practical but not beautiful.
Qi's mother and others were very uncomfortable and lived in trepidation. That night, almost everyone couldn't sleep.
In the early morning of the next day, Qi's mother finished washing herself under the service of the maid. She came to the lobby in a daze and suddenly smelled the aroma of rice.
Qi Surong came over with a tray and greeted with a smile: "Mom, are you up? Come and eat. This is the breakfast I asked Ping'er to buy at the market. It's still hot."
Looking at her smile, Qi's mother felt a little warm in her heart.
She sat down at the table and quietly watched her daughter put away the dishes and chopsticks, her movements skillful and without any sense of violation.
"Where's Su Bao?" Qi Surong asked Xiang Nanny.
"Go back to Miss, Shuang'er is serving you and should be out soon."
"Well, you guys are going to the kitchen to have something to eat. I don't need you to greet me here for the time being."
"Yes." As soon as the nanny and others left, Subao was brought in by the maid.
At the dinner table, Qi's mother and the three of them sat together and ate breakfast quietly.
While eating, Qi's mother's tears suddenly fell.
"Mom, why are you crying?"
"How can I not cry for my mother?" Qi's mother choked, "The Qi family used to be such a glorious place, but now they are reduced to this, living in a shabby hut and eating simple food. The glory of the past has become empty in the blink of an eye, and we don't even know why we suddenly encountered this. disaster."
"Mother," Qi Surong handed the handkerchief to her mother and said warmly, "The world is unpredictable and beyond human control. What we have to do is to protect ourselves first and then find the root cause."
"Rong'er..." Since the incident, her daughter's calmness has surprised Qi's mother many times. Her appearance remained the same, but her eyes and temperament were completely different. That kind of calmness with a bit of vicissitudes of life, that kind of pride with a bit of indifference, that kind of reassuring maturity, are so different.
Qi Surong picked up the rice bowl and said, "Mom, Subao, let's eat."
No one knew how happy she was at the moment. Being able to sit together with her family for dinner again was something that no amount of wealth and splendor could ever exchange for. Although it failed to change the fate of the Qi family being sealed off, she still thanked God for giving her this opportunity to be reborn and make up for everything she had missed in the past.
In the last life, when they were kicked out of the Qi family, they were penniless and had no choice but to go to a pawn shop to pawn their valuables. They were ridiculed and the prices were kept high and low. In the end, they barely raised a few hundred taels. . After that, they found an inn to stay, but they were so disturbed by the servants who came to look for trouble that they were driven out of the inn like animals and lived on the street. For dozens of days, they spent time in fear and did not have a good meal. Without the secret help from relatives and friends, it would have been difficult for them to survive.
Compared with the desolation of the last life, this time is much better. They have the capital to settle down, have fewer disputes with servants, and avoid the embarrassment of living on the streets. When his father came back, what he saw was not his family in desolation, but a sense of peace after setbacks.
Change starts now.