Wei An was accompanying the old lady in He'an Courtyard as she listened to the Third Lady's talk about the Emperor Longqing's birthday. The Third Lady told Old Lady Wei about the list of gifts to be presented, and said to the old lady, "Now is a time of trouble. We can't stand out, but we can't be stingy either..."
If you stand out, people may accuse you of being guilty; if you are too insignificant, people may accuse you of harboring resentment. This is how terrifying it is to be in the court.
Old Madam Wei raised her lips in a mocking manner, and discussed Wei Yuyou's birthday with the Third Madam: "We will let her down this year. We won't have a big party. Invite your family members to two tables, and then our own people to celebrate her thirteenth birthday..."
The Third Madam closed the gift list and nodded quickly: "She is still a child, it's not a birthday celebration, this is enough..." She then looked at Wei An: "Speaking of birthdays, Auntie is still missing a gift for Xiaoqi. Xiaoqi can go to my warehouse to choose later. Just take away whatever you like..."
Wei An quickly stood up and thanked him with a smile.
The Third Lady stopped him and laughed with Old Madam Wei, "Manager Lin went to Nanchang a month ago. I wonder if his monthly allowance this month will remain the same or increase it?"
Generally speaking, the money allocated for going out is extra.
Mrs. Wei's smile faded slightly, she glanced at the Third Madam, and then said, "Let's talk about it when he comes back."
The old lady seemed unwilling to talk more, so she didn't ask any more questions. The Third Lady smiled and agreed, then went back to tell the Third Master, "In my opinion, no matter how deep the rift is, they are still mother and son. When things were going wrong in the mansion, didn't you still think of the Fifth Brother?"
The Third Master knew more about this than she did. He went to the clean room to change his clothes and came out, smiling as he drank a sip of tea to quench his thirst. "Don't worry, the Ming family's affairs will never be resolved, and mother will never let go of this knot in her heart. Over the years, how many times has Fifth Brother sent people to run back and forth? He even came back to kneel several times in person, but did mother ever pay any attention to him?"
That's right. Even when opening the ancestral hall to worship the ancestors, Old Madam Wei could leave Master Wei Wu behind and let Master Wei Er take the lead. Madam San breathed a sigh of relief, but was also a little curious: "So what do you think mother asked Manager Lin to go to Nanchang for this time?"
There must be a reason, right
The Third Master did think about it, and after a while he said, "When Manager Lin comes back, just ask him. There is nothing to be confused about. Don't do anything extra." He emphasized again, "Even if I have an idea, it depends on the Wei family being able to survive and still exist in this world. Otherwise, everything will be in vain."
The third lady understood the meaning of his words and shuddered suddenly. After a while, she responded in a low voice.
Old Madam Wei was also in He'an Courtyard and said to Wei An, "Why don't you want to look for Qing He again? Didn't you say that she might know your background?"
Wei An did not tell Mrs. Wei that it was not that she did not want Qing He, but that she had made a deal with Shen Chen and did not need to look for Qing He anymore. He just explained the matter to Mrs. Wei: "According to Nanny Li and Qiu Yun, even if Qing He knew, she would not know much. Moreover, she wanted to escape, and she was already in the hands of Third Young Master Lin..."
Old Mrs. Wei glanced at her and then looked away for a long time.
After a moment of silence, there was a rumble of thunder outside the house, and Mrs. Wei said meaningfully: "Don't worry, even if your father really doesn't care about you at that time, you still have me."
Wei An didn't know how to respond to what Mrs. Wei said. After a while, he smiled and sat beside Mrs. Wei, leaning on her shoulder. He also said to her, "Don't worry, as long as I'm alive, I will always help you."
This is what she really thinks.
Her wish in life is so simple, if others treat her well, she will naturally treat them wholeheartedly.
Old Madam Wei laughed cheerfully a few times, and asked Aunt Hua to take out a gold-painted sandalwood box. She held it in her hand and showed it to Wei An: "I know you have been managing the shop outside recently, and you may need money. Here is two hundred taels of silver. Keep it with you for self-defense."
In other words, Wei An had his own plans in private, and she knew it very well.
Wei An was very grateful for Mrs. Wei's thoughtfulness and took the box without hesitation. Then someone came to report that the heads of Tongzhou Farm had come to reconcile the accounts.
In previous years, the heads of the villages would only come to the capital to reconcile their accounts at the end of the year. However, this year, Old Madam Wei said that there were problems with the property accounts in various places and she was determined to rectify them. She had already told the third master and the third mistress about it in advance.
The old lady nodded, and Wei An stood up and walked out.
Nanny Wang followed Wei An in surprise and joy: "The old lady is indeed a kind person. Even if you say that, she still treats you the same as before..." Then she became a little confused: "Not really, she is even better than before..."
In the past, even though she was the daughter of Princess Changning, Mrs. Wei looked up to her because of her face. Now that she knew that she might not be Princess Changning's biological daughter, of course she treated her better.
Wei An didn't take it seriously. When he entered the yard and saw Wen Xiu coming towards him, he asked her softly, "How is it?"
Wenxiu shook her head: "There is still no news from my father, but there is news from Suping's mother. It's a verbal message... Xuesong said that Xiaozhenguo said that some things can't be said clearly by passing on words, so he asked you to find a way to go out and meet him."
In the past, going out alone would be a no-brainer for Wei Qi, but that is no longer the case.
Wei An stopped and looked at the several golden pheasants raised under the banyan tree. He thought for a moment and agreed: "I will go to Puji Temple in a few days. Please ask Aunt Qin to go out and tell them."
Lan He and Yu Qing would consider whether it was appropriate to persuade her to do what she wanted to do, but Wen Xiu and Su Ping never said a word and immediately agreed.
This is the advantage of having your own people. Wei An stared at the banyan tree outside the window in a daze.
She also needs many, many people like this who only obey her.
Old Madam Wei in He'an Courtyard was looking at Wei Rui with his big round belly. She frowned and asked him, "What's wrong?"
After investigating for so long, if there really was something wrong with the Zhu family, there would probably be some clues.
Wei Rui knelt nimbly on the ground and told Old Lady Wei to follow Zhu Fang and investigate the Zhu family's affairs.
"The Pingyang Marquis' Mansion made a fortune about thirteen years ago..." Wei Rui lowered his voice, "It was because they opened an iron mine with the Huairen Marquis' Mansion. Later, the profits were not evenly divided, and the Huairen Marquis' Mansion sued the Pingyang Marquis for this matter. But later, for some reason, the Huairen Marquis' Mansion got into trouble. They were reported for imprisoning women and disregarding human lives. The censor who reported the Huairen Marquis' Mansion was called Yang Huai..."
Old Madam Wei was very perceptive and immediately asked, "Is it the Imperial Censor Yang Huai who is now touring Jiangxi?"