When Shen Ruolan saw Xingnong lift the box of books easily, she felt relieved: My husband is right, we should not judge people by their appearance.
Songbai also easily lifted another box and put it on the carriage.
Princess Changle held Xingqing's hand with red eyes, and said reluctantly: "Sister, you must come back soon, I will miss you!"
Xing Qing nodded: "I see. By the way, I bought some things when I was shopping with you before. The store said that they would come to the Princess Mansion to settle the bill at the end of the month. Now it's the end of the month, and these two days..."
Before Xing Qing finished speaking, Princess Changle immediately said, "Don't worry, sister. I will have someone settle the matter! You don't have to worry about these things. You just need to return safely and write to me when you get back!"
Xing Nong specially praised her at this time: "Princess Changle is so kind to Princess Funing!"
Xing Qing smiled: "Changle has always been very good to me!"
really!
My sister said that after she left, those shops would go to collect the money. When she left, she would remind them in front of others, and Princess Changle would definitely agree.
The first shop Xing Qing bought things from on credit was the Silver Shop. Later, she went out with the princess again and bought some things from the cloth shop and rouge shop, and also bought some things on credit.
Princess Changle said, "I only have this one sister. If I don't treat you well, who else can I treat well? My money is your money! Don't worry about the bill. I'll pay it for you!"
Princess Changle thought of Xing Qing's pettiness that had grown out of long-term poverty. She always bought the cheapest things before, and the amount she bought on credit would definitely not exceed ten taels!
I paid for her, so what's the harm in getting a good reputation in return
Songbai said immediately: "Princess Changle is so kind to Princess Funing. She is really beautiful, kind-hearted, and generous!"
Wen Jiarui heard this and glanced at the two escorts. He felt that he should show some generosity at this time, so he reluctantly took out a silver note of 100 taels from his sleeve pocket and gave it to Xing Qing: "Carry this note with you for self-defense. If you run out of money, write to Dad and I will send it to you!"
Shen Ruolan was very happy to see this: My husband still likes Xing Qing very much!
Songbai praised again!
Xing Qing was touched: "Thank you, Dad, thank you, Changle, I'm leaving now!"
Princess Changle then signaled to her maid to give Xingnong and Songbai half a tael of silver as a reward.
Then Xing Qing said goodbye to a few people, got on the carriage and went home.
~
The ancients were superstitious and did not like people asking for debts so early in the morning, so around noon, when Xingqing and the others had been gone for almost two hours, the owners of cloth shops, silver shops and other shops began to come to collect the money one after another, and they all gathered together.
The first house to come was the cloth shop. After Princess Changle heard the report from the doorman, she gave ten taels of silver and asked her maid to settle the bill.
There is no need for her to show up for this kind of thing.
Although ten taels of silver was not a small amount, she just regarded it as sending away a beggar, and it was also a compensation for her marriage!
Not long after, the maid ran in hurriedly: "Princess, something bad has happened!"
Princess Changle frowned: "Why are you so reckless?"
The maid panted and said, "Princess, several shops came to collect money..."
Princess Changle was displeased when she heard this. She was greedy! But she didn't think there would be much silver. She interrupted the maid impatiently: "I know, it's not enough. You can get more silver from the cash box."
Forget it, it should be that Shen Xingqing bought some souvenirs for the villagers. When she returns to give them to the villagers, she can also tell those villagers that she paid for them, and she can also earn some reputation.
Although I feel a little sad!
The maid waved her hands vigorously, almost crying: "Princess, the silver shop wants 9,600 taels, the cloth shop wants 1,328 taels, and the rouge shop wants 550 taels! What should I do?!"
Princess Changle heard the number reported by the maid and suspected that she had heard it wrongly: "How much?"
Is the unit used wrong? It should be wen instead of liang, right
The maid really burst into tears this time, and said angrily and anxiously: "Princess, that bitch actually secretly bought a lot of things without telling you, and sent them all to the house bestowed by the emperor! Now the three shops have a total of 11,478 taels on credit!"
Princess Changle was so angry that her lungs almost exploded after hearing this. It took her a long while to speak. She said angrily: "Go tell the people in those shops that whoever bought the things should be asked for the money. It has nothing to do with me!"
Eleven thousand four hundred and seventy-eight taels
All the money she had saved over the years, including the dowry left by the Grand Princess, only added up to about 20,000 taels!
If she helped her pay this money, she would lose everything!
She added: "Isn't Chen Xingqing the precious daughter of Shen Ruolan? Let them ask Shen Ruolan for it!"
"Yes!" the maid responded and ran out hurriedly.
Half an incense stick later, the maid came back and said anxiously, "Princess, the lady doesn't have any money either. There are only more than one thousand taels in the storehouse. Then I told those shopkeepers that the princess didn't buy so many things, and asked them to ask Princess Funing and her lady for money. But they all said that when Princess Funing bought things, the princess was also present, and it was the princess who told them in person in the shop that those things were all recorded in the princess's account. They also said that the princess wanted to follow the example of the princess of Zhao and not pay back her debts! And they also said..."
The maid repeated the shopkeeper's words to Princess Changle one by one.
"My money belongs to me! You don't have to be polite, just buy whatever you like!"
"Money can't buy what you love, don't worry about it being too expensive! As long as you like it, I can buy it for you!"
"Shopkeeper, everything my sister likes is put on my account!"
... ... ..
When Princess Changle heard the maid's vivid retelling of the story, she wished she could slap herself twice!
She is so angry!
What a great Chen Xingqing!
It turns out that she never buys anything in front of me, and if she does, she only buys the cheapest things, all just for show!
Princess Changle really wanted to ignore this debt, but recently the people in the capital have been scolding Princess Xiangwang of Zhao for being shameless, untrustworthy, and refusing to repay her debts.
Now people in the capital are condemning those who don't pay their debts.
If I don't pay it back this time, those shops are the largest shops in the capital, and the rich families in the capital all go there to buy things. If I say something in front of them, will I still have a reputation
After all, she has always created an image in front of everyone that she takes good care of her sister Shen Xingqing.
Princess Changle weighed the pros and cons in her mind.
If she doesn't return it, the character she has created will collapse!
If she paid it back, her dowry would be gone! Shen Ruolan and Wen Ruiqing would never be able to raise such a large sum of money for their dowry.
However, if she paid it back, her reputation would definitely be raised to a higher level, and she would no longer have to worry about people saying that she was vicious and hypocritical after Chen Xingqing went to marry.
She knew that some people were already talking about her in this way in private.
If she returned the silver, everyone would know that Chen Xingqing had cheated her out of such a large sum of money behind her back. Everyone would only think that Chen Xingqing was a greedy person who deserved to be sent to marry!
In the end, after much struggle, Princess Changle decided that it was impossible for her to take the mansion bestowed by the emperor, Xingqing, which was worth tens of thousands of taels and was almost as big as the princess's mansion, to the marriage. Wouldn't it be hers by then
If she doesn't settle these accounts now, she will have to take over the mansion later, which will be very detrimental to her reputation!
And if Shen Xingqing's reputation is ruined because of the debt of more than 10,000 taels, what if the State of Zhao changes its mind and does not want her to marry? That would be a big loss!
After weighing the pros and cons, Princess Changle said with a heart pierced by arrows: "Forget it, I'll just pay the silver!"
She wants to marry the prince and become the queen in the future, so her reputation for kindness cannot be ruined!
But why does my heart hurt so much
The feeling of suffocation!
~
In the carriage, Xing Qing and Xing Nong sat together and ate dry food for lunch. She thought about the people from the shop who would come to collect the debt today, so she asked, "Sister, do you think Princess Changle has paid back the money?"
Xing Nong said confidently: "She will definitely return it."