The turmoil of the prime minister's jealousy came to an end temporarily after declaring absolute sovereignty to his rival, but Xun Lan's hard life had just begun.
Without the powerful backing of the Ji family, the first real problem Xun Lan faced was poverty.
As the saying goes, the former mistress of the Ji family was no exception. Xun Lan was expelled from the house, and she was not allowed to carry too much belongings. The meager money she carried was nothing more than A few days will be stretched.
At the beginning, Hongmei could buy some meat, make dumplings, and stir-fry shredded pork, but now—
Hongmei picked up the lid, looked at the sparse rice in the rice jar, and frowned in distress.
Just a little rice is not enough to cook a bowl of porridge.
She went to Xun Lan's house. Xun Lan sat by the window, looking at the weed-covered backyard for a moment, wondering what she was thinking, and was a little dazed.
"Ma'am," she called.
Xun Lan didn't look away from the yard, but responded lightly: "What's wrong?"
Hongmei tugged at the hem of her clothes, and said bravely, "There is no more rice in the rice tank."
Xun Lan said calmly: "Then go buy it, I'm not hungry now, it's the same if I eat later."
Hongmei didn't move.
Xun Lan turned her head and looked at her strangely: "Why don't you go?"
Hongmei whispered: "There is no money."
Xun Lan groaned, her long eyelashes drooped, and she was silent for a while, then walked to the dressing table, opened the drawer, and there was a money bag inside, she opened the money bag, and poured out a copper coin.
Hongmei's face was burning. She felt that she really shouldn't have come to see Madam, but if she didn't look for her, she would have no money to eat...
Xun Lan packed the copper plate, fastened the purse, and silently put it back to its original place. Then, she pulled a bracelet from her wrist, handed it to Hongmei, and said, "You can pawn it."
Hongmei couldn't bear to say: "There are only so few things left in your whole body."
Xun Lan said: "It's done."
Hongmei bit her lip and took the bracelet. She heard from Zhou's mother that this bracelet was given by the wife's mother. When she got married, the Xun family didn't bring any gifts. There is this bracelet.
It hurts to think about such a precious thing being pawned by oneself.
"What are you waiting for?" Xun Lan asked.
Hongmei gritted her teeth, turned around and left.
Hongmei is not a native of the capital city, she is from a small place and has little experience, but when she was working in Luomeiyuan, she learned a lot from Rong Mama and Dongmei, and traveled to many places. I dare not say that it is not difficult to find a few pawnshops.
She found a pawn shop with a relatively large storefront, and handed the bracelet to the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper picked up the bracelet, pointed it at the sun, and said casually, "Ten taels."
Hongmei was stunned: "Ten taels? Why is it only ten taels? Shopkeeper, take a good look, this is suet jade! The workmanship is good, and you can't buy it for a hundred taels outside!"
The shopkeeper smiled: "Girl, I'm a pawnshop. What do you think a pawnshop is for? You deposit your things with me, and I'll give you money. When you have money, you can redeem it. I am a pawnshop." It’s a free loan to you for money, if anyone borrows money from me at the original price, can my business continue?”
Hongmei anxiously said: "We may not redeem it back!"
The shopkeeper said nonchalantly: "That's the price. If you like it, it's not right. It's not right. Please take care of me."
Ten taels of silver could not last a few days in the capital, so Hongmei took the bracelet and left.
Afterwards, Hongmei asked four or five pawnshops in a row, but none of them exceeded this price, and some unscrupulous ones only offered five taels, and Hongmei was so angry that she turned black on the spot.
"Little girl, do you want to be something?"
When Hongmei walked out of the sixth pawn shop, a fat man with a big smile stopped her.
Hongmei looked at the other party vigilantly: "Who are you?"
The fat uncle pointed to the alley opposite, and said with a pleasant face, "I'm from Zhou Ji's pawnshop. Our pawnshop was moved from the city and hasn't officially opened yet. I saw you searched for a lot of places. Could it be that your things are not pawnshops?" go out?"
Hongmei had heard about Zhouji Pawnshop, which was the largest pawnshop in the capital city, with a good reputation and high prices, but unfortunately it was too far away from here, and she couldn't walk there, otherwise, she would have fallen for it.
The other party was from Zhou Ji's pawnshop, Hongmei's complexion improved, and she said, "It's not that they can't get out, it's that they are too black-hearted, but they only give ten taels of my wife's high-quality jade bracelet."
"Can you show me?" the fat man asked.
Hongmei took out the bracelet.
The fat uncle wanted to reach out to pick it up, but Hongmei cautiously avoided it.
The fat uncle said jokingly: "I won't touch it, I won't touch it." He looked at the bracelet carefully and said, "This is a high-quality suet jade, did you spend a lot of money when you bought it?"
Hongmei smiled and said, "For you to know the goods, this is my wife's dowry. The color is very good and the workmanship is exquisite."
The fat uncle stroked his beard in embarrassment, and said: "The bracelet is a good bracelet, but according to the pawnshop's market, ten taels of silver is indeed about the same."
Hongmei put away the bracelet in disappointment.
The fat uncle said again: "Don't be discouraged, aren't we a new shop here? You are the first business, and you have a good start. I will give you more money, thirty taels."
Hongmei said: "Thirty taels is too little, maybe fifty taels."
The fat uncle lowered his face and said, "You girl! You raised my price ten times as soon as you opened your mouth! How can there be such a thing?"
Hongmei felt aggrieved: "Didn't everyone say that the price of your Zhouji pawn shop is high?"
The fat uncle said: "That can't be so tall!"
Hongmei begged: "Uncle, my wife is really waiting for the money, so you should do me a favor and give me fifty taels. One day my wife will return to Ji's house, and she will repay you with more money." !"
The fat uncle was taken aback: "The Ji family? Are you the Ji family?"
Hongmei nodded: "My wife is the biological mother of the fourth young master of the Ji family."
The fat uncle looked her up and down and said, "Why is the master of the Ji family short of money? Little girl, don't be kidding me."
Hongmei said sternly: "I didn't tease you, what I said is true, my wife will definitely return to Ji's house, and when I go back, I will send you the silver. We will pay you back twice as much as we spent. !"
This seems to be a good deal, the fat uncle agreed very readily, and took out a silver note of fifty taels from his arms. gave him.
After that, Hongmei went to the bank on the bank note.
As soon as he entered the door, he was taken down by the officers and soldiers who searched.
The shopkeeper shouted: "That's it! The bank note stolen from the shop has been found!"
Hongmei was arrested and taken to the Yamen.
Hongmei was terrified, she cried and said that she was cheated, and the officials didn't believe her, so in order to extract a confession, they whipped her severely several times, the pain made her cry for father and mother. Gold earrings bailed her out.
The gold earring is the only valuable thing left on Xun Lan's body except for the old pearl flower, and it is gone now.
Hongmei cried all the way back. She regretted so much that her intestines were green. If she had known that she would not be so greedy, pawning things for ten taels of silver would not lead to the current situation.
The two drank some porridge with almost no rice grains at night.
In the middle of the night, Hongmei could hear her stomach growling.
When Xun Lan was in Ji's house, in order to establish a perfect image, she never filled her own pockets, so she didn't have much money for herself. But when the princess was alive, every year on her birthday, she would deposit money for her in the bank. A sum of money, she has never moved this money, and thought that she would never touch it in her life, but right now, it seems that she has no choice.
She took Lu Yin and her household registration with her and went to Jinxiu Bank.
The accountant of the bank verified her identity, took out his abacus and said, "Counting the interest of these years, the total is 5,500 taels. Do you want to take it all?"
"Well, all of them." Xun Lan nodded.
The cashier said: "Wait a minute, the amount of money is too large, and the cash box in the lobby is not enough. I need to ask the shopkeeper to get the key to the warehouse."
Xun Lan nodded slightly: "Mr. Thank you."
The accountant entered the shopkeeper's study, and after a while, he came out awkwardly, and said guiltily, "I'm sorry, ma'am, you can't take this money away."
"Why?" Xun Lan asked.
The accountant scratched his head, not knowing how to explain: "Because..."
"Because you are not worthy!"
Qiao Wei's voice suddenly rang at the door.
Xun Lan looked sideways and looked at Qiao Wei lightly.
Qiao Wei entered the room with a smile, and the shopkeeper who was drinking tea in the study came out with a smile on hearing the voice: "Young Madam, what brought you out? Why don't you send someone a message when you come to the door? Fortunately, I will meet you at the door!"
Qiao Wei smiled slightly: "Shopkeeper Hu, you're being polite. I still have some personal matters to deal with here. I'll invite Shopkeeper Hu to drink tea later."
Shopkeeper Hu glanced at Xun Lan who was beside him, and tactfully dragged the accountant inside.
Only Qiao Wei and Xun Lan were left in the huge lobby.
Xun Lan cut to the chase and said, "This money is left to me by the princess, you have no right to take it away."
Qiao Wei said: "Who said I'm going to take it away? I just keep putting it in the bank."
"I want to take it away." Xun Lan said.
Qiao Wei gave her a funny look: "Are you dreaming?"
Xun Lan said lightly: "The princess gave me the money, and I can take it away whenever I want."
Qiao Wei said sarcastically: "The princess gave you the money. Did the princess give you the position of mistress of the Ji family? You took what was not given to you in an unruly manner, and I don't have to take what was given to you." It was duly buckled."
Xun Lan looked at the study, and the shopkeeper who was eavesdropping shrank his head back.
Qiao Wei smiled faintly: "Don't look, you won't get the money."
Xun Lan gave Qiao Wei a cold look, took her credentials, turned around and left the gate.
Qiao Wei looked at her back and said: "If you want to go to another bank, I advise you not to waste your efforts, I have already let go, any bank that dares to give you the money, I will drive that bank out of the capital !"
Xun Lan stopped in his tracks, and a cold gaze came over him.
Qiao Wei smiled faintly: "Do you want to say that I'm going too far? This is not my idea, it's meditation."
That guy is still eating Xun Lan's jealousy, and he can't wait to tear Xun Lan's body into pieces. When Xun Lan was a monster at home, he never hated her so much!
In the end, of course, no money could be obtained. Qiao Wei's behavior like a bully, it is reasonable to say that she can go to the government to sue her, but which government is full and dares to take Qiao Wei's case? Aren't you afraid that Ji Mingxiu will pinch them to death with one finger
Without the money from Princess Zhaoming, her life was almost in a desperate situation. Xun Lan took the red plums and started an embroidery business again.
The proprietress of Xiulou saw it, and she was very satisfied. She was about to take out money to buy it, when Qiao Wei appeared lingeringly, stepped on the chair with a slap, and said in an incomparably bully way: "If you do her business, I will let you have no business in the capital."
The proprietress was so frightened that she hurriedly sent Xun Lan away!
Joe's reputation as a bully also spread in the capital.
…
Can't go to Daxiu Building to do business, so Hongmei has to sell it in the market. The market can't afford to ask for a price. It's not like Qiao Wei, who can beat people to pieces. After a day, it is commonplace to have no income.
The two masters and servants clear porridge and cabbage every day, and they can't even eat a meal of meat.
Xun Lan was doing embroidery day and night, but one day the temperature suddenly dropped, she caught the wind and cold, and developed a high fever at night.
She slipped a tire twice within a year, and her body couldn't stand it, not to mention her own very weak foundation. Hongmei fed her a lot of hot water, hoping that she would sweat and relieve the high fever. But in the night of the second day, it became more and more serious, and the fever made people confused.
Hongmei was terrified, and hurried to find a doctor, but Dr. Lu had already been dealt with by Ji Mingxiu, and the other doctors were not doing charity, so who would look after them if they had no money
Xun Lan's whole body was hot.
Hongmei had no choice but ran back to Ji's house overnight and knocked on the door of Ji's house.
"Open the door! I want to see the master!"
The boy was woken up, lit a lantern and opened a crack in the door, yawned impatiently and said, "What's the noise? It's the middle of the night, and the master is asleep!"
Hongmei anxiously said: "I have something very important to report to the master! Please pass it on to me quickly! If it is later, the madam will die!"
The young man said: "Master is sick and resting. I have already ordered all matters in the mansion to be handled by the young master and young lady. However, the young lady has also ordered that if it is about the Xun family, then there is no need to report it to her. Xun Xun Shi has been expelled from the Ji family, and has nothing to do with the Ji family, you, don't come again!"
"But… "
Before Hongmei finished speaking, the servant slammed the door shut!
Then she knocked for a long time, but no one answered.
Hongmei didn't understand what happened to the master and his wife, how he broke up with his son because of his wife one day, and left without a word the next day, and now he doesn't care about his wife's life or death.
Did Hongmei regret following Xun Lan
Of course she regretted it, if she hadn't been soft-hearted towards Xun Shi at the beginning, but was like an ordinary maid, far away from Xun Shi, then she is still eating and drinking spicy food in the mansion now.
But since she chose this step, there is absolutely no turning back. The Ji family has no place for her. She can only take good care of the Xun family and wait for the Xun family to return to the Ji family one day in glory. .
It's just that my wife is seriously ill, let alone go back to Ji's house, whether she can save her life is even a question.
Who else can save Madam
Who else…
By the way, brother Liu!
Mrs. Liu is the biological mother of Brother Liu. When Mrs. Liu was driven to guard the tomb, Brother Liu cried so sadly. He had this mother in his heart. If he knew about Mrs. Liu's situation, he would definitely not ignore Mrs. People follow him in everything, and when he speaks, is he afraid that his wife will not be saved
Hongmei seemed to have grasped the last straw to save her life. She seemed to come alive. She knew that the young lady would not let Brother Liu see her, so it would not work to stay at Ji's house. She patiently waited until The next day, after Qiao Wei sent the three little buns to the academy and left in the carriage, she bravely walked over.
The guard at the gate said: "Who are you?"
Hongmei said politely: "I am a maid of the Ji family. There is something at home, and my wife asked me to pick up the fourth young master."
It is true that the sons of other aristocratic families are picked up by servants, and it is not uncommon for them to be picked up halfway, but this is not the case in the Ji family. The children of the Ji family are always picked up by their parents. Sometimes it would be Tai Shigong, Qiao Wei told the academy clearly that everyone other than a few of them were liars and could not be picked up.
The guards blasted Hongmei away unceremoniously.
The last ray of hope was gone, Hongmei went back to the small house in despair, Xun Lan was still burning badly, and was in a daze, muttering something but not quite clear.
Hongmei went to the kitchen to boil water, cooked a bowl of gnocchi with the little flour left, and served it to Xun Lan, but when she crossed the threshold, she tripped and fell to the ground, the bowl shattered, Pimple soup is dirty…
Hongmei's tears fell, but she didn't know if it was for Xun Lan or for herself.
She cleaned up the house, took the embroidery that took three days to complete, and was going to the market to sell a few copper plates and buy two catties of rice, but when she went out, she was hit by a carriage again.
The embroidery is scratched.
She sat slumped on the ground, her knees were bleeding, her whole body was in pain, she covered her eyes, and tears flowed from her fingers...
I'm sorry ma'am, I'm sorry, I can't hold on...
In the empty room, Xun Lan was extremely thirsty, her lips were all cracked, and her throat was smoking: "Hongmei... water..."
The water on the stove was boiling and bubbling, but there were no red plums left.