The reborn girl always wants to escape, but the abstinent marquis hugs her and coaxes her!

Chapter 283 Barefoot is not afraid of wearing shoes

Xu Rongrong had not seen the Xiao mother and daughter since she was poisoned. Now seeing Xiao Linger crying like this, she knew that something must have happened inside the Xiao Mansion, and... being able to force the daughter of the Minister of Rites into this state must be a rather tricky matter.

So she asked, "I saw you hiding from people just now, but is there something wrong at home? And you just said that Madam Xiao has been in a bad mood recently, is it related to this matter?"

Xiao Ling'er sniffed and stammered, "Hmm."

"what happened?"

"It's... a very bad thing." Xiao Ling'er pursed her lips and spoke in a muffled voice.

"It's okay, take your time." Xu Rongrong handed her a handkerchief, and Luo Shu hurriedly poured her some hot tea.

Xiao Ling'er then slowly explained the whole story.

It turned out that Xiao Pingyang went to Beijing to report on his work last year and was promoted to Minister of Rites due to his outstanding performance. The Xiao family then settled in Beijing.

Xiao Pingyang is the only son of the eldest son of the Xiao family. Having been an official at a young age, he spent many years in the military service with his wife and daughter, rarely attending to the family. Consequently, most clan affairs fell to the second son, Xiao Pingjie. The second son of the Xiao family had two sons, but the eldest son drowned in childhood. So, the second son's hopes rested on his younger son, Xiao Pingjie. Unlike Xiao Pingyang, Xiao Pingjie wasn't a scholar, but he possessed a quick mind and a passion for making money through small businesses. Over the years, he saved a considerable fortune for the second son and provided considerable support to the first and third sons. Consequently, no one in the Xiao family had a bad opinion of him.

Before New Year's Eve this year, he brought his wife to Beijing to deliver New Year gifts to the Xiao family. Since it was their first time in Beijing, the couple wanted to stay longer, so Xiao Pingyang and his wife let them stay.

After the founding of the dynasty, the Crown Prince was deposed due to the Huangzhuang case, and later Princess Lingxi came of age. In addition, there were many festivals and ceremonies in the capital, so Xiao Pingyang was busy with various affairs and seldom went home. So the task of taking care of his cousin Xiao Pingjie and his wife fell on Mrs. Xiao. Thinking of how her cousin and his wife had taken care of the eldest house over the years, Mrs. Xiao would not avoid them when entertaining banquets, and would often bring her sister-in-law with her when she went out to meet friends.

In this way, Xiao Pingjie and his wife, who were good at socializing, quickly became close friends with the officials and their wives in Beijing. At first, Mrs. Xiao didn't pay much attention to it, but a few days ago, she discovered that they were helping the nobles in Beijing to lend money at high interest!

Mrs. Xiao was furious. On the one hand, she personally went to the door to warn the officials' wives who were close to her to take back the money they had lent out. On the other hand, she warned Xiao Pingjie and his wife not to do anything wrong in the capital. Unexpectedly, this incident angered Xiao Pingjie and his wife, and they left the capital "in anger"!

"They ran away with the money?" After hearing this, what else did Xu Rongrong not understand?

"Exactly! Now all those ladies who lent money at high interest have come to my mother to blame, saying that if she hadn't introduced them earlier, they wouldn't have lent money!" Xiao Ling'er blushed, "Sister Xu, how could the ladies in the capital be so unreasonable?" "Officials' families in the capital have many social engagements, and they spend money everywhere. It's far from enough to rely solely on their salaries and the income from their own shops. That's why they think of lending money at high interest... Making money is the foundation of these ladies' survival in the mansion. Now, let alone interest, they've lost even the principal. It's like their lifeline has been cut off. How can they talk nonsense?" Xu Rongrong sneered, "I just didn't expect that the man who used high interest to abduct half of the noble ladies in the capital last year hasn't been caught yet, and someone would fall for it again?"

After she finished speaking, she looked at Xiao Ling'er and asked, "Who did you see just now?"

"How did Sister Xu know?" Xiao Ling'er widened her eyes.

"Looking at how you were hiding just now, was it hard to guess?"

Xiao Ling'er: "..."

Her eyes were red as she spoke, "It was the lady of a wealthy family whom my mother met after she came to the capital. When my second uncle was around, she had the closest contact with my aunt. My mother was the first to warn her, but she said she would be careful and only lent out small amounts of spare change, refusing to listen... Now that my uncle and his wife are gone, she hangs around outside our house every day. A few days ago, my mother wore a new spring dress, but as soon as she left the house, she brought people to tear it apart. She said that the money my mother used to make the dress was swindled out of her! Luckily, it was late at night, so not many people saw it. My mother went back home and became depressed and refused to go out."

"Just now outside the shop, I saw one of her maids..." Xiao Ling'er couldn't continue.

Xu Rongrong looked at her and said, "A maidservant scared you like this? You didn't even dare to accept the gift you had chosen for Madam Xiao?"

Xiao Ling'er raised her tearful eyes and said, "They've been eyeing my family. If they knew I spent a hundred miles of silver to buy jewelry for my mother, I don't know what they'd do."

"After the people from the second house left the capital, their whereabouts are unknown?"

Xiao Ling'er nodded. "During this time, my father has sent three waves of people back to the clan to search for my uncle and his wife, but no one has said they've seen them. The elders from the second branch even said they wanted to ask my father for them, saying they'd disappeared after entering the capital. Maybe we murdered them..."

Xu Rongrong listened thoughtfully, "Just now I heard you say that they have always been good at subsidizing the clan. I'm sure this time is no exception. I'm afraid the money they embezzled from the capital is not a small amount. That's why the entire clan is protecting them."

"That's right. The money that's come to our door these past few days is already no less than ten thousand taels... and there's no telling how much more there will be! The others are easy to deal with. Some took back the money after my mother warned them, and some realized it was all due to their own greed. But that lady is the only one who's really difficult to deal with. She even threatened to cause trouble at the Ministry of Rites and get my father fired... My mother has people guarding outside the Ministry of Rites all day long to prevent them from influencing my father."

Xiao Ling'er sighed after she finished speaking: "Sister Xu, don't you think this is a bad luck..."

Xu Rongrong had been frowning in thought, but after hearing Xiao Ling'er's words, she was amused. She gently stroked the little girl's forehead, "You're so young, how could you understand what bad luck means? This is purely because Madam Xiao is more refined and elegant than the wife of the wealthy man." "But she sends people to cause trouble every now and then, and even goes to the Ministry of Rites... My mother is afraid that this will harm my father..."

Xu Rongrong naturally understood Mrs. Xiao's concerns. Those who are concerned are always hindered in their efforts. She held Xiao Ling'er's hand and said, "When I was little, I heard a proverb: 'The barefoot are not afraid of the shod.' Now it has come true for you."

Suddenly struck by this sentence, Xiao Ling'er's eyes widened: "Exactly! Aren't we the ones wearing shoes now? That's why my mother is so depressed."

Xu Rongrong shook her head: "But in fact, you are the ones who are barefoot..."