The Marquise: I Earn My Own Worship

"Mother, the concierge told me you were looking for me?"

When Lu came back from outside, there was a thin layer of sweat on her forehead.

"Yes, take a look at this invitation. It was sent by the Guo family, the Minister of Justice, to celebrate his great-grandson's first birthday."

Lu took it and looked at it. It was her twenty-one birthday, and there were still a few days left.

"When the time comes, you can take the children with you. I'm a little tired these days and don't want to join in the fun."

Song Shengfu was tired from attending banquets recently. Every time she went, she would brag and chat with her old sisters. Now she was tired, so she decided to take a two-day break.

"Yes, then mother should have a good rest, and your daughter-in-law can take the children to have some fun."

Mrs. Lu was a little worried about Song Shengfu's health, so she sent someone to invite Mr. Xu over.

"The old lady's complexion is dull, and her tongue is fat and wrinkled. She is overly worried and has qi stagnation. She should relax. Excessive worrying can easily lead to qi stagnation. I will prescribe a tonic. The most important thing is to calm down. You can have your servants press the Hegu and Taichong points every day to relieve qi stagnation."

After sending Old Xu away, Mrs. Lu looked at the mother who was sitting there teasing Xuan'er, and asked with some concern:

"How could mother be so worried? If you have anything on your mind, you can tell your daughter-in-law."

"Nothing, probably because it's too hot. Go ahead and do your thing. I don't have anything to do."

Song Shengfu waved her hand and spoke as if nothing had happened.

Seeing her mother say this, Mrs. Lu had no choice but to give up and stood up to leave.

After Lu left, Song Shengfu had Xuan Ge'er carried away.

Song Shengfu called Mother Qi into the inner room, where two half-person-high boxes had already been placed.

"Madam, all your dowry books are here. I have been keeping them for you all these years."

Mother Qi is in charge of Song Shengfu's warehouse, which contains her dowry and the business she has run over the years.

Song Shengfu opened one and found it was filled with booklets. There were hundreds of books in the box.

"This is your jewelry collection from the 40 years of the Hongguang era. This box is mostly from the Hongguang era. The other box is from the Mingde era."

Song Shengfu had probably taken a look around her private vault before, and the things inside could be said to be collections of famous artists, good things that could not be bought even with money.

Now, as I opened the book in my hand, I realized how narrow-minded I had been. The things in my private vault were just the tip of the iceberg; all the truly valuable things were recorded in the book.

There were seventeen mountain villas, and four in the capital. There were two hundred and fifty-one shops, large and small, across the country, not to mention the farmland. Song Shengfu felt she couldn't even count the sheer number.

After reading it, Song Shengfu's first reaction was that Duan Chengkang, that prodigal son, had squandered all his family's wealth in less than ten years.

What's more, this is only hers, the Duan family's public property, and Lu's dowry.

Song Shengfu was so angry that veins on her forehead were throbbing. She didn't beat him enough at the beginning and she deserved to be beaten twice.

"How much cash can you take out now?"

"Two hundred and seventy thousand taels of silver"

!

Song Shengfu lowered her head, her pupils trembling, and suppressed the excitement in her heart. Thinking that this money would no longer be hers soon, she felt a little heartbroken.

"Okay, I get it. There's something you need to do."

Song Shengfu motioned to Mother Qi to lean over and whispered something in her ear. Mother Qi was a little shocked, but didn't say anything and retreated as instructed.

In the evening, Song Shengfu sat at the desk, writing under the warm yellow candlelight.

With an expression of utmost solemnity and concentration, he placed the written letter into a sealed bag and sealed it with beeswax.

Finally, he sat for a long time before returning to bed and lying down.

The next morning, Suchun entered the palace with a big bag of things.

"Who is here?"

The imperial guards at the gate stopped Suchun. Suchun handed them the token and stuffed two purses into her pockets.

"Master, I am a maidservant of Madam Duan Hou. Our eldest son has come to the palace to accompany the Sixth Prince. I have come specially to bring him some new summer clothes. You can check them out."

Having said that, Suchun ordered the maid to hand the package over.

"By the way, the old lady is worried about my brother, so she asked me to go to the palace to take a look so that I can report back to her when I return."

The imperial guard who took the package searched it thoroughly before returning it. Hearing Suchun's words, the leading imperial guard knew that the girl before them, whose manners were no worse than those of a proper young lady, was actually a maid from the Duanbo Mansion.

I also know that the young master of the Duan family has a very good relationship with the Sixth Prince and he goes to the palace for a few days almost every month.

"Okay, you can go in, but no one else can."

After hearing this, Suchun sent a few maids back home and went into the palace alone.

Concubine Ning read the letter in her hand several times and looked at Suchun who was kneeling on the ground.

"You said your old lady specifically instructed you to send this to me?"

"Your Highness, I dare not lie."

"Okay, go back first and tell the old lady that I need to think about this matter first."

Suchun lowered her brows, bowed her head and crawled in response, then retreated.

Concubine Ning slowly burned the letter paper. Watching it gradually turn into ashes, Concubine Ning's heart slowly calmed down.

When Suchun returned home to report, Song Shengfu, who had been worried all day, felt a little upset.

She didn't know whether Concubine Ning would agree. After all, the person who started the fundraising was the most likely to be hated.

If Concubine Ning rejected her, she would have to find another way.

After waiting for several days, Song Shengfu's mouth was covered with blisters. The day before her first birthday party, news came from the palace that Concubine Ning was going to take her into the palace.

"Madam Duan, it's been a while since we last met. Are you feeling well?"

"Thank you for your concern, Madam. Everything is fine. I wonder how your health is these days? Is the prescription I sent you earlier effective?"

Concubine Ning touched her skin, which had become much tighter, and said with satisfaction and joy:

"The old lady's prescription is really useful, especially the beauty pills. My complexion is much better now. I am really grateful to you for giving me these prescriptions."

Song Shengfu felt relieved and said with a smile:

"Your Majesty has always looked very good. Those prescriptions are just icing on the cake. They are not worth anything."

Concubine Ning looked at the blisters on Madam Duan's lips that she couldn't hide, and asked with concern:

"I see there are blisters at the corners of your mouth, madam. Has a doctor checked it out?"

Song Shengfu pulled the corner of her mouth, feeling a little painful.

"I've been feeling a bit irritated lately, and it doesn't look very pretty."

Concubine Ning asked Zhilan to call the imperial physician and then dismissed everyone.

"I won't beat around the bush with you. I'm sure the old lady has been thinking about the letter I received a few days ago."

Song Shengfu thought to herself,

"Indeed, the Queen summoned me today, but...?"

Concubine Ning leaned lazily on the back of the chair, playing with the jade ruyi in her hand.

"Old Madam, you know this isn't a good thing for me. Those people in the court have already been impeaching my mother and me. If this were to happen, Fuhua Palace would become an even bigger thorn in their side."