Noble Lady

Yumei did not hide these words and told them truthfully.

It can't be hidden after all.

After she finished speaking, she couldn't help but say, "Miss, if you want to blame someone, you have to wait until they return to the capital."

Junior Master-Uncle is now in the south. If the girl becomes hostile to her because of this matter and the situation becomes even more tense, then she really won't be able to explain to Junior Master-Uncle.

"What's there to blame? I should thank him." Xue Chenyu smiled bitterly.

She had guessed before that her actions were too big and would definitely attract attention from all sides; but then she thought, in a place like Shengjing, no matter what you do, it will attract other people's attention.

It just depends on what kind of things are attracting attention.

It’s just because the wealth of the Marquis’ Mansion is too enviable.

"Yumei, Prince Cheng's letter was delivered to me 800 miles away at an express speed. Does that mean the memorial regarding the drought in the south should have reached the emperor's desk by now?"

Yumei thought for a moment and nodded, "I think they should have been sent out at the same time, so they should have arrived."

She paused, then continued, "The last time Junior Master returned to the capital in a hurry, I wonder if that was related to this matter?"

"Junior Master?" Xue Chenyu keenly caught these three words.

Yumei smiled awkwardly, her expression gradually becoming depressed. "Girl, I... I really didn't mean to hide it from you. I, I am..."

"Grind the ink." Xue Chenyu interrupted her.

Yumei grinds ink, and Xue Chenyu writes a reply letter.

Her reply was actually quite simple. "There are three purposes for stockpiling food: one is to protect the mansion; two is to spread our good reputation; and three, and most importantly, to save as many people as possible."

……

As Xue Chenyu sent her reply letter to Prince Cheng who was far away in the south, the news of the drought in the south also spread to the prosperous Shengjing.

The court responded urgently immediately.

On that day, the emperor summoned officials from the three provinces and six ministries to discuss disaster relief matters. After all, disaster relief costs a lot of money and affects the entire body.

Even Xue Chenyu's father, Marquis Wu'an, who had been marginalized for a long time, was invited to the court.

Although disaster relief was the imperial court's responsibility, the people of Shengjing were all feeling insecure.

In the past, whenever there was a disaster, there was a precedent of refugees flocking to the capital.

When they heard that there was a drought in the south, the people in Shengjing, who were used to a good life, were afraid that refugees would flock to the capital at any time.

They were even more worried that the drought in the south would affect next year's harvest, so they began to stockpile food and buy rice frantically.

The price of grain in Shengjing also rose accordingly. From the previous ten coins per dou of rice, it kept rising. In just two or three days, it rose to one hundred coins per dou, and there was a trend of further increase.

People in the capital were in a panic.

The wealthy families heard the news early and bought up rice and stored it. The ones who were most affected were the small families.

The He family is naturally no exception.

The He family today is no longer what it used to be. After separating from the second branch, the yard was vacated, but the mansion was out of money.

He Minzhi has not been released from prison yet and is still awaiting punishment. Liu has spent a lot of money just to hire doctors to treat his illnesses and injuries, and to take care of his family and friends.

All of this came from her coffin book.

It is still unknown when there will be a decision on He Minzhi's case. The people in the shop were previously sold out and laid off by Xue Chenyu, so it will take a while for the shop to be reunited and the business will not be good.

It was Ji Minrou who "took on the task in times of crisis" and took on the burden of the He family. She cleaned up several shops and reopened them. She had always been in charge of the winery and did not neglect it.

Ji Minrou was busy in and out, and Xiaocao was always by Liu's side.

Although Xiaocao was pregnant, she did not have much reaction. Xue Chenyu even specially hired a doctor to take care of her before she dared to go to Liu.

She has kept her pregnancy a secret until now. One reason is that she is still in her tummy and the fetus is not yet firmly seated; the other reason is that she is afraid that Ji Minrou will do something to her child.

Just when the He family's life was about to get a little easier, Ji Minrou met He Jixiang on the street.

When Ji Minrou first saw her, she thought she was dazzled.

In the past, He Jixiang was timid and cowardly, and didn't dare to look others in the eye. His clothes were even more shabby, and most of them were given to her by He Ruyi after she had replaced them. Servants could get new clothes every season, but he only had two new clothes a year, which made him even worse than the servants.

How could she be the same person as the woman in front of me, dressed in gorgeous clothes and surrounded by maids and mothers?

But when she looked carefully, she found that the man was indeed He Jixiang!

After all, she grew up in the He family. The He family children all grew up together, so how could she not recognize him? Especially since He Jixiang had a plum blossom mole behind his ear, it was even easier to recognize him.

After she recognized her, she rushed forward angrily and grabbed her wrist: "Fourth sister has been away from home for a long time, I didn't expect you to be here!"

He Jixiang was startled when she rushed towards him, but he calmed down immediately.

"Let go!" He Jixiang's eyes turned cold.

"Oh, I didn't expect that after just a while, Fourth Sister has become so assertive?" Ji Minrou was completely unaware and looked her up and down. "You, you're actually dressed like a woman. Could it be that you ran away from home to elope with someone?"

"presumptuous!"

Before He Jixiang could say anything, her mother beside her shouted and pulled Ji Minrou's hand away.

That’s right, it was opened.

The mother looked thin, but she was surprisingly strong. She pinched Ji Minrou's arm and it hurt so much that she had to let go, and then the mother carried her away.

"Do you know who my wife is? How can a common woman like you offend her? If you touch her again, don't blame me for being rude!"

"You, you are so arrogant!" Ji Minrou was so angry, but the pain in her wrist reminded her not to act recklessly.

"He Jixiang, tell her yourself who I am to you. I am your cousin!"

"You've been secretly away from home for a long time. Everyone in the mansion thought you were going to pray for your aunt. But you're so good, having an affair with someone without any matchmaker, and now you're parading around with this bunch of servants. Aren't you a cheapskate?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a slap landed on her face.

He Jixiang said angrily: "This slap is to tell you that there are some things you should say and some things you shouldn't say. If you keep saying such dirty things, don't blame me for being rude to you!"

Ji Minrou was stunned for a long time after being beaten. He and He Jixiang actually dared to attack her.

Because of Ji Minrou's rude entanglement and the words "unmediated adultery", many people nearby gathered around and pointed fingers at He Jixiang.

The mother and several maids quickly surrounded He Jixiang and threatened to scold anyone who dared to point fingers at them.

"You are a widow who has not yet completed her mourning period. You had an affair with someone and got pregnant. Yet you come here to step on my wife and act like you're in a higher position? My wife was brought into the Chen family in a sedan chair with three matchmakers, six betrothals, and eight bearers. Who do you think you are?" the mother said angrily.

He Jixiang reminded, "Mother Luo, although she is a widow and lives in the He family, she is now pregnant with her Hanlin cousin's child. Don't hurt her, or others will say we are bullying a pregnant woman."

"Don't worry, Madam. I know my limits," Mother Luo assured. "Although she's pregnant with an illegitimate child, this is none of our business. I won't interfere and enforce family rules for others."

The master and servant spoke one by one, and the people around them were not fools, so they immediately heard something was wrong.

A widow? Pregnant with her cousin's child? The slight bulge in her belly was the best evidence. She even wore a white flower in her hair. This was definitely adultery.

As for that lady, they said she had an affair without a matchmaker, but she looked so dignified and surrounded by so many people, she didn't look like someone who eloped at all.

Such a secret was revealed in public on the street. Ji Minrou's face was burning with anger. "He Jixiang, what nonsense are you talking about? You didn't tell your aunt and cousin about your marriage, so where did you get the matchmaker?"

"My good brother has been hiding this from you all this time. Back then, when he wanted to steal my wife's shop and open a winery, he signed a severance agreement with me a long time ago—he signed it himself."

"Why don't you go home and ask him... Oh no, I forgot he's still in the Jingzhao Prefecture's prison. You can't get in with your shady identity. You should go home and ask Madam He for permission to go and ask."

He Jixiang smiled coldly and told Luo Mama and the others to leave. Before leaving, he dropped two words, "bad luck."

Luo's mother also said something shameful: "A widow with no status and no family background gives birth to a child for my cousin. Isn't that shameful?"

Several maids also scolded him, "You ran into such a shameless thing on the street. You didn't check the almanac before going out."

"What kind of dirty and smelly thing is trying to get close to my wife? Next time, I'll have my lord send some people to follow her."