Marrying a concubine and swallowing her dowry? The mistress turns around and marries a high-ranking

Chapter 10

Upon hearing this, Old Mrs. Qin was so frightened that she almost jumped up!

Thirty thousand taels of usury?! Are you crazy?

Not to mention the exorbitant interest rates of usurious loans, even just borrowing 30,000 taels would take the Marquis's mansion a hundred years to repay!

When Shen Lingjun was there to foot the bill, the wedding was as grand as it could be. But now that the Marquis's mansion is completely broke, Old Madam Qin is so stingy that she won't give him a single penny!

Shen Lingjun asked with difficulty, "Then what should we do, Mother?"

Qin Shaoze felt sorry for Liu Manman, and even though he was short of money, he didn't want to make his beloved suffer too much. At this moment, he interjected:

"You handle it first, I'll borrow some money from my colleagues and friends, it's better than usury."

Shen Lingjun nodded: "Don't worry, Lord Marquis, I promise to handle this wedding properly and will not mistreat Miss Liu."

Old Mrs. Qin's brow twitched upon hearing this, and she dared not let Shen Lingjun handle the marriage arrangements.

He quickly forced a smile and said, "Lingjun, the Marquis's mansion is in dire straits right now, and managing the household affairs in the future will surely not be easy. You've already worked very hard. I think I should handle this marriage, so that you can have an easier time. What do you say?"

She handled everything herself, trying to save money wherever possible!

Shen Lingjun had this goal.

She wanted to push away all her responsibilities, and since her time and energy were precious, she didn't want to contribute to the Marquis's mansion anymore.

Moreover, she was also very interested to see how this extremely selfish and self-serving old lady Qin would handle the marriage when she was short of money.

It's sure to be very exciting!

Shen Lingjun agreed: "Okay, then thank you very much, Mother, for sharing my burden."

The Marquis's mansion is now truly destitute. Even Shen Lingjun, who is in charge of the household affairs, is unable to manage them, so she turns to Qin Shaoze to ask for money again.

She was truly at a loss, as her dowry had all gone to buy medicine for Old Madam Qin, leaving her with not a single penny. Shouldn't Qin Shaoze, as the head of the family, be the one to find a solution at this time?

Qin Shaoze knew that Shen Lingjun was helpless and could not say anything to her, so he went outside to borrow from his friends and colleagues and borrowed 10,000 taels of silver.

He only gave Shen Lingjun 1,000 taels for household expenses, and used the remaining 9,000 taels for Old Madam Qin's wedding.

He felt he had already wronged Liu Manman terribly.

What he didn't know was that the first thing Old Madam Qin did after receiving the nine thousand taels was to embezzle six thousand taels and put them into her empty little treasury.

It's just taking a concubine, why spend so much money! Three thousand taels is enough!

It only cost less than five thousand to marry Shen Lingjun, my legal wife!

She doesn't even have enough money for her funeral now, so of course she needs to save more money for herself in case of emergencies!

A wedding costing three thousand taels of silver was even more modest than the wedding to Shen Lingjun back then.

Grandma Qin took her frugality to the extreme, saving as much as possible on all expenses related to the wedding.

The betrothal gifts amounted to only 1,500 yuan, and the rest of the items were all cheap and worthless. They didn't even manage to be flashy or practical; it was clearly just a perfunctory effort.

Qin Shaoze was unaware of these things; all he was looking forward to was marrying Liu Manman.

In early September, the Yongning Marquis's residence received an invitation from the Liguo Duke's residence, inviting Qin Shaoze and Shen Lingjun to attend the Liguo Duke's wife's 60th birthday banquet.

This is the second time Qin Shaoze and Shen Lingjun have appeared in public as husband and wife since Qin Shaoze returned to the capital. The first time was when they entered the palace to receive an award.

When Liu Manman found out, she insisted on going with Qin Shaoze.

On the surface, she said she didn't care about Shen Lingjun, who was a nominal wife of the Marquis, but she was still jealous that Shen Lingjun, as Qin Shaoze's wife, attended the banquet with him.

She needs to be there too!

Unable to resist Liu Manman's persistent pleading, Qin Shaoze had no choice but to go to Shen Lingjun.

"Lingjun, could you ask the Duke of Li's mansion for another invitation to the birthday banquet? Manman said she also wants to go and wish the old lady of the Duke of Li a happy birthday."

The Duke of Liguo's mansion and the Shen family have been friends for generations. They sent an invitation to the Marquis of Yongning's mansion mainly because of their relationship with Shen Lingjun.

Shen Lingjun raised an eyebrow slightly and glanced at Qin Shaoze.

The unmarried woman, wanting to be close to a man, actually came to ask her, the legal wife, for an invitation.

However, Shen Lingjun had seen so much of Qin Shaoze's thick skin that it no longer seemed unbelievable to her.

“My lord, Miss Liu has no relation to the Duke of Li’s family, and they are complete strangers. Isn’t this inappropriate?”

Qin Shaoze was also a little embarrassed, but he forced himself to say, "Manman and I are already engaged and will soon marry into the Marquis's mansion. We are not unrelated. She is the Divine Physician recently appointed by the Emperor. Going to celebrate the birthday of the old lady of the Duke of Liguo will not be a loss of face for her."

Upon hearing this, Shen Lingjun suddenly remembered that Liu Manman was about to marry into the Marquis's mansion, and as the legal wife, she should, in principle, prepare a gift for the newlyweds.

Shen Lingjun smiled slightly.

Liu Manman entrusted her son to her care for three years; how could she not show any appreciation?

Then she'll take this opportunity to give Liu Manman a big gift!

Shen Lingjun agreed: "Alright, I'll ask for another invitation for the Marquis."

On the day of the old lady's birthday banquet, Qin Shaoze and Shen Lingjun set off for the Duke of Li's mansion early in the morning.

At the entrance of the Yongning Marquis's residence, Qin Shaoze was waiting in front of the carriage, hoping that Shen Lingjun would come out and ride in the same carriage with him.

Unexpectedly, when he turned his head, he saw Liu Manman and her maid Bai Zhi, dressed in fine clothes, walking gracefully towards him.

Liu Manman was dressed in a very different way today. Her dress was made of the finest brocade fabric, but the style was unprecedented. The embroidered patterns on it were also all things that Qin Shaoze had never seen before. He didn't know how to describe it, but it was just unconventional.

Liu Manman was clearly very proud. Lifting her skirt, she twirled gracefully in front of Qin Shaoze and asked him with a smile, "This is a new Chinese style design that I created myself. I drew the Q-version patterns myself. Isn't it pretty?"

Qin Shaoze felt that it would be best to dress appropriately for such a formal occasion as the birthday banquet of the old lady of the Duke of Liguo. However, seeing Liu Manman looking at him expectantly, he couldn't bear to spoil her mood, so he changed his mind before he could finish speaking.

"Of course it looks beautiful, it's very unique."

Well, his Manman was always so quirky and unique.

Liu Manman was overjoyed and naturally wanted to get into Qin Shaoze's carriage: "Let's go."

She felt that since she was Qin Shaoze's fiancée, she should naturally go to the banquet with him.

This time, Qin Shaoze couldn't help but speak up: "Manman, we're only engaged, not married yet. We shouldn't even be seeing each other before the wedding. Riding in the same carriage is improper..."

Just then, Liu Manman saw Shen Lingjun coming out of the Yongning Marquis's residence.

Shen Lingjun was still in mourning, so she usually wore plain white. However, it was inappropriate for her to wear such a dress to the birthday banquet. Therefore, she wore a light blue lilac-patterned curved skirt, a kingfisher feather and pearl-encrusted butterfly hairpin, and a pair of light purple lilac earrings that matched her dress.

Her simple yet elegant attire, her cool and serene face and temperament—she could draw people's attention simply by standing there quietly.

Qin Shaoze stared at Shen Lingjun, momentarily lost in thought.

Shen Lingjun was extremely beautiful, but she was too cold. If beauties were to be categorized into four types based on the seasons, she would be a typical winter beauty.

She was stunningly beautiful, but not all men could appreciate her beauty. Qin Shaoze had never liked this type before; he preferred lively and cheerful girls like Liu Manman.

But now, seeing Shen Lingjun is a refreshing surprise, like seeing a bowl of chilled tea after eating too much spicy meat and sweet desserts. It instantly refreshes the mind and cools the body.

When Liu Manman saw Shen Lingjun arrive, she realized that Qin Shaoze was here, waiting for Shen Lingjun to go to the Duke of Li's mansion together!

When Liu Manman saw Qin Shaoze staring intently at Shen Lingjun, her jealousy exploded instantly!