The whole family was brutally murdered? The ruthless heiress's eldest daughter went berserk aft

"I never imagined that Madam Murong, as the wife of a general, could only afford to give a jade hairpin as a gift!" Xiao Sining mocked from the side.

Murong Xuewei didn't hold back at all, "Yes! My general has been fighting wars year after year, and the poor court can't even pay the soldiers' salaries. This jade hairpin was something our general's mansion managed to scrape together with great difficulty. I wonder what Your Highness the princess has given us?"

"Of course I am...of course I am..."

Xiao Sining was speechless when asked this question. She had prepared a rare red coral for Wen Ruoxin, intending to use it to make a name for herself.

Let these young noblemen present see the difference between them and the royal family.

Now that Murong Xuewei has brought up the matter of military pay, if they were to say that red coral was prepared instead, it would likely upset some of the military officers' families present.

After all, the imperial court had not paid military salaries for three consecutive months.

Xiao Sining was at a loss for what to do, desperately trying to think of a way to deal with it.

Wen Ruoxin smiled faintly, "The gift is all about the sentiment. It doesn't matter if it's expensive or cheap. What matters is the thought behind it."

Wen Ruoxin appeared to be helping Xiao Sining out of a predicament, but in reality, she was deceiving Murong Xuewei into giving her a worthless gift.

Murong Xuewei didn't care much, after all, today's gift was indeed very thoughtful, to what extent.

Murong Xuewei searched through her makeup box but couldn't find a single cheap item. In the end, she found this hairpin in Liuli's makeup box.

"Miss Wen is right! The sentiment is indeed priceless."

Wen Ruoxin smiled and said, "Everyone's sentiments are precious; there's no need to rank them. Alright, the banquet is about to begin. Second Princess, Madam Murong, please take your seats."

"Miss Wen, please."

"Madam Murong, please. Second Princess, please."

After taking her seat, Murong Xuewei casually found a corner and began to eat.

After looking around, Liuli said, "Madam, didn't you say today was a trap? I don't see any danger here."

"You silly girl, whose banquet is this a trap? Do you think it's written on your forehead, 'This is a trap'?"

“What Madam says is right! So when do they plan to make their move?” Liuli continued to ask.

Murong Xuewei was somewhat helpless. What was this girl thinking about all day long?

"Let's take a good rest first! There's definitely a big surprise waiting for us!"

After saying that, Murong Xuewei started eating her food.

These dishes are not as good as those made by the chefs that Murong Xuewei specially invited from Jiangnan, but they are barely edible, so let's just make do with them!

After several rounds of drinks and several dishes, the atmosphere gradually became lively.

Suddenly, someone suggested, "Since all the young masters and ladies of the capital's prominent families are here today, why don't we take this opportunity to have a talent competition?"

The suggestion was immediately met with a positive response, and everyone began to take turns showcasing their talents.

At first, it was the young masters from noble families who were reciting poems and composing verses, but gradually some people started to urge the young ladies from noble families to come out and show off their skills as well.

Originally, the young ladies from noble families were all reserved, but they couldn't resist the urging of others, so they all showed off their best skills.

Some people recited poems, some sang and danced gracefully, and even Wen Ruoxin displayed a beautiful guzheng performance.

After the song ended, Wen Ruoxin looked at Murong Xuewei and said, "I wonder if I have the honor of witnessing Madam Murong's talent today?"

Before Murong Xuewei could speak, Zhao Qingqing jumped out again, "Madam Murong, what can you do? You can't possibly know nothing, can you?" Her tone was full of sarcasm.

“Miss Zhao, Madam Murong is, after all, the wife of a general. How can you speak of her like that?”

Murong Xuewei simply smiled calmly, "Miss Zhao is right, I really am not skilled in refined arts such as music, chess, calligraphy, and painting."

Just as Zhao Qingqing was about to seize the opportunity to mock him, Murong Xuewei continued, "All I know is accounting."

The room fell silent immediately after those words were spoken. Everyone looked at each other, unsure how to react.

There was a few seconds of silence, followed by a huge burst of laughter, "Hahahaha, let's settle the score."

After that laugh, everyone else started to laugh too.

Murong Xuewei stood up and looked around. "Is it that funny?"

“If accounting can be considered a talent, then my accountant is certainly multi-talented!” Zhao Qingqing seemed to have found a way to retaliate against Murong Xuewei.

Murong Xuewei also sighed heavily, "Alas! There's nothing we can do! Our general's mansion is poor! We often go three, four, or five months without paying the soldiers' salaries, and we're almost out of rice to cook again. If we didn't know how to do accounts, we wouldn't be able to survive!"

Murong Xuewei's words resonated with many young masters and ladies from military families present.

As family members of generals, we can all understand the frustration of not being able to pay military salaries every now and then.

Many of these family members came from well-off families and could live without military pay, but some, like Gu Ye, had fought their way up step by step.

This military pay was their lifeline.

Many people began to speak up for Murong Xuewei.

“Madam Murong is right. As the lady of a household in charge of the central government, if she doesn’t know how to do accounting, wouldn’t she be able to squander her family’s wealth without even realizing it one day?”

"That's right. Military officers are different from civil officials. Military officers' pay is earned with their lives."

Zhao Qingqing was stunned again. She had just told the truth, so why was everyone reacting so strongly?

"I didn't mean to say that military generals are bad."

"What does Miss Zhao mean? Are you referring to the families of military officers?" Murong Xuewei pressed on.

"I didn't, I just... I just..." Zhao Qingqing was completely at a loss for words.

“In the Taichu Kingdom, civil and military officials have always been of one mind. I believe Miss Zhao is not mocking the military officers, but simply finds what Madam Murong said amusing.” Wen Ruoxin timely helped Zhao Qingqing out of the predicament.

"Yes, yes, I just felt that everyone here is skilled in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and I was very curious about Murong Xuewei's accounting skills."

"If Miss Zhao is curious, I can demonstrate it on the spot. How about we calculate Miss Zhao's family's accounts?"

Murong Xuewei looked at the bracelet on Zhao Qingqing's wrist with curiosity and said, "But it's strange! Zhao Shilang's monthly salary is only fifty taels, and he doesn't own any shops. I wonder how long it will take him to save up enough money for the exquisite jade flying bracelet that Miss Zhao is wearing!"

Upon hearing Murong Xuewei's words, Zhao Qingqing quickly pulled down her sleeve to cover the bracelet on her wrist.

"What flying bracelet? You've mistaken me. Alright, I believe your talent now, so there's no need to demonstrate."

The Flying Bracelet, which had just brought Zhao Qingqing countless envious glances, now felt incredibly hot to the touch. Zhao Qingqing even began to regret why she had come to this birthday banquet and why she had to wear this damned Flying Bracelet to show off.