Demoted from wife to concubine? Reborn, the mistress of a noble family plots another high-status mar

Chapter 113

"Twenty-five thousand taels? Your second branch of the family can figure out how to pay this amount yourselves. At most, five thousand taels will come from the public account." Lin Bao'er is currently in charge of the household affairs in the Marquis's residence.

She only said that there was no such money in the company account.

Li immediately stated that she would not agree to use 25,000 taels from the public account to fill the hole left by the second wife.

Only five thousand taels were to be taken from the public account, and the second branch of the family had to find a way to cover the remaining twenty thousand taels. Shen Zhoushi immediately burst into tears, “Sister-in-law, put your hands on your conscience. Over the years, my elder brother has been indulging in debauchery outside. Not to mention the distant past, even just recently, your eldest branch has spent a lot of money, all of which came from the public account. Last time, my elder brother sold his daughter.”

“He misappropriated 10,000 taels from the public account, and he also owed 5,000 taels to Furuilou. The money was shared equally by our second and third branches. Now that our second branch is in trouble, you only agree to pay 5,000 taels from the public account.”

"How dare you even ask?"

Upon hearing this, the third wife felt it made sense, after all, the second wife's experience today was a cautionary tale.

The second and third wives were born out of wedlock, but they have always been very close siblings.

"Yes! Sister-in-law, it doesn't make sense that when the eldest son's family has a problem, the majority of the money comes from the public account, and when it's our turn, we have to find a way ourselves."

"This is so unfair! If things continue like this, if something happens to the eldest son's family and they need money, they'll just have to handle it officially," said Madam Shen from the third son's family.

Otherwise, we'll split up.

The second and third wives weren't afraid of separating the family property, since neither of them had a dissolute, good-for-nothing husband.

Li's face was grim. "Second sister-in-law, it's not that we disagree with taking more money from the public account for you."

"It's really because the Marquis's mansion suddenly produced so much money."

Lin Bao'er nodded. "Second Aunt, if there is enough money in the public account, we will definitely help the second branch of the family through this difficult time."

Madam Li continued, "We are a family, and we face any difficulties together, just like we have for so many years. It's just that since the 150,000 taels of silver that our Marquis's mansion was taken from Yunxi Yuekeng, the Marquis's mansion has never been as wealthy as before."

“Originally, this money was to be divided equally among the three families, but as you all saw, it wasn’t that our eldest family wanted to embezzle it. It was Yun Xiyue who maliciously harmed Yue’er, and now she’s harmed Ling’er and is trying to cheat us out of our money.”

Speaking of this matter, Madam Shen Zhou said angrily that she couldn't swallow her anger and that's why she wanted to get the money back.

However, this caused great harm to her daughter and almost angered the Empress Dowager and the Emperor.

“I understand what my sister-in-law is saying, but this money is for the imperial court. If we don’t hand it over quickly, the emperor will be furious, and I don’t know if it will affect the marquis’s future.”

Madam Li clenched her fists and looked at Madam Shen, "Mother, what do you suggest we do?"

"What did the Zhou family say?" asked Madam Shen.

Shen Zhoushi has already returned to the Zhou family and spoken with Old Madam Shen. "The Zhou family only agreed to pay half the money."

“Mother, my father intends to promote the Marquis, and I think we can’t easily offend the Zhou family.”

Fearing that the old lady would disagree, she gave her a heads-up.

The Dowager Lady was concerned with the reputation of the Marquis's mansion and the future of her eldest grandson, Shen Yue.

The Shen family was not as powerful or influential as the Zhou family.

Grand Tutor Zhou wields considerable influence in the court and is highly valued by the Emperor. If he were to promote Shen Yue, Shen Yue would undoubtedly rise to prominence, and the restoration of the Shen family's former glory would be imminent.

......

Meirentang has reopened after being closed.

On this day, Yunxi Yue came to the shop for a new ribbon-cutting ceremony, celebrating a grand opening.

Firecrackers were set off, and a lion dance troupe was invited to perform on the street.

The entire street was bustling with activity.

"Have you heard? Meiren Hall has been reopened. The poisonous rouge incident was a misunderstanding. Meiren Hall is now open for business again. The owner is Miss Yun. On the opening day, all rouge and face powder are half price."

"That's a great deal! Let's hurry and buy a box for our wife or our mother. My wife says that Meirentang rouge is pretty good, and their Jade Face Peach Blossom Powder is their signature product. It usually costs five taels of silver a box, but now it's only half price."

The half-price offer instantly attracted a wave of customers.

Many of the guests were men.

I don't usually buy rouge, but I came here to buy it because it was cheap.

This time, Yunxiyue prepared small trial boxes.