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

Chapter 8

"Manager Qiu."

"Madam Shen." Manager Qiu greeted her with a smile, as if she were a god of wealth.

But this time, Yun Xiyue did not readily agree to give the money as she usually did.

Shopkeeper Qiu's smile froze. "Madam Shen, you see how much trouble it is for me to come all this way. It's only five thousand taels. The Marquis's mansion doesn't lack that little bit of money. Why don't you just settle the bill for me? It will save us the trouble of running back and forth."

Yun Xiyue had fresh tea served again. "Manager Qiu, you've misunderstood. The Marquis's mansion will definitely pay for this. They absolutely will not dine and dash."

Manager Qiu was naturally not afraid that the Marquis's mansion would not pay. Wealthy families all care about face, especially meritorious families like the Marquis's mansion of Anjun, which is large and powerful and has military achievements to back it up.

When everyone praised Lord An for his competence and promising future, it was impossible for him to ruin his future for a mere five thousand taels.

Manager Qiu, being a businessman, wouldn't easily offend anyone. "When would you like to settle the bill?"

Yun Xiyue smiled and gestured to Granny Cao to give him a brocade box.

Shopkeeper Qiu happily accepted it, but upon opening it, he discovered that instead of silver notes, it contained a land deed.

"this......"

He was so stunned that he didn't know what to say.

The Marquis's manor is actually trying to use the estate's land deed to pay off its debts?

"What's wrong? Do you think one estate isn't enough to pay five thousand taels?" Yun Xiyue asked with a smile.

Manager Qiu was both amused and exasperated. "Madam Shen, you must be joking with me. How could I possibly accept this estate!"

“If Manager Qiu doesn’t want it, then I don’t have five thousand taels to give you either. I can give you the estate as collateral. If the Marquis’s manor can’t give you the money in three days, you can buy it directly. It’s such a big estate, you can easily buy one for ten or twenty thousand taels.” Her voice was neither loud nor soft, but the steward in the front yard heard it clearly.

“If one estate isn’t enough, I’ll have someone bring another land deed. What do you think?” Yun Xiyue smiled, glancing at the steward who ran into the inner courtyard. Her smile grew even brighter as she gestured for Manager Qiu to sit down and wait.

Shopkeeper Qiu was completely baffled. "Madam Shen... I don't want the land deed."

......

The steward held his breath and ran so fast that he knocked down several old women without even apologizing. The old women were angry but dared not speak out. He ran all the way to the Li family's courtyard.

"Madam, something terrible has happened."

Li was happy to hide away and enjoy the peace and quiet. She found it irritating to hear people shouting. "What are you shouting for? As the housekeeper, what kind of behavior is this, yelling like this? Let's talk things out."

"Our Marquis's mansion is doing very well now!"

The son returned victorious from the battle and was given an important position by the court. He also brought back two grandsons and a granddaughter.

There is also a wealthy daughter-in-law who helps support the family.

She was content with simply enjoying the life of an old lady; she had nothing to be satisfied with now.

The steward took a breath and said, "Madam, something terrible has happened. Madam wants to sell the Marquis's estate."

Li paused, her hand still touching the hairpin. "What did you say? Say it again!"

"Madam wants to sell the Marquis's estate in the capital to Manager Qiu."

Li clutched her chest, nearly fainting. She took a deep breath, still unable to believe it.

Would Yun Xiyue really do something like this?

"The Marquis has already let her take charge of the household again, but she doesn't know how to take out money to pay the bills. How could she sell the Marquis's estate? How dare she do such a thing?" Madam Li became angrier as she spoke. Despite her disbelief, she still led her people to the front yard.

When they arrived at the front yard, they did not see Manager Qiu.

Madam Li breathed a sigh of relief. "Steward Zhang, you're talking nonsense! How could Yue'er betray the Marquis's estate? Don't spout such nonsense again!"

"Moon, thank you for your hard work."

"This Manager Qiu is too difficult to deal with; only you can get rid of him."

As she spoke, she came over and took Yun Xiyue's hand, as gentle and kind as ever, her smile flawless.

Yun Xiyue subtly withdrew her hand. "Steward Zhang is right. The Marquis's accountant doesn't have five thousand taels to pay for Father's meal. Manager Qiu won't leave until he sees the banknotes. I had no choice but to give Manager Qiu the land deed of a manor on the outskirts of the capital as collateral."

"Only then did he give up and go back first."

Madam Li was stunned for a moment, then said angrily in a deep voice, "Why didn't you discuss such a big matter with me? When did it become your place to make decisions about the things in the Marquis's mansion!"

"Who told you to use it as collateral? Get it back to me right now."

Everything in the Marquis's mansion belonged to his son and was intended to be left to his two grandsons.

Even if it's just an inconspicuous estate, it's not up to her to decide whether to sell it or not.

Yun Xiyue looked heartbroken. "Mother, the accountant has no money. If we don't do this, Manager Qiu won't leave. If we offend Manager Qiu and word gets out, what will become of the Marquis's reputation?"

"I did this for the sake of the Marquis's mansion, how can Mother blame me?"

“If Mother thinks I’ve done a bad job, then I’ll go and get the land deed back. But… I’m afraid I won’t be able to manage the household affairs of this Marquis’s mansion anymore.”

Li choked on her words, almost blurting out, "How can you use your own dowry to pay for meals? If you can't do it, who can? If you don't manage the household and don't contribute any money, what will our entire Hou family eat?"

"Moon, I'm not blaming you for not doing well. You've done a great job all these years. I've never doubted your ability to manage the household."

"But such a big matter should have been discussed with us first."

Yun Xiyue said, "Mother once said that I could make all the decisions in this family. That estate is indeed nice; it's the largest estate in our Marquis's mansion. But no matter what, it's not as important as the reputation of the Marquis's mansion!"

“I thought my mother thought the same way I did. She also said that she always treated me like her own daughter. How come I don’t even have the right to decide to sell a farm now?”

"Or is it that Mother... dislikes me, thinking that I am not as fertile as Lin Shi, who gave birth to two sons and a daughter for the Marquis in five years?"

She spoke pitifully, her watery eyes seeming to burst into tears at the slightest hint of Li's words.

Li felt a tightness in her chest. "Yue'er, that's not what I meant... Sigh, I know you've been wronged. Yue'er was indeed wrong in this matter. I'll persuade him to visit your room more often later."

"Once you consummate your marriage, things will be better. Yue'er will definitely treat you well."

"I'll go and talk to him in a bit, is that alright?"

"Take out the money first and redeem the estate."

That's the Marquis's biggest and best estate, how could it be sold for only five thousand taels?

Li was so anxious she felt like she was going to vomit blood. She wanted nothing more than to slap Yun Xiyue a few times and call her a fool.

“I have no money left…” Yun Xiyue looked troubled, tears welling up in her eyes as she wiped them away with a handkerchief. “Mother, you don’t know, but ever since you said that the Marquis was living a hard life at the border and asked me to send him five hundred taels every month, my dowry has been emptied out.”

Li's face turned purple, but she couldn't refute or accuse her.

It took him a long time to recover. "No matter what, this estate cannot be sold."

"Yes, I told Manager Qiu that it's just a mortgage. If the Marquis's mansion doesn't pay to redeem it within three days, then we'll sell it to him for five thousand taels, and he can do whatever he wants with it," Yun Xiyue said with a smirk.

Mrs. Li was extremely anxious. "There are only three days left. I need to find a way to raise money."