The cousin's family is extremely wealthy; she deserves to be a concubine.

Lady Shen frowned even more deeply, but she did not believe the speculation that the temple was swindling money.

There were a few maids left in the hall to serve them. They had initially thought that the Hua family was very business-minded and that all they cared about was money and other such vulgar things.

When they learned that three or four hundred thousand taels of silver had been donated to the temple in such a generous manner, they were utterly shocked.

What a pity, such a large sum of money! It may be vulgar, but I still want to have it.

Hua Sirong reiterated, "It's true. My niece donated voluntarily because she saw that the temple was in trouble. There's absolutely no suspicion of being deceived or misled. Besides, this matter can't be faked. If you're interested, just go to Baiyun Temple and ask. You'll know that I'm not lying."

The clan chief's younger brother, with a bitter face, slumped into a chair, now truly regretting his actions.

They regretted letting Hua Sirong's second uncle's family cause trouble, and the clan should not have tried to force Hua Sirong to vomit more, instead just sitting idly by and watching her being driven to a dead end.

Well, now they've tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead; everything has gone down the drain.

The clan chief's younger brother lost all interest in exploring further, and dejectedly bowed to the Lady of the Marquis, preparing to take his leave.

She didn't glance at Hua Sirong as she left, and no one in the hall noticed that the Lady Hou's arms, gripping the armrest tightly, were trembling with veins.

"Mom, please see my uncle off for me. After all, he's my elder," Hua Sirong whispered to Wang's mother, and squeezed her hand tightly.

Concealing her surprise, Madam Wang glanced at the absent-minded Lady Hou, bowed, and followed the two out.

Watching her clansmen leave in a huff, Hua Sirong wasn't particularly happy. Airing family scandals in public, especially in the place where she would be living for the next few years, was hardly something to be pleased about.

She knelt before Madam Shen, saying, "Aunt, I have caused trouble for the household today. Please punish me."

Lady Hou came to her senses, placed her hands on her knees, and stared at the girl kneeling devoutly before her for a long time without saying a word or showing any expression.

Despite the comfortable weather, Hua Sirong broke out in a cold sweat but dared not move.

"Enough. It's not my place to interfere in your father's family affairs," the Lady Hou said softly, her voice devoid of reproach but also devoid of any emotion.

"However, the clansmen you received at my Marquis's residence also represent the face of my Marquis's residence. Your words and actions have shown disrespect to your elders and clansmen. Considering your young age, I will punish you by confining you to your quarters to copy scriptures and pray for your parents who died young and had no good fortune."

Hua Sirong's hands, hidden in her wide sleeves, were clenched into tight fists.

"Yes, thank you for your forgiveness, Aunt."

She knelt on the ground devoutly, not getting up immediately. Only after Madam Shen left with her entourage did her stiff body soften slightly.

When Wang Mama returned, Hua Sirong was still in the same position. She quickly helped her up. The two of them didn't dare to say a word, supporting each other and avoiding people along the way, hurrying back to Qingwu Courtyard.

Back in the main room, Madam Shen couldn't suppress the nameless anger surging within her.

He dismissed the maidservant beside him, leaving only the attentive Wenqin to serve him.

The moment the main door closed, with a 'bang,' Madam Shen casually smashed a teacup.

"Fine, fine, fine. I really underestimated my niece." After venting his frustrations, he sat down in a chair rather rudely, pressed his temples, and regretted that he had been too soft-hearted to let Hua Sirong into the family.

"Don't worry, Madam. Should I go and invite Granny Zhang over to ask if she has heard about Miss Hou's donation at Baiyun Temple?" Wenqin took the initiative to massage Madam Hou, and asked her questions cautiously.

Madam Shen was silent for a moment, then said, "Fine, since she dared to say it, there's no reason for her to fabricate it. Have you forgotten what Granny Zhang went to Baiyun Temple for?"

"Sending money to repair the bridge." Wenqin wondered what this had to do with her cousin. Wasn't that Baiyun Temple spreading goodwill?

Upon further reflection, she was astonished. "Could it be that the whole bridge construction at Baiyun Temple was started because of our cousin?"

How can it be so unbelievable?

"Hmph! I think it's pretty much a done deal. Building bridges and paving roads doesn't come cheap. My niece is certainly going all out; it's really opened my eyes."

"Madam is giving Miss Biao too much credit. How could a young girl like her make such a decision?" Wenqin was skeptical. Seeing that the seemingly weak Miss Biao was willing to give up so much money, wasn't she afraid of losing everything in the future?

"Just look at how she managed to escape safely from her clansmen with only an old man and a young servant, and then travel thousands of miles to the capital to find her relatives. This shows that she is far more intelligent than ordinary young ladies."

"Outside the capital, she learned of Baiyun Temple by chance, and then decisively went there to seek refuge. Afterwards, it was perfectly natural for our Marquis's mansion to welcome her in. Based on this alone, how many of the young ladies in our mansion could do that?"

“The young ladies in our household are all pampered and cherished, and they will never encounter a situation like Miss Cousin, who is so unreliable.”

“You’re right. If parents are useless, then the children suffer the most. Our children don’t need to suffer like that.”

"Madam, do you really think Miss Biao handed over all her possessions to Baiyun Temple? Could it be that she only gave a small portion, using it as a pretext, while actually keeping the lion's share?" Wenqin didn't quite believe that someone with nowhere else to turn would give away their only lifeline so easily.

In fact, Lady Shen, the wife of the Marquis, also had some doubts about this. "I am not a fortune teller, how would I know?"

If her uncle from her father's side hadn't mentioned it today, I wouldn't have known that she had sold off all the properties she could in her hometown of Xishan. "She sold them off at a discount in such a hurry; if she had sold them at market price, how much more money could she have made?"

All the properties owned by the Marquis's family combined, when calculated annually, amounted to only fifty to sixty thousand taels of silver.

It looks like a lot, but with such a large family and social obligations, the men's expenses while traveling are just enough. They have to be very careful with their money to keep the accounts balanced.

If some unexpected situation were to occur, their Marquis's mansion might not actually be able to come up with so much silver to provide emergency relief.

The family looked wealthy, and the storerooms were piled high with treasures. But those things were either imperial gifts that couldn't be converted into cash, or valuable items accumulated by their ancestors over generations.

Any one of these items is a masterpiece, but if it's used as collateral for silver, the Marquis's reputation will be completely humiliated by the entire capital.

When the descendants of a noble family leave home, they can forget about standing up straight again.

To ruin one's ancestral heritage—who can bear the responsibility for that!

Ah, you don't know the cost of firewood and rice until you're in charge of the household. Shen Shi knew it all too well.

"To be honest, Miss Cousin is not very kind. Since she is planning to come to the capital to rely on our lady, she should not have disposed of her family property so casually. This makes it seem like our Marquis's mansion has no place to use its talents."

In the end, Miss Biao is still a bit distant from Madam and doesn't trust her. Wenqin understands Madam the best. Otherwise, why would Madam value herself the most among her many head maids, and another one, Wenhua, who was promoted at the same time?