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

The two, master and servant, were talking in hushed tones as they walked away. "Mother, the family fortune left by my father seems substantial, but in order to come to the capital to visit relatives, he gave away almost half to the clan, and the rest was sold off at a low price, converted into cash, totaling 350,000 taels. Now he has almost given away his entire fortune to build a bridge for Baiyun Temple. I still have 30,000 taels on me."

"Oh dear, my good heavens!" Madam Wang felt sorry for the money, but then she remembered that it was donated to a temple, and she was still in the temple. She dared not say that the money should not be donated, so she could only ask, "Won't sending 30,000 taels of silver to seek refuge with the Marquis's wife make the whole Marquis's household look down on the young lady?"

"If this were an ordinary family, thirty thousand taels would be unthinkable; several generations of them could never spend it all. But that's a marquis's mansion; they've seen all sorts of good things. If the young lady goes there, she'll probably suffer." Without her family's support and without any money to rely on, how will she survive?

“A young lady can only be truly at ease at home; where else can she not suffer? Mother, once we go to the Marquis’s mansion, I will pay two thousand taels of silver to the mansion’s public funds every year as our living expenses while staying with relatives. I will also secretly give ten thousand taels to my aunt. The rest will be for our emergencies.”

Only by making those around her believe that they are short of money will the people in the Marquis's mansion believe it. Then the Shen family will no longer be able to use her maternal clan's name to exploit her.

After a rough calculation, Madam Wang thought that her daughter still had about ten thousand taels of silver in her hands, which was not a small amount. However, she had witnessed how the master raised his daughter. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he spent money like water. She wondered if her daughter could get used to this lifestyle.

"Back when she was still living in the Shen family, if the young lady's stepmother and mother wanted to eat something nice, they had to spend extra money from the main kitchen. Now that she's living in a wealthy family, this expense will definitely be just as much."

Moreover, when it comes to giving gifts during festivals, it's not appropriate to expect the Marquis's mansion to pay for it. The young lady has to take it out of her own pocket. How can ten thousand taels of silver be enough?

Besides, once the girl has completed her three-year mourning period, she will eventually remarry. Where will they find a dowry then?

"Master started saving up for your dowry from the moment your daughter was born, but who knew this would happen? I wonder who will benefit from the dowry of the old house. It was all made of the finest rosewood and mahogany. Master always picks the best of everything." Madam Wang thought that it would probably benefit the second wife's daughter.

"It doesn't matter. If we have the ability, we can naturally protect our dowry." What Hua Sirong didn't say was that if they didn't live up to their reputation in the Marquis's mansion, then they deserved that their clansmen didn't respect them as women.

“When I was in the Shen family, I witnessed the methods of the Lady Hou. She… In principle, a servant like me shouldn’t speak ill of her mistress behind her back. But in my heart, Miss is my only mistress. Just remember, Miss, the Lady Hou is not someone to be trifled with.” Wang Mama only regretted that she wasn’t good at navigating the power struggles within the household, and that there would always be times when she couldn’t protect her mistress.

"Don't worry, Mother, I've got it." The daughter of a minor official became the wife of the Marquis's heir by virtue of her good reputation, gained a firm foothold, gave birth to a legitimate son and daughter, and became the current head of the Marquis's household, firmly controlling the management of the household. How could she have done this without some skill?

She wanted to seek refuge at the Marquis's mansion, but how could a few thousand or ten thousand taels of silver possibly open the gates of such a prestigious residence? The two shops in the prime location of the capital were the real target.

Even with her own father's abilities, he only owned two good shops in prime locations in the capital, which were so profitable that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they made a fortune every day.

As for the dowry that the old woman was worried about, apart from the inanimate objects in the old house, she kept two small shops in the capital city, actually located in the West Market. They weren't worth much, but for an orphan like her, they were still a decent dowry.

Hua Sirong felt as if she had gotten rid of a major worry after giving up the money. In the days that followed, she accompanied the monks in the temple to perform rituals, copied Buddhist scriptures for her parents, and ate vegetarian food that only nobles could eat. Her mood was exceptionally peaceful, and her health gradually improved.

"Miss, when shall we go to the Marquis's residence? Should we write an invitation first?" Madam Wang also wanted to stay in the temple, where food and drink were no problem.

But there's no such thing as a free lunch. In the past few days, because the temple has been leading the bridge repair, many distinguished guests from the capital have started to come to the temple. Even if the master can't come, his family has arranged for important stewards and nannies to come and give money to express their goodwill.

With more people, there will be more trouble, and their living here is not a long-term solution.

"No rush, let's focus on praying for my parents. As for the rest, people will come knocking on our door." Hua Sirong looked so confident that Wang's mother almost believed her.

Chunyan, still not understanding, asked directly, "How did the lady of the Marquis's mansion know that you were at Baiyun Temple?"

"Good question. We'll just have to bump into each other sometime and we'll find out."

Seeing that the two still didn't quite understand, Hua Sirong simply said, "After all, I'm wearing mourning clothes, so there's no reason for me to come directly to their door, especially since it's a Marquis's mansion that values ​​rules."

My initial plan to come directly to the capital to seek refuge was rather rash. Come to think of it, our arrival at Baiyun Temple is truly a matter of fate. This place has been a great help to me; I'm sure the Marquis's mansion will want to get involved in the bridge construction at Baiyun Temple—they won't miss out on such a prestigious opportunity.”

I could find out about the Marquis's residence at the inn in town, so they must be frequent visitors to Baiyun Temple. The Marquis's residence is not short of money, and Baiyun Temple will not miss the opportunity for them to do good deeds.

"If anyone from the Marquis's residence comes, we can ask Master Wuchen to secretly inform them and subtly reveal some information, or we can take the initiative to go and pay our respects. Then, we'll see what choice my aunt makes." Having received so much offerings from her family, I wonder if she'll show her any favor.

However, with the donation to Baiyun Temple, at least on the surface she no longer has to worry about being found by the Hua family and arbitrarily sent to be a concubine.

There's no reason to guard against thieves for a thousand days. She was a weak woman, and even if she died of illness, no one in the clan would seek justice for her.

Only by creating checks and balances between the Marquis's mansion and the Hua family can she survive caught between their two powerful forces.

Sure enough, just one day later, Wuchen sent a letter to Granny Wang, informing her that someone from the Muqing Marquis's residence had arrived—a head housekeeper. As for the real master, he was too busy with the young master's wedding to leave.

"Master Wuchen, I went to the kitchen to make some Xishan snacks for my daughter. I know you like them, so I saved some for you too." Mama Wang was carrying a food box. When she saw Wuchen leading a stern-faced old woman, she nodded to the woman as a greeting.