Confiscating property? A stunningly beautiful substitute bride empties the national treasury and is

"Auntie, thank you so much for today, brother. Without you, I don't think I could have managed to handle things here at all."

As she spoke, Song Qingqian took out thirty taels of silver from her dress and handed it to Wang Shi.

Wang was flattered and hurriedly declined, saying, "Miss Lu, this is not right. I cannot accept this. You have helped me, and it is only right that we repay you now."

"Auntie, please don't refuse. This is what you deserve."

Song Qingqian squeezed her hand tightly as she spoke: "Besides, which midwife doesn't charge money? Other things are just a matter of courtesy, and it's only right that we reciprocate. But consider this your payment for being a midwife!"

Wang explained with an embarrassed expression, "It still doesn't need to be that much. The midwife I had when I gave birth to my youngest son was quite generous; she only gave me ten taels of silver. This is indeed a bit much..."

"It's not much, consider the rest as a red envelope from me! I'm truly grateful that you're willing to stand up for us at this time, no amount of money would be too much."

"Then...then I'll accept it?"

Song Qingqian smiled gratefully and nodded, advising, "Auntie, don't worry about keeping it. When you get to Bingzhou, you can buy a horse and find that carriage. It will make things much easier for the whole family in the future."

"Thank you... thank you, Miss Lu!"

Ms. Wang was so grateful that she couldn't express her gratitude in words; she just wanted to help.

As a woman herself, she could understand Bai's predicament, but she hadn't expected this young lady Lu to be so generous. She truly felt unworthy of such generosity.

"Auntie, you don't need to be so polite. I don't have any suitable dresses for you right now. I'll buy you a new one once we get to the city."

Song Qingqian felt really bad when she saw that her dress was stained with blood.

She knew that in ancient times, the blood of a newborn was considered unclean, and that contamination with it would damage the owner's fortune, so many people avoided it.

Wang waved her hand and smiled, "It's nothing, just a dress, it's not worth much."

"Since there's nothing else, I'll head back. Please take good care of your sister-in-law. Don't let her cheerful demeanor fool you; she's actually suffering inside."

"I know, thank you for reminding me, Auntie!"

Song Qingqian said with some regret, "When you have time to rest in the future, Auntie can bring Ziwang over to play more often, and try to persuade my sister-in-law more. There are some things I can't persuade her about."

"Understood, don't worry, I'll take care of it!"

Wang waved and left, but Wang Beimu was still there. His family was waiting not far away. When they saw Wang coming, they asked a few questions and then pulled the carriage away.

Wang carefully showed the silver to her husband, Wang Beimu, who was shocked: "This silver is too much to handle. We're only going there to help."

Wang muttered to herself, "That's what I said too, but that Miss Lu insisted on giving it to me, and there was nothing I could do."

Wang Beimu sighed, "Since that's the case, then let's accept it. The War God General's family values ​​loyalty and righteousness. We'll help them out as much as we can in the future."

Madam Wang nodded, then complained, "Apart from the second son who was a bit unreliable at first, they're actually quite good people. I don't know what the other branches of the Lu family were thinking back then, and what about the Yu family? That's the old lady's own brother..."

"Sigh! If you ask me, that family is too kind. If it were me, I wouldn't even consider severing ties with them. I'd teach them a lesson they won't tolerate, yet they still act so arrogantly! They don't even know who's the boss!"

Wang Beimu chuckled self-deprecatingly and quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, yes, Madam is the best!"

Wang snorted coldly: "You just know how to brush me off!"

"I'm not just saying that, really!"

Wang Beimu explained with a smile, "Given my wife's personality, let alone them wanting to sever ties, they wouldn't even have a chance to claim any connection!"

Madam Wang smiled with satisfaction, knowing that no one could surpass her husband in this regard, and then sighed with emotion:

"That little girl was born with delicate features; she's sure to be a beauty in the future. It makes everyone's heart itch!"

"Your daughter's illness has relapsed again. Our current circumstances don't allow it. How about you have another child later, when things are more stable and life is better?"

Wang Beimu joked, seeing how pleased she was with herself, and sighed inwardly. It was all his fault for meeting the wrong person and trusting others too much, otherwise he wouldn't have dragged his wife and children into this mess.

Wang sighed, "Never mind, we'll talk about it later!"

*

When Song Qingqian carried the hot water onto the carriage, she saw Bai Shi trying to breastfeed the child. The child seemed to have been full in the womb and wasn't very hungry, so the baby wasn't cooperating at all. Song Qingqian was so anxious that she burst into tears. The old lady sat beside her and patiently comforted her.

"Sister-in-law, no rush, take your time. Let me wipe you down first and change you into clean clothes so we can get ready before we continue our journey."

Madam Bai nodded, and the old lady hurriedly took the basin from Song Qingqian's hands.

"Let me do it. In the end, I'm the one who's sorry. I didn't protect Jin Jin well."

The old lady's eyes welled up with tears as she spoke. Her eldest son had always been very sensible, and his life had been smooth sailing from birth to marriage and having children. She had really had very little to worry about.

She felt guilty towards her son and her eldest son's family.

“Mother-in-law, really, there’s no need. I can’t let you serve me. You’re too old for your health.”

Bai hurriedly explained that it was only right for her to be filial to her parents-in-law, so how could she let the old lady serve her? Wouldn't that be a slap in her face?

"Listen to me, I can do some work, and I'll still be of some use as an old woman. Now that I'm gone, I have to atone for his sins!"

"Mother-in-law..."

Bai was sobbing uncontrollably. Seeing the two arguing, Song Qingqian took the child and tried to comfort them:

“Sister-in-law, if your mother-in-law wants to do it, please let her have it. Otherwise, she will feel too burdened and won’t be able to let go.”

"Besides, we're all family. In this situation, let's not be so formal. If it were any other time, she would definitely have personally selected a few maids and servants to take good care of you."

After hearing this, Bai Shi didn't say anything more.

After changing the water three times, with the help of her two sisters, the old lady helped Bai change into a clean dress and then had the two sisters clean all the bloodstains off the carriage.

The family ate a simple meal before setting off.

Inside the carriage, Madam Bai looked at Song Qingqian and asked in a low voice, "Sister-in-law, do you have any medicine that can help with lactation?"

“Zhan’er and Yu’er both had wet nurses back then, so I never breastfed them. But given the current situation, I think I should breastfeed myself.”

The old lady said, "How about we go to Bingzhou and buy a dairy goat? I'm worried your health won't be able to handle it."

"Mother-in-law, I can do it!"

As Bai spoke, she still had some doubts. Dairy goats were good, but she felt they were too unclean. Besides, she noticed that poor people who couldn't afford wet nurses all breastfed themselves, and the children all looked very healthy.

Song Qingqian nodded in agreement: "Newborn babies do have much better immunity when they are breastfed."

“Sister-in-law, if you want to come in person, that’s fine too. After we’ve settled down in the wilderness for a few months, we can hire a wet nurse then.”

"Okay, let's settle on that then."

Fearing that the old lady would object, Madam Bai quickly slammed her hand on the table and made the decision.