"Exactly!" The Second Madam had long been displeased with the Old Madam's habit of subsidizing her maternal family.
The Old Madam frowned and said to Meng Qianqian, "Saving lives is urgent. You take it out first."
Meng Qianqian sighed, "It's not that your granddaughter-in-law is unwilling to pay this sum of silver; in truth, I only have ten thousand taels left."
The Zhao Old Madam was shocked, "You... You had so much dowry silver… only ten thousand taels remain? How has your Lu Family spent it?"
Meng Qianqian sighed again, "I truly don't know. For the past few years, all I've done is settle accounts. How it was spent has always been decided by Grandmother."
Fortunately, the Old Madam never trusted her, and the stewards in the family were all the Old Madam's confidants. Otherwise, she'd have hardly been able to explain herself.
The Old Madam's expression became slightly awkward. She cleared her throat, "Let's not talk about this now. Take the ten thousand taels out and let your great-aunt address her urgent needs."
Meng Qianqian smiled, "I can lend it for emergencies, but let's agree first—this sum of silver is a loan to the Zhao Family, with interest. A written contract is required."
At these words, the Old Madam grew displeased, "Why the need for such formalities among family? Are you worried you won't get your silver back?"
The Zhao Old Madam chimed in, "Exactly, Qianqian. Doing this makes you seem so distant!"
Meng Qianqian ignored their joint protests and turned to the Second Madam, "Second Aunt, what do you think?"
The Zhao Family's reputation was well-known to the Second Madam. "Write the IOU! Draft the contract! Otherwise, don't lend the silver! Eldest Sister-in-law, wouldn't you agree?"
Lu Mother nodded, "Clear accounts between brothers—better write the IOU."
Meng Qianqian looked at the Old Madam, "Grandmother, the IOU will be kept with you. As for when they return the sum, I promise there will be no rush from me."
Though the Old Madam liked supporting her maternal family, she was still concerned that if this silver wasn't paid back, the Lu Family wouldn't have a way to live in the future.
Moreover, with the IOU in her possession, even if the maternal family couldn't repay in full—or repaid less—it would ultimately be up to her personal discretion.
As for the Zhao Old Madam, she knew all too well that this sister-in-law was highly biased toward her maternal family. If the IOU was in her hands, it was practically void.
Thus, the Zhao Old Madam readily agreed.
The Old Madam suspiciously eyed Meng Qianqian, "Do you truly only have ten thousand taels left?"
Meng Qianqian took a small key out of her pouch, "Grandmother, this is the warehouse key. If you don't believe me, you can count it yourself."
The Old Madam took the key, "To the warehouse!"
The Second Madam's eyes flickered, and she linked arms with Lu Mother, "Eldest Sister-in-law, we're going too!"
She insisted on supervising personally, lest the Old Madam and the Zhao Family secretly pocket any extras.
A crowd of people marched grandly toward the warehouse.
Although the key was in Meng Qianqian's possession, there were skilled guards stationed outside the warehouse at all times. These guards were arranged by Lu Xingzhou. Whether Meng Qianqian had ever secretly moved anything out of the warehouse was crystal clear to them.
Thus, after multiple rounds of counting and confirming that the remaining silver in the chests truly only amounted to ten thousand taels, one by one, everyone was dumbfounded.
"How was so much spent…"
The Second Madam gritted her teeth quietly.
The Old Madam's thoughts were no less turbulent.
Meng Qianqian captured their stunned expressions perfectly. The silver's mostly gone—shocking, isn't it?
Actually, even in the Capital City, ten thousand taels is by no means a small sum. However, compared to the massive dowry Meng Qianqian had brought years ago, this remainder was indeed unimpressive.
Meng Qianqian and Lu Mother had always been frugal, and the elderly Madam ensured the household ran diligently. One could guess who had extravagantly squandered the money away.
Unfortunately, the parties involved didn't see it that way.
The Old Madam assumed the Second Branch must have embezzled a significant amount. Conversely, the Second Madam accused the Old Madam of excessively subsidizing her maternal family.
Meng Qianqian feigned confusion, "Grandmother, Second Aunt, why do you both look so grim? Could something be amiss? Shall we gather some stewards and conduct a thorough audit?"
"No need!"
"No!"
The Old Madam and the Second Madam spoke in unison.
Meng Qianqian, adept at reading the situation, didn't press forward further and instead continued, "Actually, I've looked through some account books recently and noticed considerable issues."
The Old Madam immediately scowled, "What could you possibly understand about account books? Do you think the Lu Family in the Capital City operates like the small households in You State? Without mentioning the extensive expenses of each courtyard here, your father-in-law holds an official position. Administrative transactions and socializing are inevitable. A merchant's daughter like you wouldn't comprehend the intricacies of the officialdom!"
The Zhao Old Madam stared pitifully at the Old Madam, "Elder Sister, we're still short by ten thousand taels… What do we do?"
The Old Madam's gaze swept across the room.
The Second Madam immediately stepped back, "I don't have any!"
Lu Mother said, "Neither do I."
She truly didn't—her dowry had been used up years ago to provide support.
The Old Madam said to her younger sister, "I recall the Zhao Family has two shops on East Street. Combined, they should be worth about ten thousand taels."
The Zhao Old Madam's expression changed, "Elder Sister—"
The Old Madam dismissed her protests with a wave of her hand, "It's decided."
The Zhao Old Madam had initially hoped to take the full amount from the Lu Family, but unexpectedly, Meng Qianqian's dowry had been squandered away, leaving only ten thousand taels.
Privately, she somewhat resented her sister-in-law. Though Meng Qianqian's resources had been exploited heavily over these years, this sister-in-law likely had stashed away considerable funds secretly for herself. Yet now, she insisted the Zhao Family give up their two most valuable shops instead.
Of course, she could hardly voice this out loud—those two properties had been purchased with Meng Qianqian's dowry silver, secretly funneled to the maternal family by her sister-in-law back then.
Meng Qianqian publicly drafted a promissory note and had the Zhao Old Madam along with her grandson sign and seal it, then handed the note to the Old Madam.
The Second Madam complained, "Gave it all to the Zhao Family—what are we supposed to eat now? Air from the northwest?"
Meng Qianqian replied helplessly, "There are still some gold and silver trinkets in the warehouse. If the household truly struggles in the future, you can pawn them to get by. Grandmother, there's no need to return the warehouse key to me."
She had given up on managing entirely.
What could the Old Madam possibly say?
Meng Qianqian had been completely "squeezed dry"!
Back at Haitang Courtyard, Nanny Li was heartbroken.
"Miss, you just loaned the last ten thousand taels to the Zhao Family, yet didn't keep the promissory note. What if they deny repayment in the future?"
Meng Qianqian replied, "Of course the Zhao Family won't repay."
Powerful people won't default even without notes, while powerless individuals can possess countless notes and evidence yet still face unbridled defiance.
Unfortunately, Meng Qianqian belonged to the latter category.
From the very start, she never expected the Zhao Family to repay.
Late into the night.
Meng Qianqian awoke from sleep—not from nightmares, but from habit. Her body had accustomed itself to waking at certain hours.
Lu Yuan sat in his usual seat, a rosewood official's chair, warming smokeless red-ash charcoal and leisurely flipping through her latest novelette.
"This one's worse than the last—terribly boring!"
Terribly boring, yet you're still reading?
Meng Qianqian glanced at the bedside table, where a thick stack of silver notes and two property deeds rested.
Doing business with the Grand Commander was truly worthwhile—not only had she successfully transferred out ten thousand taels of her dowry, but she also managed to extract the Zhao Family's two most valuable shops.
Meng Qianqian checked the authenticity of the deeds in his presence, then counted the silver notes.
"There's an extra two thousand taels."
The Zhao Family had only withdrawn ten thousand from her.
The Grand Commander turned another page of the novelette, responding indifferently, "Treasure Pig gave it to you."
The little one was already capable of paying back "milk money"?
Meng Qianqian murmured an acknowledgment, separated two thousand taels of silver notes, "Please, Grand Commander, deliver these to the Lord Commander."
She understood the need to show appreciation—after all, acting a role was no easy feat.
She had worried this Lord Commander might reject the gesture, suspecting her of trying to curry favor and win over his troops.
She'd even prepared her reasoning in advance, but surprisingly, the Grand Commander merely replied with a casual "Mm."
Meng Qianqian secretly exhaled in relief.
This man might be unrestrained, but at least he wasn't exhausting to deal with.
Meng Qianqian asked, "Where's Zhaozhao?"
Lu Yuan replied, "In the basket."
Meng Qianqian retorted, "No, he isn't."
Lu Yuan paused and turned toward the empty basket with only a vacant swaddle left.
"…"
Uh… Where's Little Treasure Pig?