“If you want to look at it that way, then let us truly break down the numbers, component by component,” Li Xiyue said, her tone sharp and precise. “For the past three years, my father sent you one tael of silver every month to cover my living expenses. At most, you spent two hundred copper coins on me each month. That leaves a surplus of nine thousand six hundred coins a year. Over three years, that accumulates to twenty-eight taels and eight hundred coins. Let us deduct eight taels as payment for your trouble, leaving twenty taels. I expect you to return that remaining amount to me before my wedding day.”
Li Xiyue calculated the amount with effortless precision.
The moment Wang Dani heard those words, fury exploded inside her chest. Smoke practically rose from the top of her head. Asking her to hand over money that had already landed in her pocket was nothing less than a fantasy.
“You little wretch, say that again if you dare!” Wang Dani screeched. “Every single coin was spent on you! Just because you claim there was money left over does not make it true. Where is your proof? Even if this went before the county magistrate, I would not fear you!”
Wang Dani stood firm without the slightest panic, while Zhu Tiezhu frowned deeply at Li Xiyue in obvious displeasure.
“Aunt, if that is your stance, then perhaps we should calculate the rent for this house instead,” Li Xiyue replied calmly. “A large brick-and-tile residence like this would still be worth a considerable amount even in the county seat. I will charge you a modest two hundred copper coins per month. Over three years, that totals seven taels of silver. Add that to the twenty taels from earlier, and you owe me twenty-seven taels altogether. Also, if you wish to continue living here from now on, you will need to pay that same monthly rate. Otherwise, I am more than willing to report you for unlawfully occupying private property. At that point, we can see exactly whose side my father takes.”
Without giving them time to respond, she picked up her things and walked away without another glance.
Left standing there, Wang Dani and Zhu Tiezhu stared blankly at one another.
“Didn’t they say this house was supposed to belong to us?” Wang Dani muttered in disbelief. “Is that woman Qin going back on her word?”
“You idiot, you only ever look at the surface!” Zhu Tiezhu snapped, his beard trembling with anger. “What is the point of arguing with her now? We do not even have the property deed in our hands!”
“And you did not stop me earlier either!” Wang Dani shouted back. “No, this cannot continue. I need to find Qin Lixin immediately. We had an agreement. I raised that miserable girl for several years, and this house was supposed to become mine. How dare she play tricks on me now?”
Burning with resentment, Wang Dani immediately tried to storm off, only for Zhu Tiezhu to grab her arm and yank her back.
“Come back here! They already moved to the prefectural city long ago. Where exactly are you planning to find them?”
Wang Dani nearly choked on her anger, yet she could do absolutely nothing.
From that day onward, the couple behaved like entirely different people around Li Xiyue. They never mentioned the betrothal gifts again and even went out of their way to flatter her whenever possible.
Li Xiyue, however, felt increasingly troubled over the issue of the house. Even though the property deed was safely in her possession, getting rid of those two shameless parasites would not be easy. She sighed heavily every time she thought about it.
By the sixth lunar month, the winter wheat had fully ripened, transforming the fields into endless waves of shimmering gold.
Under Village Chief Zhu Chenggong’s leadership, every household in Zhu Family Village had already stored enough grain to last at least two years. With their granaries filled to the brim, the villagers finally felt a deep sense of relief.
Everyone stood smiling brightly at the sea of golden wheat, planning to wait only a few more days before harvesting the crops and drying them thoroughly before the seventh month arrived.
At the same time, the wedding date between Zhu Qingshan and Li Xiyue drew closer with each passing day.
Zhu Qinghe soon delivered the completed bridal gown to Li Xiyue. Like the bridal veil, the dress was exquisitely embroidered with magpies perched upon plum blossoms and mandarin ducks frolicking across flowing water. Every stitch was breathtakingly beautiful.
“Thank you, Sister Qinghe. I absolutely love it,” Li Xiyue said, gently tracing the intricate embroidery with visible delight.
Zhu Qinghe smiled warmly. “There is no need to thank me. I am simply happy that you like it. Tomorrow I will make a matching pair of shoes to complete the outfit. On your wedding day, you will surely be the most beautiful bride in the entire village.”
Zhu Qinghe truly adored embroidery, but she had only studied under her mother for a few short years before her mother passed away. Without anyone left to guide her, her skills had stagnated for quite some time.
Fortunately, Li Xiyue had gifted her two Suzhou-style silk fans featuring exquisite double-sided embroidery.
The moment Zhu Qinghe saw them, she had nearly gone mad with excitement. She reluctantly dismantled one of the fans just to carefully study the embroidery techniques hidden within. Thankfully, the effort had paid off, and her craftsmanship had improved tremendously over the past few days.
Because of that, Zhu Qinghe felt profoundly grateful toward Li Xiyue. Forget a single bridal gown, she would gladly embroider ten more if necessary.
After seeing Zhu Qinghe out, Li Xiyue eagerly tried on the gown herself. The more she admired her reflection, the more satisfied she became. Zhu Qinghe truly possessed extraordinary talent.
After indulging in her vanity for a while, she carefully folded the gown and placed it inside the wardrobe.
Just as she prepared to close the cabinet doors, however, her gaze sharpened.
The items Zhu Qingshan had previously brought over had clearly been moved. The wrappings had obviously been tampered with.
Wang Dani and Zhu Tiezhu did not currently possess the courage to pull something like this, which immediately narrowed the suspect list in Li Xiyue’s mind.
Fortunately, she had already hidden all her silver and valuables safely inside her dimensional space.
She calmly restored everything to its original arrangement, then retrieved a pair of solid silver bracelets from her space and slipped them onto her wrists. During dinner that evening, she deliberately exposed the bracelets in plain sight, acting completely natural.
Zhu Qingsong’s eyes immediately locked onto the gleaming silver bracelets.
His eyes widened.
Those bracelets alone were probably worth several taels of silver.
He could not understand where that wretched woman kept hiding her money. He had searched every corner of her room, even checking the mouse holes, yet he had found absolutely nothing.
There had to be a fortune hidden somewhere.
He silently decided that he would search her room again at the next opportunity.
Li Xiyue noticed the greedy glint flickering through his shifty little eyes and instantly understood what he was planning.
Hmph. Let him come.
A few days later, while Li Xiyue and Zhu Qinghe were away in the county seat purchasing dowry items, Zhu Qingsong quietly used the spare key he had stolen from his mother to unlock Li Xiyue’s bedroom door.
After turning the entire room upside down and finding nothing, he cursed furiously.
“Where did that damned woman hide the silver? It cannot possibly have sprouted wings and flown away!”
Still unwilling to give up, Zhu Qingsong glanced upward.
Suddenly, he spotted the corner of a cloth bundle tucked atop the ceiling beam.
His eyes lit up instantly.
“Hahaha! I found it after all! Li Xiyue, you clever little bitch, you never expected this, did you?”
Overjoyed, he scrambled onto the wardrobe and dragged the bundle down.
The moment he opened it, however, a vicious metal trap snapped shut with a loud crack.
“AHHHHH!”
A horrifying scream exploded from the room.
“It hurts! Somebody save me! My hand is breaking!”
The shrill cry sounded exactly like a pig being slaughtered alive.
Hearing the commotion, Wang Dani rushed into the room. The moment she saw the bloody animal trap clamped around her son’s hand, her face turned deathly pale.
“Qingsong! My precious son! What happened to you?!”
“Mother! Save me! My hand is breaking! Li Xiyue trapped me!” Zhu Qingsong shrieked while rolling around on the floor in agony.
“Qingsong, do not be afraid! Mother will fetch a doctor immediately!” Wang Dani cried desperately before turning toward the stunned Zhu Tiezhu standing in the doorway. “What are you standing there for, you useless fool?! Hurry and get a doctor! Do you want our son to lose his hand?”
Snapping out of his daze, Zhu Tiezhu bolted from the house.
“Ohhh, it hurts… it hurts so much…” Zhu Qingsong continued screaming nonstop.
The elderly physician from neighboring Huaxi Village soon arrived. After an exhausting struggle, he finally managed to pry open the heavy trap and stop the bleeding with medicinal powder.
His expression remained grim.
“I can only stop the bleeding for now. The bones in his palm are shattered. If you do not take him to a major clinic in the county seat immediately, I fear this hand may not be saved.”
The moment those words landed, Zhu Qingsong cried even louder.
“Mother! I do not want to become crippled! Save me!”
“Do not worry! Mother will never let you become crippled!” Wang Dani sobbed. “We are going to the county seat immediately! Tiezhu, hurry to the village chief’s house and borrow the ox-cart!”
Zhu Tiezhu ran off at once.
As Wang Dani reluctantly paid the physician his one hundred copper coins, her heart bled with pain. She could not even imagine how much money the county clinic would demand afterward.
At that moment, her hatred for Li Xiyue deepened even further.
That wretched girl had better pray her son recovered completely.
Meanwhile, Li Xiyue accompanied Zhu Qinghe to sell another batch of embroidered goods in the county seat.
The embroidery shop owner stared at the exquisite double-sided embroidery with delight practically spilling across her face.
“Miss Zhu, whenever you complete new embroidery pieces in the future, you must bring them directly to my shop,” the woman said enthusiastically. “I guarantee you will receive the highest possible prices.”
Once sold to wealthy clients, these embroidered pieces could easily be resold for more than ten times their original cost. Naturally, she wanted to secure Zhu Qinghe as an exclusive supplier.
Zhu Qinghe simply smiled politely without making any promises. After collecting her payment, she left the shop together with Li Xiyue.
Although double-sided embroidery earned astonishing profits, it was also incredibly exhausting and time-consuming work.
Li Xiyue truly did not want Zhu Qinghe to ruin her eyesight at such a young age.
“Qinghe,” she said thoughtfully, “have you ever considered opening a tailor shop of your own? You could hire several embroiderers, teach them your techniques, and employ someone to manage the business side of things. You would still earn excellent money while avoiding overworking yourself. You may be young now, but pushing yourself this hard forever is not sustainable.”
Knowing Li Xiyue genuinely cared about her wellbeing, Zhu Qinghe nodded gently.
“I understand, Sister Li,” she replied softly. “I will seriously think about it.”