Master Xu, seeing Li Niang remained silent, pressed suspiciously:
“What’s wrong? Haven’t you kept my private savings safe…”
He grew increasingly anxious as he spoke – those savings represented seven or eight years of hard work trading raw silk, satin, and medicinal herbs.
Had Li Niang not been so gentle and considerate, and had she not wept about her fears upon arrival, he wouldn’t have entrusted his savings to her temporarily to comfort her.
“I needed a moment to understand, why must you be so impatient?” Li Niang reacted swiftly, a crystal tear instantly tracing her peach-blossom cheek as she gazed at Master Xu with tearful resentment.
“You know how much I’ve suffered today, yet you haven’t uttered a single word of concern, Xu Lang.”
Her display immediately filled him with regret. He wrapped his arms around the lovely woman, holding her close and coaxing her for a long while.
“What more is there to say? This humble self belongs entirely to you, Xu Lang,” she continued weakly, bowing her head in self-reproach. “I blame myself for being so captivated by you that I acted improperly, earning everyone’s scorn.”
“Ah, don’t say such things,” Master Xu felt his heart twisting at her words. “Father is terribly old-fashioned and can’t accept this yet, but we have Yuan Ge’er. He’s one of only two grandsons in the main branch. For Yuan Ge’er’s sake, you’ll receive proper status.”
Li Niang nodded superficially while seething inside. What good was being one of two compared to being the only one!
After giving birth to Yuan Ge’er, she had been immensely proud – this was the main branch’s only son!
Who could have predicted that the soon-to-die woman would also bear a son two years later.
All those days she had burned three incense sticks daily – morning, noon, and night – praying to the gods that the main wife would have a difficult labor, preferably giving birth to a girl and dying in the process.
Heaven didn’t grant her wishes. The main wife didn’t last long, but she gave birth to a legitimate son.
Li Niang’s heart sank immediately.
Sure enough, upon their return, Landlord Xu refused to grant her any status to protect that wretched child, let alone the main wife position she coveted.
With a calculated shift in her gaze, Li Niang resigned herself to taking things step by step, keeping the man firmly in her grasp.
“Alright, rest assured,” Master Xu said affectionately, patting Li Niang’s cheek. “With me here, you and our two children will never want for anything.”
Then he urged her: “Be good now, go fetch the private savings.”
Li Niang rose obediently, retrieved an intricately carved rosewood box, and handed it to Master Xu. With a charming push, she said:
“Everything’s here. Count it carefully so you don’t wrongly accuse me of stealing later.”
“I trust you with my savings,” Master Xu replied, opening the box and kissing Li Niang despite her struggles, holding her close. “I’m only asking for it now because I need it. Come, give me a kiss.”
The box wasn’t large and its contents were modest, arranged in three layers. The top layer held several silver notes, each with a face value of one hundred taels – three notes in total.
The second layer contained twelve small, exquisitely crafted gold ingots neatly arranged. Each weighed two taels, totaling twenty-four taels of gold.
With gold prices being high – one tael of gold worth ten taels of silver – twenty-four taels of gold equaled two hundred forty taels of silver.
The third and largest layer was filled with assorted broken silver at the bottom, topped with seven or eight sycee silver ingots with snowflake patterns.
This amounted to one hundred twenty-three taels of silver.
In the dim candlelight, each piece of silver and gold shimmered with captivating brilliance, making them appear as the most delightful things in the world.
Li Niang felt a dizzying wave of confusion and couldn’t help asking:
“What does Xu Lang intend to do by opening the private savings box today?”
Could it be that he noticed I’d been wronged and wanted to give me some silver for security?
Just as her imagination ran wild…
“Hahahahaha, Li Niang, you wouldn’t know this—our Yue Ge’er has not only taken Scholar Feng as his teacher but has also proven to be a genius who comprehends ten things upon hearing one.”
“Scholars need to socialize, and the expenses for brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones are substantial. As his father, I naturally need to prepare more silver for him.”
Master Xu became animated at the mention of this, boasting to Li Niang as if showing off—
He was overjoyed. If his son succeeded in the imperial examinations, he would have an official for a son.
While speaking, his hands never stopped moving. He laid out a cloth, poured out more than half of the broken silver, picked out two ingots of snowflake silver, felt it wasn’t enough, and added another ingot.
Gold was troublesome to use; small businesses among the common folk simply wouldn’t accept it. It could only be exchanged at gold and silver shops, which was a skill in itself.
Master Xu didn’t take any gold. The silver amounted to about fifty taels. He deftly wrapped it into a small bundle with the cloth, planning to deliver it personally the next day.
Busy with the silver, Master Xu failed to notice that Li Niang was already grinding her teeth in fury, her eyes blazing with anger.
She had been safeguarding this silver and had long regarded it as her own. Having so much taken away felt like having her flesh cut.
Moreover, hearing the news revealed by Master Xu—that wretched brat was actually a natural scholar and had even taken a Jinshi as his teacher.
A Jinshi!
That was a Jinshi, just like the county magistrate!
How could that Yue Ge’er, who deserved to be trampled into the mud by her and her children, be worthy of such good fortune!
Eldest and youngest must follow order—her Yuan Ge’er was the elder brother; he should have been the first to take a teacher!
Her heart churned with turbulent, venomous thoughts. When Master Xu glanced over, Li Niang nearly lost control of her expression.
“It’s getting late; let’s sleep.”
Master Xu, with a smile curling his lips, embraced Li Niang and tumbled onto the bed…
Meanwhile.
The day had finally come to an end. Xu Yue lay in bed, reviewing the events.
She had prevented Li Niang from entering the household as a stepmother. This way, the woman had no authority to discipline her and would even have to act subservient.
A venomous snake with its fangs removed was insignificant, no matter how dazzling and fearsome its patterns appeared.
Xu Yue let out a soft sigh, feeling too restless to sleep. She decided to open the system interface, ready to explore it thoroughly.
It had been quite some time since she formally started her studies. Xu Yue keenly sensed that, at this stage, the content taught by Teacher Feng was still relatively simple for her, allowing her to firmly maintain her reputation as a genius.
After all, she had once pursued studies all the way to a doctorate.
However, as the material grew increasingly advanced, she might not be able to maintain her current pace.
This would be detrimental to her planned trajectory of prodigy—genius—renowned scholar.
She needed assistance beyond conventional means. Xu Yue pursed her lips in contemplation and looked at the system interface:
Skill: Discern Calamity and Fortune was prominently displayed, bright and indicating it was usable. Xu Yue skipped over it, first explaining her predicament before inquiring of the system:
“Does the Famous Minister System have any special methods to solve my problem?”
“For example, directly imparting knowledge, summoning historical card characters, intelligence-enhancing potions, or something along those lines.”
“…Sorry, there are none.”
Faced with Xu Yue’s hopeful gaze, the system replied guiltily.
“We are a legitimate system that does not advocate for the value of getting something for nothing. Moreover, the methods you mentioned, host, come with significant side effects.”