With Multiple Babies, Who Still Wants to Be the Marquess’s Wife? - Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Shameless and Boundless

After hearing this, Madam Zheng frowned and said, “On the surface, she is just the daughter of a farmer, how dare she make such excessive demands? Does she think she is made of gold?”

Yu Junshu slowly replied, “Actually, her higher demands aren’t necessarily a bad thing. When the Chen king comes, it will show that we value her.”

Madam Zheng frowned again, “But you just married Lan Qingxi; the family is already in debt.”

Although she felt that Lan Qingxi was not worthy of Yu Junshu, she was a person who valued face. The wedding between Yu Junshu and Lan Qingxi was very grand.

That wedding had almost depleted all the cash from the marquis’s estate.

The income of the marquis’s household consisted mainly of Yu Junshu’s salary as well as profits from shops and farms.

As for the marquis, he held an idle position and his salary alone was not enough for a single family member.

Yu Junshu had recently been promoted after winning a top scholarship and had just left the Hanlin Academy to join the Ministry of Revenue, where his salary was relatively low.

Upon entering the Ministry, he had to pull some strings to obtain a significant amount of silver. At that time, Madam Zheng was reluctant to take out that much silver at once, so she borrowed a lot from the Lan family, which had yet to be repaid.

Madam Zheng was managing the shops of the marquis’s household; she was not a businesswoman, but she was good at managing people, and the shops did have some income.

However, the farms had limited returns, which were fixed amounts.

While the marquis’s estate appeared to be prosperous on the surface, it was quite hollow inside.

Recently, Madam Zheng had spent a considerable amount of silver on medical expenses, and now the household accounts only totaled around a thousand taels of silver.

She was unwilling to dig into her family’s savings to take in Zhao Yan’er!

She said, “Since Lan Qingxi wrote you the concubine contract, let Zhao Yan’er fulfill her demands.”

Yu Junshu felt this was not appropriate, as he could clearly sense that Lan Qingxi had been greatly affected by this incident and was much colder towards him than before.

He replied, “This seems inappropriate.”

Madam Zheng coldly snorted, “What’s inappropriate about this? I agreed to your marriage with her for her money.”

“If she doesn’t take this silver, you should divorce her!”

“Nanny Zhang, go call Lan Qingxi over, I want to speak to her.”

Yu Junshu knew he couldn’t divorce Lan Qingxi right now, but he also didn’t have that much silver on hand. Since he wanted to give Zhao Yan’er some dignity, this seemed like a solution.

He thought that even if Lan Qingxi was angry with him because of Song Linyuan’s involvement, she still loved him.

She didn’t lack silver, and she would certainly be willing to pay this amount, so he did not stop her.

A quarter of an hour later, Lan Qingxi arrived with Nanny Zhang. Madam Zheng immediately said, “You are being generous in taking a concubine, and this is a good thing.”

“However, the household is a bit tight right now, so you will have to provide the funds for the concubine.”

Lan Qingxi was very familiar with this formula!

Madam Zheng’s arrogant and self-righteous tone, as if demanding money while making it sound like charity, was a perfect display of her character.

Lan Qingxi turned to Yu Junshu and asked, “Is this also your intention, Jun Ge?”

Yu Junshu gently replied, “Qingxi, our wedding has drained the household’s funds, you don’t know the hardships in between.”

“Things are indeed a bit tight at home right now, so consider this silver loan from me, I will definitely pay you back in the future.”

Madam Zheng coldly interjected, “You are husband and wife; why should there be such clear divisions? What’s hers is also yours.”

Lan Qingxi asked, “According to your reasoning, if I belong to the husband, doesn’t the husband also belong to me?”

Madam Zheng frowned and said, “A woman’s husband is her heaven.”

Lan Qingxi smiled and turned to Yu Junshu, asking, “Does the husband think so too?”

Yu Junshu gently said, “We are husband and wife, there’s no need to be so clear about it.”

Lan Qingxi replied, “I understand now.”

With that, both of them took it as her agreement.

Madam Zheng was very pleased with her attitude and that evening asked Nanny Zhang to prepare a list of the requirements for taking Zhao Yan’er as a concubine.

Madam Zheng not only included Zhao Yan’er’s demands but also added ten bolts of high-quality silk, ten hairpins, and a set of ornaments, along with whatever else she desired.

Zhao Yan’er’s original request for two thousand taels of silver, after going through Madam Zheng’s hands, had now inflated to four thousand taels.

Madam Zheng thought that since Lan Qingxi had already agreed, she should let her contribute more.

Her daughter hadn’t received new clothes or hairpins for a month, so she made sure that Lan Qingxi would cover those costs too.

Li Qiu saw the list and was furious, trembling with anger. “The betrothal gifts given to the young lady back then didn’t even add up to this much!”

“I’ve never heard of anyone who takes a concubine using the bride’s dowry!”

Lan Qingxi and Yu Junshu’s wedding was grand and extravagant, but it was all for show.

When Lan Qingxi married into the Marquis household, her dowry was entirely provided by the Lan Family and had little to do with the Marquis household.

Li Qiu thought that the actions of the people in the Marquis household were simply beastly!

Lan Qingxi remained much calmer. They had done even more disgusting things before, this was merely an appetizer for them.

She smiled and said, “Aren’t you seeing it now?”

Li Qiu asked, “Miss, will you be paying this silver?”

Lan Qingxi’s gaze was cold. “Although the Lan Family is the wealthiest in Jiangnan, my brother’s money didn’t come from the wind, how could they just take it?”

Li Qiu worriedly said, “But if you don’t pay, will the madam and the young master make things difficult for you?”

Lan Qingxi smiled slightly, “Then I won’t give them the chance to make things difficult.”

Li Qiu didn’t understand how she planned to avoid being troubled by that pair.

Lan Qingxi spoke softly, “The true master of the residence isn’t that pair, it’s the Marquis.”

“Such a major event as taking a concubine—how could he not know?”

Even if the Marquis is useless, he is still the true master of this residence.

Li Qiu’s eyes brightened at this.

The Marquis had often been absent, but after Concubine Qin moved into the residence, he had spent all his time with her.

Lan Qingxi had seen the Marquis in Qiu Lan Courtyard, when she entered, Concubine Qin was also there.

After she came in, she respectfully greeted the Marquis and warmly greeted Concubine Qin, who smiled and returned the greeting.

The Marquis, curious, asked, “What brings you to see me?”

He was not on good terms with Madam Zheng and usually didn’t concern himself with the matters of the household.

His relationship with Yu Junshu was also quite tense, they would argue whenever they met. He believed that Yu Junshu was being incited by Madam Zheng and did not recognize him as a relative.

He hadn’t even inquired about Lan Qingxi and Yu Junshu’s marriage.

In his eyes, Lan Qingxi was Yu Junshu’s wife, and she naturally sided with him.

So when Lan Qingxi came to find him today, he was somewhat surprised.

Lan Qingxi smiled and said, “I came to see the Marquis today because I have something I would like to consult you about.”