After the Gu of the Red Chamber

After Tu Mingyu discussed with his staff, he really started to collect the debt.

The first person to beg was not the other family, but the Li family, the natal family of the fourth concubine.

The fourth concubine, Li Shi, is also a transparent person in the Prince's residence. Her natal family is not visible, her father is from a poor family, and although her mother is a merchant girl, she is just an ordinary merchant. In the Li family's hometown, she may be called a rich family. , but when it comes to Beijing, it is really nothing.

In the case of the Li family, neither the Li family nor the Li family's parents have ever thought of marrying their daughter to any prince's mansion, and it was just a formality during the general election. It's good to talk about a better family, but in the general election, Emperor Pingkang will point it to the fourth prince for some reason.

This is an honor to others, but it is shocking to the Li family, but the imperial decree has been issued, and the Li family cannot resist the decree, so they can only recognize it by touching their noses.

Because she is marrying into the royal family, the dowry that the Li family originally prepared for the Li family is not enough. The dowry for her daughter Qin was 64 liters, which was far from the standard of 120 [-] liters for a princess.

In the end, the Li family still had to borrow money from the national treasury, so they managed to get a dowry that was enough to be called a prince concubine. Not as good as the dowry of Concubine Chen who later entered the mansion.

Concubine Chen is the prostitute of Duke Qi's mansion, and she has been favored since she was a child. The dowry of 110 eight liters is real, but there is no water in it. Compared with Li's, which is said to be 120 eight liters, most of it is Qin The dowry of the few things is much richer.

Also because her dowry and natal family are not as good as others, it has been really difficult for Li Shi to live in the fourth prince's residence these years, but that's all, nothing hits Li Shi even more than the fact that Li Shi's only son who struggled for his life is here. Passed away in an accident.

Obviously all the evidence pointed to Concubine Chen, but Tu Mingyu acted as if he hadn't seen it. He never sought justice for her child, and he still doted on Concubine Chen's son, but he just gave Chen a little coldness.

Perhaps for Tu Mingyu, being cold to the Chen family is considered an confession. After all, Concubine Chen has Tu Mingyu's only remaining son. She should be punished severely.

But it's different for Li Shi, she only has one son, Brother Huan, and when she gave birth to Brother Huan, she was plotted against by Chen Shi, which hurt her bones. The imperial doctor said that she had little chance of getting pregnant again, Brother Hou It can be said that her son is her only heir, and the only son died tragically, how could she not hate it.

Moreover, Tu Mingyu was self-righteous and wanted to transfer Tu Xun to Li's name, saying that it was to compensate Li for the loss of his son, and Li, who was so angry, directly avoided the other courtyard in the suburbs of Beijing, with a look of grief that was greater than death, The appearance of intending to become a monk, and the repeated elimination and beating finally made Tu Mingyu withdraw his intention.

Although Mrs. Li returned to the mansion, she had a grudge against the prince, and under the resentment, it was inevitable that 01:30 would appear on her face.

Don't look at the prince's incompetence outside, but when facing his own wife and concubine, he is very angry. Seeing Li's indifference to him, Tu Mingyu, who originally felt that he owed Li, suddenly became annoyed. He simply turned off Mrs. Li and favored other concubines instead.

Over the years, the relationship between Li Shi and Tu Mingyu is nothing more than a little face. Except for the first and fifteenth day of the junior high school, Tu Mingyu almost never enters Li's room. Sleeping, rarely calling for water.

Tu Mingyu didn't know what happened these days, he entered the main courtyard in one breath for several days, and called for water every time, seeing Li's eyes and brows a little bit springy, it can be seen that he has a strong relationship with the prince There was an improvement, and Li Shi's nanny couldn't help but congratulate Li Shi immediately.

It's not in vain that the empress has been taking care of her body all these years so that she can give the prince another son. Now the prince has finally changed his mind and knows that the empress is fine. As long as there is another son, he will be perfect.

"Your Majesty! This is a good thing!" Li Momo wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and said happily: "My Majesty is still young, maybe she can give birth to a little master, saving the Ruoxi courtyard!"

The Ruoxi Courtyard is where Concubine Chen's mother and son live. Although it is a side courtyard, it occupies a very large area and is only slightly smaller than the main courtyard. It can be seen that Tu Mingyu attaches great importance to the Chen family.

Even if something happened to brother Hou, the supply of Chen's mother and son in the mansion has not decreased at all, even faintly above the fourth prince's concubine. Take Chen's beautiful face like a flower and a jade.

Li patted her stomach subconsciously, feeling a little hopeful in her heart.

After all, she is a woman, if she is not really desperate, she will be willing to be a stranger to her husband, not to mention that her husband is not an ordinary husband, but a dignified prince, who may become the king of a country in the future.

The royal family is the most unruly family in the world. There have never been fewer incidents of taking concubines as wives, pampering concubines and destroying wives. In this royal family, nothing is more reliable than one's own flesh and blood.

Mrs. Li sighed slightly, "If we can have a son-in-law, our Li family will be really stable."

She looked at it coldly, Brother Pun had already been spoiled by the Chen family and the crown prince, so how could he be the heir apparent of the next generation? The future of the Great Jin still depends on her belly.

Nanny Li nodded again and again, it was right for the son-in-law to inherit the title, she looked at Li's belly with eager eyes, as if there really was a little master inside.

Just as the master and servant were chatting and laughing, suddenly the little girl rushed to report with a pale face, "Your Majesty, the eldest wife and the second wife are here, and they said they have something to ask your mother."

The eldest wife and second wife are the first wife and second wife of the Li family. Although Li's father came from a poor family, he is cautious. Although the two daughters-in-law married to his son are not from famous families, they are both kind and sensible. The most polite thing is that she is on good terms with the fourth concubine, the sister-in-law.

It's just because the crown prince looked down on the Li family, and because he favored Concubine Chen in the matter of brother Hou, and didn't give justice to brother Hou, the Li family became annoyed, and had even less contact with the prince. The two wives usually don't go to the door of the Prince's Mansion very often.

It was the first time for the little maids to see the two wives coming to their door, and what surprised them even more was that the two wives looked a bit embarrassed. The little maids didn't dare to hide it, so they hurriedly talked to the fourth prince and concubine.

"Oh!" Hearing that her natal sister-in-law came to the door suddenly, Li Shi was also taken aback, and quickly said: "Quick! Quickly invite the two sister-in-laws in."

She was puzzled, why did the second sister-in-law come here this year?

"Yes!" The little maid hastily invited Mrs. Li and the second wife into the main courtyard.

Seeing the two sister-in-laws coming in, Mrs. Li hurriedly got up to greet her with a smile. The relationship between her and Tu Mingyu had finally melted, and she was in a good mood. When she arrived at her natal sister-in-law, Li's smile froze, and she couldn't believe her eyes.

There is no other reason, because the two sister-in-laws of the Li family look really embarrassed.

Although her two sisters-in-laws from her natal family were not descended from famous families, they were also from other families. What's more rare is that her natal family didn't have the concept that a woman's lack of talent is virtue. The two sisters-in-laws were also educated and literate. I don't know how elegant and breathable her manners are, as long as she goes out, she will be absolutely uncluttered and neat from beginning to end, but today she looks like a crazy woman.

Not only the eyes of the two women were red and swollen, but even the clothes were loose and loose, as if they were pulled by someone, and they were as embarrassed as they could be. Moreover, their hair was disheveled, and all the hairpins and rings on their heads were gone. His earrings also seemed to have been snatched by someone.

The elder sister-in-law still had blood oozing from the pierced ears of both ears, while the second sister-in-law had only one pearl ear pendant left, and half of the ear pendant remained in the other ear. What's the matter, in short, it's empty, only Erzhen is left.

Mrs. Li was taken aback, and said sharply, "What happened? Who dared to bully my Li family!"

Li's face was frosty, he was really annoyed.

From the appearance of the two sisters-in-law, one could tell that they were being bullied. Li Shi was trembling with anger. Even if she was not favored, she was still a dignified concubine. Bullying her natal sister-in-law was like bullying her. For the prince's face, Li wished to catch the person who bullied the two sister-in-laws and chop them up.

Li's parents-in-law's temperament is still calm, she just purses her lips and doesn't speak, but the second sister-in-law of Li's family doesn't have such a good temper, she quickly replied: "Isn't it thanks to my uncle that we are like this?"

Mrs. Li was startled and almost knocked over the tea in her hand. She said angrily, "Second sister-in-law, you can't talk nonsense. The prince is the prince, and there is no woman. How could it be... maybe..."

Li's cheeks were flushed, and she was speechless immediately. To put it bluntly, the eldest sister-in-law and the second sister-in-law are not young, how could the crown prince bully them.

The two sister-in-laws of the Li family didn't know that Li Shi wanted to be so crooked until this time, and the two of them blushed immediately, and the second sister-in-law even bluntly scolded: "What is my sister-in-law thinking about, why have you been with the prince for so long?" Now, what I usually see and think are all obscene things."

Li Er's sister-in-law was also very angry, what she said was really blunt, she almost pointed at the prince's nose and scolded the bitch.

After all, Li's parents' sister-in-law is more stable, and she quickly gave Li's second sister-in-law a look to restrain Li's second sister-in-law's next disrespectful words.

If it was placed in someone else's house, Mrs. Li would be very angry at the shameless uncle, and she would just say a few words, but that person is the prince. If one is not good, I'm afraid she will lose her head, and she can't say anything. It will also affect the whole family.

Second sister-in-law Li also knew that she was Meng Lang, but she was really angry, and she couldn't say anything to apologize, so she could only snort coldly, turn her head aside, and pretended to expose the matter.

Li's parents and sister-in-law gave Li a solemn blessing, and said bluntly: "Mother, we are here to ask you to persuade the prince, don't kill the Li family."

At the end, Li's parents and sister-in-law couldn't help but burst into tears. For the first time, she felt some resentment towards her sister-in-law. If the sister-in-law protected her son and held the prince tightly in her hand, how could the Li family be destroyed by the prince? How about settling accounts for Qiuhou?

"What's going on?" Li Shi's face turned pale with fright. She really didn't know what happened, so she quickly asked, "What did the prince do?"

How can you say that you will settle accounts after autumn?

Seeing that Mrs. Li really didn't know, the two sisters-in-laws of the Li family finally calmed down a little, and spoke up.

Speaking of it, it was the disaster caused by Emperor Pingkang's urging to repay the debt.

The Li family didn't have much wealth, not to mention that in order to send the Li family to marry, the Li family's wealth was emptied, and they had to borrow a sum of money from the treasury. He is very temperamental, and he refuses to use his daughter-in-law's dowry, so he can only support the whole family with the little salary.

The Li family has had a hard time these past few years. This time, because winter came earlier, the old cotton clothes of the Li family from last year had long since clumped and could not be worn. The new clothes were not ready for a while, and the elder brother of the Li family was stunned like this.

In this day and age, the most costly thing is to see a doctor. The eldest brother of the Li family is seriously ill, and the medicine alone is a big expense. Father Li even mortgaged the last bit of land of the Li family, but he still can't cure him. Li's elder brother's illness, Li's father can't help it, so he went to the treasury to borrow money, unexpectedly...

Thinking of how the prince was forcing them to pay back the money like a ghost, the two sisters-in-law of the Li family couldn't help crying bitterly, not only the property of the Li family, but also their dowry and private money were searched, let alone I gave Brother Li the money to take the medicine. To put it bluntly, they don't even know if they have food money for tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

Even so, all the family property of the Li family could not cover the money owed by the Li family. In the end, even the only jewelry left on the two women's bodies that could be used to show their face was robbed by the prince, and they had no choice. So I asked my sister for help.

Li's parent's wife said in a soft voice: "It's not that I don't know the truth about debt repayment, but your eldest brother is seriously ill, and there is really no cure. Let's beg my sister to persuade the prince to give it a few days."

As long as she can save her husband, even if she licks her old face and goes back to her natal family to borrow money, it's just that her father-in-law really borrowed a lot of money back then, even if her natal family was hollowed out, she wouldn't be able to repay such a large sum of money. I beg the prince to give her a few days to let her husband get medical treatment first, and then slowly pay back the money later.

Li Er's sister-in-law is irritable, and she couldn't help complaining: "Back then, my father-in-law borrowed such a large amount of money to help my younger sister prepare for her marriage. The eldest girl is good. Once she gets married, she doesn't care about her mother's family."

The sister-in-law resigned to her fate and wanted to help her father-in-law repay the money, but she didn't resign herself to her fate. To put it bluntly, the money was owed to my sister-in-law, and she should pay it back. What's the matter with their second wife? She is not willing to help her father-in-law pay back the money.

If her dowry had not been confiscated by the crown prince, and they had no money, she would have come here today not to ask for help, but to ask for a separation. After all, the debt should not be borne by their family. .

Mrs. Li blushed, she was really ashamed, she could only whisper: "Don't worry, sister-in-law, I understand, even if I sell the dowry, I won't let my father pay the money on my behalf."

The second sister-in-law of Li breathed a sigh of relief, "Sister-in-law can understand the truth, that would be the best."

Even Li's parents and sister-in-law pursed their lips tightly, even if it was her, she didn't think they should pay back the money.

Mrs. Li apologized repeatedly, and she really hated the prince in her heart. Although she knew that the sage was in a hurry to collect the money owed, she never thought that the prince's first pick for surgery would be their Li family!

yes!Their Li family owes money, but to put it bluntly, the money owed by their Li family is nothing compared to other families. The money owed by the Duke of Qi, where Concubine Chen was born, is dozens of dollars owed by their family. Why, why didn't the crown prince urge the Chen family first, but the Li family first!

Thinking about the impatience that the prince has unconsciously shown in her room these past few days, Mrs. Li didn't understand. In her room, he originally wanted to keep her safe so that she could act as a scapegoat for his beloved concubine Chen.

Li Shi was full of despair, trembling with anger.

How happy she was before, but how desperate she is now. She never expected that after being married to Tu Mingyu for many years, Tu Mingyu didn't give her any face at all. She was giving birth to a son for him, and it turned out... This is the lover she was looking forward to with all her heart?

Seeing that Li's family was on the verge of collapse, as if he was really hit hard, Li's parents and sister-in-law couldn't bear it. She also knew that her sister-in-law had not been favored very much, and even her son's death was unknown, and she was not taken seriously by the prince. It is really difficult for the Li family to live in the prince's mansion, no wonder they don't know that the prince will attack the Li family.

Li's parents and sister-in-law comforted: "I also know that this matter has nothing to do with my sister. After all, how can we women know what men do, but I just ask my sister to ask the prince for a few days. Anyway, let you Brother is doing his best to heal his illness."

In the end, Li's parents and sister-in-law burst into tears, really feeling extremely uncomfortable. If it wasn't for the fact that her husband's situation was really bad, with her father-in-law's temper, she definitely wouldn't let them beg for her younger sister.

Mrs. Li hurriedly agreed, made countless guarantees, and asked the housekeeper to pack a lot of medicinal materials and snacks. Not only that, she also asked Li Mama to pack a bag of silver in private, and personally sent the two sister-in-laws out.

The medicinal materials, snacks and so on can still be said to be relatives, but the silver bag is really too much. After all, they are relatives, so there is a reason to reward people with money directly, but think about the situation of the husband. Still put it away.

Right now, what their Li family lacks the most... is indeed money.

As soon as the two sister-in-laws left, Mrs. Li hurriedly sent someone to invite the crown prince over, and on the other hand, she held Nanny Li's hand and said, "What should we do? What should we do about this matter?"

Others don't know, but she knows that the reason why her father borrowed money from the national treasury was all for her dowry. If it wasn't for helping her prepare for her marriage back then, he wouldn't have emptied the entire Li family However, when she thought that the prince had actually raised a debt with the Li family, she felt ashamed and wished she could die.

Nanny Li didn't know what to do, who would have thought that the crown prince would take his own wife's clan as a knife?

She comforted: "I think the prince is just here for show, and he won't kill the Li family. When the prince comes back, let's beg the prince again."

Li wept and said, "That's the only way."

I hope the prince can see her face, raise his hand and spare the Li family, and stop forcing the Li family to pay back the money.

The Li family... really has no money.