Yesterday, having already lost face for the Marquis's mansion with a pile of shoes, Lu Nianfu was prepared for trouble. However, before Madam Fang could find fault, Song Ming hurried over: "My Lord, Madam, the imperial rewards have arrived. You should return quickly."
They had received the imperial decree in the palace yesterday, but the promised rewards had yet to materialize. To their surprise, they were delivered early this morning.
Gu Yanchen excused himself from Gu Rong and Madam Fang. Madam Fang, recalling the rumored rewards from last night, interjected, "Wait a moment. Shouldn't these rewards be delivered to our Guangling Marquis's mansion?"
Song Ming replied, "This lowly one does not know. In any case, the eunuch is waiting over there. Perhaps the Madam of Guangling Marquis can inquire personally?"
Madam Fang: ...
Lu Nianfu secretly gave Song Ming a thumbs-up, thinking she might need to increase his monthly salary.
The late Marquis of Guangling was highly favored by the former emperor, but with only one generation's accumulation, the Guangling Marquis's mansion was not particularly well-off. An earlier division of the family had also taken a portion to the second branch. If it were a grand selection year, the Ministry of Rites would naturally have ample funds. However, Emperor Changwu had canceled the grand selections for two consecutive terms, a full six years, leaving the Ministry of Rites with very little oil to skim, and even less trickled down to Gu Rong. Relying solely on his meager salary, how could he support such a large family? He had no choice but to dip into the principal.
Madam Fang, who managed the household affairs, watched the assets dwindle day by day and had long been contemplating pooling Gu Yanchen's salary into the public funds.
But before, when Gu Yanchen was in Yangzhou, her reach couldn't extend that far, and she certainly couldn't go to the Ministry of Revenue to intercept his salary. She still had some self-respect, after all. Doing so would be like announcing to the world that she wouldn't even let her son's salary pass her by.
It was infuriating that Gu Yanchen lived lavishly on his own outside, yet showed no concern for the household's hardships.
Finally, Gu Yanchen returned to the capital, and she had already planned how to extort money from him. Unexpectedly, the Emperor acted out of the ordinary, not only assigning him an official post the very next day but also issuing rewards. In the past, on festive occasions, weren't these rewards always delayed until after the New Year?
Madam Fang regretted it immensely. Had she known this would happen, why would she have ever shown any respect to Qingfeng Courtyard and its inhabitants? Now, even the rewards were being pushed elsewhere. Based on her experiences extorting money from Gu Yanchen over the years, that fellow was a miser. If these rewards were brought to the Guangling Marquis's mansion, it would be manageable, but if they were sent to that wretched Hulu Street, getting them would be no easy feat.
Lu Nianfu was naturally unaware of her regret. At this moment, she was beaming with joy at the sight of the courtyard full of rewards. A thousand taels of gold were equivalent to ten thousand taels of silver, plus another five thousand taels. The Emperor had given them fifteen thousand taels of pure gold and silver alone, enough money for her to earn for two years.
Not to mention the good items that money couldn't buy in the market.
Gu Yanchen picked up a gold ingot and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He finally wouldn't have to rely on his wife's earnings. After admiring the beauty of the gold and silver, Gu Yanchen closed the chests. "Fu'er, what did Mother mean just now?"
"What else could she mean? She wants money." Madam Fang used to write to Gu Yanchen for money from time to time. Now that she knew about such a large sum of rewards, it was unlikely she would let it go. Lu Nianfu straightened her expression. "Speaking of which, she wouldn't actually ask me for it, would she?"
"Heh heh, you think she's that thick-skinned?"
"Then what should we do?"
Gu Yanchen pondered for a moment. "Let's buy some shops. You're still doing business, aren't you? Set up one in the capital like the one in Yangzhou, for Xiangdai Pavilion and the wine shop. If Mother asks, just say it's all used up."
Lu Nianfu was speechless. "You don't actually think I can conjure up all these businesses by scattering this fifteen thousand taels, do you? Is money that easily spent?"
Gu Yanchen agreed wholeheartedly.
If money were easily spent, would he have been so poor for so many years?
However, fifteen thousand taels was indeed a huge sum. This money was earned with his life over the past two years, and Gu Yanchen had no intention of giving it to Madam Fang. Seeing him rack his brains for a solution, Lu Nianfu couldn't help but laugh. "I didn't realize you were so protective of your wealth."
"Can't help it, I'm afraid of being poor. I don't want to live off my wife anymore."
"You talk nonsense. Without you, my businesses would have been swallowed up long ago. You contributed greatly to the money I earned, so how can it be called living off my wife?"
Gu Yanchen said nothing. Whatever he decided, it was as good as set in stone.
The two money-minded individuals watched Wang Shoucheng catalog and store the items. They happily returned to their room to discuss how to safeguard their wealth. Little did they know, as soon as the rewards were distributed, observant individuals had taken notice.