Upon bringing up this topic, all three people present closed their mouths, appearing heavy with worry.

Outside, young servants came and went in an endless stream, all busy arranging things to be used for the New Year. Those decorations and arrangements were like flowing silver.

Second Master Li lifted his eyelids. “Speaking of it, it’s all Mother’s fault. If she hadn’t insisted on buying those fields back then, one hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver wouldn’t have gone down the drain. That was one hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver! Now both nieces are about to marry out, and the men’s families are giving substantial betrothal gifts—surely we can’t refuse to reciprocate? If we reciprocate, it means silver. At the very least, the two girls will require twenty thousand taels of silver, plus my two sons also need to take wives. It’s truly a complete mess of bad debts!”

Both Old Master Li and First Master Li started when they heard the words “buying fields,” but the rebuke that was about to come out of their mouths never emerged after Second Master Li finished speaking what followed.

What Second Master Li said wasn’t wrong—their family truly did need money everywhere.

Just First Master Li’s two daughters getting married would cost close to twenty thousand taels, and that was still on the low end. Fortunately, the men’s side had covered the bulk of the banquet expenses.

When it came time for First Master Li and Second Master Li’s sons to take wives, that would truly be difficult—especially since the wives they both married didn’t have generous dowries and couldn’t help much.

Under such layers of pressure, Old Master Li lived even more impoverished now than when he had been an instructor and educational supervisor. Ordinary expenses outside were saved wherever possible, but even so, not much money could be saved. He could almost no longer afford the household expenses.

If only they hadn’t been greedy for profit back then and hadn’t bought those fields and private property of questionable origin, they wouldn’t have reached this point.

Old Master Li felt that Old Madam Li was truly a harbinger of misfortune. The daughter she had raised had offended the Song family so thoroughly, and she had squandered the family’s silver.

“Let’s cut the temple’s allowance by half again next year.” He flipped through the account book on the table, feeling nothing but vexation. “Otherwise, when the two daughters-in-law go out to socialize and handle the comings and goings of social obligations, they’ll be stretched too thin.”

Thinking this way, although he might not become the Grand Imperial Grandson’s tutor, at least he could still exchange it for some silver, which brought some consolation to his heart.

Second Master Li clearly thought the same way. He sighed, looking at his father and then at his elder brother. “The New Year is approaching, and just gift-giving alone is a major expense. Fortunately, the dividends from beyond the passes should arrive soon.”

Old Master Li smiled ambiguously as he tossed the account book in his hand onto the table, turning to look at him. “So since the Prince wants us to look after Eighth Miss, do you dare not do it?”

First Master Li rubbed his temples. “We just hit a wall today. If we go again, I’m afraid it will also be in vain. However, my wife went last time, and the Grand Madam was relatively courteous to her. How about we have the womenfolk try instead?”

Old Master Li nodded. “Let’s do that then. Have your wife take a few days to prepare some gifts and go once more. Being able to see her would naturally be best.”

Without Song Chuning’s involvement, they couldn’t have established the business beyond the passes. In a sense, Song Chuning’s usefulness truly was greater than his two sons combined. He also hoped that through Song Chuning, he could keep the connection with Prince Duan more secure.

As for Old Madam Li, who was cultivating herself in the temple—since it was called cultivation, naturally it should be more austere. Otherwise, how could she truly reflect on her mistakes and wash away her karmic sins early?

Having reached this point, having squandered one hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver, the Li family had already done right by her. There was no reason to spend more silver on her account.

The enthusiasm of the Li family still somewhat surprised the Song family. According to their thinking, they assumed the Li family would settle down after hitting a wall once or twice.

But looking at how anxious and serious they were, it clearly wasn’t normal.

Old Master Li didn’t seem like someone who valued daughters and granddaughters the way Old Madam Li did. Why would he, knowing the Song family’s bottom line, still risk offending the Song family to repeatedly come and insist on seeing Song Chuning?

Old Master Song thought about it for a long time but couldn’t figure it out, so he set it aside—lately, he was already overwhelmed with Song Yi’s affairs.

He had gone to the Ministry of Justice to inquire about the situation and learned that this time Yin Zhengde’s impeachment memorial was well-reasoned and well-evidenced, with witness testimony and physical evidence found for each listed charge.

The problem was that while Song Yi claimed he had paid money, he couldn’t produce evidence—he hadn’t gone through a broker, nor had he even found a familiar intermediary. He had contacted the household selling the land directly, and that household refused to admit they had received Song Yi’s money.

And that wealthy gentleman from Changsha also said that his daughter had already been betrothed to someone, but Song Yi had forcibly taken her away, which ultimately led to her suicide out of indignation.

These two charges combined were not minor crimes, even for a court official.

Grand Madam Song noticed his gloom and tried to bring up cheerful matters. “You needn’t be too anxious. After all, Old Madam and Little Yi’s return is just a matter of these few days. No matter what, once they return, we’ll at least have someone to consult with.”

Old Master Song nodded, accepting the ginseng tea Grand Madam handed him and taking a sip. He felt he had been getting somewhat agitated and hot-tempered lately due to these successive incidents. “Speaking of which, Young Master Guo from the Guo family is also returning with them this time. He helped a great deal in Qingzhou and is also helping transport furniture and lumber back. When the time comes, we should host him properly.”

Grand Madam stood behind him to massage his neck, her tone softening. “You needn’t worry about these things—I know what to do. There’s also Mingzi. She suffered quite a bit this time and will be living at home long-term from now on. Tomorrow I’ll have Nanny Jin clean and arrange that other Tingxiang Pavilion in the garden for her to live in.”

Bringing up this matter made Old Master Song even more upset. He casually set his ginseng tea on the nearby table, staring blankly for half a day. Only after a long while did he let out a sneer through gritted teeth. “When you mention this, I’m reminded that Xiang Yunzhang will also be escorted to the capital for trial. He always thought that without our family, he could live better and get promoted faster. This time I’ll watch coldly to see what kind of end he meets!”

Having said this, Old Master Song instructed Grand Madam: “Since Old Madam wrote to tell you what to do, just follow what Old Madam said. Regarding Second Brother’s incident, I privately always feel she can’t be entirely unconnected to it. Dragging it out a few more days, who knows what trouble she’ll stir up.”

No one was more concerned about this matter than Grand Madam Song. Ever since Song Jue’s incident, she had been avoiding Song Chuning like a venomous snake. Now that both Consort Song and Old Madam Song had conveyed their intentions, she naturally wouldn’t hold back. Hearing this, she nodded without hesitation. “The nannies are making her take medicine every day now. I’m afraid even if she wanted to make trouble, she wouldn’t have the strength.”