Chapter 17 - 17: A Poor and Dilapidated Family?
Chunlai glanced at the bird’s nest porridge on their table and said, “Seventh Miss just arrived at the mansion, and it was the Old Master who agreed to give her an advance on her monthly allowance. How is that breaking the rules?”
Aunt Hua’s face changed, and she said, “So, we have such a sharp-tongued and unruly girl in our house. Aren’t you going to slap her? Or should I do it myself?”
An old woman came forward and slapped Chunlai across the face.
Jiang Yuan said, “If she wants to get her monthly allowance, she can do it herself.”
Chunlai returned with a swollen face.
At first, they tried to keep it from Jiang Ning, but she eventually found out.
Jiang Ning stroked her chin, “For an aunt, she seems a bit too arrogant and doesn’t fit her role.”
This was troublesome; if the aunt who managed the money wouldn’t give her any, what could she use to pay the doctor?
Xiaqu angrily said, “If Madam’s health wasn’t poor, she wouldn’t have a chance. Miss, we can’t tolerate this. Otherwise, they’ll continue to trample on us.”
At this moment, Dongxie ran in, panting, and said, “Miss, they said they caught a child in the front courtyard who claimed to be looking for you.”
“A child?” Jiang Ning thought of Xiaoqian and hurriedly said, “Bring him to me quickly.”
“I was told that the child has already been tied up and taken to Aunt Hua.”
“Damn it, are all of you in this mansion bandits? Why would you tie up a child?” Jiang Ning flared up, “Take me to see Aunt Hua.”
When Jiang Ning arrived at Aunt Hua’s courtyard, she heard Xiaoqian’s struggling cries.
Her heart tightened, and she quickly pushed her wheelchair in.
It was indeed Xiaoqian.
The once clean child now had a dirty face.
Xiaoqian saw Jiang Ning and bit the old woman who was holding him, then ran over to her, pouting and tearing up, “Little Auntie, I finally found you.”
Little Auntie? What the hell?
Jiang Ning didn’t care, reached out to hold him, and wiped his face, “Xiaoqian, are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” Xiaoqian turned to face Aunt Hua and the others, “You just wait, I’m going to have my grandpa chop off your heads!”
Aunt Hua ignored him and said indifferently, “Seventh Miss, it’s not your fault that you’ve suffered these years and were raised among the commoners, so you know only the poor and fallen. But it’s not good for you to bring these unclean children into the mansion.”
“You scoundrel, how dare you say I’m unclean?” Xiaoqian was furious, “And who did you call poor and fallen just now?”
“Xiaoqian, she was talking about me,” Jiang Ning said.
“What? The mere Jiang Family dares to call my Little Auntie poor?” Xiaoqian couldn’t bear to see his aunt looked down upon, “Let me tell you, any random thing my Little Auntie has is enough to feed you for three years!”
The surrounding maids and old women burst into laughter.
Aunt Hua covered her mouth, “Oh, this child may be poor, but he sure loves to boast.”
Jiang Yuan sneered, “Birds of a feather.”
“What are you laughing at?” Xiaoqian’s face turned red with anger.
An old woman laughed, “Little boy, do you know that just now she sent a maid to ask our mistress for her monthly allowance of a few taels of silver?”
Xiaoqian looked back at Jiang Ning, thinking that she must have been unwilling to part with the treasures the emperor had given her and thus did not want to exchange them for money to spend.
Little Auntie was really too kind.
He thought for a moment, his eyes lit up, and he took a silver banknote from his pocket, handing it to Jiang Ning, “Little Auntie, I came here to tell you something.. Someone outside is willing to pay a thousand taels of silver for one of your paintings or calligraphy!”