The Lucky Heiress

“AS the eldest daughter, you should usually receive more monthly allowance than your younger brothers and sisters. This is the rule in every household. Qinqwan is a sensible girl and won’t object to it,” said Madam Yun.

Madam Yun firmly believed that Wei Qingwan would not quibble over such

matters.

“Exactly, my dear sister Qingwan is too kind to fuss over such things, Wei Ruo

said with a smile.

“Hmm,” Madam Yun nodded. “I’ll leave you to it. I will return to Cangyun

Garden.”

“Alright,” Wei Ruo smiled and escorted Madam Yun out.

After Madam Yun left, Xiumei couldn’t resist laughing: “Miss, I’ve noticed your bluffs are increasingly impressive!”

Wei Ruo sighed, “What choice do I have? I was forced to adapt. Since I became the mistress of the Military Prefecture, I’ve had to think carefully about what to say in order to reason with others. It’s not the same as before.”

“If I admit outright that 1 don’t like Wei Qingwan and I don’t want to share my things with her, I would certainly be berated-for lacking sisterly love, or for lacking the grace of an elder sister.”

“But if I raise the matter in terms of propriety and face, I can persuade others. I’ve had to invent a lot of things, saying they were said by Yingying, but I think she would support me in this, otherwise, she wouldn’t have deliberately arranged for the butler to deliver the gift to me personally.”

The claims about Xie Ying noticing that her clothes fit poorly and felt low quality were purely inventions of Wei Ruo.

She did this to distract Madam Yun and prevent her from asking for things again.

-But Miss, what if the Madam had still insisted on taking your things for Miss Qingwan?” Xiumei asked.

-Then I would have burned my possessions. No one can force me to give things to people I don’t like!” Wei Ruo answered.

Xiumei burst into laughter and then asked, “Miss, do we still need to prepare a returning gift for the Xie Family?

“Not for the time being. Their gift was valuable, but what I reciprocated isn’t ordinary either, so they didn’t end up at a loss. Besides, this was already a returning gift on their part. There’s no end to it if we go back and forth. It’s more important to acknowledge their sentiment, appreciate the good in them, and treat each other sincerely. It doesn’t have to be precise in terms of gam and loss,” replied Wei Ruo.

“Yes, you are right, Miss.”

###

After leaving Tingsong Garden, Madam Yun instructed for an increase in Wei Ruo’s monthly allowance and invited tailors from Brocade Clothing Workshop to measure Wei Ruo for new clothes.

The news quickly spread to Wangmei Garden.

Wei Qingwan’s face turned pale.

Not only did her mother refrain from asking Wei Ruo for the Yun Brocade to make her new clothes, but she also increased Wei Ruo’s monthly allowance. What on earth was going on?

If Wei Ruo had refused to give her the Yun Brocade for her new outfit, her mother should have reprimanded Wei Ruo for her lack of understanding. But why was she rewarded instead of being punished?

“Nanny, what’s going on? Why did mother suddenly increase sister’s monthly stipend? Is it because she’s getting along well with Miss Xie?” Wei Qingwan asked Nanny Li.

Nanny Li didn’t know the answer either. Ever since that incident, Madam had distanced herself and often sought Nanny Zhang for important tasks.

“I’ve definitely underestimated Wei Qingruo, she does have some capabilities,” Nanny Li said through gritted teeth.

Apologizing intentionally in front of Wei Qingruo’s courtyard door did not have the expected effect. Wei Qingruo also refused the purse Nanny Li purposely made for her. This Wei Qingruo was more troublesome than she expected!

“Nanny, what am I to do now? Will mother send me back to the He Family? Nanny, I don’t want to go back there. The He Family is a mere merchant family with a low status that isn’t welcomed by others. Regardless of their wealth, there are many things that money cannot buy,” Wei Qingwan asked worriedly.

Looking at Wei Qingwan in this way, Nanny Li felt both distressed and worried. She knew her and her daughter’s fates were tied to Wei Qingwan. If Wei Qingwan were to be sent to the He Family, her daughter would also have to go there. They wouldn’t see each other for the rest of their lives.

“Miss, don’t worry for now. All of these are not a big deal. Even if Miss Wei manages to win Madam’s favor, it doesn’t mean that Madam has diminished her affection for you,” Nanny Li comforted Wei Qingwan.

“Nanny, worrying is all I can do now,” Wei Qingwan murmured.

-Miss don’t worry. Things will get better. You can broaden your horizons and make some new friends in Government City during the upcoming garden tour next month. You can find families much more distinguished than the Xie

Family there,”

Nanny Li’s words did not console Wei Qingwan as she knew that the prominent families in Government City wouldn’t take notice of her so easily. Even if they did take a liking to her, she doubted they would treat her like the Xie Family did Wei Qingruo.

Such favoritism from the Xie Family was rare, she couldn’t understand what they found in Wei Qingruo.

###

Around the Mid-Autumn Festival on the fifteenth of the eighth lunar month, during the days of rest, both Wei Ruo and Wei Qingwan had a break from their classes.

Wei Ruo stayed at home and worked on the expansion of the mushroom business, which had grown three times its original size. This resulted in greater material procurement and bookkeeping.

Moreover, the process of preparing dried mushrooms and mushroom sauce also needed to be arranged. Mushrooms do not last long after being picked, so the processing needed to be done promptly. Therefore, she had to organize the subsequent work before a large number of mushrooms were harvested.

Xiumei was helping Wei Ruo chop mushrooms in the courtyard, which they would cook in the small kitchen next door.

Wei Jinyi and Xiaobei were not at home, but before leaving, Wei Jinyi mentioned that they leave the door open. This meant that Wei Ruo could use the small kitchen next door whenever needed.

When it was almost lunchtime, the servant responsible for Wei Yilin couldn’t find him and went to Wangmei Garden for inquiries.

“Yilin?” Upon hearing the voice, Wei Qingwan walked to the door, interrupting the conversation between the servant and the maid. “Yilin didn’t come here today. Is something wrong? Isn’t he in his own courtyard?

■’It’s nothing serious, but it’s almost time for lunch and Young Master Yilin isn’t in Yuyu Garden. Since he’s not here, I’ll go look elsewhere,” the servant explained to Wei Qingwan, then hastily left to continue his search for Wei Yilin. Wei Qingwan sensed that something was wrong, “Cuihe, let’s go find him too.” The servant inquired about Wei Yilin’s whereabouts at Chrysanthemum Garden as well, but he wasn’t there either.

Upon hearing that Wei Yilin had disappeared, Wei Yichen immediately put down his book and set out to search for him alongside Wei Yilin’s servant..