Chapter 298: Wei Yichen Questions Wei
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Looking at Wei Qingwan who stood before him, dignified and poised, Wei Yichen didn’t know where to begin his questioning.
“Wanwan, what have you been up to these past few days?” Wei Yichen asked.
“Attending lectures at the Tongzhi Prefecture.” Wei Qingwan replied.
“Besides attending sses, have you been to any other cestely, Wanwan?” Wei Yichen inquired further.
“Today I took a stroll at the marketce. I intended to visit the jewelry store, but I didn’t find anything to my liking. In the end, I only bought two silk scarves,” Wei Qingwan responded, followed by a puzzled question to Wei Yichen, “Why the sudden query, big brother?”
Weighing Wei Qingwan’s crystalline, clear eyes, Wei Yichen’s suspicions of the past few days began to waver.
But just to be certain, Wei Yichen continued probing: “Did you happen to visit the vicinity of Anzhou Academy, Wanwan? A ssmate of mine told me he seemed to have seen you around there a few days ago.”
“Why would I go there? Anzhou Academy is located outside the city which is far from the city center, and women are not allowed to roam around the vicinity of the academy freely. Even if I could go there, wouldn’t be able to get in. Even if I miss you, I would not recklessly disturb you at Anzhou Academy.” Wei Qingwan answered.
Wei Qingwan’s reasonable exnation and sincere attitude dispelled Wei Yichen’sst bit of suspicion.
From a young age, Wanwan had always been obedient and sensible, never crossing the line. Not to mention such scandalous affairs as mingling with men – she had never even done things that would go against her parents and older brothers.
How could such a well-behaved sister be the woman he saw meeting with a stranger in the woods that day?
There must be resemnces between people. He must be mistaken.
Upon this realization, a great weight was lifted from Wei Yichen’s heart. Then he said to Wei Qingwan, “As long as it wasn’t you. There have been more refugees around the citytely, and I’ve heard that there have even been robberies of grain shops. I wanted to warn you not to roam around. It’s not safe for ady like you.”
“Don’t worry, big brother. I won’t wander around. As a woman, where else can I go besides attending my sses at school? Moreover… I’m not as free as my elder sister, who can move around freely.” said Wei Qingwan.
At the mention of Wei Ruo, Wei Yichen’s expression darkened, reminded of what Master Lu had said today.
“Mm, if you do go out, do it like today – with a matron and maid apanying you, ensuring that you have enough hands by your side,” Wei Yichen advised further.
“Rest assured, big brother. I will be careful. You should also be careful of your safety when traveling from home to Anzhou Academy. The journey inevitably has some remote areas, so always have guards who are skilled in martial arts from our house apany you. It is best to go to school with your ssmates.”
Wei Qingwan’s words were full of concern for Wei Yichen.
“Mm, I will.” Wei Yichen didn’t linger with Wei Qingwan after his concerns were put at ease. He left after exchanging a few more words of care with her.
After Wei Yichen’s departure, Wei Qingwan’s expression changed. She was a bit sweaty in the palms.
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Wei Ruo arrived home muchter than Wei Qingwan.
Not until dinner time did Wei Ruo return home.
Now that men and women were separated at the dining table, Wei Yichen had no opportunity to talk to Wei Ruo after the meal, nor did he even catch a glimpse of her face.
It wasn’t until after dinner, during tea time, that Wei Yichen saw Wei Ruo. But with their parents present, Wei Yichen had to suppress his questions for Wei
Ruo.
Wei Mingting talked about the recent influx of refugees and the resulting famine among the people.
Although he was a martial officer and such matters were outside his jurisdiction, the situation had be a matter of concern to everyone, regardless of their mandate.
No one with a conscience could remain indifferent.
Mrs. Yun also frankly discussed the current situation of their household. She warned everyone in advance: “Given the current situation, family expenses may have to be cut. The monthly allowance you receive may have to be reduced back to the amount you received when we first moved to Government City.” Hearing this, Wei Qingwan was the first to respond: “Mother, don’t worry. I am willing to voluntarily reduce my expenses to ovee this difficult time with the family.”
Weiyi Chen solemnly said: “Mother, cut my monthly allowance in half from this month on. I don’t need that much. Today, I won thepetition at Four Treasure House and won a month’s supply of paper.
After contemting, Wei Yilin also added, “I don’t need any monthly allowance, as long as I have enough to eat.”
Out of the four children, three had spoken. Only Wei Ruo, the eldest daughter, was still quietly sitting to one side.
Noticing that everyone was looking at her, Wei Ruo calmly put down her teacup and dered, “You don’t have to give me my monthly allowance.” This statement from Wei Ruo swiftly shifted the spotlight onto Wei Qingwan, making her seem like she was on the spot.
As the eldest son of the family, Wei Yichen received the highest monthly allowance. Mrs. Yun would also additionally subsidize him to facilitate his daily interactions with his ssmates. Even if he reduced his allowance by half, he would still have enough to cover his expenses, though he would need to be more frugal in his daily life.
Wei Yilin was still young. The servants in his courtyard received their monthly sry directly from Mrs. Yun, and she also took care of his food and clothing. Whether he had a monthly allowance did not make much difference.
As forWei Ruo, she was able to afford such a sentence because of the wealth she had acquired. Her household is affluent, and she could still livefortably without the monthly stipend from the family.
Wei Qingwan was the first to make a statement, but she didn’t expect that, starting from Wei Yichen, everyone would explicitly state how much they were going to reduce their monthly allowance, making her seem very passive. Her monthly allowance was barely sufficient as it is, and she didn’t have as much private money as Wei Ruo does. Let alone giving up the monthly allowance, even reducing it by half would make it hard for her to meet daily expenses.
Wei Mingting began, “You don’t need to go so far. We should be able to maintain ourselves for some time if we pawn the rewards receivedst year.” Upon hearing this, Madame Yun promptly said, “My lord, those are the rewards bestowed by the court…”
“The rewards given to me are mine. They are not objects that can’t be pawned. It’s definitely more important to provide for the daily expenses of the people in the house,” said Wei Mingting.
He didn’t mind parting with those things. Compared to this, he felt he shouldn’t treat his children unfairly.
“But if this gets out…” Mrs. Yun still cared about face. If people found out that the Wei family pawned the court’s rewards, even if the court didn’t mind, they would still be aughingstock.
“There’s nothing to fear about beingughed at. Everyone knows the situation of my Wei family, how many properties and how much wealth we have. These days, everyone is having a hard time, selling off some family assets is a verymon thing. I heard a few days ago that Fei Tuipan sold a farm in the north of the city, and nobody thought anything of it.”
Wei Mingting didn’t care about the opinions of others. He was not good at keeping up appearances so there was no need to pretend.
For a moment, Mrs. Yun didn’t know what to say, her brows furrowed, and then she unconsciously looked in the direction of Wei Ruo.
Everyone knew that the eldest daughter had a lot of money. Although borrowing money from her daughter was not a morous thing,pared to pawning the court’s rewards, at least no outsider would find out. As long as outsiders didn’t know, it didn’t matter whether it was dignified or not..