Chapter 515: Finances (2)

Madam Zou wasn’t good at business, so Matriarch He had been making up for the losses of the public funds over the past few years. Matriarch He’s personal funds were almost gone by now.

Even if she wanted to make up for the difference, she just wasn’t able to.

In order to maintain such a large noble estate, they needed money for almost everything. He Erlang hadn’t found a wife yet and her daughter and granddaughter were now living with her. The thought of all the building expenses sent Matriarch He into a fit of worry.

All this had been hidden before, but now that the truth was laid bare before them, she had no choice but to face the reality of things.

He Ying was also dumbstruck. If she hadn’t gone through the accounts herself, she wouldn’t have known that the bright and luxurious estate was actually just a shell of its former self. The income from the public assets was now unable to make ends meet...

“Mother, what should we do now?” Eldest Madam He Ying wasn’t able to make money appear out of nowhere. Although she had some savings, she had never thought of taking them out to help House Jing’an.

A migraine was building up in Matriarch He’s head. She had been able to manage the household and its businesses well in her younger days and she had saved away a good amount of money. She had never had to worry about the finances of their estate. Who could have thought that she would still have to worry over these matters in her old age?

How pitiful.

The originally lively room sunk into a long period of silence.

Everyone lowered their heads and kept their mouths shut. No one had anything to say, whether it was the outspoken He Ying, the timid and weak Pan Nianzhen, or even Matriarch He’s trusted servant Senior Servant Liu.

Matriarch He was under a tremendous amount of pressure, but she couldn’t think of any solution at the moment.

Money was such a strange thing. When they had more of it, it didn’t feel like they had enough. When they had less of it, it made things so much more difficult.

“Do you have any ideas?” In her urgency, Matriarch He suddenly threw the question to the handmaids in the room.

Muxiang had been standing quietly to one side, her silence making her seem like a unmovable statue.

When Matriarch He turned towards her with expectant eyes, she softened her expression. She paused in thought for a moment before suggesting, “Matriarch, if our estate requires more funds, why don’t you ask for Guilin Restaurant back?”

She had only been intending to take the profits of Guilin Restaurant for a few months, especially since she had been the one to give Guilin Restaurant away in the first place. However, times were different now. Since the estate was in desperate need of money and the matriarch’s own savings couldn’t cover the lack of funds, she no longer had the same reservations as before.

The matriarch had refrained from this extreme action in the past out of consideration for the third branch and because the third branch had no position or power back then, and she had doted on Chu Lian. However, everything had changed.

Setting aside the fact that He Sanlang had been given the title of marquis, Chu Lian was on such good terms with Princess Wei and Royal Princess Duanjia that the prince’s estate had sent over countless gifts every season.

Guilin Restaurant wasn’t worth that much in the eyes of the third branch now, but it could cover the expenses of the entire estate if it were placed into the public accounts.

In the end, the matriarch was swayed to their side.

Matriarch He nodded. “Alright, since it’s a time of emergency, let’s do that first. Sanlang’s wife isn’t an unreasonable person. When they come over to visit in the evening, I’ll explain it to Sanlang’s wife.”

Muxiang nodded and retreated a step. No one noticed the strange expression she had.

Actually, even if the stores in House Jing’an’s name weren’t doing well, they wouldn’t have made such a loss so quickly. As much as Madam Zou had grafted from the public funds for her own pockets, she hadn’t taken enough to push the Jing’an Estate into poverty.

Thus, this extreme deficit of silver was actually Muxiang’s doing.

Matriarch He had entrusted her with the account books for a period of time.

Eldest Madam He Ying was elated by this turn of events. Ever since the day she had wandered over to the little study that Muxiang had been working in and happened to notice the profits from Guilin Restaurant, she had been scheming to get the restaurant in her hands.

As long as the matriarch took Guilin Restaurant back, she naturally had her own ways to convince the matriarch to let her manage Guilin Restaurant.

By then, she could gloss over some expenses and gather a few thousand taels for herself.

Greed leaked into He Ying’s eyes at the thought of it.

Her dowry had only been ten thousand taels of silver.

That was actually already a huge fortune. As long as she managed it well, she would never have had to worry about living the rest of her life.

However, some people were just too greedy. When she found out that Guilin Restaurant’s monthly profits were worth a few thousand taels, her mind had already been set on that sum. There was no going back.

Senior Servant Liu hadn’t expected them to have decided on such a terrible measure. She wanted to give some advice, but since the matriarch had already made the decision, she would only be attracting unnecessary attention by speaking up at this time.

She glared unhappily at Muxiang, who had brought up the idea in the first place.

Her brows drew together in a frown. For some reason, she was starting to feel that there was something off about Muxiang. However, when she observed the maidservant closely, she couldn’t tell what was wrong.

Senior Servant Liu sighed inwardly and decided to find a chance to sit down to talk with her later.

After helping He Changqi with all the matters in the estate, He Changdi returned to Songtao Court for a moment before stepping out again.

Since he was now an Administrator of Appointments, even if he hadn’t officially received his position, there were still many things that he had to take care of. Even during the Emperor’s specially mandated leave, he had to find some time to work on official business.