My Aloof Lord Ex-Husband Begs for Remarriage
Chapter 499: Offering Silver Proactively

Chapter 499: Chapter 499: Offering Silver Proactively

"If it’s just a matter of needing silver, I might be able to help."

Though Lu Xinyue spoke of helping, her tone still carried an air of superiority.

"I still have quite a few assets in Lingnan, and I have enough silver on hand, besides, spending the silver on you would be a good deed, wouldn’t it?"

With her acting like this, Chu Nanli ought to be overwhelmed with gratitude, right?

In fact, to the average person, there would be no suspicion of Lu Xinyue harboring ulterior motives.

After all, as a Commandery Princess, why would she stoop so low to curry favor with Chu Nanli and Lin Xuanxuan?

But Chu Nanli had been skeptical of her from the start, acutely perceiving the malice emanating from her and staying on guard at all times.

However, now that someone was willingly offering silver, wouldn’t it be unwise for her to refuse it?

"But we’re neither kith nor kin, such a large sum of silver..."

As soon as Lu Xinyue saw Chu Nanli’s expression, her scorn became even more apparent.

Knowing that Chu Nanli was avaricious, why didn’t she just use silver to befriend her from the start? What a waste of effort.

Seeing the situation begin to thaw, Lu Xinyue became even more eager.

"Why speak such detached words? I felt a connection with you at first sight and have long considered you friends."

"Besides, it’s better for me to spend this silver here than to waste it on clothes, jewelry, or gifts to others, right?"

After some back-and-forth, Chu Nanli finally agreed with some reluctance to accept the thousand taels of silver Lu Xinyue offered.

To Lu Xinyue, this silver was no more than enough to buy a set of fine jewelry, hardly significant at all.

But if spent on the children at Jici Academy, it could buy each child a set of winter clothes and leave plenty left over to improve their food.

In Chu Nanli’s view, Lu Xinyue was truly a good person.

Lin Xuanxuan was still playing with the children, unaware that Chu Nanli had quietly closed a deal.

After comforting the children gathered around her, Lin Xuanxuan came over.

"See, I told you this place is nice, didn’t I?"

Lin Xuanxuan’s face bore a smile, and anyone with eyes could see she genuinely liked it here and sincerely cared for the children.

"It’s serene and beautiful, much more soothing than the days in the capital."

Because of Lin Fuying, she had been disliked by the noble ladies of the capital since childhood.

Even if she wanted to befriend them, they looked down on her.

"That’s true."

Lu Xinyue replied mechanically, even though she really thought otherwise.

This place was dirty and messy, what was there to like?

Only someone like Lin Xuanxuan, who hadn’t seen much of the world, would find this place appealing.

Even Lin Xuanxuan could sense the disdain Lu Xinyue tried to hide.

And only Lu Xinyue herself thought she was doing a good job of concealing it.

Lin Xuanxuan’s mood sobered somewhat, "It’s getting late now, we should head back before they close the city gates."

Although she saw through Lu Xinyue’s facade, she wouldn’t suddenly change her demeanor.

"Sure," Lu Xinyue continued trying to ingratiate herself, "I came with guards, why don’t I have them escort you back?"

What danger could there be within the walls of the capital?

Lu Xinyue’s offer was merely a show of generosity.

She wanted Chu Nanli and Lin Xuanxuan to see her goodwill so they would become her steadfast friends.

Given Lu Xinyue’s proactive friendliness, Chu Nanli and Lin Xuanxuan certainly wouldn’t refuse.

But as soon as they were out of her line of sight, Lin Xuanxuan couldn’t help but speak up, "Nanli, did you see the look in her eyes just now?"

Having suffered so much at the hands of Lin Fuying, she naturally detested people with two faces.

"She obviously doesn’t like Jici Academy, so why does she pretend in front of us?"

"Moreover, I don’t even know why she forces herself so much. If she doesn’t like it, couldn’t she have just said so?"

This was something Lin Xuanxuan could never understand.

In the past, Lin Fuying disliked her and targeted her because she envied her status as the legitimate daughter.

But what could Lu Xinyue possibly desire?

"Who knows? Maybe she has too much money burning a hole in her pocket?"

Chu Nanli recounted the events that had just transpired, leaving Lin Xuanxuan agape.

She couldn’t help but exclaim, "A thousand taels of silver, and she just gave them to us like that?"

After all, they had only met Lu Xinyue twice and couldn’t even really be considered friends.

How could she trust them with her silver?

"And I’ve heard that Lingnan is not a land of plenty, so how can she part with silver so freely?"

At this point, Lin Xuanxuan was truly full of doubts.

She glanced at Chu Nanli and felt that she was hiding something from her.

But Lin Xuanxuan also understood that Chu Nanli would certainly not harm her.

"In any case, the silver won’t fall from the sky."

Chu Nanli shrugged and handed the five hundred taels silver note to Lin Xuanxuan.

Lu Xinyue didn’t have that much cash on hand, so she only gave half for now, and arranged to deliver the rest on a later date.

Of course, this was an excuse from Lu Xinyue.

With this reason, she would be able to meet with Chu Nanli and Lin Xuanxuan again, which would be more convenient for implementing her plan.

"Just hold onto it for now. I reckon there will be more times she gives us silver in the future!"

Chu Nanli was certain that Lu Xinyue would not let things end so easily.

When they returned to the Regent Prince Residence, Ye Jiuxiao was actually amusing Taosu while waiting for her to come back.

He couldn’t help frowning upon learning that the guard who escorted Chu Nanli back was from the Lingnan prince’s entourage.

"How did you come to know her?"

Ye Jiuxiao was among the first to know about Lu Xinyue accompanying the Lingnan prince to the capital.

He had always had people watching Lingnan closely; any ripple of movement there would be reported to him.

The affection of the Lingnan prince for Lu Xinyue was known to all in Lingnan.

A year ago, the Lingnan prince had already put out feelers about finding a husband for Lu Xinyue.

A year had passed with no action taken, and even the Emperor’s stance remained elusive and perplexing.

Who knew what their actual intentions were.

Chu Nanli had no intention of hiding anything from Ye Jiuxiao. She related the entire "coincidental" encounter with Lu Xinyue, including her own speculations, to him.

"Do you think she’s here for me or for Xuanxuan?"

Chu Nanli had her suspicions but was in no hurry to voice them out loud.

Looking up at Ye Jiuxiao with a hint of slyness in her eyes, she teased, "What do you guess?"

She was curious to see if she and Ye Jiuxiao were on the same wavelength and had come to the same conclusion.

"What could the Liao Family possibly be scheming?" Ye Jiuxiao was quite blunt. "Old Master Liao has already retired, and there’s no one in the Liao Family capable of leading the charge. Targeting the Liao Family would only mean they have a screw loose."