My Lady Always Lacks Ambition
Chapter 272 - 271 I Have a Coffin Shop

Chapter 272: Chapter 271 I Have a Coffin Shop

Qin Liuxi left as soon as the matter was settled. As for the Concave White Jade Pendant returned by the Wen Family, she didn’t even glance at it, let alone covet it.

Mrs. Xie, looking at the box, pointed and said, "Mother, now that the marriage is annulled, what about this token?"

Since it could serve as a token for engagement, its value was naturally not low. At that time, the Qin family wasn’t bankrupt yet, and although Qin Mingmu was illegitimate, he was the first male grandchild of their generation, the legitimate grandson, so even just to save face, they didn’t give a shoddy token.

Now that it has been returned, if they were to sell this token, it would fetch no less than a few hundred silvers.

Old Mrs. Qin instantly saw what Mrs. Xie was thinking and, holding the box, said, "Since the marriage has been annulled, let’s not talk about the token anymore; it’s just a jade pendant."

She handed it to Nanny Ding, saying, "Keep it, there will be a use for it someday."

Seeing this, Mrs. Xie’s eyes reddened a bit, as if a large sum of silver had been dug out of her purse, and it hurt very much.

It was the annulment of the marriage of their second room’s eldest son; shouldn’t this returned token be kept by her as the legitimate mother?

But though she felt dissatisfied, she dared not utter a word.

"Mother, do you think there’s any truth to what Miss Xi said? That girl from the Wen family, she used this as an excuse to annul the marriage, right?" Mrs. Xie murmured.

Old Mrs. Qin, leaning back on a large pillow, lazily said, "Whether it is an excuse or not doesn’t matter anymore. The marriage is annulled; can it still be regretted?"

"The wife is just feeling upset. That Miss Wen, not to mention plain-looking, was quite ordinary in appearance and only a daughter of a fourth-rank official. Initially, having a marriage alliance with our family was looking up to us. Now seeing our family’s downfall, they come to annul the marriage, we really were blind back then."

Old Mrs. Qin raised her eyelids, "Even without a formal marriage contract exchanged, the fact that the Wen Family could annul the marriage now, they can be considered quite generous. Look at Lady Mei, she already had two children, yet was still abandoned and sent back home."

Mrs. Xie pursed her lips.

"People are cold and indifferent. Even true marital relations are promptly avoided, let alone an engagement where only tokens were exchanged?" Old Mrs. Qin understood, she was not angry, but felt a bleak sadness, feeling once more awakened by others’ practical actions.

The Qin family was indeed not what it used to be.

She closed her eyelids again and said, "Let’s not mention this matter again. Even if the Wen family hadn’t come to annul it, considering the girl’s age and the marriageable situation, not knowing how Mingmu is doing there, and with the Qin family in such a state, where would the decent betrothal gifts to marry a new bride come from?"

It’s all fate, we’ll see what the future holds.

Mrs. Xie didn’t care; she was just pained over the loss of that concord pendant.

Meanwhile, far in the northwest, Qin Mingmu was carrying a basket of stones, suddenly felt a pang in his chest, and tears welled up in his eyes, causing him to kneel on the ground.

"What are you doing, if you can carry, carry; if not, roll back home to breastfeed," the overseer commanded, snapping his whip in the air, stirring up a mouthful of sand.

Qin Mingmu gritted his teeth, suppressed the sourness in his chest, wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes, steadied his trembling legs, and continued walking forward.

...

Qin Liuxi entered her room with Mrs. Wang, catching a glimpse of Aunt Wan’s skirt flashing back into the side room, unnoticed, she slightly hooked the corner of her lips.

Nanny Shen brought tea for the two and retreated to the doorway.

Mrs. Wang asked, "Can you accurately deduce your eldest brother’s eight-character birth chart?"

"If it’s the birth chart given by nanny, it’s about eighty percent accurate."

Hearing this, Mrs. Wang sighed and said, "When your eldest brother was born, your second aunt was ill, so I accompanied Nanny Shen to attend the birth. The birth chart is accurate. Don’t spread that false Pure Yang destiny, to avoid difficulties in his future marriage."

"I’m not one to blab," Qin Liuxi pouted, "Don’t worry, he’s not destined to be a lonely widower forever. There will be a woman compatible with his fate; it all depends on the right timing."

Mrs. Wang hummed in agreement, then sighed, "In your generation, only your eldest brother has reached the age for marriage, so the engagement was set. It was just decided this May, but unexpectedly, a family emergency occurred before the marriage contract could be exchanged. I thought the Wen Family was decent enough not to call off the engagement, but I didn’t expect them to come only now."

"The Wen Family indeed shows some decency, otherwise, they would have called off the engagement when you left the capital."

Mrs. Wang choked and gave her a reproachful look, "Given our situation, it’s natural for them to want to call off the marriage. Yet, getting a divorce is still upsetting. Don’t talk about it in front of your grandmother and your second aunt, to avoid deepening the wound."

"You can rest assured, I’m not so idle as to gossip all day with them," Qin Liuxi craftily replied.

"You child," Mrs. Wang raised her finger and lightly tapped her.

Qin Liuxi said, "They will come back, don’t worry."

Mrs. Wang’s heart skipped a beat, and she looked up just as she had taken a sip of her tea, then forcibly suppressed her joy and praised her.

"It’s good if they can come back."

Qin Liuxi put down her teacup and said, "The temple recently replaced the Grandmaster’s golden statue. I’ve been busy with that, and I might take another trip to Ningzhou Prefecture City in a few days. I might not be home for some time."

"You have to leave home again?" Mrs. Wang exclaimed, "You’ll take someone with you, right?"

"I will be taking Chen Pi with me at that time. Don’t worry, it’s nothing serious," Qin Liuxi assured, "I’m going out soon to visit someone, the Mountain Master of Zhihe Academy from Li City, to secure school places for Xiao Wu and Qin Mingqi."

"Is it the Mountain Master?" Mrs. Wang was surprised by her connections, then said, "I’ll prepare a gift for you to take."

"No need, I’ll handle it," Qin Liuxi explained, "I’ve known him for a long time and understand his preferences better. In the future, you can prepare gifts for the holidays."

Mrs. Wang nodded.

"How is the preserved fruit shop coming along? Are there any obstacles? Is there enough money? If not, I still have some, including the eight hundred taels you gave me earlier."

"We’ve chosen a shop already. I personally inspected it. The location is quite good, not too big, but it has a backyard. We haven’t done preserved fruits before, so we’re starting small and will expand if it’s profitable," Mrs. Wang said with a smile. "Right now, we’re focusing on hiring and choosing materials; business can’t be rushed. The most important thing is to find clean and skilled workers."

Hearing this, Qin Liuxi suggested, "I heard from Qi Huang that your aunt lost her job. Why don’t you ask her to come back and help you? She’s a relative, so more reliable, and just giving her a salary would be enough."

"Ah, that’s a good idea, I’ll talk to her about it. With your Third Aunt and your Second Aunt managing the house, I can find time for this. It’s tiring, but being busy keeps my mind off other things," Mrs. Wang looked relieved and then remembered, "About that private money you mentioned before, have you thought of what to do? Finding a shop with that little money would mean it has to be even smaller."

"No need, I’ve got a shop already."

"Really? Where is it?"

"Shouxi Square, a coffin shop."

Mrs. Wang’s smile froze at the corners of her mouth: "?"