Time Travel: The Noble Family
Chapter 433 - 156: Losing Money

Chapter 433: Chapter 156: Losing Money

Mr. Yu Shan did not return until the afternoon sun was nearly setting. After Mr. Yu Shan had left, Yueyao slept for a short half an hour and then followed Bai Yi to practice boxing; she practiced calligraphy for half an hour in the evening before going to bed.

While massaging Yueyao, Bai Yi asked, "Miss, are you Mr. Yu Shan’s closed-door disciple?" Mr. Yu Shan was proud and unrestrained because of his talent, yet he was the most renowned painter of the Great Yuan Dynasty. However, Mr. Yu Shan’s paintings were rare, priceless, and not for sale. There were rumors that Mr. Yu Shan intended to take on a closed-door disciple, and Bai Yi guessed in her heart that Yueyao was that disciple. Yueyao shook her head, "No, Mr. Yu Shan refused to take me as his disciple." She also wanted to study under Mr. Yu Shan, but unfortunately, he was unwilling to take females as disciples.

Bai Yi, looking puzzled, asked, "Mr. Yu Shan refused to take you as a disciple?" It was strange why he devotedly taught Yueyao if he did not take her as a disciple.

Yueyao smiled and said, "I’m not deceiving you. My uncle asked Mr. Yu Shan to take me as a student, but the teacher refused. Bai Yi, I hope you keep this matter private and not let outsiders know."

Bai Yi looked deeply at Yueyao and nodded, "Don’t worry, Miss, I won’t speak of it." During this period, she had been staying in Begonia Garden and was well aware of Yueyao’s daily activities, which could only be described as inconceivably resilient — far beyond her imagination. Yet, she knew that she still did not understand this girl enough.

Since that day, Mr. Yu Shan seemed to have developed an interest and would visit every two or three days, each time commenting on Yueyao’s paintings.

Mr. Yu Shan’s comments were peculiar; he always focused on minor details in Yueyao’s works, never commenting on the overall aspects, neither the good nor the bad. His words of encouragement were always the same, "Hmm, you’ve improved a lot since last time." What exactly he meant by ’improvement’ was not very clear to Yueyao, so she naturally assumed she had progressed in the details.

Yueyao enjoyed her days in Ma’s Mansion and truly hoped her future could be as comfortable as now. However, reality was never swayed by human wishes, and Nanny Deng sent someone to inform her of an issue which broke Yueyao’s illusions and brought her back to reality.

Ruo Lan had intended to keep Yueyao by her side and teach her household management so that Yueyao wouldn’t have to worry after getting married. Unfortunately, Yueyao was always busy and had no time to learn.

Yueyao had been living in Ma’s Mansion for almost two months, and no one from Lian Mansion had come to inquire about her. Yet, suddenly one day, an old nanny came asking when Yueyao would return.

Yueyao felt that something must have happened in Lian Mansion, and instructed, "Tell Nanny Deng to investigate thoroughly. Check if there’s any unusual activity from Lady Mo’s side; there must be some serious issue."

Just as Yueyao had anticipated, indeed something significant had occurred at Lady Mo’s. Since the Old Madam passed away, Lady Mo had grown plump and increasingly corpulent. People believed corpulence was a sign of fortune, and she saw nothing amiss with this perspective. However, this condition had an unfortunate consequence—she perspired easily, even now when the room had blocks of ice. Yet, standing next to Lady Mo, Mo Jun was sweating profusely.

With tearful eyes, Mo Jun cried out, "Sister, you’re our only hope now. If you don’t come up with a solution to help, they will certainly kill me. Sister, please, for the sake of our mother, you must think of something, or our whole family will have no choice but to die." All the invested money was gone, and he had also accumulated a massive debt from high-interest loans.

Upon hearing that the invested money was lost, Lady Mo’s head buzzed. Not only was her savings gone, but she had also borrowed fifty thousand taels of silver from the Money Shop. Lady Mo grabbed Mo Jun and shouted, "You said it was a sure profit, you said it was a lucrative deal. Why is there nothing left?"

With a mix of snot and tears, Mo Jun replied, "Big sister, it was a highly profitable venture, but the ship sank, and everything was lost."

Seeing Lady Mo about to lose control, Granny Lau quickly stepped forward, "Madam, the most important thing now is to keep this matter quiet, not let others know. If it gets out that Madam had so much money, everyone will think it was obtained through embezzlement."

Lady Mo also knew that getting angry would not solve the problem. The key now was how to quietly resolve this matter.

Mo Jun did not want to go back; he wouldn’t leave without getting an answer from Lady Mo on how he could be helped. Now, only his elder sister could assist him.