Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands-Chapter 554 - 0515: Face-to-Face Praise (2)

Li Yu En moved into the new courtyard.

This new courtyard was once the residence of the Old Lady, and it is only slightly smaller than Lady Lou’s main house, yet it is decorated more exquisitely than Lady Lou’s courtyard.

The news spread in Lou Mansion, quickly stirring jealousy among the Lou Family Ladies.

Second Lady Lou, Lou San Niangzi, and Lou Si Niangzi together came to Lady Lou’s residence to complain.

Lady Lou was jealous too, but listening to the words of these younger sisters-in-law, it seemed they were urging her to complain to the Lady.

Why should she say something?

She refuses to be the first to rebel.

Lady Lou smiled and said, "Perhaps, Fifth Brother and Sister-in-law have some extraordinary qualities to win Father’s favor."

Lou San Niangzi smiled and said, "No matter how impressive, it can’t surpass Eldest Brother, right, Second Sister-in-law, Fourth Sister-in-law?"

The two nodded in agreement, "Yes, yes, when Fifth Brother was born, Eldest Brother was already following Father in and out of the study."

As they talked, Lady Lou felt increasingly displeased.

When they left, Lady Lou immediately asked her maid, "Where is the Eldest Young Master?"

"The Eldest Young Master went out with the Master."

"Following the Master and working hard every day, yet no reward is seen." Lady Lou snorted coldly.

By the second watch, Mr. Lou, who went out for a banquet with Prefect Lou, had returned.

Lady Lou immediately spoke about Lou Chengye and his wife moving to the new courtyard.

"That courtyard is only smaller than Mother’s courtyard. Father and Mother are really biased." Lady Lou sighed, "You follow Father around all day long, yet I haven’t heard Father say he’d give you a new house."

Mr. Lou took off his cloak and handed it to Lady Lou, then walked over to the brazier to warm his hands.

"If you move to He Feng Courtyard, Father and Mother would also definitely give you a new room," Mr. Lou glanced at Lady Lou and said.

"What’s wrong with He Feng Courtyard, can’t it accommodate people?" Lady Lou snorted lightly, "Father and Mother are just biased, nothing more to say."

Mr. Lou shook his head, "You only know part of it, not the whole. Do you really think Father is concerned only about Fifth Young Master’s uninhabitable house? They’ve lived in that house for several days, why wasn’t it changed immediately, but now? Besides, before the Fifth Young Mistress came, the house had been there for years, yet Father never said it couldn’t accommodate anyone."

"What’s the other part?" Lady Lou hung his cloak on the wooden rack and turned back to ask.

Mr. Lou then spoke about today’s matters in the study.

"The funds allocated annually by the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Revenue are fixed. If a state exceeds its expenditures, it has to find its own means to cover the excess. Two years ago, Zhen An Prefecture suffered from floods, and this year half the places suffered from drought. The funds allocated by the court are simply insufficient for disaster relief. Father had to draw from the accumulated treasury silver from previous years."

"..."

"Aside from these expenses, several river channels are under repair which also requires funds. The treasury silver is already running low, but someone dared to tamper with the silver allocated for these repairs, inflating reports by five to six thousand taels. This is just one county; if multiple counties fabricate like this, the State Mansion could be swindled for tens of thousands of silver by the county governments below!" 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"..."

"When the treasury silver is depleted, and there’s an emergency needing funds in the state, where will those funds come from? Today at noon, Fifth Brother found errors in the account books, saving the State Mansion money. Tell me, shouldn’t Father be thankful for Fifth Brother?"

Lady Lou was stunned, "Fifth Brother has such skills? Isn’t he supposed to know nothing?"

Mr. Lou laughed slightly, "He just doesn’t like reading the classics and historical texts, but in terms of arithmetic, he’s quite proficient. To my surprise, he calculates faster and more accurately than I do without an abacus."

Lady Lou gave Mr. Lou a doubtful look, "From your words, he sounds like a mythical figure?"

Mr. Lou said, "It’s called a specialized skill, everyone has their strengths. Not excelling in one thing doesn’t mean excelling in none. Don’t underestimate him."

"I think it was just a coincidence." Lady Lou was dismissive.

.

Prefect Lou was also concerned that suddenly giving the fifth son a new courtyard might cause envy and discord among the siblings and in-laws, creating enemies for the fifth son.

The next day, at the family reunion for the New Year’s Eve dinner, Prefect Lou specifically mentioned Lou Chengye’s discovery of issues in the government office’s account books.

He also talked about the consequences if these account book issues hadn’t been found.

First, the State Government would have lost money in vain, second, it could encourage a culture of deception among the county governments below.

Third, if even the funds are faked, then the river repair projects must have problems too, possibly arousing public resentment.

Fourth, if the matter reached the court, Prefect Lou would be implicated for inadequate supervision, and displeasing the Emperor could lead to salary cuts or demotion.

His explanation left the Lou family members all shocked.

It turns out that discovering the account book problems was of such significance.

Nobody underestimated Lou Chengye anymore.

Even Lady Lou’s opinion of her youngest son shifted a bit.

.

After the New Year’s dinner, as per tradition, it was time for Old Lady Lou and the couple Prefect Lou to give the children and grandchildren their New Year’s red packets.

All the red packets were wrapped in bright red paper, and the amount inside was unknown.

Old Lady Lou gave one to each person, Prefect Lou gave one, and Lady Lou gave one.

There were many elders and many youngsters; the maids and elderly women cheerfully carried a bamboo basket filled with red packets, giving one to everyone they met.

Mr. Lou and Lady Lou, along with their two children, received three red packets each after kowtowing to Old Lady Lou and the couple Prefect Lou.

The Third Young Master Lou is also a family of three.

The Fourth Young Master Lou has been married for less than a year and does not have any children yet.

Lou Chengye and Li Yu En have been married for only a few days, and they are still young, so they have not slept together yet. Each of them received three red envelopes.

Everyone joyfully and quietly checked the amount of money in the red envelopes.

Lou Chengye opened his three red envelopes and found that each contained a silver note of ten taels, totaling only thirty taels.

So little.

Li Yu En’s were a bit more, from her three envelopes, one had ten taels, another had one hundred taels, and the third had two hundred taels.

She smiled and said to Lou Chengye, "Don’t worry, my husband. My money is also your money, we will spend it together."

Lou Chengye said gratefully, "My lady is really kind."

In previous years, his red envelopes only had thirty taels. Marrying his lady really doubled his family’s income.

If he had known marrying a lady would bring fortune, he would have married earlier.

The other brothers’ families also each had their own joy after opening their red envelopes.

The lively atmosphere of the Lou Family made Li Yu En think of Li Xingsheng, who lived in a small house.

She sat in the corner, looking towards the small house, frowned without speaking.

Lou Chengye noticed her sudden lack of smile and asked softly, "Yu En, what are you thinking about?"

"If it were at home, my family would also be this lively, and my family is not small either." Li Zun’en sighed.

But she married far away and couldn’t always see her parents.

Lou Chengye held her hand to comfort her, "Let’s go see Li Er now, a place with family is home."

Li Yu En said gratefully, "My husband is really kind."

After the banquet was over, everyone returned to their rooms.

Li Yu En and Lou Chengye arranged for the nanny sent by Old Lady Lou to look after the courtyard. They took Er Niu, San Niu, and Second Lady Liu to Li Xingsheng’s small house.

Li Yu En went to see Li Xingsheng, and Second Lady Liu and the others should also gather with their families.

It was already dark by this time, and colorful fireworks were occasionally set off in the street market outside.

The sound of firecrackers was heard, and laughter and joy echoed everywhere.

Second Lady Liu was going to see her husband and sons, carrying a lantern happily leading the way.

Although the parents of Er Niu and San Niu were not around, being with the second uncle’s family made them very happy.

The two little girls were happily talking and laughing all the way.

When they arrived at the small house, they found Li Xingsheng standing at the door with a lantern waiting for them.

Li Yu En ran up with a smile, "Second Brother!"

Lou Chengye also shouted "Second Brother."

Li Xingsheng smiled and took Li Yu En’s hand, "I knew you would come, I just got here, and you arrived."

He invited the couple into the house.

Second Lady Liu and Er Niu, San Niu, smiled and greeted Li Xingsheng, "Li Erlang."

Li Xingsheng said with a smile, "Today is New Year’s Eve, a day of family reunion. It’s rare for you all to gather, no need to worry about us. We will prepare tea ourselves."

Second Lady Liu said gratefully, "Thank you, Erlang."

After everyone entered the house, Liu Family gathered in the back room to eat and drink.

Li Xingsheng took Li Yu En and Lou Chengye to the main hall of the small building.

A table of food and drinks was also set on the table in the main hall.

Lou Chengye was in a dilemma. If he had known that Second Brother Li had also prepared food, he would have eaten less at home.

He took a breath and drew his stomach back a bit, saying, "Second Brother, I’ll drink with you."

Li Xingsheng looked at him and laughed, "I know you’ve had New Year’s Eve dinner, let your stomach not be embarrassed, eat as much as you can, and if you can’t eat, just sip some wine."

Lou Chengye said with an awkward face, "Alright."

Li Yu En was also full, and she only drank tea, taking small sips.

Li Xingsheng did not pressure them, he poured himself a cup of wine, and accompanied them in conversation.

Li Yu En talked about the events at the Lou Mansion yesterday and today, telling Li Xingsheng that Lou Chengye received a reward from Prefect Lou, which was a hat made of fox fur and a scarf.

She also mentioned that they changed residences, and the new place is quite good, warmer than before, it was where Old Lady used to live, only slightly smaller than Lady Lou’s courtyard.

She added that Old Lady Lou sent a very diligent nanny to help with their tasks.

Li Xingsheng was surprised and asked, "Why the reward?"