Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands-Chapter 753 - 706: Unfortunate Sisters (1)

Second Master Wei was also taken aback, "Mother! Mother, what’s wrong?"

Oh no!

Li Yuzhu hurriedly took a few steps, rushed into the house, and helped the old lady up.

A maid wanted to bring water but was stopped by her.

"Don’t move her, she’s having a heart ailment!" Li Yuzhu took out some medicine pills, pried open the old lady’s mouth, placed the pills under her tongue, and once the old lady regained some consciousness, Li Yuzhu called out to the frightened maid and servant, "Hurry up and carry the old lady to lie flat on the couch."

Learning that her son was going to marry off her granddaughter to an old man and had spent all the betrothal gifts already, whether to marry or not, and her body would get ill from anger even if it was good.

How could an eighty-one-year-old lady take this?

Li Yuzhu checked the old lady’s heart.

What reassured her was that the old lady didn’t have major health issues, she had just fainted purely from anger.

Under the effect of the medicine, after a short while, the old lady fully regained consciousness and found Li Yuzhu sitting aside, and her troublesome son standing in front of her.

Her expression changed again, pointing at Second Master Wei, "You you you, get out."

Second Master Wei was unwilling to leave, "Mother, listen to me..."

What was there to say, was he trying to anger the old lady to death?

Li Yuzhu went over and pushed Second Master Wei out of the door.

"Second Uncle, come back when the old lady has calmed down, she just fainted, if she gets angry again, I’m afraid she will..."

Second Master Wei glanced inside, hung his head, and swung his sleeves as he left.

Seeing him walk away, Li Yuzhu went back inside the house.

Seeing her come in, Mrs. Wei asked, "Yuzhu, where’s your second uncle?"

"He went to take care of some matters, said he would come to see grandmother later." Li Yuzhu smiled slightly and stepped forward to ask, "Is grandmother feeling better?"

"Ah, getting old, useless, can’t handle even a little thing." Mrs. Wei waved her hand.

Li Yuzhu massaged her acupuncture points to help soothe her, chatting with her, "Grandmother, don’t worry, Second Uncle is not a child, he can handle his own affairs properly."

Mrs. Wei looked at her, thinking of something, and asked, "Why did only one person come? Where’s Yu Wen?"

Li Yuzhu smiled and replied, "She’s not feeling well, couldn’t get up, is resting in bed."

Mrs. Wei looked apologetic, holding Li Yuzhu’s hand in hers.

"Your parents are not around, I’m getting old, and your three uncles are not very capable, unable to help you, you must take good care of yourselves."

Li Yuzhu got up and whispered a few words to the old lady.

"This girl!" Mrs. Wei suddenly realized, the gloom on her face dissipated quite a bit upon hearing something pleasant, "Good news, she’s such a proud person, to sincerely live with someone, I’m relieved."

After chatting casually with the old lady for a while, Li Yuzhu excused herself, saying she was going to visit other aunts, and left with her attendant, Lady Sun.

She originally intended to ask the old lady about Seventh Cousin Wei’s matters, but it seemed she couldn’t do so now.

Mentioning Seventh Cousin Wei’s matters again, wouldn’t it anger the old lady?

Li Yuzhu asked the mansion’s servants and found her way to Second Master Wei’s study.

Though she was a niece, she bore the Royal Family’s surname and was once a Commandery Princess.

Second Master Wei dared not be harsh with Li Yuzhu, but he wasn’t too pleased to see her either, asking irritably, "Yuzhu, what is it?"

Li Yuzhu had Lady Sun stand guard outside, then asked, "I want to ask Second Uncle, where did you spend Seventh Cousin’s betrothal gifts? How much silver did you spend in total?"

Second Master Wei’s expression turned sour, "Where did I spend it? This family has many people and children, lots of expenses, I... I can’t explain it all at once."

"Let’s not talk about small amounts like tens of silver, just mention the large sums, surely you remember the hundreds or thousands?" Li Yuzhu pressed further.

Second Master Wei became impatient, acting shamelessly, "I don’t remember, ah, so many things recently, I can’t recall."

Li Yuzhu nodded, "Alright then, if Second Uncle won’t say, I’ll leave now. As for planning to have Big Sis and I help your family, I don’t think it’s necessary anymore, you all don’t trust me."

Having said that, she stood up to leave.

Second Master Wei had no choice but to call her back, "Wait, I’ll... I’ll tell you."

Li Yuzhu returned, "Oh, quickly tell me, Second Uncle."

Rubbing his forehead with a distressed look, Second Master Wei said, "You can’t tell anyone else in the Wei family, especially not the old lady, she mustn’t find out."

Li Yuzhu nodded, "Alright then, Second Uncle, please go ahead."

Finally, Second Master Wei began to speak.

It turned out, the day after Wei Family became engaged to the Yu Wen Family, an old friend invited Second Master Wei out for a drink, congratulating him on gaining a good son-in-law.

Apart from the Lu Ling Royal Mansion, the Yu Wen Family was the highest ranking family Wei Family had ever allied with.

And since the Lu Ling Royal Mansion had declined, the Yu Wen Family, being the Emperor’s favorite, had become the highest-ranking relatives of the Wei Family.

The Wei family’s maternal sons and illegitimate children were numerous.

And it was Second Master Wei’s branch that was the weakest, without wealthy in-laws.

By marrying into the Yu Wen Family, Second Master Wei’s backbone was strengthened.

In his happiness, he drank a few more cups with his friends.

After drinking, he was taken by his friends to a gambling house.

Lost a thousand taels on the first day.

Which sobered up Second Master Wei immediately.

After the gambling house closed, he didn’t go home, just squatted at the door, waiting for it to open.

The next day, the moment the gambling house opened, he went in to gamble again, trying to win back the lost money. But who would have thought, when closing time came and he tallied it up, not only hadn’t he won it back, he had lost over another two thousand taels.

This time, Second Master Wei was completely terrified.

Again he refused to go home, and slept at the entrance of the gambling house.

When dawn broke and the gambling house reopened, he rushed in again to gamble.

Gambling is a mysterious thing.

The more you want to win, the more you lose.

Second Master Wei lost again, and Seventh Miss Wei’s five thousand taels of betrothal gifts were lost completely in just three days.

After hearing Second Master Wei’s complaints, Li Yuzhu wanted to beat him up.

"Second Uncle, the family’s situation was already bad, everyone’s living frugally, and you, within three days, lost five thousand taels!"

"It was more than five thousand." Second Master Wei grabbed his hair.

"What? How much more did you lose?" Li Yuzhu held her hand to her heart.

"And another hundred or so taels of silver set aside to repair the house."

Li Yuzhu, "..." She was so angry she didn’t know what to say, "Second Uncle, not only are you harming Seventh Cousin, but you’re also destroying the family! You even gambled away the money for house repairs?"

"I regret it, haven’t gambled since." Second Master Wei looked anxious, "Yuzhu, do you have silver on hand? I don’t need much, just lend me five thousand taels, as for the hundred or so for house repairs, I can pawn some things to gather it."

"No, not a single piece of silver!" Li Yuzhu’s expression darkened.

Lending money to a gambler, he’d take the money and gamble again! How many more daughters does he have to sell?

"If you don’t lend me money, the Yu Wen Family will want Seventh Lady to marry over, but she ran away, what to do? We can’t let Eighth Lady marry over, she’s already engaged to someone else, the date for the big wedding is set, and the Eleventh Lady is too young, only eleven years old, too young to marry into the Yu Wen Family."

Listening to Second Master Wei’s incessant muttering, Li Yuzhu stood up, sneering, "Second Uncle, when you promised Seventh Cousin to the Yu Wen Family, did you ask her opinion?"

"Marriages are major affairs for parents to decide, why ask her opinion?" Second Master Wei straightened his neck and argued stubbornly.

"But it should at least be with someone around her own age, marrying someone over twice her age, how do you expect her to face people in the future?"

"The family is on the brink of starvation, can’t she sacrifice a bit?"

Li Yuzhu wanted to explode but didn’t want to waste more words with him.

After all this talking, Second Master Wei didn’t understand a word.

No, Second Madam Wei had the same rationale.

"I don’t have that much silver now, Second Uncle knows that. Our family’s situation isn’t good nowadays." Li Yuzhu changed the topic.

"So what do we do? Yu Wen Family said if Seventh Lady doesn’t marry, then Eighth Lady should, but Eighth Lady’s betrothed is a distant relative from your Second Aunt’s family, and your Second Aunt will certainly not agree to a swap."

Li Yuzhu shook her head, "Not to mention Second Aunt won’t agree, I won’t either, Seventh Cousin’s life is miserable enough, and you want to implicate Eighth Cousin too? Hasn’t Sixth Cousin been gone for six years now? Aren’t you afraid they’ll all hate you in the future?"