CHAPTER 364: CHAPTER 350: MRS. ZHAO IN A FLURRY (2)_2

Old Mrs. Zhao laughed and said, "Thank me for what? This child hasn’t come to play with me for days, I was just blaming him, and he still thanks me?"

Sister-in-law Chai laughed and said, "Thanking you for giving him a big red envelope! This is the first time he’s ever received such a large reward."

These days, Old Mrs. Zhao is sometimes clear-headed, sometimes muddled.

She completely can’t recall giving the red envelope.

"Gave him a reward? No, I don’t remember," Old Mrs. Zhao shook her head earnestly, "Yunniang, you must have remembered wrong? It must have been someone else who gave it."

Sister-in-law Chai laughed and said, "No mistake, that day when he saluted you for your birthday, didn’t you give him a red envelope? He held onto it tightly and wouldn’t let us open it, but today he opened it himself, and it turns out you gave him two silver notes of twenty taels each, totaling forty taels. He was overjoyed and kept exclaiming how kind Great Aunt is to him, wanting to come see Great Aunt and personally thank her."

The two maids in the room and the old woman were utterly shocked hearing Sister-in-law Chai mention the forty taels of silver reward.

The returned gifts at the birthday banquet were just a formality, casually wrapping a few dozen coins since everyone coming received a share, so the amount wasn’t large.

At Old Mrs. Zhao’s birthday banquet, all the young girls and servants from the neighborhood who knelt to pay respects to her got a share, and nearly two thousand red envelopes were sent out, each with only a few dozen coins, and the total reward money didn’t exceed two hundred taels.

With so many people, giving large rewards would be unmanageable.

To give forty taels as a greeting reward would mean with nearly two thousand people, wouldn’t that cost eighty thousand taels? Only the Emperor’s family could afford such generosity!

The two maids and the old woman exchanged looks of disbelief, wondering who wrapped the red envelope. Are they crazy?

"Is that so?" Old Mrs. Zhao laughed, "He’s a sensible child; loving him is the right thing to do."

Sister-in-law Chai laughed again, "And, the other day when Miss Li saluted you for your birthday, she wanted to thank you too, but she had urgent matters and had to leave the town at noon for the countryside. She said she would certainly bring good medicinal supplements to honor Great Aunt next time."

The old woman serving inside was taken aback, "Did Miss Li also receive forty taels of silver reward?" Who’s crazy enough to wrap forty taels? Didn’t they send forty taels to everyone?

Sister-in-law Chai laughed and said, "No."

The old woman breathed a sigh of relief; Miss Li is so polite even without receiving forty taels she returns the favor.

"She got ten pieces of gold leaf; it scared her." Sister-in-law Chai laughed.

The old woman was stunned, "..."

The two maids were wide-eyed with surprise, "..."

The three were silently wondering, who’s lavish enough to wrap ten pieces of gold leaf?

Those are ten taels of gold!

The three looked at each other, each silently indicating that they didn’t do the wrapping.

Old Mrs. Zhao muttered, "I remember wrapping a handful of copper coins, how did it become ten pieces of gold?"

The two maids and the old woman wanted to shake Old Mrs. Zhao.

If people didn’t receive ten pieces of gold leaf, would they lie and say they did?

Receiving a large reward would warrant returning the favor; Miss Li isn’t that foolish, is she?

Wait, did Old Mrs. Zhao wrap these silver notes and gold leaf herself?

The three suddenly realized, their faces turning pale with fright.

No wonder several hundred taels of money and goods have gone missing in the courtyard; turns out Old Mrs. Zhao wrapped them up and gifted them!

Luckily the authorities weren’t alerted, otherwise, their reputation would be in tatters.

Sister-in-law Chai laughed again and said, "But speaking of it, Great Aunt, you have the fifty thousand taels of silver left by the old master, you wouldn’t mind such a small amount."

The old woman and the two maids were even more horrified. Did the old master leave fifty thousand taels of inheritance for Old Mrs. Zhao?

Now that she’s muddled, she might give out ten pieces of gold leaf today and ten pieces tomorrow!

An old lady with fifty thousand taels of family fortune in her hands, it wouldn’t take half a year to squander it all!

The old woman couldn’t sit still, quietly slipped out of the room, and sprinted to Mrs. Zhao’s residence.

She recounted Sister-in-law Chai’s words precisely to Mrs. Zhao.

Mrs. Zhao was dumbfounded, gasping for air, "What? Old Mrs. Zhao has fifty thousand taels of family wealth?"

"It’s Miss Yun who said so, she’s Old Mrs. Zhao’s family, she probably wouldn’t lie, right?" the old woman said, "Besides, there’s no reason to lie."

"How does she know?" How come I don’t know? Mrs. Zhao grew uneasy.

Could it be, Old Mrs. Zhao wants to transfer the old master’s inheritance to her youngest sister in the Capital?

That’s her most cherished youngest daughter.

The youngest sister is virtuous but married a spendthrift gambling husband!

This time, Old Mrs. Zhao’s 70th birthday is such a big event, yet the youngest sister and her husband didn’t come. They must have lost their gamble and lacked travel money!

Years ago, Old Mrs. Zhao often secretly subsidized the youngest sister, sometimes a few hundred taels, sometimes sending silk and materials.

Old Mrs. Zhao used her dowry money, so Mrs. Zhao didn’t question too much.

But back then, Old Mrs. Zhao was clear-minded and gave with discretion.

But now she’s muddled, what if she gives everything away?

Fifty thousand taels!

The entire Zhao family’s wealth doesn’t add up to fifty thousand taels!

Today Old Mrs. Zhao has given out ten pieces of gold leaf, what if tomorrow she gives away deeds?

The whole family wouldn’t survive!

The old woman anxiously said, "Mrs. Zhao, you must manage Old Mrs. Zhao’s affairs, yesterday she burnt a famous painting to light candles, who’s to say she won’t light candles with silver notes someday? To someone muddled like that, silver notes and famous paintings are just scraps of paper!"

Mrs. Zhao was so unnerved that she no longer cared whether the fifty thousand taels were real, the gold leaf matter alone was enough to unsettle her.

She said, "I understand, you go back to tend to her, I’ll go see Old Mrs. Zhao right away."

The old woman, relieved, returned.

After Sister-in-law Chai left, Mrs. Zhao quickly came to see Old Mrs. Zhao.

She coaxed her to tell her how much private money she had, and where it was hidden.

Old Mrs. Zhao, upon hearing she had lots of money, was even more anxious than Mrs. Zhao.

She stomped her foot and said, "Oh dear, where did I hide the money? I don’t know either. Daughter-in-law, help me find it quickly; Yunniang said I have fifty thousand taels of silver, I can’t lose it."

Mrs. Zhao, "..." She gasped, "Old Mrs. Zhao, how come you don’t know about your own money?"

"I... I... I can’t remember." Old Mrs. Zhao slumped to the ground, patted the ground with her hands, and began to wail, "Money, so much money, where did it go! My money, all my money, ah ah ah ah—"

After crying for several times, she furiously questioned Mrs. Zhao, "Daughter-in-law, did you take those fifty thousand taels?"

Mrs. Zhao was so angry she nearly fainted.

"Old... Old Mrs. Zhao, I don’t know anything about this; I didn’t take it."

"Then why can’t I find it? It must be you! Give it back to me! You’re bullying me!" Old Mrs. Zhao sat on the ground and wailed loudly.

Mrs. Zhao’s vision went black; she felt she was going to be driven insane.

The old woman tried to console her, whispering, "Mrs. Zhao, Old Mrs. Zhao has been muddled lately, don’t get angry, she’s talking nonsense."

Mrs. Zhao composed herself, took a deep breath, and said, "Quick, find a doctor, make Old Mrs. Zhao remember!"

Losing money is a small matter, but she doesn’t want to be branded as a bad daughter-in-law who stole money from her mother-in-law!

Wouldn’t she be ruined?

Following Mrs. Zhao’s orders, the household’s steward and servants were immediately busy searching for the most skilled doctor in town.

Upon hearing that Old Mrs. Zhao needed treatment for muddled thinking, the doctors all shook their heads and said, "It’s natural for old people to be muddled; how can this be treated? Treating a seventy-year-old’s mind like a young person’s would require an Immortal."