Chapter 589: Blessings and Disasters
After personally sending her two beloved sons back home to rest, Mu Rong returned to Xianyi Residence and began to count the blessings Ning Yunxi had given her.
When she counted her fourth brother's share, she was shocked to find that one hundred taels of silver were missing.
"Ning Yunxi, how can this be possible?"
After saying this, she took the gift, rode her horse straight to Xiangzhu Garden, and regardless of the fact that Ning Yunxi was fast asleep, she grabbed her and woke her up.
"Ning Yunxi, wake up!"
Ning Yunxi was really frightened.
"what!"
When she opened her eyes and saw it was her mother, she relaxed a little, got out of bed and saluted.
"May mother be blessed with peace and prosperity."
"Mother, you have come here late at night. You must have important business. I will obey your orders."
Mu Rong put down the lantern and sat down angrily.
"Tell me yourself, what is the matter that I came to see you for?"
She didn't signal to stand up, so Ning Yunxi could only kneel.
"My child is stupid, please tell me clearly, mother."
Mu Rong slammed her palm heavily and slammed Fu Li hard on the table.
"You still have the nerve to ask me?"
"My fourth brother has only one beloved daughter, Meng'er. I will give her five hundred taels. As a gift in return, Fengzhe, as the eldest brother, should receive two hundred taels, and Feng'er and you should receive one hundred and fifty taels."
"Tell the truth, why is the gift from my fourth brother only a fifty-liang silver note?!"
Ning Yunxi was shocked when she heard this, and looked at him in surprise and confusion.
"My child...I don't know."
The lantern and candlelight flickered, highlighting Mu Rong's face, which was extremely sarcastic and mean.
"You are corrupt, how could you not know?"
"You have no filial piety at all, and you only care about your parents' money all day long. Are you still a human being?"
She talked at length, explaining the truth.
"I gave out all the Reunion Festival gifts, and you all gave them back to me. What's the problem?"
"Could it be that in your mind, I intend to earn money from your blessing gifts?"
"Big mistake!"
"Even if I accept these banknotes, I will keep them carefully and use them as your betrothal gifts and dowries in the future. This amount of money is not enough, so I will still make up for it myself."
"Why am I doing this with such good intentions? Isn't it just to help you have a happy marriage?"
"How could there be a daughter as ignorant as you in this world, who quietly embezzled money and property without saying a word, and then refused to admit it afterwards?!"
The silver moon is covered with frost, reflecting the tears of Ning Yunxi and Qu Yang, making her look even more pitiful.
"Mother is very clear-sighted. My child really did not embezzle money."
She had a flash of inspiration.
"Perhaps, my uncle put the banknotes there by mistake, and the rest is with my eldest and second brothers."
"The child will accompany mother and go back to check. After confirming that everything is correct, I will serve mother and let her go to bed peacefully."
Mu Rong was extremely angry and slammed the table and shouted angrily.
"It's getting late, how can you disturb Fengzhe and Feng'er's sleep? You have absolutely no filial piety!"
Ning Yunxi was completely confused.
"Don't bother the two brothers."
"Hasn't their blessing gift already been given to their mother?"
"Mother forgot?"
Mu Rong was slow to react, and after a moment of realization, she hurriedly concealed her guilty conscience.
"Oh, yes, I almost got mad at you."
Ning Yunxi heard something and her heart suddenly tightened, with a sharp pain coming over her quickly.
"Mother, do you need your child to accompany you home?"
There was no warmth in Mu Rong's tone.
"No need, I'll go back and check it myself, you just kneel and wait."
Ning Yunxi responded in silence.
"Yes."
Listening to her mother's footsteps getting farther and farther away, she could no longer hold back her tears.
Mu Rong did not disturb her son. She woke up their personal servants and ordered them to open the storerooms in their respective residences to confirm the number of gifts.
Then, when she returned to Xiangzhu Garden, she spoke even more harshly.
"My fourth brother has given Fengzhe and Feng'er a lot of gifts, but you are short of one hundred taels of silver."
"Tell me, what's going on?"
At night, there was a sinister and fierce look, just like her, and her eyes became more and more crazy.
"If you don't hand over the silver in full, you will be deprived of food and will have to kneel down until you have begged for mercy!"
Ning Yunxi understood what was going on and was terrified, so she was too timid to even look directly at him.
"Mother, you know what's going on."
"Could it be that my uncle was busy and made a mistake by accident?"
Mu Rong sat in a stern posture, looking majestic without even getting angry.
"I understand your meaning. It is my fourth brother who has been hiding this from everyone and embezzling money, right?"
"My fourth brother is an official in the Eighth Chamber of Commerce. He is very capable. How could he be greedy for your little money? I know very well that he is not that kind of person."
Ning Yunxi was filled with sorrow and melancholy.
"Mother, is your child this kind of person?"
Between Mu Rong and Yong Yi, there was a hint of contempt.
"Your character has always been poor, and everyone can see it."
Ning Yunxi felt wronged and felt innocent, so she mustered up the courage to defend herself.
"Although the child may be mean, he has never been harsh to his parents."
"For many years, no matter what the etiquette is, I have always handed in all the money. Have I ever been corrupt?"
Mu Rong looked down on Ning Yunxi, treating her like a thief.
"Only this time, I checked and realized that the amount of silver was wrong."
"How would I know if you have secretly embezzled money in the past?"
"Since you said you didn't take bribes this time, do you have any witnesses or physical evidence?"
Ning Yunxi quickly recalled what had happened and gave a response.
"My second brother was with me yesterday, and he was watching when my uncle gave the blessing."
"If I have ever taken away my uncle's gift without permission, my second brother will know it immediately."
Mu Rong frowned and asked casually.
"You want to wake Feng'er up in the middle of the night and come over to confront him?"
Ning Yunxi lowered her brows a little, looked sad and clear, humble and courteous, as if treading on thin ice.
"I dare not disturb my second brother's sleep. Please mother, I will ask again tomorrow."
Mu Rong was reluctantly satisfied, but her tone remained cold.
"Then you kneel down until tomorrow, when I summon Feng'er to come over and you can confront each other face to face."
Ning Yunxi responded with a shudder.
"My child obeys."
Mu Rong stood up and left her seat, but after taking just one step, she turned back and emphasized her addition.
"Don't think you can spend all the money tonight without saying anything."
"Tomorrow, I will bring a doctor to check your knee. If there is any injury or it is inconsistent with the time of kneeling, you know the consequences."
Ning Yunxi responded respectfully.
"A child will never neglect his mother's instruction."
She changed the subject and pleaded in a low voice.
"But please consider the difference between men and women and choose a female doctor to check the child's knee."
Mu Rong looked down at him with an aggressive look, without a trace of warmth.
"You order me? That's unbecoming."
Ning Yunxi quickly showed weakness.
"The child is terrified."
Mu Rong remained indifferent, left after saying a few words.
"I know my limits, you don't need to say more."
Ning Yunxi prostrated himself and bowed deeply.
"Congratulations to my mother."
The next day, when the sun was high in the sky, Mu Rong and her son came slowly and late.
Ning Yunxi, despite her sleepiness, bowed respectfully.
"May mother be blessed with peace and prosperity."
Mu Rong ignored him, motioned to her son to sit down with her, and then gave her instructions.
"Feng'er, go ahead and tell me."
Ning Xuanfeng spoke loudly without any shame.
"Reporting to mother, I saw clearly that the third sister secretly took away the 100 taels of silver notes, which came from my uncle Fu Li!"