Gu Xian asked Qing Shu for a long time if there was something on her mind, but Qing Shu remained silent. Gu Xian was both surprised and afraid, “Hongdou, what’s wrong with you? Tell your mother!” 

Chen Mama also chimed in, “Miss, if you have something to say, just say it. Holding things in your heart without speaking can harm your health.” 

Gu Xian was physically and mentally exhausted. For the past few days, Chen Mama had been taking care of Qing Shu. Naturally, she knew that Qing Shu was different from before. Back then, her own daughter had been cheerful and lively, always smiling. But ever since they returned from Taohua Village, Qing Shu had become reticent and frequently lost in thought. Chen Mama thought it was due to her illness and believed that she would be fine once she recovered. However, she didn’t anticipate that the situation would become more serious. 

Qing Shu hung her head for a long time before coming up with a suitable excuse, “They said that once you give birth to a little brother, you won’t need me anymore and will send me to the countryside.” 

After speaking, Qing Shu hugged Gu Xian and cried, “Mother, I don’t want to go to the countryside. Mother, please don’t abandon me.” 

In reality, what she meant was for her mother not to die and to live well, not to leave her all alone. 

Gu Xian was both angry and annoyed, “Who told you these absurd things?” 

Qing Shu didn’t say anything, she just cried. 

Gu Xian suppressed her anger and comforted her, “Hongdou, you were carried in my womb for ten months. How could your mother not want you? Hongdou, don’t listen to their nonsense.” 

Qing Shu stared at her tear-stained face and asked, “Is it true?” 

Taking out a handkerchief from her sleeve, Gu Xian wiped away Qing Shu’s tears and said, “Of course it’s true. Hongdou, if anyone says these absurd things to you in the future, come tell me.” 

“Alright.” 

Gu Xian still remembered the earlier incident, “Hongdou, you were very impolite just now. Later, you should apologize to your aunt and sister Ru Tong.” 

Qing Shu also realized that her behavior had been inappropriate, but apologizing was out of the question for her, “Mother, I’m tired.” After speaking, she even intentionally yawned. 

It was obvious that she was pretending, but at this point, Gu Xian couldn’t bring herself to scold her again. 

Wei Shi saw Gu Xian and asked with concern, “Is Hongdou alright?” 

Gu Xian sighed and said, “She needs to be taken care of. Otherwise, the illness will leave lasting effects.” 

“How could it be so serious?” While she looked nervous on the surface, she didn’t actually take it seriously. It was just a minor cold; taking a couple doses of medicine would be enough to cure it. Yet, this girl had been sick for almost half a month, acting so delicate. 

Gu Xian didn’t want to discuss the matter any further and changed the topic, “Is there a specific reason for your visit to the county town?” 

Wei Shi did have a reason for visiting Gu Xian this time, “We’re running out of oil and salt at home, so I need to buy more. Also, summer is approaching, so I need to buy some fabric to make summer clothes.” 

Hearing this, Gu Xian’s expression turned ironic. Every time Wei Shi came to the county town to shop, she deliberately informed her. Then, Gu Xian would give her money to make the purchases. 

Gu Xian felt that since she wasn’t serving her parents-in-law in the village, sending some things back could be considered filial piety. 

Gu Xian said, “Since you need to buy things, you should go quickly!” 

Wei Shi looked at Gu Xian in disbelief. 

After marrying Lin Chengyu, Gu Xian had gone to the capital city with him to study. She only returned to the county town after he passed the imperial examination in September of the previous year. For the past six months or so, every time Wei Shi came to the county town, as long as she informed Gu Xian, Gu Xian would provide her with money for the purchases. 

Wei Shi felt quite smug about this; she thought she was saving the family a significant amount of money. 

Seeing that Wei Shi wasn’t moving, Gu Xian said, “Sister-in-law, you should go and take care of your shopping quickly. Otherwise, there might not be a boat back to the village.” 

Wei Shi couldn’t believe that Gu Xian was suddenly refusing to help with the purchases. Seeing that Gu Xian was about to go inside, she had no choice but to reluctantly say, “Sister-in-law, I had my money stolen by a thief. Could you please lend me five taels of silver? I’ll repay you the next time I come to the county town.” 

Gu Xian turned to Xia Yue and asked, “How much silver do we have at home?” 

Xia Yue managed Gu Xian’s money box, so she knew exactly how much silver they had. She quickly said, “Madam, we just paid the medical expenses for Miss in the morning. Right now, we only have two taels of silver left.” 

“How is that possible?” The Gu family used to be the richest in Taifeng County. Although they weren’t as well-off after the passing of Old Master Gu, it’s not like their situation was dire. Gu Xian was Old Master Gu’s only daughter; how could they possibly be short of money? 

Xia Yue explained, “Second Madam, in order to gather enough money for the family, Madam sold several pieces of jewelry!” 

This wasn’t something Xia Yue had made up; it was true. Gu Xian was proud by nature and hadn’t asked the Gu family for money after she got married. Even when Lin Chengyu needed money for his journey to the capital city for the imperial examination, she didn’t ask her grandmother-in-law for money. Instead, she sold some jewelry. 

Wei Shi found it hard to believe that Gu Xian didn’t have money, but she had no choice, “In that case, I’ll come back to shop next time.” 

Gu Xian nodded and said, “Xia Yue, please accompany Second Madam.” 

After that, she went back into the house. 

With the conversation going this far, Wei Shi could only leave with Lin Ru Tong. 

Once inside, Gu Xian saw that Qing Shu was sleeping. She gently touched her face, her expression filled with guilt. 

Chen Mama said, “Madam, from now on, aside from the annual gifts to the Old Master and Old Madam, you shouldn’t have to worry about anything else.” These gifts were usually just a few taels of silver, but over the course of half a year, it added up to around thirty taels of silver. 

Seeing that Gu Xian didn’t object, Chen Mama felt delighted, “Madam, you’re about to give birth soon. We should save up more silver for safety. Apart from the annual gifts to the Lin family, you shouldn’t have to worry about anything else.” 

Gu Xian fell silent and said after a moment, “Yes, we should start cutting down on expenses and save up some silver.” 

She had spent money recklessly in the past, to the point where she had no savings left. But now, with two children to support, it was going to be expensive. If they didn’t start saving now, she might have to sell jewelry again. Doing it once might still keep it hidden, but if it happened frequently, people would find out. Gu Xian was especially concerned about her reputation; she didn’t want people to mock her in the future. 

In fact, when Gu Xian married Lin Chengyu, many people mocked her for having poor judgment. 

Since Qing Shu fell ill, Gu Xian had been sleeping in the west room. After talking with Chen Mama for a while, she went back to her room to rest. 

Although it was just a small change, Chen Mama was overjoyed. She had tried to advise Gu Xian to be more frugal many times over the years, but it had been in vain. 

But when she thought about the reason behind this change, Chen Mama felt uneasy. Miss had truly suffered this time. 

T/N Note:
I’ve updated the wrong novel yesterday, so double chapters for today.