The Abandoned Wife of a Military Family: Your disguise has been exposed again.

Chapter 129 Might as well give up and do whatever it takes
Yunwei simply looked at her quietly without saying a word.

"Second Madam." Tian'er peeked out from behind Yun Wei and greeted her.

Shen realized what was going on and said angrily, "You've been following me?"

"It's not really stalking; it's just that you're too insensitive and haven't noticed anyone following you," Yun Wei said calmly.

Thinking about her recent visit to the pawnshop, which might have been seen by her, Madam Shen felt somewhat embarrassed and asked unhappily, "What are you following me for?"

Instead of answering, Yun Wei asked, "You and Li Yanting live in this place? When did you move out?"

This place is called Yangliu Hutong. In Beijing, it's not considered good, but it's not the worst either.

Madam Shen said somewhat gloomily, "Not long after you left the Li family, my husband and I moved out."

She regrets it so much now. Why did she listen to that cripple and decide to separate from him?

Alright, now that Li Yaoting has become a Lieutenant General, Chen Yuniang's family has also regained their noble titles and is living a very glorious life. Only she is so foolish as to follow Li Yanting to this place to live a hard life. The glory of the Li family has nothing to do with her anymore.

I wonder when this hardship will end?
The more Shen thought about it, the more frustrated she became.

"Moving out is a good thing, isn't it? It means you don't have to live at the mercy of others." Yunwei noticed the gloom on her face and said calmly.

"What's so good about it? Not only is the housing dilapidated, but now we're even having trouble getting enough to eat," Shen said irritably.

Recalling the scene of her leaving the pawnshop, Yunwei paused and asked, "Did you encounter any difficulties?"

Shen had been jealous of Yunwei before and really didn't want her to know about her downfall. But since she had been following Yunwei all the way, Yunwei had already seen her misfortune. So she simply gave up and acted recklessly.

"As you can see, we are about to go hungry; we are starving."

Upon hearing this, Yunwei said nothing, but turned to Tian'er and instructed, "Give her two hundred taels."

Tian'er nodded, dismounted, and handed two one-hundred-tael silver notes to Madam Shen.

Shen was taken aback and looked at Yun Wei suspiciously. "For me?"

"No," Yunwei shook her head, "it's borrowed from you."

Shen choked for a moment, she thought to herself, "I knew it, Yun Shi doesn't have such a kind heart."

But thinking about her family's predicament, she hesitated for a moment and then reached out to take it.

"Consider it a loan from you. I will definitely repay you in full when I have income in the future," Madam Shen said, straightening her back.

Yunwei didn't say anything more, only saying, "Don't let Li Yanting know I've been here. Take good care of him. With his talent, he will definitely pass the imperial examination next spring. At that time, your suffering will finally be over."

Upon hearing this, a complex expression flashed across Shen's face.

She knew that Li Yanting was talented and hardworking. Since moving out of the Li residence, he had been studying every day and often studied until late at night.

This is why she never complained to him even though life was so hard.

Most of the time, she would just mutter a few words to herself.

"I understand," she replied.

Seeing Yunwei about to leave, she couldn't help but call out to her again, "I heard you were granted the title of County Princess and betrothed to the Regent. Congratulations!"

Yun Wei twitched the corner of her mouth, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, "If you have any difficulties, you can come to Qingyi Garden on Xiangcheng Street to find me. Of course, whether I help you or not is my business."

"Then what are you even saying?" Madam Shen pouted.

Yun Wei's lips curled up slightly. "Seeing you jump up and down is quite amusing."

Madam Shen nearly fainted from anger. "You woman, how come I never realized you were so wicked before?" "That's because you were stupid." Yun Wei said rudely, pulled Tian'er onto her horse, and then, amidst Madam Shen's grumbling, urged the horse to leave.

Seeing that everyone had gone far away, Madam Shen stopped talking and returned to her rented residence with the huge sum of two hundred taels of silver.

When Li Yanting proposed to separate their residences and live separately, she originally thought that Old Madam Li would not agree. Unexpectedly, Old Madam Li agreed as soon as he said it. However, the condition was that the Li family was in financial difficulty and had no spare resources to help them find a house, let alone spare money. If they wanted to separate their residences and live separately, they would have to find their own place to live.

So when she and Li Yanting left the Li residence, they hurriedly found a house in Yangliu Hutong and settled down.

The house here, though not expensive, is still a considerable expense for the two of them who are short of money.

In addition, when the two left the Li residence, they each took a servant boy and a maidservant with them. With two more mouths to feed and monthly wages to pay them, their lives became increasingly difficult.

This month, the situation has gotten even worse.

Fortunately, the servants and maids were loyal people. Seeing that the family was in a bad situation, they did not run away, but took the initiative to find work outside to supplement the family income.

But it's hard to find work outside. After searching around, I could only find some temporary jobs, which I could only do for a few days before they were gone.

When she woke up this morning, she found that the rice jar was almost empty, so she had no choice but to pawn her jewelry.

Unfortunately, her jewelry was worthless, fetching only a few taels of silver.

Just as she was worrying about how long her few taels of silver would last, Yunwei appeared.

He spent two hundred taels in one go.

With these two hundred taels, she and Li Yanting would not starve to death for the time being, and if they planned carefully, they could even live quite well.

Moreover, it would allow Li Yanting to eat better and nourish his body, so that he would have the energy to prepare well for the spring imperial examination.

The more Shen thought about it, the brighter her eyes became, and the more confident she felt about the future.

Although she had been sharp-tongued, she was actually feeling warm inside and full of gratitude towards Yunwei.

She wasn't ungrateful; she knew that although Yunwei's words were unpleasant, her heart was good, and she had come specifically to give her money.

As soon as she got home, Madam Shen said to the servant boy and maid sitting in the corner with a triumphant look on her face, "Xiao Chunzi, go and kill the hen in the house. We'll stew it for your master to drink later. Tao'er, come with me to buy some rice and flour."

Xiaochunzi, who was leaning against the corner of the wall and starving, thought to herself, "Has the lady gone mad?"

They're already starving, and they still want to kill a chicken?
That hen, which lays an egg every day, is usually cherished by the lady more than her own life, but today…

It seems that things really can't go on like this. The lady is just throwing caution to the wind and focusing on getting her fill first.

"Hurry up and go, what are you standing there for?" Madam Shen ordered. Seeing that the two of them were unmoved, she kicked Xiao Chunzi and pulled Tao'er out.

When Li Yanting heard the commotion in the courtyard, he opened the door to check, only to see Shen Shi's hurried departure.

Xiao Chunzi scratched his head and said, "Master, Madam seems... not quite right."

“Go ahead and kill her. She’s been suffering a lot lately,” Li Yanting said.

"Killed the madam?" Xiaochunzi asked in horror.

Li Yanting rubbed his temples. It seemed he was really starving and couldn't even hear what was being said. He had to repeat himself, "It's about killing the hen."

"Oh." Xiaochunzi chuckled foolishly, grabbed the hen, and slit his throat.

After bleeding him out, he remembered something and stammered, "But sir, if we kill this hen, there won't be any eggs left."

“I’ve finished copying the books for the bookstore a few days ago. I’m going to send them to the bookstore. I should be able to get some money. I can buy rice and flour, and if there’s any left over, I can buy a chicken to raise.” After Li Yanting finished explaining his plans, he went back into the house and brought out a stack of books. He instructed, “When Madam comes back, remember to tell her.”

"Yes," Xiao Chunzi replied, feeling very sad. Second Master had always lived a hard life. Before, he was unable to walk due to his leg problems, and now he had to bend over for a peck of rice. Why was life so difficult?
(End of this chapter)