I was pampered like a treasure after being married off to the young marshal, but my father and broth

"Yes."

Xi'er readily agreed and turned to run away as fast as she could.

A short while later, paper and pen were brought out.

Xi'er thoughtfully brought over a tray with ink pads on it.

Shang Sheyu took the paper and pen and handed them to Shang Pengyue: "Fourth Sister, write it down."

Shang Pengyue took the pen, her hands trembling.

She quickly wrote down the IOU on the paper.

I have borrowed five hundred silver dollars from a merchant, promising to return it within three months...

After writing it, she pressed her red handprint firmly onto the paper and exclaimed, "Here!"

Shang Pengyue shoved the IOU into Shang Sheyu's hand and reached out for the money: "Where's the money?"

Shang Sheyu looked at the IOU and confirmed that it was correct.

A slight smile played on her lips as she was about to ask Xi'er to get the money.

Si Nan suddenly reached out and snatched the IOU from her hand.

Shang Sheyu was taken aback and turned to look at Si Nan.

Si Nan held the IOU and examined it carefully. "The handwriting is a bit ugly, but the fingerprint is clear."

After saying that, she folded the IOU and actually put it directly into her sleeve.

Shang Pengyue was dumbfounded.

Shang Sheyu was also stunned.

"Mother-in-law, this..."

Si Nan ignored Shang Sheyu and turned to Granny Yan, instructing, "Go to my private treasury and fetch a silver note for five hundred silver dollars for Miss Shang."

Granny Yan replied, "Yes."

Shang Pengyue's eyes widened, and her mouth opened so wide it could fit an egg.

What does that mean?

What is this old woman trying to do?

"Madam, what's wrong...?"

Shang Pengyue stammered, "This money...wasn't it a loan from my third sister?"

Si Nan gave her a cold glance.

"She Yu has barely entered the family, and her dowry is still warm in her hands, and you're already trying to pry into her background."

"She's shy and embarrassed to refuse you, but as her mother-in-law, I can't bear to see my daughter-in-law suffer."

Si Nan straightened his cuffs and said indifferently, "Consider this five hundred silver dollars a loan from me."

"I've accepted the written agreement; I am now the creditor."

"Miss Shang, remember this."

Si Nan took a step forward, unleashing a fierce aura that made Shang Pengyue gasp for breath: "If the money isn't repaid by the due date... even if I have to chase you all the way to the Chi family, I'll make you cough up this money, principal and interest."

What?!

Shang Pengyue felt as if she had been struck by lightning.

Her original plan was to borrow money from Shang Sheyu without having to repay it.

But now...

The creditor has become Si Nan?

Even if she had a hundred times the courage, she wouldn't dare to renege on Si Nan's debt.

"No...no."

Shang Pengyue panicked and reached for the IOU in Si Nan's sleeve: "I won't lend you the money! I won't lend you your money!"

"presumptuous!"

Suddenly, the guard next to him shouted and pulled back the bolt with a click, the dark muzzle instantly pointing at Shang Pengyue.

Shang Pengyue screamed in fright, covered her head, and squatted on the ground, trembling.

Is it not okay for her... she can't just not lend it to me?

At this moment, Granny Yan returned with the silver notes.

She walked up to Shang Pengyue and handed her the silver note: "Miss Shang, please take this and keep it safe."

Shang Pengyue looked at the light silver note, yet it felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, burning hot to the touch.

If she doesn't take this money, she won't be able to enter the Chi family tomorrow, and her life will be over.

If you take it, you'll be burdened with Si Nan's enormous debt.

dilemma.

Finally, with trembling hands, she accepted the silver note.

As long as I can get into the Chi family...

As long as we can make a lot of money by taking advantage of the Chi family...

She can pay back five hundred silver dollars!

"Thank you so much, Madam."

Si Nan didn't even glance at her, took Shang Sheyu's hand, and turned to walk towards the gate.

Shang Sheyu followed obediently behind him.

Just before entering the door, she glanced back.

Shang Pengyue was seen squatting in the cold wind, clutching the silver note tightly in her hand, her eyes filled with determination.

Fourth Sister really thought that by marrying into the Chi family with silver notes, she could replicate her previous life's path and become a wealthy lady surrounded by servants and adorned with gold and silver.

Tsk.

How naive!

In the corridor.

The cold wind made the tassels under the lanterns sway wildly.

Shang Sheyu followed half a step behind Si Nan, the thought churning in her mind several times.

Her original plan was to pay for it herself, leaving Shang Pengyue with an insurmountable debt, and then stab that idiot in the back.

Now that Si Nan has intervened, this messy debt has become a steel knife hanging over Shang Pengyue's head.

But after all, it was her mother-in-law who stood up for her.

Shang Sheyu quickened her pace and walked to Si Nan's side: "Mother-in-law, thank you so much for helping your daughter-in-law out of that situation."

Si Nan stopped in her tracks.

With great foresight, Granny Yan stepped back two paces, giving the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law a chance to speak.

Si Nan turned to the side, his eyes, which had seen countless storms, falling on the bride's face.

"Don't feel guilty." The old lady's voice sounded a bit harsh in the wind, but it also carried a protective and domineering air.

"I've lived most of my life in the North, what filth haven't I seen? I've heard about the merchants' dirty deeds long ago."

Shang Sheyu's heart skipped a beat, and she looked up at Si Nan.

"I know exactly what kind of person your stepmother is, and what kind of character your father is," Si Nan sneered, turning the Buddhist prayer beads in her hand as she continued walking forward. "Now that you've entered the Quan family, you're a member of the Quan family."

"As long as you bear the title of Third Young Mistress of the Quan family, I will not allow any outsider to ride on your head and piss on you. Not to mention your ignorant sister, even if the King of Heaven himself came, if he wanted to bully my Quan family's daughter-in-law, he would have to ask the cane in my hand for permission."

Shang Sheyu stared blankly at the old man with a full head of white hair in front of him.

In her previous life, she endured five years in the Chi family.

Old Mrs. Chi was shrewd to the core. She spoke sweetly, but behind the scenes she schemed to take all of her dowry and use it to fill the bottomless pit of the Chi family.

Later, she helped the Chi family turn their fortunes around through her medical skills and business acumen. The old hag was afraid that she would run away, so she tried every means to drug her, insisting that she give birth to a son or daughter to keep her in check.

Whether in the business world or the Chi family, she is a money-making machine and a tool for having children, but never a person.

But now, this mother-in-law, whom she has only known for a few days, knows that she was brought in through a marriage exchange and that she has a mess behind her, yet she returned her dowry to her intact and even went so far as to pay out of her own pocket to protect her.

This mother-in-law is completely unrelated to the "ruthless and vicious" accusations made by Shang Pengyue in her previous life.

Shang Sheyu felt her eyes getting hot.

Her heart had been frozen solid in her previous life, but now, it felt as if a warm current was flowing through her veins into her heart, making her tremble slightly.

"Mother-in-law".

Shang Sheyu sniffed, suppressing the sour feeling, and respectfully curtsied.

"Your daughter-in-law remembers. From now on, she will serve her mother-in-law wholeheartedly and safeguard the Quan family's reputation."

Seeing her obedient appearance, Si Nan's sternness disappeared, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly: "Let's go, dinner is ready."

"it is good."

The following afternoon.

It snowed last night, but the sun is shining brightly today.

The golden sunlight shone on the garden of Xiyuan, making the snow look crystal clear.

The shopkeeper had a soft couch set up in the sunny pavilion, with several plates of exquisite Cantonese dim sum and a pot of freshly brewed Da Hong Pao tea on a small table next to it.

She leaned against the soft couch, covered with a thick cashmere blanket, holding a medical book in her hands, her eyes closed, enjoying this rare moment of tranquility.

"Miss, Miss."

Xi'er gently nudged her shoulder.

Shang Sheyu opened her eyes: "What's wrong?"

Xi'er gestured towards the outside of the pavilion with her chin: "Granny Yan is here, and she brought several beautiful young ladies with her."

She sat up straight and followed Xi'er's gaze.

Then they saw Granny Yan leading three young girls through the corridor toward them.