The clingy concubine ran away, and the sickly prince lost control.

Luo Qingyan moved a chair and sat down, watching Luo Haitang huff and puff as she carried the heavy box up.

"Luo Qingyan, don't you know to come and help?" Luo Haitang called out.

Hmm? Luo Qingyan scrutinized Luo Haitang with deep eyes.

My sister, when she was still in the Luo family mansion, ordered her around.

She had to do the work that the maids did, and she also had to do the work that the servants did.

Once, she was forced to move a stone next to the artificial hill. She was not as strong as the servant, and her hand slipped, hitting her foot and causing it to bleed profusely. Yet, she was still forced to kneel on the spot.

The maids and servants came and went, watching her.

Luo Haitang seemed to be stung by Luo Qingyan's gaze, and paused for a moment before reacting: "Never mind, they can carry just two boxes."

She always felt that Luo Qingyan was different from before.

"Sister, here is ten thousand taels of silver. If you don't have enough cash, there's half a chest of jewelry."

The box was opened, revealing a gleaming silver interior.

"Don't worry, sister, I will definitely get Mother out. Wait for my good news."

Luo Qingyan picked up a jade bracelet and held it up to the light; it was delicate and smooth. "Sister, I remember this bracelet was part of a pair. It's a pity that you tried it on that year and one of them broke."

She was the one who swept up the fragments. At that time, Luo Haitang had nowhere to vent her anger, so when she left, she kicked the broom hard, knocking away the jade bracelet fragments she had swept up, and scolded her to sweep them up again.

Back then, Luo Qingyan was always hungry and cold, a thin and small girl who would hunch over and continue sweeping. If she dared to say a word against it, Luo Haitang would hit her. This had been the case since she was a child. If she went to tell her mother, her mother would punish her by making her kneel and depriving her of food.

How dare she speak to her like that? Luo Haitang clenched the handkerchief in her hand. Luo Qingyan had really grown bold. She hadn't even given birth to an heir for the Duke's mansion yet! What was she being so arrogant about?

She couldn't lash out right now; she'd wait until she rescued her mother. Once her mother returned, she'd find a way to deal with Luo Qingyan.

Suppressing her anger, Luo Haitang tried to soften her tone: "Sister, could you give me a specific date? When will Mother be able to come out? Look, we have so much silver."

"Oh! Sister, when you ask someone for a favor, you only hope they can get it done. How could you dare ask them to give you a specific date?"

Luo Qingyan pretended to be embarrassed, put down the bracelet in her hand, and slammed the lid of the box shut.

Luo Haitang's heart trembled, as if a piece of flesh had been cut out of her heart. Ten thousand taels! That would have been ten thousand taels as her dowry, how wonderful and glorious that would have been.

"Alright! That's the only way. I'll leave everything to my sister." Luo Haitang turned and walked away, her heart filled with anger, her steps unsteady.

Luo Qingyan is shameless; she even made me, her older sister, beg her.

When did it become her place to criticize?

Seeing that Luo Haitang was unsteady on her feet, Luo Qingyan chuckled.

"You really are asking for the moon." Pei Shiyuan's cold voice came from behind.

"Consider it my dowry, but, Your Highness, you can have one-tenth of it."

We still need Pei Shiyuan to prevent Sun from leaving.

"Just 10%?"

Pei Shiyuan raised an eyebrow in suspicion. Luo Qingyan was really stingy. She was even relying on him to do things. Shouldn't they split the work 30/70, with her getting 30% and him getting 70%?

"Then, young master, how much do you want?" Luo Qingyan's face flushed slightly. She didn't want to give too much. It was just a drop in the ocean for the Duke's mansion, but it was money for her to live on.

"No need, I was just kidding." Pei Shiyuan rolled away in his wheelchair.

Luo Qingyan breathed a sigh of relief. It made her seem too stingy. Even the rent for Kangning Pavilion came from the Duke's mansion, so how could they really ask for her money? They were just saying it. But she couldn't even be generous in words. She felt ashamed that she was really afraid of being poor.

"Girl, Granny An has agreed to help. She really likes your poria cocos cakes, saying that you really put in a lot of effort to make them as thin as cicada wings."

Granny Liu returned home beaming.

"Really? I'll go see her when I have time."

"She's looking forward to your visit!" Granny Liu said with a smile. "What's this?"

"This is ten thousand taels of silver sent by Luo Haitang." Luo Qingyan smiled and said, "Granny, take a look."

Luo Qingyan opened the box.

Granny Liu touched the silver ingot with her hand in disbelief. "Hmm? This hairpin."

Looking at the half-box of jewelry, Granny Liu spotted something familiar: a sandalwood hairpin.

"Granny, do you recognize it?" Luo Qingyan asked as Granny Liu examined the wooden hairpin closely.

"I remember when I first came to the Luo family to take care of you, one day, Madam Sun came into the room and took something away. It should be this wooden hairpin."

Liu Mama recalled that after Sun bought her into the mansion, she put Luo Qingyan in Luo Qingyan's care. "As for where this wooden hairpin came from, I don't know."

"Keep them for now!" Luo Qingyan kept the jewelry, and deposited the rest at the bank later.

"Miss, isn't this a bit too much?" Granny Liu had never seen so much silver before and was a little flustered. She wondered if Luo Haitang would cause trouble if she found out that Madam Sun couldn't go back.

"Granny, it's not much. Shouldn't they give me a dowry when I get married?" Luo Qingyan said. The dowry that Luo Haitang prepared was about this much. She wanted it to be fair and reasonable.

"I'll take you to the money exchange." Pei Shiyuan appeared behind him at some point.

"Thank you, Your Highness," Luo Qingyan said happily.

It was already evening when they left the money exchange, and the group headed towards the Duke's Mansion.

As expected, as soon as they entered, Zheng, the old lady's maid, came to greet them: "Old Madam, please invite the young master and Consort Luo over."

Cui Rou will definitely go to the old lady and tell her about opening a medicinal cuisine shop.

At that time, Cui Rou was across the street, secretly asking people about it, when she saw her from upstairs.

"Kneel down."

The old lady was furious. Luo Qingyan, realizing she was in the wrong, obediently knelt down. "They sent you here to father a child," she thought, "but you went off to open a shop. It's only right that you were punished if you were caught."

She wanted to open a medicinal cuisine shop. In her mind, preparing a shop, from choosing a location to decorating, and then preparing ingredients and staffing, would take at least a month. By then, she might already be pregnant. It wouldn't matter if she found out. If all else failed, she could postpone the opening. Anyway, having a shop to rely on would give her peace of mind. She could also rent it out temporarily to collect rent.

Unexpectedly, Pei Shiyuan was so proactive, getting everything ready for the shop in just a few days.

She even used her connections to find experts to handle the decoration and ingredients, ensuring they were impeccable and ready for business to open immediately.

"Why did you persuade the young master to vouch for you and open a shop?" The old lady's face was as gloomy as a dark cloud.

"Madam, it was my fault, and I am willing to accept the punishment."

Luo Qingyan kowtowed, but out of the corner of her eye she saw Pei Shiyuan glance at her with disdain.

We've been discovered. At this critical juncture, besides admitting our mistake, what other options are there?

"Close the shop and go to the ancestral hall to kneel and reflect on your actions."

The old lady's voice was icy.

"No problem, I'll take my medicine at Kangning Pavilion from now on," Pei Shiyuan said coldly.

Luo Qingyan's eyes flashed with surprise. Did Pei Shiyuan have some business dream to realize?

She even considered closing it down so she could focus on having children and could reopen it later.

"If you're so eager to open a shop, then you two should consummate your marriage first, otherwise don't even think about opening one," the old lady said sternly.

"Okay," Pei Shiyuan said.