Transmigrated as the Villainess, She Made the General Blush - Chapter 6

“You talk too much. Instead of wasting time, why not help me take a good look and see which shops along the street are doing brisk business?” Xiao Wangshu’s gaze swept over the storefronts lining the street.

There were quite a few shops selling cosmetics and fabrics, as well as many rice, flour, and paper stores. The restaurants and taverns were especially lively and full of the scent of cooking.

“Sister, why are you looking at shops? Mother said before that she wanted to hand over her dowry shops for you to manage, but you always complained it was too troublesome.” Xiao Fuguang was a bit puzzled.

Xiao Wangshu smiled and said, “I was ignorant before and didn’t know the value of money.”

“Is your monthly allowance not enough, Sister?” Xiao Fuguang asked, then added, “I don’t spend much on daily expenses. If you don’t have enough, I still have some extra.”

Before the concubine-born sisters in the household got married, their monthly allowance was only three taels. If mother and daughter occasionally received a reward from father, they would have a little more to spend.

But Sister was different. She was the legitimate daughter, cherished by mother, and her monthly allowance could be as much as twenty taels, even more than the concubine-born brothers in the household.

If she occasionally visited Fang Mansion and received pocket money from grandfather and grandmother, she would have even more silver at hand.

As for those concubine-born brothers, before entering officialdom and receiving a salary, their monthly allowance was only five taels. After buying paper, brushes, and books, they only had about fifteen taels left, far less than Sister.

Even for him and Second Brother, the two legitimate sons of the household, their monthly allowance was only fifteen taels. After buying paper, brushes, and snacks, it would be about thirty taels a month, not much more than Sister.

Of course, after Second Brother entered officialdom a few years ago, he stopped taking the household allowance.

In short, by rights, Sister shouldn’t be short of money.

Could it be that all the money she received before was spent on gifts for Mu Yunze?

Xiao Fuguang pondered in his heart, carefully recalling how much silver he still had that could be given to his sister.

Who knew that after listening, Xiao Wangshu only smiled and teased, “Ah Di, at such a young age, you already know you should spend money on women.”

Yichun and Shuxia, who were following behind the siblings, both covered their mouths and snickered at these words.

“You are my sister, of course I should help you.”

Xiao Fuguang said earnestly, reaching into his lapel and pulling out two silver notes, handing them to Xiao Wangshu. “These are from Grandmother and Eldest Aunt last time. If you want them, just take them.”

Xiao Wangshu picked up the two silver notes and saw that each was for fifty taels-almost half a year’s allowance for her.

“If I’d known, I would have gone back with you last time, and avoided this disaster of falling into the water for nothing,” Xiao Wangshu said.

Last time, Xiao Fuguang accompanied Fang Qin’er back to Fang Mansion. That day happened to be the Lotus Viewing Banquet at Mu Mansion, so the original owner didn’t return to Fang Mansion but went to Mu Mansion for the banquet instead.

“Yes, that day we were in Grandmother’s room, and when we suddenly heard the servants report that you had fallen into the water, everyone was terribly frightened.” Xiao Fuguang still felt a lingering fear when he thought about it now.

“I made Grandmother worry. When I recover a bit more in a few days, I’ll go to Fang Mansion to visit Grandfather and Grandmother.”

As she spoke, Xiao Wangshu directly tucked Xiao Fuguang’s silver notes into her sleeve.

“I’ll save this hundred taels for you first, give you a share of the original stock. When I make a profit in the future, I’ll split it with you.”

Xiao Fuguang asked with some confusion, “What is original stock? Why are you suddenly so eager to make money, Sister? Are you willing to take over Mother’s shops now?”

The shops in Mother’s dowry were all carefully selected and prepared by Grandmother. According to Matron Du, many young ladies in the Capital were envious at the time.
Dowries have always been a woman’s private property, usually passed down from mother to daughter through generations, and the family is not allowed to appropriate them.

The items in mother’s dowry will inevitably be used to supplement elder sister in the future.

“You don’t need to worry about what original shares are. In any case, your sister’s original shares are a good thing-something others won’t be able to buy with stacks of silver notes in the future. As for mother’s shops, let’s take our time to look at them, there’s no rush.”

Xiao Wangshu raised her hand and brushed the stray fluff off Xiao Fuguang’s shoulder.

Xiao Fuguang glanced sideways at his shoulder, then looked at Xiao Wangshu and nodded, “Alright then, if you need money, just take it, sister. Actually, you don’t need to pay me back. I always have plenty of my monthly allowance left over; I’ll use it to buy you clothes and jewelry.”

Although a hundred taels of silver was a considerable sum, if his sister wanted it, he could still afford it.

Xiao Wangshu’s eyes curved as she smiled sweetly.

Having grown up in an orphanage, she was used to shouldering everything alone. She never knew that having blood relatives could feel so reassuring and comforting.

To be honest, back in the sanatorium, even though she knew the novel was full of illogical plots and the characters collapsed one after another, she still read it over and over again.

Not for any other reason, but simply because she envied Xiao Wangshu, the supporting character, who had the family bonds she could never have.

This was something she had envied all her life.

In fact, this otherworldly setting in the book was especially captivating to her.

“Sister?” Seeing Xiao Wangshu lost in thought, Xiao Fuguang called out to her.

Xiao Wangshu came back to herself and said, “Let’s go take a look at Ruibao Pavilion. I heard it’s the business of Fifth Miss Mu. The Jiangnan-style clothes and jewelry there have piqued my curiosity.”

Fifth Miss Mu-Mu Xiaoxiao.

Her mother was the daughter of a wealthy merchant from Jiangnan, who brought a stream of gold, silver, and jade when she married into the official Mu Mansion as a secondary wife.

But as long as the main wife remained, all other women in the inner court were concubines, and secondary wives were no exception.

Even with immense family wealth, there was still a lack of real power. Mu Xiaoxiao could only rank below Mu Mansion’s legitimate Sixth Miss, Mu Chuxue, and remain a concubine-born young lady of considerable status.

“Go to Ruibao Pavilion?” Xiao Fuguang frowned slightly.

His sister used to consider Mu Yunze’s reputation and always went to his full sister Mu Chuxue’s Jinxiu Hall for clothes and jewelry. It was fine not to go to Jinxiu Hall today, but why go to Ruibao Pavilion?

He thought both shops were mediocre.

But if he had to choose, Mu Chuxue’s Jinxiu Hall was truly too ordinary, not as good as Mu Xiaoxiao’s Ruibao Pavilion.

“Let’s check out the Jiangnan-style headpieces and buy a set for mother to try. Mother’s gentle and mild temperament would surely suit those styles,” Xiao Wangshu said, already heading toward Ruibao Pavilion.

Fang Qin’er was indeed gentle and considerate, able to see the bigger picture and maintain appearances. She was the type of wife most high-ranking officials admired-graceful yet gentle.

But then again, how could someone too soft in temperament manage the household?

Knowing when to advance and when to retreat, being gentle when needed-only then could she keep pace with a powerful Prime Minister.

Xiao Hong was well aware of Fang Qin’er’s skills in managing the household. On the contrary, he knew very well. Precisely because of this, only Fang Qin’er could be entrusted with the household, so he could hand over the vast Chancellor’s Mansion without worry.

Thinking of this, Xiao Wangshu smiled.

So why did she say that the character of Xiao Wangshu in the book had completely collapsed?

-Because with parents like these, they should never have raised a daughter who would go mad for love.