Because the Lang Family had no matriarch, the property of the four branches was managed by Lang He himself.
So when Lang Xuan said that she had bought a house, Lang He immediately said, "Your house? How do you have so much money?"
Although the courtyard is not large, the location is excellent; it would be impossible to buy it for less than three thousand taels of silver.
This was a huge sum of money that even he himself couldn't afford.
But my daughter is so young, she couldn't have stolen or robbed the money, could she?
Lang Xuan lowered her gaze and said calmly, "I found it."
Everyone was stunned.
Lang Wu couldn't help but mutter, "That's so unfair! Ninth Sister is clearly lying. If I were saying that, Father would have slapped me across the face long ago!"
Other families favor sons over daughters, but the fourth branch of the family is different.
The older sister is my biological daughter, and he was adopted.
Not only my father, but my aunt was too.
Lang He's voice trembled slightly as he grabbed Lang Xuan's sleeve and said, "Xuan'er, tell your father the truth, and I won't blame you. Tell me honestly, where did the money come from?"
If his daughter were older, he might suspect her of having an affair.
But my daughter is so young, and even if it were a secret transaction, the other party wouldn't be so generous.
Lang Xuan said, "I really found it. I found it when I went to Great Xiangguo Temple to burn incense and was walking around the back mountain."
"But," Lang He stammered, thinking that his daughter was never one to lie, "You should try to find the owner, or tell your father."
"I waited there for a while, but no one came looking for me, so I took it home. I was afraid you would scold me, so I didn't dare to tell you."
Chunya racked her brains trying to figure out what she had missed.
After the girl was betrothed, she made a scene, and then she did go to the Great Xiangguo Temple and also visited the back mountain.
At that time, she was helping the girl find her lost hairpin, and she was indeed away from her for a while.
It turned out that it was during that time that the girl found so many banknotes.
But the girl said she was scared, which is a bit... at least judging from how she spent money afterward, Chunya didn't think she was scared.
The girl was calm and methodical, but her purpose remained unclear.
Lang He was speechless, and even began to reflect on himself, wondering if he had been too harsh.
Concubine Yun was not so easily fooled.
She asked softly, "After finding the silver, what made you think of buying a house?"
Faced with a windfall, it's understandable to succumb to selfishness and pocket it, but immediately buying a house instead of land or shops is somewhat unreasonable.
After all, whether she remains unmarried or gets married in the future, Lang Xuan will never lack a place to live.
Moreover, this house seems to have been just what was needed in this emergency.
Such coincidences are rare in the world; it must have been planned in advance.
Lang Xuan said, "I was betrothed to Prince of Jin's Residence, but my sister married Prince of Ding. Everyone knows that Prince of Jin and Prince of Ding are like fire and water, so I have always worried that I will not be accepted in Prince of Jin's Residence in the future. I was thinking of buying a small house so that if I am divorced in the future, I will at least have a place to settle down."
Hearing this, Lang He felt a pang of sorrow and pain in his heart, and said, "You silly child, even if you are divorced in the future, your father will never abandon you!"
"But the Lang Family definitely won't care about me. My father treats me very well," Lang Xuan said calmly, "It's just that you can't make decisions for the Lang Family."
Lang He let out a long sigh.
Yes, he was just an insignificant illegitimate son, dependent on the Lang Family. He was neither good at literature nor martial arts, so who would care what he said?
"Father, Aunt," Lang Xuan said, "the Lang Family is finished now. The Prince of Jin's Residence has rebelled, Prince of Ding is dead."
"Ah?" Lang He exclaimed in surprise, then muttered to himself, "No wonder, no wonder it was such a mess outside when I came here."
He was too preoccupied to care about anything else when he heard about his daughter's accident.
To everyone's surprise, it was Prince of Ding who had passed away.
Lang He plopped down in a chair, exclaiming, "It's over, it's over, it's all over..."
Concubine Yun's face also showed a look of panic.
When the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken; everyone understands this principle.
Even though the fourth branch of the family had no presence in the Lang Family, they were still descendants of the Lang Family.
Lang Wu clenched his fists, his eyes filled with confusion and fear.
Lang Xuan gently patted his shoulder and said calmly, "Father, don't forget, I was betrothed to the eldest son of the Prince of Jin. We are relatives of the Prince of Jin's Residence."
"Silly child," Lang He's lips trembled, "I'm afraid, I'm afraid this marriage won't be possible..."
"It doesn't matter if we can't do it," Lang Xuan said firmly. "As long as we can use this to save our family's lives, even if we're exiled three thousand miles away, at least we'll be together as a family. I still have five thousand taels of silver on me, enough for us to make a living in a new place!"
"Ninth Miss..." Concubine Yun exclaimed with surprise and emotion.
The family underwent a major upheaval, and the girl grew up quickly.
How happy the lady would be if she were here.
Lang He asked, "Will this... will this work?"
Concubine Yun said, "Yes, it will definitely work. At least we must save Ninth Miss..."
"And A-Wu!" Lang He said.
He loves both his children equally; if they can escape unscathed, he can die in peace.
"No, I'll stay with Father and Aunt," Lang Wu said loudly.
"No," Lang Xuan said, "We all have to live, and we can live."
Everything she did, including her willingness to annul the engagement and preserve the reputation of the Prince of Jin's Residence, was only to save her family's lives, and it wasn't excessive.
She knew that man; he wasn't a cold-hearted or cruel person.
She was genuinely making concessions; she wasn't two-faced. He should be willing to grant her wish... right?
Thinking of this, Lang Xuan's heart pounded with nervousness.
Regardless, Lang He felt uneasy.
Unable to go outside, he took his son and, standing on tables and chairs, peered over the wall.
Concubine Yun was talking to Lang Xuan.
"Ninth Miss, please tell me the truth, where did that silver come from?"
"I found it." Lang Xuan said firmly.
She did lie.
That ten thousand taels of silver belonged to Yuwen Duo.
In his past life, he once told her that when he was studying with the Great Confucian Scholar Kong scholar Kong at the Great Xiangguo Temple, he hid a sum of silver because he was worried that the Prince of Jin's Residence would suffer a calamity.
Besides this place, he also hid silver in several other locations.
However, she didn't remember anything else.
She only knew this place because he had brought her here before.
She stole his money...
She did it discreetly, and he's currently riding high on success; he probably never even imagined he'd get this money.
When he finally remembers it, it will probably be several years later.
What will his reaction be when he discovers the hidden silver notes are missing?
She lived a few more years because of his kindness in her past life, and in this life she stole his money; she will always owe him.
But you owe me, Yuwen Duo, I can't pay you back.
The one in debt is the boss; let's let her be the boss this time.
"Ninth Miss, please tell me the truth."
Lang Xuan snapped out of her reverie and smiled, "To tell you the truth, I handed over the evidence of the Lang Family's collusion with Prince of Ding to Yuwen Duo. Do you think we have a chance to survive?"