Bai Sheng smiled, narrowing her eyes, "Money and ginseng."
Bai Sheng had Lu Ye melt five gold bars, then plucked a plump ginseng from the ginseng garden.
The ginseng in the space grew very quickly. This plump ginseng would look like at least a five-hundred-year-old ginseng at any medicinal hall outside, making it a very impressive gift.
Lu Ye laughed, "My dear treasure, your gift is a bit too substantial. Will Lord Yan accept it?"
Bai Sheng was full of confidence. "No one dislikes money. I'm not bribing him; I'm simply expressing my gratitude for saving my life. Besides—"
Bai Sheng looked at Lu Ye and paused before continuing, "Husband, although we haven't seen what kind of person Yan Shuo is, he had the courage to honestly confess his feelings for Hua Hua to his father and asked him to help investigate this case. This shows he is a trustworthy and reliable person. Shouldn't we pave the way for Hua Hua's future? Let their Yan family see that although we are small merchants, we are wealthy, we are rich!"
Lu Ye curved his lips into a smile, the light in his eyes shining brightly on Bai Sheng's face.
He stepped forward, put his arm around Bai Sheng's waist, and said, "My dear treasure, thank you. Thank you for everything you've done for this family."
Bai Sheng playfully chided, "It's called loving the house and its occupants. I love you, my husband, so I love your family too. Moreover, Hua Hua, Xiao Yun, and Xiao Yu all love me. People's feelings are mutual. An elder sister-in-law is like a mother. Since parents are gone, I naturally have to worry about their marriages. However, if one day, you no longer love me, I'll wash my hands of it."
"That day will never come," Lu Ye said, kissing her neck several times.
Bai Sheng had Yang Ming and Lu Tong discreetly deliver the thank-you gift to the Yan family.
Upon receiving the gift, Madam Yan developed a slightly better impression of the Lu family. "This family is quite sensible. They didn't make a big fuss when delivering the thank-you gift."
She casually tossed the gift to the butler, instructing him to place it in the storeroom.
The butler asked, "Doesn't Madam want to open it?"
Madam Yan, engrossed in her embroidery, replied without looking up, "No need to open it. It's either ordinary stationery or some jewelry and accessories, neither of which has practical use." Usually, when their family received gifts, they were mostly such items. They had so many inkstones that they could open an inkstone shop.
"What do you mean no practical use?" Lord Yan happened to walk in.
The butler then said, "Sir, the owner of 'Red Powder Beauty,' Mr. Bai, has sent a thank-you gift through his staff."
Lord Yan said "Oh" and waved his hand, also telling the butler to take the gift away.
As the butler turned to leave, Lord Yan suddenly called out, "Yan Er, wait. Bring the gift over for me to see."
Yan Mingkun decided to look at the thank-you gift after all. Gift-giving is an art. The fact that the gift was sent discreetly showed that this person was quite aware of propriety. As for the gift itself, it could reveal the person's character.
Since Yan Shuo fancied that young lady, he wanted to understand what kind of people they were.
"You may go," Yan Mingkun said to the butler.
As the butler left, he closed the doors and windows, leaving only Lord and Madam Yan in the room.
Yan Mingkun opened the wooden box and was instantly stunned.
"Hoo!" He couldn't help but exclaim.
Seeing her husband's expression, Madam Yan immediately got up and walked over to take a look. Upon seeing it, she was also greatly surprised.
"This ginseng must be six or seven hundred years old," Madam Yan covered her mouth.
Yan Mingkun took a deep breath and whispered, "Madam, usually even the ginseng the Emperor eats is at most three to four hundred years old, which is already very rare. Yet this Madam Lu..."
Madam Yan furrowed her brows. "Sir, are they perhaps seeking a favor from us again?"
Yan Mingkun's hand trembled. "If that's the case, then I dare not accept this ginseng."
As Lord Yan was about to put the ginseng away, he suddenly noticed a cloth bundle at the bottom of the wooden box. Curious, he took out the cloth bundle. With a clang, several heavy objects fell out of the bundle, nearly hitting his feet. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and jumped aside.
"Gold!" Madam Yan's eyes widened as she pointed at the three solid gold bars that had fallen to the floor.
Yan Mingkun immediately bent down to pick them up and placed them, along with the two he was holding, on the table.
The five gleaming gold bars shone with an alluring golden light.
Lord Yan suddenly remembered something and hurried to check the bottom of the wooden box. Sure enough, there was a letter.
There was no salutation, no signature.
The letter read: Thank you, Sir, for the small token of appreciation. Please use it with peace of mind. The sender has no requests, only to express gratitude.
Lord Yan handed the letter to Madam Yan.
After reading it, Madam Yan's impression of the Lu family improved slightly.
These five gold bars, plus their savings, were enough for them to buy a mansion in the capital. Moreover, that ginseng was an excellent tonic for maintaining health, something difficult to obtain even with a fortune. Their husband would surely like it very much.
"Sir, about this gift, should we..."
"Accept it," Lord Yan said with a deep sigh. He had met the people from the Lu family and truly believed they were not cunning individuals. He trusted that they were merely expressing their gratitude.
What made him feel uncomfortable was why their family was so wealthy. He had studied diligently for ten years and finally became a Censor-in-Chief, yet his annual salary was less than a fraction of their wealth.
"Ah," Madam Yan smiled radiantly.
She truly wished to move to a larger house so she could live separately from her in-laws who came from the countryside, in different courtyards. Then her life would be wonderfully pleasant.
"Don't touch these gold bars yet. After the matter concerning the daughters of the Dong and Zhou families blows over, we can buy a new house," Yan Mingkun instructed his wife.
Although this was merely a thank-you gift from the Lu family, he did not want to give anyone an excuse to twist the facts.
"Got it, got it," Madam Yan said, her smile reaching her eyes.
The Zhou and Dong families had been in turmoil for the past two days.
Neither Minister Zhou nor Prime Minister Dong had expected that a delicate young lady from their household would cause such a huge mess so quietly, not only offending the Fifth Princess and the Empress Dowager but also landing themselves in prison.
Truly, women and petty people are hard to deal with!
Both of them were so angry they almost spat blood.
When the Emperor learned that they had been kept in the dark the entire time and were completely unaware, he did not punish them. However, he ordered them to discipline their children and ensure that similar incidents would not occur again.
They were so enraged that they initially refused to deal with the two girls again. But unable to bear their wives' tearful pleas, they had to beg the Empress to show leniency.
The Empress had been waiting for them and naturally used this opportunity to further solidify her ties with the Zhou and Dong families by showing favor.
Zhou Yanran and Dong Xuerou were released and sent home.
Princess Xin Yao, upon hearing this, stormed off to question her mother. The Empress reiterated her stance: everything was for the Crown Prince's ascension; those who achieve great things are not bound by trivialities.
Xin Yao was so angry she wanted to disfigure Zhou Yanran and Dong Xuerou's faces, but the Empress stopped her.
The Empress informed her that their faces had already been ruined.
Princess Xin Yao felt a little comforted by this news.
Li Qing had already spread the news about "Red Powder Beauty" being framed and wrongly accused throughout the streets and alleys. With the publicity from the case, the business of "Red Powder Beauty" became even more booming than before.