The Lucky Heiress

Translator: 549690339

At dinner time, Wei Ruo made her appearance in the dining hall. Mrs. Yun praised, “Ruoruo has been doing quite well these past few days. Today, when I was out, I ran into Madam Qian. She was full of praise for you, commending you over and over.”

Wei Ruo merely nodded at this, not saying anything.

It was not surprising that Madam Qian praised Wei Ruo. After all, what Wei Ruo had done had, to some extent, helped the Qian Magistrate.

Mrs. Yun continued, “However, Ruoruo, although the Military Prefecture isn’t the home of the uber-rich and exceptionally wealthy, we can still afford the silver required for porridge distribution. Tomorrow, when you go to distribute porridge again, use our own people and resources. There’s no need to go along with the Xie Family.”

Before Wei Ruo could respond, Mrs. Yun immediately added, “Also, bring Wanwan with you. Let her learn from you.”

With the eldest daughter receiving praise outside for her benevolent acts of porridge distribution, Wanwan would inevitably appear inferior in comparison.

Moreover, Wanwan had previously been openly criticized by Madam Yuan in the Government City. There had to be a way to rectify this situation.

Soon after, Wei Qingwan walked over and slightly bowed towards Wei Ruo. “Sister, your recent deeds have earned admiration from both our father and the town villagers. I am greatly in awe of you. Tomorrow, I’ll join you in distributing porridge. Whatever tasks you instruct me to do, I’ll do without any reluctance.”

Wei Ruo smirked. “Dear sister Qingwan, are you more interested in learning how to save people as I do, or in the praise I have received?”

“Of course I want to learn from you on how to help others. Father is safe thanks to your efforts. Our family has been overjoyed due to father’s well-being. I believe that the people you saved are the dear parents, children, or families of others, they must be very grateful too.” Wei Qingwan stated.

“If you truly think so, that’s great. However, if you have such thoughts, you might as well do it alone. There’s no need to follow me.” Wei Ruo replied.

Afterward, Wei Ruo turned her head to Mrs. Yun. “Mother, since I arranged with Miss Xie to distribute porridge together, it would be improper to break our agreement. If the Military Prefecture wishes to continue this charitable act, my little sister Qingwan can do it. This will not only maintain the good reputation of the Military Prefecture but also build a positive reputation for Qingwan.”

After Wei Ruo finished speaking, the expressions of Mrs. Yun and Wei Qingwan became somewhat unnatural.

“Mother, do you disagree with what I said? Sending Qingwan to another location to distribute porridge is a perfect solution. It satisfies your and my sister’s desire to help others, and it also won’t place me in a difficult situation. Moreover, since it’s for the welfare of the people, the more porridge distribution, the better.”

Wei Ruo’s words rang true, leaving Mrs. Yun hard-pressed to refute.

Wei Qingwan felt somewhat anxious inside. She was more keen to accompany Wei Ruo in distributing the porridge.

Currently within the Military Prefecture, no one was better off than Wei Ruo. The seventh Prince had just rewarded her with a hundred taels of gold, which was a huge sum.

With this money, Wei Ruo would naturally be able to help the victimized villagers as she wished. She could distribute porridge and give out cotton clothes without having to worry about money.

However, it wouldn’t be as easy as it sounds for the Prefecture to afford such expenses. Wei Qingwan, who had seen the accounts of the Military Prefecture, was aware that there was a problem with this year’s revenue and expenditure; they did not have much of a surplus.

Mrs. Yun and Wei Qingwan seemed to want to say something more to Wei Ruo, but Wei Ruo didn’t give them the opportunity. She saw her father, Wei Mingting, and walked straight towards him.

“Father.”

Seeing Wei Ruo, the stern expression on Wei Mingting’s face softened considerably. “Ruoruo, you must rest well these days. Saving people is important, but you must also take care of your own health.”

“Yes, I understand. The same goes for you, Father. You’ve been very busy these past few days. You need to rest as well.” Wei Ruo said.

Wei Mingting kindly nodded his head.

In the eyes of Wei Yichen and his siblings, Wei Mingting had always been a strict and serious father. However, when it came to Wei Ruo, his demeanor was much more affectionate.

Perhaps it’s because this daughter reminded him much of himself, making him feel closer to her, or maybe he felt a sense of guilt and remorse towards her.

Seeing this, Mrs. Yun and Wei Qingwan chose not to resume the previous topic.

The family sat down for a quiet dinner together.

After dinner, Wei Ruo didn’t stay for tea. She used her workload as an excuse and went straight back to the Tingsong Garden.

Wei Mingting did not linger long either. He was rather busy; being able to return home for dinner with his family was already pretty good for him. He had to go to his study to handle some matters first.

Meanwhile, the bookish Wei Yichen and the currently martial arts-obsessed Wei Yilin both took their leave one after the other.

Wei Qingwan, who was still behind, asked Mrs. Yun when they were alone, “Mother, about the distribution of porridge…”

Mrs. Yun furrowed her brows, “You can proceed with confidence. As for the money for the porridge, I’ll take some from my dowry and give it to you.”

Hearing this, a smile struggled to surface on Wei Qingwan’s face.

“But Mother, that’s your dowry. I cannot use it…” Wei Qingwan said in embarrassment.

“My dowry would eventually be for you and Ruoruo anyway. Money should be used where it’s needed most. Feel free to use it.” Mrs. Yun stated.

As she said this, Mrs. Yun took Wei Qingwan’s hand and gently patted the back of it, “Wanwan, do your best. Regardless of how it affects your reputation, you must do your part for the people of Xingshan County. These are people that your father and his soldiers protect with their lives.”

Wei Qingwan nodded her head, “Don’t worry, Mother. I will do my best.”

###

The next day, Wei Ruo and Xie Ying went on as usual to distribute porridge at the west city gate. Today, they specifically prepared a bit more salted vegetables to eat with the porridge, making it even more appetizing.

Xie Ying whispered into Wei Ruo’s ear, “Ruoruo, I heard that Wei Qingwan and Qian Zhilan have set up a stall at the North city gate. They are copying us and distributing porridge!”

Wei Ruo laughed, “No matter what their motivations are for doing it, the fact remains that the porridge is distributed and the disaster-stricken people are fed. It’s a good thing.”

Xie Ying thought for a second and then replied, “You’re right. We’re not doing it for fame so we don’t need to compete with them. As long as the outcome can save people and help more of them get through this difficult time, then it’s good!”

“Exactly.”

Wei Ruo smiled and continued with their task alongside Xie Ying.

After a whole morning of work and having distributed all the porridge, Xie Jue arrived with several carts of goods.

“Little sister, Wei Family’s little sister,” Xie Jue called out to Xie Ying and Wei Ruo with a beaming smile.

“Brother, why are you so late?” Xie Ying complained.

“My dear sister, this is the fastest I could manage. You should know how in-demand cotton clothes and quilts are nowadays. Fortunately, Mother has some in her estate and stores. If not, I wouldn’t know where to buy them even if I had the money!” Xie Jue explained with an innocent face.

The sudden change in weather had affected more than just Xingshan County. Disasters were everywhere, food was scarce, and cotton clothes and quilts were in high demand.

“Alright, alright, wait for us to clean this place up. Then we’ll go house to house, check their conditions, and deliver the necessities to those who need them,” Xie Ying stated.

“Hold on for a second, I still have a few more things to wait for,” Wei Ruo said..