The Lucky Heiress

“I’ll go get the silver charcoal for the young lady!” Xu Zhushan, a man of action, turned around and went into the house, hauling out two hemp bags of silver charcoal.

He effortlessly carried one bag on each shoulder.

The wet nurse brought out a small cart, onto which the two bags of silver charcoal were placed, securely tied up, and given to Wei Ruo.

Upon leaving Four Treasure House, Wei Ruo said to Wei Jinyi, “Second Brother, now you know my secret. You’ll keep it for me, right?”

“Didn’t your decision to bring me here without hiding anything mean that you already knew the answer?”

Wei Jinyi was delighted; he was glad she was willing to let him know her secret.

Wei Ruo laughed, “Doesn’t Second Brother also know that I would keep his secrets?”

Wei Jinyi replied, “Well now, I suppose that makes us even.”

“Mm,” Wei Ruo laughed.

Then, the two of them walked back.

As Xiaobei and Xiumei were pushing the cart together, Xiumei slipped on the slick ground. She didn’t fall, but leaned onto Xiaobei.

Xiaobei couldn’t help blushing, his gaze on Xiumei was somewhat fiery.

When they got back to the Military Prefecture, Wei Ruo handed one of the two bags of charcoal to Wei Jinyi.

“The distribution given to each courtyard by the Prefecture might not be enough to last through the winter. Take these to use for now, Second Brother,” Wei Ruo told Wei Jinyi.

“No need, I’ve been away from the Prefecture for a while, so there’s still plenty of my share left. I can continue using it for a while,” Wei Jinyi politely declined.

Wei Ruo knew this was Wei Jinyi being courteous with her.

When the Prefecture distributed portions to each yard, they considered the fact that Wei Yichen and Wei Jinyi spent less time at home, thus the initial portion given to Bamboo Welcoming Garden wasn’t that much.

“Don’t be polite with me, Second Brother. In moving these two bags today, I’ve already included your share. Rest assured, my wet nurse has prepared plenty for me, I can get more at any time, so there’s no need to worry about not having enough,” she said.

Unable to refuse such a generous offer, Wei Jinyi smiled at Wei Ruo, nodded, and accepted the charcoal.

When Wei Ruo returned to Tingsong Garden, she beckoned Xiumei over: “If anyone asks where this charcoal came from, tell them this…”

After hearing her instructions, Xiumei asked, “Why does young miss want to say it this way?”

Wei Ruo explained, “Now that most of the charcoal at home is used up, only my yard has charcoal to burn. If others see this, they might make trouble. If people find out about my charcoal source, there are bound to be problems.”

“I understand.” Xiumei took note of Wei Ruo’s words.

###

When Wei Jinyi returned to his room, Xiaobei started the charcoal fire right away.

“Young Master, this really is silver charcoal. The young lady is really rich. Only those nobles in Government City can afford to burn this kind of charcoal,” Xiaobei couldn’t help but marvel.

Then, he became curious, “Young Master, what’s the relationship between those two stores we visited today and the young lady? You don’t think Four Treasure House is owned by the young lady, do you?”

When they left Four Treasure House earlier, Wei Ruo told Wei Jinyi to keep it a secret, but she hadn’t stated exactly what to keep secret, and she did not explain her relationship with the two stores.

Wei Jinyi didn’t have to ask about any of this; he naturally gave a positive answer to Wei Ruo.

“It doesn’t matter what the relationship is, she didn’t ask about my affairs either.”

For Wei Jinyi, these things were unimportant; what mattered was their mutual trust.

As long as they trusted each other, it didn’t matter what secrets they each had.

###

For two days, because the heavy snow blocked the roads, the Wei Family’s charcoal hadn’t arrived.

Not only were the servants without it, but the charcoal for the homeowners had also run out.

Without charcoal to warm them, Wei Qingwan’s room was as cold as an icehouse, colder inside than out.

They could keep moving during the day, but at night it was hard to sleep. Having a quilt on them felt as if they were covered with a block of iron, both hard and cold.

“How can we sleep under these conditions?” Wei Qingwan sat right back up after lying down.

“Young Miss, don’t worry, if we’re lucky, the charcoal will be delivered early tomorrow morning. Right now, even the Madam and the young master are enduring it,” Cuihe comforted.

“Didn’t they say the same thing yesterday, and didn’t we go without it again today?” Wei Qingwan’s tone was full of resentment.

“Well…” Cuihe didn’t know how else to console her.

“What about Wei Qingruo?” Wei Qingwan asked.

“Seems like there is no effect on Young Miss… I heard from the maids who went to deliver food that it’s warm in Young Miss’s room.”

These few days, because of the inconvenient snow, Mrs. Yun had food prepared in the main kitchen and then delivered to all the courtyards.

And this was what allowed the servants in the Prefecture to discover that Wei Ruo’s residence was different from the rest; where everyone else in the Prefecture had no use of the charcoal, her place seemed to not be lacking at all. “Why?” Wei Qingwan asked in surprise.

“This servant isn’t sure, perhaps the Young Miss used her own private funds to buy the charcoal, after all, Young Miss’s private…” Cuihe trailed off.

Everyone in the Military Prefecture was well aware of Wei Ruo’s wealth.

“Isn’t it so that even if you have the money, you still can’t buy charcoal now?” Wei Qingwan asked again.

“This servant doesn’t know, perhaps the Young Miss has special channels. The Young Miss has many acquaintances in Government City!” Cuihe replied.

Before, when she only knew Madame Yuan, Wei Ruo had more privileges than others in the Prefecture.

Now, due to her Loquat Syrup, she had become acquainted with so many of the elites in the Government City.

So, it would make sense if she had more connections than anyone else in the Prefecture.

Hearing this, Wei Qingwan started weighing her options. After mulling it over, she ordered Cuihe, “Get your mother and father here.”

Cuihe nodded and then called over Madam Li.

Wei Qingwan didn’t say much, just repeated what Cuihe had told her before.

After Madam Li finished listening, she immediately understood, “The young miss is being unfair. If she has a channel to get charcoal, how can she hog it all while others in the Prefecture freeze? Other people are one thing, but doesn’t she care about the well-being, even the life or death, of her own mother?”

Wei Qingwan responded, “Perhaps we have misunderstood Sister. It’s not what we think it is.”

Madam Li snorted, “Whether it’s a misunderstanding or not, we’ll find out when we ask. I don’t think there’s any misunderstanding here. I’m just saying, her behavior isn’t reasonable. Young miss, wait here, I’ll go talk to Madam.”

After Madam Li finished speaking, she left without giving Wei Qingwan a chance to stop her.

By the time Wei Qingwan opened her mouth to call for her, she had already left the room.

###

“Is this true?” Mrs. Yun frowned.

“Why would this old servant dare to lie? The truth is easy to find out.”

“If I find out you lied and falsely accused the young miss, you won’t just be punished with three months at the farm. I’ll drive you out of the Prefecture and let your old bones freeze to death in the snow!” Mrs. Yun said sternly..