Chapter 313: Drunk (1)

Translator: Henyee Translations  Editor: Henyee Translations

The Shen family banquet was set to be held in two days.

Old Madam Shen was the one who suggested holding the family banquet. However, every year, Ren Wanyun was the one who organized the family banquet, but this year, the handling of the family banquet could only be handed over to Chen Ruoqiu. Now that the power of the Shen family was in Chen Ruoqiu’s hands, Old Madam Shen felt that she was doing Chen Ruoqiu a lot of favor. Little did she know that this job that looked glamorous on the surface actually made Chen Ruoqiu miserable.

In the Autumn Water Garden, Chen Ruoqiu sat at the table, holding an account book in one hand and an abacus in the other. The two maids standing behind her said, “Madam, you’ve been working for the entire morning. You should rest for a while.”

“The expense doesn’t match.” Chen Ruoqiu shook her head in frustration. “I have to pay for it myself tomorrow.” As she spoke, she looked angry.

Chen Ruoqiu prided herself on being a noble girl from a scholarly family. She was aloof and proud, and she could not stand the stench of money. Back then, when Old Madam Shen handed the power to Ren Wanyun, it was not that she was not jealous, but she could not bring herself to fight for it. After so many years, she finally became the madam of the Shen family, but at this moment, she realized how much of a responsibility came with that power.

Ren Wanyun was from a rich family. Usually, she would use her own money to make up the deficit. After all, Ren Wanyun did not lack money. However, the Chen family was just a civil official. To put it bluntly, they were poor and could not afford to spend too much. Chen Ruoqiu thought that if she had more power in the Shen family, she would be able to embezzle some money to support her own family. Now that after she checked the accounts, she realized that there was a lot of money in the accounts that did not match.

In the past, with Shen Xin’s help, the deficits could easily be made up. However, now that the relationship between Shen Xin and the Shen family was awkward, Chen Ruoqiu felt a headache coming on.

“Old Madam is still holding a family banquet at this time even though she knows that we don’t have enough money. Isn’t she intentionally making things difficult for Madam?” Chen Ruoqiu’s maid, Shi Qing, was indignant for her.

“Madam, why don’t you ask Master for some to make it up?” Hua Yi said.

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Chen Ruoqiu said, “At this moment, he needs a lot of money to network in the bureaucracy. How can we let him fork out money to support the family?” She said, “I’ll think about what to do.” Shen Wan wanted to climb up the official ladder, but Shen Gui was different. Shen Gui was extremely ambitious and did not have much ability. He only knew how to curry favor with powerful people. Shen Wan, on the other hand, climbed up step by step. Although his steps were slower, every step he took was stable.

Chen Ruoqiu had always known that since she did not give birth to a son, she must rely on Shen Wan’s love for her in the second branch. Therefore, in order to not disappoint Shen Wan, she did everything meticulously. If she could not even resolve the matter at home, wouldn’t she cause unnecessary trouble for Shen Wan? With Shen Wan’s status, there were many women outside who wanted to become his concubine. How could she let herself be outdone by those women?

“Besides, I won’t spend money for nothing.” Chen Ruoqiu’s eyes flashed. “If I can gain something in return, it’s worth it to spend some of my own money.”

“Madam, you mean…”

Chen Ruoqiu smiled. “It’s a little strange that Old Madam wants to hold a family banquet at this time. Besides, I heard that a few days ago, her grandniece frequented the west courtyard quite a lot…” As Chen Ruoqiu spoke, there was a trace of disgust in her eyes. “Old Madam is really evil, but… as it happens, I don’t like Shen Qiu either.”

Chen Ruoqiu did not like Shen Yuan, nor did she like Shen Qiu. She was still a little afraid of Shen Yuan, but she looked down on Shen Qiu. She could not give birth to a son herself, so she could not stand other people having outstanding sons. As for Shen Qiu, Chen Ruoqiu only felt that he was an uncivilized brute who only knew how to fight and wield spears. Why did he deserve so much praise? People wanted to destroy something just because they could not get it. She did not dare to make a move against Shen Yuan yet because Shen Yuan was scheming. However, Shen Qiu was silly and non-scheming, and he had never experienced the nasty tricks in the mansion. It was much easier to deal with him. Most importantly, she did not have to make a move at all. This time, it was Old Madam Shen who was making a move, and she just had to sit back and watch the show.