inspire-indiana Chapter 205 1
Chapter 205 1
Chapter 205
Fortunately, the nanny beside her was quick-witted and strong, and she reached out to catch her in time. After a long while, Yang Ruolan slowly woke up, tears streaming uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes. She looked up at the sky, feeling a heart full of sorrow that she couldn't express.
After a long pause, Yang Ruolan finally took Madam's hand and slowly stood up. With a flick of her finger, she quietly wiped away the tears on her face, quickly regaining her ladylike composure. Listening to her son's gradually fading roar from inside the room, she raised her hand and waved, signaling the servants to withdraw. Then, she turned and walked steadily back inside.
Walking to her son's bedside, she saw his haggard, sweat-soaked appearance, and her heart ached. She was torn, unsure how to tell him that his father had given up on him. Indeed, Yang Ruolan had keenly sensed Liu Gongquan's thoughts. In the past, when her son was ill, even when he was busy and away, he would always give him instructions and show his deep concern. But now, he was so indifferent.
Liu Xiangdong, the pain barely fading, remained silent as he looked at his mother's solemn and sorrowful expression. How could he be a fool? Seeing his father's delay, and seeing his mother's expression, and recalling his father's usual behavior, he had a rough idea of what was going on. But he kept his composure, thinking of the possibility of life-saving medicine and treatment, and still clinging to a glimmer of hope.
He patted his mother's hand soothingly, calculating inwardly: He had scraped together a little over a thousand taels of silver these past few days, and with the three thousand taels he already had, the total was just over four thousand taels, still short of the six thousand taels he needed. Now, he could only pin his hopes on his mother.
Liu Xiangdong looked up at his mother again. Seeing her eyes full of heartache and love, he felt more confident. After hesitating for a moment, he mustered up the courage to speak and said, "Mother, can you give me some money?"
Yang Ruolan didn't hesitate and responded directly: "Sure, how much do you want?"
She knew in her heart that her son had been raised in the front yard by her husband since he was young, and they were not close. Now that he had finally taken the initiative to ask for help, how could she not agree? However, when Liu Xiangdong spoke next, her eyes widened in shock.
"I need ten thousand taels." Liu Xiangdong's tone became more resolute upon hearing his mother's response, and he spoke directly. The ten thousand taels he had collected was only enough to buy medicine for ten days, so he figured he had to collect the money for this time all at once. In the next ten days, he would find other ways to raise money for the rest of the medicine.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but curse Zishu, the good-for-nothing, in his heart. He had always done things very efficiently in the past, but this time he was so useless that he couldn't even track a person properly. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
"How much? How much did you say?" Yang Ruolan was really shocked. Ten thousand taels is not a small amount.
Liu Xiangdong quietly squeezed his hands on the bed, not daring to look his mother in the eye. However, he gritted his teeth, nodded firmly, and said again, "It's ten thousand taels."
Seeing her son, now emaciated, Yang Ruolan felt a pang of heartache. However distressed she was, she simply couldn't come up with the ten thousand taels of silver. She thought her son rarely participated in family matters and probably didn't understand the significance of the ten thousand taels. After all, the average person wouldn't even spend twenty taels of silver in a year. For the average person, the ten thousand taels was an astronomical sum they couldn't even begin to imagine.
But now that her son had finally spoken to her, she had to get to the bottom of it. So, she patiently and gently asked, "Then can you tell me what you want this money for?"
How could Liu Xiangdong tell his mother the real purpose of the money? Seeing his mother's unwillingness, and thinking of his father's disregard for him, he suddenly became impatient and his tone became much stiffer: "I will always have my use. I only ask you, give it to me or not!"
At this point, Yang Ruolan had no choice but to comfort him: "It's not that I don't want to give it to you, it's just that this ten thousand taels of silver is too much. How can I afford it all at once? Tell me first if there is anything urgent you need. If it is, I will find a way to get it for you, no matter what."
Liu Xiangdong stared at his mother for a long moment before slowly averting his eyes and replying stiffly, "No, I just asked casually." How could he dare tell the truth? If he did, and if he angered the person who gave him the medicine, they would stop giving it to him, and he would be dead. He had only felt a little better a few days ago, but the excruciating pain of the past two days had nearly worn away his pride.
Now it seems that there is no hope of getting this money from my mother. In this case, a cold light flashed in Liu Xiangdong's eyes, and he thought secretly that he could only find other ways to get this money.
How could Yang Ruolan not sense the alienation her son showed in this moment? She felt heartbroken, but there was nothing she could do. Her family wasn't aristocratic family to begin with, and even if she had given everything she had when she got married, her dowry would still be limited.
Over the years, she had managed the Jing'an Marquis's household, and although she had done her best, the income was limited, and the silver earned was also limited. Jing'an Marquis had never been close to her, and all his salary was spent on that bitch in Cangjiao Pavilion and that dead bastard, so how could she easily get money?
Now, the Earl of Jing'an was forcing his daughter to marry far away, and she had to pay for her daughter's dowry. She didn't have much money left, so how could she possibly come up with the ten thousand taels? Furthermore, her son refused to explain what the money was for, so how could she dare give it away so easily? If she gave the money to her son, her daughter would probably be looked down upon in her husband's family after she got married. How could she bear to let her daughter suffer such an injustice?
She was really worried about her son, but seeing that he was unwilling to say anything more, she could only helplessly tuck the corner of the quilt for him, and then gave a few detailed instructions to the servants in the yard before turning around and leaving.
After leaving her son's courtyard, she winked at the nanny beside her. The nanny understood and immediately turned back to Liu Xiangdong's courtyard. Yang Ruolan narrowed her eyes slightly, glanced coldly in the direction of Cangjiao Pavilion, and then left with the other servants and returned to her own courtyard.
An hour later, the nanny returned to report to Yang Ruolan, saying, "This old servant has carefully checked the servants in the young master's courtyard and learned that there is nothing in the young master's courtyard that requires a large sum of money.