Chapter 578: Dare Not Report to the Authorities

Chapter 578: Dare Not Report to the Authorities

Fang Sanbao knew she still had some silver and, helpless, could only hand over the dozen or so taels of silver he had scrimped and saved.

"That's all I have. I only earn a few taels of silver each month, and there's not much left."

In their eyes, it was quite impressive that he had managed to save this much.

Fang Erya gave half of it to Madam Lu. "Old Madam, this is all we can leave you. We need to keep the rest for our journey."

Madam Lu was moved to tears. "Erya, thank you. I’m sorry about what happened with that child."

"Let’s not dwell on the past. That child and I were not meant to be together."

They were leaving tomorrow, and before they left, Fang Erya spoke more with them, eventually offering a suggestion. "Old Madam, Young Master, why don’t you report this to the authorities?"

Report to the authorities?

"I’ve inquired these past few days. What Second Master and Third Master did, privately removing Young Master’s status, is unjustified. They cannot even seize Old Madam’s dowry. Why don’t you report it and let the authorities decide?"

Hearing her words, both of them felt awkward and worried.

"Sigh!" The old madam sighed deeply. "The law is there, but whether it’s useful is another matter. There are many injustices in this world, Erya. We, a widow and her orphaned children, have no chance against officials protecting each other. We have no hope of winning."

Fang Jinxiu watched them coldly, thinking that when she was in power, she must have oppressed others with her authority often, which was why she thought this way.

"How will you know if you don’t try?" Fang Erya added.

Then Lu Shen spoke again. "The person we offended is mostly the Empress. No one in this capital can help us."

He still believed he was dragged down by this star of misfortune, Fang Jinxiu.

If not for the fact that she had given birth to his two children, he would have wanted to strangle her to death while she slept.

Fang Erya shook her head. "I don’t think Madam would do that. She seeks revenge but is also a fair person. Young Master made mistakes, was demoted, had his family property confiscated, and was caned. He was punished as required and beaten as needed. Since he didn’t die and endured it, she wouldn’t go further to finish him off."

Fang Erya spoke the truth, but they didn’t believe her.

Fang Jinxiu mocked her with a laugh. "She’s very vengeful and holds grudges. Otherwise, why would she send you to the Lu family?"

Fang Erya: "..."

Madam Lu glared at Fang Jinxiu. "Enough! Look at what you’ve done. How dare you still criticize others? She was born into a rich fate. When she returns to her own home, I don’t know how you, a wild child, have the face to trip her up."

"What... What are you saying?"

"Hmph, am I wrong? If you weren’t so evil, how would we have fallen to this state?"

Fang Jinxiu gritted her teeth. "Lu Shen’s misfortune was because of Wang Fuzhen."

"And you still have the face to say that?" Madam Lu was furious. "Originally, Cui Qingqing was going to introduce Wang Fuzhen to Third Brother. Wasn’t it your idea to make her cooperate with you to scheme against my son and the Empress? If not for you, how could they have ended up like this?"

Fang Jinxiu: "..." Finally, she was left speechless.

Then Madam Lu became more energetic, continuously blaming her for being too evil.

She said that if Fang Jinxiu had been a normal person who knew how to be grateful, when the real daughter returned and she lowered her stance to treat her well, perhaps she and the Empress could have become like sisters.

Then her son would have become the Emperor’s brother-in-law, which would have been truly promising.

The more they talked, the more convinced they became.

Ultimately, they concluded: all their immense wealth had been ruined by the fool, Fang Jinxiu.

Fang Jinxiu, with her single voice, couldn’t argue against the two of them and eventually lost, so angry she couldn’t sleep all night.

Worse still, her two children were making a fuss, and no one was there to help her soothe them, while the old lady beside her snored loudly.

The more she thought about it, the more despondent she became, hoping to see her adoptive mother soon and have her find a good place for her.

The next day, Fang Erya and her brother departed, and after seeing them off, Lu Shen and his mother were left in deep sorrow.

They sighed all the way back.

Upon returning home, they only saw the two children; Fang Jinxiu was nowhere to be found.

All they had left was the few taels of silver left by Fang Erya, which could last a long time for an ordinary family if used frugally, but for them... sigh!

“This wretch couldn’t have run away, could she?”

“No, she either went to the Zheng Family to try her luck again or to find work.”

“Hmph, I doubt she went to find work. She must have gone to the Zheng Family to try her luck again.”

They no longer concerned themselves with her, focusing instead on taking good care of the two children, who were their lifeline.

The older one was fine and could eat with them.

But the younger one, just over a year old, couldn’t eat everything and cried from hunger.

Fang Jinxiu, going out early and returning late every day, claimed she was finding work, though who knows if that was true.

Helpless, Madam Lu had to stay home to care for the two children and her son.

Lu Shen’s injuries had healed, but he didn’t know what he could do, so he pretended he wasn’t fully recovered.

In the end, to save money, Madam Lu went to the mountains to dig for wild vegetables and learned how to care for young children from a woman in a neighboring village who also had children.

Having lived in luxury for half her life, she had now learned to cook, wash clothes, and care for little children.

Despite this, the child still fell ill.

That day, Fang Jinxiu was still absent, and Madam Lu, feeling her grandson’s burning forehead, cried and cursed in anger.

“She said she went to find work, but after all this time, she hasn’t brought any silver back. What kind of work is she doing? The child is sick, and she doesn’t care. We only have a little money left, not enough to hire a doctor. What are we going to do?”

“Mother, go ask next door what they do when their children get sick.”

“Alright, you watch the two children carefully. I’ll be back soon.”

Before long, a woman followed her back.

The woman felt Lu Huan’s forehead and shook her head. “This is too serious; folk remedies won’t cure it. You’ll have to hire a doctor.”

“Ah? A doctor? How much silver would that take?”

“There’s no other way. Such a beautiful child, it would be a shame if anything happened. Sister, you really must hire a doctor.”

She went to fetch a village doctor, but upon seeing how severe the child’s fever was, the doctor also shook his head, admitting he couldn’t help and advised her to find a city doctor.

Madam Lu knew very well the cost of doctors in the city. How could they possibly afford a doctor?

Madam Lu wept anxiously and scolded Fang Jinxiu again.

"The child is in such a state; she must have died outside and hasn’t returned yet."

Lu Shen implored, "Mother, don’t say that. Go to the city and bring a doctor back quickly."

"But where will the money come from?"

"Forget the money. Think about how much we’ve already invested in this child. A little more won’t make a difference."

They had spent so much, lowering themselves to please Fang Jinxiu. Lu Shen had also spent a lot of silver to improve his health before they could have this second child.

The cost was immense.