Ma waited for a long time but did not see Luo Ran coming. She thought she had been deceived. Just as she was about to get up, she heard the voice of the little maid at the door saying hello.
When he was so happy, he almost knocked over the tea cup at hand. Just when Luo Ran came in and saw this scene, he quickly took out a handkerchief and came forward to help him wipe it. He said nervously: "Check to see if it's scalded. Do you want to ask the doctor to come over and take a look?" .”
Ma endured the pain and shook his head with a smile: "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, I have rough skin and thick flesh."
Ma lowered her head to wipe the tea on her sleeves.
Luo Ran looked around and asked, "Why don't you see the maid serving you?"
Ma stopped what he was doing and glanced at Youqing and Chunyu beside Luo Ran.
Luo Ran also looked back at the two of them and nodded slightly.
After everyone left, Mrs. Ma ignored the burning pain in her hands and took Luo Ran's hand to the innermost part of the west room. She took down a small box half a foot square from the ancient shelf against the wall and smiled mysteriously: "Open it and see if you like it."
Luo Ran looked at her doubtfully, then slowly opened the lid of the box, and a purple luminous pearl the size of an adult's fist came into his eyes.
It's not like Luo Ran has never seen a luminous pearl before. There is one in her canopy bed now. It can light up half the room at night without lighting a candle. The most important thing is not to be afraid of fire.
It's just that she only heard that night pearls come in yellow and green, and the milky white one in her house is already rare, but she didn't expect there to be purple.
Seeing that she didn't speak, Ma thought she didn't recognize her, so he walked to the window and lowered the curtain, making the room suddenly dark.
The purple luminous pearl emits a faint light, ethereal, ethereal, and dreamlike.
"How about it? It's a good item, isn't it?"
Ma stood beside Luo Ran and looked at Ye Mingzhu infatuatedly.
The faint purple reflected on her face made Luo Ran feel terrified for a moment, and he quickly turned around and asked, "Where did you get it?"
As soon as the words came out, Ma became alert instantly, closed the box and put it away, opened the curtain on the window, and said: "You don't need to ask where it comes from. It must not be stolen or robbed. Just tell me whether you want it or not?"
Luo Ran looked embarrassed: "Isn't this thing cheap?"
Seeing Luo Ran's interest, Ma's attitude became even more intimate. He held her arm and said, "Don't cry about poverty with me. Who doesn't know that you are the emperor's personally appointed head of the county? Not to mention the wealth that my eldest brother has accumulated over the years. The annual income of your restaurants and dowry shops must be more than this amount!"
He stretched out a hand and measured it.
Luo Ran was still hesitant.
Ma said again: "Don't just worry about the money in front of you. Right now, the most important thing is for you and your two children to be included in the family tree!"
Luo Ran pursed his lips and seemed to have made a lot of determination, and asked: "Do you think the Duke of the State will really like it?"
Ma glanced at her: "What do you think? I'm afraid there is no such good thing in the palace. Do you think he will like it? Besides,"
In order to persuade Luo Ran, Ma added more fire and said in a low voice: "And I heard that the Duke and his wife want to marry the pearl to the third prince. The Duke and his wife have been collecting good things from everywhere recently. It’s dedicated to Concubine Liu Guifei.”
Luo Ran still didn't agree and asked cautiously: "How much money do you plan to sell this thing for?"
Seeing her loosen up, Mrs. Ma felt happy and stamped her feet: "Seeing that we are all a family and our sisters-in-law are so eloquent, I took it upon myself to give you three thousand taels!"
Luo Ran exclaimed: "Three thousand taels?!"
Ma quickly covered her mouth: "Keep your voice down!"
Luo Ran nodded, and then she let go of her hand and glanced sideways: "Why are you making such a fuss? I still made the three thousand taels on my own initiative. Now when your fourth brother asks me about it, I might have to take care of it myself." As for my money, if I wasn’t doing it for you, what would it matter!”
Luo Ran hurriedly coaxed: "Fourth sister-in-law misunderstood, I didn't mean that. It's just that this money is really a lot, and I can't get it out at the moment."
Seeing that Ma's face turned cold, Luo Ran said again: "In this case, I will go back and take a look at it tonight. Can I give you some news tomorrow?"
Seeing that she really couldn't give him any money, Ma had no choice but to agree, but before leaving, he told her, "Don't tell my eldest brother about this!"
Luo Ran was puzzled: "Why? If I don't have enough money, I still want to borrow some from my husband!"
Ma smiled and said, "It's okay. We women don't have to tell their men everything about our families. If you really don't have enough money, just give me an IOU when the time comes. You can give it to me when you are rich!"
"Okay then, thank you fourth sister-in-law!"
Luo Ran thought for a moment and agreed.
After going back, I saw someone had come back early and was reading a book on the couch.
Luo Ran went to see the two children first, and then freshened up after returning.
As soon as she came back, Fu Jinan put down the book in his hand, stood up, took the comb from Youqing's hand, and combed her hair.
After these days, although he is still not good at combing his hair, he is quite proficient in combing his hair and wearing earrings.
Luo Ran's hair is very good, thick and smooth, and slips through the fingers like silk in the palm of her hand. One of Fu Jinan's favorite things to do is to run his fingers through her long hair and feel the coolness of the silk between her fingertips.
"Did you just go to the backyard?"
The backyard is the house next to the Fu family. It is separated from the backyard of Duke Jingguo's mansion, but their status is completely different.
This street is full of noble houses, and a street beyond it is some decaying mansions.
The fathers of brothers Fu Shiwei and Fu Shikun built a house here when the old Duke Jing was still alive, and also opened a separate small door to facilitate communication between the two families.
Fu Shikun, like his father, usually helps the Duke's government handle some affairs, earns some money, and barely survives. Therefore, they all hope that the Duke of Jingguo will become famous and prosperous, so that they can take advantage of it.
When Luo Ran saw him asking, he nodded and said, "Do you know what Fu Shikun is busy with recently?"
Fu Jin'an didn't say anything about asking Chang Ying to check in the afternoon, and casually said: "I heard that he is helping some wealthy families to move things around."
"broker?"
Luo Ran couldn't help but said.
Fu Jinan thought for a while and nodded: "That's right."
Then he patiently explained: "Don't look at how some high-end families look glamorous on the outside, but in fact it is not easy to support such a big family. If there is no promising person within three generations, if you want to regain a foothold in the capital, you will have to do it." It’s difficult. But they are reluctant to part with the prosperity at the feet of the emperor, so they can only hold on. Some families rely on selling their ancestral property to survive. Where there is buying, there will naturally be selling. Fu Shikun saw this clearly, helped build bridges, and earned commissions from it. "
Luo Ran nodded, she knew this very well. After the death of Duke Jingguo in his previous life, Fu Shiheng succeeded him, and the palace of Duke Jingguo was getting worse day by day. Otherwise, the Fangs and their daughters would not have stared at their dowry all day long, and within a few years they would have emptied their money.
"Are many mansions in the capital like this?"
Although Luo Ran had heard of it, Jin Yiwei should be more aware of this kind of thing.
Fu Jinan nodded: "Quite a few. Some even use this method to sell their official titles."
