Snow Color

Chapter 345 Fu Jin 52

"Eighth brother, I think what the tenth brother said makes sense. As for me, I have always liked gold and silver things, and I can't get involved in other things. I didn't expect that the business I have been doing these days can no longer maintain the expenses of the mansion. I am really sorry to the people around me. So it's very difficult for me now, brother. And this voice of mine is not entirely mine, so I will apologize to you in the future. I have invested all the money I have in the shop, and I may not be able to lend it to you in the future. But don't worry, brother. Even if I have no money, I will not take back the money I lent you before. I really have no choice this time, so I apologize, but because it is my fault this time, you don't have to rush to pay back the money before. In any case, you can't spend money on me."

After the Ninth Prince finished speaking, he sighed deeply, with a helpless and apologetic expression on his face. He looked at the Eighth Brother, his eyes revealed a hint of determination, but also a little bit of guilt.

Eighth Brother listened to Ninth Prince's words quietly, and felt something was wrong. He knew that Old Nine earned a lot every month, so how could this happen? However, he couldn't show his doubts directly. So he pretended to understand and patted Ninth Prince's shoulder, saying that he didn't blame him. After all, everyone has their own difficulties, and Ninth Prince is no exception.

However, the heart of the Ninth Prince was not as calm as it seemed. He knew that refusing to lend money to Eighth Brother this time might cause a rift between them. But he also understood that he was not a fool. Over the years, he was willing to support Eighth Brother and even confronted the Crown Prince, but all this was because he had always believed that Eighth Brother was sincere to them. But now, he began to realize that things were not that simple.

Looking back, the Ninth Prince found that the relationship between him and Bage was not as close as he had imagined. Although Bage had always been gentle to them, the sense of alienation always existed. Perhaps it was this sense of distance that made him always feel a little uncomfortable when facing Bage. Now, when he recalled the past, those details that had been overlooked began to emerge.

He remembered that when he was a child, he once met a young eunuch in the palace. The young eunuch dared to look at him coldly. This puzzled him very much, because with his status, who in the palace dared to treat him like this? And the behavior of this young eunuch now seemed to be wrong. He couldn't help but wonder if there was some unspeakable secret behind it.

The Ninth Prince's eyes inadvertently swept over the Eighth Prince, and a trace of doubt and dissatisfaction flashed in his eyes. He remained silent, but his heart was filled with countless questions.

"Ninth brother, it was my fault for being negligent. I didn't expect you to encounter difficulties. But don't worry, when I return home, I will have someone send the money to you." The Eighth Prince said hurriedly, trying to ease the tense atmosphere.

However, the Ninth Prince did not respond. He thought to himself, "Humph, Eighth Brother, do you think I don't know? I have worked hard to make money over the years, but you used all my money to buy connections! Now that I need money, you actually say you don't have it?"

The Eighth Prince obviously did not want to see the Ninth Prince alienated from him. After all, most of the money that the Ninth Prince had earned over the years was used by him to manage officialdom. If the Ninth Prince wanted to take back the money now, he would definitely not be able to afford it. Not only that, even if he really had enough money in his hands, he would never give it to the Ninth Prince easily.

Despite this, the Eighth Prince did not dare to remain indifferent at this moment. Because he knew the methods of the Ninth Prince very well, if he did not take action, he might be in trouble in the future. So he decided to stabilize the Ninth Prince first and wait for the opportunity to make plans.

"Ninth brother, don't worry, I will definitely help you." The Eighth Prince comforted.

At this time, the Ninth Prince knew that although the Eighth Prince verbally said he would help, he actually couldn't come up with so much money. Moreover, the Ninth Prince also knew that once money and interests were involved, people's nature would often be exposed. Therefore, he did not have much hope for the Eighth Prince's promise.

At the same time, the Eighth Prince also learned about the situation of the Tenth Prince. He knew that the Ninth Prince had been giving a lot of favors to Qiqige, so the Tenth Prince should have some funds on hand. Perhaps, the Tenth Prince would be willing to help the Ninth Prince through the difficulties. Thinking of this, the Eighth Prince felt a little relieved. As long as he could get the support of the Tenth Prince, the Ninth Prince could temporarily solve the current predicament. He didn't have to do anything, after all, he had other plans for the money in his hands.

At this time, the three of them were thinking differently. The Ninth Prince and the Tenth Prince looked at each other, and the Tenth Prince was secretly surprised: Ninth Brother actually said this so bluntly today, and even found such an excuse! Although Ninth Brother's monthly income is not very clear, from the generous dividends that Ninth Brother gives to Qiqige every month, it can be inferred that Ninth Brother's business is currently in the profit stage.

However, the Ninth Brother claimed that he had no money, which puzzled the Tenth Prince. Did the Ninth Brother forget the deep brotherly friendship between them? He generously gave money to the Eighth Brother every month and never took it back. But the Ninth Brother did not seem to really understand his younger brother. Nowadays, all the expenses in the mansion are earned by Qiqige, and he can only live on Qiqige's income every month. Although this kind of life is easy and happy, he also hopes to have some private money sometimes to buy some small gifts for Qiqige to express his feelings. But the Ninth Brother has never considered these, and has never even given a little help. Thinking of this, the Tenth Prince couldn't help but glance at the Ninth Brother.

The eyes of the Ninth Prince accidentally met those of the Tenth Prince, and he instantly understood the deep meaning in the other's eyes, and couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed. In fact, he didn't know the situation at first, he just felt that the Eighth Prince was short of money, and he and the Tenth Prince were supported by their mother's family, plus the subsidies from time to time from their mother. Although they were not rich, their property was still considerable, but the cash on hand was limited. Seeing that the Eighth Prince was in a difficult situation, he agreed to the Eighth Prince's request to borrow money without hesitation, and said that there was no need to rush to return it. However, what he didn't expect was that the Eighth Prince had no intention of returning it after borrowing it. However, this little money didn't matter to the Ninth Prince, he didn't care. But what surprised him was that when he checked the accounts recently, he found that he had lent more than 600,000 taels of silver to the Eighth Prince! Not to mention that the Eighth Prince often patronized the store under the name of the Ninth Prince and bought various valuable items such as jewelry, antiques, etc., which were very expensive. The shopkeepers all knew that Eighth Brother was a prince, and Ninth Prince had also told him that he could keep accounts.

This happens every month, but the Ninth Prince doesn't care too much about it. After all, such a small amount seems insignificant, who would have expected that it would happen every month, and it would be a considerable amount if it accumulates over time. In fact, the Ninth Prince doesn't know much about these situations, because the account books are managed by his subordinates. If it weren't for the last time that the Ninth Lady found that the monthly expenses were almost not enough to cover the expenses, she had heard Qiqige say that she should take good control of her dowry and not let people treat her as a fool. The Ninth Lady naturally didn't want to do this, so she reported the matter directly to the Ninth Prince. The Ninth Prince was shocked when he heard it. He hadn't done anything special over the years. He just kept a few beautiful concubines, and nothing else. At first, he even suspected that the Ninth Lady had deceived him, but the Ninth Lady said nothing and directly handed over the account book flow and income in the courtyard to the Ninth Prince, asking him to check it himself. Was she wrong?

The Ninth Prince flipped open the account book, carefully checking the data on each page, and his brows gradually furrowed. The more he looked, the more he felt something was wrong. The profit he made from his business every month was not small, but the money sent by external shops was far below expectations. After a long period of observation and thinking, he finally found the problem - the Eighth Prince. His loan records showed that he only borrowed but never repaid, and there has never been a repayment record. This discovery made the Ninth Prince secretly note it in his heart, and this time he decided to make it clear directly. After all, he didn't want people to question that he had been doing business for many years but could not support everyone in the mansion, and even used the dowry of his wife to make up for the deficit.

At the same time, the Eighth Prince had already noticed that the Ninth Prince and the Tenth Prince were no longer under his control. However, he was not worried, but needed to be more cautious in his subsequent plans. Although he was angry inside, he still maintained his usual elegance and grace on the surface.

The Eighth Lady thought that she would see Qiqige and the Ninth Lady coming together, but she didn't expect that only the Ninth Lady showed up. An obvious anger suddenly appeared on her face, and she thought to herself: "Is Qiqige deliberately looking down on me? I didn't care about the last incident, but this time the Eighth Prince personally invited her, but she didn't come!" She could no longer suppress her anger and decided not to be patient. In her eyes, the Ninth Lady was introverted and taciturn, and didn't know how to read people's expressions, so she didn't worry that she would be a threat to her.

Even though the Ninth Lady noticed her mood changes, the Eighth Lady didn't care. After all, she was helpless in the face of Qiqige, but she didn't care about the Ninth Lady at all. However, when she thought about the Eighth Prince's problem, she felt heavy again. Although she was eager to help the Eighth Prince, she seemed to have no clue at the moment.

Meanwhile, Qiqige did not go to the next door, but leisurely teased the two children. Hongyang and Hongxuan were so cute that people could not help but love them. Now, they have learned to sit and stand, and whenever Qiqige gently touches them, Hongxuan will lie down with a smile, as if this is an interesting game. Hongyang is even better, and can already walk, although crawling is still more proficient.

Qiqige watched the two children fall asleep after playing tired, and then walked out of the room with peace of mind. It was a good time to go up the mountain, so she decided to go up the mountain alone, taking only Erile with her.

Qiqige changed into some light clothes and said to Qingzhu, "Qingzhu, I'm going to be out for a while and will be back soon. You stay in the manor and take good care of the young princes."

"Yes, master." Qingzhu knew that his master was a master of martial arts, so he responded with confidence.

"Erile, let's go." As soon as the voice fell, Qiqige used her Qinggong skills and flew towards the mountain not far ahead as lightly as a flying swallow. And Erile jumped up from the eaves and flew towards the mountain.

Qiqige found many precious herbs along the way, including ginseng and Panax notoginseng. She was pleasantly surprised to find a ginseng that was about a hundred years old and was a good medicinal material.

Qiqige skillfully dug these things down, then took out an empty box from the space, carefully put them in, and finally threw them into the space. Then, she continued to walk upwards. At this moment, she heard Erile's voice, looked up, and saw Erile hovering in the sky not far ahead. Qiqige understood that this meant that Erile had discovered something, so she quickly rushed to where Erile was.

Qiqige looked closely and saw a small snow-white animal in the grass. She walked closer and saw that it was a wolf cub. After careful observation, she found that although the wolf cub was still alive, it was very thin. It should be a different-colored wolf cub born in the wolf pack, and it was the weakest one. Perhaps because it was too thin, the other wolves thought it was dead, so Qiqige had the opportunity to meet it here. In this area, snow-white wolf cubs are extremely rare and almost never seen, so it can be judged that it has mutated.

Qiqige looked at Erile curiously, watching him stare at the little wolf cub, and couldn't help but feel surprised. After all, on the grassland, wolves and sheep have always been natural enemies, and they are incompatible. But at this moment, Qiqige could clearly feel Erile's concern for the little wolf cub.

"Okay, I will do my best to cure it." Qiqige smiled helplessly and comforted Erile. Then, she took out half a health pill from the space and gently stuffed it into the wolf cub's mouth. For such a weak life, a health pill is too strong and may not be able to withstand its medicinal effects. Half a pill is just right and can help it recover.

"Okay, I've given it medicine, and it will be better soon. You don't have to keep staring at me." Qiqige looked at Erile's worried little eyes and explained softly.

"Let's go, let's keep going." Qiqige stood up, dusted off his body, and prepared to continue looking for herbs. However, Erile did not follow immediately, but circled around the wolf cub a few times, seeming to be still worried about its condition.

"Don't worry, I will definitely take it with me. If I don't take it with me, wouldn't all my efforts to save it be in vain? And you can't waste my medicine." Qiqige understood Erile's thoughts, smiled, picked up the little wolf cub, and gently put it into the backpack behind him.

Erile flew up and continued to fly forward. Qiqige followed behind him, looking around for something.