He Changdi looked up and met Monarch Jin's gaze.

Deep in his eyes was a sadness that Monarch Jin couldn't understand.

"Your Highness, there are some things that I can't tell you right now, but I promise that I have my reasons for not going to the north!"

By the time He Sanlang left Reading Red Tower, it was already past noon.

Monarch Jin stood by the window on the third floor and watched his good friend's carriage disappear into the end of the street. Only then did he look away, deep in thought.

After Chu Lian finished her morning meal, she went to Matriarch He's courtyard to pay her respects.

Other than Countess Jing 'an, who was bedridden, all the womenfolk of Count Jing' an's estate were gathered in Qingxi Hall.

When Chu Lian entered, Matriarch He's gaze fell on her. She saw that she was wearing a light blue dress. She remembered that He Sanlang had also worn a light blue robe when he left the estate to pay his respects to Qingxi Hall. Matriarch He smiled.

Other than her two nieces, Chu Lian was the youngest in the family. After paying her respects, Matriarch He pulled her onto the couch.

"Lian 'er, have you gotten used to living in the estate these past few days?"

Old Matriarch He spoke in an amiable and amiable manner, with the special benevolence of an old person. It made people who heard her involuntarily want to get close to such an old person.

Chu Lian nodded and looked at the matriarch with her clear and watery eyes. "I'm used to it. Granddaughter-in-law thanks grandmother for your concern."

"Sanlang left early this morning. I'm afraid he won't be back until the afternoon. You and sister-in-law should stay here for lunch."

Chu Lian nodded in agreement.

After sitting in Qingxi Hall for an hour, she and Madam Zou went to Countess Jing 'an's courtyard to visit.

Before entering, they heard Countess Jing 'an's violent coughing.

Madam Zou frowned and coincidentally bumped into Countess Jing 'an's head maid, Miaozhen, who had come out to bring medicine.

Miaozhen looked up and saw the two masters standing at the door. "Eldest Grandmother, Third Grandmother, good morning."

"Mother, what's going on? Why does it feel worse than yesterday?" Madam Zou asked Miaozhen with a frown.

Miaozhen wrinkled her face. "This servant also doesn't know. This prescription had some effect half a month ago. Madam was able to get out of bed and walk around occasionally. But these days, this prescription seems to be completely useless. Madam doesn't feel any better even after taking the medicine."

Chu Lian stood next to Madam Zou and fell into deep thought. The original novel didn't mention what illness Countess Jing 'an was suffering from, but judging from her symptoms, it was most likely tuberculosis, if not pneumonia. In this day and age, if someone contracted this illness, it was almost impossible to cure. The only thing they could do was delay it with medicine.

"You go get the medicine, I'll go in with sister-in-law to see Mother."

When Bai Zhi came out of Mrs. Liu's room, Mrs. Liu was tired and fell asleep. Her face was pale and ugly. Even if she was asleep, she still looked thin.

According to Miaozhen, Mrs. Liu couldn't eat anything because of her illness. She hasn't eaten well for several days.

In the past, she could still eat some of the pastries that Kitchen Maiden Zhou from Count Jing 'an's estate. But now that Kitchen Maiden Zhou had been burned to ashes, Countess Jing' an didn't even have anything to chew on.

The two sisters-in-law left Mrs. Liu 'an's courtyard and turned into the estate's small garden. They each held a red jade bracelet in their hands. Judging from the color, it was obvious that it was extremely valuable.

Mrs. Liu was born into a large family, so her dowry was very generous and she had many good things. Madam Zou had told her about this later.

Chu Lian uncomfortably pinched the bracelets in her hand. These red jade bracelets came in a pair, one for herself and one for Zou shi. Chu Lian had never seen such expensive jewelry in her entire life. Although she had received quite a few good things when serving tea that day, compared to these red jade bracelets, they paled in comparison.

Madam Zou glanced at her and saw the uneasiness on her face. She smiled and said, "Mother gave it to us, so let's just take it. Otherwise, Mother will be unhappy."

Chu Lian could only nod. She had already accepted it in Mrs. Liu's room. It wouldn't be good to return it now, would it?

Madam Zou handed her bracelet to a maidservant beside her and had the maidservant wrap it in a handkerchief and put it away carefully. She pulled Chu Lian along as they slowly walked along the wisteria-covered corridor. She suddenly sighed and said, "Actually, Mother doesn't have many good things left. These two bracelets are probably the only things left."

Seeing the confusion on Chu Lian's face, Madam Zou wanted to chat a bit more with this new sister-in-law. She waved at the maidservants behind her. The maidservants hurriedly stopped in their tracks and let Madam Zou pull Chu Lian away.

Now that there were no outsiders around, Madam Zou spoke more openly. "Third sister-in-law must be able to smell a thing or two about Mother's illness."

Although He Sanlang hadn't mentioned it to her, Chu Lian knew that Countess Jing 'an's illness was very serious. The original novel also mentioned that Countess Jing' an was bedridden all year round.

Chu Lian nodded.

"Sister-in-law only knows one thing but doesn't know the other. Even Traditional Chinese Medicine Gong can't cure Mother's illness completely. We can only rely on a special prescription to delay it.

This prescription contains many valuable herbs, and there are many that are worth a thousand taels of gold. Although Count Jing 'an's estate is famous, Father isn't good at managing a household, and he's not good at accumulating money. If it weren't for the fact that our estate has a simple population and our expenses are simple, and the matriarch's private assets subsidize us from time to time, we wouldn't be living like this.

Mother's medicine costs a lot of money every month. At first, the estate paid for it. "As Madam Zou spoke, she extended a slender white finger towards Chu Lian.

"A thousand taels of silver.

Mother's medicine costs a thousand taels of silver every month, while Father's annual salary as the great general of the south is a thousand strings of coins. Even if we include the income from the family's estates and various shops, it's only a little more than a thousand strings of coins a month … "

Count Jing 'an's estate provided Countess Jing' an with medicine for two years. Countess Jing 'an found Madam Zou and asked her to deduct this expense. The subsequent medicine costs were all paid out of Countess Jing' an's dowry.

After a few years, Countess Jing 'an's dowry was almost completely spent, and there wasn't much left.

The Liu family had offended the emperor and been demoted a few years ago. The entire family moved out of Shengjing and settled in Luoyang. Now that Madam Liu was living alone in Shengjing and had lost her paternal family's support, her dowry was naturally being spent faster and faster.

Chu Lian was shocked when she heard this. Although she had just arrived, she had some understanding of the prices of goods in the Great Wu Dynasty from the daily chatter of Xiyan and the others.

The copper coins used today were still the Kai Yuan Tong Bao. The standard was one thousand copper coins for one tael of silver, so it was always one thousand copper coins. Ignoring the fluctuations in the prices of copper and silver, according to the standard of living of the common people in the Great Wu Dynasty, ten taels of silver was enough for an ordinary family of three to live on for a year.

The small stewards in Count Jing 'an's estate only received one tael of silver a month.

Countess Jing 'an's medicine cost more than ten thousand strings of coins a year. This was a rather shocking amount of money!

No wonder Madam Zou said that Countess Jing 'an didn't have much left in her dowry.

Count Jing 'an's annual salary was only enough for Madam Liu to take medicine for a month.

Seeing the shock in Chu Lian's eyes, Madam Zou patted her hand. "Sister-in-law isn't telling you all this to pressure you. I just want to tell you that even if Mother is a little poor, she has nothing to say about us daughters-in-law. You have to be filial to her in the future."