Chapter Twenty-Five: I Truly Am Incredibly Wealthy

Song Ci wandered around the storeroom for half a day, carrying out quite a few things and almost completely changing the arrangement of ornaments in her room. Even the canopy was replaced with a new one, patterned with water ripples in pale blue and pink.

Besides that, she fetched many items to reward her family members, as well as the maids and matrons around her. Only when her body was truly exhausted did she reluctantly return to the luohan couch in her room and lie down.

Mammy Gong called two young maids to come and knead her legs and give her a massage.

Song Ci propped her forehead with one hand and flipped through the storeroom inventory presented by Hongyou and the others with the other. The more she looked, the more she marveled at the profound wealth of the Prime Minister’s residence—this was no joke.

With these things, in her original world, she would easily be a billionaire.

“I can now be sure of one thing,” Song Ci suddenly spoke.

Everyone in the room looked over.

Song Ci gazed at them. “I am truly, astonishingly wealthy.”

Someone couldn’t hold back and let out a laugh.

Mammy Gong also chuckled, “You only just realized?”

“Yes,” Song Ci sighed deeply, “My dream has come true, but the pity is, I am old now. With so much money, can I ever finish spending it?”

The smiles in the room faded a little.

That contradictory mood of the old lady surfaced again.

Mammy Gong handed her some tea, smiling as she said, “Why wouldn’t you be able to spend it all? As for gold and silver, you could toss some every day into the lotus pond in the courtyard just to hear the sound. Jewelry and fine fabrics, if you please, you can reward the madams and young ladies, just for fun.”

Song Ci nodded seriously, “You’re right. In the past, when I had no money, I would split a copper coin in two if I could. Now that I’m wealthy, I should spend twice as much. Only then is my life here worthwhile.”

Her words carried a hidden meaning, but everyone took it as a reminiscing about hard times, finding only amusement in them—after all, the old lady had never been one for extravagance.

…

Madam Song looked at the pile of silks and two boxes of jewelry before her, feeling both startled and nervous.

“Is the old lady really letting me distribute these?” she asked Hongju, one of the old lady’s four chief maids.

Hongju smiled and nodded. “The old lady was in high spirits today, checked a few storerooms, took out some things to use, and said these bright colors suit you, the young ladies, and the young masters. She wants you to have them made into summer garments, for she likes to see lively and vibrant things. As for the jewelry, she asks you to distribute them as you see fit.”

Madam Song swallowed, managed a smile, and agreed, then asked if the old lady’s health was improving, wondering if she should go pay her respects.

After sending Hongju off, Song Zhiyuan returned from outside. Upon entering and seeing the pile, he asked, “Who sent these gifts?”

Madam Song went over to help him remove his outer robe and shook her head. “They’re not from anyone else—Mother gave them as rewards.”

She recounted what Hongju had said, then added anxiously, “My lord, do you think Mother’s health is not yet well? Otherwise, why would she suddenly give out these things? It doesn’t seem like the season for distributing rewards.”

After all, an elder’s belongings were usually only divided when they were near the end. For Song Ci to reward them now made her uneasy, especially since she had just recovered from an illness.

Song Zhiyuan replied, “Didn’t they say Mother is much better? I think these silks are too bright for her to wear anyway, and there’s no point keeping them. It’s suitable for her to reward you with them. In any case, let’s go pay our respects to Mother in a while.”

This was exactly what Madam Song had in mind, so she agreed at once.