In the flower hall, Liu leaned lazily on the soft couch, the sunlight penetrated through the red sandalwood window lattice behind him, and his body was warm.

The hand wrapped around the silk gold bracelet is still smooth and delicate because it is properly maintained.

At this time, the hands were neatly mixing a card that had just been touched into a deck of cards in front of him, and gently pushed it on the table, proudly shouting to the grandmothers who were accompanying him left and right: "I'm nonsense!" ”

While talking and laughing, seeing Mu Lan's father and daughter entering the door with their front and back feet, they hurriedly got up and greeted warmly: "Lan'er, come and sit down next to your aunt, let's have a good chat." ”

Mu Lan gave a salute and said lightly: "Hello aunt." ”

Seeing his father sit down, he chose a place not far away and sat down.

Liu walked over, sat opposite the father and daughter, and said with a smile on his face: "Lan'er, how is your mother doing?" We wanted to bring our eldest sister to Kyori early in the morning. But your father always said to wait a little longer, and wait until the family is in a better situation, so that the eldest sister will not come and suffer with us. ”

After that, he glanced at Father Mu deeply, and continued: "Your father is also too upright, and in the past two years, he has had a lot of official duties and entertainment. is so conscientious and conscientious, walking on thin ice, and almost losing the black gauze hat on his head. The relationships in all aspects of the capital are intertwined, and they can't compare to a quiet life in other cities, and your father has no choice, and many things can only be done knowing that they can't do it. ”

Mu Lan'an listened quietly and said lightly: "Thank you aunt for your concern." Rest assured. My mother has always liked to be quiet, and she has stayed very comfortably in the countryside all these years, and I am afraid that my father will not come here if he invites eight sedan chairs. ”

When Liu Shi heard this, he frowned and said regretfully: "Lan'er, in my opinion, you still have to help us persuade the eldest sister more in the future." When you enter the palace in the future, how can we rest assured that the eldest sister is living alone outside? ”

After a pause, seeing that Mu Lan did not answer, he said again: "Lan'er, your father has often mentioned you to me over the years. When I see you, I have an indescribable liking in my heart. Look at our Lan'er, her appearance is peugeot, her mind is exquisite, I don't know how much stronger than your Han sister! ”

Mu Lan smiled slightly and said, "Auntie praised it." I saw Sister Rong once in the afternoon, but I didn't say a few words. ”

Liu Shi was slightly stunned, and said in surprise: "Rong'er, she went to look for you?" ”

Another message immediately smiled: "You monkey anxious sister, you can't hold your breath like this." I told her yesterday that my sister is a busy trip, so you are not allowed to disturb her without permission. Where do you know this girl, when you arrive on the front foot, she will come to you on the back foot. If I hadn't stopped me, I wouldn't have wanted to sleep with my sister in a bed today! It's no wonder that she treats you more dearly than me, over the years, we don't know how many times we have talked about you, and now we finally look forward to Lan'er first! ”

After that, his eyes were slightly red, and he took out a handkerchief and wiped it again and again.

Mu Lan quietly stared at the graceful Liu family in front of her, and said with a slight smile: "Auntie, look at what you said." My sister knows that she is righteous and beautiful, and she will only be far above Mu Lan in the future, if you are for Mu Lan, it is good to teach Mu Lan directly, why bother with Sister Bo Rong. ”

After a few words, Liu Shi smiled, and looked at Mu Lan more and more pleasing to the eye.

Mu Lan's eyes were bright, and her eyes fell on the rich and enchanting peony entwined and multi-patterned Luo skirt on Liu's body, and she exclaimed: "My aunt is so young, and the clothes she wears are also exquisite, and she looks different from others." ”

The few words of praise made Liu's more and more energetic, and his heart was full of joy: "Lan'er is telling the truth? ”

Mu Lan smiled and said, "Naturally, every sentence comes from the bottom of my heart. It's just that Mu Lan was born in a poor rural area, and now he has just arrived, he has never seen much of the world, and he only knows how to speak outspokenly, and he is afraid that he will be despised in the future. ”

Liu's eyebrows were raised, and he said with confidence: "I haven't seen the world, and it's not your fault." Now that you've entered the capital, isn't it easy to do this? Tomorrow, I will let Rong'er accompany you to walk around, move around more, see more, and see who dares to laugh at the daughter of the Mu family in the future, dare not take us in their eyes! ”

After that, the smile was full of kindness, and he threw a tender glance at Mu Lan.

Mu Lan Yingying smiled and said, "Thank you aunt for your love." ”

Sure enough, from the second day, Mu Rong came to the door and dragged Mu Lan to the street every day.

Mu Rong is playful and knows all the shops in the capital.

In just a few days, under the leadership of Mu Rong, Mu Lan has a good understanding of the customs and customs of the capital and the business circles of all walks of life.

On this day, Mu Rong invited Mu Lan and her mother Liu to go to the Eight Great Places of Xishan to make incense, but Mu Lan resigned on the grounds of physical discomfort.

Mu Lan saw that the weather was fine, and she was already very unhappy with the people in this house every day, so she just took advantage of the fact that the others were not there for a while, and went to walk around the street freely.

She is already familiar with the most prosperous streets in the capital.

When she went out of the gate today, she went straight to the Rishengchang Commercial Bank, the largest money bank in the capital.

The front foot walked into the door of the trading house, and the back foot came up to greet him.

"This girl, do you want to save money, or do you want to pawn?"

The guy glanced at Mu Lan imperceptibly and said with a smile.

Mu Lan groaned slightly, and said to the guy: "Shopkeeper, are you there?" ”

The guy was slightly stunned, and said a little puzzled: "Do you have any objects that can let the little one look at them first?" Our shopkeeper will not come out when it is light. ”

Mu Lan insisted: "What I want to ask about is valuables, if you can be the master, you can do it." If I can't be the master, it's not convenient for me to take it out. ”

The guy listened, thought for a while, and replied: "That's okay, don't be impatient, the little one will go and ask the shopkeeper." ”

Mu Lan nodded.

After a while, an old man walked out from behind the curtain, and the guy on the side introduced: "This is our Liao shopkeeper." ”

Mu Lan arched his hand at the old man and said seriously: "Shopkeeper Liao, I have just come to the capital and need money urgently. Can you show me, how much is this object worth? ”

The old man nodded, the man understood, and immediately presented a soft satin tray in front of Mu Lan.

Mu Lan glanced at the two of them, carefully took out a jade bracelet from the bag, and gently placed it on the tray.

The man took it aside and asked the old man to appreciate it.

The old man didn't think he could see it carefully with the naked eye, so he took reading glasses and put them on, carefully looked at the color of the bracelet, and gently picked up the bracelet, took a closer look at the sun, gently put the jade bracelet back on the tray, wiped his hands with a towel, and said slowly: "How much does the girl want to be, report the number first." ”

Mu Lan smiled slightly and asked, "Can you please talk about the introduction first, what are the methods of your family?" ”

The old man took a deep look at Mu Lan and said slowly: "There are two kinds of pawns, one is a straight pawn and the other is a pawn. Straightforwardly, that is, you sell something to us, and we pay the cash directly according to the value. The other is the pledge, that is, you mortgage something with us, we pay a part of the cash first, and the rest can be settled in installments, but the interest during the pledge period must be deducted until you redeem the mortgaged thing in a lump sum within the predetermined period. ”

The old man spoke very slowly, and after the introduction, he kept silent, deliberately giving Mu Lan enough time to weigh the pros and cons and think clearly.

Unexpectedly, Mu Lan heard this, and immediately said: "Shopkeeper Liao, I want to bet." You should give me a price! ”

The old man pondered for a moment, and said leisurely: "It is said that your jade bracelet is in excellent condition, and it can be used as eight hundred taels of silver." However, there are operational risks associated with betting, so the quotation in the market is generally lower. ”

After that, he looked at Mu Lan and said, "Has the girl thought about it?" In fact, it is more appropriate to be straight. ”

Mu Lan looked at the old man and said seriously: "This jade bracelet is a token passed down to me by my mother, and I regard it as life. So, it's not for sale. Because you need to use money, you choose to bet on it. As for the price, your family is the No. 1 money village at the foot of the Son of Heaven, and there is no bullying in the folk reputation, compared to others, I believe you will give me the most fair price. But it doesn't hurt to say that, please. ”

The old man stroked his beard, pondered cautiously for a moment, and said, "Since the girl said so, then give the girl a price of six hundred taels of silver." I wonder how much cash the girl has to redeem for the first time? ”

Mu Lan said: "I don't cash in silver, but I have an additional request?" ”

"Don't cash in the silver?" The old man lifted the frame and said in surprise, "What does the girl want?" I'll hear if we can do it. ”

Mu Lan smiled slightly and said, "My request is both difficult and easy. This requires that other commercial banks in the capital may not be able to do it, or it is difficult to do it. But it is not difficult for you. ”

After a pause, he said frankly: "My request is to sign a ten-year contract with you. I don't want cash, but I will leave an address in my hometown. I ask you to transfer this pledge of six hundred taels of silver to my mother in my distant homeland on the first day of every month for ten years, through your head office. ”

When the old man and the man heard this, they looked at each other, and they both felt incredible about this exchange method.

Seeing this, Mu Lan smiled and said, "I inquired before, your family's business house has a branch in my hometown, and it has a very high reputation. This is just a few hundred taels of silver, and it is split into such a small amount of cash, for your family, it should be like taking something in your pocket, and it is not a difficult thing to do. ”

When the old man heard this, he felt that Mu Lan's words were conclusive, not unreasonable, and after pondering for a long time, he said to Mu Lan: "Okay." Then this time, let's follow the girl's request and try it once. ”

With that, he set about letting the guy draft the contract paperwork.

After Mu Lan looked at it, he signed his name on the document and pressed his handprint.

Finally, he carefully picked up the jade bracelet that his mother passed to him before leaving, put it on his lips and kissed it gently, and then reluctantly put it into the tray.

Mu Lan knew that in the past few days since she defected to Mufu, the hospitality of the Liu family and her superiors and subordinates was all hypocritical.

Liu's instigated father to ask her to enter Beijing for only one purpose, that is, to ask her to enter the palace soon after the draft instead of her sister Mu Rong.

She thought about fighting, but over the years, her mother and her source of food and clothing came from her father's dedication, and although the money sent was becoming less and less scarce, it was better than nothing.

Otherwise, how could my mother and her survive in a precarious situation.

Even if she can survive, if she gets married one day in the future, what will her mother do at that time?

Therefore, it is better to use yourself as a bargaining chip for the most selfless and worthy of love in the world, in exchange for stability for the rest of your life.

As soon as the door curtain was lifted, the guy shouted earnestly again: "Guest officer, go slowly......"

Mu Lan looked up at the spotless blue sky, the corners of her mouth curved slightly, and she quickened her pace and walked briskly towards Mu Mansion.

She didn't see it, just above a two-story attic not far away, an arrogant man in a mountain-blue robe and soft-soled cloth shoes was staring at the direction she was leaving, his eyes unscanning for a long time.