Chapter 70 Seriously, Your Mom Is That Rich?

"The young lady's jade pendant was a keepsake left to you by the late concubine. It was pawned for five hundred taels with a one-year term. The safekeeping fee for the first year is five percent, and from the second year onward, it becomes ten percent."

Tingzheng drew out the silver notes and the pawn ticket from the pouch at her waist.

The young lady treated her exceptionally well, and usually, all these funds were managed and kept by her.

"Last time, when we had the Longmen Escort Agency search for someone, they said Jiaozhou was far away at the frontier, so they added twenty taels, making it a total of one hundred and twenty taels. There are three hundred and eighty taels remaining here."

Gu Xingwan tapped her slender finger gently on the table.

"If we bring the person back to Shengjing City, will the remaining silver be enough?"

"Jiaozhou is over two thousand li away from Shengjing City, and the Longmen Escort Agency is notorious for its exorbitant fees. Furthermore, Zhou Qingshu is a madman. Three hundred and eighty taels might not be enough."

Tingzheng shook her head with certainty.

To escort a madman across mountains and rivers for over two thousand li would require at least three to five men, and the expenses for food and horses along the way would undoubtedly be substantial.

Gu Xingwan gazed steadily and said,

"Have the Longmen Escort Agency bring the person back. Tell them that these three hundred and eighty taels are merely a deposit. If the person arrives in Shengjing City alive, I will give them another thousand taels."

"Young lady, where are we going to get a thousand taels?"

The young lady was already poor enough to pawn her jade pendant.

"Go and arrange it." Gu Xingwan said nothing more.

"Understood! This maid will go tomorrow."

The next morning.

Tingzheng went out to handle the errand, while Gu Xingwan took Nanny Tang to the Baoguo Temple to fulfill a vow.

A carriage was followed by four mounted guards holding iron clubs, each looking as solemn and alert as if facing a formidable enemy.

The lead guard was none other than Nanny Tang's son, Wang Teng.

The Gu family's financial foundation was shallow, and normally the household only maintained eight guards to watch the estate. Recently, Madam Song had specially hired a few more specifically to "protect" Gu Xingwan.

Nanny Tang poured a cup of hot tea and handed it over, asking with a smiling face,

"I wonder what vow the young lady is going to the Baoguo Temple to fulfill?"

Gu Xingwan blew gently on the steam rising from the teacup.

"When my mother was alive, she often said she had married poorly in this life, with a husband who did not cherish her. As a concubine, she was frequently tormented by the principal wife, which led to her daughter also being humiliated by the principal wife and the legitimate eldest daughter. Therefore, she often went to the Baoguo Temple to pray for a good match for me, hoping that I would eventually find a worthy husband and escape these banes of the Gu family early on. Now that I am to be married, naturally I must go to the Baoguo Temple to fulfill that vow."

"Young lady, these... these words..."

A trace of imperceptible coldness lurked in the depths of Nanny Tang's eyes.

To dare to disparage the master and the principal wife behind their backs was truly unfilial.

After all, this young girl was still too naive and lacked even the slightest guard against others.

The carriage stopped at the foothills of Zuitong Mountain in the south of the city. Gu Xingwan wore a modest pale yellow autumn dress with a hood over her head, and the group proceeded up the stone steps to the Baoguo Temple.

Inside the temple, incense smoke drifted densely, Sanskrit chants echoed, wooden fish clacked crisply, and numerous scholars and literati gathered here, creating a bustling scene.

After offering her prostrations, Gu Xingwan placed two taels of fragmented silver into the merit box.

A monk stood up and returned the greeting with palms pressed together.

Gu Xingwan asked, "Master, my mother donated a pagoda to your esteemed temple during her lifetime. Here is the token; please take a look, Master."

The monk accepted the wooden plaque from Gu Xingwan's hand, noting clearly the donor's name, the date of the donation, as well as the style and dimensions of the pagoda.

Then, turning to an old, yellowed ledger, he found an identical record.

He stood up, nodded, and bowed.

"This is indeed the token for our temple's pagoda. Benefactor, we also need to verify the secret phrase left by the donor."

A secret phrase was an ancient password, also known as a secret code or underworld jargon.

"The secret phrase is: Aim for the highest aspirations, forge moderate affinities, enjoy modest blessings; stand in lofty places, seek peaceful dwellings, and walk along broad paths."

This saying was the code of conduct her mother had abided by throughout her life.

The monk recited the phrase and then signaled for Gu Xingwan to follow him.

As Gu Xingwan stepped forward, she turned back to look at Nanny Tang.

"You come too!"

"Yes!"

They arrived at a hall specifically dedicated to storing pagodas, where the tables were crowded with pagodas of various sizes donated by pilgrims.

Gu Xingwan spotted the pagoda left by her mother—made of ebony wood, not particularly refined in craftsmanship, standing about two feet tall.

Having led them there, the monk found it inconvenient to linger and turned to leave.

She carefully examined the pagoda and found a groove patterned after the Big Dipper on the back, painted in seven different colors. She pressed the Big Dipper grooves in a specific sequence.

With a crisp click, a hidden compartment popped open, revealing a thick stack of silver notes.

The very top note was marked with the sum of ten thousand taels.

This entire stack probably amounted to hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.

Nanny Tang was completely stunned.

Wait, your mother was *that* wealthy?