That person rushed out quite urgently. Baozhu instinctively stepped in front of Lin Hao to block them, but the guards accompanying the carriage reacted even faster.
"Let me go!" the intercepted young woman shouted.
Lin Hao saw the girl's face clearly and frowned slightly. "Chang Qing?"
The person blocking her path was none other than Chang Qing, the daughter born to Wen Rugui and his concubine, Cousin Chang—no, she should be called Wen Qing now.
As soon as Wen Qing saw that Lin Hao recognized her, a spark lit up in her eyes. "Second Sister, I have something to discuss with you—"
Hearing this, the guards blocking her looked toward Lin Hao.
The moment Lin Hao heard "Second Sister," her eyes turned to ice. She waved her hand, signaling the guards to let the girl go.
Wen Qing rushed to Lin Hao's side, tears streaming down her face. "Second Sister, I beg you, please save Father!"
"I have only one elder sister and no younger sisters. If you keep shouting nonsense, I will have the guards throw you out," Lin Hao warned coldly.
Wen Qing's sobbing hitched. She lifted her sleeve to wipe her tears and asked timidly, "Then... what should I call you?"
She had inherited the best features of her parents; she was exquisite and elegant, bearing a twenty or thirty percent resemblance to Lin Hao. Asking in such a soft, fragile manner made Lin Hao appear overbearing in the eyes of onlookers.
Fortunately, this was in front of the General's Manor, and the Prince Jing's Manor was right next door. People on both sides were biased toward Lin Hao, and Lin Hao herself didn't care about the gaze of others.
"You aren't a small child. Do you really need someone to teach you how to address people?" Lin Hao raised an eyebrow and turned to leave.
In truth, she couldn't be bothered to say a single word to Wen Qing. However, since Wen Qing had come to her door, she wasn't the type who could be brushed off by simply avoiding her. If Lin Hao ignored her, she might go and pester the eldest sister.
The eldest sister was thin-skinned and soft-hearted; once entangled by that family of four, the trouble would be endless.
Panicking, Wen Qing hurriedly cried out, "Madam Heir, I beg you to save Father! Father is gravely ill, and we truly cannot afford a physician!"
Lin Hao paused and turned around. "So, you've come for money?"
Wen Qing was choked for a moment, a flash of embarrassment crossing her face.
She hadn't expected that someone of such status would speak so bluntly.
But thinking of her brother, who was set to take the autumn imperial examinations this year, the small amount of pride a daughter possesses was cast aside.
The alcoholic father, who spent every day drowning his sorrows, had fallen ill, and of all times, it had to be now. Once the father passed away, the brother would miss this year's provincial exams due to the mourning period, which would be nothing short of a catastrophe for her and her mother.
Suppressing her embarrassment, Wen Qing's tears welled up again. "Madam Heir, conflicts between elders should be resolved by elders. Regardless, he is still your father. I beg you to save him."
As she wailed, passing pedestrians and nearby neighbors stopped in their tracks or peeked out of their windows. More and more people gathered to watch the spectacle.
Lin Hao frowned. "I haven't even said anything yet, and you're crying incessantly. Are you trying to use the gossip of others to pressure me?"
Wen Qing bit her lip.
Looking at her aggrieved expression, Lin Hao wore a half-smile. "Don't forget, your surname is Wen, and mine is Lin. Whatever you think can influence me is, to me, insignificant."
"But... but Father is about to die..." Wen Qing began to cry again.
"How much?" Lin Hao impatiently interrupted the whimpering.
Wen Qing never expected Lin Hao to ask so straightforwardly; she was so stunned she nearly choked.
"One... one hundred taels..." she ventured, daring to name a figure.
Once, she had felt that one hundred taels was nothing. Her father had been a Vice Minister; they had a grand mansion and crowds of servants. A few pieces of jewelry owned by her and her mother were worth more than a hundred taels.
After her father was dismissed from office, as he drank day after day and her brother continued his studies, their wealth dwindled. The jewelry was pawned one by one, and the rented houses grew smaller and smaller. Only then did she realize what a massive sum one hundred taels was for an ordinary family.
With these one hundred taels, they could not only save her father's life but also cover the expenses for her brother's provincial exams.
"One hundred taels, huh—" Lin Hao curled her lips. "Baozhu, give her a banknote for one hundred taels."
Wen Qing was stunned.
Was she really this easy to talk to? In that instant, she couldn't help but regret asking for too little.
If she had asked for two hundred, the family would be even more comfortable—
But the words had already left her mouth; it was too late for regrets. Wen Qing looked down at the banknote Baozhu pressed into her hand, quickly stuffed it into her bodice, gave a word of thanks, and hurried away.
With a calm expression, Lin Hao turned and walked toward the General's Manor. At the entrance, she ran into Madam Lin.
"A-Hao, did that dog's daughter come looking for you?" Madam Lin grabbed Lin Hao's hand and looked outside, seeing only the crowd of onlookers gradually dispersing.
"Mother, let's go inside and talk."
Madam Lin held it in until they were inside the house, then immediately asked, "What did she want?"
"She said her father is ill and begged me for medical expenses."
"That dog of a man, it would be better if he died of illness!" Madam Lin slapped the table, her face flushing with anger. "How does that dog have the nerve to ask you for money? A-Hao, did you give it?"
"I gave one hundred taels." Lin Hao picked up her teacup and took a few sips.
The tea was fragrant, smoothing over the slight ripple in her heart caused by the sudden encounter with Wen Qing.
The person she hated most was her father, followed by Madam Chang. As for Madam Chang's two children, she didn't even hate them; she simply wished to have no connection with them whatsoever.
Hearing this, Madam Lin's teeth itched with frustration. "You shouldn't have given a single cent! It would have been better to feed it to the dogs!"
Lin Hao smiled. "If I didn't give it, I'm afraid she would have gone to make a scene with Eldest Sister. Don't be angry, Mother; just think of it as feeding the dogs."
Madam Lin studied Lin Hao's expression carefully. Seeing that she truly wasn't sad or depressed, the tension in her heart finally dissipated.
As time passed, she no longer had a shred of care for Wen Rugui; all that remained was annoyance at her own youthful foolishness and hatred for the man. She didn't care about the money; she feared that A-Hao could not sever the father-daughter bond with Wen Rugui. Since A-Hao didn't care about that father at all, she was relieved.
A-Hao was right; they couldn't let them target Chan'er.
"I'm just afraid that since you gave it this time, they'll come again next time."
Lin Hao smiled dismissively. "Don't worry, Mother. Once or twice is just to shut the mouths of the world. It won't be that easy for them to cling to us like dog-skin plasters."
Due to the natural blood bond between father and daughter, it was indeed difficult to be too heartless on the surface. However, given the massive gap in their current statuses, it wasn't hard to shake off that family's harassment.
In fact, in Lin Hao's view, it was already unexpected that the family of four had endured for so long before coming to the door.
Seeing her daughter so composed, Madam Lin also let the matter go and asked about the progress regarding the headless female corpse. Upon hearing that the identity of the corpse had been discovered, she breathed a sigh of relief. "That's great. Finding the killer soon will settle one of my worries."
After the mother and daughter chatted for a while and visited the Old Madam, Lin Hao returned to the Prince's Manor.
The golden crow quietly climbed from the east to the west, looking as if it were about to sink. In a low-slung civilian house, the shouting of a woman could be heard.
"Not sick early, not sick late, but sick just as Hui'er is about to take his exams! You just can't stand to see this family doing well, can you?"
On a dilapidated wooden bed, a man with a sickly face opened his eyes, closed them again, and croaked, "Water—"
(End of Chapter)