第五十四回 珍品分输付资则老母 债台暗筑济款是夫人 (Chapter Fifty-Four: The Mother's Precious Hoard Drained to Settle Debts; The Wife's Covert Relief Inflates the Debt Mountain)

Since his marriage to Leng Qingqiu, Jin Yanxi had been living extravagantly, and his finances were deteriorating. Mrs. Jin, concerned upon hearing of her son's straitened circumstances, summoned Yanxi to her room.

Mrs. Jin said, "After your father's death, our family income has greatly diminished. You should practice more economy. I am aware of your recent hardships. Here are some personal savings. Use them to cover your needs." With that, she produced a brocade box, inside which were gold and silver jewelry and a sum of banknotes.

Yanxi accepted the brocade box with secret delight and promptly expressed his thanks. However, his bad habits were hard to break. He continued to squander money outside and secretly incurred many more debts.

Creditors came knocking repeatedly to demand payment, but Yanxi avoided meeting them. Upon learning of this, Leng Qingqiu grew anxious in private. She had no choice but to pawn her dowry jewelry to repay some of the debts on his behalf.

Leng Qingqiu advised Yanxi, "Mother's resources are limited. With your extravagant spending, debts are piling up high. How will you settle them in the future?" Yanxi replied impatiently, "Why trouble yourself with such trivial matters? I have my own plans."

Leng Qingqiu could do nothing but shed tears in secret. She feared that if Mrs. Jin found out, it would disrupt family harmony, so she endured in silence. Mrs. Jin, seeing that Yanxi seemed somewhat steadier recently, thought he had mended his ways and felt slightly relieved.

One day, Yanxi again asked Leng Qingqiu for money. Leng Qingqiu said, "I am penniless. My dowry is nearly all sold off. I truly have no means to raise funds." Yanxi angrily retorted, "As my wife, you ought to share my burdens. How can you refuse like this?"

After arguing for a while, Leng Qingqiu softened her heart and took out her last remaining personal savings. Yet she knew well that this was merely drinking poison to quench thirst-no sustainable solution at all.

Mrs. Jin occasionally heard rumors and inquired about Yanxi's financial situation. Yanxi always evaded with clever words. Although Mrs. Jin harbored doubts, she was unwilling to probe deeper, merely hoping her son would turn back from the wrong path.

By now, Mrs. Jin's personal savings had been completely drained, while Yanxi's debts were secretly mounting higher. Leng Qingqiu could only struggle to manage, her heart filled with bitterness that she had no one to confide in.