Lady Jin, "The more than sixty taels of silver paid today for compensation are to come from you, older sister. The whole incident happened because you wanted to go out."
Lady Hu's eyes widened. Her dowry included a small shop, a dozen or so acres of land, and some old jewelry. She lived with her son in her eldest brother's house and had always paid her own expenses. The more than sixty taels of silver was a considerable sum, and today her son had also been buying fabric for a gift to present to his teacher.
Lady Hu, "Older sister, we don't have that much silver coin."
Her son needed funds for his studies. He could use his elder brother's books, but he had to buy his own ink, paper, brushes, and inkstone. The Academy's fees, on top of their own expenditures, made for no small sum every year. And with the added costs of her elder brother's birthday and various social obligations, she truly did not have the silver.
