Chapter 27 Sixty Thousand Taels

After hearing Xu Qingyan's complaints, the Duke's wife, who was sitting nearby, looked at the Duke with disdain, subconsciously moved herself to the side, and silently moved away from him.

When the Duke saw the Duke's wife's little actions, he thought sadly: Wuuuu... My lady has begun to dislike me!

The Duke looked at Liu Rumeng who was about to leave and said sternly: "Wait, Madam Liu, you should be confined to your house for three months. Even if you are released after three months, you are not allowed to leave the house without my order!"

The Duke no longer cared whether Xu Qingyue's inner complaints were true or not. After all, these things made him feel uncomfortable. He was worried that Liu Rumeng would really do something like what Xu Qingyan said in the future, so he increased her punishment.

When Liu Rumeng heard that the Duke had extended her house arrest, her fingernails almost pinched her palms until they bled. She really ended up losing more than she gained today!

I didn't expect that the Duke and his men would actually protect Xu Qingyan so much. I just questioned her a few times, but she punished me so severely!

However, she did not dare to refute and could only answer yes honestly.

After returning to her own courtyard, Liu Rumeng took out her anger on the maid beside her and pinched her until her body was covered with red marks.

On the other hand, Pei Jingchuan quickly investigated the roof collapse of Zuijianglou and found out that it was done by Fang Rou in collusion with the waiters of the restaurant.

Overnight, Fang Rou went from being the savior of the young master of the Duke's Mansion to a prisoner.

Originally, Pei Jingchuan wanted to interrogate Fang Rou and get her to confess the real culprit behind the incident and to give out Pei Jingyuan.

Unexpectedly, at the last moment of the interrogation, Fang Rou bit the poison hidden in her teeth and committed suicide.

When Pei Jingyuan learned of Fang Rou's death, he was furious. He couldn't understand why he failed again and again. After thinking about it, he finally attributed the reason to Xu Qingyan.

If Xu Qingyan hadn't run to the palace to find Pei Jingchuan in the middle of the night and stopped Pei Jingchuan from bringing Fang Rou back to the mansion the next day, Fang Rou might have succeeded by now. In the end, it was Xu Qingyan who ruined her plan.

After Pei Jingyuan's anger, he thought of Liu Rumeng's words to him, saying that he would go to the Duke's wife to discuss the matter of taking a concubine in the next two days. So, Pei Jingyuan got up and went to Liu Rumeng's yard to inquire about the progress.

"Mother, what did you say? Father has put you under house arrest?" Pei Jingyuan was shocked when he learned that Liu Rumeng was under house arrest by the Duke.

Thinking of what happened that day, Liu Rumeng still couldn't understand it until now: "I didn't expect that the Duke and his men would like Xu Qingyan so much. I don't know how she gained the Duke and his men's trust. That day, I just mentioned it, and the Duke didn't even ask any questions, and just started to punish me."

After listening to this, Pei Jingyuan took a deep breath and said: "Mom, it seems that Xu Qingyan is really weird! Whenever something happens, as long as she shows up, we will never succeed!"

"You are right. We have suffered too much loss recently because of her. I think we should ignore her for now. The prince has been poisoned anyway, and he will die sooner or later."

Liu Rumeng took a sip of water and continued: "Although the poison has been stopped, it has already penetrated deep into the bone marrow. The toxicity will just take effect more slowly. We should wait a little longer. Now, we should focus our energy on other things. You still have to put some effort into the Third Prince of Daxia." Liu Rumeng had already seen Xu Qingyan's evil energy and planned to avoid her for the time being and use her energy on other things first.

Hearing Liu Rumeng mention the Third Prince, Pei Jingyuan couldn't help but frown again and said: "Mother, the Third Prince... has encountered some troubles recently. He is in charge of disaster relief in Huizhou and is being audited by the Emperor's people. He is in urgent need of money to fill this hole. Moreover, the Third Prince is now raising money from his staff and ministers who support him! If I can come up with some money at this time, I'm sure I will be able to get a different look from the Third Prince. But now, we are a little tight on money..."

"How much silver do you need?" Liu Rumeng looked at Pei Jingyuan and asked directly.

"Almost 60,000 taels. The Third Prince has already raised almost half of the money, and now he's anxious about the remaining money." Pei Jingyuan gestured to Liu Rumeng with his hand.

Liu Rumeng took a deep breath and said, "So much more? Does that mean we need to raise at least 20,000 taels? We have other expenses on our side and cannot use our savings first. Have you asked Xu Qingyue?"

"Qingyue, if her dowry had not been replaced, it would have been at least 60,000 taels of silver. But now that she doesn't have that dowry, she doesn't have much silver." Pei Jingyuan couldn't help but sighed when he thought of this.

The dowry that the Xu family prepared for Xu Qingyan at that time was only 600 taels, and now it has been given to Xu Qingyue, which means that Xu Qingyue only has 600 taels! Therefore, when they couldn't get the dowry back, they were so furious.

When Liu Rumeng heard what Pei Jingyuan said, she felt extremely heartbroken, but at the same time she also blamed Xu Qingyue for being useless and not being able to get her dowry back.

But after complaining, she thought again: since the Xu family could give Xu Qingyue a dowry of 60,000 taels, they must have the financial strength. Why not ask them for more?

So, she looked up at Pei Jingyuan and said, "Since Xu Qingyue is your wife now, she should share your worries and solve your problems. Now that she can't get her dowry back, that's her problem. She married you without a dowry, so it's her Xu family who is in the wrong. This time, you and her go back to the Xu family again and see if you can get the Xu family to give Xu Qingyue another dowry of the same amount!"

"Mom, will this... work?" Pei Jingyuan asked in surprise after hearing Liu Rumeng's words.

But he never thought that he could ask the Xu family for a dowry.

"How can you know if this will work if you don't try it? If the Xu family's parents love their daughter, they definitely want their daughter to live a good life in her husband's family. They should be more sensible."

"Okay, then I'll go talk to Qingyue now." After Liu Rumeng's instigation, Pei Jingyuan was shaken and immediately got up to find Xu Qingyue.

——Cuiyingxuan——

"What did you say? You want me to ask my parents for a dowry again?" When Xu Qingyue heard what Pei Jingyuan said, she was so surprised that she dropped the grapes in her hand.

Xu Qingyue's face turned very ugly, and she said: "That won't do. Sixty thousand taels is not a small amount! What's more, I have a younger brother at home, and he will need a lot of money for future expenses. How can I have that much money now?"

When Pei Jingyuan heard Xu Qingyue mention his younger brother, he suddenly felt that Xu Qingyue only had his mother's family in her heart, and his face began to look a little uneasy.

So, Pei Jingyuan said coldly: "Your brother needs money, and you know how to consider him. And I am your husband. Now that I am in urgent need of money, shouldn't you consider me? At that time, when Xu Qingyan brought the 60,000 taels of dowry to marry big brother, what about you? Not only did you only have the mere 600 taels of dowry, but you also made me suffer the disgust and suspicion of big brother because of you!"

"Pei Jingyuan, are you blaming me now?" Xu Qingyue looked at him sadly after hearing Pei Jingyuan's words.

Pei Jingyuan was very angry at the moment, and he just continued to talk to himself: "Now, I just need these tens of thousands of taels of silver to win the favor of the third prince. You don't think about how to solve my problems, but only worry about your brother's future. Your brother is still young and doesn't need much money. Can't you ask your parents for me? I am your husband, and you can only be well if I am well!"

"This..." Xu Qingyue seemed to be somewhat persuaded by Pei Jingyuan.

Xu Qingyue thought: As long as he has this silver, Pei Jingyuan will be able to get the favor of the Third Prince. If he can get close to the Third Prince, it will be a great help to his future.

Xu Qingyue sat on the chair and thought for a moment. After struggling for a while, she finally nodded and agreed to Pei Jingyuan's suggestion: "Tomorrow, we will go back to the Xu Mansion, and I will talk to my mother to see if it will work."

When Pei Jingyuan saw that Xu Qingyue agreed, he smiled and said, "Then I'll stay here. Thank you, Madam."