Chapter 47 Is this a sign that the family line is about to end?
Shen Qingci's icy gaze fell on Liu Ruolan's terrified face. He recalled Liu Ruolan's ferocious laughter before her death in his past life, the unbearable, seductive moans that echoed from the main courtyard every night, and Liu Ruolan's repeated, vicious schemes...
New and old grudges, all transformed into a chilling killing intent in his eyes!
"My requirements are few, just two." Her voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable authority.
"First, write an apology! Write down in detail how you slandered my reputation in front of all the servants tonight, leaving no detail out! Then, personally post it in prominent places throughout the Marquis's mansion so that everyone can see what you, Lady of Yongning, have done!"
Liu Ruolan's eyes widened instantly, and she screamed, "Impossible! Shen Qingci! Are you only satisfied when you've made this family scandal known to everyone in the mansion, and everyone comes to laugh at me?"
These words sounded so familiar. Weren't they the very words Huo Yunzhan had just used to reprimand her?
Shen Qingci couldn't help but let out a very soft but extremely sarcastic laugh: "Madam Hou, you really have a bad memory! Have you forgotten who made a scene from the main courtyard all night, waking up most of the people in the Hou mansion? Who was shameless enough to broadcast your marital scandal to everyone?"
After she finished speaking, the smile on her face suddenly disappeared, and her eyes darkened: "If the Lady of the Marquis is unwilling to post an apology letter in the mansion, then... I will have no choice but to go directly to Shuntian Prefecture to appeal for justice. Speaking of which, His Majesty's imperial edict has given me great convenience."
“In the past, I was just an orphan. If I wanted to sue you, the Lady of the Marquis, I would have had to risk going to the palace gates to beat the Dengwen Drum and ask for justice.”
“Now, I, Shen Qingci, am a third-rank imperial consort personally appointed by His Majesty! If you wish to sue me, you can submit your petition directly to the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture!”
"You don't want the whole household to know? Fine, I'll go a step further and make sure... the whole city knows!"
Liu Ruolan felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her head!
No! No! Absolutely not!
Because she made Huo Yunzhan's "impotence" known throughout the mansion, Huo Yunzhan was already angry with her!
If this matter really becomes a huge scandal, Huo Yunzhan... Huo Yunzhan will definitely strangle her with his own hands!
Shen Qingci completely ignored the turmoil in her heart and continued calmly, "Secondly, tomorrow, I will have someone compile the list of my dowry when I married into the Huo family. I would also like to ask my sister-in-law to open the family's private treasury and return my dowry to me intact."
"Back then, not long after I married into the Huo family, a sudden and drastic change occurred in the family. I was exhausted and had no heart to manage my dowry. Considering that you, my elder sister-in-law, are the mistress of the Marquis's mansion and in charge of the household affairs, I entrusted all my dowry to you for safekeeping and put it into the mansion's private treasury on my mother's advice."
“Now that Yun Zhan has ‘died in battle,’ you, sister-in-law… are making things difficult for me at every turn, even at the cost of ruining my reputation.”
"In that case, it's better if I take back and manage this dowry myself."
Shen Qingci paused, his sharp gaze sweeping over Liu Ruolan's increasingly pale and ugly face, his tone carrying a hint of sarcasm: "Sister-in-law... could it be that you've already secretly used my dowry?"
Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Liu Ruolan immediately retorted in a shrill voice, "Why would I touch your dowry? I wouldn't even look at your meager dowry!"
Despite saying that, a barely perceptible hint of panic flashed in his eyes.
"That's good." Shen Qingci's lips curled up slightly, forming a meaningful arc. "It would be best if nothing was missing. If something is indeed missing or replaced, I hope that my sister-in-law can make up for it with something of equal value."
"Otherwise, if word got out that the daughter of the Prime Minister and the wife of the Marquis of Yongning was secretly embezzling her deceased brother's wife's meager dowry, it would probably be quite a topic of conversation!"
Shen Qingci waved his hand dismissively: "I'm not the kind of person who holds a grudge. If you can fulfill these two requests readily, then tonight's matter can be wiped clean, and I will let bygones be bygones."
"If... you can't do it, or you're outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant, then we'll have to have a proper discussion about it in the main hall of the Shuntian Prefecture."
After Shen Qingci finished speaking, he turned around and went back to his own courtyard without looking at Liu Ruolan's fascinating face or caring about the reactions of the people around him.
Wanqing hurriedly followed, and after entering the house and closing the door, she lowered her voice and said, "Miss! That Liu Ruolan went so far! You...you're just going to let her off so easily? That's too lenient on her!"
“Of course not.” Shen Qingci’s eyes flashed with a cold light, and a sinister smile appeared on his lips. “But on the surface, I will naturally appear to be magnanimous and understanding.”
"Only in this way can we form a stark and strong contrast with that arrogant, domineering, foolish and vicious Liu Ruolan."
"As for the methods I truly intend to use against her, how could I easily reveal them to others and give them leverage against me?"
Shen Qingci's lips curled up slightly, but his eyes instantly turned ruthless and cold: "Tomorrow, you will arrange for a few clever and reliable people to embellish and vividly describe the good show that happened at the Marquis's residence tonight!"
"It is imperative that more than half of the households in the entire imperial city know about the interesting stories of the Yongning Marquis's residence."
Wanqing's eyes lit up immediately, and she nodded emphatically in agreement: "Yes, yes, yes! Miss, please rest assured! This servant will definitely handle this matter perfectly!"
The next morning, before the rumors about the Yongning Marquis's residence could spread outside the mansion, they reached the ears of the old Marquis's wife.
After hearing her trusted nanny's report, the old lady Hou trembled with rage, slamming her teacup heavily on the table, splashing tea everywhere: "Liu Ruolan... has she gone mad? She's utterly foolish! Incomprehensible!"
Although she was furious at Liu Ruolan for making her private affairs known to the whole household and causing her to lose face, at this moment, she was more concerned about Huo Yunzhan's health.
That was her only hope!
"The physician...did the physician really say that?" The old lady's voice trembled slightly as she gripped the old nanny's hand tightly and asked anxiously.
The old woman nodded with a bitter face, her voice heavy: "Reporting to the old lady, it is absolutely true! With such a commotion over there last night, the family physician treated the patient in front of so many servants, there is no way it could be false!"
Old Madam Hou felt a sudden darkness before her eyes, her face instantly turning ashen white, her breathing unsteady: "Oh dear... what sins have I committed! Is the Huo family line about to end?!"
She took several deep breaths before she could barely steady herself: "Go! Go and summon the Marquis to me immediately!"
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