When Su Xuening mentioned 28,000 taels, Bihe went to rummage through the box for silver again, but it was clear that there wasn't that much silver left in the box.
Bihe took the entire box away, along with a jade ruyi scepter, a jade Guanyin statue, and two pieces of high-quality mutton fat jade from the Zhong family. Calculating their value, it should be worth about 28,000 taels of silver.
The young ladies weren't the type to take advantage of others; if it was theirs, they would take it; if it wasn't, they wouldn't take it.
With all the accounts settled, Su Xuening didn't want to waste any more words with them: "Alright, my mother's dowry has been settled, and the eldest and second branches of the Su family are now completely separated. It's getting late, so if Second Uncle and Second Aunt don't have anywhere to go, they can stay at the General's Mansion for another night. If they don't want to stay, they can do as they please."
Looking at her belongings that had been completely looted and her dowry almost gone, Madam Zhong sat on the ground and wailed again: "Su Xuening, you are a robber! My dowry, my money, it's all gone!"
Crying and shouting, Zhong complained to Cen Jinfeng again: "Lord Cen, you are the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, you must do justice for me! You saw with your own eyes how Su Xuening stole my dowry and my money! You must punish her and put her in jail!"
Zhong's cries gave Cen Jinfeng a headache: "Second Madam Su, you were the one who misappropriated First Madam Su's dowry first. If you really want to be punished, there should be a first-come, first-served order. Is Second Madam Su really planning to take this to court?"
These words stunned Zhong Shi. Remembering what Cen Jinfeng had just said about having to pay compensation and go to jail, Zhong Shi dared not mention suing the authorities. She could only cry out in despair, "This is outrageous! This is truly outrageous! The Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture colluded with Su Xuening, the two of them conspired to swindle my money!"
At this moment, Madam Zhong was nothing like an official's wife; she was nothing more than a shrew who threw a tantrum and acted unruly.
Cen Jinfeng, his face grim, coldly rebuked, "Second Madam Su, please watch your words. Miss Su may not sue you for using Madam Su's dowry, but I can prosecute you for insulting an official of the court!"
Cen Jinfeng's sudden display of official authority startled Zhong Shi once again, and she hesitated to let the tears fall from her eyes.
"Go back, don't embarrass yourself here." Su Renyi glanced at Zhong Shi with disdain, then left as if he didn't care about anything else.
When Su Renyi left, the concubines and illegitimate children of the second wife all took back their belongings and followed him.
Although the young lady's ransacking of the house caused quite a stir, she was still quite upright and didn't touch any of their belongings, so those things still belong to them.
Su Feiling also stood up, glancing coldly at Zhong Shi on the ground: "Stop howling, it's no use."
After saying that, he glanced at Green Lotus briefly, then turned and left.
Seeing that Su Renyi and Su Feiling had left, Madam Zhong knew that there was no use in making a fuss anymore, so she stopped. She got up and asked Granny Cai, Zishu, and Cuique to pack up her remaining dowry and belongings before leaving as well.
Ding Shan also packed up and took away the rest of Su Renyi's belongings.
After everyone from the second branch of the family left, Su Xuening instructed Bihe and Lülian: "Put all these things into the storeroom, check them one by one, and transcribe the gift list."
"Yes," the two replied, and had the guards carry the items to the storeroom.
The guards, servants, and maids were all very busy, but Su Xuening was the only one who was free.
"Thank you very much, Lord Cen." Su Xuening said to Cen Jinfeng.
Cen Jinfeng dared not take credit: "I did nothing, Miss Su, please don't be so polite."
Then, Cen Jinfeng brought up the important matter: "Regarding the disappearance of Madam Su, I have some questions for Miss Su."
"Please speak." Su Xuening became serious when the topic of her mother's disappearance came up.
Although she didn't expect Cen Jinfeng to find his mother, what if he did?
"I wonder when Madam Su disappeared?" Cen Jinfeng asked, while taking out bamboo slips to record the information, as if he were really serious.
Three months ago.
"Did anything strange happen before she disappeared? Did Madam Su leave any words behind?"
Su Xuening thought about it carefully and shook her head, saying, "No, my mother didn't leave anything behind; she just disappeared suddenly."
After her mother disappeared, she searched for her mother without finding a single clue.
In her previous life, she always believed that her mother had been murdered, until she died when she learned that her mother had been imprisoned by Su Renyi.
Cen Jinfeng frowned, then suddenly asked, "Miss Su, who do you think is involved in Madam Su's disappearance?"
Su Xuening narrowed her eyes and said coldly, "Lord Cen has also seen the situation of the Su family. I have to suspect that my mother's disappearance is related to the second branch of the Su family, especially my second uncle, Su Renyi."
Cen Jinfeng's pupils contracted slightly, and he promised, "Miss Su, rest assured, I will definitely investigate this matter to the end."
Su Xuening looked intently at Cen Jinfeng: "Thank you for your trouble, Lord Cen."
As for the second branch of the family, since the Emperor had not yet bestowed any rewards upon the Yong'an Marquis's residence, and Su Renyi had no substantial assets, and the Zhong family had lost all their good houses, the people of this branch of the family had nowhere to go for the time being.
Even the maids and servants from the second branch of the family who were kicked out still have nowhere to be placed.
Su Renyi frowned and glanced at Zhong Shi, who was still crying and cursing, and said impatiently, "Tomorrow I will go to the palace to ask Consort Su for a house. I will stay here for one more night tonight."
After finishing his sentence, Su Renyi didn't want to look at Zhong Shi any longer and went to look at Jinzhu.
Madam Zhong was in no mood to care about Su Renyi's affairs. Wiping away her tears, she continued to cry and curse: "That bastard child born to Su Xuening stole so much of our money. She'll die a horrible death sooner or later!"
Su Feiling didn't want to listen to her grumbling. Just thinking about how Su Linyuan had squandered all her dowry made her too lazy to pay any attention to her.
Now, both the second branch of the Su family and the Yong'an Marquis's mansion are in complete chaos. She must marry Xuan Yuan Yu as soon as possible to escape this mess.
Su Feiling thought of her plan and wanted Zi Shu to go find Lü Lian.
Just as Su Feiling was thinking of Lü Lian, she saw Lü Lian appear outside the door.
Su Feiling went out immediately.
The two went into the shadows, and Green Lotus secretly gave the red plum blossom blood jade hairpin to Su Feiling.
Su Feiling naturally recognized the red plum blossom jade hairpin and was immediately overjoyed: "Why did you take this out?"
Thinking that she was dissatisfied, Green Lotus quickly explained, "This is Miss's personal item. I noticed that Miss placed it on the bottom shelf of the jewelry box, so it must not be used often. Miss wouldn't notice if it were missing. If Second Miss feels uncomfortable, then I will go back and replace it for you."
As Green Lotus spoke, she was about to take back the red plum blossom blood jade hairpin.
"No need." Su Feiling avoided the question, staring at the red plum blossom jade hairpin, a smug and wicked smile curling at the corner of her lips.
It's truly heaven's help; this red plum blossom jade hairpin is better than anything else!
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