Chapter 16: The Trap
Jiang Qingning's smile didn't reach his eyes, which were filled with indifference: "Zi Fu, are you a witness?"
Zi Fu shuddered and looked up, catching Jiang Qingning's eye. She trembled all over and fell to her knees with a thud.
"Miss, Zi Fu knows that you have been kind to her for the past eight years, but one should be sincere. You cannot hurt the old lady's feelings and steal the property in the mansion!"
"For so many years, you have been completely indifferent to the affairs of the mansion, and you were so cruel as to punish even your own children. Three months after your return, you have already made the old lady sick."
"I have been with you for eighteen years. Even Zi Fu, a servant, cannot stand your behavior. Please accept the unpacking and inspection and return all the treasures of the Anping Marquis' Mansion one by one!"
Zi Fu knelt on the ground with a thud and kowtowed three times to Jiang Qingning. Her voice was tearful and her words were full of wisdom.
"Could it be that Jiang Qingning really stole the property of the Anping Marquis' Mansion?"
"That's impossible. Her wedding was even more grand than this one."
The people's harsh discussions reached Jiang Qingning's ears.
The speaker may not have intended it, but the listener may have taken it to heart. Zi Su was so angry that she turned around and argued with everyone.
"That's all nonsense! That's all nonsense! Our young lady never did that. It's the Anping Marquis's Mansion that's being unkind and unjust!"
"Perilla, there's no need to argue. The innocent will be innocent."
Jiang Qingning spoke calmly. She looked at the old lady without giving Zi Fu any glances.
"If I let you open the box and inspect it, can the old lady agree to one condition of mine?"
"As long as you return all the treasures of our Anping Marquis' Mansion, I will even agree to let you come back and be my concubine!" The old lady waved her sleeves and said loudly.
"There's no need to be a concubine. The children of our Jiang family never allow themselves to be lowly and become a laughing stock."
Jiang Qingning glanced at Zi Fu, then looked at the servants behind him and said coldly, "Unpack the boxes and open them one by one to check!"
"Mother? What are you doing?"
The old lady was in a trance and felt as if she heard Xun Chen's voice.
She looked back, but her view was blocked by a large moving box, which frightened her so much that she took a few steps back.
Bai Qingyi stepped forward with concern and wiped his sweat: "Cousin, why are you moving boxes?"
Xun Chen frowned and dodged her hand, gritted his teeth and endured it, saying: "Mother, cousin, please make way for me first. I will put the box back on the carriage."
"Hey, son, you..."
The old lady was stunned. She took a step forward, but only touched Xun Chen's sleeve.
She was deeply shocked. Could it be true, as Qingyi said, that Chen'er was still being bewitched by that enchantress Bai Jiang Qingning, intending to endanger the entire Anping Marquis's family?!
No, absolutely not!
As the old lady of the Anping Marquis's Mansion, she would never allow this to happen!
She wanted to take back what she had just said. Even if Jiang Qingning had to work as a foot-washing maid in the Anping Marquis's mansion, she would never allow such a thing to happen!
"Son, what are you doing? How can you, the dignified Earl of Anping, do the work of a servant? Jiang Qingning must have bewitched you, right?"
The old lady stepped forward with concern and quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off Xun Chen's face.
It's only April, and he's sweating so much. How long has he been working? The old lady feels very distressed.
"Mother, please move aside first." Xun Chen frowned, his hands trembled slightly, and veins bulged on his forehead.
The old lady met Xun Chen's forbearing gaze blankly. She had something to ask, but was pulled back by the nanny.
Xun Chen was able to step forward and put the box on the car, and the moment it dropped it, the entire car shook.
"Xun Jiang, are you ready?"
Xun Chen turned around and looked at Jiang Qingning, and was stunned by the scene around him.
He fixed his gaze on Zi Fu: "What are all these people doing? Aren't you Jiang Qingning's maid? Why are you kneeling on the ground?"
"And mother, aren't you too ill to get out of bed?" Xun Chen looked at her and asked with concern.
Jiang Qingning smiled slightly, walked in front of Xun Chen, and a mocking smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Thanks to the hospitality of the Anping Marquis' Mansion, Qingning will now open all the dowry boxes for the old lady to check to see if anyone has stolen any of the Anping Marquis' Mansion's treasures."
"My son, Jiang Qingning was personally accused by her maid Zi Fu, who came with her as a dowry, of stealing the treasures from the mansion."
"Mother couldn't bear to see you being deceived, so she rushed over to stop you and asked her to open the box for inspection. Mother will never let you become a laughing stock."
The old lady avoided Jiang Qingning's gaze, and her tone was decisive as if she was sacrificing her relatives for the sake of justice, but in fact she was secretly hinting to Xun Chen to leave the dowry.
Xun Chen was such a smart man, and he was also familiar with his biological mother.
The old lady's evasive look made Xun Chen guess the whole story.
"Mother, you?!"
Xun Chen's face turned pale and blue.
He never imagined that the first slap in the face he received three months after returning to Beijing would be given by his own biological mother.
"Lord Anping, aren't you going to open the box and check?" Jiang Qingning asked with a smile, calling Xun Chen's attention back.
The old lady hurried forward and grabbed Xun Chen's wrist: "Chen'er, Jiang Qingning's maid has personally identified it. She definitely hid it. All you need to do is give the order!"
"Jiang Qingning's dowry is priceless. You weren't in the capital when they got married, so you didn't see the grand ceremony of the wedding. If we just keep half of it, the family will have no worries about food and clothing for the next few decades!"
The old lady was extremely anxious and wished she could speak on behalf of Xun Chen.
But a woman must obey her husband after marriage and her son after her husband's death. Deep down, the old lady was still a little afraid of her own son.
"Mother, how did you become so snobbish?" Xun Chen couldn't believe it.
Jiang Qingning said impatiently: "Mr. Anping, do you want to check?"
Xun Chen turned his head to look at her. Jiang Qingning stood there with an indifferent expression from beginning to end, upright and fearless.
"Cousin, my aunt is also thinking about the expenses of the mansion. Please don't blame me.
My aunt dragged her sick body to stop us, but it was all for the livelihood of the family. My cousin is a saint, but even saints need to eat and drink."
Bai Qingyi stepped forward and tried to dissuade Xun Chen urgently.
"Cousin, you too?" Xun Chen couldn't believe it.
"Cousin!" Bai Qingyi's eyes were filled with tears and she looked anxious, her eyes full of excitement for Xun Chen.
Xun Chen was shaken. Although he was a man, he knew that the Bo Mansion now relied on only him and it was really difficult for them to make a living.
But if he was asked to withhold Jiang Qingning's dowry and use her money to live a wealthy life, Xun Chen couldn't do it.
If he did that, Jiang Qingning's mocking gaze would follow him for the rest of his life.
"It's okay. If Anping Bo wants to investigate, then of course it's fine. I have the dowry list in my hand anyway."
"But we're being unfair. It's inevitable that someone might be involved. Why don't we wait until the Tongzhi arrives and have him help investigate fairly and openly?"
Jiang Qingning stepped forward and took out the prepared dowry book from her sleeve.
Xun Chen's brows jumped suddenly, and he instantly thought of the scene when Zi Su was outside the gate of Qingyi Courtyard, counting the dowry one by one and passing through many checkpoints.
"You vicious woman!" Xun Chen's face flushed with shame, and he looked at Jiang Qingning with gritted teeth.
It turned out that Jiang Qingning had anticipated all of this going out today because he knew his mother would try to stop him, so he deliberately set a trap and waited for them to take the bait!
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