Song Wanning was counting her dowry in the yard.
At first, the general's family thought that since she was marrying into a noble family, they would definitely prepare a large dowry to avoid being looked down upon. Song Wanning's father and brother even added to her dowry, and now it seems that the amount of her dowry is one of the largest in the capital.
In this life, she didn't spend much of her dowry to fill the holes in the Marquis' Mansion, so fortunately, the dowry was not touched much.
Song Wanning was feeling relieved. She was just planning to use her dowry to start some business and build some personal property when she saw Cai Que running in from outside the courtyard, hurriedly saying, "Second Madam, something terrible has happened. Concubine Cui, the housekeeper of the west courtyard, has been losing money on her rouge shop and has been secretly using Zhonggong's money to cover the losses. Recently, seeing that Zhonggong's money is running low, she's even planning to take over the farm. The old ancestor has sent someone to tell us to go to Rongfu Hall to talk and deal with it."
Song Wanning had two personal maids, Caique and Zhuque. Zhuque's mother was seriously ill, so she took a two-week leave. Zhuque, who had just returned from her parents' home two days ago, heard this and hurried out from the inner room. Looking at Caique, she asked, "How could Aunt Cui be so bold? This was done in secret. How did they find out?"
"What a coincidence," Cai Que said with a hint of gloating in her eyes. "Madam Cheng from the main house went out to buy something and saw Concubine Cui sneaking into the pawnshop. Madam Cheng followed her and caught her red-handed selling land. Selling land is a serious crime. I want to see how Master Bai will try to excuse Concubine Cui."
Song Wanning's expression was calm, not at all surprised. She simply said, "Since the ancestor has spoken, let's go and take a look."
When Song Wanning led the maid to Rongfu Hall, Cui Xiaoxiao was kneeling on the ground with her head down, and Wen Tingbai beside her was also very disappointed.
The old lady originally doted on Wen Tingbo, so she also doted on Cui Xiaoxiao, the girl Wen Tingbo liked. Who would have thought that Cui Xiaoxiao would cause so many troubles.
The old lady's face was filled with anger. She scolded coldly, "Tell me! How much did you secretly sell in total?"
Cui Xiaoxiao was also scared at the moment, and hurriedly explained, "Answering the ancestors, I, I have never secretly sold land... This is the first time I was discovered, and there have been no other cases."
"All our farms and shops, even every ounce of silver spent, are recorded in the books. I advise the concubine of Bo'er's family not to lie." Fei Biyun looked at Cui Xiaoxiao coldly and said lightly, "You have made such a serious mistake now. If you are found out and secretly spend other money, knowing your mistake and not correcting it will be an even greater crime."
"I...I..." Cui Xiaoxiao looked at Fei Biyun and cried, "Why is it that Grandma Cheng is so aggressive? I just made a mistake and it didn't cause any serious harm. Please forgive me when you can."
Fei Biyun was the last to accept this. She just looked at Xiao Si outside and said, "Have someone bring up the account books so we can check them in class."
Seeing Xiao Si at the door about to pick up the account book, Cui Xiaoxiao looked at Wen Tingbo for help, but he ignored her completely. She could only cry, "I... I also moved some money to make a few clothes."
"How much is a little silver?" Fei Biyun looked straight at Cui Xiaoxiao, with no intention of letting her go.
Cui Xiaoxiao hesitated for a long time before finally saying, "I took five hundred taels of silver from the Duke to make clothes."
Fei Biyun had already learned all the details about her rouge shop, so she asked, "Your rouge shop still owes a lot of money. How much has it embezzled?"
"I moved two thousand taels of silver... and now I still owe one thousand six hundred taels..." Cui Xiaoxiao's lips turned pale when she said this.
"Bitch!" Wen Tingbo, who was standing aside, couldn't help it anymore and stepped forward to slap Cui Xiaoxiao in the face.
Cui Xiaoxiao fell to the ground, looking at the furious Wen Tingbo, crying even harder, and said bitterly, "A few days ago, you said you would listen to me, but now you beat and scold me when I make a mistake. I am really blind."
"How much money you owe has nothing to do with our Marquis' Mansion. I'm afraid you'll have to figure it out yourself." Fei Biyun looked at Cui Xiaoxiao, who was crying with tears in her eyes, without any expression on her face.
Fei Biyun fixed her gaze on Wen Tingbai and said softly, "Second brother, now that the concubine in your courtyard has done such a thing and secretly embezzled so much money from the Duke, don't you have to make up for it?"
Wen Tingbai stood there gasping for breath. The silver he had saved during his three years away was only one thousand taels, and he had given it all to Cui Xiaoxiao. How could he have any silver left to pay off his debts?
"How could Tingbai bring a vicious woman like you into the house?" The old lady sitting above almost gasped for breath and said sternly, "First, take the housekeeper's key from her hand and give her twenty lashes of the cane and kick her out. No matter who picks her up outside, it will be her good fortune."
When Cui Xiaoxiao heard that she was going to be beaten with a stick and kicked out, she finally panicked. She knelt on the ground and moved to Wen Tingbo's legs, pulling Wen Tingbo's trouser legs and crying, "Tingbo, I know I was wrong. Tingbo, please save me. You said before that you would love me no matter what. You said that you would treat me well no matter what. Please forgive me this time. I was just blinded by lard for a moment."
Cui Xiaoxiao said, holding onto Wen Tingbo's trouser leg tightly, unwilling to let go, tears streaming down her face. "Tingbo, do you remember when we first met, you were injured and I found you in the woods and brought you home to take good care of you? Do you still remember? You told me back then that you would treat me well for the rest of your life. If you didn't want me anymore, why did you bring me back?"
After hearing what Cui Xiaoxiao said, Wen Tingbai's eyes finally showed some emotion. He looked at the old lady above and said, "Grandfather, Xiaoxiao was just confused for a moment. Fortunately, she hasn't made a big mistake yet. She will definitely repent in the future. Please forgive her this time."
"Hmph, if you hadn't protected her time and time again, this disaster wouldn't have happened. You're still protecting her now, are you trying to bury our entire family with her?"
The old lady no longer had the same fondness for Cui Xiaoxiao as before. When she heard that she had brought shame and ruin to Wen Tingbo, and that he had only been given a seventh-rank official title, she felt that she was a beauty who brought disaster. "I told you from the beginning that a woman who wasn't from a decent family couldn't be taken into the family."
The old lady said, looking at Song Wanning, and sternly accused her, "I'm old, dizzy and confused, and I don't have a basis for doing things. Wanning is the same, taking care of such a big family, but she didn't even remind me. Tingbai is your husband, and you don't know how to persuade him, you just spoil him!"
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