Chapter Forty-Nine: Showing No Mercy
Meng Jinyao sensed something was off about his tone and was somewhat puzzled.
When she looked up and their eyes met, a sudden realization struck her, and Meng Jinyao belatedly understood what outrageous things she had said.
She is guilty; she shouldn't have a mouth.
What was just said would be a compliment to an ordinary person, but to Gu Jingxi it felt like an insult. His ex-fiancée broke off the engagement only because Gu Jingxi had a hidden illness and didn't want to marry into the family and live a life of widowhood.
With a forced smile, she stammered, "Yes, yes."
Gu Jingxi then asked, "So, Madam, do you think it's lucky or unlucky that you married me?"
Meng Jinyao had recovered and put on an impeccable smile again: "It is naturally my good fortune to be able to marry my husband."
She has a hidden illness and won't take concubines to have a bunch of illegitimate children. She even gives her money to spend and helps her when she gets into trouble, which is pretty good. The only downside is that she gets a younger child as a bonus when she buys the older one, and the younger one is a rebellious son.
After hearing this, Gu Jingxi clicked his tongue softly and said with amusement, "This young lady lies without even thinking. What's so lucky about marrying me and living a life of widowhood?"
Meng Jinyao retorted, "There's more to marriage than just that kind of thing, what do you think, my husband?"
Gu Jingxi was slightly taken aback, then said, "But Madam can marry a person with normal health."
Meng Jinyao glanced at him, unusually frank: "If that had happened, I wouldn't have my current status and position. I would still be a pitiful little thing that could be bullied. But it's different after I married my husband. He can protect me. I am the daughter of a poor family, and my husband has a hidden illness. Neither of us should look down on the other."
Gu Jingxi was taken aback. Seeing her nonchalant attitude, he chuckled and said, "Madam is a rare person who is insightful and knows what she wants."
Meng Jinyao blinked but didn't reply, which was taken as tacit agreement. She was attracted to his status and valued his ability to protect her, which was true from the very beginning.
After a moment of silence, Gu Jingxi suddenly asked, "Since you have evidence, why didn't you ask for the dowry left by your mother-in-law back before?"
Meng Jinyao shook her head slightly: "Without a powerful backer, even if we get it back, we can't protect it. If the Sun family holds it in their hands, losses are inevitable. But if she gets greedy, it will ruin her reputation."
Gu Jingxi understood. The Yongchang Marquis's Mansion had declined, but judging from the attire of the masters in the mansion, it was only barely maintaining the dignity of a noble family. When a family is poor, they will want money. If the dowry were taken back, it would definitely be used against them. It was better to take it back when the woman got married. With her husband's family as a backer, the Yongchang Marquis's Mansion would not dare to embezzle the dowry.
Meng Jinyao added, "Thank you so much for today, my husband. If it weren't for you, I would have had to endure two slaps before I could leave."
Gu Jingxi said, "Madam, you don't need to be so polite."
-
Two days later.
The Yongchang Marquis's Mansion sent people to carry Zhou's dowry to the Changxing Marquis's Mansion. The servants of the Changxing Marquis's Mansion were dumbfounded. This was being carried like a dowry. The lady had already brought her dowry when she married into the family a few days ago. Why was she being given another one?
Meng Jinyao went to the front hall and saw that only the butler had come. She was not surprised. It would be strange if her father and stepmother dared to come out and embarrass themselves. She could only send a butler to lead the servants to deliver the things.
Upon seeing her, the steward cautiously said, "Young lady, the late madam's dowry is all here. Would you like to see it?"
Meng Jinyao sat down in the main seat and ordered, "Open all the boxes for me."
The butler was stunned and asked hesitantly, "Young lady, open them all?"
"What, you're afraid to open it and let me inspect it on the spot?"
Meng Jinyao frowned, and asked with a half-smile, "Could it be that the contents inside are inferior again, trying to get away with it? Or are you secretly keeping some good stuff and afraid to let me check it? Besides, if I accept it without checking it and then find something wrong, I'll have to swallow the bitter pill, since the items have passed through my hands."
Upon hearing this, the steward, though he hadn't secretly hidden anything, still felt flustered. With the mentality of "better to die than lose my teammate," he readily ordered the servants carrying the boxes: "Open all the boxes and let the young lady inspect them carefully."
If the Earl and his wife have kept something from returning to the eldest daughter, then he cannot be blamed. It was the eldest daughter who insisted on inspecting it on the spot. If he refuses, it means there must be something fishy going on.
Once all the boxes were opened, Meng Jinyao handed the dowry list to Qingqiu and Ningdong. One was the original, and the other was a copy. She asked them to check the items to see if everything was complete, and if anything was missing, she asked Chunliu to write it down.
As the butler watched them take inventory, cold sweat beaded on his forehead. He quickly wiped it away with his sleeve. He truly hadn't expected that the items were incomplete, with items frequently missing. He thought to himself that the Earl and Madam were really not afraid of losing face, still trying to withhold some of the things left by the eldest daughter's birth mother at this point.
Meanwhile, Meng Jinyao was not idle either. She flipped through the account books of the estates and shops that her mother had given as dowry, looking at the revenue.
In just two days, Sun didn't have time to falsify the accounts, so these are all genuine account books, and every transaction recorded is true. It seems that Sun never intended to return these things to her, so she never made any backup plans or kept an extra set of accounts.
She couldn't calculate the profits over the years in a short time, so she had to count the silver notes sent by Sun. To prevent Sun from accusing her of wrongdoing, she counted the total amount in the presence of the steward. She then had Chunliu write it down and had the steward, the witness, sign and affix his seal.
The steward was already sweating profusely, but he had no choice but to bite the bullet and sign the document. When he returned to the Yongchang Marquis's residence, the Marquis and his wife would surely vent their anger on him.
After a long time, Ningdong and Qingqiu had finished taking inventory.
Chunliu wrote down all the missing information and handed it to Meng Jinyao: "Madam, I have written it all down. This is all the missing information."
Meng Jinyao took the list and glanced at it, noticing that some items were missing. It was impossible for Sun to deliberately hide these items and not return them; it could only mean that these items were no longer there, either given away as gifts or pawned for money.
She had Chunliu make a copy, then called the housekeeper over and said, "Sign and put your fingerprint on these two forms."
The housekeeper responded, and once again, steeling herself, signed her name and pressed her fingerprint on it. One has to admire her level of caution. The Earl and his wife probably never expected that the eldest daughter would be counting the valuables on the spot.
Meng Jinyao nodded in satisfaction, handed one of the lists to the housekeeper, and said in a calm voice, "Go back and tell Madam Sun that if anything is missing, either return the items or give me the cash equivalent."
As she spoke, she pointed to the ledger beside her and continued, "As for whether the profits from the estate and shops match the money I've received so far, I'll have to carefully review the ledger and tally it up before I know. If there are any discrepancies, I'll send someone to notify the Sun family to return them."
The steward broke out in a cold sweat, quickly wiped his forehead with his sleeve, and replied, "Yes, Miss."
Meng Jinyao thought for a moment and added, "Tell me another thing: if you don't return it, we'll see you in court."
After she finished speaking, a meaningful smile appeared on her face. They had coveted her mother's dowry for so many years, so she would make Meng Dongyuan and Sun Shi taste the bitterness of having their efforts wasted, and they would have to return every single copper coin.
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