Chapter 312: Isn’t it just an empty shell?
"Ah!" Ye Mingyan cried out in fright.
Zhai Ruyu hurried forward, put her arms around Ye Mingyan's waist and pulled her forward.
Ye Mingyan threw herself directly into Zhai Ruyu's arms.
An elegant fragrance, accompanied by the scent of green lotus, hit Zhai Ruyu's nose.
Zhai Ruyu felt dizzy and felt that the beauty Ruyu was in his arms and he almost got drunk.
Ye Mingyan seemed to be frightened silly. After a moment, he pushed Zhai Ruyu away and left Zhai Ruyu's arms.
"Thank you very much, Prince Zhai. Mingyan will take his leave..."
Ye Mingyan's face flushed red, and she was about to run away with her skirt lifted up.
Zhai Ruyu felt her arms empty and she came back to her senses.
He grabbed Ye Mingyan's arm.
"Ming Yan, I am sincere to you! As long as you follow me, I will treat you well!" Zhai Ruyu said anxiously.
Ye Mingyan's expression straightened as she asked, "What does Prince Zhai mean by this? Could it be that he wants Mingyan to be a concubine or a maid? Or perhaps a concubine who is not to be seen by others?"
"I..." Zhai Ruyu hesitated.
Ye Mingyan's eyes immediately turned red.
"Prince Zhai, although the Ye family is not well-known, there is no reason for a girl from the Ye family to be someone's concubine!"
When Ye Mingyan said this, he showed an expression of humiliation.
He added, "Not to mention... not to mention becoming someone's concubine!"
"Mingyan, I absolutely have no intention of letting you become my mistress." Zhai Ruyu defended hurriedly.
"So what? Do you want me to be your concubine?" Ye Mingyan asked with red eyes.
Zhai Ruyu, “…”
Considering the Ye family's status, she could only be his concubine.
Ye Mingyan seemed to understand what Zhai Ruyu meant, and a hint of anger appeared on his face.
"I've already said that no girl from our Ye family will ever become a concubine!"
When Zhai Ruyu saw Ye Mingyan's angry look, she found it even more difficult to control herself.
It is really unfair for such a noble woman to be a concubine!
"I will marry you as my co-wife!" Zhai Ruyu blurted out.
Ye Mingyan was stunned.
Then, he lowered his eyes, hiding the light in his eyes.
**
It was already night when Su Laoer returned from Wu's house.
Even at this moment, his mind was still confused and he couldn't believe that such a living person was gone just like that.
Then, he thought of the little girl who had cried until her voice was hoarse.
I feel more and more uncomfortable.
Little Niuniu is even younger than her sister, but she lost her father...
Su Laoer sighed deeply, and when he looked up, he saw a dim yellow light coming through the window of Yuelai Inn.
Su Laoer frowned.
The people from the Duke of England's mansion live in Yuelai Inn.
It would be better for these people to leave Fengqi County as soon as possible to avoid causing trouble for themselves.
Little did they know that in Yuelai Inn, the second master of the Lin family was standing in front of the old lady's bed with a hesitant expression.
Mother Wang and Mother Li stood in the corner with their hands hanging down, silent as a mouse.
"Mom, Dad asked today... about my aunt's dowry list."
Mr. Lin said this and glanced at Mother Wang.
Mother Wang quickly said, "Duke, no, the master asked me."
Mother Wang stuttered and changed her words.
After all, calling him Duke now would not be seen as hurting the master's feelings.
“Ahh…Ah…”
The old lady uttered a few unclear characters.
Mother Wang quickly explained to Mr. Lin.
"The old lady asked why?"
Second Master Lin said with a touch of sorrow, "Dad wants to give Big Sister some of my aunt's dowry, but you gave most of it to Second Sister. Now Dad wants to return it to Big Sister, but what can he give?"
Although Mr. Lin Erye did not explicitly accuse or complain, he brought it out in his tone.
“Ahh…Ahh…”
As soon as Mr. Lin Er finished speaking, the old lady's eyes widened and her expression became excited.
Mother Wang took a look at the old lady's appearance and felt a little worried, fearing that the old lady's condition would worsen in the next moment.
However, in the current situation, if the master insists on doing so, the mansion will probably suffer serious damage.
After all, the dowry has already been given to the second girl and cannot be taken back.
In this case, the only option is to use the property in the mansion to compensate the eldest girl.
But how generous was the eldest lady’s dowry back then?
Mother Wang was worried, and Master Lin was even more worried.
He has been in charge of the Duke's Mansion's business over the years.
Of course, he knows better than anyone how much assets the family has.
My father's title was stripped and his official position was reduced, and our family was already in a precarious situation.
If all the dowry that my aunt gave back then was returned to my eldest sister, wouldn't the huge Lin Mansion become an empty shell?
When Mr. Lin thought about this, he felt like crying but had no tears.
"Second brother, how could you tell mother these things?"
As the third master of the Lin family walked in, he happened to hear what his second brother said and couldn't help but complain.
Upon hearing this, Second Master Lin said angrily, "Then what do you say we should do? Dad wants to sell off the property to compensate Big Sister, but there are hundreds of people in the mansion. What are they going to eat and drink in the future?"
"A small family with two acres of thin land can still make a living. Can't the Lin family live in poverty?" Third Master Lin said righteously: "What the aunt left behind should be given to the eldest sister. Moreover, the eldest sister has suffered so much over the years. Even if the Lin family sells all their property to compensate the eldest sister, it is only natural!"
"Okay! You're all right!" Master Lin said angrily, "If you can all endure hardship, I will naturally endure it too. But what about the dowry for the engaged girl? Where will it come from?"
"My father has been stripped of his title and his official position. I'm afraid my daughter from the Lin family has already been disliked by her in-laws. I don't know if they will come to cancel the engagement. If I can't even provide the dowry now, my daughter from the Lin family won't be able to marry, and her in-laws will look down on her..."
"Besides, if a girl is not engaged, is it possible that she will not have any dowry when she gets married in the future? And my mother needs to take care of her health, and my father is old. Even if Jin'er is found, he will need medicine to save his life..."
The more Mr. Lin spoke, the sadder he became, and the more he spoke, the more difficult his life became.
"You don't know how expensive firewood and rice are because you're not in charge of the household. You're always talking about propriety and morality, but I, your second brother, am always talking about money and petty things. I have no sense of justice and no humanity..."
As Mr. Lin was talking, he waved his hand, walked to the table, sat down, and began to sulk.
Mr. Lin San was speechless.
Of course, he didn't know how much property the Lin family had.
Of course, he never paid attention to these household chores.
Third Master Lin thought for a moment and asked in disbelief, "Could it be that our family has been relying solely on our aunt's dowry for all these years?"
"Of course not, it's just..." Master Lin glanced at the old lady on the bed, "When my second sister got married, mother gave her a dowry that was 20% more than my eldest aunt's, and my eldest aunt's dowry took up nearly half of the family's wealth..."
In a nutshell, half of the Duke's Mansion's fortune was given to Lin Wanyu, the second daughter of the Lin family.
Now, in order to repay the eldest lady's dowry, I have to empty the other half of the family fortune.
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