Chapter 21 The Dead General Returns 3
The emperor appointed Cheng Shaowu as General of the Cavalry in front of the envoys from the Northern Desert Kingdom, which was somewhat of a slap in the face to the Northern Desert.
Cheng's family were originally hunters in the village. After Cheng's father died, Cheng Shaowu went to the capital to take the military examination, then joined the army. After eight years, he rose to the rank of fourth-grade Zhongwu General, and in less than a year, he became a second-grade Biaoqi General. Once Cheng's mother gained power, she lived a life of extravagance.
The Cheng family had no wealth, and the little stuff Cheng Shaowu brought back from the battlefield wasn't enough for her to squander. Just then, Ning Yan's reputation spread throughout the capital, and the mother and son discussed it and figured that by using her reputation to ask for her hand in marriage, no one would suspect their true intentions. So Cheng Shaowu actually took action.
The naive original owner was tricked into joining the Cheng family.
After Cheng Shaowu went to the battlefield, the old lady handed over the management of the household to the original owner. Since the household had no money, the original owner could only contribute money herself.
After news of Cheng Shaowu's death arrived, the old lady became even more ruthless. Out of guilt, the original owner of this body indulged her in everything, and in the end, she died in the Cheng family mansion. The millions of dollars in dowry ultimately benefited the Cheng family.
Knowing the ending of her previous life, how could Ning Yan possibly let that shameless mother and son get away with it again?
Last night, she asked Yuan Jingchen to move her dowry from the General's Mansion to a secret room in the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.
Actually, among the dowry items was a box containing a pair of paperweights, and in the hidden compartment under the paperweights were nearly three million taels of silver notes. In the previous life, all of these things had benefited the Cheng family.
In this life, Ning Yan will never let the Cheng family take advantage of her in the slightest!
The General of the Cavalry's mansion was robbed, and the Prefect of the Capital quickly dispatched people to investigate. However, no matter how hard they investigated, they found no clues, and in the end, it became a cold case.
The old lady originally wanted to use the idea of letting her daughter-in-law manage the household to swindle her dowry, but in the end, the entire dowry was gone.
Now she had a firm grip on the power of managing the household, and she would never let Ning Yan manage the household again, for fear that she would embezzle public funds.
She even made up her mind that no matter how bad her daughter-in-law's life was, she would not give her any extra things.
But actually, Ning Yan is living a good life. The old man is brainless. Even though she lost her dowry, her dowry still includes three shops, three estates, and several thousand acres of land, all of which can be re-deeded.
These things alone are enough for her to live comfortably.
There was also a small kitchen in her courtyard, where servants would go out to buy groceries every day, and the food was even better than what was served in the main house.
In the days that followed, she claimed to be sick every day and didn't go out. She locked herself in her small courtyard, and the maids in the courtyard all got a bit fatter from her.
The old lady had no doubts whatsoever. After all, anyone would fall seriously ill if they lost their dowry, let alone her daughter-in-law's dowry, which was a staggering million!
Therefore, she did not cause Ning Yan any trouble.
This just gave someone an opportunity.
Why are you here?
Yuan Jingchen handed a box to Ning Yan, saying, "I got some new jewelry. Take it and wear it."
The tribute from the small country was of a style that the Great Jin Kingdom did not have. He felt that it was most suitable for the woman in front of him, and that no one else was worthy of it.
Ning Yan couldn't help but smile at him, "Is there really such a good thing? Young Master Yuan, are you this nice to every woman you've slept with?"
Yuan Jingchen felt a little awkward: "I picked these out myself! The ones for other women were picked out by my subordinates."
Moreover, it's strange how he became addicted to Ning Yan after sleeping with her. He couldn't think of any other woman, and his mind was filled with thoughts of her all day long. The extreme pleasure he experienced was something no other woman had ever given him.
He wasn't one to compromise, so he wanted the woman to divorce Cheng Shaowu.
"Alright, I've taken your things. You can go now."
Yuan Jingchen's face darkened. He stood a foot away from the bed, his eyes filled with anger as he looked at Ning Yan, who was sitting against the headboard. He knew this woman was heartless; she was used to discarding people after using them and was ruthless in turning her back on them.
But when he saw the woman looking at him with a half-smile, his anger quickly died down.
Why get angry? He has no interest in you. If you give him the cold shoulder, he'll be more likely to talk to you.
He then took a breath and whispered, "Yan'er, since you've been intimate with me, why don't you divorce Cheng Shaowu? Then we can be together openly and honestly."
Ning Yan chuckled and got out of bed. Her fiery red, transparent silk dress revealed her beautiful figure, making Yuan Jingchen's throat move rapidly and his eyes darken.
Ning Yan walked to the table and sat down, poured two cups of tea, and handed one to Yuan Jingchen. "You told me to get a divorce, but what happens after the divorce? Are you going to marry me?"
Yuan Jingchen was speechless. "I...I already have a wife at home..."
"You not only have a legal wife, but also a bunch of concubines who will fight over you! What makes you think I would give up my legal wife to be a concubine who is looked down upon and could be killed at any time?"
When Yuan Jingchen met Ning Yan's all-seeing eyes, his heart skipped a beat. She... she already knew his identity!
"But none of those people are people I truly like."
Ning Yan did indeed know Yuan Jingchen's true identity long ago, otherwise she wouldn't have asked Yuan Jingchen to help transfer her dowry.
She didn't think much of it the first night she met him, but after sleeping with him, she realized that Yuan was the imperial surname, and Qian Fu had no beard. The emperor's chief eunuch was surnamed Qian, so she knew that the man she slept with was the current emperor.
"Young Master Yuan, you might fool others with those words, but I won't fall for it."
Don't you find it particularly ridiculous to say the word "sincere" from your mouth?
If I don't like you, I won't sleep with you. If I don't like you, I won't marry you. Does anyone think I'm forcing you?
"Can you guarantee that Cheng Shaowu is sincere towards you? And can you guarantee that he won't take a concubine?"
Ning Yan took a sip of tea. "What would I do with his sincerity? I don't even like him!"
All I need is to be the mistress of this Cheng family!
Even if he takes a hundred concubines, they must bow their heads and serve me tea; even if they have a hundred children, they must call me "mother."
"I can sell them off anytime I'm unhappy; only a fool would give up such a good life!"
"You, you are truly heartless."
Ning Yan said smugly, "It's not like you just found out today!"
I'm ruthless; I use it and then throw it away. Don't make me use it!
"Alright, things have been made clear. Go back now. Don't come back again. Our relationship ends here. Let's pretend we don't know each other when we meet again."
Ning Yan poured another cup of tea and then saw the guest off.
Yuan Jingchen was in a terrible mood and left with a dark face. He had never been treated like this by any woman before!
But he couldn't do anything about Ning Yan; he couldn't very well just chop her up with a knife, could he?
Forget about actually cutting him, just thinking about it makes him feel terrible. This woman must have bewitched him, otherwise why would he become so unlike himself?
Qian Fu, who was guarding outside the courtyard wall, asked, "Master, why did you come out so quickly?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Qian Fu wanted to slap himself. Was it even his place to ask that question?
(End of this chapter)
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