Chapter 260: The Lady of the Marquisate vs. the Younger Prince
"Shiqi, go find the account books in the mansion and give them to the old lady along with the cards and the storeroom key."
Shiqi had an oval face, thick eyebrows and big eyes. She looked very energetic and efficient. As soon as Ji Yunhuan gave the order, she immediately moved the account books out of the small study next to the east wing.
The old lady's eyes flashed with brilliance. She impatiently snatched the key from Shiqi's hand and ordered someone to open the warehouse.
She could not read or write, so naturally she could not understand the account books, but she knew that all the good things in the warehouse now belonged to her.
The old lady thought she had gained something, and she liked Ji Yunhuan a lot better. "It would have been better if you had been so obedient earlier. Marry a chicken and follow the chicken, marry a dog and follow the dog. Now that you have come to the Marquis' Mansion, you are our manor's person. Only when the Marquis' Mansion is good can you be good."
"I'll take care of these things for you first, so you can have some free time. You can focus more on Wanzhou and take good care of her. It would be a blessing for you to have a child soon."
Wan Niang saw that things were not going well, so she covered her belly and started crying, "Please, old lady, please help Wan Niang. Wan Niang's child..."
"Shut up!" The old lady glared at Wan Niang and said angrily, "You are just a concubine, but the Marquis dotes on you to no end. You have no right to interrupt here!"
A maid ran over in a panic, her hands shaking as she held the key. "Madam, the storeroom is...empty. There's nothing valuable in it!"
The old lady flipped through the account book in her hand and shouted in disbelief, "How is this possible? How could the storehouse of a dignified marquis's mansion be empty?"
She threw the account book at Ji Yunhuan and said angrily, "What on earth did you do? I asked you to be the housekeeper, and you've been in charge for half a year, and you've squandered all the wealth of the Marquis' Mansion!"
Ji Yunhuan dodged sideways.
Shiqi picked up the account book, and her fingertips turned white while holding it. She felt sorry for the lady, but because of her status as an old lady, she couldn't get angry. She could only suppress her anger and explain:
"When Madam entered the mansion, the account of the Marquisate was already in deficit. The Marquisate spent all day drinking and entertaining guests. He only knew how to spend money and never took money back. Madam has been subsidizing the mansion for the past six months. Otherwise, the mansion would have collapsed long ago."
The old lady naturally knew that the Marquis' Mansion had no money, but Ji Yunhuan had money, and Ji Yunhuan's money was the Marquis' Mansion's money.
"There are more account books in the mansion than just these. There are other account books as well. Since you are no longer in charge of the family, you should hand them over as well."
Ji Yunhuan was so angry that she almost laughed. Taking away her housekeeper rights was just an excuse. What the old lady really wanted was her dowry.
"You are joking, old lady. The account books are all here. They are gone."
The old lady jumped up anxiously, "What do you mean it's gone? Where's your dowry? Where's your farm and shop? And..."
Ji Yunhuan interrupted the old lady and said coldly, "Old lady, be careful with your words. If this gets out, the whole city will know that the Xuanwu Marquis's Mansion used my dowry. The whole city will laugh at the Marquis, and then the Marquis will lose all his face."
In the past, she took the reputation of the Marquis' Mansion into consideration and tolerated everything. But now, she is happy only when the Marquis' Mansion collapses.
The old lady realized that she had been fooled. Ji Yunhuan didn't want to hand over the dowry at all. She immediately changed her face and pointed at Ji Yunhuan and cursed:
"You vicious woman! You killed my grandson and you still don't repent. I will let Wanzhou divorce you! Let the whole capital see that the Ji family is a family of scholars, but they raised a deserted woman like you! I don't think you have the face to live on."
Ji Yunhuan just wanted more than anything else. Even if he could go to a temple to worship Buddha and worship the green lamps, it was better than being eaten till there was nothing left in the Xuanwu Marquis's mansion and losing his life in the end.
"Okay! Old Madam, you better keep your word and let the Marquis write a letter of divorce today, but I'm afraid you won't be able to let me go. If you divorce me, the Marquis' Mansion will have nothing to do with the Ji family."
"You...you..." The old lady was so angry that she couldn't speak.
Shiqin brought the doctor into the marquis' mansion. She saw a group of people gathered at the door of the east wing and blood in the yard. She was shocked and hurriedly pushed through the crowd and rushed to Ji Yunhuan.
"Ma'am, are you okay? Why are you outside?"
Ji Yunhuan glanced at Wan Niang who was keeping silent and pretending to be a quail, and chuckled, "I'm fine. Doctor Xu came at the right time. The concubine in the mansion had a miscarriage. Doctor Xu, please take a look."
Doctor Xu's face turned serious when he saw the blood on Wan Niang's body. "Auntie, you should go inside and lie down. There is so much blood, it might be fatal. I will take your pulse right away."
Wan Niang backed away, hiding behind the maid, trembling, "I don't want it! There must be something wrong with the doctor Madam invited. I won't see him! I will only see Doctor Liu. He is my fellow countryman from Yangzhou, and I only trust him."
Doctor Xu is an expert in gynecology. He came to the Marquis' Mansion after hearing that the eldest daughter of the Ji family had a cold.
He stroked his beard and sneered, "My aunt has such a bad temper! When the ladies in the palace invite me to see a doctor, they always greet me with a smile. Why can't I see my aunt? If it weren't for my wife's face, it would be impossible for someone like you to see me!"
The old lady knew Doctor Xu. When she had a difficult delivery, it was the old marquis who asked the Ji family to invite Doctor Xu to ensure the safety of both mother and child.
The old lady pulled Wan Niang and brought her to Doctor Xu. "The things used to serve others are not presentable. Doctor Xu, please forgive me for making a fool of myself. There is no need to go back to the house. I will take your pulse here."
Doctor Xu was too lazy to bother with a concubine, so he put a thin towel under the patient and started to examine him.
After a moment, Doctor Xu frowned and said, "Auntie, are you making fun of me? Auntie is not pregnant at all, so how can there be any miscarriage?"
"As for the blood flowing down there, I'm afraid it's because he accidentally ingested some medicinal herbs. If the blood keeps flowing like this, it won't be a good thing. The only thing I can't treat in my life is pretending to be sick. Auntie, please seek help from someone else."
With a loud slap, the old lady slapped Wan Niang hard and said angrily, "How dare you lie to me? You pretended to be pregnant and tricked me into giving you a promotion to concubine. Now you pretended to have a miscarriage and tricked me into helping you. You're treating me like a fool, aren't you?"
The old lady attacked Wan Niang with both hands and slapped her several times. "Someone, tie her up and lock her up in the woodshed. Prostitutes are really cheap. Find a trafficker tomorrow morning and sell her to a brothel."
Wan Niang was tied up but still tried to argue, "Madam, spare me, Wan Niang knows nothing. It must be that Doctor Liu misdiagnosed me. It's all that quack's fault. Wan Niang really thought she was pregnant."
"Shut up and drag her away!" After the old lady dealt with Wan Niang, she no longer had the face to ask for the power of housekeeper, and she had no reason to snatch Ji Yunhuan's dowry. She could only leave with her people in embarrassment.
"Send the account books and keys to the old lady's room. I will not be in charge of the house from now on. Go ahead."
Shiqi took the order and left, while Shiqin helped Ji Yunhuan back to the room.
Doctor Xu came into the room and took Ji Yunhuan's pulse. He didn't find any serious illness, so he prescribed some nourishing prescriptions and asked Ji Yunhuan to take them slowly.
Ji Yunhuan had nothing to do, so he took an ancient book, burned incense and drank tea, and spent half a day relaxing.
At dusk, Shiqin opened the door curtain and came in, her eyes red with anger, "The Marquis has returned home and has sent Concubine Wan back to the west wing. She framed Madam like this, but she was let off so easily!"
"I don't know what that bitch said, but the Marquis came to us in such a rage. He must be here to find Madam and ask for an explanation. Madam, please think of a solution."
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