Princess Qingping nearly coughed up blood upon hearing this.
Lady Yong'an's expression was no better. "Quickly, quickly, throw them out! They're not allowed to talk nonsense here!"
Xiao Youran cried out, "No! Grandmother, when we came in just now, we saw the 'Diligence' stele inscribed on the screen wall by the great Confucian scholar Zhou Songfa from a hundred years ago. That was also part of my mother's dowry!"
The ladies and noblewomen nearby were gasping in shock, and as Xiao Youran uttered the name of a dowry item, they all hissed in surprise.
When she mentioned "the Diligence Stele by the great Confucian scholar Zhou Songfa," the gasps of surprise grew even louder.
Someone remarked, "Tsk tsk, this 'Diligence' stele is a priceless treasure!"
"Isn't that right? I heard some people couldn't buy it even for 100,000 taels of gold! I never expected it to be... a dowry!"
"Tsk tsk, I heard that Commander Jiang's ex-wife is from the Su family, the richest family in Dingzhou, right?"
"Didn't they say she didn't have a single piece of her dowry in Kyoto?"
"Whether it's there or not, just compare it with the form and you'll know, right?"
Princess Qingping stamped her foot and roared angrily, "What are you all standing there for?! Drag her away right now!"
Gao stepped forward, seemingly wanting to speak but then stopping herself. She had just overheard Su threatening to go find officials from the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Jingzhao Prefecture.
Two old women came forward and grabbed them.
This time, Xiao Youran didn't hold back. With a backhand slap, one of the old women flew to the artificial hill outside, and with another push, another old woman fell several meters away.
With her hands on her hips, she shouted, "We've only come to get back my mother's dowry! Why are you trying to drive us away? Fine, we'll leave, but give us back the dowry!"
Suddenly, a figure stepped forward and helped Su up, "Second Sister-in-law!"
She was a girl with bright eyes and white teeth.
Xiao Youran was delighted when she saw this, exclaiming, "Auntie!"
Madam Su smiled and said, "Little Aunt."
The younger sister's name is Jiang Mingwei, and she is Jiang Mingyi's youngest sister.
At this moment, she pleaded, "Second Sister-in-law, I know the Jiang family is in the wrong. But today is Father's fiftieth birthday, so please be lenient. How about we arrange a time another day to deal with this dowry issue together?"
Looking at her sister-in-law, Madam Su sighed, "Alright, considering how many times you've helped me, let's leave it at that for today!"
She pulled Xiao Youran along, "Let's go, Xiao Youran, didn't you say you prepared a birthday gift for Grandpa?"
After saying that, the two walked outside.
Lady Yong'an was immediately terrified, yelling, "Come back! Come back here!"
Xiao Youran turned around and grinned, making a face at Lady Yong'an. "Grandmother, you told us to get out and we got out, you told us to come back and we came back. Don't we have any dignity? Now that we've left, shouldn't you be happy?"
After saying that, he turned around and skipped out of the hanging flower gate with Su's hand.
Lady Yong'an stamped her foot in anger and pointed at the two young maids, saying, "Quickly chase after them! Don't let them get near the main hall!"
The maidservant quickly went after her.
Princess Qingping's face was so gloomy it could drip water. That damned Jiang Mingyi, he finally gave her a beautiful piece of jewelry, and it turned out to be made from the Su family's dowry?!
It's like stomping her face into a mud pit!
The group of wealthy women nearby all chuckled and whispered among themselves.
"I never imagined that the dignified Princess Qingping would wear jewelry from the dowry of the former divorced wife of the Prince Consort..."
"And on such an important occasion like today, it's truly embarrassing..."
"Hey, keep your voice down! This Princess Qingping is vindictive. Be careful, or you'll be in trouble if she sets her sights on you."
Princess Qingping turned around to look at the voice, only to find that everyone had stopped talking. She had no idea who was talking about her behind her back.
She angrily pulled the phoenix-eye hairpin from her hair and threw it on the ground. "Who cares about the dowry of a divorced woman?! Mother-in-law, you know that Jiang Mingyi is trying to fool me with this, don't you? And..." She turned to Madam Gao and Madam Tian, "Eldest sister-in-law, third sister-in-law, you two must have known all along, but neither of you warned me. You were just waiting to see me make a fool of myself, weren't you?"
Madam Gao and Madam Tian quickly shook their heads, "No, no, no, we never expected them to come to the Jiang residence today!"
A woman who was on good terms with Princess Qingping came to her side and comforted her, "Princess, don't be anxious. I'm afraid the Jiang family has just arrived in the capital and things are not yet in order. Please calm down and don't ruin this auspicious day. You can deal with any lack of manners later when everything in the Jiang family is settled."
These words were so beautifully spoken that even the usually shrewd and sophisticated Madam Gao couldn't help but look at this woman with newfound respect.
Just now, Princess Qingping introduced her as Guo Mingzhu, the legitimate daughter of Minister Guo.
She did remember it.
Princess Qingping took a deep breath before looking at the wet nurse, "Jun'er must be hungry too. It's almost time to eat. Let's go!"
So they're not allowed to wait for their father-in-law's birthday banquet to begin?
Despite her deep dissatisfaction, Lady Yong'an had no choice but to suppress it.
Guo Mingzhu curtsied to her, "Princess, please take care."
Seeing her action, Gao breathed a sigh of relief.
Several noble ladies present had come out of respect for Princess Qingping, and she was very worried that if Princess Qingping left, these noble ladies would follow her.
Madam Gao helped Lady Yong'an back to her seat and said in a low voice, "Daughter-in-law, go and see if the mother and daughter have been brought back."
Lady Yong'an also whispered, "Remember, we must not let them go to the main hall and spout nonsense!"
"yes!"
Just as Madam Gao was about to go out, she saw the two maids who had chased after her return. They reported that when they went out, they ran into Master Jiang Mingyi, who stopped the county princess's congratulatory gifts and then sent them out of the mansion.
Lady Yong'an breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
How dare this mere merchant's daughter, relying on her status as the young Princess You Ran, trespass into the Yong'an Marquis's residence! She simply doesn't respect the Yong'an Marquis's residence at all!
Turning around, she saw her youngest daughter, Jiang Mingwei, standing behind her. She grabbed her and pinched her hard, saying, "What nonsense are you spouting? What do you mean the Jiang family is in the wrong? Are you trying to expose the Jiang family's reputation to that little whore?!"
Jiang Mingwei snorted indifferently, "If it weren't for this, would they have let it go so easily today? Do they really want to make a scene until everyone knows about it before they're satisfied?"
Lady Yong'an was extremely disappointed in her son.
That evening, after the party ended, Lady Yong'an summoned Jiang Mingyi to her room and repeatedly urged him to find a way to get rid of that Su woman as soon as possible, otherwise things might get complicated and the Jiang family would be in big trouble!
Jiang Mingyi was extremely annoyed, but he had no choice but to agree.
Before leaving, he turned back and held out a hand, saying, "Mother, give me five thousand taels!"
Lady Yong'an was shocked. "You want another five thousand taels? Do you think the Marquis's mansion is a gold mine?"
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