"You..." Lady Yong'an was so angry that her chest ached.
That's an enormous fortune! Su's dowry has been held by her for years, used to supplement household expenses and cultivate relationships. Moving it to the capital city this time has also cost a fortune. If she were to hand it all over, the entire Yong'an Marquis's mansion would be destitute! Half of the valuables in the storeroom have gone into her private treasury; having to hand those over too would be a death sentence! And many other precious items have been moved to the Princess's residence; having to move those out… the Princess's gaze would be enough to devour her!
What upset her the most was that this matter would surely become the talk of the entire capital!
The Yong'an Marquis's mansion had only just arrived in the capital, already attracting much speculation. The two farces at his granddaughter's 100-day celebration and the Marquis's birthday banquet had already made the mansion a laughingstock. Just when the rumors had seemed to be dying down, an even bigger embarrassment was brewing! It might not stop for three to five years!
The more she thought about it, the more terrified she became, and then everything went black and she fainted.
In a panic, Gao helped her mother-in-law up, crying out, "Help! Someone help me!"
She only regretted that she was a step too slow; she also wanted to faint!
Since Lu Ning's original position as the Registrar of Households remained vacant after his promotion, Lu Ning had to personally lead a Registrar and a Judicial Officer, along with Wang Wu from the Five Cities Military Command, and about twenty people, heading straight for the Yong'an Earl's residence.
Lady Yong'an was carried back by officials on a door panel.
The gatekeepers were terrified and dared not delay. They opened the gate wide and ran inside to report to the steward.
Steward Jiang was also frightened and went inside to inform Lord Yong'an.
The Earl of Yong'an and his eldest son, Jiang Mingli, were both at home. When they heard that the Prefect of Jingzhao had arrived, they came out to greet him.
After learning the whole story, the Earl of Yong'an's face turned as red as a pig's liver.
That's so damn embarrassing!
He flew into a rage, disregarding his old wife who was still lying on the door panel, and waved his hand to let Gao take over the management of the Earl's mansion. She found the key to the storeroom that Lady Yong'an had hidden and opened the public storeroom.
The officers and soldiers immediately got to work, starting to check and count.
The soldiers guarding the gate also brought two horse-drawn carriages, and after the inventory was completed, they simply moved the items away.
The unsuspecting people outside watched as cartloads of goods were moved away, and two rows of officials guarded the gate. They thought the Yong'an Marquis's mansion was about to be raided.
Su Shi and Xiao Youran stood opposite, watching familiar objects being loaded onto carriages and transported away, feeling incredibly happy.
Xiao Youran looked up and asked, "Mother, so many good things, and you only sold them for ten taels? Aren't you heartbroken?"
Madam Su raised an eyebrow and spread out a silver ingot in her hand. "It was originally meant to be given away for free, but now that I have ten taels of silver in hand, what's the big deal? I don't want these ten taels anyway."
Xiao Youran chuckled. She knew perfectly well that her mother must be annoyed that those things had been used by others.
She saw a small rice shop next door and pulled her mother inside.
A moment later, the shopkeeper helped carry out a large basket of copper coins, which was placed opposite the Yong'an Earl's residence.
The shopkeeper asked curiously, "Madam, what is your purpose in exchanging this basket of copper coins?"
Xiao You Ran grabbed a handful of copper coins. "Which hero can go to other places and call the people to come and watch the excitement?"
Two beggars nearby immediately jumped over, holding out their broken bowls, shouting, "I'll go! I'll go right now!"
Without hesitation, Xiao Youran tossed the copper coins into the bowl. "Go and call people! The more the better!"
The two beggars took the silver and ran away immediately.
A passerby asked, "Young lady, do you know what happened at the Yong'an Marquis's residence?"
Xiao Youran chuckled and said, "It's nothing. It's just that their family didn't return their former daughter-in-law's dowry. The former daughter-in-law had no power or influence, so she transferred the dowry to the Jingzhao Prefecture for ten taels of silver."
The people suddenly realized, "So, all these dowries... became the property of the Jingzhao Prefecture?"
"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! This way, it's perfectly legitimate for the Jingzhao Prefecture to come and take away their property!"
"Tsk tsk, so much dowry, I wonder what kind of background their former daughter-in-law had? With such a magnificent dowry, how could she be powerless and without influence?"
Xiao Youran sighed, "Their former daughter-in-law was the daughter of the richest family in Dingzhou, the Su family. Although her dowry was large, it couldn't compare to... the power and wealth of the capital!"
Upon hearing this, everyone understood, exclaiming in sudden realization, "Hiss... So she's the merchant's daughter... all for that Princess Qingping..."
Xiao Youran quickly stuffed a handful of copper coins into his hand, "Uncle, if you'd like, go and call more people to come and watch the excitement!"
The man happily weighed the copper coins in his hand. "Wow, I got a few coins for nothing just by watching the fun! Hahaha! I'll go call for help!"
Countless hands reached out to Xiao Youran, and she handed them all out, saying, "Uncles and grandpas, please call a few more people over!"
The crowd grew larger and larger.
The two beggars from before quickly summoned more than a dozen other beggars, and Xiao Youran didn't mind, giving each of them a few copper coins.
Beggars are among the most mobile groups in a city.
Some people asked curiously, "Little girl, why are you giving away money to hire people to come and watch the show?"
Xiao Youran looked excited. "Of course I'm happy! Even if I can't get my mother's dowry back, I can't let it go to the Earl's Mansion and the Princess's Mansion!"
The people around them became even more curious. "So you're the eldest daughter of the Yong'an Marquis's mansion?! And that divorced woman is your mother?"
Seeing that the basket of copper coins was almost empty, Xiao Youran threw out the last two handfuls, then pulled over Su Shi, who had been silent all along, and said, "Yes, my mother is the kindest, most generous, and smartest mother in the world!"
After saying that, she pulled Su Shi and squeezed out of the crowd, saying, "The money's all gone! We're going home!"
The two figures quickly disappeared into an extra-long ebony carriage parked on the street corner.
Some people stared in amazement, "Tsk tsk, this divorced woman is much prettier than the princess, and she has such a large dowry. How could the second master of the Yong'an Marquis's mansion bear to abandon her and marry someone else?"
Some people recognized the extra-long ebony carriage and exclaimed, "I recognize that carriage! Isn't that the carriage of Princess Huihe and Princess Fengle?"
"Oh my, they are Huihe Yiren and Fengle County Princess! My goodness, no wonder they are so rich! I heard they spent a fortune to buy an old royal palace and even put three thousand taels of gold into a government fundraiser!"
"I also heard that they bought two entire streets on Xiama Street in the West Market! They recruited hundreds of vagrants to work there. They are truly living saints who save people from suffering!"
"Such good people... and Huihe and Yiren also seem dignified and elegant. What was Jiang Lao Er thinking?"
"Maybe he's just blind..."
Suddenly, an angry woman rushed out of the mansion. Hearing the commotion, she pointed at them and shouted, "What business is it of yours?! Get out of here!"
This person was none other than Jiang Mingwei.
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