Chapter 34 Zhao Zhenzhen
The Duke's wife was so angry at Jiang Xinyu that her heart ached, and the others also felt creepy when they saw Xiao Yuan calmly drinking tea.
Everyone was eager to change the dowry and finish the job as soon as possible so as to get rid of these two plague gods, so the people below were very efficient.
It was easy to return Li Mingyue's dowry.
There were only a dozen boxes in total, and it was simple and clear after tearing open the seals.
The dowry included a senior maid, two second-class maids, four junior maids and two old women, who were also brought along.
Because Jiang Xinyu pleaded for mercy last night, Luzhu and several maids were not punished. Although they were frightened and mentally exhausted, at least they had no visible injuries, and no one could find fault with them.
When it came to Jiang Xinyu, it was a different story. After a moment, a young eunuch came to report that there were many things missing from the dowry list.
The wife of the Duke immediately felt a pang in her heart, remembering that her daughter had been pestering for jewelry when she was delivering her wedding dowry yesterday, and she felt something was wrong.
Zhao Chengye quickly winked at his mother, "It was yesterday when my mother saw Jiang... and saw that Madam Xiao's dowry was too much and the small storeroom couldn't hold it, so she moved a few boxes to another place."
The Duke's wife nodded quickly and said, "Please trouble the eunuch to go and count the rest first. The rest will be delivered later."
The young eunuch who came to report was also a wonderful person. When he heard the Duke's wife say this, he immediately said,
"Everything else has been counted. Now all that's missing is a box of Yanluo silk, twelve red gold step-shaking ornaments, three pairs of red gold and kingfisher feather bracelets, two hu of top-quality pearls, and a maid named Chunhong."
Jiang Xinyu exclaimed, "How come Chunhong is missing? She used to come with me to pay respects to Madam. How could she get lost in your house?"
Although the wife of the Duke of Dongxi did feel guilty, when he asked Chunhong, he felt that he was right.
Even though she didn't know who was in charge of the marriage exchange, she was sure that Chunhong was absolutely not innocent.
The master whom she had served for more than ten years would not have mistaken her footsteps even if he closed his eyes and listened to them, but that damn girl supported Li Mingyue all the way to the wedding with her son.
This kind of girl who eats her own food and takes advantage of others deserves to be beaten to death.
Jiang Xinyu became anxious when she heard Chunhong was beaten.
This happened in ancient times, and the beating that the old woman mentioned was definitely not as simple as giving two slaps.
Chunhong is indeed not a loyal servant and she doesn't plan to use her again in the future, but it is a life after all.
For a person living in modern society, she really cannot treat human life as worthless as the ancient people did.
Especially when she saw Chunhong being carried up covered in blood, Jiang Xinyu immediately exploded.
"Chunhong is my maid. Even if she made mistakes, it is not your turn to punish her.
She is just a teenage girl, but you are so harsh on her. Could it be that she has violated the law?"
The Duke's wife snorted disdainfully, "It's not that she violated the laws of heaven, but she deserves this beating.
Even her own master can admit her mistakes, why do you still keep such a maid?
In my opinion, it’s better to sell it as soon as possible.
Auntie is doing this for your own good."
Jiang Xinyu was about to say something, but Zhao Chengye interrupted, "Madam Xiao, Chunhong, as the bride's personal maid, helped someone else to marry me. It is understandable for your mother to question her.
I think the person sent by the Li family to escort the bride must have been reviewed by Governor Xiao as well."
Xiao Yuan nodded lightly, patted Jiang Xinyu's hand and ordered someone to carry Chunhong back home for treatment.
Damn it, that bastard didn’t even help her.
At this moment, there was a commotion outside and a pretty girl in a goose yellow dress rushed in.
But she didn't expect that there were guests in the flower hall. Seeing so many people, she panicked for a moment, then bowed reluctantly and wanted to go back.
Jiang Xinyu didn't give her the chance. She stood in front of the girl and pulled her hand with a smile.
"Isn't this my real sister? Look how sweaty you are from running. You knew I was here to see me."
Zhao Zhenzhen brushed Jiang Xinyu's hand away without thinking. Just as she was about to make some sarcastic remarks, she heard the Duke's wife cough heavily, and immediately swallowed the scolding that was about to come out of her mouth.
She came to settle accounts with Jiang Xinyu, but she didn't expect there was an outsider here.
Although the Duke's wife doted on her, she also taught her etiquette seriously. He didn't want to ruin his reputation by arguing with Jiang Xinyu when there were outsiders present.
Anyway, I've already married into their family, so it's up to her to decide how to govern them in the future.
This silly girl still doesn't know that Jiang Xinyu has married someone else, and she's still trying to show off to her sister-in-law.
Jiang Xinyu didn't give her this chance. She suddenly exclaimed, grabbed Zhao Zhenzhen's hand and said in surprise,
"Isn't this the red gold and jadeite bracelet that I wore as part of my wedding dowry?
The Duke's wife just said that it was placed in another warehouse, how come it is now on Miss Zhao's hand?"
"What are you talking about?"
Zhao Zhenzhen blushed when she saw the guests' attention was drawn to them by Jiang Xinyu's shout.
"You clearly gave this to me. What do you mean by saying this now? Are you trying to accuse Mother Lai of misappropriating your dowry?"
Jiang Xinyu also looked incredulous, "This dowry was clearly delivered to the Duke's Mansion yesterday. When did I give it to you?"
Zhao Zhenzhen didn't expect Jiang Xinyu to set her up like this this time. In the past, when she stole other people's things, the woman would cover up for her for the sake of her brother.
What's going on now? Isn't she afraid that her brother will say she is petty and calculative?
The Duke's wife was just about to smooth things over by saying that Zhao Zhenzhen thought she had taken the wrong thing from the mansion, but she didn't expect her daughter to be one step quicker to speak and insist that Jiang Xinyu had given it to her this morning.
In Zhao Zhenzhen's opinion, it was impossible for those guests to come so early in the morning. It was only natural for her as the new sister-in-law to give jewelry to her younger sister-in-law. Now she was doing this in front of everyone in an attempt to deliberately ruin her reputation.
The Duke's wife was so angry that she almost died. For the first time, she felt that being too strict in managing the household was not a good thing.
She did instruct the maids and servants not to make the matter of the marriage exchange known to others, but there was no need to keep it secret so strictly.
That idiot Nanny Yu is useless. Didn't we tell her to go find Zhenzhen to ask for the things? Why did she send someone here without explaining the matter to her clearly?
It's so embarrassing. I can't explain myself this time.
She couldn't explain it clearly, but Jiang Xinyu could. She snorted coldly and pointed at Li Mingyue and said with a smile,
"Is Miss Zhao blind or has she fallen into a sleep delusion? That's your sister-in-law. My husband doesn't have a good sister like you.
You don't know yet?
The wrong sedan chair was carried yesterday, and your brother married you to another sister-in-law.
As for me, I came to your house to pick up your dowry after noon, so how could I give you a pair of bracelets so early in the morning?
Tsk tsk tsk, I never thought that the eldest daughter of the Duke's Mansion would be a thief.
He had the audacity to steal his eldest sister-in-law's dowry right after it was delivered, and even after being caught he still refused to admit it.
Fortunately I didn't really marry into your family, otherwise my dowry would have been taken away by you in less than a year or two.
He turned around, touched his upper lip with his lower lip and said, "This is a gift for you." I really couldn't explain it even if I had a hundred mouths.
Sister Mingyue, you better be careful, after all, this sister-in-law will be yours from now on."
Zhao Zhenzhen didn't expect there to be such a secret. Looking at her mother's angry face, she knew that this was probably true.
Jiang Xinyu didn't marry into their family, and she didn't even care whether her brother disliked her or not.
When Zhao Zhenzhen thought about being laughed at for being a thief, her eyes rolled back and she passed out.
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