"Stupid and unaware of it." Xu Ding looked at Madam Xu with disappointment.
Seeing that something was wrong, Xiaodie quietly put down the tray she was carrying and went out. It was obvious that the master and mistress were about to quarrel, and she was just a maid, so it was better not to stay there.
"Master, what do you mean? What did I do wrong?" Madam Xu felt very wronged. Why was her husband scolding her for no reason?
"What did you do at the Treasure Pavilion yesterday? You actually spent 50,000 taels of silver to buy jewelry?" Xu Ding pointed directly at Madam Xu, even after he had said so much, she still hadn't realized her mistake.
Xu Ding never knew that his wife could be so foolish!
“Treasure Pavilion? I didn’t do anything to Qu Qingxi. Even if the Prince of Nanqing were here, he couldn’t do anything to me about what happened yesterday.” Madam Xu was speaking when she suddenly heard Xu Ding mention the fifty thousand taels of silver and immediately stopped talking.
When she spoke again, she was clearly less confident. "My lord, I was too impulsive yesterday. I didn't think things through. But the things in the Treasure Pavilion are quite beautiful, and besides, there's no 50,000 taels of silver at all."
Madam Xu assumed that Xu Ding was angry because she had spent so much money, so she quietly began to explain.
Xu Ding was almost amused by Madam Xu's words. She actually thought he was reluctant to part with tens of thousands of taels of silver? Regardless of whether it was actually fifty thousand taels of silver, everyone now thought it was fifty thousand taels, so it was fifty thousand taels.
Xu Ding took two steps back and sat down in the chair behind him, panting heavily. It had been a long time since anyone had dared to make him angry like that.
After resting in the chair for a while, Xu Ding clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly. Looking at Madam Xu, who looked aggrieved, he still couldn't suppress his anger.
Xu Ding stood up abruptly, rushed to Madam Xu in two steps, and then slapped her hard across the face. "Fool, is it because of this 50,000 taels?"
“If you had used 50,000 taels at any other time, I wouldn’t have said anything. But it was in the Treasure Pavilion, in front of everyone, that you pushed the entire Xu family into the eye of the storm for your ridiculous pride and face.”
"Fifty thousand taels of silver, just because of your momentary anger, you spent it without batting an eye. Wang Yuyun, do you know what people outside are saying about the Xu family, and what they are saying about me?"
Seeing Xu Ding so angry, Madam Xu belatedly realized that this matter might have had some impact on him. Although she still didn't understand what had happened, she wisely refrained from asking.
Moreover, she wanted to correct herself now, saying that she hadn't actually spent 50,000 taels of silver, but seeing Xu Ding's anger, Madam Xu shut up and said nothing.
“People outside are saying that I have so much silver. My annual salary plus rewards don’t even exceed five thousand taels of silver, but my wife can easily come up with fifty thousand taels of silver. People in the capital are saying that I’m corrupt and have accepted bribes.”
"Even a fool would think that by tomorrow morning, I'll be drowned by the spittle of the censors and crushed to death by the memorials they submit." Xu Ding glared angrily at Madam Xu. He truly hadn't expected his wife to cause him such trouble at this time.
The Emperor has now begun investigating his collaboration with Zhou Wenli and his unauthorized raising of troops. At least he can pin this on the Crown Prince, claiming that the Crown Prince forced him to raise troops in secret.
Once the Emperor discovers their collaboration with Zhou Wenli, no matter what great achievements they have made, they will absolutely not escape the fate of having their entire family executed.
The Emperor had been secretly dealing with the Xu family all these years, and he had been very careful. But at this very moment, his wife had given him a breakthrough.
If it weren't for the fact that the Xu family couldn't afford to get into trouble right now, he would have killed Madam Xu. She's more trouble than she's worth!
"My lord, I didn't mean it. It's all that Qu Qingxi's fault. If it weren't for her, I would never have done such a thing." Madam Xu clearly caught a fleeting glimpse of murderous intent in Xu Ding's eyes, and she immediately panicked.
After Xu Ding explained it to her, she finally understood that she had been tricked yesterday.
The most important thing now is to push all the blame onto Qu Qingxi.
"Tell me everything that happened yesterday in detail." Since the incident had already occurred, Xu Ding knew that getting angry would be useless. He could only calm down slowly, analyze the situation carefully, and see if he could come up with any way to remedy the situation.
Madam Xu dared not disobey Xu Ding's orders, so she could only honestly recount yesterday's events with embellishments.
Hearing Madam Xu's words, Xu Ding put his hands behind his back, stood still, and closed his eyes slightly. "I underestimated this woman."
"What does the master mean?" Madam Xu looked at Xu Ding cautiously.
"Hmph, that old scoundrel Qu Lianhai actually secretly raised such a cunning and scheming daughter." Xu Ding didn't explain further.
Previously, he thought that Qu Qingxi was arrogant because she was favored by the Prince of Nanqing. Now it seems that Qu Qingxi is definitely not simple.
Yesterday's events were merely a whim of Madam Xu to go out, and the two meeting was purely by chance. Prince Nanqing would never have the ability to foresee what would happen yesterday and inform Qu Qingxi, yet Qu Qingxi actually schemed against his wife in this way.
Most importantly, this matter was publicized, putting the entire Xu family in the spotlight. He Liufeng and Qu Qingxi really are not from the same family; they are like family.
Xu Ding never underestimates anyone. He was careless before. From today onwards, he must be careful and wary of Qu Qingxi.
However, Qu Qingxi was truly well-hidden. If it weren't for yesterday's events, Xu Ding would never have suspected her. Xu Ding was also aware of the affairs within the Prime Minister's family.
Qu Lianhai spoiled his youngest daughter and abused his eldest. Everyone thought that Qu Qingxi was spoiled rotten. But now it seems that even if Qu Lianhai did not raise Qu Qingxi properly, Qu Qingxi still inherited Qu Lianhai's cunning and wickedness.
And this unfathomable cunning.
“Wang Yuyun, these next few days, you should go to the ancestral hall, kneel down and recite Buddhist scriptures to cleanse your greedy nature and reflect on your actions. You can come out again when you have fully reflected on your actions.”
"Master, are you going to lock me up in the ancestral hall?" Madam Xu looked up at Xu Ding in disbelief.
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