The eldest princess still maintained her authority, so Chu Tianling and Princess Changyun dared not say anything more and could only leave with her. Chu Tianze, however, remained with Bai Chuxiao, after all, he was now considered part of the family.
Chu Tianyou clasped his hands in a fist salute again and said gently, "Prime Minister Bai, there's no need to pay attention to Changyun's nonsense. I promise that after Miss Bai's marriage, I will marry Wan'er with the rites due to a concubine."
Upon hearing this, Bai Chuwan looked at Bai Linan with expectant eyes, "Father..."
Bai Linan snorted coldly. He had completely lost face today. His own daughter was eager to become the concubine of his mortal enemy's daughter. How could he ever hold his head up again? Wouldn't he be laughed at to death by that old bastard from the Liu family?
Then he said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, you are not responsible for this matter. I have already made my decision. My daughter is ignorant and has done such a thing today. Let her spend the rest of her life in the temple."
Madam Xie was shocked. "Master, how can this be..." Bai Chuwan also covered her face and wept. She never expected her father to be so heartless.
Chu Tianyou's expression changed. If this were to happen, he would have completely offended Bai Xiang, let alone gained his support.
"Miss Bai, Seventh Brother, why don't you come out and say something too..."
"This is a matter for the Bai family; Prime Minister Bai will make his own decision. What does it have to do with me?" Chu Tianze said calmly.
Seeing that things were not going well, and that angering Bai Xiangke would do no good for the Crown Prince, Liu Shuyao asked, "Sister Bai, what do you think we should do..."
Bai Chuxiao smiled and said, "It's not appropriate for me to interfere in this matter. Perhaps we should ask Her Majesty the Empress for her opinion?"
That's right, taking a concubine is entirely up to the Crown Prince, but he still needs to inform the Empress before marrying a secondary consort. With the Empress's involvement, Bai Xiang wouldn't dare say anything more, would he?
The Crown Prince thought for a moment and realized that this was the only way; it was better than letting Prime Minister Bai make a definitive statement now. So he smiled and said, "What the young lady says makes sense. Prime Minister Bai, why don't you hold off on making a decision and wait until I have consulted with the Empress Dowager before proceeding?"
Bai Linan snorted coldly, his attitude softening somewhat. "In that case, Your Highness and Crown Princess, please return."
Looking at the Prince of Yan standing beside him, his expression softened somewhat. The more he looked at this son-in-law, the more satisfied he became. He possessed considerable power, enjoyed the Emperor's favor, and most importantly, didn't cause any trouble.
"Your Highness, you flatter me. How about we go to the front and have some tea?"
Chu Tianze nodded indifferently.
The group arrived at the front hall, where the old lady also appeared. Having witnessed such an incident in the mansion, she naturally had to handle the aftermath, so she first politely saw off the wives of the officials.
Seeing Bai Chuwan and Xie Shi now, she felt like killing them. Today was supposed to be a nice day, but they ruined it all.
So, disregarding the fact that the Prince of Yan was still present, she slammed her cane down heavily, saying, "Madam Xie, look at the fine daughter you've raised!"
He then turned and asked, "What does Master intend to do with this rebellious daughter?"
Bai Linan said in a deep voice, "Take the Second Miss away and lock her in confinement. She is not allowed to come out without my permission."
Madam Xie rushed forward, crying out, "No, sir, Wan'er can't suffer like this..."
The old lady shouted angrily again, "Shut up! It's all because you spoiled her so much that she did such a shameless thing!"
Seeing that the hall had finally calmed down, Chu Tianze leisurely spoke up, "Prime Minister Bai, now that Xiaoxiao has come of age, I think it would be good to choose a time to discuss the marriage. What does Xiaoxiao think?"
Upon hearing this, the old lady's face lit up with a smile. "The Prince of Yan is truly wonderful. It would be great to have a Princess Consort of Yan in our family."
Before they could speak, Bai Chuxiao said with a faint smile, "Speaking of which, I'd like to ask Father and Aunt Xie first, where is the considerable dowry my mother left me back then?"
Bai Linan also looked at Madam Xie. Being scrutinized by everyone, Madam Xie felt a little flustered, but she quickly calmed down and forced a smile, "Miss, you may not know, but the Prime Minister's Mansion originally didn't have many properties. My sister's original dowry has been used for the Bai family's daily expenses over the past ten years. But don't worry, Miss, I will carefully prepare another dowry."
Bai Chuxiao's expression was cold. "Oh? Is that how it is, Grandmother and Father? I had no idea that our dignified Left Prime Minister's Mansion had fallen so low that it needed the dowry of the first wife to support it?"
The old lady's expression was also not good. She knew the details of Murong Xue's original dowry; it contained many antiques and treasures. She didn't believe it had all been spent on the Bai family, since she hadn't seen a single penny. Besides, with Zhao Shi around, the household wasn't short of money.
"Xie family, what exactly happened...?"
Madam Xie looked flustered. "Master, say something! All these years, you've been bribing officials all over the place with this money, haven't you?"
"Shut up, what nonsense are you spouting? When have I ever relied on such means to bribe officials? Where exactly is Xue'er's dowry?" Fool, the Prince of Yan is standing right here, yet you still speak so recklessly. What if the Prince of Yan uses this as an excuse to make a scene?
"I've certainly seen something today; Bai Xiang's house is truly fascinating."
"Aunt Xie, I have a dowry list here. Why don't you take a look? Since the money was spent at home, there must be a record. Why don't we take it out and compare it item by item?"
Taking the list from Bai Chuxiao, Xie looked flustered. Where was she supposed to find these things now? They were long gone. She had never even considered that this brat would come back!
“Young Miss, this is indeed quite old, and tracing it back would be rather troublesome. In my opinion, there is no need for it.”
Bai Chuxiao sneered, "Aunt Xie can't produce any proof, could it be that she's pocketing it?"
The old lady was displeased. "Madam Xie, what exactly happened? Where did all these things go?"
"I truly dare not conceal the truth; all this money has indeed been used for the household expenses."
Bai Chuxiao didn't want to get entangled with her any further. "Since Aunt Xie can't explain where these things went, then I'll have to trouble you to come with me to the Jingzhao Prefecture. I believe the Prefect of Jingzhao will give me an explanation, don't you think?"
Madam Xie cried out, "Master, please speak fairly! This is a family matter; how can Miss insist on taking this to the authorities?"
Chu Tianze put down his teacup and said coldly, "What, so Madam Xie thinks she's in the right for embezzling the first wife's money? I'll make this clear: if Madam Xie can't explain herself, then I'll have to personally send you to see the authorities."
Madam Xie cursed inwardly, thinking, "That vile woman deliberately brought up the dowry while the Prince of Yan is here. She's truly hateful!"
Seeing this, Bai Linan quickly explained, "Your Highness, it's best not to bother the Prefect of the Capital with such a trivial matter. We can handle it ourselves behind closed doors."
Bai Chuxiao smiled slightly, "Since Aunt Xie can't explain it clearly, I won't force you. You just need to return the money in full according to the value of the items on the list."
Madam Xie stammered, "This... I don't have that much money."
“If Aunt Xie has no money, then we’ll have no choice but to go see the authorities. What do you say, Grandmother and Father?” Bai Chuxiao said calmly.
If they were to actually go to see the officials, wouldn't the Left Prime Minister's residence become a laughingstock in the capital? But the Prince of Yan, that ruthless devil, is still sitting here; who would dare to stop him once he speaks?
The old lady then said sternly, "Madam Xie, what else do you want? Don't think I don't know; you probably gave all that money to your family."
"That's not true, Madam..."
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