Chapter 30 Attempt to Steal a Chicken Backfires
"May you be childless and die a horrible death, with sores on your head and pus flowing from your feet, struck by lightning, and your children born without an anus..." Yun Zhaoxue cursed more and more viciously, and the faces of the second and third wives looked as ugly as if they had eaten shit.
Mrs. Yang comforted her, saying, "Xue'er, be careful not to upset yourself. We'll work together to find a way to get it back for you."
Xie Wanyun said, "Third sister-in-law, the Prince's mansion also has guards patrolling at night. If thieves sneak in and steal dozens of large boxes, it will definitely alert the guards."
Yun Zhaoxue nodded vigorously, "That's right, Mother and sister-in-law also think it couldn't be an outsider, right? I suspect it's someone from the household. We're on guard day and night, but it's hard to guard against a thief within the family."
Uncle Xiao was startled, his eyes darting around, a hint of guilt flashing in them. "Someone from the manor? Who, who is it?"
Aunt Wu pinched her husband's arm hard, shielding him with her large body, and said to Yun Zhaoxue, "I'm afraid some people are stealing from their own positions, crying 'stop thief' while trying to smear others."
Yun Zhaoxue pointed at her, "Is the thief that Second Aunt is talking about me? It's really a case of the thief crying 'stop thief!' The thief has already jumped out, and that is Second Aunt."
Aunt Xiao, hands on her hips and chest puffed out, retorted without a hint of guilt, "You say I stole it, do you have any proof?"
Yun Zhaoxue looked at her.
To commit theft and still act so self-righteously—I must say, that takes real nerve.
Ye Hongying said, "Princess, you should provide evidence when you speak. Someone who sneaked into the Prince's mansion and emptied dozens of boxes must be someone of high rank and power with many subordinates. And Xiuning said that you met the Third Prince just yesterday."
Xiao Xiuning echoed, "Mother, she did indeed go to see the Third Prince yesterday."
Aunt Xiao immediately jumped out and accused, "Sister-in-law, the Crown Princess is unfaithful. First she eloped, then she seduced another man to empty the storeroom and falsely accused us of stealing her money. She is shameless and has disgraced our Xiao family ancestors for eighteen generations."
"Who are you pointing at? If you dare to point again, I, the princess, will break your hand."
"What's wrong with me pointing this out? You're not a virtuous woman, you should be hanged or drowned!"
Yun Zhaoxue stopped arguing with her, grabbed the finger that was pointing at her, and forcefully bent it backward.
With a "crack" sound, her finger broke off.
"Ah!—" Wu let out a scream, her eyes staring in terror at the stunningly beautiful face before her, as if she had seen a vengeful ghost. Her pupils shrank and her whole body trembled.
Wu's son, Xiao Xuanjing, stepped forward to support her as she stumbled backward, "Mother..."
"How dare you break my mother's finger?"
Enraged, he gathered his strength in his palm and struck at Yun Zhaoxue.
Yun Zhaoxue dodged to the side, and a silver needle appeared between her fingers, piercing his arm.
Xiao Xuanjing suddenly felt his arm go numb and he couldn't use it. A sharp pain spread throughout his body, and his right hand fell limply to his side.
He thought his hand was going to be ruined, and his face showed panic. "Ah!"
Seeing that her mother-in-law and husband were both injured, Ye Hongying drew the soft sword from her waist and stabbed at Yun Zhaoxue.
This sword strike still carried the resentment of having his love stolen years ago; both old and new grudges were settled together.
She had long wished she could kill Yun Zhaoxue.
"stop!"
Yang tried to stand in front of Yun Zhaoxue. Yun Zhaoxue pushed her aside and pulled a dagger from her sleeve.
The dagger slid across the sword, sparks flying.
Ye Hongying felt her arm go numb and couldn't hold the sword.
"Clang!"
Yun Zhaoxue stabbed her arm with a knife.
Xiao Xuanjing's eyes widened in fury, "Hongying!"
He channeled his energy into his left hand and attacked Yun Zhaoxue.
Yun Zhaoxue braced herself on the table, flipped over and hid behind it, the dagger in her hand flew out and pierced his shoulder, "Ah!"
Yun Zhaoxue clapped her hands. "Not bad, husband and wife should share both hardships."
Uncle Xiao immediately jumped out and shouted, "Sister-in-law, Princess Zhaoxue is becoming increasingly lawless! We are all family. When the eldest branch fell into trouble, we, the second and third branches, still stayed in the Prince's Mansion and never abandoned her. Yet she actually tried to kill my wife and children! This is too much! Too much! We must separate the family! I want to separate the family!"
They stole all the money from the eldest son's family; after the family divided the property, all the money belonged to them.
As for the injuries suffered by his wife and children, he will take revenge when the eldest son's family falls into trouble, especially that damned Princess Zhaoxue.
Madam Yang replied, "You were the ones who were disrespectful to Xue'er and even tried to hurt her. We can separate the family, but we must first find the thief."
Xiao Xiuning helped Ye Hongying up, her voice urgent, "Sister Hongying, please sit down quickly. Someone, go and fetch a doctor."
“Mother, why are you still speaking up for Yun Zhaoxue? She went too far. If she hadn’t broken Second Aunt’s fingers, Eldest Brother and Sister Hongying wouldn’t have hurt her. You should punish her severely.”
Madam Yang admonished her daughter, "Ning'er, Xue'er is your third sister-in-law. You should weigh the pros and cons yourself."
“Sister Hongying grew up with me. In my heart, she is my own sister. What is Yun Zhaoxue compared to her?”
"Ning'er, don't go too far with your words." Madam Yang was so angry with her daughter that she had a headache.
Yun Zhaoxue sat down to drink tea, too lazy to waste words with them. They had already cursed and beaten her; she would use evidence to crush them.
At this moment, Zhuiying came over with several guards who had been searching and reported, "Your Highness, Your Highness, your Highness, we found this near a woodshed in the Second Master's courtyard. We searched the woodshed and found a cellar with dozens of empty boxes inside."
The two things Zhuiying found were a jade ruyi and a piece of cloth.
"Your subordinate also found several sets of footprints nearby. Comparing the shoes, those footprints belonged to the servants and maids of the Second Master and Third Master's courtyards."
Uncle Xiao's mouth moved faster than his brain, and he immediately retorted, "Impossible, we've already erased the footprints..."
Wu was in excruciating pain from her broken finger; her head was spinning and she was slow to react. By the time she reminded him, it was too late, "Master..."
Yun Zhaoxue replied, "What happened to the footprints? Did you erase them? It's too dark to see clearly in the middle of the night, so you probably didn't erase them completely."
They did erase it, and later she went to the servant's room to steal shoes and pressed her footprints on the ground.
"Mother, the two families of my second and third uncles have gone too far. They stole our eldest son's silver and even tried to smear me. We don't know where they moved the silver."
Yang looked at the two families of Uncle Xiao and Uncle Xiao with eyes full of disappointment. "Second brother, third brother, hurry up and hand over the money, or don't blame me for not showing any mercy and sending you to the government."
When the first wife was at the height of her power, she helped the second and third wives a lot. Now that the first wife is in trouble, not only can they not help her, but they even stole her money. They repay kindness with enmity and are ungrateful.
"We...we moved the silver to that woodshed last night and haven't touched it since. The things are in there, how could they be missing?"
"Second Master, there is indeed only a box. The guards in the manor can all testify to this."
Yun Zhaoxue said, "The item went missing while it was in your possession, so you must compensate us for its value."
"We don't have that much money..."
Yun Zhaoxue interrupted him, saying, "If it's not enough to pay, then write an IOU. Someone, go to the second and third houses and move the silver."
Uncle Xiao waved his hands and shook his head, his head bobbing like a rattle drum. "We didn't lose it. It was stolen by another dummy. You can't use our things to pay off a debt. We didn't steal it, sister-in-law, princess, it really wasn't us..."
Uncle Xiao's body went limp, and he knelt down and lunged forward to grab Yang's skirt. "Sister-in-law, please help us plead with the princess. It's really not that I can't lose it; it was stolen by a thief. If we find the thief, we can get it back."
Yang coldly pulled out her skirt, "If it's lost in your hands, you have to compensate for it."
Zhuiying moved all the valuable vases, ornaments, and jewelry from their warehouses and houses over.
The estimated value of those items was 50,000 taels short, with the two families splitting the debt equally, each owing 25,000 taels.
"Twenty-five thousand? Twenty-five thousand..." Uncle Xiao Er and Uncle Xiao San lost all the money they had painstakingly saved up their whole lives and were now in debt for twenty-five thousand taels. They were so angry that their eyes rolled back and they fainted completely.
The others rushed over, crying, "Master, Master, you can't die! Our whole family is counting on you..."
"Father, Father..."
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