Chapter 5 Hiring an assassin to kill Yun Zhaoxue
Marquis Yunyang exclaimed in surprise, "Ten thousand taels? Are you robbing me?"
Even if he were a marquis, he couldn't just casually take out ten thousand taels.
Yun Zhaoxue looked at Yun Jiaoyue, "Second sister, everyone says you are kind-hearted and compassionate. I am short of money right now. Please help me persuade my grandmother, father, and aunt. If they can't come up with the money, they will be breaking their promise. You wouldn't want me to be a person who breaks their word, would you?"
Yun Jiaoyue bit her lip, looking troubled. "I... Eldest sister, ten thousand taels is not a small amount, and I can't make that decision myself."
Yun Zhaoxue grasped her wrist and lifted it up. "This bracelet you're wearing is part of my mother's dowry. It's a top-grade mutton-fat jade bracelet, worth five hundred taels! If you don't have the money, you can use something to offset it. You say you'll help me, but you keep making excuses when I ask you to give me money. You don't really want to help me."
Yun Zhaoxue roughly pulled off the white jade bracelet from her fair wrist.
"Ouch~ it hurts." Yun Jiaoyue cried out in pain, her wrist burning with pain, and her eyes reddened.
"And these things on your head, the seven-jeweled hairpin of the palace, worth a thousand taels, the top-quality South China Sea pearl necklace, each pearl is fifty taels, this whole string is at least a thousand taels, and the red agate is one hundred taels. Second sister's outfit alone is almost three thousand taels. Good sister, eldest sister is really struggling. You must have even more in your boudoir. Go back and get it for me to make up the difference."
Each item mentioned is removed.
Bracelets, hairpins, earrings, necklaces, and even the pearl flowers used to decorate her hair were all removed.
Yun Jiaoyue's carefully styled hair hung loose.
The red dates were placed on a tray to the side.
The old lady's face was grim as she repeatedly pounded her cane on the ground, making a deafening thud, "Bang! Bang!!"
"This is outrageous! This is truly outrageous! You're a married woman, how dare you come home and steal things?"
Yun Zhaoxue said, "Grandmother, you're getting senile. All of these things that my second sister is wearing are my mother's dowry. How can taking back what's rightfully hers be considered robbery? We've already done more than enough by asking my second sister to take off this dress."
Yun Jiaoyue spoke with righteous indignation, "Elder sister, you've gone too far. Your mother is also my legal mother, and I have a share of her dowry."
This was something she owed herself in her past life. When the enemy country breached the capital and she was being escorted north, Yun Zhaoxue stole her life-saving grace from the fourth prince of the enemy country, causing her to suffer greatly.
Yun Zhaoxue searched the original owner's memories and found that there was indeed such a rule in this era: "There is a share, but you must agree to be given a share by this princess. Taking it without asking is stealing. Dressing more luxuriously than this princess is shameless."
Yun Jiaoyue's beautiful face turned pale and then flushed. "I am the future Third Prince's consort. I must dress elegantly so as not to embarrass the Third Prince."
"Second sister, do you want to take off these clothes and give them back to me? In that case, I won't stand on ceremony." Yun Zhaoxue reached out and tugged at her collar.
The old lady shouted angrily again, "Stop! This is the Marquis's residence! You cannot be so insolent here."
Wang lunged at her daughter, crying, "Yue'er, no one can touch my daughter..."
Yun Jiaoyue was so frightened that her face turned pale, and she threw herself into Wang's arms, crying, "Ah, Mother, save me!"
The maids and servants rushed forward to help.
Red dates and green branches stood in front of Yun Zhaoxue, "Princess, don't be afraid, we're here to save you."
The two men and a group of people got into a fight.
Despite being outnumbered, they did not retreat.
Just then, a nanny's hand was about to land on Hongzao's face.
Yun Zhaoxue made a move, intercepting her wrist and twisting it forcefully, "Crack!"
With a forceful shove, the old woman landed on Wang Shi and the others, causing them to fall to the ground, crying out in pain.
"Bang!" Marquis Yunyang slammed his fist on the table in anger. "Guards, seize this wretched girl for me!"
Soon, several servants rushed in with sticks and surrounded Yun Zhaoxue and the other two.
With her messy hair and swollen cheeks, Hongzao said, "Princess, don't be afraid. I will protect you even if it costs me my life."
Yun Zhaoxue didn't take the servant seriously, pushed aside the red dates and green branches blocking her way, and sneered: "The emerald on my father's jade belt was also my mother's dowry, as was the emerald bracelet on my grandmother's hand, and the ruby and gold hairpin on my aunt's head. All of them were my mother's dowry."
It's ridiculous that a noble family would use a woman's dowry to maintain appearances. Besides this empty mansion, no, the mansion itself was renovated and rebuilt using my mother's dowry. Aren't they afraid of being ridiculed by the world for sucking my mother's blood?
If I don't get what I want today, all the filth and ugliness of the Marquis's mansion will be exposed to the world.
The old lady sneered, "The Marquis's mansion is ridiculed by the world, do you think you'll have a good time in the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion?"
"Whatever. I won't have a good life either way if I don't get the money back. If I'm not having a good life, no one else will either."
The old lady stared at her for a moment, then finally gave in and ordered, "Wang, go and get her ten thousand taels of silver right away."
Marquis Yunyang was very concerned about his reputation and was afraid that the world would find out that he was using his wife's dowry to maintain his dignity. "Yes, go quickly, go quickly."
Worried that Yun Jiaoyue would be bullied if she stayed, Madam Wang instructed the maid, "Help the Second Miss back to her room."
Then he reluctantly went down to get the silver.
Soon, Wang returned with a box, holding it tightly and reluctant to let go.
Yun Zhaoxue gave her a meaningful look, and Hongzao immediately stepped forward to snatch it.
Here you go.
Hongzao opened the box and presented it to Yun Zhaoxue, saying, "Princess."
Yun Zhaoxue casually flipped through the taels of silver. "There should be ten thousand taels."
"Go back now, come back when you've finished spending the money."
Despite the hateful stares of the group, Yun Zhaoxue swaggered away with Hongzao and Lüzhi, one carrying a box and the other a tray full of jewelry.
As soon as she left, the old lady waved her hand to dismiss the servants, concubines, and illegitimate daughters.
The old lady looked around at her descendants and grandchildren present. "This wretched child... cannot be allowed to live. What do you all think?"
Marquis Yunyang was so frightened that he waved his hands repeatedly, "Mother, do you want to kill her? She is, after all, a princess personally appointed by the Emperor."
Madam Wang clenched the handkerchief in her hand. "Is it that Master is reluctant to part with it? Our Yue'er is the most talented woman in the capital, and she's the future wife of the Third Prince. With her dowry, she can have a glorious marriage. How can she be compared to the wife of a disgraced official?"
She had been suppressed by Zhao Mingzhu (the original owner's mother) her whole life, and she only hoped that her daughter would marry the Third Prince to bring her honor.
Marquis Yunyang still felt it was inappropriate, "We can just withhold her dowry, there's no need to kill her. If it gets traced back to us, the Marquis's mansion will be finished."
He has many children, and he doesn't need Yun Zhaoxue. He doesn't want to kill her because he's afraid of the trouble.
Yun Jiaoyue analyzed, "Father, the Prince's Mansion has fallen into decline and is suspected of colluding with the enemy and betraying the country. At best, his family will be confiscated and he will be exiled; at worst, his entire family will be executed."
"The Marquis's family and Eldest Sister haven't severed ties yet. If the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion suffers an accident, it will definitely implicate our Marquis's family. Severing ties at this critical juncture will only make us seem heartless and ungrateful. Only if Eldest Sister is gone will we avoid being implicated."
The old lady nodded in agreement, "Yue'er is right."
Marquis Yunyang was soft-hearted and indecisive, and was quickly persuaded by the three men. "Then let's kill him, but how?"
Wang asked in a low voice, "Has Your Excellency ever heard of the Assassin's Guild?"
The Assassin's Guild is a江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the martial arts world) organization that will take on any job as long as the money is right, including murder, robbery, rape, and kidnapping.
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