Chapter 29: The Duan family wants to demote his wife to a concubine?
Xiao Xuanwu felt that the Duan family was unreliable and chimed in, "Third sister-in-law, he's just being hypocritical."
"Fourth Sister, the Duan family is a bunch of ungrateful wolves and dogs. Don't be so stubborn."
“My affairs are none of your business. You and Yun Zhaoxue are in cahoots.”
"I'm doing this all for your own good."
Xiao Xiuning pushed her away, "I don't need your help. Get away from me. Mother, I think the same as you. I will never be a concubine. I want to annul the engagement."
Madam Yang held her daughter's hand, patted the back of her hand, and nodded approvingly, "Good! This is the kind of daughter of the Xiao family. Someone, go and get the marriage certificate and betrothal letter."
Duan Qingyun's expression turned anxious, and he wanted to say something to win her back, "Ning'er..."
Xiao Xiuning shook her head, "Brother Duan, you don't need to say anything. As the saying goes, it's better to be a beggar's wife than a rich man's concubine."
Even if she were down on her luck, she would never become someone's concubine.
Madam Duan said, “Fourth Miss, there are rumors outside that the Prince’s Mansion is going to be beheaded or exiled. Beheading would be the end of it all, but exile would be a real hardship. You still have some beauty and are not yet married. There are bandits and outlaws on the road, and some ill-intentioned people in the army may like someone as young and beautiful as you. The Prince’s Mansion has been kind to the General’s Mansion. If you marry into the Duan family, I guarantee that no one will dare to bully you.”
“Your Highness, I also have a daughter. If it were me, I would never bear to see my daughter suffer in exile. Being a concubine is the same as being a wife. She can eat her fill, dress warmly, and have a place to stay. What’s wrong with that?”
"No one dares to bully you? Aren't you human? You're capable of such despicable acts as demoting a wife to a concubine. You've already bullied her like this before she's even married into the family. Who knows how much worse she'll be treated after she's married into the family?"
"Xue'er is right, our royal family is determined to annul this engagement."
The two parties exchanged birth charts and a letter of annulment.
General Duan left in a huff, eager to find the Crown Prince to discuss countermeasures.
Duan Qingyun followed.
Before leaving, Madam Duan coldly snorted, "Ungrateful! They don't know how lucky they are."
In her opinion, her son was worthy of a princess. Since Xiao Xiuning had become her son's concubine, the Xiao family should be kneeling and begging for their gratitude. How dare they give them attitude?
Yun Zhaoxue called out to her retreating figure, "Madam Duan, keep the blessing of being demoted from wife to concubine for yourself."
Madam Yang wanted to comfort her daughter, "Ning'er..."
Xiao Xiuning ran out crying.
"Mother, don't worry. Fourth Sister will understand after crying. It's better than her crying every day after marrying into the Duan family."
"Yes, Xiao Wu, you've grown up."
"Mother, I've grown up. I can protect you and the Prince's Mansion, and I won't let anyone bully you."
“Good boy, if your father and three brothers were still alive…”
Mrs. Yang felt sorry for her youngest son, who had to take on responsibilities at the young age of thirteen.
“Mother, don’t worry about me. My third brother went to the battlefield at the age of 13. I am far inferior to him.”
Xiao Xiuning ran back to her courtyard, threw herself onto the bed, and burst into tears.
A moment later, someone came and knocked on the door, "Knock knock!!"
Xiao Xiuning didn't want to see anyone right now, and her tone was somewhat impatient: "Who is it?"
Ye Hongying's voice came from inside, "Ning'er, it's me, open the door."
Xiao Xiuning went to open the door, her voice trembling with tears, "Sister Hongying."
"What's wrong? What happened? Didn't you just go to the Duan family this morning and have a good talk with General Duan about whether he's willing to marry you?"
“He meant to marry me as a concubine, but I would never be a concubine, so I broke off the engagement.”
Ye Hongying was not surprised by the result. People strive for higher positions, and water flows downhill. The Duan family had long since broken away from the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion and pledged allegiance to the Crown Prince. In order to take care of Xiao Xiuning's feelings, she helped her scold the scumbag, "This young master Duan is too much. You went to him and he agreed, but suddenly he changed his mind. It's too insulting."
“I, I don’t know how things changed? Yun Zhaoxue made a bet with me that if Brother Duan married me, she would give me the silver she got back from the Marquis’s mansion as my dowry. I almost got the silver to save my third brother.”
Ye Hongying's eyes flashed. "When did she become so generous? Is she certain that General Duan will not marry you? Xiao Wu and she beat up the Duan family, and the Duan family wants to take you as a concubine in order to get revenge. She must know something and deliberately made a bet with you to make you even more heartbroken."
Xiao Xiuning subconsciously shook her head: "She...she doesn't seem that bad, does she? When Madam Duan scolded me for not knowing what was good for me, she was the one who scolded me back."
"Xiuning, don't be fooled by her. She took the public silver from the Prince's mansion. You and Xiaowu should risk your dignity to get the silver back. She's hoarding it all for herself, paving the way for her own future. She's not on our side..."
...
late at night.
Yun Zhaoxue was fast asleep when suddenly a bamboo stalk pierced the paper window and blew into the room.
She had long suspected that someone was deliberately pretending not to know.
The other party blew sleeping powder but did not come in; instead, they went to the side hall next door, which was her private treasury.
Are they after the money?
Are they from the second or third branch of the Prince's household, or from the Marquis's household?
The Prince's mansion was heavily guarded, and people from the Marquis's mansion could hardly get in unless they hired notorious bandits or assassins, who would then be penniless and unable to afford such services.
You can guard against thieves day and night, but it's hard to guard against thieves within your own family.
Yun Zhaoxue waited until the faint footsteps faded into the distance before walking to the window.
She saw several dark figures picking the lock on the door of her private storeroom.
After fiddling around for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the door was finally opened.
The group rushed in and soon came out carrying boxes; they specifically picked out gold, silver, jewelry, and cloth to carry away.
They carried it twice, carrying over thirty boxes in total.
A dark figure landed in front of Yun Zhaoxue. "Princess Consort, shall I go and stop this?"
Yun Zhaoxue recognized the voice as that of Zhuiying, who had reminded him during the day.
Zhuiying felt that it was better for the money to be in her hands than in the hands of the second and third wives, because she would buy expensive medicinal herbs for Yang.
"No need, I have my own plans. The Crown Prince will be tried by the three judicial authorities soon. I'm afraid someone will try to harm him. You should keep an eye on him in prison, don't just slack off while watching the Prince's mansion."
He watched from the rooftop, observing how she would steal the things back and then extort money from the second and third wives.
"Yes! I'll go right away."
Zhuiying turned and left, using his lightness skill to step on tree branches and fly onto the roof, quickly disappearing into the night.
When Yun Zhaoxue first saw the light-body skills of this era, she took a few more glances. Flying around so freely, it was so cool. She wanted to learn it too and asked Zhuiying to teach her another day.
Yun Zhaoxue followed the people from the second and third branches of the family and saw that they hid the things in a cellar in an abandoned courtyard, which was piled with firewood.
Half an hour later, Yun Zhaoxue went to the cellar to put the items into her spatial storage, leaving the box as evidence.
The next day, Yun Zhaoxue pretended to have just discovered that the warehouse had been emptied and went to Yang Shi to seek justice.
"Mother, the manor has been robbed! My storeroom has been emptied, all the valuables are gone. Those were our most precious possessions, our last resort. I don't know which scoundrel stole them. I curse him to be childless and die a horrible death..."
The members of the second and third families were speechless.
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