Chapter 7: Reclaiming the Dowry!
"What's wrong?" Liu Rumei asked.
"It's nothing..." Sheng Huai'an came back to his senses and said with a gentle smile, "I just suddenly remembered the policy essay that the teacher asked us to write, and I thought about how to solve the problem."
Liu Rumei said gently, "You have always been a diligent student."
As soon as she finished speaking, she lowered her head and coughed several times, her face turning pale with discomfort.
Sheng Huai'an couldn't think of anything else. He gently patted her back and said softly, "Sister-in-law, it's time to take your medicine again, isn't it? Don't worry, I'll go see Ye Mingzhu in the next couple of days."
"She was deeply in love with me, but was forced to marry Sheng Yunche, so she must hate him to the core. Princess Ronghua is not easy to get along with. Even if she puts on a good show, she is actually unhappy that her son is infatuated with a lowly merchant's daughter, and she will definitely make things difficult for her."
"She is heartbroken and lost right now. If I coax her a little more, she will be even more devoted to me and keep providing me with the Gu."
"Mmm." Liu Rumei responded, full of affection, "Thanks to you, otherwise I really don't know how I would have survived."
"What nonsense are you talking about, sister-in-law? My elder brother is gone, so taking care of you is my responsibility."
"..."
The two stared at each other for a long time, and unconsciously moved closer.
Sheng Huai'an grasped Liu Rumei's shoulder. As she leaned into his arms, her lips brushed against his neck, instantly making his breathing quicken.
Sensing his emotions, Liu Rumei quickly sat up straight, blaming herself, "We can't do this, it's all my fault, I, I shouldn't have kept you here..."
Sheng Huai'an reluctantly let go of her, his eyes filled with deep affection: "Don't blame me, sister-in-law. I couldn't help myself. I admired your talent and forced you to be with me. If there is any sin, let me bear it."
...
Linfeng Hall.
After bidding farewell to Princess Ronghua, Ye Mingzhu returned home with several maids, "laden with spoils".
Whether it was to apologize to Sheng Yunche or not, Princess Ronghua generously gifted her many things, including sets of exquisite and luxurious headdresses and bolts of silk and satin, all in the latest styles and patterns.
Even after taking these things, Ye Mingzhu felt uneasy.
The servants said that Sheng Yunche was reading in the study, so she went to the study to find him and asked what to do.
Sheng Yun didn't even look up, and casually said, "You can handle it yourself."
“But the items are valuable; they probably add up to ten or twenty thousand taels of silver,” Ye Mingzhu said.
"So what?" Sheng Yunche finally looked up at her. "Since your mother likes you and gave it to you, it is naturally yours. Do you think you are not worth it?"
"..." Ye Mingzhu thought for a moment, then returned the favor and said, "Shall I treat you tonight?"
Sheng Yunche put down the book in his hand, raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile, "Have you figured it out?"
"What have you figured out?" Ye Mingzhu asked, puzzled.
"Nothing?" Sheng Yunche chuckled softly, leaning back against the soft pillows, looking utterly dejected.
Ye Mingzhu: "..."
"Don't disturb me while I'm reading."
Ye Mingzhu: "...Yes."
It took her a while after leaving the study for her to realize that Sheng Yunche had asked her what he meant by "figured it out."
Did he think that her offer to treat him that night was some kind of illicit treatment?
Ye Mingzhu took a deep breath.
The Ye family has been practicing medicine for generations, running hundreds of pharmacies and herbal medicine shops, and now they are even honored as imperial merchants! She not only inherited her mother's longevity Gu, but she is also a true medical expert!
...
Ye Mingzhu carefully put away the gifts given by Princess Ronghua and immediately began arranging tasks for Baozan and the other three.
According to traditional customs for women in their boudoirs.
Baozan was in charge of her daily life, Ruyi managed her clothes, jewelry and private funds, Yufu was in charge of managing the maids and servants in the courtyard, and Ruixiang assisted her in managing her dowry business.
Oh, and the dowry!
Ye Mingzhu silently made a mental note of it and first asked Yu Fu to call over the servants from Linfeng Hall for questioning.
In his previous life, Sheng Huai'an claimed to have deep feelings for Liu Rumei, but after marriage, he secretly took in two concubines and kept a maid named Yushu in his study to add fragrance to his sleeves.
The two concubines were relatively well-behaved, but Yu Shu, relying on his favored status, caused her a lot of trouble.
But she didn't know what was wrong with her at the time; she didn't suspect anything until after she became a ghost.
Looking at the servants that Yu Fu had summoned to Linfeng Hall, they were all young maids and rough-working women.
Sheng Yunche was not interested in women. His daily life was taken care of by his two attendants, Bu Xi and Bu Bei. There were only four second-class maids in the courtyard who were responsible for cleaning the inner rooms, and six rough-working old women who cleaned the courtyard.
This actually saved her some trouble.
She told Yu Fu to give each of them an extra month's salary as a bonus, and told them that their jobs would continue as usual, and that they should just do their best in their work.
After quickly finishing the initial tasks, Ye Mingzhu began to take stock of her dowry, instructing Ruyi to organize and store the items that needed to be stored away.
Yesterday, Sheng Yunche "snatched" her bride, and her dowry was delivered directly to Linfeng Hall.
However, the bed that Ye's family had previously purchased at Sheng Huai'an's Tingsongju, the "Hundred Sons and Thousand Grandsons" canopy bed made of precious wood and which took nearly ten years to complete, along with the entire set of furniture, the double-sided embroidered screen, and many other items, are still there and have not been brought back.
There was a particularly valuable original landscape painting by Li Sixun, which was Sheng Huai'an's favorite, and she absolutely did not want to let him have it for free.
She said to Baozan and the others, "After lunch, you will come with me to the West Mansion. I need to retrieve all the things that are kept at Tingsong Residence."
"Should we tell the Duke?" Baozan asked worriedly. "Miss, what exactly is going on between you and Young Master Sheng?"
She hasn't been able to figure it out since yesterday.
Not only Baozan was curious, but Yufu and the others also wanted to know.
After all, Ye Mingzhu's attitude determines their attitude.
Ye Mingzhu was going to explain these things to them as well.
The scandal between Sheng Huai'an and Liu Rumei should not be publicized. She simply said that Sheng Huai'an was not sincere towards her and only married her, a merchant's daughter, because he coveted the Ye family's money.
On the eve of her wedding, she saw through his true colors and refused to tolerate it. Since the marriage could not be called off, she made a deal with Sheng Yunche using the longevity gu she possessed.
Sheng Yunche married her, and she treated Sheng Yunche's illness; both of them got what they wanted.
Baozan said indignantly, "What's wrong with a merchant's daughter? She's much better than that hypocritical scoundrel! Miss, since the Duke has agreed to be your husband, he should treat you well in the future, right?"
Yu Fu was very worried, but she didn't want to say anything discouraging. She just smiled and said, "I think the Duke is much better than Sheng Huai'an. Miss's marriage will definitely be happy."
Ruyi added, "Our young lady is now the Duchess of the State!"
Ruixiang only wanted revenge: "Miss, shall we find someone to beat up Sheng Huai'an?"
"..."
Listening to the chatter of the maids, Ye Mingzhu found even the cicadas chirping outside the window to be pleasant to hear.
Her almond-shaped eyes were calm as she smiled and said, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
...
Before we knew it, it was lunchtime.
There are only three proper masters in the East Mansion, and the courtyards are not close to each other. Therefore, each courtyard has a small kitchen. Only the lunch of Sheng Yunche's three half-brothers and half-sisters needs to be taken back from the main kitchen.
At their first meal at Linfeng Hall, Ye Mingzhu asked Baozan if Sheng Yunche liked the food, and then specially instructed the kitchen to prepare light dishes to suit his taste.
After lunch, Ye Mingzhu brought up the matter of going to the West Mansion to retrieve her dowry.
She originally thought that Sheng Yunche would tell her to let it go and not embarrass herself, after all, he had said yesterday that no matter how bad Sheng Huai'an was, he was still a member of the Sheng family and she was not allowed to bully him.
She had already planned how to handle the situation, but he asked, "Are we manpower enough?"
"Huh?" Ye Mingzhu was stunned.
Sheng Yunche glanced at her indifferently: "I'll have Bu Xi and Bu Bei go with you, so you won't end up getting what you want and being lectured instead, which would make the lady of our Duke's mansion lose face."
Ye Mingzhu wasn't stupid; she immediately stood up, curtsied, and said with a smile, "Thank you, Duke."
She went along without showing any joy or sorrow, not only because of the large number of people, but also to show that Sheng Yunche was protecting her and making it easier for her to act.
Sheng Yunche gave her another cool glance and scoffed.
She calls him "husband" in front of her mother, her voice incredibly sweet. But in front of him, she calls him "Lord Duke," acting all distant. It's interesting.
He then asked, "Now that the items are back, what are you going to do with them? I don't agree to take them back to Linfeng Hall."
Ye Mingzhu, of course, wouldn't; she felt uncomfortable with it.
“No,” she said with disgust. “I’ll just sell it and donate the money to a charity.”
“Alright.” Sheng Yunche nodded reservedly, pushed a bunch of keys to her side, and said indifferently, “These are my private vault keys. You take good care of Linfeng Hall first and let me see your abilities. I’ll be handling official business in my study this afternoon. Don’t come looking for me unless it’s absolutely necessary, and definitely don’t come looking for me if it is.”
Ye Mingzhu agreed.
Watching Sheng Yunche walk out of the courtyard gate of Linfeng Hall, she waved to Baozan and the others, trying hard to suppress the hatred in her heart, and said, "Come on, come with me to Tingsong Residence to get my things back!"
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