The Lin Clan didn't expect Yu Xiang to be so straightforward. Before they could finish their private conversation, three large chests had already been placed in the courtyard. There were labels on the chests. Two of them were the account books of the Imperial Household, and one was the dowry book of the Lin Clan over the years.
Yu Miaoqi's eyes darkened when she saw the labels. She asked, "Mother, did you entrust your dowry to her as well?" Didn't she already know the truth four years ago? Why was she still so trusting of Yu Xiang?
The Lin Clan felt very awkward when she heard this. She ordered the servants to move the chests into the room and explained, "For the first few years, I was unable to extricate myself from the pain of losing my husband. Therefore, the household affairs, the Imperial Household, and even the dowry were all handed over to the Old Ancestor to help manage. Presumably, the Old Ancestor also handed over the lands and shops that came with the dowry to her. However, I was completely unaware of this."
Yu Miaoqi still couldn't let go after hearing this. She complained, "Grandmother already knew about her identity four years ago, but still handed over your dowry. It's clear that she trusted and loved her to the extreme. On the other hand, her attitude towards me was neither cold nor warm, neither distant nor close. "
The Lin Clan hurriedly hugged her and comforted her, "My child, don't think too much. Isn't this because you weren't at home in the early years? The Old Ancestor was lonely and naturally needed someone to accompany her. Thus, she was won over by Yu Xiang. It's the same if you accompany her more in the future. Blood ties are there. There's no reason to be close to an outsider but alienate your family. "
Yu Miaoqi nodded and directly opened the chests that contained the dowry books. There were many account books neatly arranged inside, and the years were marked on the back pages.
The head of the Lin Clan took out one of the books and flipped through it. He sneered and said, "Put the account book aside for now. I'll look at it later. I have to check the dowry book carefully. If she did something to my dowry, I'll have to report it to the Ancestor so that she can see the true face of this' legitimate granddaughter '."
Yu Miaoqi's mind wandered, and she also took out a book and skimmed through it. She was shocked by the wealth of the Lin Clan's maternal family. The dowry of land and shops was a bit too much. It was not an exaggeration to say that it was' ten miles of red dowry '. She couldn't help but ask curiously, "Mother, what does our maternal family do? How could he be so rich? "
The Lin Clan member laughed. "Your maternal family is also a merchant, but they are not lowly traveling merchants. Instead, they are imperial merchants appointed by the imperial family. They are specifically responsible for preparing porcelain, silk, and other items used by the imperial family. Your maternal grandfather is the only red-crowned merchant in the Han Dynasty. That year, he once offered five million shi of grain to the divine ancestor who was fighting outside to resolve the danger of losing the war. As a result, he was conferred the title of Censorate of the Secretariat, and his status is very revered. "
Yu Miaoqi originally thought that merchants were all lowly people, but after hearing the Lin Clan's words, she realized that there were actually godly people who could achieve the pinnacle of being a merchant. And her maternal grandfather was the only outstanding one. The slight discomfort in her heart instantly dissipated, and she said with a smile, "So my maternal grandfather is actually so powerful. Should I take the time to pay him a visit?"
The pride on the Lin Clan member's face faded, and he sighed. "Your maternal grandfather passed away long ago. Now, your eldest uncle is in charge. Let's talk about visiting another day. "
The Lin Clan was originally the eldest legitimate daughter of the Lin Clan, but the current head of the Lin Clan was her eldest concubine-born brother who she looked down on the most. Her younger brother was a wastrel. Because he took too much Five Minerals Powder, his bones were damaged, and he couldn't have children in this lifetime. As a result, he lost the right to inherit. Because she helped her younger brother fight for power, she had a falling out with her eldest concubine-born brother, and she hadn't returned home for a full twenty years.
Her younger brother was now living on his own, and the few remaining family assets had long been squandered away. From time to time, he would find Marquis Yongle to ask for money. Yu Xiang was very generous every time she gave money, and she used all of the Lin Clan's dowry. This caused her youngest uncle to nod and bow when he saw her. His attitude was flattering, as if he was treating his own ancestor. However, the Lin Clan was completely unaware of these things.
Yu Miaoqi saw her gloomy expression and didn't dare to ask more. She thought that she would privately ask Mama Kim for more details, so she smiled and said, "Then let's do it another day. I won't hide it from Mother. When I was in the Family Shen, I often helped Shen shi look at the account books. If Mother is too busy, I can help. "
"Oh? My daughter is actually this capable? Then that's good. Let's immediately carefully examine these account books. If there's a problem, we can bring them to the Old Ancestor to discuss it. "
The Lin Clan took out all of the account books and began to examine them from the beginning according to the year marked on the spine. Yu Miaoqi picked up the abacus and looked at each line, calculating one line after another. Her speed was very shocking.
Because the mother and daughter wanted to find fault, they repeatedly checked each number. When they were halfway through the examination, they really did find quite a few areas with large deficits.
The mother and daughter immediately became spirited and continued to examine. The accumulated deficits had reached an inconceivable level. There were even five prosperous shops in the capital that had been sold for no reason, and the silver that had been obtained had disappeared.
The Lin Clan was so angry that their teeth were chattering. They slapped the table and cursed, "What a little bastard child, she actually dared to sell my dowry in private! No wonder she lived so extravagantly. Turns out she dug out my flesh and blood to make up for it! Good, good, good! Mama Kim, take the account books and go to the Old Ancestor. While you're at it, call Master Hou over as well. In front of them, I want that little bastard child to spit out everything that she ate from me! "
Mama Kim solemnly agreed. She called over two servants to take the account books and leave.
Yu Miaoqi slightly lowered her head and used her handkerchief to cover the gloating smile on her face. This Yu Xiang was really bold. She actually swallowed a huge amount of one hundred thousand taels. Who knew what she spent the money on? If she was forced to spit it out, the scene would really be ugly! When she thought about how this silver was supposed to be her dowry, but it was all swallowed up by that bastard child, her eyes gradually turned cold and her joy immediately disappeared.
The Lin Clan pulled her up and left. She suddenly came back to her senses and waved her hand, "Wait a moment, I'll put on the embroidered pouch that Grandmother gave me." She took out the embroidered pouch from her sewing box and casually folded a piece of paper before putting it inside. Only then did she tie it around her waist and follow the Lin Clan to the main courtyard.
-----
In the small courtyard of the West Wing, Yu Xiang returned from accompanying the matriarch to recite scriptures. She played with the parrot, Ah Lu, in the corridor for a while. Then she moved the budding peonies from the flowerbed into a flower pot. She washed her face and half leaned on the soft couch to rest.
Liu Lu looked at the hourglass and realized that it was her master's usual afternoon nap time. She tiptoed over to remove the silk flowers, pearl hairpins, and other things from her hair.
"Just wear it. I'll sleep for half an hour and won't be able to press it down." Yu Xiang raised her hand to stop her.
"It's more convenient to remove it. It's more comfortable to lie down and sleep. If you sit like this, your waist will hurt later."
"In a while, someone will come looking for trouble. How can I fight them when I'm sleepy? It's better to sit for a while and rest. "As if she thought of something interesting, Yu Xiang covered her mouth and chuckled.
Before Liu Lu could speak, Tao Hong cried out in surprise, "Looking for trouble? Who in the Marquis Household would dare to look for trouble with Miss? Are they tired of living? "
Yu Xiang pointed in the direction of the main room, her face full of contempt.
Liu Lu was even more puzzled and asked, "Why? Didn't we already hand over the power of the household? We don't have anything left here! "
Yu Xiang simply stopped sleeping. She ordered Tao Hong to bring her a plate of melon seeds. While eating, she said, "She's such a selfish person. She's definitely more concerned about her own dowry book than the household. Coincidentally, there's a problem with her dowry book. The deficit is very large, and she hates me to the bone. She won't wait until she's finished reading all the books before she makes a fuss about it in order to slap me in the face. "
"Deficit? Miss, you embezzled her dowry? "Liu Lu was so scared that her face turned pale. She stammered," You, how much did you embezzle? The gold, silver, and treasures that Master Hou usually gives you aren't enough for you to spend? Why did you have to be so stubborn as to steal her dowry? If this matter really gets out of hand, you won't have anywhere to hide your face. "
Not only was Yu Xiang not frightened, but she was also overjoyed. She threw the peeled melon seed shells at Liu Lu's head and joked, "The emperor isn't worried, but the eunuch is. Look at Tao Hong, he's so calm! Am I that greedy in your eyes? The good things that brother usually gives me are much more valuable than her dowry! "
"That's because she's stupid and doesn't know the seriousness of the matter!" Liu Lu bitterly patted the melon seed shells off her head. She thought, When Miss is valiant, no one can stop her. When she's unreliable, she's also really unreliable. It's hard to say whether other people would embezzle their mother's dowry, but when it comes to her, she really would do it. It's not because she's greedy, but purely to cause trouble for the Lin Clan. Who knew that even if she didn't embezzle it, those things were still left for her?
Oh, maybe not anymore. The darling of the Lin Clan is back, so Master shouldn't have a share of the dowry. Could it be that Master knew that this day would come, so she took the risk?
Liu Lu fell into all kinds of imagination.
Tao Hong glared at her and scolded, "You're the stupid one! Can't you see that Miss is so calm? This definitely doesn't have anything to do with Miss. "
Yu Xiang patted Tao Hong's arm and praised with a smile, "My little Tao Hong is finally smart for once. I'm not afraid that she'll make a fuss. On the contrary, I'm afraid that she won't make a big enough fuss. In any case, the person who will lose face in the end won't be me. "
Before Miss took over, The Old Lady was in charge of the household. If it wasn't Miss's problem, then wouldn't it be The Old Lady's problem? Hiss, it can't be, right?!
Liu Lu suddenly felt alarmed and frightened. She lowered her voice to the lowest possible level, "Miss, if The Old Lady has a problem, then this matter will become even more complicated. It'll be a shocking scandal. You have to quickly inform The Old Lady and suppress this matter. Seriously, why didn't you fill in the accounts first before sending them over? "
Yu Xiang laughed even more happily and waved her hands repeatedly, "How do you know that I didn't fill in the accounts? I've already filled in the accounts long ago. It's just that she was blinded by lard and didn't recognize it. Since Old Ancestor dared to do this kind of deficit, she naturally wasn't afraid of others finding out. If the Lin Clan slightly remembered our mother-daughter relationship and privately came to ask me about it, or if they patiently read through all the accounts, then this matter wouldn't have blown up. But if she deliberately wanted to find fault with me and make me lose face, then she would definitely anxiously complain to Old Ancestor. Old Ancestor was testing her, or perhaps she wanted to ruthlessly punish her. In any case, no matter what Old Ancestor wanted to do, the Lin Clan wouldn't be able to get away with it. Just wait and see. Let's see who loses face in the end. In any case, it won't be this pretty face of mine. "
She touched her own cheeks and lightly hummed a song.
As soon as Liu Lu saw her wilted appearance, she knew that the Lin Clan was going to be slapped in the face again. She couldn't help but sigh inwardly: They were clearly biological mother and daughter, so why did they make it seem like there was a deep hatred between them that spanned several lifetimes? Just because Miss was born to jinx Master Hou to death? This reason was too absurd! In fourteen years, I've never seen Miss jinx anyone! Also, where did that Second Miss pop out from? She looked just like the Lin Clan, with a face full of bad luck.
With that mother and daughter together, the fu probably wouldn't have any peace in the future!
The author has something to say: Thank you to my rich friends, and thank you to all the friends who supported the original novel. Muacks! I haven't forgotten about you today. I'm so gratified.