Cheng Yao said in a faint, mournful voice, “So entertaining me and the Prince has made Madam feel humiliated.”
Zhan Haoting’s face was cold and stern. He turned his wheelchair around and prepared to leave.
“No, Yao’er. Princess Consort Zhan, your stepmother didn’t mean it that way.” Cheng Jiahui hurried over to stop Zhan Haoting. “Your Highness, please don’t misunderstand. Qiuniang is only a woman of the inner chambers and doesn’t know how to speak properly. Everyone in my household—and indeed, our entire clan—holds you in the highest regard. We have absolutely no intention of slighting you. Please stay for the homecoming feast, won’t you?”
Zhan Haoting glanced at Cheng Yao.
According to local custom, failing to return to her parents’ home—or returning without eating a meal there—was considered inauspicious. He might not believe in such things, but he ought to respect the custom.
Cheng Yao pressed her lips together. “Father, do you even believe what you’re saying? You had me marry the Prince in Cheng Lan’s place, gave me less than a third of her dowry, and now you don’t even welcome us for the third-day homecoming visit. And this is what you call not slighting us?”
“Ah, you silly child. Instead of helping your father smooth things over, why are you adding fuel to the fire and making the Prince misunderstand us even more?” Cheng Jiahui said awkwardly. “You fainted before your wedding and were still somewhat confused when you woke up. In the confusion, you ended up getting into Lan’er’s bridal sedan by mistake, so naturally that dowry belonged to Lan’er. Now that the mistake has already been made, it wouldn’t be appropriate to exchange the dowries. How about this? Your father will make it up to you with something more. Would that do?”
“Certainly.” Cheng Yao agreed readily. “I don’t want gold or silver. Just give me a few estates, shops, residences, and fields.”
The money and valuables were in the storerooms. She did not need him to hand them over; sooner or later, they would all end up in her hands. But those properties came with house deeds and land deeds, and the ownership transfers would have to be registered with the authorities. If she took them directly, she might expose herself.
Cheng Jiahui was speechless.
Zhan Haoting was surprised as well, and even found it somewhat amusing.
She had been aggrieved and furious just moments ago, but the moment compensation was mentioned, she agreed without hesitation. Clearly, she was a little money grubber!
“Father, you’re not just saying that, are you? You’re not reluctant to give them to me, are you?” Cheng Yao grew anxious. “Then what about my mother’s dowry…”
“Fine, fine, I’ll give it to you!” Cheng Jiahui was both furious and resentful. When Wang Qiuniang tried to say something, he clapped a hand over her mouth first.
He had figured it out. This daughter of his was no pushover. Her former timidity had merely been an act of concealment. Now that she had Prince Zhan backing her, she had come to settle accounts with him.
Yet he could not afford to lose his temper. He had to force a smile. “Let’s go inside and discuss it.”
“Will you really give it to me once we’re inside?”
“I will!”
“All right, then.” Cheng Yao agreed reluctantly. “Father, you have to keep your word. The Prince is here as a witness.”
Cheng Jiahui’s face turned black as ink.
Once they were inside, he still honestly gave Cheng Yao an estate, thirty mu of land, two shops, and a two-courtyard residence.
Another property had fallen effortlessly into her hands. Cheng Yao was delighted, but she was far from satisfied.
Her maternal grandfather had been a wealthy merchant, and his business had once been enormous. When he prepared Yan Qing’s dowry, he had sent one hundred and sixty bridal sedan chairs loaded with genuine gold and silver. The procession had been long enough to circle the city twice, causing a sensation throughout the capital and bringing Yan Qing tremendous glory.
Unfortunately, Yan Qing had been blinded by love. After learning that her husband was keeping a mistress, she had fallen ill from depression and died young. Her dowry had instead benefited that shameless pair.
The mistress’s children had been raised in luxury, while what had become of her own daughters? Her younger daughter had been stolen away, while her elder daughter, Cheng Qiong, had been abused by Wang Qiuniang and lived a miserable life. If Yan Qing knew all this from beyond the grave, who could say how heartbroken she would be?
The original owner had been terribly unlucky as well. Not long after she was brought back, her grandmother passed away.
Cheng Jiahui had cursed her as an omen of bad luck and treated her with extreme harshness. Her position in the household had been even lower than that of a servant girl.
Her maternal grandparents had taken pity on her and brought her to live with them for a time. But less than half a month later, her grandfather was murdered while he was away from home. Her uncles were still young and had been spoiled rotten. Once their father was gone, they were unable to shoulder the family’s responsibilities, and the family business quickly fell into decline.
From then on, she could never shake the accusation that she was a harbinger of death.
So how could she possibly allow Cheng Jiahui to continue living so comfortably?
Absolutely not.
“Father, I remember that my mother’s dowry included ten shops. What you’ve given me is far too little.”
Cheng Jiahui’s eyes darted away. “Your father isn’t good at managing businesses. They suffered heavy losses, and I had to transfer some of them.”
Cheng Yao was astonished. She had only thrown that out as a bluff, but it turned out to be true!
Yan Qing had been that wealthy?
“Then you must still have at least eight shops left, right? Give me two more. Also, when Sister married, you didn’t prepare much of a dowry for her either. Give the rest to her. They belonged to my mother in the first place. If you don’t give them to the two of us sisters, whom do you intend to leave them to?”
Cheng Yao spoke with such righteous confidence that Cheng Jiahui’s old face shifted between green and red. His breathing grew labored.
Wang Qiuniang shoved his hand away and said indignantly, “Cheng… Princess Consort Zhan, your mother did bring a considerable dowry with her, but during all the years she managed the household, seventy or eighty percent of it was spent supplementing the family expenses. Your father paid for Lan’er’s dowry out of his own pocket. Now he has given you the profitable properties, while the remaining shops that are losing money are meant for your three younger brothers. If you take everything, there won’t be even a shred of hope left for us. How are we supposed to live?”
“If you can’t live, then don’t.” Cheng Yao’s eyes turned cold. “You angered my mother to death, and now you still want to use her dowry to support the children you had with her husband? How shameless can you be?”
Wang Qiuniang was nearly driven mad with rage. “Cheng Yao, you wretched—”
“Insulting the Princess Consort is an additional offense,” Mo Baichuan cut in coldly.
At once, several accompanying guards stepped forward, seized Wang Qiuniang, and began dragging her outside to be punished.
Cheng Jiahui was frantic. He rushed in front of Wang Qiuniang. “You can’t do this, Princess Consort Zhan! You’re punishing your own stepmother during your third-day homecoming visit. What will people think?”
Cheng Yao thought to herself, I’m about to be exiled. Who the hell has time to care what anyone else thinks?
“Father, you’re trying to smear me. Qiuniang has broken the law time and time again. What does that have to do with me?”
Wang Qiuniang screamed as she was dragged away. “Master, save me! Master…”
The thought of Wang Qiuniang’s delicate skin being beaten raw made Cheng Jiahui’s scalp prickle and his heart ache.
“Yao’er, Princess Consort Zhan, your stepmother isn’t a bad person. She simply doesn’t know how to express herself. Please spare her this once.” Seeing the cold expression on Cheng Yao’s face, he gritted his teeth and steeled himself. “I’ll give you and Qiong’er all of your mother’s dowry. Let your mother go, all right?”
Cheng Yao secretly rolled her eyes. He was willing to spit out every bit of property he had swallowed just to save his mistress. This wretched father really was deeply devoted to his lover.
The more desperate he was to get his way, the less she could allow him to.
“Father, my mother died long ago. Where would I get another mother from? Besides, the law applies equally to everyone, even the Son of Heaven. The Prince has already shown leniency. If you insist on shielding Wang Qiuniang, you’ll have to accept punishment alongside her.”
“Her name is Wang Qiuniang!” Cheng Jiahui shouted in exasperation.
She could not even get her stepmother’s name right. Just how much did this daughter despise Qiuxiang? No, Qiuniang!
Never mind—that wasn’t the point!
“Lord Cheng may receive punishment in Madam Cheng’s place as well,” Zhan Haoting said coldly.
How could Cheng Jiahui possibly agree?
His position today rested entirely on the protection of his ancestors’ merits and the money he had donated to climb the ranks. He had gone to battle once or twice, but had been fully armed from head to toe the entire time.
He was afraid of death, and he was afraid of pain.
He stammered hesitantly, “I am the head of the household. If I suffer serious injuries, who will uphold the family?”
