Chapter 274

Chapter 274 I Will Ask for It!

It was a man’s voice. It was not Qu Moying speaking.

Xiao was stunned. When she turned around, she saw the maid at the door had lifted the curtain. Yue Wenhan was standing at the door in an official robe with a cold face.

Xiao’s lips trembled. She really did not expect that Old Lady Ji had already invited Yue Wenhan over.

“Greetings, cousin brother.” Seeing Yue Wenhan come over, Qu Moying stood up and bowed with a smile.

“Cousin sister, you are too polite. Please sit down.” When Yue Wenhan looked at Qu Moying, his expression softened, and he waved his hand.

Qu Moying sat down on the side.

Yue Wenhan went forward and bowed to Old Lady Ji.

Old Lady Ji could be rude to Qu Moying, but she could not do the same to Yue Wenhan. She wanted to suppress Qu Moying because she felt that she could. However, Yue Wenhan was obviously not someone she could suppress. Therefore, her expression softened a little.

Granny Miao came in with Yue Wenhan. After entering the door, she followed Yue Wenhan to bow to Old Lady Ji. Then, she turned to stand quietly behind Qu Moying.

As a high-ranking official with rich experience in interrogation, Yue Wenhan was used to asking questions in a straightforward manner. After sitting down, he looked at Old Lady Ji and asked bluntly, ignoring Xiao, who was standing at the side. “Your Ladyship, I heard that my aunt’s dowry was taken away. Is that true?”

Xiao did not have any title. To him, she was just an ordinary lady from an aristocratic family. She was just an ordinary senior to him, and he would treat her well only because she was his relative.

Old Lady Ji explained with a frown, “Mr. Yue, no one took away your aunt’s dowry. It is still…”

“Mr. Yue, my mother doesn’t know about this. Let me tell you!” At this time, Xiao was aware of the situation and interrupted Old Lady Ji with a smile. Her attitude towards Yue Wenhan was way better than when she talked with Qu Moying just now.

She was unfriendly to Qu Moying, but she treated Yue Wenhan obsequiously.

Old Lady Ji did not know about the first branch’s shops, but how could Xiao not know?

Qu Moying cast a mocking glance at Xiao, quietly watching how she would justify herself.

“Mrs. Xiao, please go on.” Yue Wenhan said coldly.

“Mr. Yue, sister-in-law’s belongs are naturally all here, and they are naturally left to the first branch. But now that sister-in-law has passed away, everything is in Madam Duan’s hands. Perhaps someone among them caused some trouble, but they are all small matters. When Madam Duan is in charge of everything, those useless people will be replaced.”

Xiao smiled and pointed at Madam Duan. “Madam Duan, have you finished reading the account books I gave you?”

Those account books were in a mess. Even if she wanted to read them, she would have to spend a lot of time. Xiao did not believe that Madam Duan would be able to read them so quickly.

As long as Madam Duan said that she had not finished reading, Xiao would have a lot of excuses for the shops. No matter what Qu Moying and Yue Wenhan came for, she was not afraid.

Xiao’s words could be said to be watertight. No matter what happened and no matter what the cause was, Xiao felt that she could deal with it.

“I’ve almost finished reading all of them, but I don’t know which shop Fourth Lady Qu is talking about.” Madam Duan had been lowering her head just now. Her presence here was very insignificant. Hearing Xiao’s words, she slowly raised her head and looked at Xiao without dodging. Qu Moying said that she was now the first branch’s madam, so she had the confidence to look straight at Xiao.

If Yuanhai really inherited the title in the future, she would be the next Old Lady of the mansion and get an official title from the imperial court.

“Madam Duan, have you finished reading them?” Xiao’s face darkened. She didn’t expect this.

“I’ve finished reading them. Which account books are you talking about?” Madam Duan said calmly, not dodging at all.

Xiao’s face darkened. She did not expect Madam Duan to finish reading them. How could she finish reading them? Those account books were in such a mess, and it had only been a short time since Madam Duan got them. Xiao thought she must be lying.

Just as she was about to contradict Madam Duan, Qu Moying smiled and spoke up before her. “It’s about the shop next to my mother’s shop. It is called ‘Yue’s Gold Pavilion’. Do you remember it, Madam Duan?”

“I remember. That was the Madam’s dowry. The Yue Family in the South established it for Madam in the capital. The shop’s name started with Yue, and so was Second Lady’s clothing shop.” Madam Duan thought for a moment and said. She knew which shop Qu Moying was talking about, and she didn’t need to check the account book at all.

Along the way to Old Lady Ji’s yard, Qu Moying had told her to go against Xiao no matter what Xiao said. She hadn’t finished reading the account books yet. She used to be in charge of account books before, and she knew Xiao deliberately made them such a mess because Xiao was unwilling to give the shops back to her.

Qu Moying continued to ask, “Madam Duan, do you own this shop now?”

“No, when Second Lady married into Eastern Palace, a number of shops were given to her as her dowry.” Madam Duan said with certainty. Back then, she had helped in preparing the dowry. There were not only shops but also some other things in Ji Hanyue’s dowry. Earl Ling’an gave all of them to Ji Hanyue, saying that the dowry had to be luxurious because Ji Hanyue was the future Crown Princess.

The list of dowry had been prepared long ago when the Elder Yue was still alive.

As for Third Lady Ji, she was still young at that time, and her dowry could be slowly prepared. They had asked Third Lady Ji, and she agreed to let Second Lady Ji have those things as her dowry. Therefore, the Elder Yue and Earl Ling’an ordered Madam Duan to prepare the dowry.

Qu Moying turned to look at Xiao and asked, “Since my cousin sister has passed away without a child, why don’t you take back the dowry? Earl Ling’an’s Mansion’s first branch doesn’t have any wealth now, so the dowry should be left to the young master and Madam Duan.”

Old Lady Ji frowned. By now, she had more or less understood what Qu Moying meant and she became even more displeased. Although Ji Hanyue could no longer use her dowry, Ji Youran could use it. Old Lady Ji thought, “Does she want me to go to Crown Prince’s Mansion to get the dowry back?”

Old Lady Ji coughed and said, “Fourth Lady Qu, since the dowry has been in Eastern Mansion, of course it is inappropriate to ask for it. Do you want the Crown Prince to send the dowry back?”

“Your Ladyship, it was originally my elder aunt’s dowry. Why can’t the mansion ask for it? Could it be that the Crown Prince wants the ex-Crown Princess’ dowry?” Yue Wenhan shook his robe and said slowly. He looked straight at Old Lady Ji with sharp eyes and continued, “It was originally the Yue Family’s asset. It is just alright for Yue Family’s people to ask for it, right?”

These words made Old Lady Ji and Xiao’s hearts skip a beat.

Both the Ji Family and the Yue Family had a reason to ask for it.

Although Ji Yuanhai could be considered the first branch’s son, he was not born by the Elder Yue. Yue’s two daughters had passed away, so it was reasonable for the Yue Family to ask for the dowry.

Qu Moying secretly praised Yue Wenhan in her heart. Ji Wenhan deserved to be Vice Minister of the Dali Temple. His words were so perfect that no one could find fault with him. He praised Pei Luo’an appropriately and pushed the blame on Earl Ling’an’s Mansion for not doing what it should have done, absolving Pei Luo’an from any responsibility.

Qu Moying smiled silently as she quietly watched.

Old Lady Ji and Xiao were both shocked by Yue Wenhan. Both of their faces darkened. If Yue Family’s people went to Crown Prince’s Mansion to ask for the dowry, they would be in an awkward position, and words against them would come out. After all, Ji Youran was still in Crown Prince’s Mansion.

However, the current situation was also tricky.

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward. Old Lady Ji coughed again and said to Yue Wenhan with a forced smile, “Mr. Yue, we are discussing this matter. Yuanhai is now adopted by your aunt, so we should leave some for him, right? He is now Earl Ling’an’s Mansion’s Young Master.”

“Your Ladyship, thank you for having Yuanhai adopted by my aunt. At least someone will worship my aunt and uncle. It is reasonable to leave my aunt’s dowry to him, but now the dowry is in Crown Prince’s Mansion, Your Ladyship, what should we do?” Yue Wenhan asked indifferently.

“This is related to Crown Prince’s Mansion. The Crown Prince intended to give it back to us, but the ex-Crown Princess had just passed away at that time. Everyone was too sad to think about it. This matter will definitely be properly handled soon.” At this time, Xiao stepped forward with a fake smile.

Although she had a smile on her face, it was a forced one. It was clear that she was stalling for time to think of other countermeasures. With Crown Prince’s Mansion behind her, she could gloss them over easily.

After all, it was Crown Prince’s Mansion.

Xiao had already made up her mind. She would go find Ji Youran later and think of a way to smooth this matter over. What if Yue Wenhan was aggressive? Did he dare to disobey the Crown Prince?

She thought their idea to reclaim the dowry in Crown Prince’s Mansion was ridiculous, and she was confident that her daughter could deal with the two of them with ease.

With this thought, Xiao calmed down, and the smile on her face looked much more sincere.

“Then I’ll have to trouble you, Mrs. Xiao.” Yue Wenhan said. Then, he turned to Qu Moying and asked, “Cousin sister, do you want to go back together with me?”

“Okay.” Qu Moying nodded. She was done with today’s matter. She stood up, bowed to Old Lady Ji and Xiao, and turned to leave.

Old Lady Ji and Xiao were eager to see her leave, so they smiled and saw them off. In order to show her sincerity, Xiao specially asked Madam Duan to send Qu Moying and Yue Wenhan off.

Madam Duan sent the two of them out.

When they came out of the mansion, Madam Duan went back to the mansion. Qu Moying turned to Yue Wenhan and bowed, “Thank you, cousin brother.”

She was sincerely grateful to Yue Wenhan. He came here in an official robe, which indicated that he was very busy. But even so, he still came to help her.

A faint smile appeared on Yue Wenhan’s face. He stretched out his hand to support Qu Moying and said meaningfully, “Let’s wait and see. Cousin sister, if you have any difficulty, you can come to me. Whether it’s about the elder aunt or the younger aunt, I will help you, and I ought to help.”

He really appreciated Qu Moying. He originally thought that she was no different from those weak and ordinary young ladies in the capital. It turned out that she was totally different from what she was said to be. He quite liked her because she was intelligent and had an extraordinary manner. He wanted to know who the ex-Crown Princess invited to teach Qu Moying that she was not inferior in the slightest to ladies from big aristocratic families.