Chapter 24: Her Mother’s Dowry Is Gone
At this moment, Yu Wanrong said, "Grandmother, don't say that about Sister. She's not that kind of person. She must have had it hard over these years."
Yu Wanrong sounded sad, and she looked like she felt distressed on Yu Yunxi's behalf.
"Wanrong, why do you have to speak up for this vixen? She's also from the Prime Minister's Residence. You make the Prime Minister's Residence proud, but she's only a burden to the residence," Madam Zhou, growing more and more disgusted.
The others were all watching the show silently. They thought that to be able to make Madam Zhou so angry, Yu Yunxi was really capable.
Yu Yunxi ignored everyone's stares as she took a seat. After sitting down, she picked up a cup of hot tea.
The Sixth and Seventh Misses, who were seated next to Yu Yunxi, flinched, and their expressions changed drastically. They quickly dodged to the side, clearly afraid that they would suffer the same fate as Concubine Gao.
Sensing their fear, Yu Yunxi only raised an eyebrow before she took a sip of tea in a leisurely manner. Then, she said casually, "Since Grandmother hates me so much, I won't come and pay respect in the future."
Concubine Gao jumped at this chance and said mockingly, "You really have no manners. How can you skip greeting your elders?"
"That's enough," Madam Zhou said to Concubine Gao, feeling that the latter was too noisy. Then, she turned around and said to Yu Yunxi with a straight face, "Since you've returned to the Yu family, you have to make your relationship with the Prince Regent clear."
'Make my relationship with him clear?'
Yu Yunxi raised an eyebrow. Then, she asked with a slight smile on her face, "What do you mean by this, Grandmother?"
"You poisoned the Prince Regent back then and was buried with him. However, in the end, you escaped. This is a capital crime. All these years, everyone assumed you were dead and spared you some dignity. However, you insisted on coming back. Once this matter is brought to the Emperor's attention, not only will you die, but you'll implicate the Yu family as well," Madam Zhou said hatefully.
Yu Yunxi set the teacup down and asked curiously, "Then, what does Grandmother think I should do?"
Madam Zhou raised her chin and said in a commanding tone, "It's very simple. As long as you're no longer the Princess Consort, the Emperor won't be so calculative about the past. Go to the Prince Regent's Residence to ask for a divorce."
Yu Yunxi could not help but laugh out loud upon hearing these words. She knew this must be the reason why Madam Zhou had wanted her to pay respect this morning.
Yu Yunxi thought that Madam Zhou was really naive. At the same time, she was not surprised that Madam Zhou would come up with such an idea. After all, Madam Zhou was once a maidservant. Later on, Madam Zhou became a concubine. She endured the bullying from the legal wife and consorts before she finally gave birth to the eldest son of the family. For that reason, Yu Yunxi's grandfather raised her status in the family.
Yu Yunxi could not help but think about how funny and ironic it was whenever she thought about this. Madam Zhou's family background was terrible, and she could only read a few words, but back then, Madam Zhou dared to despise her mother's family background.
When Yu Yunxi's laugher subsided, she said expressionlessly, "Grandmother, who am I, and who is the Prince Regent? How can I be qualified to ask him for anything?"
Madam Zhou slapped the table and scolded, "You came from a humble background, and your behavior is vulgar! Back then, you were afraid of death and ran away. There's no doubt that he hates you to the core and that he'll be very willing to divorce you."
'Afraid of death? Ran away?'
Yu Yunxi's eyes glinted coldly. So this was how everyone in the capital looked at her. Her cold gaze swept toward Yu Wanrong. After all, Yu Wanrong knew the truth behind her 'escape' the best.
Yu Wanrong's body stiffened slightly when she sensed Yu Yunxi's gaze, but she quickly regained her composure. She thought that the assassins from back then were all dead and there was no evidence left behind. It was impossible for Yu Yunxi to explain this matter.
Meanwhile, Yu Yunxi said coldly, "Grandmother, since you made the matter sound so easy, then I'll have to trouble you to mention this matter of divorce to the Prince Regent. If he's willing to divorce me, I have no objections."
"You!"
Madam Zhou was slightly angry. She did not have the qualifications to speak to Feng Yili. Otherwise, she would not have forced Yu Yunxi to deal with this matter.
Yu Yunxi slowly rose to her feet. The corners of her lips curled up slightly as she said, "Also, Grandmother, are you done? If you're done, it's my turn to speak."
The others frowned and stared at Yu Yunxi, wondering what she was going to say.
Yu Yunxi brought a booklet out and said, "Back then, the dowry my mother brought from Jiangnan was so huge that it caused a sensation. 100,000 taels of gold, 18 shops in the capital, and a total of 30 boxes of treasures. They included glass cups, green jade porcelain, ice silk, golden hair ornaments…"
While Yu Yunxi listed the items in her mother's dowry back then, the eyelids of Madam Zhou and the others twitched violently.
Finally, Madam Zhou asked, filled with hostility, "Why are you bringing this up?"
"Why? Of course, it's because I plan to get these things back. Since ancient times, a mother's dowry is always left for her daughter. Previously, I wasn't in the Yu family so I had to trouble everyone to look after the dowry for me. Now that I'm back, these things should naturally be taken care of by me," Yu Yunxi said calmly.
Everyone's expressions were very unnatural.
Madam Zhou instinctively removed her hands from the table. The robe she was wearing was made from ice silk, and a golden hair ornament could be seen on her head.
Similarly, Madam Chen, Yu Wanrong, and few other concubines hid their hands as well with unnatural expressions on their faces. They were all wearing the jewelry from the dowry that Yu Yunxi mentioned.
Madam Zhou frowned and said dismissively, "Since those things have been in the Yu family for such a long time, the family will continue looking after it. There's no need to mention this matter again."
Madam Zhou clearly hoped to gloss over this matter.
Needless to say, Yu Yunxi noticed all their small actions. She calmly asked, "Grandmother, why are you flustered? Could it be that those things are no longer in the residence's storage room? However, if I'm not mistaken, the laws of Tianxia clearly state that a husband is not allowed to covet the dowry of his wife, consorts, and concubines."
"Preposterous! Why would we covet your mother's dowry!" Madam Chen exclaimed angrily.
"Since you don't covet it, give me the key to the storage. I'm going to check my mother's dowry," Yu Yunxi said sharply.
Madam Chen froze.
'Storage room? There's nothing left in the storage room!'
The people from the Yu family lived lavishly. Yu Zhongcheng's salary alone was definitely not enough for them. As such, they had long divided the dowry that Yu Yunxi's mother left her among themselves. Moreover, they had almost used up the gold. Apart from keeping the jewelry themselves, they also gifted it to other noble ladies, including the Empress and consort in the palace, to curry favor. As for the shops, they were losing so much money that they were no longer operating.
'This little b*tch is quite shrewd. She actually asked for her mother's dowry as soon as she returned!'
Madam Chen cleared her throat and continued to scold, "The key to the storage room can't be given to another person casually. You just returned, and you're already thinking about the storage room. What's wrong with you?"
Yu Yunxi's expression turned cold as she asked, "So, I can't see my mother's dowry?"
"Of course! You and your mother are both members of the Yu family. It's only right that the dowry is kept in the Yu family's storage room," Concubine Gao hurriedly chimed in. She was quite anxious. After all, she had stolen quite a few things herself.
The others were the same.
In any case, all of them believed that as long as the key to the storage room was not handed over to Yu Yunxi, she would not be able to do anything to them. She was dreaming if she thought that she, a daughter of a concubine with no influence, could take back the dowry.
At this moment, a woman with a strong smell of rouge walked in and said, "Young Miss, I'm afraid you'll only be disappointed today. How can someone spit out what they already ate?"
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