Chapter 28

Chapter 28: It Will Then Be Right and Justified

In all the noble families of the Capital City spanning centuries, only the Wang family ever dared to use a legitimate wife’s dowry to take a concubine. That scandal haunted them for years, and even Wang, the Vice Minister, had received a reprimand from His Majesty.

[Sheng Zhi Wan is truly vicious.]

[Is this her retaliation after discovering I went to the Endless Courtyard?]

Instead of reflecting, she only made things worse!

If that was how she intended to act, he could not allow her to tarnish both his own and Duke Qi’s reputation.

Qi Shu Xian spoke, “I only questioned you because husband and wife are as one. I never imagined you’d be so jealous. Just because I visited Meng Yang yesterday, you would devise such a scheme!”

“If you despise me, resent me, or feel dissatisfied, direct all your grievances towards me. Why must you implicate others? Furthermore, Shu Lang is merely a child… doesn’t your heart feel uneasy, casting such accusations?”

His words were deeply pained.

Several elders who had been quietly murmuring shifted their opinions again upon hearing Qi Shu Xian’s heartfelt words. The Duke Qi Manor had always held a clean reputation. Surely, Qi Shu Lang, a mere ten-year-old boy, could not have done something as outrageous as stealing and exchanging his sister-in-law’s dowry?

Could it truly be Princess Qing Ning’s jealousy causing trouble where none existed?

“Heh,” Sheng Zhi Wan sneered mockingly. “I simply wish to uncover who switched my dowry. Heir Apparent needn’t escalate matters so dramatically. Whomever you visit doesn’t concern me. Enough!”

She continued, “Then report it to the authorities! Whoever dared exchange items gifted by the Emperor must be found. Ting Lan—”

“Wait!” A voice called from outside.

Sheng Zhi Wan arched an eyebrow—finally, they arrived.

Madam Cui, leaning on Qi Fei Yan, coughed weakly as she stepped into the room, her complexion terribly pale.

Qi Fei Yan shot Sheng Zhi Wan a venomous glare.

Sheng Zhi Wan ignored her completely, focusing only on Madam Cui. “Mother, why have you come?”

“Were your words just now truthful?” Madam Cui stared sharply at Sheng Zhi Wan.

Sheng Zhi Wan asked, “Which words does Madam mean?”

Madam Cui choked. She wanted to confront Sheng Zhi Wan about handing all her private assets to the manor, but seeing outsiders present, she instead scoffed, “Was your dowry truly exchanged?”

“Indeed it was,” Sheng Zhi Wan confirmed calmly.

“And you suspect Shu Lang did it?” Madam Cui’s chest rose and fell rapidly. Her younger son had always been filial and thoughtful, greeting her first thing every time he returned from the Academy.

Though she privately believed Sheng Zhi Wan’s dowry should belong to the manor anyway, she couldn’t imagine her dear Shu Lang doing such a thing.

“It is not suspicion,” Sheng Zhi Wan clarified calmly, “only the second young master entered my storehouse alone.”

“Then investigate!” Madam Cui responded painfully. Seeing Qi Shu Xian attempting to intervene, she lamented, “Should we let Shu Lang bear such suspicion forever?”

Qi Shu Xian fell silent.

Madam Cui turned to Sheng Zhi Wan, disappointed. “Your actions have deeply wounded Shu Lang’s heart. As for that bet just now—I accept!”

“Mother indeed cares deeply for her children,” Sheng Zhi Wan remarked, lips curling faintly.

Madam Cui placed too much trust in her son.

Yet Qi Shu Lang had acted the part flawlessly.

A child of ten, sweet and clever before his family, yet altogether another creature to those weaker or beneath him.

In her past life, Sheng Zhi Wan had begun to suspect him after this very incident and later uncovered that he had long been stealing and selling off her dowry.

“Words alone aren’t proof!” Qi Fei Yan interrupted sharply. “Write a formal statement now. If you have wrongfully accused Shu Lang, you must surrender all your private assets to Duke Qi’s manor and reflect at the ancestral hall without food or water for three days!”

Sheng Zhi Wan had intended exactly that; Qi Fei Yan’s demand saved her the trouble of suggesting it herself.

She nodded. “Fine. However, if it truly turns out Second Young Master swapped my dowry, Duke Qi’s manor must not only replenish everything taken but also repay all the silver I’ve provided to support the manor over these years. Furthermore, Second Young Master must face due punishment.”

“What?” Qi Fei Yan burst out angrily. “Once you married into the manor, your silver naturally became Duke Qi’s—”

“Elder Sister!” Qi Shu Xian’s face darkened as he cut her off, then turned back to Sheng Zhi Wan, “Very well! Let it be as you say, though three days without food or water is excessive. One day should suffice.”

“Three days it is,” Sheng Zhi Wan insisted, detesting his pretense of compassion.

She immediately wrote the statement and instructed Ting Lan to summon an official from the Dali Temple.

“Must we truly make such a commotion?” Qi Shu Xian hadn’t expected her to involve Dali Temple.

Madam Cui and Qi Fei Yan were similarly displeased.

“Is the Heir Apparent doubting his brother’s innocence? Without an official from Dali Temple witnessing, this document means nothing,” Sheng Zhi Wan calmly replied, watching Madam Cui carefully.

Madam Cui’s eyes flickered briefly. “I trust Shu Lang. Since you insist on involving them, do as you wish.”

When all was revealed, the shame would be Sheng Zhi Wan’s alone.

Jealous enough to slander a ten-year-old brother-in-law—once word got out, she would be branded malicious and domineering.

At that time, it would be right and justified to absorb her private wealth into Duke Qi’s manor.

A short while later, Assistant Court Minister Fang Hong Zhi of Dali Temple arrived hurriedly.

Fang Hong Zhi, nearly forty, was a stubborn official with little tact, still stuck as a seventh-rank assistant after many years.

After hearing the various accounts, he quickly dispatched men to Capital City’s pawnshops and black markets.

Qi Shu Lang was, after all, merely a child of ten—arrogant and inexperienced, unaware of subtlety. Within a quarter-hour, two men were dragged into the courtyard.