Chapter 180: Seizing the Dowry
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation.
Jiang Yun Jin sat on the floor, surrounded by shock, confusion, and humiliation. Her distress deepened as Lu Jing Huai began to gag violently.
“Ugh… Stay away from me!” he yelled and groaned, his face contorted in disgust, veins throbbing on his forehead.
Feeling deeply embarrassed, Jiang Yun Jin’s voice trembled with emotion. “What do you mean? Am I that repulsive to you?”
Her body shook, her heart pounding painfully against her chest, and her cheeks burned with shame. She had barely touched Lu Jing Huai, and now he was vomiting uncontrollably.
“Do you find me so disgusting? Then why did you marry me? What do you mean by this, Lu Jing Huai?” She had never felt so insulted. It was their wedding night, and a simple kiss had triggered his reaction.
Overwhelmed by the shock, she nearly collapsed.
At the sound of the commotion, a maidservant burst through the door, only to find her mistress devastated on the floor and the groom retching in the corner.
Lu Jing Huai felt his skin crawl with goosebumps. The mere thought of being touched was unbearable.
Trying to hold back his nausea, he managed, “Yun Jin, this isn’t about you.”
“I’ll make it up to you, I… I just can’t explain right now.” His voice was barely a whisper, laden with unspoken secrets.
Jiang Yun Jin wept into her maidservant’s arms. To a woman, having a man vomit at her touch was a deep blow to her pride and self-esteem.
Watching Lu Jing Huai stammer, her world seemed to crumble.
“If you wanted to torment me, you could have spared me this humiliation!” Her voice broke as she spoke, eyes glistening with unshed tears.
“I left Lu Yan Shu for you, turned my back on my past, and this is how you repay me?”
“If I had only known…” she stopped, her voice trailing off.
Guilty, Lu Jing Huai’s face stiffened.
“So, you regret marrying me?” He laughed coldly, pointing at her accusingly.
“Wasn’t it you who scorned the disabled? What right do you have to judge me?” he shouted before storming out of the room.
Jiang Yun Jin sobbed uncontrollably.
The maidservants exchanged worried glances. The newlyweds were quarreling on their wedding night—something was terribly wrong.
“How could he find me so repulsive…” The maidservant helped Jiang Yun Jin to her bed, where her crying continued.
“He’s nothing but a heartless liar,” muttered Shuang’er, her lips pressed tightly together.
“And there’s more,” Shuang’er said indignantly. “I can’t keep silent any longer.”
“The Lu family is beyond shameless. They nearly stole your dowry!”
Typically, a dowry is cataloged and secured in the bride’s family’s inventory the day after the wedding.
“Usually, a daughter’s dowry is her own. How could they try to take it? Aren’t they supposed to be honorable?” Shuang’er continued.
“Just this afternoon, when I went to tally the dowry, I caught Madam Pei’s people trying to move it to their storeroom. If I hadn’t been there, it would have been taken,” Shuang’er revealed, leaving everyone shocked.
In any respectable family, seizing a bride’s dowry was unthinkable.
“While you were busy with the groom, Madam Pei claimed part of the dowry, saying she was ‘keeping it safe’ for you,” Shuang’er murmured.
“Ridiculous! Absurd!” The head maid exclaimed, her face flushed with anger.
“The dowry is private property! How could they be so shameless! If word gets out, it will bring them disgrace!” The head maid could hardly believe the depths of the Lu family’s dishonor.
Jiang Yun Jin was equally stunned.
Madam Pei, who had always seemed so reasonable, was involved in taking her dowry?
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation
“Madam Pei claimed you’re too young and naive to manage your own affairs, so she would handle it for you.”
Everyone was speechless, their disdain for the Lu family mounting.
“Rumor has it, the Lu family was supported by the first wife, Madam Xu’s, dowry for years…” Shuang’er whispered.
“She even funded Madam Pei and the young master covertly for eighteen years.”
“The betrothal gifts you received were taken back and given to Madam Xu.”
“When Madam Xu divorced, the Lu family was left in dire straits. I found out today…” Shuang’er’s investigative skills had revealed much.
“They can’t even pay the servants’ wages.”
Everyone was aghast, hardly able to believe what they were hearing.
Jiang Yun Jin, tears still streaking her face, was dumbfounded. “Are they using my dowry to keep the household afloat?”
“It seems likely, given their past…” Shuang’er’s revelation sent a chill through the room.
After a lengthy pause, Jiang Yun Jin asked, “How much of the dowry remains? How much did they take?”
“They took a third. The rest is secured in the private storeroom, all recorded in the inventory.”
“Give me the key to that storeroom.” Realizing she couldn’t recover what was taken, Jiang Yun Jin knew she had to safeguard what was left.
She understood the desperation of the Lu family; Madam Pei had no personal assets or family support, but she hadn’t imagined they were so desperate.
Her thoughts whirled, but she felt trapped.
From the moment she broke her engagement with Lu Yan Shu for Lu Jing Huai, there was no turning back.
As they spoke, Lu Jing Huai’s personal servant entered, his smile forced. No one was pleased to see him.
The servant continued, undeterred, “Young Madam, the eldest young master sent me. There’s been a lot of tension, and he hasn’t been well. He caught a cold during the wedding and has been quite ill.”
“The doctor found he’s running a high fever. He didn’t want to worry you,” the servant explained, his smile faltering.
“Why couldn’t he just tell me?” Jiang Yun Jin’s voice was thick with emotion.
“He didn’t want to risk getting you sick, Madam,” the servant replied, his tone earnest.
“Is it serious? Has he taken his medicine?” her concern was evident.
“He’s been delirious, but the medicine should help. He’ll need a few days to recover,” the servant assured her, his own concern hidden behind a professional facade.
As they dealt with their internal strife… the sign for Marquis Zhongyong’s residence was quietly replaced with one reading “Lu Residence.”
Lu Yuan Ze knelt at the doorway, tears streaming down his cheeks, touching the new plaque tenderly.
He felt like a sinner to his deceased father and the Lu clan as a whole.
What had he done to deserve this?
Nearby, Lu Chao Chao, full from the wedding feast, giggled as she stood on the street corner, her round belly pushing against her dress, her dog by her side. “Hee hee, let the storm rage on…”