It turns out that although Mrs. Lu was the old lady of the Zhenyuan Marquis' Mansion, she was brought up by a concubine. However, the current Zhenyuan Marquis did not come out of her belly, but was born from the original wife's legitimate wife.
Lu's heart ached at the fact that his direct bloodline could not compete with other people's cheaper sons.
Shen Qingluan tore open her painful area and even reached out to dig into the wound. How could Lu not feel pain?
Speaking of which, Jun Hongbai's father was originally born to Mr. Lu when he was a concubine. With Jun Hongbai's status, marrying Shen Qingluan was a high-class marriage.
She didn't have the slightest respect in her heart for marrying her by chance, so she relied on her gentleness, innocence and kindness to control her.
They had no idea that the reason why Shen Qingluan was easy to bully was that she regarded them as a family and didn't want to care about them.
Now that she is willing to care about it, can Jun Hongbai and Mr. Lu still get something from her?
At this moment, Lu was in a deep state of attack, and Lu was in a state of maddening pain, but she couldn't express her pain. She was angry and annoyed in her heart, and her face was painful and stiff, creating an extremely weird expression.
Shen Qingluan turned his head and turned a blind eye, taking a sip of tea.
Just after drinking, Jun Hongbai took the pale Jun Qian to Fushou Hall, followed by a woman Shen Qingluan was particularly familiar with.
As soon as Jun Qian saw Shen Qingluan, she timidly said, "Thank you, madam, for your trouble. It's just that I don't have enough energy today, so I asked my aunt to check the dowry for me.
She is her mother's sister and knows her mother's dowry all too well. "
Du Mianmian smiled and stepped forward to greet her: "Mianmian has met Madam."
She raised her eyes and smiled, as soft and pitiful as a weak willow in March, just like the arrogant and proud woman in her previous life who called her sister.
Shen Qingluan tightened her fingers, but her voice was calm: "Miss Du is polite."
Du Mianmian stood up and nodded at several servants behind him: "I heard that Madam wanted to count the dowry left by my sister, so I brought over some good accountants from the Du family early in the morning.
With them here, Madam can hand over all the accounts to them, and there is no need for such mundane things to dirty Madam's hands. "
She thought her words were extremely clever. She not only flattered the Du family's talent-rich style, but also demoted Shen Qingluan to the rank of a housekeeper who took care of the Hou's house.
In addition, if Shen Qingluan is not allowed to handle the dowry counting today, it will not only disgrace the mistress.
Moreover, Shen Qingluan was completely unable to quibble if the steward found out something was wrong.
Du Mianmian was so proud that she didn't even notice that Mrs. Jun and Jun Hongbai were looking at her with extremely unkind eyes!
Until Jun Qian said anxiously, shyly and angrily: "Aunt, what nonsense are you talking about!"
Du Mianmian suddenly came back to his senses and felt a thump in his heart.
Jun Hongbai was always kind to her and said nothing at this moment, but Mrs. Jun rebuked her unceremoniously:
"A merchant's daughter only has this kind of vision. A noble daughter from a well-known family has never given full power to her servants to take charge of the affairs. Don't try to mislead my son.
Qingluan, come on, I'm right here. I want to see which shameless scoundrel dares to reach into the Zhenyuan Hou Mansion! "
Shen Qingluan responded with a faint smile and took the account book.
Soon, the crisp sound of abacus hitting each other was heard in the room.
The more Du Mianmian listened, the more panicked he became.
What happened, what happened in the Hou Mansion overnight.
The old lady only defended Shen Qingluan, but why did Qian'er also stand by her side? Even brother Changdong watched the old lady humiliate her...
She couldn't help but cast a weak and helpless look at Jun Hongbai, but she saw Jun Hongbai looking at her with an expression of indifference that she had never seen before.
Du Mianmian's heart dropped.
She forced a smile and said tentatively: "I'm just worried that Sister Shen can't do it."
As soon as he finished speaking, the crisp sound of abacus stopped, and Shen Qingluan pushed up the last bead with his slender fingers:
"The combined cash of the shop and farm is 13,400 taels."
Du Mianmian couldn't help but widen her eyes, "You're talking nonsense!"
Everyone in the room looked at her. Du Mianmian was sweating profusely and her brain was so hot that she said quickly and urgently:
"How can it be possible to settle so many accounts in one go? You are clearly fooling your brother-in-law.
It's just that you should pretend to be a fool. When my sister got married, she brought a dowry of thirty thousand taels! "
At the end of the sentence, her expression showed a bit of arrogance and pride: "Don't take on the porcelain work without this diamond. If you calculated correctly, where did the missing dowry go? Did you pocket it for yourself!"
Her fingernails stretched out and almost touched the tip of Shen Qingluan's nose, and she kept imagining Shen Qingluan lowering his head and begging for mercy.
But she was disappointed after all. Shen Qingluan pushed the abacus beads and chuckled with unknown meaning.
"My daughter, the Shen family, has been learning arithmetic and business since she was a child. She only calculates more than ten thousand taels of silver. Is it difficult? No wonder I taught Qian'er carefully, but it is still hard to break open. It turns out that the blood of a businessman flows in her body.
It is said that businessmen are low-class people, but today I have learned the lesson. Anyway, if Miss Du is worried, you can ask your stewards to do an accounting. "
Jun Qian's face suddenly turned red, but she had nowhere to vent her anger.
Jun Hongbai was already a little unhappy with her because of her mischief yesterday, and now she did not dare to offend Shen Qingluan again.
Apart from being disgraced, there was also a burst of sadness and self-pity in my heart.
Although his father would always hold her in his hands, as time went by, his heart would inevitably turn to the person beside him.
She could only pinch what she could.
Jun Qian held the hem of her skirt with both hands and begged: "Father, my aunt has already brought him here, so please ask the steward to review."
Jun Hongbai frowned but said nothing.
Although he believed in Shen Qingluan's character, Du Wenniang's dowry was indeed more than that.
Several stewards looked at each other, and at Du Mianmian's urging, they took over the ledger and counted it.
One cup of tea after another, until the old lady showed her impatience, and the first steward with a beard put down the account book and said, "In reply to the second lady, I have verified that it is indeed 13,400 taels." "
"What!"
Du Mianmian was startled at first, and then she couldn't restrain her joy, which mixed into a ferocious expression on her face:
"Shen Qingluan, my sister's dowry list clearly states that the total amount of silver on the farm land deed and shop is worth thirty thousand taels, and it is all to be left to Qian'er and Yuan'er.
After you have been running it for several years, even if there is no income, it shouldn't be so much less. If you don't tell me the whole story today, my Du family will definitely not give up! "
She was so excited that she didn't see a trace of uneasiness on the old lady's face.
Shen Qingluan noticed it, and she put down the tea bowl leisurely, "Grandma, what do you think I do? Could it be that grandma also thinks that I am greedy for Sister Du's dowry?"
Everyone looked towards the old lady and happened to see the fierce look in her eyes before she had time to take it back.
"Grandma, what's wrong?"
Jun Hongbai made a sound in surprise.
Mrs. Lu was angry in her heart and stared at Shen Qingluan with unkind eyes, "It's nothing, I just didn't expect that my granddaughter-in-law, who seems to be virtuous and upright, would actually covet Mo Wenniang's dowry.
Qingluan, I really misjudged you. "
Shen Qingluan raised her eyebrows, "Grandma hasn't verified it yet, but you just heard Sister Du say that and you think it's me?"
The old lady's tone increased: "These dowries have been sealed since Wen Niang's death, and were handed over to you after you entered the house. Now that the amount is wrong, who else could it be if it weren't you.
But since you are usually considerate and considerate, as long as you admit your mistakes, I won't punish you severely, just stay behind closed doors for a month. "
After saying that, she stood up and gave Shen Qingluan no more chance to quibble.
Du Mianmian was anxious and stopped Mr. Lu, "It concerns the Du family, how can we just let it go?
My sister passed away early, and what I worried about the most were her two children. Now that the belongings left to them have been reduced by more than half, I have to ask clearly even if I offend the Hou Mansion!
Shen Qingluan, I know that the Shen family is poor and your father is seriously ill. Did you misappropriate my sister's dowry to support your natal family? "
These words were so vicious that they not only humiliated Shen Qingluan, but also trampled and rubbed the face of the entire Shen family under their feet.
Shen Qingluan's original careless expression faded away, and his whole body exuded an aura of indifference and cruelty that could scratch people.
"Asking clearly? It just so happens that I also want to ask clearly today."
"Qingluan!"
Mrs. Lu shouted angrily: "I treated you well in the past, but even if you are wrong today, I will forgive you. Why don't you refuse to admit it!"
The threat in her words was no longer concealed.
In the previous life, the Du family found out that there were errors in the dowry, and it was indeed Shen Qingluan who was solely responsible for it.
Then the Du family used this excuse to smear the whole family, and even the Shen family's reputation became bad.
Father Shen was already in poor health, and his vitality was greatly damaged by this incident. However, because of his tainted reputation, no one was willing to lend a helping hand, and in the end, he died in peace.
What's ridiculous is that after the incident, the Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion felt no guilt at all and instead regarded itself as Shen Qingluan's benefactor.
Just because they did not abandon Shen Qingluan at the cusp of the storm, and taking advantage of her being unkind and unkind, they brought Du Mianmian into the house as their concubine.
Since then, Jun Qian and Jun Yuan have become more and more disrespectful towards her.
One wrong step, every wrong step.
Now that Shen Qingluan is living his life again, he can't make any mistakes.
"Since the stewards have checked the accounts, why not explain clearly when the shortfall in the dowry occurred."
Shen Qingluan didn't look at Mr. Lu's burning eyes, and nodded at the stewards.
She folded her hands on her lower abdomen, her whole body filled with an arrogance and coldness that could not be disobeyed.
The stewards subconsciously bowed their heads and said, "It was Funing who suffered a loss in five years, and he stopped continuing after eight years in Funing."
As soon as the words fell, Du Mianmian and Lu's expressions changed dramatically.
In the fifth year of Funing, Du Wenniang had just passed away, and Shen Qingluan had not yet married...
Shen Qingluan curled her lips: "I see, uncle, this matter is not as simple as it seems. I never knew that someone in the house was so bold and dared to take action. Please investigate thoroughly."
Jun Hongbai's face turned livid: "I will investigate thoroughly without you having to tell me."
He regards Du Wenniang as his most precious treasure, how could he allow anyone to touch her dowry!
Shen Qingluan can't do it, and neither can anyone else.
Madam Lu knew that he would be really angry, so she quickly said: "We should investigate, but Funing's five years is too long, and there are no clues for a while.
Grandma has been paying attention these days. If she finds the steward who was serving in the mansion, she will definitely ask him to get to the bottom of it! "
Shen Qingluan was not willing to let Mr. Lu escape like this, and said leisurely: "It's not difficult to investigate this matter."
