Chapter 16: Rewards Received

Early the next morning, the main gates of the An Estate opened, and twenty mule carts began to move slowly.

Madam An, the eldest, sat in the foremost cart. Her face was frost-cold, and her eyes were bloodshot.

Over the course of a single night, she had led all the female family members to inventory everything sent by her sister-in-law, and packed up the family assets remaining in the estate. Everything that had been pawned, sold, given away, or used as dowries and betrothal gifts for the children had to be redeemed one by one!

Even after enduring mockery and losing all face, they still couldn't make up the full amount!

Out of desperation, they had to send everything accumulated by the estate over the years—even the dowries of herself and her sisters-in-law—to the black market to be sold, just to barely scrape the total together.

Madam An touched the pearl hairpin atop her head. Had she not fought tooth and nail to keep this single hairpin, she feared even the only memento left to her by her late mother would have been pawned off.

*Tang, Zhao, An.* Madam An repeated this name in her heart over and over, wishing she could skin and flay the person alive.

"Madam, we have arrived at the Shuntian Prefecture Office."

The hatred in Madam An's heart was instantly replaced by fear. She was supported down from the carriage by others; as the cold wind blew, her already trembling body shook like a withered leaf in a gale.

Someone stepped forward with a gentle attitude. "Are you a benefactor here to make a donation?"

"No, no," Madam An forced a smile that looked worse than crying. "I am Sun, the wife of a Vice Director in the Ministry of Rites. I have come specifically to return the assets gifted by Lady An, the wife of the Duke of Wei."

The bailiffs of the Luoyang Prefecture Office had all been dispatched by the Prefect to the front lines for disaster relief. The ones guarding the gates in their stead were the officers from the Five Cities Military Command who had followed the Duke of Wei's household yesterday to... to search the dowry. They had been busy without sleep all night, yet their spirits were exceptionally high.

Firstly, with silver coming in for disaster relief, the refugees could be settled immediately, making the security work in Luoyang much easier. Secondly, the gossip regarding the Duke of Wei's household—specifically the stepmother seizing the original wife's dowry—was a topic that could be discussed for three days and three nights without anyone getting sleepy!

Upon hearing this, the officers of the Five Cities Military Command knew immediately that this was the maternal family of the Duke of Wei's stepmother. Their expressions soured instantly; they dropped a curt "Wait here" and turned to leave.

Ever since her sister-in-law had become the Duchess of Wei, Madam Sun had been flattered and praised wherever she went. Now, being humiliated by a common soldier who previously wouldn't have even been qualified to kneel before her, her face turned ashen with rage. She opened her mouth to scold them, but was restrained by a servant nearby.

Madam Sun tore at her handkerchief, cursing bitterly in her heart.

Yin Wei showed no sign of the exhaustion from pulling an all-nighter; on the contrary, he was full of energy. Hearing from the officers that someone from the family of the Vice Director of the Ministry of Rites had come to return property, his spirits rose even further. He threw on his cloak and strode out.

In front of the Luoyang Prefecture Office, in less than the time it takes to burn half an incense stick, a thick layer of snow had accumulated on the umbrellas. A gust of northwest wind blew, scattering the snow all over Madam Sun.

Madam Sun: "..."

Yin Wei nearly burst out laughing when he saw this scene upon stepping out. He quickly cleared his throat and, without inviting her in, asked as if he didn't know: "May I ask what business brings Madam An here?"

Madam Sun explained her purpose. "The Duchess of Wei could not bear to see her maternal family in poverty, with elderly parents lacking medical care and medicine, so she provided them with some subsidies. The Old Master and Old Madam, moved by their daughter's filial piety, accepted them. But who could have known that it was actually the sister-in-law stealing from the original wife's dowry?"

"Once the Old Master and Old Madam learned of this, they were furious. They ordered all the items sent by the sister-in-law over the years to be found and returned to their rightful owners."

"So, you are saying that the Old Master of your household knew nothing at all of the Duchess's actions?" Yin Wei's eyes held deep meaning. "Your Old Master truly lives a life dedicated to health, completely unconcerned with worldly affairs."

Madam Sun offered a forced smile.

"The Duchess of Wei is truly filial to provide so much to her maternal family," Yin Wei snorted. "It's just that an ordinary person might not be blessed enough to enjoy such a 'filial' daughter."

"Please go back and tell the Old Master: in the future, when he accepts his daughter's subsidies, he shouldn't forget to ask if she is using her own belongings to supplement her family."

Beneath her cloak, Madam Sun literally tore her handkerchief to shreds.

If the visitor had been Old Master An or the Eldest Master An, Yin Wei would have certainly taught them a lesson in propriety and shame. Who would have thought the men of the An family were such cowards, pushing a woman forward to settle the chaos?

Yin Wei had no interest in bickering with a woman from the inner chambers. He ordered men to step forward and inventory the goods. A crowd of over a hundred people surrounded the carriages, checking the items carefully against the list. Once they confirmed there were no issues, they nodded to Yin Wei.

With a wave of his hand, Yin Wei had the officers of the Five Cities Military Command take the place of the An family servants in the mule carts. They removed the thresholds, drove the carts into the prefecture office, and carefully unloaded the chests.

Lady An led the empty mule carts away from the Luoyang Prefecture Office.

The commoners, who had been watching the spectacle for a long time, asked impatiently, "Excellency, which benefactor is this?"

"It is Lady Tang, the Fifth Young Mistress of the Prince of Xuan's Manor."

"But, the word 'An' is clearly written on the mule carts," a literate scholar countered.

"The stepmother of the Duke of Wei was so filial that she accidentally used the original wife's dowry to subsidize her maternal family. Upon learning this, the An Estate felt uneasy and came specifically to return it," Yin Wei said unhurriedly.

"Whoa! Not only did they seize it for themselves, but they also distributed it to their own family!"

"The An Estate truly lives up to its reputation of having officials in the Ministry of Rites; they at least have a shred of shame."

"Shame my foot! I don't believe for a second that the An Estate didn't know! Besides, raising such a shameless daughter means the An Estate isn't any good either!"

"Exactly, exactly!"

...

If not for the mountain of work waiting for him, Yin Wei truly wanted to stand there and listen for another hour or two.

It was damn satisfying.

******

In the main courtyard of Bidan Courtyard, the autumn rain fell like a storyteller, vividly recounting the events of the grain shop and Madam Sun's return of the dowry at the Luoyang Prefecture Office over and over again.

A smile played at the corners of Tang Zhao's mouth.

【Ding! 'Save the Cannon Fodder Male Supporting Character' System. Second Task: Reclaim the Dowry—Completed! Reward: 100 jin of potatoes has been stored in the space. 50 Life Points have been credited. Total current Life Points: 64.】

The smile on Tang Zhao's lips deepened.

On the other side, in the study, the two Gu brothers looked at each other.

"Fifth Brother, how exactly did you speak to Sister-in-law?" Gu Liu's emotions were complicated.

Gu Ci's emotions were even more complicated than his elder brother's, because he truly felt he was innocent. "I just told her to use a small stone to attract jade... who would have thought..."

Who would have thought she would throw a whole mountain!

Inside the Minghui Hall of the Prince of Xuan's Manor.

The Consort of the Heir looked at the five thousand taels of silver notes in her hand and asked, "Mother, should we... add a bit more?"

The Princess Consort of Xuan took a sip of tea mechanically. "Even if we sold the entire manor, we wouldn't be able to add another 470,000 taels."

So be it.

She had never imagined that this daughter-in-law, brought in to ward off bad luck, would be so incredibly capable!

The Consort of the Heir nodded in deep agreement, and they prepared a carriage to head to the Luoyang Prefecture Office.

"Consort, there is a huge crowd of commoners gathered in front of the prefecture office!" the manor guard driving the carriage reminded her.

"Go take a look," the Consort ordered.

The guard obeyed and returned shortly to report, "They are commoners coming to make donations."

"So many people?" The Consort looked out the window, puzzled. "Even that beggar is here to donate?"

The guard also looked perplexed, but stated firmly, "They are indeed here to donate."

Curious, the Consort ignored the objections of the others, stepped down from the carriage, and stood outside the crowd to look closely.

(End of Chapter)