I just want to be a princess, no, you want to be a queen

Of the long dowry list, less than eleven items were crossed out. Apart from the four hundred acres of land, there were some trivial daily necessities that were not worth much silver at all.

Mrs. Lu was incredulous, "That's all?"

Lu Mingyang said calmly, "My cousin-in-law doesn't know that my father has always been poor, and there is no surplus wealth in the family."

"If you say there is no land, then there is no land. The Chengyang Marquis Mansion is so big, no matter how poor it is, it is impossible for it to have only a few hundred acres of land. Who are you trying to fool?" Lu Mingfeng's angry voice came.

Lu Mingyang watched him approach, stood up and sneered: "The others have been taken away by the clan house. If my cousin wants them, he can go to the clan house to ask for them."

How can we get back the land that was taken away by the clan office?

Lu Mingfeng said angrily: "Your mother has been married into the Chengyang Marquis Mansion for thirty years, how could she have her own dowry?"

He was too lazy to argue with Lu Mingyang anymore and directly ordered his wife, "Pick out the rewards from the palace according to the list. Let me check the rest first."

Yang Nian'er's eyes widened in shock. She felt that Lu Mingfeng was just as shameless as her Second Aunt. Just as she was about to resist, she heard a sharp voice.

"This prince wants to see who dares to search the things of the Duke of Wei's mansion."

The four of them looked over and saw Wei Luo, dressed in dark purple, approaching the pavilion. Compared to a year ago, Wei Luo was much taller and more energetic. Standing there, he exuded an air of dignity without even being angry.

Yang Nian'er jumped forward happily, "Brother Wei, why are you here?"

Wei Luo looked at the little girl who had become beautiful again and scratched his head shyly, "I'm here to deliver the dowry to my cousin. I want to see you too."

Mrs. Lu looked behind Wei Luo and saw a row of guards with swords standing up in fear and tugging at her husband's sleeve. Lu Mingfeng's face turned red and white, but he held it in for a long time and didn't dare to say anything.

Wei Luo coldly drove him away: "Are you not leaving yet?"

"Let's go, we'll leave right away, you guys chat," Mrs. Lu hurriedly pulled her husband away.

Lu Mingyang looked at the sword-wielding guards behind Wei Luo and was also startled: "Cousin, why did you come here in person?"

She had heard from her elder sister that most of the hereditary dukes were idle and wealthy, without any real power. A few families had descendants who were more ambitious and achieved high-ranking officials in the court, but they were also civil servants.

Only the Duke of Wei, guarding the southern border of Dasheng, always held a large force. The late emperor had sought to reclaim this military power, but when the Hundred Barbarians rebelled, the officials he dispatched were completely unable to resist. It was my grandfather who quelled the rebellion.

That's how it ended.

It was only after her eldest sister told her that she realized how great a risk her grandmother had taken when she came to rescue her secretly, and why her uncle had chased her in such a panic.

Now that Wei Luo has come here privately, he will surely arouse the emperor's suspicion.

Wei Luo said: "When my grandmother heard that my cousin was to be named princess, she wanted to choose a capable person in the palace to deliver the dowry. The carriages and horses were halfway there when she learned that the daughter of the Duke of Qin was to be married with my cousin. My grandmother was worried that my cousin would be bullied and that no one would be there to send her off. So, I volunteered to come." I didn't expect to encounter such a thing.

Lu Mingyang asked, "Cousin, have you gone to the palace to meet His Majesty?"

Wei Luo shook his head. He had just arrived in the capital, so how could he enter the palace in time? Lu Mingyang urged him to go first. He looked at the sun and said, "It's too late. Let's go tomorrow."

"It's not too late, cousin, go quickly!"

"Okay then!" He was not unaware of the affairs of the court, but he felt that it was a bit too deliberate. Since his cousin had said so, he did not say much. He ordered the guards behind him to bring in the dowry and then went back to the palace.

Box after box of dowry was carried into the mansion. Xunyang Pavilion couldn't hold it all, so it was placed in Yuanzhi Pavilion first. Yang Nian'er happily patted Lu Mingyang's shoulder.

"Second sister, your dowry now must be much more than Qin Miao's."

Lu Mingyang smiled awkwardly and said to his sister, "Nian'er, don't let anyone mix this dowry with the one sent by my elder sister."

"what happened?"

Yang Nian'er was puzzled. If the dowry wasn't sorted, it would be very troublesome to carry it to the palace.

"Just do what I say first."

Now, the eldest sister has a younger brother, a younger brother who can inherit their father's family business. Lu Mingyang is not sure whether she is still willing to leave those properties to herself.

Lu Mingyang rubbed his cheeks with his fists, asked his sister to go back to the house first, and went to find Uncle Zhong himself.

Lu Mingyang had been at the Marquis's mansion for so long, but he had never been to Zhongbo's residence. He and all the servants lived in a row of side rooms. The rooms were no different, except that one person lived alone, and they were cleaner.

It was getting dark, and a dim kerosene lamp burned in the room. Uncle Zhong stood in front of a simple wardrobe, packing his belongings. His hunched figure was reflected on the mottled wall.

"You only have those two tattered clothes, do you still need to clean them up?"

A scolding voice pierced the empty and cold room. Zhong Bo turned his head and saw the fourth girl standing at the door. She hurriedly hid her package and said, "Fourth girl, how dare you come to such a filthy place like mine?"

"I see you're planning to steal something!" Lu Mingyang said as she walked in and sat down. Seeing that Zhongbo was still stunned and motionless, she beckoned, "Give it to me, let me see!"

Uncle Zhong had no choice but to spread out the package on the table. It contained only a few sets of old clothes and a few dozen taels of silver.

"Fourth Miss, I really didn't take anything from the Marquis' Mansion. This silver is the regular silver that I saved." There was some panic in his words.

It turns out that he really thought he came here to steal something.

Lu Mingyang slammed the table angrily: "With such a small amount of silver, do you want to starve to death?"

Every steward in a marquis's mansion was wealthy, yet he didn't leave any private property for himself. Even when the marquis's mansion was in trouble, he didn't have any selfish thoughts.

"Four girls!"

Lu Mingyang raised his hand, not letting him speak, motioning him to sit down, and asked, "Why didn't you tell me that Lu Mingfeng came to cause trouble today?"

Uncle Zhong lowered his head and said, "From now on, Master Feng will be the head of the Marquisate. He will have to leave sooner or later. The Fourth Miss shouldn't have quarreled with Master Feng over this old slave. After all, he is the Fourth Miss's nominal brother, and she will have to rely on him in the future."

He was telling the truth, and she couldn't argue with that.

"Uncle Zhong, don't you feel wronged and uncomfortable?"

Lu Mingyang felt very upset. Adoption was obviously a good thing for the Chengyang Marquis Mansion, but why did he suddenly feel that this was not his home anymore?

"As long as the Marquis's family line continues, I am willing to die. This little injustice is nothing." At this point, Uncle Zhong sighed and said, "It is the young lady who has been wronged. If the two young masters were still alive, they would never have wronged the young lady with their dowry."

At this point, Uncle Zhong advised, "Fourth Miss, although you appear weak on the outside, I can see that you are as strong-willed as my wife at heart. But I still want to advise you that even though you have suffered some financial losses, having a famous brother is better than having none at all."

Like my mother, she would rather be beaten by my father than not give subsidies to my uncle and nephew.

Is it really better than nothing?