The story of a bullied daughter's rise to power

Situ Yaorao's words made the head of the Gu family look grim. After all, everyone knew she was mocking him. He was furious for a moment, but when he thought of his sister's only child, he suppressed his anger. He simply said, "Don't talk nonsense. No one ever forced your mother to do anything. Since you said your mother committed suicide, your uncle will believe it. But... my Gu family must find out why she committed suicide. If I find out that it's related to the Situ family, this matter will never be let go so easily."

After the head of the Gu family finished speaking, he looked at Situ Yaorao and said, "Yaorao, your mother is gone. If you have any suffering in the future, just go to my Gu family. As long as the Gu family is still there, we will help you."

"Thank you for your kindness, uncle." Situ Yaorao forced a faint smile on her face, but this smile looked more like a forced smile.

The head of the Gu family was a man who could read people's expressions very well. He naturally understood that Situ Yaorao was in a bad mood, so he didn't say much. He said to General Situ, "Brother Situ, my Gu family will investigate this matter about my sister in the future. Please give me some convenience and don't let the last bit of friendship between our two families be destroyed."

"Of course, my Situ family has never wronged her."

"The same is true for the Gu family."

"Brother Gu, since you're here, please take a seat. Once the servants are ready, we'll take you to see her one last time," General Situ said politely. The Gu family's head nodded, but then said to Gu Yunjing, who had come with him, "Yunjing, I'll have a word with your uncle. You should go see your aunt one last time. It's... a final act of filial piety."

"Yes, father." Gu Yunjing said respectfully, then looked at Situ Yaorao and said kindly, "Cousin, shall we go together?"

"Okay." Situ Yaorao didn't want to stay in the room any longer, so she stood up and left with Gu Yunjing. Tantai Wuyue wanted to follow her, but when he thought about the many things he had to deal with at the Gu family, and that he couldn't stay here all day, he decided to focus on his work first. He gave up and stayed in the hall, listening to their plans.

If he were still alive, General Situ would have dared not neglect Madam Situ's funeral arrangements in the slightest. Furthermore, when Madam Situ married General Situ, her dowry had caused quite a stir. Everyone knew that Madam Situ had married General Situ, a relatively unknown man, with a priceless dowry and a dazzling array of red.

From then on, the Situ family became a large family, closely connected with the Gu family. Now that Madam Situ was gone, the dowry would eventually have to be dealt with. Yaorao was grieving and had long forgotten about it, but he couldn't forget it either.

At least, I have to help her listen. Thinking this, Tantai Wuyue poured herself a cup of tea and listened to their pleasantries as if she were an outsider.

If someone else was like Tan Tai Wu Yue, they would have been kicked out long ago. However, this was the crown prince, the future emperor of Lan Lin, so even if they were dissatisfied, they couldn't say anything.

"Brother Situ, to be honest, I came here for another matter." The head of the Gu family looked at General Situ and suddenly said.

"Brother Gu, you're too polite. Just say whatever you want to say. There shouldn't be any formalities between you and me."

"In that case, let me tell you. Back then, when our two families were getting married, we made it clear that the dowry my sister brought was to be used on Yaorao. She had been keeping it before. Now that she's gone, should this dowry be returned to my Gu family for now? When Yaorao needs it in the future, we can take it out."

The head of the Gu family looked at General Situ with a smile on his face. At this moment, he looked like an old fox, striving for the greatest benefit for himself.

Sure enough, he came for the dowry!

General Situ thought to himself, "As expected." However, the dowry sent by the Gu family could not be returned. He had already given part of it as a dowry when Hong Lei got married. Thinking of this, General Situ said, "Yao Rao is my daughter. If she becomes useful in the future, I will give her the dowry. I don't need the Gu family's help, so don't worry about it, Brother Gu."

"After all, your Situ family has more than one daughter, Yaorao. Moreover, everyone knows how you have treated my sister and Yaorao over the years. I'm afraid Brother Situ is not suitable to keep the dowry." The head of the Gu family frowned.

"What a joke! Brother Gu, the Crown Prince and the Sixth Prince are both in this room. Even if you want to slander them, there should be a limit, right? Otherwise, let's let these two nobles make a judgment for us. Who should keep the dowry?" General Situ said angrily. But he knew what he was thinking.

The Crown Prince never cared about these things. He was arrogant, and the Sixth Prince was on his side, so he would definitely help him.

General Situ understood, and the head of the Gu family, who followed the Crown Prince, understood even better. This Crown Prince was good in every way except for one thing: he was too arrogant.

"I'm curious about how this dowry will be kept." Just when the two people were anxious, the person who was least likely to speak spoke.

The man's voice was light, quiet, and somewhat casual. However, it stunned both General Situ and the Gu family's head. They glanced sideways at Tan Tai Wu Yue, only to find him still in his usual state, lazily sipping his tea. He didn't even raise his eyes, as if this matter still had nothing to do with him.

"What do you mean, Your Highness?" General Situ frowned, unable to guess what Tan Tai Wu Yue was thinking.

"I don't mean anything, but... since this dowry is left for my Crown Princess, I will naturally pay more attention to it. No matter where it is placed, I am afraid it will cause unnecessary quarrels. How about turning it over to the national treasury?" Tan Tai Wu Yue's vague words scared General Situ and the head of the Gu family, who had already seen a lot of storms, into a panic.

Are you kidding me?

Hand over everything to the national treasury?

Back then, the Gu family had spent nearly a third of their treasures on the dowry to ensure that the Situ family could marry the Gu family girl. Now that the Gu family girl was gone, they naturally had to take it back.

Situ Yaorao was just an excuse for them to take back the dowry. However, no matter how much they planned, the people who made this decision back then could not have expected such a misunderstanding today, right?

The head of the Gu family couldn't help but sigh and thought to himself: Dad, you calculated everything clearly back then, but you forgot that the most common thing in this world is variables.

"Why? Do you two think this is inappropriate?" Tantai Wuyue chuckled. "How about we wait for her to come back and let her decide?"

"Your Majesty, you are wrong. A woman obeys her father at home and her husband after marriage. Although the Crown Princess married you, you should not care about the small dowry. Therefore, the person who should take care of it is General Situ. Even if General Situ and the Crown Princess don't get along, he is still her father. He wouldn't covet his daughter's things, right?"

The Sixth Prince's tone was lazy, but still full of energy.

His face was serious, without a trace of smile. However, it was this that made him look so convincing.

"What if I am interested in this dowry today?" Tan Tai Wu Yue put down the teacup and asked the Sixth Prince with interest.

The Sixth Prince, accustomed to Tan Tai Wu Yue's superiority, was taken aback by this unexpected move. However, he quickly replied, "Then I have nothing to say. As long as the Emperor is willing to be criticized, what do I have to worry about?"

The Sixth Prince was very generous. After he finished speaking, he looked at General Situ and said, "I believe that if the emperor is interested, General Situ will also give up the dowry."

"Heh!" Tantai Wuyue chuckled, and understood...