Becoming a stepmother of three children gives me space

In front of the Chu Palace,

The Zhou family's betrothal gifts were carried out in boxes. Zhao Zhen's eyes were dull and he doubted his life. Could it be that he had colluded with the imperial sister and forgot about it?

"I didn't expect that the remaining half of the betrothal gifts is really in the Prince Chu's Mansion."

"The King of Chu suffered a great loss when Liuli was robbed some time ago. He wants to use the Zhou family's betrothal gift to make up for it. How immoral."

"The Grand Princess and the King of Chu teamed up to bully the Crown Prince's Consort. This is really too much!"

"I want to see what the court plans to do!"

The crowd watching the fun was outraged, and a group of scholars from the Imperial College were excited and demanded that the court restore order to the people.

"Mother...I am wronged."

The King of Chu and the eldest princess knelt on the ground and kowtowed to protest their innocence, but unfortunately no one believed their lies. This was the backlash caused by the collapse of credibility.

"The betrothal gifts were found in your mansion. The people of the capital, the Dali Temple, and the government office all witnessed it with their own eyes. It cannot be denied. I have a solution to this matter. Fuqing, King Chu, you two listen."

The Queen did not give a definition to the matter, but proposed a solution.

Xiao Yunxi and Zhou Jin's wedding will be held next month as originally planned. As the bride's parents, Xiao Chen and Princess Fuqing must give a dowry equal to the betrothal gift.

The King of Chu is Xiao Yunxi's uncle, so the value of the dowry is no less than half of the betrothal gift.

As for the betrothal gifts, they were left to the Chu Prince's Mansion and the Princess's Mansion, and the value of the dowry was 5% more to ensure Xiao Yunxi's interests while maintaining the face of the royal family.

The betrothal gift is originally given to the woman, and the woman's parents give a dowry of higher value in return, which is a reciprocity of gifts and there is no corruption.

The eldest princess and the king of Chu could also reject this plan.

Since the betrothal gift is given to the woman, she can divide it however she wants. Even if she does not give a dowry, it is a moral deficiency but there is no problem at the legal level.

Xiao Chen withdrew the report, and naturally the two of them would be fine, at most they would be scolded by the people.

Do the King of Chu and the Princess dare to refuse?

If they dared, the Queen would use the excuse that their moral conduct was lacking, damaging the royal family's reputation, and even destabilizing the country, to demand that the Emperor strip them of their titles.

Between losing some money and losing status, the two of them still knew what to choose.

The King of Chu and the eldest princess kowtowed to the Queen and thanked her:

"I will leave it to the Queen Mother to make the final decision."

The Queen was very pleased with their tact:

"You two must keep your promises before the people of the capital. If you could give a larger dowry to show your sincerity, that would be the best..."

The betrothal gift controversy ended in this way, and the people were still not satisfied and felt it was a pity. If the queen had reported directly to the court and stripped the titles of the King of Chu and the eldest princess,

That's exciting.

"Yunxi, are you really just letting it go like this?"

Embezzlement of dowry is not a big deal, but it is not a small matter either. If done properly, even if the title cannot be stripped, it can be demoted, which is truly heartbreaking.

However, the title needs to be approved by the emperor, and the emperor may not agree. If the benefits are not obtained, the King of Chu and the eldest princess will give up.

Not only did I not get any benefits, but I also got into trouble.

Besides,

She would still take back the betrothal gifts. The loss of the King of Chu and the Princess would definitely drive them crazy. If it could stimulate them to do something crazy,

Maybe Dabao can take the position sooner.

Xiao Yunxi's wish might actually become a reality.

Prince Chu's Palace,

"roll!"

"Get out of here!"

"I'm going to kill that bitch!"

The King of Chu was venting his dissatisfaction crazily. His servants stayed away and didn't dare to get close. Xiao Chen had been beaten into a pig's head, so who would dare to offend him?

"Second brother, calm down!"

The only ones who can control the King of Chu are the Princess and the Imperial Concubine.

Snapped!

Zhao Zhen smashed the teacup and sat back on the armchair, his chest heaving violently. He had done nothing, so who could he complain to when he wanted to subsidize his dowry?

"It's all your fault, you useless bastard! Why didn't you discuss this with the Imperial Sister? Why did you report it to the police?"

He pointed the finger at Xiao Chen, who lowered his head and said nothing. If he tried to explain, he would probably be beaten again, so it was better to remain silent.

The eldest princess glanced at him. Such a man was really a coward. Her eyes were full of undisguised disgust. How could she choose to marry such a loser?

"Get out."

After driving Xiao Chen out, the princess felt better.

"Even if my grandfather has a fortune, it's impossible to use it endlessly. We must find a way."

The King of Chu and my grandfather secretly raised a large number of troops in his fiefdom in Jiangnan. These people required a large amount of money and food every year.

The loss from buying colored glaze, the King of Chu's lost investment in the northwest, and the fire in the eldest princess's mansion, all in all, the brother and sister suffered losses of more than 4000 million taels.

Based on the Zhou family's betrothal gift of more than 2000 million taels, they would have to pay more than 1000 million taels, which was beyond their ability to bear. Where would they get the money and food to support so many soldiers next year?

If my grandfather continues to withdraw money and grain, it will shake the foundation of the family business, which is absolutely unacceptable.

"Royal, let's rebel!"

He and his sister were notorious. Even if they continued to raise troops, when they really rebelled, the people would drown them with spit.

In this case, it is better to cut the Gordian knot.

The princess did not directly object this time, but was thinking about the pros and cons.

"You're right. If we continue to drag it out, it will be disadvantageous to us. We can use the excuse of subsidizing the dowry to ask your grandfather and your fiefdom to send money and food, and mix in the soldiers..."

The emperor would certainly be suspicious of mobilizing a large number of people, so he used the excuse of dowry compensation to disguise the soldiers as laborers transporting money and food.

Weapons can also be hidden in cargo. In addition, time is tight and the authorities along the way have made arrangements so they won't check too strictly.

"Royal sister, mother's side..."

"Don't worry, mother will definitely support us, as long as we can take over the palace..."

After the two men had conspired, the steward came in and said that the people had been sent away, and the Dali Temple and the government office had also left.

"Royal sister, what exactly is going on? Why did the betrothal gifts appear in our private vault for no reason?"

The more the King of Chu thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. If someone could put the stolen goods into the heavily guarded private vault without anyone noticing, did it mean that someone could kill him without anyone noticing?

It was so true that he couldn't even close his eyes when he slept.

Something vaguely flashed through the eldest princess's mind, but she couldn't grasp it. Thinking of the last fire in her mansion, she felt more and more that something was wrong.

There is no way that there could be an open fire in a private warehouse. If it had spread from outside to the private warehouse, it would have been possible, but the fire happened to start from inside the private warehouse.

Today's incident benefits that bitch Xiao Yunxi. Whoever benefits from it has a motive, so this matter is inseparable from her and the Zhou family.

"You arrange the personnel, and we'll start before Xiao Yunxi's wedding, at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet. Furthermore, we have to report this matter to our father."

The princess thought about it and decided that she should tell the emperor about this matter.

If someone has the ability to put things into a private vault without anyone noticing, is it possible that he can sneak into the palace without anyone noticing and do something harmful to the emperor?

The emperor would never allow such a thing to happen.