Shocking! Five men are in love with the same woman!

Ling Yan stood still, glancing indifferently at the crowd at the door.

Her second uncle's family, her third uncle's family, and all the servants in the mansion were there.

Great, no one was left behind.

She smiled and said to everyone, "Please get up."

Everyone stood up in turn upon receiving the order.

Many servants lowered their heads in fear and trembling.

After all, they knew what they had done in the mansion before, so how could they not be afraid now?

Her second aunt, Liu, and her third aunt, Zhang, were trying to approach her to talk, but Mu Feng blocked them, leaving them awkwardly at a loss.

Upon seeing this, the second and third uncles immediately fawned, "Your Highness and Princess Consort must be tired from their journey. Please come in and rest."

Xiao Muyao didn't speak, but glanced at Lingyan before leading her into the mansion.

The others followed in turn and entered the mansion.

They then closed the door, cutting off the view of those outside.

Enter the main hall of the mansion.

Ling Yan and Xiao Muyao sat in the main seats.

After receiving consent, the others sat down on the left and right sides.

Of course, the concubines and illegitimate children were not entitled to sit down.

They were all standing at the very back.

Before they could even exchange pleasantries and build rapport, Lingyan cut straight to the point: "Yunmeng, let's begin."

Start?

What to start with?

Everyone was confused.

But they all had a bad feeling.

Yunmeng took out a booklet, stepped out from behind Lingyan, stood in the hall, and began to read from the booklet.

"Fifteen years ago, after the Duke of Jing and his wife sacrificed their lives on the battlefield, His Majesty bestowed upon them ten manors, thirty shops, 300,000 mu of farmland, twenty estates, 200,000 taels of silver, fifty bushels of pearls, ten chests of luminous pearls, twenty chests of jewelry, fifty chests of silk and satin fabrics, fifty chests of antiques and paintings..."

As the numbers were read out one by one, everyone broke out in a cold sweat.

They already knew why she was there today.

Therefore, everyone's faces were stiff and ashen.

After all the rewards were read aloud, Yunmeng returned to her original spot.

Ling Yan calmly said, "I won't settle the accounts from before my father and mother passed away, but starting from fifteen years ago, these accounts must be settled one by one."

Her gaze swept over everyone, and she said in a cold voice, "Have you all forgotten who these rewards are for? Even though Father and Mother have passed away, these rewards should still be for their only child, and I will inherit them."

"But what about you! You take all the rewards for yourselves without a second thought. Not only that, but I, as their only son, am also humiliated by you. You cut back my food and allowances, and I am bullied by the masters and servants in the mansion. I am not only hungry every day, but the clothes, things I use, and the place I live are all the worst, even worse than those of the servants!"

Although her tone remained as calm as ever, Xiao Muyao was so angry that he crushed the teacup.

Then his gaze pierced through everyone below him like a knife.

The crowd was so frightened that their bodies went limp, they were covered in cold sweat, and they dared not move an inch.

At the same time, Xiao Muyao felt extremely guilty.

Because he knew he was partly to blame.

If he hadn't disregarded this engagement and never shown any interest in it, how could they have dared to treat her like this?

With that thought, he let the teacup shards embed themselves into his skin without noticing.

Lingyan continued sarcastically, "But what about you? You spend their money, yet you mistreat their daughter. Second Uncle and Third Uncle, you are a fifth-rank official and a sixth-rank official respectively, and your monthly salaries are not even enough to support yourselves. Even this house was a gift from His Majesty."

"Your colleagues spend money on social engagements and various expenses, and some even spend tens of thousands of taels of silver to hire top courtesans. Your sons are no less so; they are not only idle and do nothing, but they also spend tens of thousands of taels of silver on courtesans every day."

"And my dear second aunt and third aunt, your monthly expenses for rouge, powder, silk, satin and jewelry, and your daughters, are even more than what you spend. Just the cost of hiring a tutor to teach music, chess, calligraphy and painting must have amounted to hundreds of thousands of taels over the years."

“You spend so lavishly, but ask yourselves, whose money is all this money? And what about me? I was driven to the most remote courtyard to fend for myself, and I have to use the worst things in the world. Over the years, have you ever felt even a little bit of gratitude for the kindness of my deceased parents, or even a little bit of guilt towards me?”

She ripped away everyone's fig leaves, leaving them blushing with shame.

At first, they were just jealous. They were jealous that she, a child, had such a good background and so much wealth.

Therefore, they took it for granted and treated her this way because of their twisted jealousy and desire to prevent her from having a good life.

Originally, they didn't dare to be too obvious because of the marriage agreement, but His Majesty and Prince Rui had already forgotten about the marriage agreement!

They would naturally dare to go even further.

But now they regret it, they regret it immensely.

If they had known the engagement would be rescinded and the wedding would still take place, they would never have treated her that way; they would have been too busy pampering her.

It's too late for regrets now; the mistakes have already been made.

Ling Yan then sneered, "You should be glad that you never intended to kill me or plot against me. Otherwise, do you think you would still be sitting here today?"

Yes! What a stroke of luck!

Fortunately, they never intended to kill her.

I don't know if they're afraid or if they're not that ruthless.

I guess I still wouldn't dare.

After all, although the emperor no longer mentions her, who can guarantee that he will never remember her in his lifetime? She is, after all, the descendant of a meritorious official.

Secondly, even though the engagement was in name only, it had not been dissolved, so they still had some reservations.

At this moment, everyone felt a sense of relief, as if they had survived a disaster.

Lingyan concluded with a smile, "Now that the accounts are clear, it's time to repay. The total is exactly twenty million taels."

what?

Everyone was stunned!

Twenty million taels?

And that's all?

The others could still hold back, but Ling Miaoning, the second aunt's daughter, shrieked, "Twenty million taels! Why don't you just rob it!"

Ling Yan remained calm and composed, completely ignoring her.

Ling Miaoning was pampered by her family from a young age, which made her arrogant, domineering, reckless and brainless.

Now that the young lady's temper is flaring up, I have to go up and argue with her.

His second uncle and aunt quickly grabbed him.

At the same time, they covered her mouth.

Things are different now; she has no intention of taking their lives.

But if this daughter just rushes over there, things might not turn out that way.

Even if Lingyan doesn't care, Prince Rui will definitely not let her go.

It was only today that my second aunt, Liu, truly saw through her, realizing how cunning and incredibly patient she was.

They thought the other person was a pitiful victim, but in reality, the other person was just enduring it all along, thinking of delivering a fatal blow at the end.

She recalled that when the engagement was brought up again at the beginning of this year, everyone was very curious about her, and many people came to ask her about it.

When asked about her appearance, character, and academic achievements, she claimed to know nothing.

Because she hadn't seen her for many years, she could only make up the excuse that she was bedridden and they rarely met.