Demoted from wife to concubine? Reborn, the mistress of a noble family plots another high-status mar

Chapter 12

“Ten thousand taels per horse, and you took four, so that’s exactly forty thousand taels.” Yun Xiyue said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, everyone present paled in shock.

Is ice silk snow brocade more expensive than cloud brocade?

“Impossible. Snow brocade isn’t cloud brocade, how could it be so expensive?” Shen Yue said.

Lin Bao'er also had the same expression, "I have never seen such expensive fabric before, sister, don't just make things up."

"This is silk from ice silkworms raised in the Tianshan Mountains. They can only produce three ounces of silk a year, so this little bit of fabric will last for ten years."

"If you don't believe me, you can ask the Emperor and the Empress Dowager. Only these two are qualified to wear this kind of fabric. This piece of snow brocade is a gift from the late Emperor to my mother. She couldn't bear to use it and left it to me."

"Over the years, I've been reluctant to use it, but now it's been given to the Southern Qiang princess... My lord, I must have owed you in my past life, why are you treating me like this?" Yun Xiyue said to him with a smile.

Shen Yue felt a lump in his throat and his face turned very ugly.

"If the Marquis can't afford to pay for it, then have someone strip her of this snow-white brocade and make it my apology," Yun Xiyue said coldly.

Lin Bao'er's face instantly drained of color. "How dare you!"

“A princess like you has the audacity to steal the heirloom left by someone else’s mother. You should be unafraid of what people will say.”

"Today you either pay me 40,000 taels of silver, or strip naked and walk out of here. Otherwise, tomorrow the entire capital will know that you, Princess Nanqiang, stole the mistress's dowry." Yun Xiyue smiled, a cold, seductive glint flashing in her bright eyes.

"Then there will be a victory celebration banquet... Oh, right, you'll have to go to the victory celebration banquet. A princess like you, abandoned by her family, with no dowry, probably doesn't even have a decent dress!"

Lin Bao'er felt humiliated and her face contorted with anger. Finally, she burst into tears, "My lord, I'd better go back to the border!"

"Let me leave, I don't want to stay here..."

"enough!"

Shen Yue grabbed Yun Xiyue's wrist. "Let's talk about this in private."

"Don't bully Bao'er, apologize to her."

Yun Xiyue's hand was squeezed painfully. "Apologize to her? You stole my things, and you expect me to apologize to her? Why should I!"

"Hmph, just because you're Yue'er's wife, you've married into the Shen family, so you're a member of the Shen family, and everything you own belongs to the Shen family."

"What's wrong with using a few bolts of your cloth?" said Madam Shen.

"Yue'er, stop wasting your breath on her. Lock her up for two days and she'll behave."

Shen Yue immediately felt a headache coming on. If she hadn't taken Yun Xiyue's things without permission, things wouldn't have turned out this way.

"grandmother!"

Madam Shen's expression changed slightly, and she dared not speak again.

"Bao'er, you go back first." Shen Yue said, pulling Yun Xiyue away.

"Let me go." Yun Xiyue struggled free and then slapped him.

Shen Yue was stunned by the beating. Lin Bao'er, who came out, was so angry when she saw this scene that she wanted to come up and teach her a lesson.

"Sister, how could you hit the Marquis!"

"Bao'er, you go back first."

Lin Bao'er was somewhat unwilling, but she could only leave first.

Shen Yue rubbed his face and looked at the woman with red eyes, his heart becoming complicated. "I don't know... Xuejin, just consider it as something I bought from you. I'll write you an IOU."

"Heli."

Yun Xiyue took a deep breath, "As long as you divorce me, you won't have to pay back this money."

"You're making a fuss about getting a divorce over a few pieces of fabric? Is it really worth it?" Shen Yue frowned.

"My lord, something terrible has happened! Steward Zhang has been knocked unconscious, and his five thousand taels of silver have been stolen." At this moment, a servant rushed in to report, bringing back the injured steward.

Steward Zhang knelt down with a thud, "My lord, it is this old servant's fault for failing in his duties..."

Shen Yue's expression was grim. "Did you see clearly who it was?"

“They knocked the old servant unconscious from behind. The old servant didn’t see who it was. When I woke up, the five thousand taels of silver notes on my body were gone.”

Without five thousand taels, there's no way to redeem the land deed.

Tomorrow is the last day.

Shen Yue looked up at Yun Xiyue.

Yun Xiyue gave a cold laugh and turned to leave.

"Madam, are we just going to let Lin Bao'er get away with this?" Granny Cao was furious and wanted to strip the woman naked so that people could see what shamelessness was.

Yun Xiyue knew it wouldn't be so easy to deal with this scoundrel. "This is just the beginning! Don't rush!"

She had someone rob her of the five thousand taels.

"Remember to remind Shen Yue to write an IOU and send it to me later."

Shen Yue prides himself on being aloof and doesn't want to be a kept man. If he hears anyone gossiping about her, he'll definitely write her an IOU, hypocritically claiming that he won't take advantage of her.

Granny Cao nodded. "They definitely have to pay compensation."

Losing money is already too good for them.

Steward Zhang lost the silver notes, and Shen Yue couldn't raise the money in time, so he consulted with the second and third branches of the family.

Both families said they had no money.

But they were unwilling to borrow it.

Because it's too embarrassing.

"Yun Xiyue is in charge of the household affairs, how could the accounts be empty?"

"That's right! Isn't it always this amount every month? How come you can't come up with the money now?"

Shen Yue looked at them and asked, "Second Aunt, Third Aunt, is there really no way you can come up with the money to help us through this difficult time?"

“It’s not that we’re unwilling, it’s just that this money was spent by your father. Our second branch of the family has to hand over public funds every month.”

“This money was spent by the eldest son’s family, and it shouldn’t have come from the public account in the first place! Now we have to pay out money to fill the hole, how can this be reasonable?” Madam Shen and Madam Zhou looked troubled.

The third wife, Madam Xu, chimed in, "Yes! We haven't separated the family yet. How can we keep blurring the lines between public and private matters like this?"

This money should have been paid by the eldest son's family in the first place.

Seeing Shen Yue's bad expression, Zhou Shi quickly smiled and said, "Yue'er has money. You can go and coax her, and it will be resolved."

Not wanting to offend Shen Yue, Madam Xu didn't say anything more. "Yes, Yue'er likes you very much. As long as the Marquis treats her with more gentleness and care, the family will be harmonious and prosperous in the future."

"Second Aunt, if Third Aunt is unwilling, then forget it. We'll mortgage the estate, and in a few days, everyone can prepare to divide the family property!" Shen Yue said with a faint smile.

The two men's expressions changed slightly; were they going to separate?

They never considered separating from the family. They lived a life of luxury in the Marquis's mansion, with someone paying to support them. They only needed to hand over a few dozen taels of silver each month.

Who would be so foolish as to split up the family at this time!

Shen Yue is threatening them.

Since they didn't register in the end, they had to take out money and scrape together five thousand taels to redeem the land title.

I had just resolved this matter and was planning to go back and rest when I overheard people talking about Xuejin in private.

He couldn't reprimand the people in Yunxiyue's courtyard who were gossiping about him. He felt ashamed and embarrassed by the contemptuous looks from the servants.

If word gets out, how will he ever be able to maintain his foothold in the capital?

The servants wouldn't dare do this without Yun Xiyue's backing; she won't give up until she achieves her goal!

"Here's an IOU." In a fit of anger, Shen Yue wrote an IOU and threw it at Yun Xiyue's face. "Is that enough?"

Yun Xiyue picked up the IOU and laughed, "If the Marquis is unwilling to pay compensation, he can let me strip Princess Nanqiang of her clothes. However, compared to these, I want my mother's belongings back more."

"After all, the Marquis might not necessarily repay the money."

Shen Yue was furious and said, "Don't look down on me. Tomorrow is the victory banquet, and the Emperor will reward those who have contributed. I will return every penny to you then."

"Okay! I'll wait!" Yun Xiyue waved the two IOUs, her smile bright and charming.