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

Chapter 34

His anger caused his wound to reopen, and the pain nearly made him fall to the ground.

"Master Hou!"

Shen Yue pulled himself up in a chair and sat down. "Yun Xiyue, let's sit down and talk."

"Alright!" Yun Xiyue smiled coldly and sat down opposite him.

"You can settle the debts for Jin Yu Man Tang and Yu Jin Ge first. Consider this money a loan from me."

Yun Xiyue smiled and said, "We are ladies, it would be too formal to say we're borrowing."

Shen Yue's gaze froze as he looked at the woman's gentle smile. He thought to himself, "Could it be that all her recent tantrums are because she's angry, because she cares too much about me?"

"Are you... not angry anymore?"

Yun Xiyue wiped her eyes with an embroidered handkerchief. "I'm not angry with the Marquis, I'm just sad. You should have told me sooner that you didn't like me..."

Shen Yue felt uneasy. "Let's not talk about the past. We're husband and wife now, and I won't mistreat you in the future."

"For the past five years, the Marquis's public accounts have been in deficit, and I have been using my dowry to make up the difference. I have also been paying for the daily food and clothing of the Marquis and his family of five while they were at the border. The Marquis should know about these things!"

Shen Yue's face was ugly. This was a disgrace to him, and he didn't want to mention it at all. But she always brought it up. The anger that he had finally managed to suppress was instantly ignited again. "How much money? How much money have you spent on the Marquis's mansion over the years? Calculate it all, and I will pay it all back to you."

"Well, then take a look at these ledgers. Every single amount is recorded clearly."

Yun Xiyue was already prepared. She took out the account book and handed it to him, "A total of 108,000 taels, plus the 500 taels sent to the Marquis every month, 6,000 taels a year, 30,000 taels in five years. Add to that the 45,000 taels the Marquis owes me, and it all adds up to..."

Holding the abacus, she counted rapidly, ignoring the man's gloomy expression, and smiled, "Eighteen thousand three thousand taels."

Upon hearing this number, Shen Yue was instantly startled, thinking it impossible. She took the account book and carefully examined it, then recalculated it. She discovered that she had deducted all the money from the Marquis's public account, and that the 183,000 taels was her dowry.

He was speechless after he finished calculating.

"My lord, I'm not telling you this to get you to pay back the money. I just want to tell you that I no longer have the money to support your family. My dowry has been spent." Yun Xiyue said with a smile.

Shen Yue's face turned ugly, and she felt a strange sense of shame. Especially since her smile was gentle and she didn't utter a word of resentment, it made people feel even more ashamed and wished they could disappear into a hole in the ground and not see anyone.

"Lord Marquis, you are injured, you should go back and rest as soon as possible!"

After a moment of silence, Yun Xiyue picked up the abacus and fiddled with it idly, her tone carrying a gentle smile, as if she were concerned about him.

"I'll find a way to pay you back this money."

Yun Xiyue raised her eyes and smiled lightly, her eyes curving like crescent moons. "It's alright! I know you can't repay this money, so don't force yourself. The Grand Madam and the Old Madam also said that since I married you, I am your wife, and everything I have is yours, Marquis."

"Your Excellency, there's no need to be so polite. It's just 183,000 taels of silver."

Shen Yue's forehead veins bulged.

Looking at his master and then at the smiling woman, Zhui Feng felt that she was being sarcastic, that she was deliberately mocking the Marquis's incompetence.

If people knew that the Marquis's mansion had spent 183,000 taels of Yun Xiyue's dowry, the mansion would be ridiculed and would never be able to hold its head high again.

Even the Marquis would never be able to hold his head high in front of Yun Xiyue, yet this woman is so gentle and considerate, saying it's okay, saying there's no need to repay the money... Gentle, virtuous, dignified and generous, leaving no room for criticism.