She mistakenly got into the bridal sedan chair and married a sickly but powerful minister, becoming

Unable to contain herself, the second wife slammed her teacup onto the rosewood lotus-leaf-shaped six-legged incense table, her well-maintained and beautiful face contorted with rage.

She specifically requested that her dowry be pawned at Dechang Pawnshop, which showed that she knew the person behind the pawnshop was Madam Shen.

Such a large shipment from the pawnshop will surely alarm Madam Shen. Once Madam Shen sees the list, she will definitely recognize it as part of Shen Qingtan's dowry and will absolutely not resell it.

When Liuyue mentioned at Shian Hall that she had seen someone buy a flat pot, she knew it was a deliberate attempt to bring up the matter of her dowry being pawned.

The second wife had her own plans, intending to ask Madam Shen for her dowry back after Zhao Jue had bought the military rations and escorted them to the northern border.

Shen Qingtan took the initiative and caught her off guard, forcing her to retrieve her dowry first.

To everyone's surprise, the pawnbroker immediately tripled the original amount of money he had asked for.

The clerk said politely, "Madam, we run a shop and do business, so we need to make money. We're not running a charity. The money we gave you as collateral could earn us a lot of interest if we put it in a money shop."

The second wife was so angry that her heart ached. Suppressing her anger, she said, "Do you know who I am? I am your master's relative by marriage. Please invite her here. I will personally discuss the ransom with her."

“Madam, our boss is a genuine merchant. He only came to the capital to do business a few years ago. His relatives by marriage are all in his ancestral home, not in the capital.”

The clerk's smile remained unchanged: "The master's relatives by marriage are quite wealthy. If they encounter difficulties in their business and have to pawn their belongings, the master will not stand idly by and will definitely lend a helping hand."

The second wife choked with anger.

She wanted to take back her dowry for free. If Madam Shen loved Shen Mingzhu, she would definitely let her take the dowry away without paying a single penny.

Otherwise, why would she personally step forward and be ridiculed for being poor and presumptuous by some ignorant people, who would then try to claim kinship with her?

The second wife had no choice but to assert her status, and said arrogantly, "I am the second wife of the Duke of Zhao's mansion, and I am related to your master, Madam Shen, by marriage."

“Madam, our boss is not Madam Shen. If you don’t believe me, you can check with the authorities.”

When the tea server saw that some water had spilled from the teacup, he took a handkerchief, wiped the water clean, and poured another cup of tea for the customer.

He continued, "If you are pledging your property, we will follow the rules written on the pawn ticket. Once you have paid the full amount of the pawn money and interest, you can take your property with you."

You are a dead pawn, so we will negotiate the price face-to-face and settle the transaction. You cannot redeem it at the original price. It is all clearly written in black and white.

As for the selling price, that's up to us. If you don't think it's worth the price, you don't have to buy it.

"I see you are a big shop bullying your customers. I will redeem you back the same amount of silver you originally paid."

The second wife wasn't sure who owned the pawnshop, but she was unwilling to tolerate this humiliation. She sneered repeatedly, "You blind fools, how dare you bully my Duke Zhao's mansion!"

The shopkeeper was terrified and hurriedly explained, "We are honest businessmen. How dare we bully our customers here in the capital? Even if you were to beat the drum at the Emperor's palace, we would not be afraid."

The second wife's face was ashen, and she was so angry that her fingers were trembling.

The clerk seemed somewhat wary of her status, and his attitude was not as firm as it had been at the beginning: "I'll go and ask the manager."

The second wife was merely using her status to intimidate the clerk; she wouldn't dare cause a scene.

Seeing that Chao Feng seemed afraid, she snorted coldly, "Go."

Seeing that the steward had left the room, the second wife felt a little better and began to take a closer look at the room.

The room was decorated with great elegance. On the long table were a pair of blue and white porcelain plum blossom vases, and on the flower stand was a slender celadon porcelain vase with a delicate and beautiful peach blossom in it.

The walls are adorned with paintings by renowned artists, each with a remarkable provenance and priceless value.

The second wife felt very bitter. Is it really possible to make money by running a pawn shop?

She turned to the side, holding her teacup, and only then did she notice the exquisite cloisonné enamel incense burner with lotus scroll pattern on the incense table. It was burning the most precious agarwood incense, even more luxurious than the one she used in the Duke of Zhao's mansion.

She couldn't even drink half a sip of tea, and with a sullen face, she put the teacup back on the incense table.

On second thought, he realized that he was just a lowly merchant. No matter how extravagant he was, how could he possibly be as noble and respectable as the wives of officials?

Seeing the attendant return, the second madam put on airs and calmly asked, "What did your manager say?"

The clerk held up four fingers: "Shopkeeper, give me this number."

The second wife raised an eyebrow: "Forty thousand taels?"

She complained, "You only gave me 30,000 taels of silver."

The clerk shook his head: "The manager said to double the price."

The second wife stared in disbelief, about to erupt in anger, when she heard the clerk say, "The manager said he's used to people being bullied by those in power. We're doing legitimate business, so there's no need to be afraid of trouble. If you cause any more trouble, we'll double the price."

The second wife glared at her, "Are you going to oppose the Duke of Zhao's mansion?"

"This humble servant would not dare." The clerk appeared respectful, but his words were anything but polite: "Everyone says that the Duke of Zhao is upright and honest. We want to see if the rumors are true. If he really tries to use his power to suppress us, we will risk losing our business to expose the true face of the Duke of Zhao's mansion."

The harsh words stunned the second madam, who realized that she had offended the pawnshop staff. If she didn't buy back her dowry today, the whole capital would be filled with rumors that the Duke of Zhao's mansion was abusing its power.

She not only embezzled her niece-in-law's dowry and pawned it, but also used her power to pressure the pawnshop. Either way, she was challenging the bottom line of the Duke of Zhao.

Duke Zhao hated officials who abused their power for personal gain. If he knew she was bullying others outside, given his stubborn and unyielding nature, he would not allow the second wife to inherit the title, even if the Duke Zhao's family line ended.

The dowry was only 30,000 taels, but the ransom was 120,000 taels.

This is like cutting her heart with a dull knife!

The second wife was practically grinding her teeth to powder. The pawnshop was indeed a place that would devour people without spitting out their bones. No wonder it was so rich; the furnishings in the house were all exquisite and expensive.

She finally understood the saying "never pawn your goods when you're desperate for money." By driving down the value of the goods to the bare minimum, it's like selling them for a pittance. If she wanted to redeem them, she would be skinned alive.

The clerk gave her an order to leave: "Madam, please go back. We're not selling anymore."

"I've already come all this way, how can you just refuse to sell it as you please?" The second wife was filled with regret, she shouldn't have pawned her dowry in order to gain a bargain.

Knowing it would be a huge financial loss, I would rather have used my own savings to buy military rations for Zhao Jue.

She suppressed the pain in her eyes and said resentfully, "I bought it."

She kept reassuring herself that the value of the Duke's title was far greater than the tens of thousands of taels of silver.

The clerk's face was full of smiles as he refilled the second madam's cup of hot tea: "I knew you were a straightforward person."

The second wife, with a cold face, took out a list from her sleeve and handed it to the clerk: "Bring me back every single item."

The clerk nodded and bowed in agreement.

The next room was silent. The First Madam watched in astonishment as the Second Madam acted like a foolish, rich woman, allowing the pawnshop staff to swindle her out of her money.

She realized a problem: "Where did Luo Lingzhi get so much money?"