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

Shen Qingtan recalled the counterfeit goods in the storeroom: "The dowry my second aunt returned to me was all counterfeit goods that were indistinguishable from the real thing. If someone doesn't know their stuff, they could easily be fooled."

The First Madam's heart skipped a beat: "She's profiting from selling counterfeit goods?"

Shen Qingtan shook her head: "It's just a guess, we need to verify it."

The First Madam kept this matter in mind. She got up and went to the small window, only to see the Second Madam's departing figure.

She frowned and asked, "She only pawned 30,000 taels, so why is she willing to give an extra 90,000 taels?"

"My grandfather disliked both infighting among brothers and bureaucracy. Before the Zhao family patriarch rose to prominence, his family ran a security escort agency, which was oppressed by powerful figures, resulting in the destruction of the family and the death of its members."

Shen Qingtan said calmly, "He left his hometown alone, met a benefactor, and became a founding hero, which is why he has his current title. Our ancestors recorded this in the family precepts to admonish their descendants."

She had once heard Zhao Jue mention this family motto: One should not bully others because one's father or brothers are powerful and influential. When the ancestors were weak, they suffered greatly because of them. She hoped that future generations would reflect on this and strive to be good officials, famous generals, and upright people.

He aspired to be a great general, but everything he did was the work of a petty person.

"My second aunt has always wanted to obtain the title of Duke's mansion, and because of the marriage swap, she has already violated the first rule."

Zhao Jue took on the task of buying military rations in order to make amends for his past mistakes.

They pawned my dowry to buy grain, and now, to redeem it, they're abusing their power, violating the second rule.

Shen Qingtan slightly curled the corners of her lips: "She is now in a dilemma. I have to return my dowry, and I have also offended the pawnshop. In order to keep the peace, she has to grit her teeth and swallow this loss."

The First Madam had heard about the Zhao family's ancestors, but she hadn't thought about it this deeply.

“Unless Second Aunt doesn’t want the title, the pawnshop can’t control her,” Shen Qingtan said with a smile. “As the mistress of the Duke’s mansion, what are a few hundred thousand taels of silver?”

Even though the second wife knew she was being ripped off, she still had to obediently hand over the silver.

"You've got her cornered, waiting to swindle her." The First Madam, having grasped the situation, exclaimed in astonishment, "And how did you know she'd come here to pawn her things?"

"I didn't know." Shen Qingtan blinked, looking somewhat innocent. "I only knew that Zhao Jue was short of money to buy grain, and that my second aunt would pawn my dowry. I was thinking of using this as leverage to force her to redeem it and return it to me."

When the second wife came to Dechang Pawnshop, she ripped her off and made a fortune.

When the second wife went to another pawnshop, she would collude with the people there to swindle the second wife, earning only a little less money.

The First Madam was truly amazed, but thinking about how Shen Qingtan had made a killing by swindling 90,000 taels of silver, she felt extremely pleased.

“Luo Lingzhi is greedy; she wants to get her hands on everything, whether it’s rightfully hers or not. She deserves to suffer this setback.” The First Madam smiled broadly and said, “I had excellent judgment; I saw your potential at first sight back then.”

Shen Qingtan: "..."

“Isn’t that right?” Madam Guan chimed in, “Second Master and Second Mistress are such a perfect match, they’re both just as cunning.”

Shen Qingtan: "..."

People from military families, do you all praise people in such a unique way?

-

After returning to the Duke's mansion, Shen Qingtan sent Liu Yue to Zhao Yi's study to borrow a family precept from Jiang Chao. She then leaned against the short couch and read it with great interest.

As darkness fell, all the gentlemen of the manor returned from their duties, and someone from Shian Hall came to invite her over.

Shen Qingtan took Liu Yue to the Shian Hall and only then did she realize that everyone had arrived.

Duke Zhao and his wife sat in the main seats. The four masters and four ladies of the mansion were also present. Among the younger generation were only her, Zhao Yi, and the couple Zhao Jue and Shen Mingzhu.

The atmosphere in the room was heavy, as if a storm was brewing.

After paying her respects to everyone, she sat down next to Zhao Yi, her gaze involuntarily drifting towards the Duke of Zhao, who sat in the main seat.

Duke Zhao wore a black gauze hat, a bright red round-necked robe with a gold-embroidered unicorn badge on his chest, a jade leather belt around his waist, and black leather boots on his feet.

He hadn't changed out of his casual clothes yet, which clearly indicated that he had come to Shian Hall as soon as he returned to the mansion.

He sat upright in the main seat, without uttering a word, yet exuded the majesty of a superior.

"Everyone's here." The old lady spoke slowly and deliberately: "There's a thief in the manor. Tan'er's dowry was stolen and pawned. Her dowry passed through the hands of the second son's wife, who volunteered to take on the task. She has already found out that the dowry wasn't pawned, but was found in the abandoned west courtyard."

The second wife had emptied the family's coffers and was in a state of exhaustion, only wanting things to settle down as soon as possible.

Dechang Pawnshop refused to acknowledge that Madam Shen was the owner behind it, and naturally, it wouldn't side with her.

If she were to falsely accuse Shen Qingtan of orchestrating the whole thing, the old lady would only need to send someone to ask, and the truth would come out.

The second wife said stiffly, "Niece-in-law, the west courtyard is an abandoned courtyard. The masters and servants of the mansion will not go there easily. Your dowry is not just one or two pieces. If you steal it out and sell it all at once, it will be easy to be discovered. That thief hid the things in the west courtyard."

"Really? It was in the west courtyard?" Shen Qingtan glanced at Liu Yue and asked, "Didn't you say you saw it at the pawnshop?"

Liu Yue quickly said, "Second Madam, this servant is not lying."

“Yes, yes, Liuyue didn’t lie.” The second madam smiled rather reluctantly: “I checked and found that the items Liuyue mentioned were indeed missing. I went to Dechang Pawnshop to redeem them myself.”

"I see." Shen Qingtan then asked, "Has Second Aunt found out who stole it?"

"We haven't found out yet. That thief is cunning; he hired a beggar to pawn his belongings. Now that we've alerted him, catching the thief won't be easy. But don't worry, I'll continue the investigation."

The second wife expressed her determination, and then said with relief, "Fortunately, everything was recovered, and nothing was missing."

Shen Qingtan listened to the Second Madam's many flawed statements but did not expose her.

Everyone present was shrewd; how could they not know that the Second Madam was just making up an excuse to cover up her shame?

If the Duke of Zhao and his wife wanted to maintain a semblance of peace, they would "believe" the Second Madam's words.

Anyway, she never intended to overthrow the second wife's family all at once; it was enough that Duke Zhao was disappointed in them.

After too many disappointments, and with one last straw, the second wife's fate was sealed.

Besides, she made 90,000 taels of silver for free.

Shen Qingtan said gratefully, "Then I'll trouble you, Second Aunt, to give you the money to redeem your dowry privately."

"It's not much money, just consider it a wedding gift from me, as an elder, to the younger generation."

"It would be disrespectful of me to refuse gifts from elders." Shen Qingtan bowed to the Second Madam: "Second Aunt, I will remember your kindness."

The second mistress could no longer maintain her fake smile and gave a few instructions to the maid beside her.

The maid went out for a moment, and then a servant carried in the dowry. The chests and boxes filled the room, and all the lids were opened.

The second wife glanced at the dazzling gold and silver jewelry and felt a pang of pain in her heart: "Niece-in-law, please check carefully. Is there anything wrong with these dowries?"