My stepsister tried to steal the prince's hand in marriage, but little did she know I had been

As for Duke Wen... he has always valued his reputation above all else. If she outwardly complies but inwardly defies him and tries to pass off inferior goods as superior ones right under his nose, her reputation in the capital will be ruined.

Thus... her position as the Duchess of Wen was in jeopardy!

Madam Wen's face was pale, her lips moved a few times, but what came out was only a whisper that only she could hear: "This is impossible! Who knows if this dowry list is real or fake?"

Her lips kept moving, but Duke Wen had already noticed something was wrong from her unusual attitude.

At this moment, Duke Wen's face burned with embarrassment. Looking at the dark mass of soldiers in front of him, he felt even more ashamed.

This incident has probably already reached the ears of others. His reputation has been ruined by this fool!

His eyes were sinister as he glared fiercely at Madam Wen.

"Father-in-law," he bowed to General Chu, his back bowed, "may we speak in private for a moment?"

General Chu snorted coldly: "Ever since Wan Niang passed away, you and I have only been enemies. You should address Lord Zhang as your father-in-law."

The Zhang family of Jiangnan, from which Madam Wen originated, has now risen to prominence in the capital and become a second-rate aristocratic family thanks to the help of Madam Wen and the imperial concubine.

Duke Wen, who prided himself on his noble status, had always looked down on families that rose through marriage. Now, after being ridiculed by General Chu, he felt even more embarrassed.

"I……"

"This matter must be settled here today!" General Chu declared emphatically. "This dowry list still bears the seal of the Prefect of the Capital!"

"If you don't believe me, you're welcome to come and see for yourself." General Chu sneered, his words carrying a hidden meaning. "I act with integrity and uprightness, unlike some people who are like maggots in a sewer, utterly repulsive!"

"My daughter's dowry is worth over a million taels of silver. Even if we deduct the money spent raising Shuyao over the years from that, we should still have more than half of it!"

“What’s more, Shu Yao hasn’t been well cared for all these years…” He chuckled lightly, patting Wen Shu Yao’s shoulder with pity, “She hasn’t been well taken care of at all. Even the clothes she’s wearing are made of last year’s fashionable fabric!”

"If the remaining dowry in this storeroom today is less than 800,000 taels of silver, I will take this to the Emperor! I will accuse you, Duke Wen, of coveting your deceased wife's dowry! I want to see how His Majesty will rule!"

General Chu spoke with a strong and resonant voice, not at all like a man over sixty years old.

He shielded Wen Shuyao behind him, his sharp eyes sweeping over the Duke and his wife.

At this moment, General Chu still had some worries in his heart.

He hasn't had any contact with his granddaughter, Wen Shuyao, for over a decade.

More than a decade ago, when Wen Shuyao was just a little girl, she heard a rumor from somewhere that her mother had been forced to death by the Chu family, and she never wanted to get close to the Chu family.

Over the years, he and his family have been stationed at the border, and each year he can only send some things to Wen Shuyao.

He thought he would never see his granddaughter again in his lifetime.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he stepped into the Chu family mansion in the capital this morning, a maidservant, claiming to serve Wen Shuyao, delivered a letter to him.

Upon seeing the contents of the letter, he was furious and immediately gathered his men, heading straight to the Duke of Wen's residence.

Because of his guilt towards his daughter and his resentment towards Duke Wen, he had never set foot in Duke Wen's mansion all these years. Naturally, he never expected that Wen Shuyao was living such a life in Duke Wen's mansion!

Although he was a rough and uncultured man, he naturally knew that since Madam Chu and her daughters-in-law all liked to put effort into their clothes and jewelry, Wen Shuyao had nothing worth showing off.

This is the eldest daughter of the Duke of Wen's family! The apple of their eye, the most cherished treasure of the Chu family, yet the Duke and Duchess of Wen treat her like this.

General Chu sneered repeatedly; anyone could see his anger at that moment.

Madam Wen huddled in place like a quail, not daring to utter a single word.

Her mind had stopped working. Only after hearing General Chu state the value of Chu Wanqing's dowry did she realize just how much of a mess her extravagance over the years had created.

This is something she can never make up for.

Duke Wen's face flushed red: "Shu Yao is my daughter. I raised her to adulthood, so how can I allow Wan Qing's dowry to be used? Father-in-law, rest assured, I will definitely give you an explanation for this matter!"

As he spoke, he frequently glanced at Wen Shuyao.

If there was anyone who could calm General Chu's anger at this moment, it would only be Wen Shuyao.

However, General Chu reacted swiftly: "An explanation? What explanation do you want to give me? Are you going to send the person who embezzled the dowry to the Prefect of the Capital?"

Upon hearing this, Duke Wen fell silent.

It goes without saying who stole Chu Wanqing's dowry; everyone present knew the answer.

He also hated Madam Wen's petty nature, but Madam Wen was, after all, the mistress of the Wen State Duke's mansion. If she were sent to the Prefect of the Capital, he would truly lose all face.

So he closed his eyes and knelt down with a thud before General Chu.

“Father-in-law, please rest assured, I will return everything on Wanqing’s dowry list to Shuyao intact.” He pleaded, word by word, “I hope you can give me some more time.”

General Chu chuckled: "As expected of you, you value face so much."

"I don't know if you care about the reputation of the Duke of Wen's mansion... or about this woman." General Chu's words were laced with sarcasm.

Madam Wen dared not utter another word. Her existence was like a thorn in the side of General Chu. If she made any move, all of General Chu's anger would likely be directed at her.

Fifteen years ago, she would never forget the suffocating feeling of impending death when General Chu's hands gripped her neck.

Duke Wen's expression was also unpleasant. As a high-ranking official, he rarely received such a rude rebuke.

However, considering what Madam Wen had done over the years, he had no choice but to suppress his anger.

He was in the wrong first, and if he doesn't make amends in time, once General Chu actually sends the petition to the Emperor, his title of Duke of Wen will be in jeopardy.

So he remained half-bowed and said in a low voice, "Father-in-law, I hope you can give me some more time."

General Chu squinted, about to launch an attack, when he felt his sleeve being tugged.

He looked down and saw Wen Shuyao's pleading eyes.

Upon seeing this, General Chu's anger paused for a moment, but then rose even greater fury.

"What? You're going to take his side too?"

Wen Shuyao looks exactly like Chu Wanqing back then.

They were clearly doing it for their own good, and this man in front of them was clearly heartless, ungrateful, and treacherous, so why did they still...?

"Grandfather, please don't be in such a hurry." Wen Shuyao lowered her voice and winked at him mischievously.

Her eyes were clear and bright, unlike what General Chu thought of her as dull-witted.