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

As expected of his daughter!

As Duke Wen thought this, his gaze toward Wen Shuyao became increasingly kind.

Hearing this, Madam Wen felt a great alarm bell ringing in her heart.

Wen Shuyao wouldn't be so kind.

If she truly meant well, she wouldn't have used the Chu family's power to pressure her and force her to squander her family fortune to gather these dowries!

Over the years, Chu Wanqing's dowry has been decreasing. Could it be that she is using it all by herself?

Ultimately, the lion's share was used to bribe the Duke of Wen.

Although the Duke of Wen was a hereditary marquis, he did not have much cash in his household. In addition, the Duke of Wen had no achievements in his official career, so he had to spend money to bribe officials.

But in the end, all the responsibility fell on her alone.

Madam Wen gritted her teeth. If it weren't for her excellent self-control, she would have probably revealed all these shameful secrets by now.

"This is all for you," said Old Madam Chu displeased. "Are you really going to let him off so easily? Don't forget how he's treated you all these years?"

Wen Shuyao lowered her head and remained silent.

Seeing this, Old Madam Chu could only rub her temples and accept it: "Very well, this set of furniture will not be included in the dowry list."

The Chu family steward immediately agreed.

Subsequent checks revealed numerous gaps.

However, thanks to Wen Shuyao's pleas, Old Madam Chu turned a blind eye and let it go.

Duke Wen was deeply moved, and his gaze toward Wen Shuyao became even more loving.

It took a whole day and thirty people to completely inventory the dowry left by Chu Wanqing.

Old Madam Chu watched as they sealed up all the dowry and wrote down a new dowry list before nodding in approval.

"This is the dowry that Wanqing left for Yaoyao," said Old Madam Chu calmly. "As Yaoyao's maternal family, our Chu family should naturally prepare an additional dowry as well."

Upon hearing this, Wen Shuyao looked up in surprise.

"Grandmother, this..."

"This is something we've been preparing for for a long time."

Madam Chu didn't explain much, but simply took out a jade pendant from her bosom.

This jade pendant looks ordinary and its quality isn't good enough; it doesn't seem like something that Old Madam Chu would wear close to her body.

However, when he saw the jade pendant, Duke Wen's eyes widened.

He stared blankly at the jade pendant, a guess that even he himself couldn't believe popped into his mind.

"This is a reward I received from Her Majesty the Empress many years ago," said Old Madam Chu. "These are your five hundred personal guards."

Upon hearing this, Wen Shuyao was also stunned.

Five hundred personal guards were a privilege reserved for princes.

For a subject, this is an immense honor.

But Old Madam Chu actually gave it to me like that.

"I don't want it..." Wen Shuyao subconsciously pushed the jade pendant back.

But Madam Chu wouldn't allow her to refuse, saying only, "This is the reward I got for you. Besides these five hundred guards... there's also an imperial edict."

Madam Wen stood to the side, her eyelids twitching violently.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from the doorway.

Then, the gatekeeper announced loudly, "His Highness Prince Jing has arrived! His Highness Prince Jing has come with an imperial edict!"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked towards the door.

Xie Jinghan, dressed in princely robes and holding an imperial edict, walked in with steady steps.

"Your Majesty's decree."

His expression was icy, and his indifferent eyes swept over the crowd.

One sentence jolted everyone awake, and they all knelt down.

Wen Shuyao knelt beside Old Madam Chu, wanting to say something, but Old Madam Chu held her hand and gently patted it.

"These should all be yours, don't worry."

Wen Shuyao knew that Old Madam Chu would not harm her.

But she was still curious about what was written on the imperial edict.

At this moment, Madam Wen lowered her head, her eyes darting around as she pondered what kind of reward Old Madam Chu had secured for Wen Shuyao.

The more she thought about it, the more confused she became.

Wen Yitong bit her lower lip tightly. When she saw Xie Jinghan, her emotions surged like a turbulent sea.

His handsome face captivated countless young women in the capital.

In her dream, she, like those young girls, happily married the man before her.

But what did she get in return? Indifference, loneliness, and being implicated and imprisoned!

Wen Shuyao is smug now, but in the future, she'll have plenty of days to cry!

Wen Yitong closed her eyes, unwilling to look at Xie Jinghan any longer.

Now that she has this opportunity, she will naturally not make the same wrong choice as the woman in her dream.

"The emperor's edict is to carry out the destiny..."

Xie Jinghan spoke in a low voice, slowly reading out the imperial edict conferring the title of County Princess upon Wen Shuyao.

Along with this imperial edict was another imperial edict conferring the title of Princess Consort of Jing upon Wen Shuyao.

With two imperial edicts issued in quick succession, Wen Shuyao was transformed into not only the undisputed Princess Consort of Jing, but also a county princess.

Princess Jing is one thing, as that was expected by everyone, but the County Princess…

She's actually the county princess!

Even now, Lady Wen is only a fourth-rank county lady.

But now Wen Shuyao... has actually become a county princess?

The county princess has a fiefdom!

Madam Wen was insanely jealous. She had never imagined that the Chu family would treat Wen Shuyao so unreservedly. Weren't they afraid that the other members of the family would feel indignant?

Mrs. Wen did not have the opportunity to ask these questions.

She watched as Wen Shuyao accepted the two imperial edicts with a smile, and even saw the county princess's attire brought by the official in charge of rites.

And so, her heart finally died.

Wen Shuyao truly became a county princess! And truly became the Princess Consort of Prince Jing!

From now on, how will she control Wen Shuyao?

I'm afraid even the entire Wen family will be trampled into the mud by Wen Shuyao!

Wen Shuyao accepted the imperial edict and bowed gracefully to Xie Jinghan.

The smile in her eyes was genuine. Working with someone like Xie Jinghan was truly different. He had only mentioned it briefly yesterday, and today the imperial decree for the marriage had arrived at her residence.

The hateful gazes from behind only made her straighten her back.

Where is this?

They'll have plenty of time to be jealous of us in the future.

Wen Shuyao smiled slightly at Xie Jinghan and stepped back to her original spot.

My legs felt a little weak after kneeling for so long.

Xie Jinghan reached out in time, grasped her wrist, and helped her up.

Upon seeing this, Old Madam Chu chuckled softly.

She was happy to see the future couple so close.

Madam Wen gritted her teeth inwardly, thinking to herself that she had been deceived by Wen Shuyao's appearance again. If she knew Wen Shuyao's true nature, she would surely despise her.

But Wen Yitong, standing beside her, was stunned.

She looked at Xie Jinghan's momentary tenderness with disbelief in her eyes.

Is this something Xie Jinghan would actually do?

This is impossible!

How can this be?

She clenched her fists tightly as she watched Xie Jinghan support Wen Shuyao's hand.