Rebirth of a Lost Nation: Princess, Please Respect Yourself

Chapter 229 The Missing Dowry

When Ning Yunxiao and Jiang Lige arrived at Prince Zhao's Mansion, Wang had already made preparations. As soon as the door opened, hundreds of boxes of various sizes were piled on the ground.

Wang came out smiling and said, "My sister's dowry is all here. You just need to move it out."

Jiang Lige laughed when he saw this and joked to Ning Yunxiao, "Princess Zhao actually left so many things behind. Your Highness will be a small wealthy man in the future."

Ning Yunxiao's cold brows softened, and he suddenly added, "Mine is yours, isn't it?"

Wang watched the two interacting with a cold gaze, sneered, and ordered, "There's no time to lose. I'll have someone help carry the two of you back to the East Palace, shall I?"

As they spoke, the people from Prince Zhao's mansion had already lifted up several boxes and were about to leave.

Anyway, once these things leave Prince Zhao's mansion, the Wang family will deny any responsibility if any problems arise.

Thinking of this, Wang curled up the corners of her mouth proudly.

Who would have thought that before the curve of his mouth relaxed, Jiang Lige stopped him with a smile, "No hurry, put it all down. If you don't sort this out clearly, you won't be able to explain it once you get out."

After saying that, Jiang Lige took two steps forward and opened a box. He then ordered someone to bring the box up and checked each one against the dowry book. After checking, he put each one into the new box.

Wang Shi became anxious when she saw Jiang Lige's attitude. "Princess Zhaohua, what does this mean? Are you worried that I might lose something?"

"How could that be? I'm just worried that if someone carelessly loses or breaks it during transportation, and then blames you, it won't be good for your reputation. I'm doing this for the princess's own good!"

Jiang Lige spoke seriously, but Wang Shi was very angry when she heard it.

"These hundreds of loads of dowry, you have to count them one by one here today, how much time will it take? There are so many things to do in the mansion, do I have to stay here with you?"

Jiang Lige didn't even bother to pay attention to Wang. Just as he was about to continue what he was doing, Song Yue, who was counting items nearby, "accidentally" broke a jade bracelet.

Jiang Lige frowned, picked up a piece of debris, and his face turned dark in an instant.

"Jadeite is known for being the hardest of all jades. It's impossible for it to break like this at such a height! Moreover, this jadeite appears to be meticulously crafted on the surface, but it's clearly a low-quality product underneath. No matter how superbly crafted it is, it's still a fake! Princess, you must give us an explanation for this matter!"

Wang didn't expect that this matter would be exposed so quickly. Her heart tightened, but she remained calm on the surface.

"To think this had happened! It must have been someone guarding the place who stole the goods and used a fake to trick me! Your Highness the Crown Prince and Princess Zhaohua, rest assured, I will give you both an explanation!"

"An explanation? What do I need from you? We want Princess Zhao's dowry!" Jiang Lige scolded mercilessly, "Perhaps those things are just money to you, but to His Highness, they are the only remembrance left by his late mother! They are not worth money at all!"

Wang's face turned red after being scolded by Jiang Lige. She quickly ordered people to close the gate of the palace to separate the people outside who were watching the excitement, and then she shamelessly continued.

"This matter is indeed due to my negligence in managing my subordinates. Your Highness the Crown Prince and Princess Zhaohua, please rest assured. Once I have thoroughly investigated this matter, I will definitely make up for the missing items one by one."

Jiang Lige sneered and was too lazy to speak.

Ning Yunxiao, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up, "Does the princess mean that she is willing to make amends?"

"That's right." Wang nodded quickly, "I'll do my best."

"Okay." Ning Yunxiao clapped his hands, and then he saw Gu Fan smiling and coming forward with a stack of pawn tickets, handing them to Wang with both hands.

When Wang saw it, she was completely dumbfounded. Every pawn ticket was the dowry she had pawned privately. The only difference was that the recipients of the pawn tickets had changed from all the major pawnshops in the capital to Chang'anfang.

Moreover, the price was much higher than what he had pawned it for.

"This..." Wang's hands trembled, a look of disbelief on her face, "How come these things are all in Chang'anfang?"

Jiang Lige spread his hands and explained in a friendly manner, "A few days ago, I asked Yu Linglong to collect some rare items to enhance our reputation, so she collected these. A few days ago, when we were copying the dowry book, we found the same name. We thought it was a coincidence, but it turned out to be the dowry that your family sold at a low price."

Wang was so angry that she felt dizzy. She took a quick look at the pile of pawn tickets and thought that the total value must be at least 100,000 taels!

Shit!

She didn't even sell all these things for 50,000 taels in total, and now she's asked to pay 50,000 taels out of her own pocket. That's impossible!

Wang's face turned red, "I don't have that much money!"

"The princess didn't have it, and neither did the palace?" Jiang Lige asked, puzzled. "And just now, so many people heard the palace servants passing off inferior goods as good ones in an attempt to deceive His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Strictly speaking, Prince Zhao's palace has committed the crime of deceiving the emperor."

Wang was so angry that she jumped up and down. "How can such a small thing be worth so much money? Jiang Lige, you are blackmailing me! I can go to the government office and sue you!"

Jiang Lige looked confused and hid behind Ning Yunxiao, saying aggrievedly, "You didn't sell them, how do you know they're not worth it? These are all good things. Your servants sold them cheaply. It's because you don't know the value of them. How can I be blackmailed? If the princess really can't produce them, we can only meet in court."

Wang was choked by Jiang Lige's words and almost vomited blood. However, when things developed to this point, there was no other way but to admit defeat.

If he fails to deliver the goods, not only will his own reputation be ruined, but Prince Zhao's Mansion will also be burdened with a bad reputation.

It's easy to imagine that King Zhao will put all the blame on her. What future will she and her son Ning Yongyi have then!

Thinking of this, Wang forced a smile. "Isn't this just like the flood that washed away the Dragon King Temple? Since Chang'anfang is Princess Zhaohua's property, it's only natural that she earns less money for her family, right?"

"I didn't make any money from you. One hundred and three thousand and fifty-eight taels of silver, not a cent." Jiang Lige pointed to the price on the pawn ticket and said as a matter of course, "Chang'anfang is an honest business. Since you were deceived, I sold you at the original price, which is already a loss. If the price is lower than the price on the pawn ticket, I will be paying for the evil deeds of your servants. I am not the one who failed to discipline my subordinates, so why should I?"

Ning Yunxiao couldn't help but laugh secretly at Jiang Lige's ability to debate with the scholars. He kept calling people slaves and evildoers. His indirect criticism was unparalleled.

Wang Shi almost wanted to tear Jiang Lige's mouth apart, but now she could only swallow her anger and said with a stiff upper lip, "Okay, I'll collect enough silver someday and personally deliver it to Chang'anfang.

Ning Yunxiao calmly issued an ultimatum, "I'll give you three days."