Chapter 18 – Causing Trouble
As the clouds parted, the mists gradually subsided, streaks of golden light spills through the clouds, illuminating Earth.
Dressed in a light blue long skirt, Murong Xue sat under a Hydrangea tree and sipped tea. As the pink flower petals slowly fall from the tree, her beauty glowed, so captivating it was almost as if she was an immortal.
“Miss Murong, Prince Jing has gone back to the Capital.” Maid Hong Xiu, hurriedly told her while walking over, with a faint panic in her voice.
Murong Xue’s eyes turned cold, and stopped sipping her tea, “When did he go back?”
“Last night between 19:00 to 21:00!” Hong Xiu uttered softly as she kept her eyes low. “The city guards said Prince Jing rode back to the Capital alone, looking normal, and should not be injured.”
Murong Xue’s narrowed her eyes and pondered. Have fallen from such great heights off a cliff, and swept away by fast rapids, even if any ordinary person would not die, he would be seriously injured and unconscious. Yet, Ye Yichen did not suffer even the slightest injury, his life is really big. He is the epitome of the phrase: Good people do not live long, but the evil ones live for a thousand years.
“Miss Murong, Prince Jing is very highly ranked and powerful, you had schemed him into being ridiculed by the people of the Capital and officials, he certainly will not let this slide so easily?” Hong Xiu says softly, her voice laced with concern.
“I know!” Murong Xue nodded, her eyes turning cold: her words yesterday were so vague, given that the people in the Capital has such wild imagination, they will certainly think that Ye Yichen want to force her to be his concubine, and had a fight with the Marquis’ guards, during which he accidentally fell of the cliffs.
However, given Ye Yichen’s arrogance, he definitely will not confess that he was knocked off the cliff by Ouyang Shaochen. Since he had failed to force the marriage, all the gossip and talk will echo in his ears every day. As long as he thought of her, Ye Yichen will be reminded of the shame he suffered, and must hate her tremendously, but for the sake of his Household’s reputation, he will never try to force the marriage again openly.
And she has ponders on, she realizes it is Ye Yichen’s layer of consideration, because the Marquis’ guards are simply just ordinary guards, whereas Prince Jing’s guards are strong veterans, these two are simply not comparable. Her constitution is weak. Even if she is supported by her modern skills, she is still a far cry from Ye Yichen who has strong martial arts abilities and deep internal strength.
With absolute power, all people and things are vulnerable. If Prince Jing openly fights against Marquis Household, Marquis Household absolutely does not have the power to fight back. But once Ye Yichen have this layer of consideration, then he will not openly display force, but will deal with her secretly, with his underhanded tricks and schemes, she may lose out to Ye Yichen!
Looking at her eyes glowing with confidence, Hong Xiu heaves a sigh of relief, yet she was still worried, “Young Mistress, it is easy to hide against the open attacks but difficult to guard against schemes,we have to be more careful.”
“I know that!” Murong Xue nods, a small smile forming on her lips: this time, Ye Yichen was able to return safely and unharmed, is because when Ouyang Shaochen forced him down the cliff, he had no injuries. Given his powerful martial arts ability, the chances of him surviving the water rapids are higher than the possibility of death!
If he dares to plot against her, she would poke a few holes in his body, so that even if he did not die from serious injuries, he would die from profuse blood loss.
“Sister … sister …,” a voice drifts over, Murong Ye excitedly rushes towards Murong Xue, the edge of his dark blue robes fluttered with the wind brought up by his haste. His lips moved a little, yet no words came out!
Murong Xue glanced at him: “Is there something?
“Sister, please let me borrow Beibei for a day!” Murong Ye smiles sweetly as he asks, his handsome, childlike face eager to please.
Murong Xu’s beautiful small face instantly darkens, Beibei is a Tibetan mastiff, good at the attacks, the reason why Murong Ye wants to borrow it goes without saying. “Beibei is my pet, it will no longer visit battle grounds and fight with other dogs you should give up.”
Upon hearing this, Murong Ye neither got angry nor seemed dejected. Instead, he laughed cheekily and said “Then why not you give me ten thousand taels, I will go buy another dog.”
Murong Xue frowns and says: “Where do you originally get all your money? Isn’t there no more there?” Based on her memory, no matter how much Murong Ye was seen as a wastrel, he would never ask her for money.
“I have always got my money from Uncle Hui, but when I went to look for Uncle Hui just now, he said that based on Dad’s instructions, I have used more than this month’s withdrawal limit. He would not give me any more money before the end of this month. However, I want to participate in dog fighting, so I have you come to you, sister. “Murong Ye said lightly.
Upon listening to this, Murong Xue narrows her eyes. Uncle Hui’s name is Ge Hui, and was previously Murong Yue’s right hand man. However, he was seriously injured during battle, and can no longer be on the battlefield. He then became the butler of Marquis’ family, and is in charge of external affairs.
After the death of Murong Yue and his wife, Uncle Hui shouldered all responsibilities and took care of external matters relating to the house, and also took care of young Murong Ye and Murong Xue. You could say, the responsibility of the external matters did not fall into the hands of the old lady dowager, which added a layer of consideration, ensuring that Murong Ye and Murong Xue both grew up well and safe.
Ge Hui is Murong Yue’s official, and is also the benefactor of the two siblings (Murong Ye and Murong Xue). But, Murong Ye is still the master after all while he is a servant. Despite the fact that Murong Ye engages in dog fighting activities, bringing shame to the family, Ge Hui does not dare to be strict and discipline him, and can only try his best to limit the amount of waste, to ensure that the proceeds are more than the outflows, hoping that the large Marquis Household will not decline under the hands of Murong Ye……
“Brother, you know that I have such little monthly allowance, even if I were to add up my allowance over 10 years, I would never get ten thousand taels……” Murong Xue says. If Gehui does not want Murong Ye to engage in dog fighting, Murong Xue does not want him to ruin the family name either. She does have a fair bit of money, if Murong Ye had the intention to use it for proper reasons, she would not hesitate to give it to him, but since he wants to use it for dog fighting… … hehe, it’s better that she keeps the money.
Murong Ye disagrees and says cheerfully: “Aren’t you holding the key to mother’s dowry treasury … …”
Murong Xue’s head snaps up and looks at him, her eyes flaring and cold : “You want to sell your mother’s dowry in exchange for silver to engage in dog fighting, are you not afraid that Mother’s spirit cannot rest in peace!”
Upon getting reprimanded severely, Murong Ye Zhang instantly turned red, anxiously waves his hand dismissively, and explains hastily. “No … … no … … mother’s dowry will certainly contain some silver, I simply want those silver, I will never take the rest of the things! ”
He understood that we should respect the dead, and even more so knows that the inheritance left by our elders should be properly safe kept, and not easily tampered with. Even if he were to ruin the family name, he would not go to the extent of selling mother’s dowry.
“How do you know that mother’s dowry contains silver?” Murong Xue frowns and looks at Murong Ye. When the women of Qingyan get married, the dowry will have a document that details the specific amount of silver. But after the women settles into the family, very seldom will they count the silver, because silver is a circulated currency and can be spent any time.
Murong Xue remembered the accounts had written down the amount of silver, while she was checking the inventory of the dowry, there was not much silver left. She did not count it, because mother had died in ten over years, even if she were to ask the whereabouts of the silver, there would be thousands of excuses where she will be dismissed by Du.
Upon looking at Murong Xue calm down, Murong Ye quietly breathe a sigh of relief, his sister will no longer misunderstand him, and that’s really great!
Upon seeing her puzzled expression, he smiles and says mischievously: “While I was coming out of seeing Uncle Hui, I happen to hear Hong Qiao and another servant quietly talking about mother’s dowry, and that is how I happen to find out that mother’s dowry has some silver.”
Murong Xue laughs, Hong Qiao is Master Du’s second-class servant, who has gained the trust of Du. When Murong Ye lacks silver, it cannot be such a coincidence that Hong Qiao happens to talk to others about mother’s dowry, this is simply old-wives’ tricks.
The key to the Treasury in Murong Xue’s hands, Du can no longer want to take mother’s dowry. To use Murong Ye’s weakness for dog fighting, and motivate him to pawn or sell the dowry, while they use this opportunity to buy them up at low-cost, is such a good plan!
Given that Du’s viciousness, wasn’t her previous lesson not enough? Looks like I have to teach Du a very memorable lesson this time, let her know that what’s the meaning of trying to steal a chicken and ending up losing rice to try to take advantage only to end up worse off than before.