With Multiple Babies, Who Still Wants to Be the Marquess’s Wife? - Chapter 35

Chapter 35: A Generous Dowry

With a “crack,” the Ruyi Jade was broken into two pieces.

Nanny Zhang, who had been slapped, felt stars spinning in her eyes. She touched her face and found bl00d on her hand. She looked at Lan Qingxi in disbelief.

She exclaimed, “Why did the young madam hit me?”

Lan Qingxi’s gaze was sharp as a blade, completely different from her usual gentle demeanor, making Nanny Zhang’s heart skip a beat.

Madam Zheng was stunned by the slap from Lan Qingxi, and it took her a while to snap out of it.

She angrily said, “Lan Qingxi, what are you doing?”

Lan Qingxi looked at her and said, “My mother says that Li Qiu stole this Ruyi Jade from you, but I don’t believe that claim.”

Madam Zheng felt her anger boiling, and she began to feel faint with the onset of incontinence. Startled, she forced herself to suppress her anger.

She said coldly, “The person was caught red-handed, and yet you still want to defend her?”

Lan Qingxi chuckled lightly. “It’s not that I’m defending her. It’s just that my mother might have misunderstood the Lan family’s financial situation.”

“The people of Jiangnan have praised the Lan family by calling us the wealthiest family in the region.”

“Although this title is somewhat exaggerated, the Lan family is indeed not lacking in money.”

“To put it simply, even if you just consider my dowry, a Ruyi Jade like this isn’t hard to find. I have hundreds of them, probably even more than that.”

“Li Qiu holds the key to my treasury. If she wanted something like this, she could just take it.”

“Not to mention, we’ve been close for years. If she liked this kind of thing, I’d just give it to her directly.”

“There was no need for her to go through the trouble of stealing this Ruyi Jade.”

Lan Qingxi glanced at the half-broken Ruyi Jade in her hand and continued, “Though it’s made of mutton-fat jade, it’s the lowest quality.”

“I’ve broken it today, but I’ll replace it with a new one for my mother at another time.”

Madam Zheng: “…”

Madam Zheng: “!!!!!!”

To her, Lan Qingxi’s words felt like blatant provocation.

But deep down, she knew Lan Qingxi was speaking the truth.

When Lan Qingxi married into the Marquis’ household, she had brought a dowry worth ten thousand taels of silver. Madam Zheng had seen the list of her dowry items, which included many other precious items—dozens of sets of jewelry, countless jewels and jade ornaments, and hundreds of bolts of rare fabrics.

The total value of her dowry was at least seventy thousand taels of silver.

The Lan family was wealthy, and as the most favored daughter of the family, Lan Qingxi’s dowry was so generous it made people envious.

Madam Zheng had no doubt that Lan Qingxi could easily produce a Ruyi Jade of much higher quality.

However, this was, in essence, a slap in her face.

Madam Zheng recalled the time when she had asked Lan Qingxi for four thousand taels of silver to arrange a marriage for Yu Jun Shu and Zhao Yan’er. Lan Qingxi had refused, accusing her of being overly frugal.

The thought of it made Madam Zheng angry.

She coldly said, “What do you mean by that? Are you looking down on me?”

Lan Qingxi replied calmly, “I certainly don’t look down on my mother.”

“I simply think this matter is unreasonable. Someone is framing me and trying to blame Li Qiu.”

“I request that you investigate this thoroughly and clear Li Qiu’s name!”

Madam Zheng’s facial muscles twitched. She was about to lash out when Qin Yiniang hurriedly walked in.

“I believe what the young madam says makes sense.”

“The young madam holds a respected position and is not lacking in wealth. Someone must be framing her.”

Madam Zheng coldly replied, “Are you trying to defend her?”

Qin Yiniang smiled faintly. “Madam is joking. There’s no need for me to defend anyone. I’m simply stating the facts.”

“The Marquis’ household is known for its fairness, and Madam is highly praised in the capital for her benevolence. Surely, you wouldn’t simply strike and kill a servant without investigating the matter first.”

“This case is suspicious, and I request that you conduct a thorough investigation. If Li Qiu didn’t steal this Ruyi Jade, then there’s a real thief in the household.”

“If the thief isn’t found, how can Madam feel at ease?”

“Moreover, the thief stole under Madam’s nose and framed someone else. This shows utter disrespect for Madam.”

Madam Zheng’s gaze shifted between Qin Yiniang and Lan Qingxi.

Why was Qin Yiniang helping Lan Qingxi?

She began to form suspicions, but given the situation, she couldn’t dwell on it any longer.

After all, she knew more than anyone how things had truly unfolded today.

Her action against Li Qiu was, in fact, a roundabout way of warning Lan Qingxi. Whether Li Qiu lived or died didn’t matter to her.

Madam Zheng’s anger gradually subsided. She said coldly, “What you say makes sense.”

She turned back to Lan Qingxi and said, “Lan Qingxi, this time I wasn’t targeting you. It really is a case of someone being caught red-handed.”

“But as you said, Li Qiu had no need to do this, so it’s likely that someone is framing her.”

“You should reflect on this. Since you just entered the family, someone is already trying to harm you.”

Lan Qingxi looked at Madam Zheng, who now smiled kindly and said, “Send someone to fetch the medicine for Li Qiu.”

A servant quickly went to retrieve the medicine.

Madam Zheng approached Lan Qingxi and said, “You are my daughter-in-law, and we are the closest family in the world.”

She glanced at Qin Yiniang and softly added, “But I fear that some people are scheming against you, trying to pull you in by setting up this whole situation.”

She sighed. “Today, it was my impulsiveness. I apologize for the misunderstanding and offer my apologies to you.”

“You must keep this in mind and not let others take advantage of you.”

Her tone was warm, and she appeared extremely considerate, as if she genuinely cared for Lan Qingxi.

Lan Qingxi, however, felt disgusted.

Whether in this life or the previous one, Madam Zheng had never been kind to her.

It was only when Madam Zheng was scheming against her that she would show a bit of warmth.

If Lan Qingxi were a naive young girl or hadn’t lived through the previous life, she might have been suspicious of Qin Yiniang.

But since this time, Madam Zheng’s plot against Li Qiu was so crude, Qin Yiniang’s appearance seemed like a last-minute attempt to fix things.

If this were truly Qin Yiniang’s plot, it would have been much more sophisticated.

But this so-called sophistication was a lie—just Madam Zheng’s attempt to sow discord.

Madam Zheng had maintained her position as the main wife not only because of her cruel methods but also because of her intelligence.

When it came to cruelty, greed, and scheming, few could compare to her.

Lan Qingxi’s eyes revealed a moment of confusion.

Madam Zheng, satisfied with her reaction, said gently, “Today, I was too impulsive. Please take Li Qiu and get her treated.”

Lan Qingxi couldn’t help but admire Madam Zheng’s audacity. Even though the situation had escalated this far, Madam Zheng was still able to cover her tracks.

Lan Qingxi replied softly, “Please, mother, investigate this matter thoroughly.”

Madam Zheng patted her hand and said, “Don’t worry, in my heart, you are like my own daughter. I will never allow you to suffer any injustice.”