Chapter 106 He Will Be a Dead Man If He Won’t

It was a warm afternoon.

“Where are the seventy percent? I also want to know!” said Qiu Yelan, lying on the soft bed lazily and stroking Whitey’s smooth fur. “But I don’t think Kang Lizhang would tell Qiu Hongzhi about it. Even if we tortured Qiu Jinzhu’s and Qiu Yinzhi’s servants and maids, we still couldn’t get our stuff back. It’s not helpful!”

Kang Lizhang once advised Qiu Hongzhi to cooperate with her to steal Qiu Jinzhu’s and her brother’s stuff for money. After hearing the news, Qiu Yelan asked Kang Lizhang to sell Old Princess Lian’s and Princess Ruan’s dowries first — In effect, after Madame Lu died, Kang Lizhang had seen that her mother’s and her private money would be dismissed.

Realizing what’s going on, she commanded one confidant to hide treasures in the Prince’s Mansion overnight.

But later, to gain Qiu Yelans’s trust, Kang Lizhang told her everything. As the Prince’s Mansion of Xihe was a foe of Qiu Yelan, she was not in a hurry to get back the stuff Kang Lizhang had hidden. She intentionally let Kang Lizhang own them… Anyway, Qiu Yelan was not a mean girl.

“Qiu Mengmin only had three days to get all things done. How could it be possible?” said Chunran with a smile. Mrs. Zhou and Su He were standing around, intending to say something.

Qiu Yelan had finished a pearl. She got a handkerchief and swiped her hand, saying with a doubt, “What’s wrong?”

“Princess Yang sold the dowry in the past and gave money to the General.” said Mrs. Zhou after asking Su He to go out as a watchdog. “All persons who knew the thing have been dismissed by Princess Yang except me after Lu died. I am not sure if there were some left like Mrs. Guan or Dongyao?” whispered Mrs. Zhou.

“I have heard about it before… but, were there seals or prints on the stuff when they were sold?” asked Qiu Yelan.

“Yes, it did! The stuff your mother asked us to sell was not common things in the market. The buyer did not want to buy the stuff which was the stolen goods because he might be involved in a crime. Needless to say, the buyer was afraid that he paid now and then in a second, he was accused of a crime. For these reasons, the buyers asked us to write a note to prove that it was Princess who wanted to sell voluntarily.”

“… So, the stuff my mother sold was her dowry?” said Qiu Yelan, sitting up straight.

“Surely enough.” answered Mrs. Zhou. “And your mother told us that the stuff your grandmother left is yours now. Nobody was allowed to sell them.”

Qiu Yelan nodded. “So, about my grandma’s dowry, Qiu Mengmin had no excuse to use or sell them? Ruan Qingyan has told me that the dowry is worth four hundred thousand.”

“Wow, that much?” exclaimed Chunran and Xiaran. They both had seen the world because of Ruan Qingyan. But hearing it was four hundred thousand worth dowries, they were in a shock. After all, when a girl got married, she would become a member of her husband’s family. Dowries embodied the affluence of a family.

“Not as many as Princess’s!” Mrs. Zhou let slip.

“My mother’s dowry is truly more than others. And now the stuff they need to give me back shouldn’t be based on the list!” smiled Qiu Yelan coldly. “The annual revenue of the shops and manors are not included in the list. The manors are fertile ones and the shops are in good places. About the Princess’s dowry, I am sure they cannot give back ninety percent of it, let alone my mother’s. They will be no way to get rid of the crime of embezzling my stuff! If Qiu Mengmin dared not to buy back the stuff based on the market price, my brother wouldn’t spare him!”

There were reasons why the dowries of the Princess were plenty: The Prince’s Mansion of Xihe was a hereditary family. Despite Old Princess Lian was the Minister’s daughter, her family was not wealthy. To avoid his daughter being looked down in her husband’s family, the minister tried everything to prepare a great dowry for her daughter’s wedding.

So did Princess Ruan. Though Ruan Family had been an official family since three generations ago, it was sure enough that the Ruan Family was not as wealthy as the Prince’s Mansion of Xihe, the one helped found the country. Plus, General Ruan had been in various wars for his life, making a lot of money out of the battles. He, of course, would give much to her daughter who would marry a man from a powerful family. After checking the dowry lists left by the Lian and Ruan families, Qiu Yelan realized that the eighty hundred thousand Xiuyan asked once was not a big number. The property left by her mother and grandma must be over one million.

That was to say, excluding those Qiu Yelan did not know, the Prince’s Mansion of Xihe must pay one-third of their whole property to her!

Needless to say, Qiu Mengmin and his family members would try everything not to pay.

“Fortunately, Yang Family has a naughty girl who started the fight between the Ding Family and Yang Family… Or, Qiu Mengmin must fetch help from these two families. If so, nobody could imagine what would come about next!” thought Qiu Yelan, secretly being glad she had expected what’s coming.

She calmed herself down, “About the stuff my mother sold in the past years, my brother had counted the prices and expenditures of the General’s Mansion. I guess the job can be done within two days at most. The money my mother subsidized the General’s Mansion is the balance between what the General’s Mansion got by selling the dowry and its expenditures!”

“But how about our expenditures in the past years…” asked Mrs. Zhou promptly.

“It’s their responsibility to support us. I am sure Qiu Mengmin dare not to tell others that he has withheld our money, making us sell my mother’s dowry to buy necessities we need.” said Qiu Yelan. “So, we shouldn’t admit the notes approved by my mother. Most of them should be planted to Qiu Mengmin because he did not manage his men strictly. He was allowed to have some troublemakers in his house, why can’t I have some traitors in my house?”

“If you were right, Qiu Mengmin might accuse your mother of not managing her maids strictly. So, it’s not their fault.” said Chunran, putting forward a question.

“Who told you the maid who sold the stuff was the one serving for my mother?” said Qiu Yelan. “I could defend myself. I can say that they did all the things. And, my mother had been not in charge of the house since Qiu Mengmin got the title of the Prince. And then some maids secretly sold the dowry. Qiu Mengmin, as the host of the house, will be held accountable!”

“But there were seals on the notes…” reminded Mrs. Zhou discreetly.

“They stole stuff. They also could steal the seal, right?” said Qiu Yelan calmly. “And, the stuff my mother sold were antiques or hairpins. She never thought to sell the shops or manors. I am wondering how Qiu Mengmin will return the shops and manors to us this time!”

“Oh, I see. But… Although I did not hear that your mother would sell shops or manors before, nobody has paid the rent since Qiu Mengmin is in charge of everything.” said Mrs. Zhou.

“I did not realize that.” said Qiu Yelan with a shock. “Is it possible that after my grandpa was conquered in the war, he sold them and used the money for his promotion?” said Qiu Yelan, thinking for a while. Needless to say, it would take a lot of money. Hundreds of thousand were only a piece of cake for this.

“I don’t think so.” said Mrs. Zhou, shaking her head. “I remembered, at that time, your grandpa and your father died one after another in a short period. Your grandma and your mother were extremely sad because of their death. They comforted each other with you in her arms. They must have no idea what the General did!”

“Then why nobody came paying for the rent?” asked Qiu Yelan.

“I have asked your mother about this. She told me that she was afraid others might grab the properties, so she sold the shops and manors for cash.” said Mrs. Zhou with a low voice. “But the problem is, I have counted the cash. I don’t think your mother got all the cash. Or, she would not sell her dowry to support the General’s Mansion! So, I’ve always suspected that those shops and manors have been grabbed by others already.”

“But who did this?” asked Chunran.

“Mrs. Li and I did the guess. We thought that Qiu Mengmin might be angry at you because your grandmother