Jiu Zhang Ji: The Daily Life of the Reborn Daughter

Chapter 120 Donating to the Imperial Court

The old patriarch looked at the old duke's wife in confusion, Qiao Bieyuan looked at the old duke's wife viciously, the three masters of the Qiao family looked at the old duke's wife angrily, and Tang Dong looked at the old duke's wife nervously.

Qiao Lili looked at the old Duke's wife expectantly. Her grandmother was about to make a big move.

"Ah Hui, bring out the separation document." Aunt Hui presented the separation document to the old patriarch. "When my mother-in-law passed away, we separated from them. The separation document gave them the house, the shop, and the money. Now that you have found your own home, you can't take our Qiao family's property."

Qiao Lili clearly saw that as soon as her grandmother said this, the expressions of the father and son relaxed. Humph, don’t be happy too soon.

The old patriarch took the document of division of the family, read it once, and handed it to the clan member next to him, "Read it." He read it well just now, and his voice was quite loud.

"Four houses, located at... Ten shops, located at... Ten thousand taels of silver..."

As the separation document was read, the onlookers began to talk a lot.

"Even though they knew he wasn't their own child, they still gave him so many things and money after the family division. The Duke Dingguo Mansion was too good to him."

"So this is the reason why we raise such an ungrateful person."

"If there are benefits, just stick with others. If there are no benefits, go to your biological father. You are such a bastard."

"Even if the eldest son splits up from the family, he may not get so many things."

"Even after the family split up, he still lives in the Duke Dingguo's Mansion and refuses to move."

"How can you benefit from moving? If you live in a house that doesn't cost you money, it will become yours as you live there."

......

The old patriarch spoke up: "Return all the things that were separated from the family."

Qiao Bieyuan did not make excuses this time. He knew he could not take these things away. He handed a few pages of paper to the old patriarch: "They are all here."

It's quite refreshing.

The old patriarch flipped through the pages and laughed angrily. "What do you mean by a thatched hut outside the city and two shops next to the moat?"

Qiao Bieyuan looked at Qiao Yi and said, "Over the years, my disappointing fourth son has lost all the family property in business."

The onlookers were once again in an uproar.

"Oh my god, I lost everything."

"What kind of business is this that can cause losses like this?"

"The house and the shop are gone, so the money must be gone too."

"There must not be even a few left."

The old Duke's wife was so angry that her hands were shaking. There were actually such shameless people. She was fully prepared to deal with them before she came to confront them.

"It's simply too much!"

Qiao Lili held the old Duke's wife's hand and comforted her gently, "Grandma, don't worry, just wait and see how your granddaughter will deal with him."

Qiao Lili said to Cai Qi, "Let Manager Qiao come."

"Yes." Cai Qi turned and left.

Qiao Bieyuan was still explaining to the old patriarch: "The silver was lost a long time ago. If there was still silver left, we wouldn't have sold the house and the shop."

The old patriarch said that he did not believe a word Qiao Bieyuan said unless he produced evidence, and just saying he would pay compensation would not count.

At this time, the crowd made way for a path, and Manager Qiao came in with his servants, carrying a large box, followed by the officials of the Shuntian prefecture.

Qiao Lili stood up and said to the old patriarch, "After knowing that I was the illegitimate son of the General of the Cavalry, the second master of our East Palace transferred all the property obtained from the division of the family and claimed to the outside world that the fourth master was losing money in business."

Qiao Bieyuan shouted at Qiao Lili, "You are talking nonsense. What business does a little girl like you have here?"

Qiao Lili only said two words: "Cai Xing."

Cai Xing flew forward and slapped Qiao Bieyuan four times, then kicked him on the knee. "You dare to disrespect the future Sixth Prince's consort? You're seeking death."

Qiao Bieyuan's legs softened and he knelt on the ground. Qiao Gun and Qiao Yuan protected him and said, "The Sixth Prince can't even protect himself, so who would recognize him as the Prince's Consort?"

Qiao Lili bowed and saluted to the officer and said, "Brother officer, did the emperor issue an imperial decree, or did the imperial concubine issue an imperial decree, saying that the Sixth Prince should be demoted to a commoner?"

The chief officer returned the greeting: "No."

"Then what crime should these two people be punished for slandering the Sixth Prince and being disrespectful to him?" She would fight back against those who bullied her, and as for those who bullied Brother Ajing, she would leave it to the court.

The chief officer said to the two officers standing beside him, "Go ahead and give them ten slaps first, so that they know what they should and should not say. We can punish them after this is over."

Two officers stepped forward and slapped Qiao Yuan and Qiao Gun ten times each. Those who could become officers had to have some skills in martial arts. The ten slaps made them see stars and their faces swelled up like pigs' heads.

Qiao Lili pointed at the big box on the ground and said, "I'm not like some people who lose money if they open their mouths and lose everything if they shut up. I have all the evidence here."

"Here are the account books, the title deeds, the property deeds, and the testimonies of the people who handled the matter and the witnesses."

"Brother officer, I am reporting to the police now. Qiao Bieyuan forged evidence with ulterior motives to extort a certain amount of property from the Duke of Dingguo's mansion. Here is a detailed list, as well as the income bills of the shop over the years."

How could this chief officer stand the future Sixth Prince, the eldest daughter of Duke Dingguo, who kept calling him "Big Brother"? He quickly clasped his fists and expressed his willingness to do his best to serve.

"Also, big brother officer," Qiao Lili asked Shang Zhen to hand over a long bill to the officer, "General of the Cavalry's Mansion, knowing full well that the maid was pregnant with their own illegitimate child, maliciously sent the child to the Duke of Dingguo's Mansion for upbringing for nearly fifty years. The Duke of Dingguo's Mansion demands that General of the Cavalry's Mansion return all the money it spent on raising Qiao Bieyuan's family."

The onlookers were filled with indignation and shouted in unison.

"Yes, he must pay it back. We can't let him raise a child for nothing. It would be fine if he was grateful, but he is such a ruthless person."

"You can't keep an ungrateful person for nothing."

"They must pay it back, not a cent less."

......

"Including the cost of raising Qiao Bieyuan, the cost of marrying a wife and concubines, the cost of raising four sons, the cost of marrying a wife and concubines, the cost of food, clothing, housing, transportation, wet nurses, maids, servants, etc., the total cost is 437,627 taels and 5 coins."

"We originally raised him as an orphan of a soldier. Now we know he is not one. We don't want the money returned to us. We will donate it all to the court for flood control and dam construction."

Brother Ajing, how long of a dam can you build on the Gan River with this silver?

The people watching around burst into applause.

The chief officer said to Qiao Bieyuan and his three sons, "Let's go to Jingzhao Prefecture to be interrogated."

He also said to Tang Dong: "Please ask the General of the Cavalry to hand over the money to Jingzhao Prefecture within three days. If you have any objections, you can go to Jingzhao Prefecture and beat the drum to complain."

Tang Dong didn't dare to say yes or no at this moment, beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. The arrogant look he had when he came here disappeared without a trace.

The officers came up to arrest the man, but the old patriarch of the Qiao family said, "Brother officer, please wait a moment."

The officers looked at the chief officer, who tacitly agreed, and they stopped locking the man.

The old patriarch of the Qiao family stood up and said loudly: "Open the ancestral hall and burn incense."

"Qiao Bieyuan is not of the bloodline of our Dingjing Qiao clan and is now expelled from the clan." The old patriarch Qiao led the Qiao clan members in bowing three times and kowtow nine times. After standing up, he picked up the prepared pen and ink and crossed out the name of Qiao Bieyuan's branch on the family tree.

At this time, the onlookers burst into applause again.

Seeing that everything was alright this time, the officers locked up Qiao Bieyuan and his son and left. But then they heard a loud shout from outside the crowd: "The imperial edict has arrived."