The mistress is reborn, no one who bullies me can escape

The next morning, the sun shone through the window into the room, and the people in the mansion were having breakfast. At this time, the patriarch hurried over, looking nervous and anxious.

"Patriarch, what brings you here so early? Have you had breakfast?" Xue Jinhua asked with a smile, her tone friendly and gentle. She signaled the servants to add another set of bowls and chopsticks, and invited the patriarch to dine together.

However, the patriarch's face was extremely gloomy, as if covered by a thick dark cloud. It was obvious that he had no appetite at the moment. His eyes revealed deep worry and uneasiness.

"Tell me, did you embezzle Jinhua's dowry with the money you used for bribery this time?" The patriarch's voice was low and serious, with a hint of questioning.

Hearing this, Zhao Yuxuan frowned slightly, and he quickly turned to look at Xue Jinhua, staring at her closely with a sharp gaze. Wang was thinking to herself that only she, Yuxuan, and Xue Jinhua knew about the sale of Xue Jinhua's dowry. Yuxuan naturally couldn't reveal a word to the outside world, so the only person who could leak the news was Xue Jinhua herself.

She also looked at Xue Jinhua, her expression extremely ugly and as gloomy as the sky before a storm.

Xue Jinhua put down her chopsticks and said, "Mom, I didn't say this. I can swear on it."

Wang Shi certainly didn't believe it. Her eyes were like a sharp sword, piercing Xue Jinhua's eyes. "Who else could it be except you? Only a few of us know about this. Yuxuan and I won't tell anyone. If you don't tell anyone, how would the patriarch know?"

"Nonsense, it's just nonsense! The patriarch was furious, his voice was like thunder, shaking the whole room. When he came, he was still a little bit unconvinced, but now Wang's words have already acknowledged it.

"Yuxuan, you are so confused. Even if the Zhao family doesn't have much money now, you can think of other ways, even go out to borrow some, but why do you sell your wife's dowry? Do you want everyone in Kyoto to know that you got your official position by selling your wife's dowry?" The patriarch was very angry.

"If you don't have any shame, then I still have some!"

Zhao Yuxuan was extremely upset at the moment. How could this happen? Anger also appeared on his cold and elegant face, but because the patriarch was there, he tried his best to hold back his anger.

Xue Jinhua pretended to be surprised, blinking her big eyes, opening her cherry lips slightly, revealing a surprised expression: "Patriarch, it's not that serious, right?"

Wang was already at a loss. When she heard Xue Jinhua's words, her face turned pale and her lips trembled. She said immediately, "Yes! It's not that serious. We are just selling our own things."

The patriarch had a gloomy expression, his chest rose and fell violently, and his voice was low and stern: "Until now, you still haven't realized the seriousness of the problem?

The fact that you sold your wife's dowry has been known by Jingzhao Yin. Don't you know the relationship between him and Shangshu? If he knows about this, Shangshu will also know about it. Then wouldn't our banquet for Shangshu yesterday be a joke?"

The chieftain felt extremely ashamed when he said this, and there was a hint of uncontrollable anger in his voice, "You all know that the most important thing for the emperor today is the personal morality of officials. If a man's career depends on a woman's dowry, if this matter is known to others, let alone promotion, I'm afraid that the gossip in the future will drown him in spit."

It would be fine if Zhao Yuxuan himself was affected, but he is a member of the Zhao family, and the children of the Zhao family will inevitably be disgraced. If the future of the children of the Zhao family is affected, it will be a serious crime, so he is so angry.

Wang was dumbfounded at this point, and stammered, "Then...then...then...what should I do?"

Wang originally thought that money could solve her son's career problem, but she didn't expect that before the problem was solved, he had already gotten into trouble.

The chief patriarch sighed, "What else can we do? The shop cannot be sold. You should quickly take back the deed and return it to Jinhua to silence the gossips."

Xue Jinhua, however, showed no concern for her dowry and said calmly, "Patriarch, if you return the deed to me, what will happen to the Marquis?"

The patriarch's expression tightened, "This... For now, we can only wait and see."

Zhao Yuxuan's face was gloomy, with a trace of reluctance and anger flashing in his eyes. He said in a deep voice: "Patriarch, this matter cannot be delayed! Is there no other way except silver?"

Xue Jinhua sneered in her heart: Haven't you always been arrogant? It's just the beginning, and you can't keep your temper? How ridiculous!

In order to be with Xue Qing'er as soon as possible, Zhao Yuxuan put a lot of thought into it, especially into his career. However, at this moment, he felt an invisible pressure looming over him.

The chief patriarch looked at Zhao Yuxuan with difficulty and sighed, "I seem to have told you before that your rating this time is average. If it were a little better, we wouldn't have to rely on connections."

He shook his head helplessly and continued, "I have been telling you to focus on government affairs, but you just wouldn't listen. Now facing this situation, you can only slow down for the time being."

Zhao Yuxuan gritted his teeth, his heart full of regret and self-blame, but he could do nothing about it. He knew that he had not done well enough in some aspects, which led to the current predicament.

The patriarch glanced at Zhao Yuxuan and softened his tone: "As for the silver issue, you guys should think of a solution on your own! I will also try my best to help you, but whether it will succeed in the end depends on you."

"What else can we do? This is the current situation in the mansion. If we don't use Jinhua's dowry, I really don't know what to do?" Wang said anxiously, a thin layer of sweat on her forehead.

Zhao Yuxuan's hands were clenched into fists at this time, and his unwillingness and anger were evident.

Xue Jinhua concealed the mockery in her eyes, pretended to look at Wang helplessly, and said softly: "Mother, my dowry can't be used now, but don't you also have a dowry?" Her tone carried a hint of expectation and pleading, which made people feel pity.

Without waiting for Wang to speak, Xue Jinhua continued, "Mother, you have always told me that if I marry into the Zhao family, I will naturally be a member of the Zhao family. Look, Yuxuan is your son, and now he is in trouble, you should not refuse to help, right?" Her eyes were firm and sincere, making it impossible for Wang to refuse.

Zhao Yuxuan's mind moved, and he looked at his mother, his eyes full of hope.

“This… how can this be possible?” Wang’s heart was bleeding. It was not that she was unwilling to help her son, but she had very little dowry left. She had already spent a lot of it when she was the head of the Marquis’ Mansion. What she had left now would be for her retirement in the future.

Xue Jinhua was shocked. "Mother, why not? Didn't you say that? When the Marquis gets promoted, you are his mother, and your status will rise accordingly, right? Besides, this is just for temporary use. When the Marquis gets promoted, there will be more and more money in the future, and Yuxuan will definitely return it to you."

Wang was speechless for a moment. Xue Jinhua actually used the same words she had used to persuade her to come. She really had no words to express her pain now.

"This……"

Wang must have selfish motives in her heart, but there are some things I cannot help but say now.

"Mom, Yuxuan is your own son! You wouldn't be reluctant to give up your dowry, would you?" Xue Jinhua saw that the fire was not strong enough, so she had to add more firewood to make the fire burn more fiercely.

Zhao Yuxuan looked at his mother in shock, with a hint of scrutiny and questioning in his eyes.

Wang gnashed her teeth in anger, "Of course that's not what mother meant. If mother can help, she will definitely help. But didn't the patriarch just say that if other people knew about using the dowry of the female relatives, it would definitely not be good... maybe there would be more gossip at that time... wouldn't that be counterproductive?"

Zhao Yuxuan frowned and began to think about this problem seriously.

The patriarch stroked his beard and fell into deep thought.

However, Xue Jinhua said disapprovingly: "How could that be? If you use your mother's dowry, not only will there be no gossip, but you might even be praised."