"Aunt Zhao, what exactly happened?" Lei's sharp gaze shot towards Aunt Zhao, who was sitting leisurely in a mahogany chair, sipping tea.
Aunt Zhao trembled, spilling half of the tea in her hand. She pretended to be calm and said, "Madam, it was Master who asked me to take half of the jewelry from your storeroom to send to Baozhai Store!"
"What?" Lei was stunned, her eyes blazing with anger. Shen Minghui wanted to sell her jewelry?
"What happened?" Shen Minghui walked over slowly, looking somewhat tired.
“Master, I’d like to ask you the same thing. What exactly happened?” Lei Yarong stood in the middle of the jewelry box, staring coldly at Shen Minghui.
For a fleeting moment, Shen Minghui seemed to see Lin Qingzhu from fifteen years ago, her frail body standing beside the dowry chest, looking at her beloved dowry, tears streaming down her face, and a sense of panic rising inexplicably in her heart.
He squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again. There stood Lei Yarong, her aura fierce, completely different from Lin Qingzhu's gentleness and consideration.
"Ya Rong, the styles of your jewelry are a bit outdated. I plan to sell them at Baozhai Trading Company and have some new jewelry made for you!" One million taels of gold is no small sum, and Shen Minghui simply couldn't raise the money in a short time, so he had no choice but to sell Lei Ya Rong's jewelry.
"Really?" Lei Yarong looked at Shen Minghui with disdain in her eyes. In fact, what she really wanted to say was, "You're really that kind?"
"Of course it's true, when have I ever lied to you!" Shen Minghui chuckled and walked towards Lei's.
Lei sneered, "These pieces of my jewelry are all very valuable, and some of them are antiques. If you sell them and buy new ones, it's like wasting a lot of money!"
Shen Minghui frowned: "I know what I'm doing!"
"If you know what you're doing, then stop selling my jewelry!" Lei turned her head away and coldly ordered everyone, "Close the boxes and take them back to the warehouse!"
The servants exchanged glances, bewildered. The master wanted them to sell, while the mistress wanted them to be put back. Whom should they listen to?
"What are you all standing there for? Didn't you hear what I said?" Seeing the servants standing there motionless and in a daze, Madam Lei couldn't help but roar.
Shen Minghui frowned even more: "Ya Rong, don't be ridiculous!"
"How can it be considered nonsense for me to put away my jewelry?" Lei Yarong glared at Shen Minghui. "On the contrary, you, the dignified Prime Minister of Qingyan, are not in court dealing with your national affairs, but are you touching my jewelry box?"
“I have a reason for moving these boxes!” Shen Minghui narrowed his eyes, his tone serious.
Lei snorted lightly: "Shen Minghui, the jewelry is mine, you have no right to dispose of it."
"Lei Yarong, you've already married me, so your jewelry belongs to me!" Shen Minghui lowered his voice, enunciating each word clearly, his eyes blazing with anger. He had only lent her a few boxes of jewelry for a month; it wasn't like he wasn't going to return it. How could she be so stingy?
Her jewelry belonged to him, that shameless scoundrel who lives by selling women's dowries and yet acts so self-righteously. He is utterly despicable.
Lei stared coldly at Shen Minghui, then suddenly smiled, her eyes full of mockery: "Fifteen years ago, was this how you treated Lin Qingzhu?"
"Slap!" Shen Minghui slapped Lei Shi hard across the face, turning her face to the side and leaving a clear five-finger mark on her fair cheek.
"Father!" Shen Yingxue exclaimed in surprise. This was the first time in her life that she had seen Shen Minghui beat Lei Shi without any mercy.
The servants stared blankly at Shen Minghui and Lei Shi. The master had hit the madam hard. They couldn't have seen wrong, could they?
"Shen Minghui, how dare you hit me!" Lei was shocked, her beautiful eyes filled with anger. What a despicable man! He stole her dowry and even hit her!
Standing up straight, Lei slapped him, but Shen Minghui grabbed her wrist tightly, threw her to the ground, and looked at her with cold indifference: "Madam is tired from her journey and needs to rest. Take Madam back to her room!"
"Yes!" Several maids stepped forward, pulling Madam Lei towards the room, saying as they walked, "Madam, don't be angry. Master said he would give you new jewelry, and he certainly will!"
Lei's beautiful eyes blazed with fury, but out of decorum, she didn't lash out like a shrew. After being pulled into the room, she glared hatefully at Shen Minghui, gritting her teeth. Shameless bastard! She would never let him get away with this.
"Mother!" Lei was locked in her room, and Shen Yingxue ran over to comfort her.
Shen Minghui looked at the boxes of jewelry and said coldly, "Hurry up and count them. Make sure to deliver them to Baozhai Store within one hour." If it weren't for Shen Lixue demanding one million taels of gold, and the large warehouse not having enough items to raise that much silver, why would he have sold Lei Yarong's jewelry?
It's all that rebellious daughter Shen Lixue's fault. He will never let her get away with this. He will definitely get these jewels back, he definitely will.
As the sun set, Shen Lixue returned to the War King's Mansion. Looking at the chests of gold, she nodded in satisfaction: "It is indeed 700,000 taels of gold. Go back and tell Prime Minister Shen that I will be at the Prime Minister's Mansion on time tonight at 7 PM to 9 PM!"
"Are you really going to donate blood for Shen Minghui?" Zhan Wang walked over at some point, his sharp eyes filled with concern. He stared directly at Shen Lixue, not even glancing at the dazzling gold.
“Yes!” Shen Lixue nodded: “He pays gold, I pay with a bowl of blood, a fair trade, no cheating!”
"The War King's Mansion has no shortage of gold!" The War King did not believe that Shen Lixue was only saving people for the sake of gold.
Shen Lixue smiled and said, "Shen Minghui is my father after all. I saved him once to repay the kindness of giving birth to me. From now on, I will have no relationship with him and there will be no more transactions between us!"
The War King looked at Shen Lixue. Today she was wearing a light white long dress with delicate lotus flowers embroidered on the cuffs and a few auspicious clouds outlined in silver thread. Her delicate hair bun was adorned with a few pearl flowers. Her appearance was elegant and graceful, with a fresh and natural temperament, yet she possessed a stunning beauty.
Li Xue looks just like her, but she has more resilience and pride!
The War King's strong will was gently touched, and the thousand words that were about to come out of his mouth finally turned into a sigh: "Be careful on the road!"
As the sun set, Shen Lixue dressed herself up and boarded the carriage to the Prime Minister's residence. When it got dark, she arrived at the residence, got off the carriage, and looked at the familiar mansion. A faint smile appeared on Shen Lixue's lips as she walked slowly forward.
The scene in the Prime Minister's residence remained unchanged, but the number of people had decreased. Along the way, apart from maids, nannies, and servants, Shen Lixue did not see a single master.
In the distance, she saw the elegant garden, where maids and matrons were moving about. Shen Lixue's cold gaze sharpened; Lei Yarong had returned to the manor.
After pondering for a moment, she took out a large red purse and held it out to the air: "Tie this to the back gate of the Prime Minister's residence!"
"Yes!" the guard replied, took the purse, and rushed towards the back door with a whooshing sound.
Shen Lixue looked at the lavishly decorated Ya Garden, smiled mysteriously, turned around, and walked towards Shen Minghui's bedroom.
As the Prime Minister of Qingyan, in addition to the rooms for his wives and concubines, Shen Minghui also had his own room, which was elegantly and luxuriously decorated, very much in line with his status.
When Shen Lixue arrived at the room, Shen Caiyun, Shen Yingxue, Shen Yelei, and Physician Wang were already there. Unexpectedly, Lei Hong was also there, holding a wooden box and talking to Shen Minghui.
Seeing Shen Lixue walk in, Shen Yelei curled his lips and glared at her resentfully: "Coming so late, what are you putting on airs for!"
"Ye Lei!" Shen Yingxue scolded lightly, her tone arrogant: "Sister Lixue is already a princess, of noble status, and she likes to do things her own way. It's none of our business to question her behavior!" She was clearly mocking Shen Lixue for putting on airs.