latelenovela Chapter 230 Other plans
Chapter 230 Other plans
After Ning Yunxiao finished speaking, he took Jiang Lige's hand and walked out of Prince Zhao's Mansion without even giving Wang a chance to bargain.
Wang was left standing there, so angry that she kicked the Zhu pillar and cursed something angrily.
On the other side, Ning Yunxiao and Jiang Lige had already boarded the carriage, while the rest of the people continued to count the dowry in Prince Zhao's Mansion with the treasure appraiser.
After getting on the carriage, Jiang Lige grinned with great joy.
Jiang Lige had searched all over the capital for those things with a book in hand. Some of the jewelry were from many years ago and were not worth much nowadays, so she bought them at a low price and then sold them to Chang'anfang at a high price through different people.
Just waiting for Wang to pay the bill, the profit would be at least 70,000 taels of silver, so naturally she was so happy that she couldn't stop laughing.
Ning Yunxiao felt helpless after seeing this and reached out to poke Jiang Lige on the head, "Are you so happy just to make a little money?"
"Of course, you wouldn't take advantage of an opportunity, you bastard! Is there anyone who thinks the money is too much?" Jiang Lige answered confidently. After answering, he seemed to remember something and looked at Ning Yunxiao cautiously, saying with concern, "Your Highness, why don't you take this opportunity to get rid of Wang? She has bullied you for so many years, and it's not something that can be offset by a mere 70,000 taels of silver."
Ning Yunxiao twitched his lips bitterly upon hearing this. "I will make the Wang family pay the price, but not today. Compared to the grievances I've suffered in the past, the answer to another matter is more important to me."
After hearing what Ning Yunxiao said, Jiang Lige came to his senses and lowered his voice to ask for confirmation, "Your Highness, do you suspect that Princess Zhao's death...is related to their affair?"
Ning Yunxiao didn't say anything, just nodded.
Seeing him like this, Jiang Lige felt a pang in his heart and subconsciously held Ning Yunxiao's hand, and changed the subject with a joke.
"The Gu family sent me a letter today, saying that they arranged for Bo Xuan to be admitted to the Imperial College."
Ning Yunxiao nodded indifferently upon hearing this. "I actually overlooked this point. Bo Xuan really lacks a place to study. Since the Gu family is willing, you should just accept it."
"Your Highness should also know that the Gu family is helping me because they are targeting Your Highness."
"So what?" Ning Yunxiao raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you say that just now? You don't take advantage of an opportunity, you bastard."
"..." Jiang Lige reflected for a moment, then asked, "What do you think about the Gu family, Your Highness?"
Ning Yunxiao was slightly stunned when he heard this, and it seemed that he couldn't think of the right words for a long time. Then he shook his head blankly, "I don't know."
"do not know?"
"Yes, I don't know how to face the Gu family. Some things, once missed, are missed. They missed my full expectations, and I missed their joy. After so many years of absence, I can't be the well-behaved and sensible child they expected, and they won't be the kind and amiable person I imagined."
Jiang Lige felt sad and heartbroken after hearing Ning Yunxiao's words. After considering for a while, he started to persuade him again.
"But Your Highness, life shouldn't be an isolated island. There's still a long way to go. No matter what, I hope many people will accompany you along this journey. It's not about sharing honor and disgrace, nor about weighing the pros and cons. Just being firmly by your side, accompanying you all the way, is enough."
Ning Yunxiao turned his head to look at Jiang Lige, his eyes sincere, "Jiang Lige, to me, that person is you."
Looking at Ning Yunxiao's slightly raised lips, Jiang Lige could hardly smile. The words "what if" were stuck in his throat, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.
Fortunately, Ning Yunxiao only thought she was shy and didn't stare at her. He leaned against the car wall with his arms crossed, "But if you wish, I will sit down and have a good talk with the Gu family."
Jiang Lige nodded, "Okay."
……
The day when Ning Yunxiao received more than 100,000 taels of silver notes from Prince Zhao's Mansion happened to be the anniversary of the death of Ning Yunxiao's mother, Gu Siwei.
Song Yue walked in with a stack of banknotes, unable to hide the smile on her face. As soon as she entered, she began to tell Jiang Lige the gossips and interesting stories about Prince Zhao's Mansion in a vivid manner.
"The princess doesn't know that over this one hundred thousand taels of silver, both Prince Zhao's residence and Wang's family have been in a huge fight. Initially, Wang Shi had no money, so she approached the Wang family, hoping that they would help her raise some more money, considering how much she had helped them in the past.
The Wang family pretended to gather a thousand taels of silver and wanted to send Wang away. Wang was definitely not happy about this and started to bring up old accounts, saying how much silver she had given the Wang family in the past. The Wang family then completely refused to cooperate, saying that Wang had never given them a single penny and turned their backs on them. Wang was not someone who could be easily dismissed, and after a few rounds of back and forth, the two sides started arguing at the main entrance.
They cursed and exposed each other's shortcomings, leaving no room for embarrassment for the other party. Everyone on the street was shocked. In the end, the money issue was not resolved, but both sides had lost face.
Jiang Lige was very happy to hear such gossip. He immediately perked up and asked hurriedly, "And then?"
Songyue cleared his throat and continued.
"The princess knew it too. Gossip spread like wildfire. The next day, rumors circulated in the capital that Prince Zhao had swallowed up his own son's property, betraying his deceased wife. Prince Zhao, of course, refused to accept this. Upon investigation, he discovered that something had gone wrong with Wang's family. He was so enraged that he immediately went back to the palace to make trouble for her.
Wang Shi, who had been a doddering woman who depended on Prince Zhao for her livelihood, was held accountable by Prince Zhao and had no recourse but to cry. She said that she had only just realized the high cost of food and oil after becoming the head of the household, that the palace had been making little money but spending a lot in recent years, and that she had no other choice but to use Prince Zhao's wife's dowry.
Although King Zhao knew Wang's words couldn't be fully trusted, he still cared more about saving face than the truth. The debt collectors had already arrived at their doorstep, and the most important thing now was to pay them back. So the couple had sold a lot of their belongings over the past few days, and borrowed some from here and there, finally raising the 100,000 taels of silver.
After hearing this, Jiang Lige tutted his tongue in disdain. "Just a mere 100,000 taels, and they've been forced into this situation. How boring."
Song Yue smiled and said, "Princess, didn't you check on Prince Zhao's mansion before? The Wang family isn't good at business, and most of their shops are losing money. Besides Prince Zhao's salary, the mansion's monthly income is entirely supported by the dowry left by His Highness's mother. This incident has really damaged their vitality. From now on, they will not only have no dowry to pay for, but also have to pay for the losses of the shops every month. I'm afraid that in a few months, we will see people from Prince Zhao's mansion begging on the streets."
Jiang Lige spread his hands and said sarcastically, "You're using someone else's money and bullying their son. Prince Zhao's Mansion deserves it."
Song Yue nodded in agreement, glanced at the sun outside, and reminded: "Princess, today is the anniversary of Princess Zhao's death. We should set off."