But Do You Really Have That Much Silver to Bet?

Countess of Yongning was dumbfounded. In ancient times, when a man gave a woman a hairpin, it meant that they were betrothed!

Lu Xuening said:

"I treat my cousin like my own brother. When I came of age, my brother gave me a hairpin. Isn't that a normal thing?"

Zhou Wanwan, I don't know where you got that information from, don't use such filthy thoughts to speculate about me.

Zhou Wanwan sneered:

"Who's really the despicable one? Didn't you start by being despicable?"

Su Zhixia never learned to embroider sachets from a young age; these sachets were all embroidered by the people around her.

"I don't know where you got her purse, but you're saying she gave it to Shen Zhiyu. Is that fair to her?"

Lu Xuening's face turned pale, and Madam Lu shouted loudly:

"Did your Zhou Family deliberately frame my daughter because there was nothing in the betrothal gifts?"

It's fine if you can't afford anything, but why bother preparing eighty-eight loads of betrothal gifts? Who can prepare eighty-eight loads of betrothal gifts in one night?

That's a joke.

Zhou Wanwan looked at Madam Lu and said:

"What if these eighty-eight loads of betrothal gifts really exist?"

I can't be obligated to open it and show it to you just because you say so, can I?

"Since you're an elder and have come all this way, how about we make a bet?"

Madam Lu was so angry she laughed:

"Do you think I'm afraid to bet with you? Fine, I'll bet then. You're down on your luck, do you think I'm afraid of you?"

"But what if all eighty-eight loads of betrothal gifts are filled with garbage?"

Zhou Wanwan raised an eyebrow at her and said, "Let's talk about the value of the eighty-eight loads of betrothal gifts!"

Madam Lu smiled faintly and said:

"It should be at least 5,000 taels of silver, right?"

If they can't even reach 5,000 taels, then isn't it just putting on a show?

Countess of Yongning chuckled and said:

"That's right, I don't think a small family could afford 5,000 taels of silver."

But since we've made a bet, I'll join in too.

Countess of Yongning spoke up, and the other ladies chimed in, "Then take us with you! But we're just a small family, we probably can't afford that much gold!"

Zhou Wanwan looked at them and said, "Are you all sure you want to bet with me? Don't cry if you lose!"

Lu Lan chuckled and said:

Zhou Wanwan, don't worry!

These are all respectable families; they can afford to lose. Unlike you, a penniless wretch. But do you really have that much money to gamble?"

Zhou Wanwan thought for a moment and said:

"I do have silver and gold, but I'm really afraid you'll try to renege on your promise."

How about this? I'll contribute whatever amount of silver and gold you offer.

Countess of Yongning raised her eyes and said, "Since you've decided to take it, there's no need to drag it out. I'll offer ten thousand taels of gold."

Madam Lu, stroking her nail guards, chuckled and said, "How could I fall behind? I'll offer twenty thousand taels."

The other ladies didn't hesitate any longer; one offered two thousand, another five thousand, including gold, silver, jewels, and cash from their private treasuries.

In a short time, they managed to scrape together 100,000 taels of gold.

Shangguan Wan'er suddenly spoke up, "I still have ten thousand taels of gold in my private treasury, take it all out."

She lost a lot of things today, and she was extremely anxious. How could she be absent from such an occasion?

The ladies all turned to Zhou Wanwan and said, "We've collected our share. Let's see how much you can come up with."

Madam Su's face turned pale. Ten thousand taels of gold was something that even if the Su Family poured all their wealth into it, they would not be able to raise in a short time.

She held Zhou Wanwan's hand and said:

"Wanwan, don't be afraid! Even if it costs the entire Su Family fortune, I will raise the money for you today!"

I still have 20,000 taels of gold at home, you can have it all!

Zhou Wanwan smiled and said, "Madam Su, just give me what you have, and I'll make up the rest."

The ladies opposite seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world, "So that's what you call confidence! You were just hoping for help from others!"

"Such a young age, yet so arrogant, thinking you can fill this hole of 110,000 taels of gold?"

"I bet you can't produce anything, you're just putting on a show!"

Madam Su immediately had 20,000 taels of gold brought over, and Cheng Chao, who Cheng Chao and presented 2,000 taels of gold, saying, "Boss, I've brought all my gold over."

Zhou Wanwan nodded and said, "I'll take care of the rest!"

She glanced at the Old Scholar Tree Old Scholar Tree immediately understood and ordered its subordinate trees to move the gold.

The ladies naturally sent their servants back to fetch the gold, and after a while, all the ladies' gold was ready.

Madam Lu scoffed and said, "Zhou Wanwan, stop playing tricks. You probably don't have that much gold at all, do you?"

Countess of Yongning sneered, "If you don't move this gold over soon, it'll be dawn soon."

They hadn't expected things to develop this way; they had chosen to do it at night, and now it was indeed past midnight.

Then they saw Zhou Wanwan's men carrying in several large boxes.

When the box was opened, it was glittering with gold.

Zhou Wanwan quickly counted out the gold, which totaled 88,000 taels.

The ladies looked at each other, surprised that Zhou Wanwan could actually scrape together so much gold.

Madam Lu was extremely anxious. If Zhou Wanwan could raise so much gold, it meant that the 88 taels of betrothal gifts were very likely genuine.

If it's true, they've lost so much gold all at once, they won't be able to explain it to their families.

Zhou Wanwan ignored them. A dozen servants opened all the betrothal gift boxes, and everyone was dumbfounded.

Zhou Wanwan looked at their expressions with amusement. She had been preparing for these eighty-eight betrothal gifts for over a year.

Inside were countless gold and silver jewels, including pure gold headdresses, jeweled gold hairpins, mutton-fat jade bracelets, pearl necklaces, and jade pendants—all of them rare treasures.

There were also chests of snow-white silver Yuanbao, a full 100,000 taels of silver, plus silks and satins, precious furs, antiques and paintings, and contracts for fertile land and shops, each item priceless.

Even Countess of Yongning, who was used to seeing all sorts of things, was so shocked that her face turned pale and she couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.

Madam Lu, standing to the side, trembled with fright, pointing at the mountain of betrothal gifts, her voice trembling:

"How... how is this possible? What family would offer such a large dowry! I've heard you've always been arrogant and domineering; you really are a bunch of bandits!"

"These gold, silver, jewels, and rare treasures, weren't they stolen by you through robbery and looting?"

Countess of Yongning echoed in agreement:

"Madam Lu is absolutely right! So many priceless items."

If it weren't for the fact that it wasn't obtained illegally, how could your family, living in this desolate, impoverished area, possibly have produced such a thing?

They must have done something shady!

Zhou Wanwan said helplessly:

"Your behavior in the capital is quite an eye-opener. Don't you ever think before you speak?"

When did you see us robbing people? Whose house did we rob?

Moreover, this gold and silver are all of very legitimate origin; they all have a provenance.