You Have No Shame, but I Still Care About Mine!

Madam Cui's eyes reddened as she looked at the dowry:

"Back then, Cui Wenyuan said he needed these dowry items to make arrangements, so I gave him all these gold and silver jewelry."

I never imagined he was just trying to drain me dry. What a cunning scheme!

Zhou Wanwan looked at her and said:

"Now bring all your valuable jewelry and dowry to me."

Then they'll say that your things were stolen on the way to the pawn shop.

That way, they won't be able to extract anything from you, and they'll gradually reveal their true colors.

Madam Cui took all her valuables to Zhou Wanwan's side.

Then, with tears streaming down his face, he went home.

Cui Wenyuan looked at her and said:

"You're crying all day long, so depressing. What's wrong with you?"

"You pawned your jewelry, where's the money?"

Madam Cui sighed and said, "I had only been out for a short while when I was surrounded by a group of thugs who robbed me of my jewelry."

Cui Wenyuan gritted his teeth and said:

"You idiot, I've seen idiots, but I've never seen anyone as stupid as you."

"You can't come up with any money now, what is Zhiyi to do?"

Madam Cui sat to one side, wiping away her tears, feeling wronged. "I have no choice! You'd better think of something yourself!"

Cui Wenyuan stared at her coldly and said:

"What use are you, you useless thing?"

You've been sitting here crying, and it's driving me crazy! Get out! Go back to your own yard!

Cui Zhiyi suddenly woke up and said, "Dad, waah... it hurts... I miss Mom."

Madam Cui walked over and looked at Cui Zhiyi, saying, "Zhiyi! Mother is here! Be good, don't cry."

Her face was full of kindness. Several ladies came in and said, "Madam Cui, we've come to see Miss Cui."

Madam Cui Wenyuan looked at them and said:

"Thank you so much. You even brought so many tonics. I don't know what's wrong with this child."

We've consulted dozens of doctors in Dongshan Prefecture, but they still can't find anything wrong with the illness.

Now, to distinguish her from Madam Cui Wenyuan's wife, people call her Madam Cui the Elder.

The members of the collateral branch all call her Madam Cui the Younger.

Madam Cui the Younger sneered:

"If someone can't see the problem, then they're not capable."

But all the doctors in Dongshan Prefecture came, and they still couldn't find a problem, which means that Cui Zhiyi herself has a problem.

Suddenly someone spoke up, "Madam Cui the Elder, you're being too kind to a concubine's daughter, especially since this concubine is said to be from your eldest uncle's household."

Madam Cui the Elder smiled faintly and said:

"My husband cherishes her dearly, treating her like his own daughter."

Of course, I need to pay attention to her too.

One lady couldn't help but say:

"I have never heard of a wife being forced to pawn her dowry to pay for a concubine's child's medical treatment."

I can't stand kids like that. Is he faking illness?

Cui Zhiyi suddenly started screaming, "It hurts, it hurts so much! Daddy, my chest is starting to hurt again."

Cui Wenyuan looked at them coldly and said, "This is our family matter, what business is it of yours? Get out of here right now!"

The ladies murmured a few sarcastic remarks and walked outside.

As soon as he stepped outside, Cui Wenyuan smashed his teacup on the ground and said:

"Zhao Qiuping, did you tell these things?"

You may be shameless, but I still have a sense of shame!

Zhao Qiuping cried and sobbed:

"Cui Wenyuan, the servants in this mansion don't belong to our family; many of them belong to other people. Isn't it normal for them to know these things?"

Why is everything being blamed on me? What did I do wrong?

Besides, was he wrong? It's a fact that you're trying to take my dowry just because you don't have money.

Cui Wenyuan pointed at her nose and said:

"Zhao Qiuping, I always thought you were a law-abiding citizen."

I never expected you to be this kind of person. Wait until I get back to the capital, then I'll divorce you.

Zhao Qiuping looked at Cui Wenyuan and said, "If you're so capable, then let's get a divorce right now. You want to divorce me? Dream on!"

Divorce and amicable separation are never the same thing.

If the Cui Family wants to divorce Zhao Qiuping, they must follow the rules and accuse her of one of the seven grounds for divorce.

However, Zhao Qiuping was a good housekeeper, respectful and courteous, and had done nothing wrong. She was not guilty of any of the seven grounds for divorce, so the Cui Family had no reason to divorce her.

However, if it's a divorce, the nature of the situation is completely different.

A peaceful divorce means that both parties separate amicably. According to etiquette, the Cui Family must return all of her dowry that she brought with her when she entered the family, and cannot forcibly keep even a fraction of it.

The Cui Family family members wanted to both drive her out and seize her assets; they had a very clever plan.

Cui Wenyuan sneered:

"Dreaming about divorce?"

"You lowly woman, do you even deserve to be called worthy? Guards, lock her up!"

Zhao Qiuping was quickly locked up. Cui Wenyuan paced back and forth in the room, saying, "I originally wanted the bandits to kill her, but now I'm afraid I can't wait that long."

Cui Zhiyi was in excruciating pain. "Father, let her die, let her die, kill her!"

Cui Wenyuan snorted coldly and said:

"Letting her die would be too easy on her; I want her to suffer a fate worse than death."

As long as I ruin her reputation, I can control the Zhao Family and make Zhao Family give me a steady stream of money.

The Zhao Family treasures this daughter dearly; if I want to climb the social ladder, I'll have to rely on her!

Cui Zhiyi drank a bowl of ginseng soup and said, "Father, I've noticed that after drinking the ginseng soup, I feel much better, and the pain is gone."

Cui Wenyuan looked at Cui Zhiyi and said, "Then let's buy ginseng. Someone, buy all the ginseng available in the market."

The butler hurried out, and a short while later, someone came to report:

"Master, it seems we don't have enough silver!"

A single ginseng root here, even one that's several decades old, can fetch several hundred taels of silver.

A hundred-year-old ginseng can fetch over a thousand taels of silver.

Cui Wenyuan frowned and said, "Go to the old house and retrieve my things."

The butler led a group of people excitedly to the old house, but today it was like being lost in a maze; they couldn't find the old house anywhere.

The butler, sweating profusely, exclaimed, "Hey! I'm going crazy! Shouldn't our old house be right here? Why can't I find it?"

The others also circled around several times, saying, "I remember our old house was right here too!"

The housekeeper saw the neighbor next door, knocked on the door, and asked, "Excuse me, is this the Cui Clan next door?"

The neighbor next door nodded and said:

"It was indeed the Cui Clan before, but I don't know what happened last night, they emptied the Cui Family in one night."

Those servants didn't even have a place to stay; they all scattered.

The butler, trembling with fear, cried out, "Quickly go back and inform the master! We're doomed! Our Cui Family's old house has been robbed!"

A group of people reported the situation to Cui Wenyuan, Cui Wenyuan looked at them and said:

"What are you talking about? The Cui Clan has been emptied?"

My Cui Clan family owns 128 rooms. Do you think you can empty the Cui Clan in one night?