How did such immense wealth fall into my family?

Chapter 130 Let her make a scene if she wants; she'll quiet down when she's had enough.

The Duke of Jin rubbed his forehead. "Has Qian Gousheng received the imperial decree?"

The butler found his question rather strange. "Miss Qian accepted it."

“I didn’t ask her, I asked her cousin.”

Now the steward was even more puzzled. "Yes, she accepted it. Miss Gou Sheng said she thanked the Empress. She said her grandfather asked you for one million taels of gold. She said that if it weren't for Her Majesty the Empress, you definitely wouldn't have given it to him. My lord, was she just saying that casually?"

"It was just a casual remark, but your matriarch and your first wife's actions have changed everything." It's obvious without asking that this imperial decree was obtained by his mother and wife from the Empress. "Are the Second Master and Third Master in the manor?"

"Yes, sir. You wouldn't really give them a million taels of gold, would you?"

The Duke of Jin stood up from his chair. "Does your master have that much gold? Let's go."

When the Duke of Jin returned home, he saw Xiao Gousheng sitting in the hall, holding the Empress's edict and smiling at him. The Duke of Jin looked at his mother and wife, annoyed. "Why didn't you consult me ​​before going to ask the Empress for the edict?"

Madam Jiang chuckled and said, "What do I have to discuss with you? It's not like I'm getting married."

Lady of the Duke of Jin: "Yes, you're so busy, even if I wanted to discuss something with you, you wouldn't have time."

Second Master Jiang and Third Master Jiang, along with Second Madam Jiang and Third Madam Jiang, were also present and agreed that Old Madam Jiang and the Duchess of Jin were right.

Duke Jin sat down in the chair next to Xiaogou Sheng and looked at him with a guilty expression, saying, "They didn't consult me. How about this? I'll have my eldest son marry your eldest cousin as his principal wife."

This young girl wouldn't let her eldest cousin become her eldest son's concubine because she was afraid her eldest cousin and Shijiu would be mistreated.

just now……

Based on his understanding of this young girl, he knew she would never allow his eldest son to marry a proper wife who would put her older cousin and nineteenth sister in a superior position.

Besides, he had just learned that the Nineteenth Prince was his eldest grandson and also wanted Qian Chunhua to be his eldest son's principal wife. However, the Emperor said that giving her the title of a concubine would suffice.

Grandma Jiang could hardly believe her ears. Just as she was about to say, "Are you overwhelmed with work?" she saw Xiao Gou Sheng open the imperial edict, point to the words on it, and say:

"No. Her Majesty the Empress said that my eldest sister is not capable of fulfilling the responsibilities of a matriarch. I think Her Majesty the Empress is right. Just give us the money for the concubine."

Duke Jin wanted to persuade him further, but Xiaogousheng said directly, "We will not disobey the imperial decree. If the Empress wants my eldest sister to be a concubine, then my eldest sister will be a concubine. Don't embarrass the Empress either."

Seeing that Xiaogousheng's attitude was so firm, the Duke of Jin had no choice but to look at Old Madam Jiang. "Mother, let's divide the family property."

How did this turn into talking about dividing the family property? "Are you so busy you're dizzy?"

He's been busy lately, but he's definitely not dizzy. "Gousheng, take your older sister back first, and I'll definitely give you a satisfactory answer."

The little dog, Sheng, stood up from the chair. "You all begged for this. Big sister, let's go."

As soon as they left, the Duke of Jin looked at the others and said, "Don't speak yet, listen to me first."

Old Madam Jiang glared at her eldest son. "Tell me, let's see what you can say?"

Third Master Jiang laughed and said, "Brother, why were you so cowardly just now? Were you scared by that little girl's mention of one million taels?"

"Shut up." Duke Jin first dismissed the maids and servants in the room, and then ordered the steward to guard the courtyard.

After finishing, he looked at Old Madam Jiang and the others and said, "As soon as she arrived, the Prince An's Mansion was punished by heaven."

The expressions on the faces of the others immediately changed.

Old Madam Jiang steadied herself. "What do you mean?"

"The Tang family tricked her eldest cousin out of Qianjia Village, and after using her, the Jiang family wanted to kill her. Where are the Tang and Jiang families now?" The others' expressions darkened further.

After a long while, Madam Jiang finally spoke: "Did she do the things at Prince An's residence?"

"I don't know if she did it, but everyone who schemed against her older cousin has suffered. It's said that she grew up on her older cousin's back."

“She doesn’t covet our family’s money or power; she just wants her eldest cousin to live comfortably and for Shijiu to grow up safely. You insisted on pressuring her. Now look what’s happened; she’s bringing up the one million taels from back then.”

Master Jiang: "She said one million taels of gold, so it's one million taels of gold?"

Duke Jin rubbed his forehead. "I didn't haggle or say no at the time; I just said we should take care of business first. We could refuse to pay, but do you think she'd just swallow this insult? Why did the Tang family fall? Wasn't it because they lied to her eldest cousin and tried to drive her aunt insane?"

Second Master Jiang frowned. "What will happen if we don't give it to her?"

"She would say that the dignified Duke's mansion had to beg the Empress to issue an imperial decree in order to avoid paying for a concubine. No, she probably wouldn't say 'beg,' she would probably say 'deceive.'"

other people:"……"

“She would say we are not worthy to be the descendants of our great-grandfather.” The great-grandfather of the Duke of Jin was the most famous person among the ancestors of the Jiang family.

other people:"……"

"Do you want to live your lives with the stigma of deceiving the Empress and bringing shame upon your ancestors?"

other people:"……"

"If I could use force, I would have brought Nineteen back long ago. If you want to see if she'll make you lose face like I just said, then just treat her like a child. I'll remind you again, no one who bullies her older cousin ever ends up well. Think about it yourselves."

After saying that, the Duke of Jin leaned back in his chair.

Madam Jiang: "Then...then let her eldest cousin be the legal wife."

"They don't want to. They just want their older cousin to have a more comfortable life. I'm just wondering, since they've already refused you, why are you still going to beg the Empress?"

"I...I wanted to get Nineteen back, didn't I?"

"You all think that with this imperial decree, you can both get the Nineteenth Prince back and give Heng'er an easy concubine to control, right?"

"I...how was I supposed to know her little cousin was so difficult?"

Duke Jin took a sip of tea. “The best solution now is to give the second and third sons, Chen’er and Qi’er their share of the family business in advance, and give the rest to Qian Chunhua, as if it were an advance payment to the nineteenth son.”

Upon hearing this, Madam Jiang immediately said, "I disagree."

The Duchess of Jin added, "I disagree as well. If we give them all to the Nineteenth Prince, what will happen to Yan'er's legitimate son?"

"A legitimate son?" The Duke of Jin glanced at his wife. "Your eldest son will be lucky if he can take a few more concubines in the future, let alone a legitimate son?"

"What do you mean?"

"It means your eldest son either has to marry Qian Chunhua, or leave the position of the legal wife vacant. Second son, third son, I'm doing this for your own good; our family's assets combined aren't that much."

Madam Jiang didn't believe it. "The Tang and Jiang families got greedy on their own. Our family has always been loyal to the Emperor. What you just said only sounds scary, but it's nothing in reality. Let her make a fuss if she wants to. She'll quiet down when she's had enough."

The Duke of Jin wasn't as optimistic as his mother. "Second brother, third brother, your eldest brother is really doing this for your own good."

Master Jiang: "While our parents are alive, we will not separate from the family."

Third Master Jiang: "Brother, you're getting more and more timid."