If you force me to take the blame, I'll spend a day in jail and gain a year's worth of spi

When Qin Xue heard that Zhang Yu wanted Jiang Luohan to return the gifts, her face was filled with contempt and disdain: "You wretched child, even in this state, you still think about gold and silver."

Zhang Wanning immediately chimed in, her tone sharp and sarcastic:

"Exactly, brother, you are truly vulgar and despicable."

It's a waste of time to study the classics; all I care about is money.

Sister Luo Han is truly unlucky to have followed you.

You broke off the engagement, fine, but you still have the nerve to ask for a gift?

How could you say that!

Jiang Luohan, as if grasping at a straw to save face, spoke with a contemptuous tone, as if offering charity: "It's just a small gift, I'll return it to you, so you won't think I, Jiang Luohan, want anything from you."

She did feel a sense of relief.

Her family, the Jiang family, was also a family of officials. Her father was the Vice Minister of Rites, and he had many students and old friends, so she was naturally not short of money.

She was willing to pay this price as long as she could get rid of Zhang Yu immediately and sever all ties.

"it is good."

Zhang Yu nodded, no longer looking at Jiang Luohan, but turning to the small table where pen and ink had been prepared, and began to write.

"Three years ago, twelve 'Mermaid Tears' pearls from the South China Sea were sold. These pearls are no ordinary mermaid pearls; they were conceived by a thousand-year-old clam spirit from the deep sea. They emit a radiant glow at night and have the effect of calming the mind and aiding in cultivation. The price is 30,000 taels."

Jiang Luohan's eyelids twitched. She did like this bead; it looked like the bright moon when placed in her room at night, but... thirty thousand taels?

"Two years ago, the original painting 'River and Pavilion' by Li Sixun, the painting master of the previous dynasty, was sold. This is his masterpiece in his later years, containing a touch of the charm of landscape and Taoism. It is beneficial to the cultivation of painting techniques and even martial artists' understanding of heaven and earth. The price was 25,000 taels."

Qin Xuehua frowned; Li Sixun's painting was indeed precious.

Last year, the "Autumn Water Sword" was made primarily of celestial black iron, mixed with three ounces of "star sand" and two qian of "ten-thousand-year-old cold iron marrow." It was painstakingly crafted over eighty-one days by the seventh-generation direct descendant of the reclusive sword-making master Ou Yezi.

This sword has already begun to possess sentience; its sharpness is unparalleled, and it can amplify the power of water and ice elemental techniques. The cost of materials, labor, and favors is 50,000 taels.

Zhang Heng gasped. Fifty thousand taels for a sword?

This is outrageous!

"There is also a three-foot-tall 'blood jade coral' produced by the Eye of the East Sea. This coral grows only one inch every hundred years and contains pure blood essence. It can be used in medicine and is also for ornamental purposes. It is priced at eight thousand taels."

"A pair of 'Moonlight Cups,' relics from the ancient Loulan Kingdom in the Western Regions, are carved from moonstone. They emit a clear glow at night, and the wine they hold is sweet and refreshing. They are valued at five thousand taels of silver."

......

As Zhang Yu recounted each item, Jiang Luohan's face gradually turned pale from its proud expression, Qin Xuehua and the others frowned more and more, and the surrounding discussions grew louder and louder.

This is no longer "some gifts," but a huge fortune that could bankrupt an ordinary wealthy family!

However, this is just the beginning.

Zhang Yu dipped his brush in ink and continued writing, his tone remaining calm:

"In addition, the following elixirs are presented to Miss Jiang to aid her cultivation:"

"Three bottles of 'Supreme Heart-Clearing Jade Dew Pills,' each containing three pills. These pills are made primarily with the heart of a thousand-year-old snow lotus and the Heart-Calming Grass, and have the miraculous effect of eliminating inner demons and stabilizing one's state of mind. The market price is 1,500 taels per pill, totaling 13,500 taels."

"Five bottles of 'Supreme Nourishing and Strengthening Pills,' each containing five pills. These pills are made from rare medicinal materials such as ginseng and fruit that are over 300 years old. They are highly effective in strengthening the foundation and repairing hidden injuries, and are especially suitable for stabilizing one's realm after a breakthrough. The market price is 2,000 taels per pill, totaling 50,000 taels."

"Ten boxes of 'Nourishing Essence Made from Thousand-Year-Old Snow Ginseng'. This essence not only nourishes the complexion but also warms and nourishes the meridians, replenishing the damage caused by cultivation. Each box is worth eight hundred taels, totaling eight thousand taels."

The value of these elixirs far exceeds that of the jewelry and artifacts they contained before!

Zhang Yu paused, glanced at Jiang Luohan, and calmly uttered the last point, which was also the real bombshell:

"One 'Bodhi Pill'."

The moment those three words were uttered, the entire prison area fell silent.

Prince Jing's heir suddenly sat up from the soft couch, his wine gourd clattering to the ground. He stared intently at Zhang Yu, his face filled with disbelief and shock, as if he were seeing this person for the first time.

Bodhi Pill?

That's a legendary sacred item, its effects are nothing short of miraculous. It can not only cleanse the marrow and reshape the foundation, greatly improving one's aptitude, but also increase the success rate of breaking through to a higher realm by at least 30%.

Its value cannot be measured by ordinary gold and silver.

It can be said that Jiang Luohan's current cultivation level is entirely due to the effects of the Bodhi Pill.

Zhang Yu seemed oblivious to the shock of the crowd and continued in a calm tone, "One Bodhi Pill, priced at... 500,000 taels."

"Five...five hundred thousand taels?"

Zhang Heng screamed, his voice distorted, and his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

Jiang Luohan froze on the spot, her mind blank, her body ice-cold, as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

Five hundred thousand taels of silver... just for a single pill?

How is that possible?

When she took it, she only felt that the medicine was pure and powerful, helping her break through the bottleneck and make rapid progress in her cultivation. She thought it was a top-grade elixir, but she never dared to think that it was the legendary Bodhi Pill!

Zhang Yu... how could he possibly have such a thing?

He...he even gave it to himself?

The Prince Jing's heir muttered to himself, his voice filled with shock and disbelief: "Five hundred thousand taels... Bodhi Pill... This kid... He's willing to give away something like this?"

The surrounding prisoners erupted in chaos, gasps, gasps, and incredulous whispers filling the air.

"Five hundred thousand taels? My goodness!"

"Bodhi Pill? I've only ever heard of it from storytellers!"

"Is this young master of the Marquis's mansion a reincarnation of a money-splurging boy?!"

"Miss Jiang has swallowed a mountain of gold, and now she's going to spit it out?"

Zhang Yu put down his pen, picked up the densely written gift list, each item enough to make one's heart race, and gently blew away the ink.

Then he handed it to the jailer, who was already dumbfounded and whose hands were trembling, and gestured for him to pass it to Jiang Luohan, who was pale and lifeless outside the cell.

"Miss Jiang, please take a look."

All items have a provenance and can be verified.

If there are no objections, please click on this form to return the item at a discounted price.

The "Autumn Water Sword" and the "River Sail Pavilion Painting" must be returned in their original form; the rest can be exchanged for silver at market value.

Rounding down, the total is... 768,500 taels.

Zhang Yu's voice remained calm, yet it resonated like a thunderclap from the heavens, striking everyone's minds.

768,500 taels!

Jiang Luohan trembled like a leaf in the autumn wind as she took the gift list, which was as heavy as Mount Tai. Looking at the glaring numbers and the words "Bodhi Pill - 500,000 taels", she felt dizzy.

Not to mention that she couldn't possibly repay the 500,000 taels of Bodhi Pills, she also couldn't immediately come up with the nearly 270,000 taels of gifts that had been given before.

"You...you're talking nonsense. What Bodhi Pill? What 500,000 taels?"

You're just spouting nonsense and trying to extort money.

Jiang Luohan screamed hysterically in denial, her last struggle filled with despair.

Zhang Yu seemed to have anticipated her response, and said calmly:

Whether it is extortion or not, public opinion will judge.

"Mermaid Tears" can be appraised by the head manager of the Treasure Pavilion;

The painting "River and Pavilion" can be appraised by a doctor of painting from the Hanlin Academy;

The "Autumn Water Sword" can be examined by a master craftsman from the Ministry of Works or someone from the Heavenly Sword Manor.

Pills... especially Bodhi Pills, have unique medicinal residues. You can ask the head of the Imperial Medical Academy or a master from Medicine King Valley to examine your meridians and Qi Sea. You will know the truth with just one examination.

As for the prices, they are all determined based on recent auction prices or industry-recognized estimates, ensuring fairness and impartiality.

He paused, his tone turning cold: "If Miss Jiang insists on denying it, then we will have no choice but to take this to court and ask the Prefect of the Capital, or even the Court of Judicial Review and the Censorate, to judge the matter."

"you……."

Jiang Luohan was furious, but had no way to refute him.

"Wait, Zhang Yu, stop spouting nonsense and trying to extort money from Sister Luo Han."

Zhang Wanning suddenly stepped forward, pointing at Zhang Yu inside the cell, her face filled with smug satisfaction and malice at having exposed a lie:

"You said these gifts and elixirs are worth 760,000 taels?"

That's a joke!

"You, a so-called 'young master' who grew up on the estate and has only been back for a few years, where did you get so much money to buy these things?"

Without waiting for Zhang Yu's reply, she immediately answered her own question, raising her voice even higher to make sure everyone could hear:

"Unless you took advantage of your position in charge of part of the Marquis's estate to line your own pockets, embezzle the Marquis's money, and use it to curry favor with Sister Luo Han."

The more she spoke, the more convinced she felt she had grasped the truth. Turning to Qin Xuehua, she exclaimed excitedly:

"Mother, can you hear me?"

Zhang Yu is not only useless, but also dishonest.

He must have secretly embezzled public funds from the Marquis's mansion, and may even have forged accounts to pocket huge profits in order to afford these miscellaneous items.

"Mermaid tears and Bodhi pills—they were all bought with our Marquis's money."

She then turned to Jiang Luohan, whose face was deathly pale, and said in a tone of "sudden realization":

"Sister Luo Han, don't be afraid."

These things were nominally a gift from Zhang Yu, but in reality, they were all paid for with our Marquis's money. In other words, they were a gift from the Marquis's mansion to you.

What right does a corrupt official like him have to pursue the return of gifts on behalf of the Marquis's family?

If anyone is to demand anything, it should be the Marquis's mansion demanding the return of the embezzled funds from him.

Zhang Wanning's words were extremely malicious and utterly misleading.

She directly misrepresented Zhang Yu's personal gift as "bribing with public funds from the Marquis's residence."

They placed themselves on the moral high ground of "recovering embezzled family funds," attempting to completely deny the legitimacy of Zhang Yu's pursuit of the gifts, and even wanted to turn the tables and accuse Zhang Yu of "embezzlement."

Zhang Heng also realized what was happening and quickly echoed:

"Fourth Sister is right."

Brother, tell me honestly, where did you get the money to buy these gifts?

Did they touch the manor's money?

Or...or did you do something shady?

He appeared to be questioning people, but in reality, he was leading them to think about corruption.

Jiang Luohan gave her a disdainful look:

"Zhang Yu, you...you actually used the Marquis's mansion's money to show off your generosity and deceived me for so many years."

I...I'm not going to return these things.

If it's to be returned, it should be returned to the Marquis's mansion.

The surrounding discussions shifted after Zhang Wanning's words, with some people becoming skeptical:

"Embezzlement? That's possible..."

"It makes sense for the eldest son of the Marquis's mansion to use some of the mansion's money to please his fiancée."

"If that's the case, then the gift list is really hard to predict..."

Prince Jing's heir also raised an eyebrow, revealing a playful expression; this was even more interesting.

Faced with Zhang Wanning's unreasonable accusations and counter-accusations, Zhang Yu showed no panic whatsoever. Instead, he revealed an even more obvious, sarcastic smile.

"Hehe..." He chuckled twice, shook his head, as if watching a poor performance.