Chapter 140: Ye Chutang Takes Back the Dowry

Jin Zhi continued to shout.

“Even if I die today, I cannot allow you to bully the eldest young lady and steal her dowry!”

“The late madam never said she would give her dowry to the illegitimate children!”

“Eldest young lady, come out quickly! I have something very important to give you!”

Ye Jingchuan immediately shouted after hearing Jin Zhi’s voice: “Guard, take this madwoman away!”

If it weren’t for the wedding being an inauspicious time for bloodshed, he would have killed this vile woman.

Ye Chutang arrived at the front courtyard before the guards, standing beside Jin Zhi.

“Until the situation is clarified, no one can touch her.”

Ye Jingchuan shouted in anger: “Chuer, today is Ling’er and the Grand Overseer’s happy day, don’t make a scene!”

He signaled with his eyes for the guards to seize Jin Zhi.

Ye Chutang patted the dowry box beside her.

“I don’t want things that aren’t mine, but anything that’s mine, no one can take.”

After saying that, she kicked away the guard who was rushing toward her.

“Father, if you don’t want to make this look worse, let me clarify things first.”

Ye Jingchuan knew all too well the truth behind the dowry.

“Chuer, the Emperor is waiting inside to act as the witness. Don’t delay the auspicious time.”

He thought that by bringing up the Emperor, Ye Chutang would endure the humiliation for the sake of the wedding.

The guests also thought the same.

But things didn’t go as expected.

Ye Chutang smiled faintly. “As long as Father doesn’t waste time trying to stop me, I won’t delay the auspicious time.”

She then looked at Jin Zhi, who was tightly holding the dowry box.

“Aunt Jin, did you just say that my mother never said she would give dowries to the illegitimate children? Is that true?”

Upon hearing this, Ye Jingchuan was thoroughly panicked.

“Chuer, she’s a madwoman, just trying to ruin the wedding. How could you be foolish enough to believe the words of a madwoman!”

He signaled with his eyes for the guards to ignore Ye Chutang and continue to seize her.

At this moment, Qi Yanzhou stepped forward and blocked the guards.

“Master Ye, Miss Ye is just asking a few questions. Why are you stopping her repeatedly? Could it be that what this maid said is true?”

“If it is true, and the dowry includes Miss Ye’s dowry as well, then it can’t be taken away. Otherwise, Master Ye will be branded with a reputation for scheming to take his wife and daughter’s dowry.”

“If it’s false, we’re just preventing needless speculation. If it really delays the auspicious time, I’m sure Miss Ye will personally apologize to His Majesty.”

These three well-reasoned sentences put Ye Jingchuan in a difficult position.

He glanced secretly at Master De.

Master De wanted the dowry, but he couldn’t openly steal it in front of all the guests.

He knew staying here would be embarrassing and said, “Alright, then… let’s leave the dowry for now…”

Before he could say “leave,” Jin Zhi rolled up her sleeves and pulled out the dowry list and a suicide note that she had hidden in her arm.

When she tore off a piece of “skin,” the guests were dumbfounded.

Some of the more faint-hearted screamed with their eyes closed, interrupting Master De’s words.

“No… there’s no blood.”

Hearing this, everyone realized that the “skin” Jin Zhi had torn off was a fake.

“Eldest young lady, this is the dowry list left for you by madam before her death. I hid it for more than ten years, fulfilling my duty!”

Ye Jingchuan was so furious at this scene that he almost fainted.

He never expected that all this time, he had been searching for so many treasures, and the dowry had been hidden on Jin Zhi all along!

This vile woman could really hide things!

After so many days and nights spent together, he had never noticed!

Ye Jingchuan saw that Ye Chutang was about to take the dowry list, and his voice became sharp.

“Chuer, it might be poisoned or have a trap, don’t take it!”

Master De immediately understood upon hearing this.

He unleashed a palm strike with internal force. He not only wanted to destroy the things Jin Zhi had brought out, but also wanted to kill her.

Ye Chutang’s martial arts were good, but her internal energy was weak.

She could dodge, but couldn’t save Jin Zhi unless she used her earth element abilities.

Just as she decided to risk exposing her powers to save Jin Zhi, Qi Yanzhou, whose internal injuries were not fully healed, intercepted the deadly palm strike.

“Poof!”

Blood sprayed onto the ground, blooming like red plums.

Ye Chutang caught the dowry list and suicide note, then immediately supported Qi Yanzhou.

“Your Highness, are you alright?”

After taking a deep breath, Qi Yanzhou pushed Ye Chutang away.

“I’m fine, don’t mind me. Do what you have to do.”

Master De looked at the reckless Qi Yanzhou, about to make another move, but Ye Jingchuan stopped him.

“Master, don’t forget the Emperor’s plan.”

Ye Jingchuan hadn’t expected that Qi Yanzhou would disregard his own safety to help Ye Chutang save Jin Zhi.

It seemed that his extraordinary daughter had already captured the attention of the Prince of Chen!

Compared to becoming a marquis, losing face was no big deal.

After all, the dowry wouldn’t end up in his hands.

Either Ling’er would get it for the Grand Overseer or Chuer would bring it to the Emperor as his consort.

To him, the latter would bring even greater benefits!

Once Ye Jingchuan understood this, he stopped stopping Ye Chutang from uncovering the truth.

“Chuer, what do you have in your hand?”

Jin Zhi said, “Eldest young lady, this is madam’s dowry list and her last letter.”

Ye Jingchuan thought it was just the dowry list.

When he heard the words “last letter,” he panicked.

He was afraid that Tang Waning had written something detrimental to him.

But now that things had come to this, he could only take things one step at a time.

Ye Anling was the most panicked of all.

Seeing her kin not standing by her side, she was about to go crazy.

“Father, the dowry is an internal matter of the household. There’s no need to delay the guests’ time and keep His Majesty waiting in the palace, disrupting the auspicious time of the wedding.”

“Eldest sister doubts that something is wrong with the dowry, and the Prince has even been injured because of it. I think Master De wouldn’t mind temporarily leaving the dowry and sending it later.”

As long as she didn’t expose it in front of everyone, she could convince Master De to use the empty dowry box as a facade!

Ye Jingchuan also thought this method was good.

Ye Chutang saw through Ye Anling’s intentions and immediately read out Tang Waning’s last letter.

“Chuer, your mother can no longer accompany you as you grow… The only thing I can leave you is a lifetime of wealth and nobility. Please take care of your dowry… I am going to look for your brother now. I hope you are safe and live without worry.”

The mention of “brother” shocked everyone.

“Didn’t Madam Ye give birth to twins? Why have we never heard of it?”

“They must have died early. I heard Ye Tangshi was premature.”

“This last letter clearly states that the dowry belongs to Miss Ye alone. How come…”

The guests looked at Ye Jingchuan with disdain and mockery.

What kind of man was he, trying to scheme to take his wife’s dowry?

Ye Jingchuan felt his face burning as he heard the guests’ murmurs.

Ye Chutang seized the moment, opened the dowry list.

“I heard that my mother’s embroidered dowry list is unique in the world. Many people have seen it, and its authenticity is easy to recognize.”

With that, she pulled open the dowry box beside her.

“This 128-port dowry, eighty percent of it was taken from my mother’s.”

When this was said, everyone gasped in shock.

It was like robbery!

Ye Chutang looked at Ye Jingchuan’s ashen face, pressing on.

“Father, tell everyone, why did my mother give birth prematurely? And why did she die?”