Chapter 11: Coming to the Residence to Arrest Someone

Qin’s eldest daughter-in-law was furious.

She believed that a portion of the dowry should have been hers.

If the family were divided, and the three brothers shared Lin Zhiyi’s dowry, the eldest branch would get a share. That would have been enough to keep them in luxury for a lifetime.

But now, Lin Zhiyi had taken what was rightfully hers. How could she not be angry?

She pinched her husband. “Why aren’t you going to report this to the authorities? Why are you sitting here like a fool?”

Qin Da Lang immediately snapped to attention. “Right, right, I’ll report it to the authorities!”

By now, it was already dawn.

He Jiaojiao had already woken up and was bathing.

She was soaking in a flower petal bath, her mind imagining that today she would marry her lover.

Although He Jiaojiao was the daughter of a concubine in the He family, her biological mother was favored, so she was treated almost like a legitimate daughter in the family.

However, her appearance took after her father, and she didn’t inherit her mother’s beauty.

Her forehead wasn’t round enough to fit the usual floral ornaments, and her eyes, though passable, were overshadowed by her light eyebrows and thin eyelashes. Her lips, when not tinted, were too pale.

What bothered her most was her dark complexion. Every time she went out, she had to apply a thick layer of powder to cover it.

Her father, He Shilang, always praised her beauty, but she knew the truth—her plain appearance made it difficult to attract the noble young men of the capital.

Indeed, when she reached the age of marriage, He Shilang had arranged several suitors for her, but none of them were interested.

However, there were also suitors she wasn’t interested in, simply because they were even more ordinary than she was.

So, when she met the handsome and eloquent Qin Lang, who wore official robes, she immediately fell for him.

When she learned that he had married, and to a daughter of the Lin family, she had initially given up on him.

But when the Lin family fell from grace, she saw an opportunity.

When Qin Lang proposed to marry her as his principal wife, she agreed immediately.

Upon returning to the He family and discussing the matter with her father and his concubine, He Shilang refused.

The reason was that Qin Lang was a poor country boy, and without the support of the Lin family, he wouldn’t have achieved anything.

He insisted that the title of principal wife should only be for someone of higher status. His daughter could not be married off to such a man.

When He Shilang thought about the dowry that Lin Zhiyi received from the Lin family, it was a ten-mile bridal procession, envied by everyone in the capital.

At the time, he had regretted that his son couldn’t marry such a noble girl. Even if he didn’t get all of Lin Zhiyi’s dowry, just half would have sufficed.

But now, an opportunity had arisen. If He Jiaojiao were the principal wife, she would manage the entire Qin family. She could even take Lin Zhiyi’s dowry for herself.

With the Lin family ruined, a woman with no support, they would have no trouble seizing the dowry.

It was clear that He Shilang was a man of experience.

He insisted that He Jiaojiao could only be Qin Lang’s only principal wife.

And this is how Qin Lang ended up pressuring Lin Zhiyi to become his concubine.

Meanwhile, He Jiaojiao was imagining the night she would spend with Qin Lang as husband and wife. She couldn’t help but smile, her lips curling up as she stifled a laugh.

Outside, the maids waited anxiously. They had been waiting for quite some time to report on the status of the dowry, but there was no sign of He Jiaojiao emerging.

“Why hasn’t Third Miss come out yet? Someone should inform her.”

He Jiaojiao was the third young lady of the He family.

“Just wait. Don’t you see the young lady is still bathing?”

The maid standing guard at the door was He Jiaojiao’s personal maid and had always looked down on the other maids.

When she heard their voices, she immediately became anxious.

Then, it dawned on her—didn’t they go to the Qin residence to guard the dowry? Why were they back here so soon?

She furrowed her brow and asked, “What’s going on? Why aren’t you still guarding at the Qin residence?”

The maids immediately fell silent. None of them wanted to be the one to speak up.

Seeing their reaction, the maid had a bad feeling and, with frustration mixed with urgency, demanded, “Speak! What’s happened to the dowry? Where is it?”

One of the maids, bracing herself, said, “The dowry is gone. We need to see the young lady.”

“What? The dowry is gone?”

The maid no longer dared to stay, rushing inside to inform He Jiaojiao.

Soon, He Jiaojiao came running out, still wrapped in her clothes. “What did you say? The dowry is gone? How could that be?”

That dowry had been painstakingly arranged by her mother. Could it really be lost?

“Quick, help me change! I need to go to the Qin residence to see what happened.”

He Jiaojiao could no longer care about propriety and instructed her servants to prepare the carriage to head to the Qin residence.

Meanwhile, Qin Da Lang was still waiting at the government office because it was too early, and the office hadn’t opened yet.

Before he could report the theft, the servant agency had already arrived at the Qin residence. Upon entering the house, they immediately began arresting the Qin household servants.

Leading them was Granny Zhang, who asked, “What right do you have to arrest us? This is the Qin family’s residence.”

Tong, the head of the servant agency, scoffed and took out the slave contracts, displaying them to them.

“Do you see this? Your master has sold you all. I’m here to take you back. By the way, my employer’s business, the Chaozhou copper mine, is short of workers for the mines.”

He commanded, “Take them all and bind them for transport.”

At his order, the servant agency’s enforcers moved in. Despite the servants’ frantic resistance, they were all quickly subdued and bound.

Those who resisted the most were beaten mercilessly.

Tong had spent his whole life dealing with these lower-class people, and he despised those who betrayed their masters.

When Fang Mama had sold these servants, she had complained to him about how Lin Zhiyi had been mistreated by these wicked servants.

Thus, Tong had a very low opinion of them.

Granny Zhang and her group were terrified. The idea of being sent to the mines was horrifying. Not only was it grueling work, but it could also cost them their lives.

It was said that people died every day in the mines.

If they didn’t obey, they’d get whipped.

They were used to the relatively easy life in the Qin residence, where they were paid and had a roof over their heads. They didn’t want to be sent to the mines.

“Please spare us! Our master is Qin Lang. He hasn’t sold us!”

“Qin Lang? From what I know, you were bought by the Lin family to be part of Lin Zhiyi’s dowry. The contracts are in Madam Lin’s  hands. How could your master be Qin Lang?”

Tong’s words reminded Granny Zhang and the others—Lin Zhiyi had sold them.

Hearing this, Qin Lang, who was in the back courtyard, heard the commotion and sent Wang Mama to check on it. When she saw what was happening, she was shocked.

From a distance, Wang Mama saw Tong leading the servants away from the Qin residence.

She didn’t dare delay and hurried back to report to Qin Lang.

“Master, something’s wrong. Someone’s come to our residence to arrest people.”