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Shang Yufu had been betrothed to the Heir of the Prince Dingguo’s residence since childhood. She had always believed she would marry him one day, but when he returned from leading troops into battle, everyone discovered that He Jingheng was now confined to a wheelchair.
It was later revealed that the most valiant and skilled warrior of the Tianshun Dynasty, the heir of the Dingguo Prince Residence, had been crippled.
Upon learning this, Shang Yufu naturally refused to go through with the marriage.
Shang Nian sought imperial permission for the Shang family to select another suitable bride to wed soon.
Among the eligible daughters of the Shang family, apart from Shang Yufu, there remained only the forgotten second daughter—a mere concubine-born child.
“Who said I would marry in your daughter’s place?” Shang Ruoyi sneered.
“Outrageous!” Shang Nian roared. “As your father, I command you to marry! Whether you will or not, you must!”
Shang Ruoyi nodded slowly, then asked leisurely, “What about the dowry?”
“Dowry?”
“Indeed. The prestigious Shang family wouldn’t send a bride without a dowry, would they?” She pursed her lips and shook her head. “I don’t ask for much—just return the dowry my mother brought here. It was always meant for me.”
What?
Her mother’s dowry?
Impossible!
When her mother married into the Shang family, the dowry procession stretched for miles, and everyone praised the prime minister for his good fortune.
Now, to take it all back would be no different from emptying the Shang family’s coffers!
“The dowry list for your mother is lost. How can we account for it? Stop making unreasonable demands!” Shang Nian said sternly. “A child must obey her parents. I order you to prepare for the wedding immediately. Do not delay the auspicious hour. Your marriage was decreed by His Majesty himself. Defying an imperial edict is a crime punishable by death!”
Shang Ruoyi waved her hand dismissively, her expression calm. “No need to rush, Prime Minister. If you don’t have the dowry list, I do.” She pulled a ledger from beneath her pillow and waved it. “Recognize this?”
Shang Nian and the First Wife paled at the sight.
How did this ledger end up in her hands?
Indeed, while others’ dowries could be listed on a single sheet of paper, her mother’s dowry filled an entire ledger—a testament to the grandeur of the wedding back then.
“Ungrateful girl! Hand that ledger over at once!”
Shang Ruoyi scoffed. “Even if you take this ledger, it won’t help you. The entire capital knows how glorious my mother’s marriage into the Shang family was. Now, her daughter is to wed, yet she can’t even take her mother’s dowry with her. Aren’t you afraid of becoming the laughingstock of the realm? When your precious daughter marries into the Prince Residence, people will scorn her, saying her parents stole a concubine’s dowry to pad her trousseau. With such disgraceful conduct, how could she ever aspire to be empress? Dream on!”
Shang Ruoyi knew exactly where her scoundrel of a father and the First Wife were vulnerable.
They clung to their delusions of Shang Yufu becoming empress.
Any act that tarnished their reputation was something they would never dare to do.
“What do you want?” The First Wife stepped forward, her voice icy.
“Return my mother’s dowry to me, untouched.” She flipped to the section listing the lands and shops. “I have no interest in these. I know the Shang family’s expenses rely on my mother’s shops. So, convert all these properties into silver and give them to me.”
How much silver would that amount to?
Just as Shang Nian was about to refuse, the First Wife declared coldly, “Fine!”
“My Lady—”
The First Wife gave Shang Nian a covert glance, and he immediately fell silent.
She took out the key to the storeroom. “I haven’t touched your mother’s belongings—they’ve been locked in the storeroom all this time. As for the land and shops, eleven commercial properties, four plots of farmland, and two estates, they’ve been converted into ten thousand taels of silver. How does that sound?”
Shang Ruoyi raised a brow slightly. The First Wife was being unusually generous—there must be some ulterior motive.
“Fine!”
“Master, Madam, the auspicious hour is approaching.”
The First Wife glanced at Shang Ruoyi and said coldly, “Now, can you get ready?”
She was dragged into the room by servants and forced into the wedding dress originally tailored for Shang Yufu.
Shaking her head, she remarked, “I didn’t expect Shang Yufu to be so plump. This dress is far too loose on me.”
The young maid helping her with her makeup couldn’t help but giggle.
Noticing the Second Young Lady’s sharp gaze in the bronze mirror, she quickly stifled her laughter and lowered her head to adjust the hair ornaments.
“What’s your name?” Shang Ruoyi asked.
“Replying to the Second Young Lady, this servant is Shao Yao.”
“Which courtyard do you serve in?”
“I’ve always worked in the kitchen, assisting the elder maids.”
So, the First Wife had deliberately assigned a kitchen helper to do her makeup—clearly determined to humiliate her.
Unexpectedly, though, the girl’s skills were quite impressive.
Shang Ruoyi studied the beautifully styled updo in the mirror and asked curiously, “You’re quite skilled. Why aren’t you serving in the madams’ or concubines’ quarters? How did you end up in the kitchen?”
“Replying to the Second Young Lady, I originally served in Concubine Zhang’s quarters. But the Prime Minister once remarked that my hands were delicate and fair, which angered the concubine. She had me banished to the kitchen.”
Ah, so that was the reason.
Just as the makeup was finished, a servant came to hurry her out.
She touched the jade pendant around her neck—the same one she had worn in her past life. Strangely, it had followed her into this world.
Thinking of her humiliating death in her previous life, Shang Ruoyi couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger.
A top-tier special agent, she hadn’t died in battle or sacrificed herself for her country. Instead, she had been betrayed by the teammate she trusted most.
If even someone she would entrust her life to could betray her, who in this world could she truly trust?
At that moment, the First Wife entered the room and handed her the ten thousand taels in silver notes. “Your mother’s dowry chests have already been carried outside. Hurry up and leave! If you delay the auspicious hour and incur the Emperor’s wrath, do you think your worthless life can bear the consequences?”
“First Wife,” Shang Ruoyi crossed her legs and met her gaze with icy disdain, “if you keep blabbering, I won’t hesitate to drag the entire Prime Minister’s estate down with me today—even if it means offending the Emperor. A hundred lives or so—what do I care? There’s no one in this household I give a damn about. If you’re fine with that, let’s test it.”
The First Wife glared at her venomously but, as intended, shut her mouth.
Shang Ruoyi smirked, tucked the silver notes into her sleeve, and stepped out. Seeing the dowry chests piled far beyond the courtyard, she couldn’t help but click her tongue in surprise. Who knew the original host’s mother had been so wealthy?
The most lamentable part was that despite all that wealth, she had died such a miserable death.
In the current Tianshun Dynasty, men were still revered while women were subordinate. Though women’s status wasn’t rock-bottom, it was far from equal to men’s.
But Shang Ruoyi was no docile housewife content to idle in the inner courtyard, stewing in jealousy and fighting concubines for a man’s attention.
Even in this ancient era, she would stand on her own and live brilliantly.
She would never be a man’s accessory!
Watching her retreating figure, the First Wife murmured, “What does it matter if you take this dowry? You must have the life to spend it even if you have the luck to take it.”