Luo Xiu and Su Wan didn’t understand what was going on, and Su Jia frowned tightly.

Shen Yu was greatly surprised when he saw Tao Sheng acting unusually.

He didn’t expect Tao Sheng to be so easy to talk to today.

Was it really because after seeing his adoptive parents return, she felt relieved and had other ideas?

The King of Chu had been around Tao Sheng for a long time, and one could tell from his expression that this was a sign that Tao Sheng was about to explode.

It seemed that the two sides had a very bad relationship because of this issue in the past. Tao Sheng would rather give up her status as the daughter of the Marquis’ Mansion than go back to the Shen family. This showed that the matter was significant. Tao Sheng and the Wenyuan Marquis’ Mansion had a deep grudge.

So, Tao Sheng’s words should just be talk; there should be a big pit waiting for Shen Yu ahead.

“It’s just that the assets I have now were all obtained when my household registration was still in the Luo family, so before I return to the Marquis’ Mansion, I must make some divisions and changes and leave them to my adoptive parents. After everything is done, I will go back with you.”

“That won’t do!” Shen Yu slammed the table hard.

Why did he recognize Tao Sheng today? To take her back and get angry?

Of course not.

It was just to use her property to get through this difficult time.

But now Tao Sheng wanted to leave these things to the Luo couple; how could he allow this?

Tao Sheng said: “I have been in the Imperial College these days, and I have a teacher teaching law courses around me. I also read some law books in my spare time. What I did is completely reasonable and legal. Why can’t it be allowed?”

Shen Yu was angry and anxious: “I heard that you have two farms rewarded by the emperor, and another house given by your grandfather. How can such things be changed at will? Besides, the family still owes 70,000 to 80,000 taels of silver to the Ministry of Revenue. The deadline is only three months. The other children in the family have contributed. Are you going to stand by and watch? There are many ways to repay the kindness of your adoptive parents. Why do you have to use this?”

Tao Sheng had used her connections to get Luo Xiu a job in the Ministry of War, but her biological father’s career was not going well. However, Tao Sheng had never thought of helping him in the slightest. Wasn’t this enough for the Luo family? Why did she have to give all these assets to them?

What kind of magic potion did these adoptive parents feed Tao Sheng?

Luo Xiu now understood that Shen Yu wasn’t trying to recognize Tao Sheng; he was eyeing the assets and money in her hands.

But he didn’t think about how difficult it had been for Tao Sheng over the years.

From a helpless small-town girl coming to the capital to where she is today, to get these things, she must have put in more hardship and sweat than others.

The Marquis’ Mansion had deep roots and had accumulated a lot over the years. Now that they owed money, they didn’t want to use up their old savings, so they had to use Tao Sheng to take the blame. They even wanted to count the things of a young girl. What kind of people did they think they were?

Su Wan was also angry and said, “These are all things that Tao Sheng got by herself. We are not good enough and didn’t leave anything for our daughter, but at least we have a bottom line and won’t shamelessly ask for her things again. Whether Tao Sheng takes these houses and farms with her to marry or keeps them for herself in the future, we will not make any comments.”

“You are from Qin County, how would you know the rules of marrying off a daughter in the capital?” Shen Yu sneered at the couple from the small county. “In our capital, the best dowry is a noble birth. If you have a bad birth and give more dowry, it’s like giving away money, and you will be looked down upon. Aren’t those men in the capital who married daughters of merchants all talked about? Tao Sheng will get married sooner or later anyway, so it’s better to leave this money in her parents’ home so that she can have someone to rely on. Then Shen Yue and Shen Ci will remember the kindness of sisters and help her when she encounters problems.”

It was the first time that Tao Sheng heard that bringing too much dowry would be looked down upon. Then why did Shen Ruojin have so little dowry when she got married? Why did the male protagonist Guan Muyun, who claimed to love her all his life, go around the world to help her buy dowry?

Are they treating her like a fool?

Su Jia couldn’t stand it anymore, so she directly exposed the truth: “When Tao Sheng first came to the capital, how did you treat her? I heard from Qingxing that every time Tao Sheng went to your house, no matter what happened, you would blame all the mistakes on her. That fake was always right, and Tao Sheng was always the one who was wronged. I want to ask you why? It was because Shen Ruojin was more successful at the time and wanted to participate in the selection of the Eastern Palace companion, and you wanted to curry favor with the Eastern Palace, so you followed Shen Ruojin in everything and ignored Tao Sheng!”

Luo Xiu had not spoken much with Tao Sheng in the past few days, and he did not know much about the behavior of the Shen family. After hearing these words, he realized that the Wenyuan Marquis Mansion was actually filled with people like this. No wonder Tao Sheng did not want to meet them just now. He glared at Shen Yu angrily and said, “He speaks as if he’s full of poison, eloquent but utterly shameless! It’s ridiculous!”

Luo Xiu then started scolding Shen Yu fiercely, quoting from classic texts and speaking with clear logic. Tao Sheng couldn’t help but think of Zhuge Liang’s famous scolding scenes in the TV series “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”.

The petrified King of Chu finally spoke his first words of the day: “What was your adoptive father’s past?” He was amazed by Luo Xiu’s strong argument, thinking he was as powerful as the censors in the court.

Tao Sheng calmly replied, “He used to be a local teacher in Qin County, responsible for education and guidance.” This response seemed perfectly fitting.

Shen Yu wanted to explain himself, but he noticed that everyone here was on the other side, supporting Tao Sheng. No one was willing to speak for him.

This scene was all too familiar to Shen Yu.

In the past, it had also been in De Shou Hall, with the old lady sitting in the hall, while he and the Shen brothers pressured Tao Sheng to return home and forced her into marriage. However, Luo Xin was absent back then, and Tao Sheng had fought alone.

Now the tables had turned, and Shen Yu found himself in the same position his daughter had been in before, finally realizing the difficulties she had faced.

Shen Yu realized he had made a huge mistake. Letting Tao Sheng go meant losing the family’s greatest support, and things had spiraled out of control.

In the past, Shen Yu always believed that with Tao Sheng’s adoptive parents gone, he was her only father, which made him feel invincible. But now that Luo Xin and Luo Xiu were back, he felt illegitimate. At least in the official records, Tao Sheng was still registered as their child.

Shen Yu’s final situation could only be described as a complete defeat.

After this incident, the King of Chu no longer felt like talking with Luo Xiu. Deeply moved, he sighed when he returned home. Seeing the Princess of Chu looking upset, she suggested that he go for a walk outside instead of sighing all day and making others feel annoyed.

The King of Chu, feeling bored, decided to visit the yamen ^[1]refers to the government office.. He was looking for Ji Yanming.

Ji Yanming had once been part of the Hanlin Academy, but now he was part of a temporary diplomatic team. The King of Chu first went to the Hanlin Academy but didn’t find him. After wandering around, he finally located him at Honglu Temple.

Ji Yanming had stayed up late the previous night and was resting at home, which made it convenient for the King of Chu to have a private conversation with him.

Ji Yanming noticed the King of Chu’s gloomy expression and asked, “Is something troubling you, Your Highness?”

The King of Chu, usually focused on his “great cause” ^[2]refers to his ambition or goals., had come to Ji in such a depressed mood today, so Ji thought something must have gone wrong with the Emperor.

“That’s not it,” the King of Chu sighed. “I just found out something shocking.”

He slammed the table in frustration, asking, “Why did you hide something so important from me?”

Ji Yanming: …

There are so many things hidden from you, which one are you talking about?

Ji Yanming said nothing, simply watching the King of Chu and waiting for him to continue.

The King of Chu sighed, covering his face with his hands. “Our Ah Sheng’s life has been so miserable.”

Ji Yanming frowned slightly at the mention of “our Ah Sheng” and asked, “Your Highness, where is this coming from?”