Chapter 58: Go to the Prison and Keep Mama Xue Company

By the time Jun Zhengming dragged the First Lady back to the residence, the sun was setting behind the mountains, and it was nearly the Hour of the Rooster.

Jun Zhengming had originally intended to order a maid to take the First Lady back to the Cuiyu Courtyard, but the bruise on his forehead, caused by the First Lady’s shoe, was still throbbing with pain, constantly reminding him of the humiliation he had suffered in public today.

In a fit of rage, he dragged the blood-stained First Lady all the way back to the Cuiyu Courtyard. Along the way, the servants of the residence were terrified by the sight and scrambled to get out of his way. After dragging the First Lady to the Cuiyu Courtyard, Jun Zhengming threw her ruthlessly onto the ground.

The First Lady had long since lost her former air of authority; her hair was disheveled, her face was covered in blood, and her eyes were filled with fear and resentment. Jun Zhengming glared at her viciously: "Stay in this courtyard and behave yourself. If you dare to step one foot outside this courtyard, don't blame me for being ruthless!" Jun Zhengming flicked his sleeves and turned to leave. The First Lady slumped in the courtyard, the hatred in her heart growing even deeper.

Jun Yiyi was shocked when she received the news. As soon as the First Lady saw Jun Yiyi, she could no longer hold back and burst into loud sobs while hugging her daughter—

"Yiyi! Your mother is now under house arrest, you must help me! My face has been ruined like this, and your uncle has been sent to prison by that bitch Jun Zijin, locked away for five years! Your uncle is an eighth-rank official, after all; how could they do this? They just locked him up whenever they pleased."

Jun Yiyi had no good ideas for the moment. She was in such a state herself, what could she possibly do? She gently patted the First Lady’s back to soothe her:

"Mother, do not be anxious. We must plan this carefully."

The First Lady lifted her tear-stained face, a flash of malice in her eyes: "As long as that bitch is not removed, we mother and daughter will never have a day of peace."

It was the final deadline for the First Lady to hand over the land deeds and dowry today. Wu De had been beaten half to death at the Jingzhao Prefecture and had been forced to hand over the account books; all that remained were the land deeds and Fang Mengru’s dowry.

The First Lady was unwilling, but she had wanted to make a scene earlier. Now that she was in this state, Jun Zhengming showed her no mercy, and as for the Old Lady, she only had eyes for Fang Mengru as her daughter-in-law and had never given the First Lady a kind look. The First Lady had no choice but to suppress the anger in her heart for the time being and handed over the land deeds with extreme reluctance.

Jun Zijin was not interested in what the First Lady was thinking. She said unhurriedly:

"Mother, today I will take my mother’s dowry list to the storehouse to take inventory. Please trouble yourself to bring out the storehouse keys."

When the First Lady handed over the household management two days ago, the keys to the main storehouse had been given to the Old Lady. Jun Zijin had already checked, and Fang Mengru’s dowry was not inside. When Fang Mengru married, Fang Jizhou, having only this one daughter, had nearly emptied the Fang residence to provide her dowry. Whatever the Wu woman had occupied for so many years, and however much she had consumed, she would have to spit it all back out; not a single cent less would do.

Upon hearing this, the Wu woman’s complexion turned even uglier. She had kept Fang Mengru’s dowry in her own private storehouse, selling off what she could and giving away the rest. After several years, she feared that not even half remained. The First Lady feigned composure and said:

"Hmph, now that I have returned the shops to you, I haven't found that dowry list. Besides, so many years have passed, and the storehouse has been renovated; who knows if the items are still all there." How could she be willing to just hand over the keys like this?

"There is no need to trouble Mother to look for the list; I have already prepared it." Jun Zijin took out the list and waved it in her hand.

"As for the storehouse renovation, I assume the items will only have increased, not decreased. After all, Mother has managed the household for so many years, and there must have been some 'extra' income put into it."

"Of course, if Mother is truly short on money, I suppose it wouldn't be impossible for me to gift you a few pieces. But for Mother to use my mother’s things to reward others, that is Mother’s fault." Jun Zijin looked at the Wu woman with a half-smile.

The Wu woman was trembling with rage and pointed at Jun Zijin:

"You little beast, how are you speaking to me? I am still your mother, you ill-bred thing!" Since the facade had been torn away, the First Lady no longer needed to pretend and began to curse.

Jun Zijin’s lips curled into a cold sneer:

"My mother died early, and I was sent to the villa from a young age; no one ever taught me what 'breeding' is. Besides, you can curse me if you want, but why are you cursing my father?"

As she said this, Jun Zijin asked the silent Jun Zhengming:

"Father, Mother is calling me a little beast. I was born of you, so I don't know who she is cursing."

Jun Zhengming frowned deeply, turned his head to glare at the First Lady, and scolded:

"Enough! What kind of decorum is this!"

Then, he said in a deep voice:

"Wu woman, since you promised to return the dowry, do not cause any more trouble. Hurry up and hand over the keys." After saying this, Jun Zhengming flicked his sleeves and left.

The Wu woman was completely deflated and had no choice but to take out the storehouse keys and hand them to Jun Zijin with extreme reluctance.

Jun Zijin took the keys, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly, her voice cold:

"Please trouble Mother to appoint a reliable person to accompany me. After all, there are many valuable items in the storehouse, and it would be difficult to explain if anything were to go missing." Having said that, she walked toward the storehouse.

The First Lady was so angry she nearly fainted. She grabbed a teacup, intending to smash it hard against the ground. Suddenly, her movement froze. The First Lady abruptly remembered that the household management had fallen into the hands of the Old Lady, who had always disliked her. If she really smashed this teacup, it would not be easy to replace it. At the thought of this, the fire in the First Lady’s heart surged even higher, burning her lungs and heart. But even so, she could only suppress the hatred in her heart and slowly loosen her grip on the teacup.

Jun Zijin brought Mama Dong and Miaozhu, who had returned from the shops today, to the front of the storehouse. Qingyu, sent by the First Lady, was already waiting there.

The servant on guard opened the door. Jun Zijin held the list and checked it carefully. She saw that many bolts of precious silk were missing, quite a few antique porcelains were gone, and there was hardly any jewelry left.

Qingyu stood to the side, her eyes flickering. Qingyu was the First Lady’s personal maid; the First Lady had sent her here to fetch things more than once or twice. Jun Zijin understood everything; she sneered inwardly, but her expression remained calm.

Jun Zijin raised her eyes to look at Qingyu and said faintly:

"Do you know where these things have gone?"

Qingyu’s body trembled slightly, her hands twisting her hem as she replied hurriedly: "Second Young Lady, this servant does not know."

At this moment, Miaozhu suddenly remembered seeing a jade bracelet on Qingyu’s wrist. Because the bracelet looked like an orchid and was crystal clear, not like an ordinary object, Miaozhu had taken a few extra looks at the time. It might very well be the orchid jade bracelet missing from the Lady’s dowry.

"Young Lady, I seem to have seen Qingyu wearing an orchid jade bracelet," Miaozhu said suddenly.

Upon hearing this, Qingyu instinctively pulled her hand back.

Jun Zijin grabbed Qingyu’s hand, and a glass-grade jade bracelet shaped like an orchid was revealed on her wrist.

"It really is with you!" Miaozhu exclaimed.

Qingyu’s face turned pale, and she argued:

"Second Young Lady, although I am a servant, how could there be only one such jade bracelet in the world?"

Jun Zijin’s gaze darkened:

"The bracelet on your wrist is no ordinary object. Tell me, where did you get it?"

"It was rewarded to me by the First Lady," Qingyu retorted defiantly.

This jade bracelet had indeed been taken off the First Lady’s own hand and given to Qingyu. It was an extremely rare, top-tier glass-grade jade bracelet. The First Lady had originally been reluctant to give it away, but at the time, she had wanted to win Qingyu over, so she gritted her teeth, took the bracelet off her own wrist, and put it on Qingyu’s.

Jun Zijin’s gaze darkened:

"Mama Dong, come and see if this orchid jade bracelet is my mother’s dowry." Jun Zijin held Qingyu’s hand and called out to Mama Dong.

Mama Dong slid the jade bracelet off Qingyu’s hand and carefully turned it over to examine it:

"Young Lady, this is indeed the orchid jade bracelet from the Lady’s dowry. It was custom-made for the Lady by your maternal grandfather at a great price. Young Lady, look, there is a character 'Ru' here, and the other one has a character 'Meng'. The bracelets were originally a pair, but this one is in the hands of this servant; I wonder where the other one is?" Mama Dong pointed to a character inside the orchid stamen.

Jun Zijin examined it carefully; it was indeed the character 'Ru'. The design of the character looked like a stamen, making it hard to recognize without close inspection. Jun Zijin mused that the other one was likely still in the Wu woman’s hands.

Jun Zijin sneered, her gaze cold as she looked at Qingyu.

"How bold of you, to steal my mother’s dowry and dare to frame the First Lady."

Qingyu’s face turned deathly pale, and she knelt down with a thud:

"Second Young Lady, spare my life! The jade bracelet was indeed a gift from the First Lady; this servant did not know it was the Lady’s heirloom."

Jun Zijin looked at Qingyu expressionlessly:

"Are you saying the First Lady stole it? Do you have proof? As the First Lady of the Jun residence, how could she be a thief? If you cannot explain yourself, go to the prison and keep Mama Xue company!"