Chapter 20: Outrageous, Simply Outrageous
“Enough, do you really want to make a big fuss out of this and let everyone know?”
Lin Tingting unwillingly shut her mouth.
Madam Zhou looked at Jiang Ruanxi again, “Although this matter wasn’t intentional on your part, you are still her sister-in-law after all, so you bear some responsibility too.”
Jiang Ruanxi said nothing.
Madam Zhou had originally called her over to reprimand her and push the blame onto her, but now not only had she failed to achieve her objective, her own daughter had also been wronged, which left her somewhat displeased. She waved her hand impatiently, “You can go now.”
After Jiang Ruanxi left, Lin Tingting could no longer sit still. “Mother, who is your daughter after all? Why do you always side with outsiders?”
“You, you’re just too impatient. Your Second Brother was originally planning to probe the Minister’s stance regarding his promotion at today’s family banquet. Now that the Minister has loosened his mouth, we just need to stuff him with silver. Your Second Brother’s promotion is at a critical juncture right now, so you mustn’t cause any trouble at this time. As long as your Second Brother’s matter succeeds, we won’t have to worry about her in the future, so just bear with it a little longer.”
After all, they still needed to use Jiang Ruanxi’s dowry, so Madam Zhou didn’t want to upset Jiang Ruanxi at this time.
Although Lin Tingting was angry, she knew her mother was speaking the truth.
As long as Second Brother got promoted, her own status would rise accordingly. At that time, what would Li Xun be? She might even be able to marry a prince and become a princess.
After Jiang Ruanxi went out, Hong Ye had already returned. “Madam, rest assured. This servant has done as you instructed, and Zhenguo Marquis Manor already knows what happened in the manor.”
Looking at the sunset outside the window, Jiang Ruanxi curled her lips. Lin Ningkun, you think holding a family banquet can settle your promotion? Keep dreaming.
The next morning, while the Lin Family was having breakfast, Lin Runkun hurried in with an extremely ugly expression.
“Second Uncle, have you eaten? I’ll have someone fetch a pair of bowls and chopsticks for you.” Jiang Ruanxi stood up with a smile.
Lin Runkun waved his hand and sat down at the dining table. “The silver you used for the bribes this time, did it come from Ruanxi’s dowry?”
Lin Ningkun put down his chopsticks, his brows slightly furrowed as he looked toward Madam Zhou.
Their gazes met, and Madam Zhou felt some doubt. She had secretly handled selling off Jiang Ruanxi’s dowry; aside from herself, Jiang Ruanxi, and Lin Ningkun, no one else knew. How did Lin Runkun find out?
Lin Ningkun naturally wouldn’t have told Lin Runkun about this, so Madam Zhou’s first reaction was that Jiang Ruanxi had complained.
The way she looked at Jiang Ruanxi changed instantly.
Jiang Ruanxi innocently said, “Mother, I didn’t tell Second Uncle about this. I swear.”
Madam Zhou naturally didn’t believe her. “If not you, then how would the clan leader know?”
“Outrageous, simply outrageous.”
Listening to their words confirmed that this matter was real.
Lin Runkun’s face was as dark as if it had been dipped in ink, and he slammed his hand heavily on the tabletop.
When he arrived, he had still harbored a fluke hope that it was all fake, but Madam Zhou’s words undoubtedly admitted it.
“Marquis, not to speak out of turn, but even if the Lin Family had no silver, you could have found a way to borrow some. Why sell your wife’s dowry? Do you want everyone in the Capital to know that your official position was secured by using your wife’s dowry to bribe people? If you don’t care about face, I still do.”
These words made Lin Ningkun extremely irritated. His usually cold and aloof handsome face now flushed with anger, but due to the elder’s presence, he desperately restrained his fury.
“Second Uncle, is this matter really that serious?” Jiang Ruanxi asked, feigning surprise.
Madam Zhou was already at a complete loss. “Yes, Clan Leader, it’s just selling off things from our own family. Can it really be that serious?”
“Even now, you still think this is a small matter?” Lin Runkun was quite angry. “Somehow, the matter of you selling Ruanxi’s dowry became known to the Capital Magistrate, and it blew up from there, reaching the Vice Minister…”
Lin Runkun grew more furious as he spoke. “You don’t know, the Vice Minister has a very good relationship with the Minister of Revenue. If this matter reaches the Minister of Revenue’s ears, then the Marquis Manor inviting the Minister to dinner yesterday becomes a joke, and our Marquis Manor will become the laughingstock of the entire Capital.”
Lin Runkun felt utterly humiliated saying this.
“You all know that the current Emperor values officials’ private morality the most. For a man’s official career to rely on his woman’s dowry for bribes—if this becomes known, forget about promotion; the gossip and spittle alone could drown you in the future.”
Lin Ningkun could bear the impact on himself, but as a Lin Family clansman, the Lin Family disciples would inevitably be shamed too, affecting their future prospects, which was why he was so angry and had to intervene.
Madam Zhou was dumbfounded; she hadn’t expected it to be so serious, and her speech grew stammering. “Then, then what should we do?”
She had originally thought that as long as they had silver, they could solve Lin Ningkun’s official career issues, but instead of solving the problem, they had stirred up a hornet’s nest.
Lin Runkun said impatiently, “What else can we do? If anyone asks about selling the shops, just deny it. The urgent matter now is to quickly redeem the deeds and return them to Ruanxi to shut those people’s mouths.”
“Second Uncle, if the deeds are returned to me, then what about the Marquis’s future prospects?” Jiang Ruanxi appeared extremely anxious, looking completely like she didn’t care about her own dowry and was wholeheartedly devoted to the Lin Family’s good.
Lin Runkun’s face tightened. “This can only be delayed for now.”
Lin Ningkun was displeased.
“Second Uncle, this matter can’t be delayed. Besides bribing with silver, is there no other way?”
Jiang Ruanxi gave Lin Ningkun a sidelong glance and sneered inwardly.
Weren’t you cold and arrogant, acting superior?
Now you can’t sit still.
In order to be openly together with Jiang Xuerou sooner, Lin Ningkun had put in great effort into his official career.
Lin Runkun was also very irritated now.
“I told you before that if your performance rating this time had been a bit higher, we wouldn’t need to take the connections route. I told you to focus on government affairs, but you wouldn’t listen. In any case, this matter is currently under scrutiny, so you should avoid it for now. As for the silver, figure something else out.”
“Where else is there a way? The Lin Family’s ancestral property is only so much, and now we can’t use Jiang Ruanxi’s dowry. What can we do?”
Madam Zhou wore a face full of worry.
Lin Ningkun clenched his fists tightly; it was clear he was extremely unwilling.
