The third lady felt guilty and signaled her personal maid to quickly get the two land deeds.
The sky outside gradually darkened, and Bai Mei lit up the oil lamp she had prepared earlier.
Under the illumination of the light, everyone noticed the third lady's blushing face.
Xia Jing saw that she took the initiative to hand over the land deed, so she did not make things difficult for her.
The fourth lady, Zhao Qiuyue, was smart enough. When she saw Xia Jing looking at her, she didn't even need Xia Jing to speak. She took the initiative to confess and asked the maid to go back and get the land deed.
Three of the four 'daughter-in-laws' dared to embezzle the property of the original owner after her funeral. When they first reached out, weren't they afraid that the original owner would be so angry that he couldn't even cover the coffin board and stand up to settle the score with them?
When the second lady saw that her two sisters-in-law had sent their maids back to get the land deed, she quickly asked her maid to go back and deliver the land deed and the screen.
When the eldest lady saw the land deed and the screen that the maid had brought back, she felt angry and annoyed, "Why are you so short-sighted? When the mother-in-law's body was still cold, you wanted to take her private property? You were not afraid of her crawling out of the coffin to find you in the middle of the night.
Settlement!"
"Ahem.!"
The Fourth Madam coughed a few times, glanced at Xia Jing, who was expressionless above her, and smiled at her in embarrassment.
Sister-in-law is so right!
Didn’t this ancestor crawl out of the coffin and now he is sitting here settling accounts with them!
Xia Jing took back her property and drove her daughters-in-law out. Two of the four daughters-in-law were older than her. Listening to them talking about the mother-in-law made Xia Jing feel heartbroken!
It’s as if I’m really in my seventies or eighty.
"Have you laughed enough?" Xia Jing rolled her eyes at Zeng Yan, who was standing in the corner.
Zeng Yan pinched his nose and walked out of the corner. The raised corners of his mouth showed that he was in a good mood, "Well, Princess, if nothing happens, I will leave first."
Xia Jing wasn't angry either, she just raised her eyes and looked at him, "Well, there is one last question. Has Aunt Cui gone back to foster care?"
Aunt Cui was the housekeeper bought by the original owner before he entered the palace. She was brought into the palace along with her dowry and has been waiting on her for more than ten years. After the original owner's funeral, the palace should have given her grace and let her out.
Taken back for retirement.
Thinking about it, he dared to give away her private property. He must have received the benefits of several daughters-in-law, and then he dared to use her private property as a favor for personal gain.
Zeng Yan suppressed the smile on his face and hummed in a complicated mood, "The family gave her this grace because she was loyal to you, but I didn't expect that she is also a white-eyed wolf secretly."
He used to respect Aunt Cui very much, but he didn't expect that he might be wrong.
Xia Jing patted the account book and said with a relieved smile: "People's hearts are the hardest to see through. Seeing that she recorded these things in the account book before she left, we won't hold her responsible for the time being. Let's just turn this story over.
"
Moreover, now that everyone has gone their separate ways, I don’t know where Aunt Cui is at the moment, and there is no way to pursue her.
Maybe we will never have the chance to meet each other again in this life.
Zeng Yan sighed in his heart and bowed to leave: "The princess is still kind-hearted. She is lucky to have a master like you, but she doesn't cherish it properly."
Xia Jing raised her eyebrows. Is she kind-hearted?
This is the first time I hear someone praise her for her kindness!
Zeng Yan glanced at her quickly and lowered his head: "If nothing happens, I'll take my leave now."
"Well, go ahead."
After Zeng Yan left, Hongmei walked in. She packed up the account books and said, "These account slaves and Bai Mei will take the time to check them again to avoid missing something."
"There is nothing to check. Except for what was taken away by Li Chengxian, everything else is correct." Xia Jing took out a thread-bound volume from the ancient books brought back by Hongmei and flipped through it.
Hongmei's eyes widened in shock, "The princess's married daughter also came back to take your private property?"
This is so shameless!
Bai Mei opened her mouth slightly in surprise and said, "Princess, please go and call the princess over now."
Xia Jing didn't take her eyes off the book and smiled coldly: "No need to worry about it. I have handed over several daughters-in-law. She will hear the news tomorrow. I want to see how thick-skinned she is and how many days she can last.
Come to say hello?"
She believed that even if Li Chengxian could persevere, Mrs. Changpinghou might not. She was a face-loving person, how could she let Li Chengxian lose the face of Changpinghou?
What was surprising was that the royal lady had just sent someone to deliver the cards and account books to the palace, and Li Chengxian had also sent a maid to deliver a wooden box.
Hongmei opened it and took a look, "Tsk, Princess, this is really unexpected. How could the princess do things so quickly this time?"
He actually gave back a set of precious jewelry that the princess had left behind.
Xia Jing knew from her memory that this stepdaughter was difficult to get along with, so she never took her seriously because she was a few years older than her.
Usually when the two of them meet, Li Chengxian's nostrils are turned upwards, and she's very twitchy!
Xia Jing asked the little girl to pack everything. She had a headache just looking at the pile of account books that the eldest lady sent back.
Bai Mei: "Princess, why did you treat them so lightly tonight? As a slave, you should punish them severely and teach them a lesson!"
Xia Jing chuckled: "I don't mind you girl, why do you still mind?"
Bai Mei's little mouth kept pouting: "The slaves are not ashamed of them and dare to take the elders' things. These properties should belong to the fifth master, but because of their greed, the fifth master almost lost a lot of money.
If you don't punish them this time because of your kindness, you may be bolder next time!"
"Your master is back, do you think they can still take money from me?" Xia Jing nodded her forehead, "You may not underestimate your master too much!"
"princess--"
"Okay, now punish them. The time is right, the place is right, and the people are right. They don't take advantage of anything. In the end, they won't be left alone. In this troubled world, how can I, your master, live alone?"
Xia Jing has never worried about not being able to survive alone in this world, but people are social animals. She has people to serve her in this family, and she has to be respected by everyone in the family.
Life is pretty good right now, so there is no need to leave the team.
Bai Mei stomped her feet unwillingly, "They really got an advantage this time."
The next day, the team walked for half a day and arrived at a small county town.
The city gate was closed, and many refugees were stationed in the open space outside the city gate.
The arrival of Prince Qian's palace convoy caused a commotion among them, but the guards with swords in the team temporarily suppressed the greed in their eyes, so that they did not dare to act rashly for a while!
This huge team naturally attracted the attention of the soldiers and horses guarding the city wall.
"Your Majesty, someone is coming out at the city gate."
The city gate opened a small door, and a group of officers and soldiers ran out.
King Qian signaled to Zeng Yan: "Go and negotiate with them to see if you can buy a batch of grain from the county seat?"
Nowadays, part of the food in the team was lost in the melee that night. After these days of consumption, the remaining food has almost reached the bottom. The last remaining food can last for three days at most.
Therefore, when passing by this county, King Qian wanted to buy a batch of grain, but
The county in front of him is too small, and there may not be food in the county. Even if there is food, the county magistrate may not be willing to buy it for him.