Chapter 233: Chapter 233: My Cousin Likes Me This Way

Hearing Old Madam Lu’s roar, the servants were somewhat fearful. But when they thought of the hefty reward and Zhi Wan’s guarantee, they all pretended not to hear.

They served in Fushou Hall, so they had overheard everything the Duke said to the Old Madam earlier today.

The Princely Heir was to marry the Miss, and both the Duke and the Duchess approved.

One was the Old Madam’s adopted daughter. The other was the future wife of the Princely Heir, and the future Duchess. ’Was there even a question of who was more important?’

Naturally, they chose to listen to the Miss.

Besides, the Miss had offered a great reward and promised they would be unharmed.

With all the servants working together, they quickly tied up Lu Jinglan.

Zhi Wan was quite satisfied looking at Lu Jinglan, who was trussed up, her hair a mess, a picture of dishevelment. "You’ve all worked hard. You’ll get your reward money in a moment."

A wave of dizziness washed over Old Madam Lu, and she swayed on her feet. "Do you... do you people still have any respect for me?"

Zhi Wan immediately stepped forward to support her. "Old Madam, please calm your anger. Sit down and rest. Don’t let your anger harm your health."

Old Madam Lu was about to berate her, but when she saw the blood-stained dagger in Zhi Wan’s hand, her pupils contracted. The words on the tip of her tongue were swallowed back down.

Her face stiff, she sat down on a chair and said angrily, "What in the world are you trying to do?"

Zhi Wan sighed. "I know the Old Madam bears me no real malice. Everything that happened today is Lu Jinglan’s fault for stirring up trouble. She can’t stand to see me doing well, so she incited you to deal with me.

I had no choice but to tie Lu Jinglan up first."

"Zhi Wan, you bitch, you’ll get what’s com... mmph!"

Before Lu Jinglan could finish her curse, a nearby servant deftly stuffed a rag into her mouth.

Seeing this, Zhi Wan gave the servant an appreciative glance.

The servant couldn’t help but puff out their chest, feeling a strange sense of pride.

Old Madam Lu’s eyelid twitched. She couldn’t quite bear to look at Lu Jinglan. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

By now, she was too angry to have any temper left. She said to Zhi Wan, "What will it take for you to leave the Lu Family?"

Zhi Wan shook her head. "I don’t plan on leaving."

Old Madam Lu said, annoyed, "Don’t tell me you actually intend to marry Jinzhi?"

"My cousin is marrying me with all sincerity. Why shouldn’t I marry him?" Zhi Wan retorted.

Old Madam Lu sneered. "You really have no self-awareness."

"What does it matter if I have self-awareness or not? It doesn’t stop Aunt from doting on me, or my cousin from fancying me," Zhi Wan said dismissively.

Old Madam Lu felt a coppery taste in her throat, as if she was about to spit blood. After a long moment, she choked out, "Truly shameless!"

"But my cousin likes me this way," Zhi Wan said with a blink.

Old Madam Lu gritted her teeth in fury. "I’ll give you a sum of silver. Just leave the Lu Family at once."

"How much?" Zhi Wan asked, her face a mask of curiosity.

"I’ll give you one thousand taels," Old Madam Lu said, her face taut.

Zhi Wan looked at her in disbelief. "Your Ladyship can’t possibly think one thousand taels is a lot, can you?"

"One thousand taels is enough for a common family to live on for a lifetime," Old Madam Lu said, her face ashen.

"But I’m not a common person, and my daily expenses are quite high," Zhi Wan said earnestly.

"You!" Old Madam Lu clutched her chest, rendered speechless.

Zhi Wan paid her no more mind, picked up the dagger, and walked straight out of the room.

A moment later, she returned to the room with Shuang’er.

Seeing Lu Jinglan trussed up, Shuang’er felt a sense of satisfaction, but she also looked at her own Miss with a strange expression.

’How did the Miss manage this?’

’The Miss managed to handle the Old Madam and a whole room of servants.’

"Shuang’er, take out 300 taels and divide it among these aunties and sisters," Zhi Wan ordered.

Shuang’er had a sudden realization. ’So that’s what happened. A hefty reward makes for brave followers.’

She efficiently went to get the silver and distributed it to the crowd of servants.

Receiving the generous amount of silver, the servants were thrilled.

"Thank you, Miss!"

The servants knelt and kowtowed to Zhi Wan in thanks.

Zhi Wan waved her hand. "You’ve worked hard today. You may all disperse for now."

The servants did as they were told and withdrew from Yaoguang Pavilion.

"I’ll give you ten thousand taels, just leave at once!" At this moment, Old Madam Lu, having finally recovered, suddenly spoke up.

"One hundred thousand taels. Not a single coin less," Zhi Wan said with a raised eyebrow.

Hearing this number, Old Madam Lu nearly fainted. "You truly are insatiably greedy. One hundred thousand taels? You really have the gall to ask."

"Your Ladyship has the gall to try and drive me, your future granddaughter-in-law, away against your grandson’s wishes, so why can’t I have the gall to ask?" Zhi Wan said, amused. "If Your Ladyship doesn’t have that much silver, then you’d best not have spoken. Either way, I’m taking one of them: my cousin or one hundred thousand taels."

"You... Shameless!" Old Madam Lu’s lips trembled as she spoke.

Zhi Wan ignored her, went straight into the room, took a golden hairpin, and stuffed it into Lu Jinglan’s lapel.

"What... what are you doing?" Old Madam Lu had a bad feeling.

"Shuang’er, Lu Jinglan stole my golden hairpin, and I’ve caught her red-handed. Go fetch Jiang Shi. We’re sending Lu Jinglan to the Government!" Zhi Wan ordered, turning her head.

"Yes!" Shuang’er replied crisply and hurried out.

Hearing she was being sent to the Government, Lu Jinglan’s face changed drastically. She started making muffled "MMPH! AH! AH!" sounds.

Old Madam Lu was so shocked and enraged she felt blisters forming in her mouth from the stress.

"You dare?"

"The Old Madam can just wait and see," Zhi Wan said, walking to the table to pour herself a cup of water.

Seeing this, Old Madam Lu quickly tried to untie Lu Jinglan while Zhi Wan wasn’t looking.

However, the moment her hand touched the ropes on Lu Jinglan, Zhi Wan turned around. "What is the Old Madam doing?"

Old Madam Lu’s expression froze. Then she said defensively, "We are all family. Why must you make such a scene?"

"I’m not making a scene. I simply caught a thief and want to send her to the Government, that’s all," Zhi Wan said innocently.

Old Madam Lu choked. "What is it you really want?"

Before Zhi Wan could answer, Shuang’er had already returned with Jiang Shi.

"Miss, do you have any orders?"

"Lu Jinglan stole my golden hairpin. Should I send her to the Government or not?" Zhi Wan asked.

"Of course you should!" Jiang Shi replied.

"Then come in and take Lu Jinglan to the Government."

"Yes." Jiang Shi quickly walked in.

He swept a quick glance around the room. He saw Old Madam Lu sitting there with an ugly expression and a startlingly clear handprint on the Miss’s face. His own expression immediately changed.

"This injury on the Miss’s face..."

Zhi Wan gave a bitter smile. "Lu Jinglan hit me."

Hearing this, Jiang Shi’s face grew grave. He said to Lu Jinglan, "My apologies, Miss Jinglan. When he left for Jiangning, the Princely Heir gave his subordinates a direct order: the Miss was not to come to any harm. You slapped the Miss today, so you will have to pay it back tenfold. Otherwise, when the Princely Heir returns and assigns blame, neither of us will be able to bear the consequences."

Lu Jinglan hadn’t yet grasped the meaning of his words when she saw him suddenly swing his arm.

SLAP!

The next moment, a fiery slap landed on her face, and her mind went blank with a loud ringing.

Before she could even react, another slap followed close behind.

This time, the force of the blow knocked her to the ground.

A trickle of blood flowed from the corner of Lu Jinglan’s mouth.