Chapter 432 Emptying the Betrothal Gifts

Ji Nanchuan broke out in a cold sweat. He swallowed hard before speaking cautiously, "But Your Highness, Qing Qing has already given herself to you..."

He had only just learned this from Ji Qingqing herself, which was why he had rushed out of the mansion to chase after him.

Ji Nanchuan hoped to appeal to Luo Jingshen's conscience, sense of responsibility, and honor as a man.

He prayed that the other party would forgive her just this once, because of the intimate relationship he had shared with Ji Qingqing.

What Ji Nanchuan didn't know was that this matter was Luo Jingshen's taboo. It would have been better if he hadn't brought it up, but mentioning it only made Luo Jingshen's expression turn even darker, with blazing fury in his eyes.

His gaze turned icy as he sneered, "What, is the Marquis trying to force me to marry Ji Qingqing?"

Ji Nanchuan quickly lowered his head. "I wouldn't dare, Your Highness."

Luo Jingshen let out a cold snort, his expression filled with disgust. "Don't forget, it was Ji Qingqing who came crawling into my bed on her own. I've been lenient enough not to call her a shameless slut."

"Is this how the Marquis and his wife raise their daughter?"

He paused as something suddenly occurred to him, then frowned at Ji Nanchuan, his dark eyes swirling with an unreadable expression.

"No, to be precise, Ji Qingqing isn't even your daughter. Did the Marquis raise her just to send her crawling into men's beds?"

Ji Nanchuan was terrified. "Your Highness, this minister would never—"

"All of this was Madam Meng's idea for Qing Qing. I knew nothing about it. Qing Qing was also led astray by Madam Meng into doing something so indecent."

"Ha, Madam Meng?" Luo Jingshen listened to his attempts to shift the blame, his gaze growing more mocking. "Can a woman make such a big decision without your approval?"

"You were so eager to drug me and get Ji Qingqing into my bed—wasn't it just to get her pregnant with my child, so that if her identity was exposed, I wouldn't punish you?"

Ji Nanchuan: "..."

His body trembled even more. Madam Meng had indeed intended exactly that. She said that as long as Ji Qingqing got pregnant, the Crown Prince would spare the Marquis's household for the child's sake.

But even if she got pregnant, how could it happen that fast?

In the end, things had gone off the rails.

Luo Jingshen could tell from his reaction that he had guessed right, and it made him even angrier.

"You knew full well that Ji Qingqing wasn't your biological daughter, that she had no blood relation to the Marquis's household at all, and yet you still wanted me to marry her. You've got some nerve."

"Ji Nanchuan, who gave you the courage to deceive me?"

Ji Nanchuan knelt on the ground, cold sweat dripping from his forehead. His voice choked with tears as he said, "Your Highness, although Qing Qing isn't our biological daughter, I've always raised her as my own. That can't be considered deceiving you, Your Highness."

"Considering the money I invested in business with you, Your Highness, I beg you, Your Highness, to show mercy and forgive me just this once!"

Besides the earlier reason, this was Ji Nanchuan's other purpose for coming to see Luo Jingshen!

He had converted Ji Qingqing's three hundred thousand taels of dowry into silver and given it to Luo Jingshen to open a barbecue restaurant together.

But now, he hadn't even gotten back a single cent of his principal.

Ji Nanchuan had originally thought that once Luo Jingshen sent the betrothal gifts, he would return the dowry money to him.

But now that this had happened, he didn't know how to bring it up with Luo Jingshen!

Ji Nanchuan thought it over and decided he still needed that money, because the Yongning Marquis's household treasury was almost empty!

If he couldn't get that silver back, he'd have to eat chaff and vegetables for every meal from now on.

He couldn't have done all this only to end up losing both the money and the person, right?

With that thought in mind, he said it out loud.

"Your Highness, the barbecue restaurant we invested in together—I put in Qing Qing's thirty thousand taels of dowry silver. Now that the restaurant you opened is making money, could you return the silver to me first? I need it for cash flow..."

Whenever money came up, Luo Jingshen was always especially sensitive.

Those three hundred thousand taels of silver—when he had made Ji Nanchuan hand them over, he had never planned to return them.

However, what he hadn't expected was that Ji Nanchuan had actually used Ji Qingqing's dowry.

If that was the case, then the Yongning Marquis's household assets had long been a hollow shell, much worse off than before?

If they had to dip into a dowry for even three hundred thousand taels, one could only imagine what the Marquis's household was really like inside.

Luo Jingshen decided to go all in on his shameless behavior. He said, "The barbecue restaurant just opened recently, business isn't stable yet, and it hasn't made three hundred thousand taels. I can't come up with that much all at once."

Ji Nanchuan was about to say something when Luo Jingshen cut him off again.

"Furthermore, the Crown Princess I intend to marry is the legitimate daughter of the Marquis's household—not a concubine's daughter, not an illegitimate child, and certainly not some country girl with no blood relation to you at all. I hope the Marquis understands that."

"It was you and Ji Qingqing who deceived me first. Before this, I had never once thought of calling off the engagement with Ji Qingqing. But now?"

"Not only do I have to endure the rumors and gossip from the outside world, I can't even hold my head up in the palace. I still have to go apologize and explain myself to my father and mother. With all these things piling up, am I not the victim here?"

"If the Marquis wants his silver back, that's not impossible—but first, let's see how you plan to compensate me for my reputation and losses!"

Ji Nanchuan was instantly at a loss for words.

He knew that with Luo Jingshen saying this, he probably had no intention of returning the silver!

"Your Highness, I truly didn't mean to deceive you..."

Back and forth, it was the same thing. Luo Jingshen's expression turned impatient as he said, "Enough! Save those words for my father. See if he can forgive you."

"I still have important matters to attend to. The Marquis may take his leave!"

Ji Nanchuan's heart sank in that instant. He didn't know how he walked out of the teahouse, only feeling as if heaven had played a cruel joke on him.

He looked up at the sky, feeling as though even the sun behind the clouds had lost its warmth.

In that moment, Ji Nanchuan felt cold all over.

He murmured to himself, "Could it be that I truly did wrong?"

"Is this Heaven's punishment for me for switching Ji Yuntang and casting her aside like a worn-out shoe?"

Ji Yuntang knew nothing of what was happening.

At that moment, she had finished her disguise and blended into the procession carrying the betrothal gifts, slipping into the Eastern Palace.

She looked just like one of the members of the gift-bearing procession.

Ji Yuntang followed them to the Eastern Palace's storeroom, watching as the guards neatly stacked the betrothal gifts inside, counted them once more, and then turned to leave.

Just before the door was locked, Ji Yuntang seized the moment when a guard turned to speak with someone else and quickly slipped inside.

The sound of the lock clicking echoed, and the storeroom fell into darkness.

Ji Yuntang pulled a small flashlight from her space, shining it over the one hundred and twenty chests of betrothal gifts. She quickly calculated the total in her mind.

------------