Chapter 488 Sending Betrothal Gifts

Chapter 488: Sending the Betrothal Gifts

Xu kicked her away, furious. "Save her, save her—she's already dead, how the hell are we supposed to save her?"

"What a waste of my prized fifty-year-old ginseng. If I'd known this little tramp was gonna kick the bucket so soon, I never would've given it to her. What a damn shame to waste my top-shelf ginseng on her."

Ming Xia's heart turned cold. In Xu's eyes, a human life wasn't worth a single root of ginseng.

Xu, however, just thought it was bad luck. Zhong Xinyu just had to go and die at this exact moment—how the hell was she supposed to explain this to Magistrate Zhong?

Tomorrow Ming Xia was supposed to marry in her place, so holding a funeral right now was out of the question.

Just as she was stuck between a rock and a hard place, Zhong Beiqi suddenly burst in, all excited. "Mother, great news—amazing news!"

"Someone said they saw Princess Ye putting together betrothal gifts, and she's gonna come to the Zhong residence to formally propose soon."

Xu asked, overjoyed, "Beiqi, is this true?"

Zhong Beiqi nodded. "It's true. Half the capital's talking about it—folks even saw Princess Ye's people out buying wedding stuff!"

The dark cloud over Xu's heart lifted instantly, and her face lit up with joy.

"Wonderful! So Princess Ye really didn't play us for fools. Since they're coming to deliver the betrothal gifts, I need to head down and get things ready. I can't have the folks from the Ye residence walk in and see this place in a shambles."

She turned to leave, but Ming Xia darted over and blocked her way.

"Madam, you can't leave. If you go, what's gonna happen to the young lady?"

Xu rolled her eyes and sneered, "She's dead—just have somebody drag her out back and bury her. What else is there to do?"

"I hired a doctor for her, I cooked ginseng and fed it to her. It's her own damn bad luck she didn't live long. What's that got to do with me? You're not expecting me to raise her from the dead, are you?"

Seeing Ming Xia's eyes all puffy from crying, Zhong Beiqi quickly said, "Mother, Sister is, after all, the legitimate daughter of the Zhong family. Just dragging her out and burying her like that won't fly—her spirit won't rest easy."

Xu had no idea what her eldest son was up to; she just thought his words sounded a bit off.

"Well then, what do you suggest we do?"

Zhong Beiqi pulled out a money pouch, fished out ten taels of loose silver, and handed them to a servant.

Then he said to Ming Xia, "The dead can't be brought back to life. I know you and your young lady grew up together and have a deep bond, but you've gotta think about your own future."

"How about this—I'll foot the bill myself and have the servants go buy a plain coffin, put your young lady in it, and have somebody bury her in the Zhong family plot. That way, she'll have a proper place to rest after death. What do you think?"

Ming Xia's eyes were red. After a long pause, she choked back her grief and said,

"Thank you, Eldest Young Master."

Zhong Beiqi smiled. "That's right. Nothing lasts forever. You've gotta look on the bright side. If your young lady knew you were doing okay, she'd be happy for you too."

Ming Xia pressed her lips together and stayed quiet. Seeing that, Zhong Beiqi shot Xu a knowing look.

Xu stepped forward and said, "Quit your crying, girl. It's not that I don't wanna give your young lady a proper funeral—it's just that we flat-out can't right now!"

"You know the mess the Zhong residence is in right now. You're supposed to take your young lady's place in the marriage tomorrow, so word of her death can't get out."

"As long as you keep this secret and play along with me, marry into the Ye residence without a hitch tomorrow, then from now on you'll be my daughter—the legitimate eldest young lady of the Zhong family."

"I promise you, once all this blows over, I'll find time to give Xin Yu a proper funeral. How's that sound?"

A fake smile hung on Xu's face, and Ming Xia felt like throwing up.

She knew this was just the mother and son's way of trying to get a grip on her—their goal was to use her for their own ends.

She clenched her fists tight and muttered, "Yes, this servant will follow Madam's arrangements."

Xu broke into a smile and grabbed Ming Xia's hand tightly.

"That's right. Go back, change your clothes, put on the Human Skin Mask, and doll yourself up real nice. When the folks from the Ye residence show up, you gotta play along with me and not slip up, got it?"

Ming Xia kept her head down, looking all obedient. "This servant understands!"

Once she was gone, Xu's face turned cold in an instant. She asked Zhong Beiqi icily,

"Beiqi, that little tramp's corpse—just wrap it in a ratty old mat and toss it out back. Why'd you have somebody buy her a coffin and promise to bury her in the Zhong family plot? Does she deserve that?"

Zhong Beiqi helped Xu along as they headed outside. "Mother, that was just a line I fed Ming Xia to fool her. If I hadn't said that, she'd be drowning in grief over Zhong Xinyu's death all day—how the hell would we get her to play along?"

"Besides, once the servants haul the coffin out, who's gonna know if she's buried in the family plot or just dumped in some random hole?"

Xu mulled it over and figured he had a point. She praised him without missing a beat, "Our Beiqi's so clever—you've got that girl Ming Xia's head all figured out."

After the mother and son left, Ming Xia stepped out from behind the wall, fury boiling in her chest.

She'd always known the Xu mother and son didn't treat her young lady right, but she never dreamed they could be this low.

If she didn't know this was all part of Princess Ye's scheme, she'd have exposed their dirty deeds right then and there and made them eat their own medicine.

An hour later, Chen Hu led a grand procession of betrothal gifts, rolling up to the Zhong residence gates in style.

Xu and Magistrate Zhong caught wind of this and rushed out to greet them in person.

"We had no idea the Ye residence would grace us with a visit—please forgive us for not rolling out the welcome mat."

Chen Hu gave the two of them a once-over and said coolly, "I'm here on orders from our princess to formally present betrothal gifts for the eldest young lady of the Zhong family. That's eighteen loads of gifts, plus a hundred thousand taels in banknotes."

As soon as he finished speaking, the guards carrying the gifts flung open every chest.

Xu's eyes nearly popped out of her head!

Inside the eighteen redwood chests were neatly arranged jewels and family heirlooms—every single chest was packed with fine things she'd never laid eyes on.

And in the small chest Chen Hu was holding sat several thick stacks of banknotes.

Chen Hu said, "Our princess said that even though the eldest young lady of the Zhong family is marrying in as a concubine, she was once a princess and the only legitimate daughter of Magistrate Zhong—so proper etiquette has to be observed."

"Please do accept this humble gift, Magistrate Zhong and Madam Xu."

Xu's grin stretched so wide she couldn't shut her mouth. She stepped right up and snatched the banknotes out of Chen Hu's hands.

"Accepted, accepted! Princess Ye is way too generous, sending all this stuff over. Our Xin Yu is truly blessed!"

Chen Hu rolled his eyes on the inside. This Xu woman was definitely money-hungry—but she was counting her chickens way too early!

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