Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 777 - 775

Chapter 777: Chapter 775

Mrs. Gu returned to the Mansion and hurried to the small Buddhist temple. She looked around, wondering if she could sneak in and take something to pawn.

Otherwise, where was she going to find 1,000 taels of silver?

Upon hearing that Mrs. Gu had returned, Du Zhongkai came back to the main courtyard. Not finding her there, he asked the maid about her whereabouts. The maid hesitated in her response, causing Du Zhongkai to suspect that Mrs. Gu might have gone to the warehouse.

It had always been like this before, it was practically second nature!

Du Zhongkai went over and found Mrs. Gu trying to pry open the window of the small Buddhist temple. Annoyed, he scolded, "Mrs. Gu, what are you doing?"

Startled by Du Zhongkai’s voice, Mrs. Gu dropped the tool she was using, which landed on her foot. The pain made her squat down, holding her foot, tears filled her eyes, "Master, why are you shouting so loud! Don’t you know that scaring people can cause them to die of fright?"

"Those who have a clear conscience are never alarmed at night! Mrs. Gu, there’s nothing left inside! There’s no need to pry!"

"How could you, Master! You gave all of Du family’s property to Du Yijin, are we supposed to live off the north wind?" Mrs. Gu was furious at these words.

"I receive a stipend every month, which is enough for our family! When you transferred all the Du’s family wealth to your parental home before, didn’t we still manage to live without starving?"

"How dare you, Master! All the Du family’s property was transferred to my parental home! What’s in this room? This room is not just a small Buddhist temple, it is also a warehouse! On the day of Du Yijin’s wedding, I saw people from Prince An’s Mansion carrying dowry piece after piece from it!"

"Enough! You dare to mention Yijin’s dowry! The dowry in the Buddhist temple was left by Yijin’s deceased mother, who stipulated that unless it was used for Yijin’s dowry or Yijin and Chun’an were seriously ill and needed the money for their treatment, no one was allowed to move it! When others are mothers, you are also a mother! She took into account situations that could arise decades in the future for her children! And you? You would even steal your daughter’s dowry! Mrs. Gu, you’ve embarrassed me, Du Zhongkai, to the extreme! You’ve nearly brought disaster to the Du Mansion! Listen, you must return the dowry you stole yesterday immediately! Otherwise, I’ll jail you!"

He had had enough over the years! If it hadn’t been for his talented children, he would really be living off the north wind today! Du Zhongkai was furious.

Mrs. Gu was so scared that she dared not speak for a while.

It took her a while to regain her composure. Blinking anxiously she stuttered, "I, I do not know what Master is talking about, what dowry? When did I, when did I steal a dowry?"

Seeing her refuse to admit it, Du Zhongkai stomped on the door with a loud bang and gritted his teeth, "Don’t play dumb with me! In this house who besides you has an extra hand! Hand it over quickly! Do you know that by stealing Yijin’s dowry, you damage her reputation in Prince An’s Mansion? Where do you expect our Du family to put our face? What about Chun’an and Chunkang’s future marriages? If you don’t hand it over today! Go back to Gu family and never return! We, the Du family, can’t afford to keep you!"

Du Zhongkai, full of anger and outrage, was angrier than he had ever been before.

"Ah!" Mrs. Gu shrieked, huddled into a ball on the floor, too scared to say a word.

What to do? The dowry was gone, but Du Zhongkai seemed truly angry this time. She knew he would divorce her!

When Du Yijin got married, she had a bad feeling when she was not allowed to partake in the ceremony of paying homage to Du Yijin and the Prince An’s heir.

"Where is the dowry!" Du Zhongkai, seeing her silent, asked again.

"Master, the dowry is gone. Hongxia is seriously injured. I..." Mrs. Gu cried as she clung to the hem of Du Zhongkai’s robe.

"I asked you where the dowry is! Don’t make me repeat myself!" Du Zhongkai cut her off, repeating his question through gritted teeth.

"I pawned it!" Mrs. Gu wished she could find a hole and hide in it.

Du Zhongkai inhaled sharply out of anger, then exhaled to control his impulse to hit her. "Where are the pawn ticket and silver banknotes!"

"Dead, dead pawn, the silver banknotes were taken by, by my mother. Hongxia..."

"Get out! Go back to your Gu family and bring back the silver banknotes! If not, I am not finished with you!" Du Zhongkai roared, then kicked Mrs. Gu aside and strode away!

He had to hurry up and tell his son-in-law about this, so he could redeem it. Even if he had to abandon his dignity, he couldn’t allow the jade bracelet passed down from the Empress Dowager to be lost!

If that happened, wouldn’t Yijin become the historic criminal of Prince An’s Mansion!

"Master, Master, Hongxia’s life is hanging by a thread, that money was to save her life! I..." Mrs. Gu called out to him as he left, trying to give an explanation.

Du Zhongkai turned back in a rage, "Are you refusing to go and get it! Then go back to your mother’s house and never come back! I’ll have the divorce letter sent to you right away! Guards, send Mrs. Gu back to Gu family!"

This was outrageous! Everything was about the Gu family, Gu Hongxia, Gu Honggen! So he, Du Zhongkai, could treat his own children any which way he pleased! In that case, she should go back to the Gu family!

When Mrs. Gu heard this, she quickly shook her head, "Don’t! I will go back to the mansion to fetch it now! Don’t divorce me!"

Du Zhongkai turned and strode off.

...

Prince An’s Mansion

Du Zhongkai wrote a letter and sent it to Shangguan Ruixi. Shangguan Ruixi had just finished reading the letter and was thinking of sending someone to the pawnshop to retrieve the items.

The man that Furong had sent to inquire had also returned with news. The information he received was more detailed than what was in Du Zhongkai’s letter.

Apparently, the pawnshop owner had already handed over the jewelry to the owner of the shop.

When Furong informed Shangguan Ruixi of the news, Shangguan Ruixi sighed at the speed of Mrs. Gu and especially the speed of the pawnshop owner. However, with such an heirloom at stake, anyone would rush to report it, "Who owns that pawnshop?"

"That pawnshop is owned by the An family."

"The An family? Which An family?" Shangguan Ruixi felt unwell when he heard this.

"The pawnshop backed by the dowry of the Prince’s great-aunt." That’s why Furong felt that the Prince should handle this matter personally.

Young Master An and the Prince had been at odds since childhood!

Shangguan Ruixi felt as if he had been struck by lightning!

As he was leaving the palace today, he seemed to see An Cheng accompanying his great-aunt into the palace!

It couldn’t be such a coincidence! God wouldn’t play such a joke on him!

Even though he thought so, Shangguan Ruixi immediately jumped up and ran out!

Today he must be in some sort of trouble! Otherwise, why would one disaster follow another so closely?

Heaven, please don’t let his heirloom end up in the hands of the Empress Dowager! Otherwise, this would be a massive blunder!