Xiao Yun opened his mouth wide, demanding twenty thousand taels of silver.
Grand Tutor Wei stood unmoving, his pupils suddenly constricting.
"Hehehe, isn't twenty thousand taels a bit too much?" he asked Xiao Yun with a forced smile.
Wei Wen Ci, from inside, shouted, "Exactly! A servant is worth at most a hundred or eighty taels, and he wants twenty thousand? Does he deserve it?"
Xiao Yun sneered, staring into Grand Tutor Wei's eyes. "You know in your heart whether he deserves it or not."
A gold bar was not worth twenty thousand taels, but with his status as the Prince of Ding'an and his future princess consort, twenty thousand taels was still a small sum.
Grand Tutor Wei and Xiao Yun met each other's gaze. The old eyes still held a sharp glint, but under Xiao Yun's fearless stare, that glint slowly dimmed.
He conceded.
"Twenty thousand taels is not a small sum. Your Highness, give me three days. In three days, I will send someone with the silver notes to Prince Ding'an's manor."
Wei Wen Ci cried out in shock, "Grandfather, are you crazy? We don't need to be afraid of him..."
"Shut your mouth!" Grand Tutor Wei shot him a glare, and Wei Wen Ci immediately fell silent. He glared resentfully at Xiao Yun, his face flushed with anger.
Twenty thousand taels...
Wei Wen Ci felt as if his heart was bleeding profusely.
Wang Qing Yao only found out later that Xiao Yun had demanded twenty thousand taels of silver from Grand Tutor Wei.
She calculated that twenty thousand taels of silver was equivalent to about forty million yuan in RMB.
Tsk, she was indeed valuable.
Of course, the twenty thousand taels would not all go to her alone. Xiao Yun said, "You get ten thousand taels, Jin Tiao gets five thousand taels, and the remaining five thousand taels will be divided equally among the other four dark guards and Yin Zhu."
So thoughtful, even Yin Zhu got a share.
"And you?"
He smiled, "I have money, I don't care."
He went to see Jin Tiao again and told him about the matter. Jin Tiao miraculously woke up that very night.
Indeed, the power of money was great.
When Yin Zhu found out, the anxiety that had been weighing on her heart finally lifted. She thanked the heavens and earth and kowtowed to all the deities.
***
Wang Da relayed Bai Shi's words to Old Madam Wang. Although the old madam resented Bai Shi, she had to admit that Bai Shi had a point.
However, the old madam was unwilling to release Bai Shi just like that.
Before she could finish her agonizing deliberation, Xiao Yun approached Wang Da.
Xiao Yun was accompanied by Xiao Ba Zi, who was bound tightly.
Xiao Ba Zi was a close friend of the nephew of the steward of the Wang family's outer court. It was he who had bribed the mountain bandits with ten taels of silver to defile Wang Qing Yao when she and Bai Shi returned from the third-day celebration of Duke Wenyuan's granddaughter.
Wang Da had almost forgotten about the incident. After a moment of confusion, he vaguely recalled it.
"I remember Yao Yao didn't seem to have any trouble, only that some jewelry was lost..." Wang Da observed Xiao Yun's expression cautiously. "Were the jewelry pieces recovered?"
Xiao Yun nodded, "Yes, the mountain bandits were also caught, and they confessed that it was this person, Xiao Ba Zi, who incited them."
Xiao Ba Zi was in his early twenties, with a shifty, rat-like appearance. Wang Da looked at him several times, confirming he didn't recognize him.
Xiao Yun ordered someone to remove the rag stuffed in Xiao Ba Zi's mouth and said expressionlessly, "Speak for yourself."
Xiao Ba Zi looked as if he had lost his parents. He addressed Wang Da, "I am a good friend of the nephew of Steward Cheng, the steward of your manor's outer court. It was Steward Cheng who asked me to bribe the mountain bandits..."
"Nonsense!" Wang Da retorted instinctively.
Xiao Ba Zi became anxious, "If Your Lordship doesn't believe me, you can summon him for a confrontation. I have no enmity with the Second Miss Wang, why would I harm her? Wasn't it Steward Cheng who gave me twenty taels of silver? I still have twelve taels left from that twenty taels, hidden in the earthen kang in the middle of my home's stove."
Wang Da was dumbfounded. Steward Cheng had no enmity with Wang Qing Yao either!
He was indeed an old hand at navigating official circles. Recalling recent events, he suddenly understood everything.
Bai Shi, that fool!
Seeing that Wang Da had figured it out, Xiao Yun said, "The Wang family is, after all, the maternal family of my future princess consort. By rights, I should save her some face. Since she will be marrying soon, I can overlook past matters. However, if there are any mishaps at the wedding," his tone suddenly became stern, "I will not tolerate it."
Wang Da understood. Xiao Yun did not want Bai Shi to interfere with the wedding.
"But..." Bai Shi was the only legitimate wife in the Wang family.
Xiao Yun gave a cold smile, "Please trouble Old Madam to work hard. If she is truly too busy, Prince Ding'an's manor can send people to assist."
How could that be? The Wang family would lose face.
Wang Da gritted his teeth and agreed.
***
In fact, most of the preparations for Wang Qing Yao and Xiao Yun's wedding had been completed by the Ministry of Rites. On the wedding day itself, officials from the Ministry of Rites would be present to manage affairs.
The old madam's burden was mainly in entertaining guests.
Having her accompany guests and converse from morning to night would likely take half her life.
Wang Da pondered for a whole night and thought of Bai Jun Ya, the future daughter-in-law of Wang Zi Jing.
It wasn't as if there were no precedents for a wife who couldn't manage affairs to have her future daughter-in-law act on her behalf.
Wang Da shared his idea with the old madam, and she agreed.
She had initially looked down on Bai Jun Ya, but now she sent people to call her over to chat every day. Later, she even had Bai Jun Ya stay in her courtyard.
Bai Shi waited for a long time but received no reply from Wang Da, so she knew her plan had failed.
Although she was confined, her news was still well-informed.
Wang Zi Jing did not know about her offense and only thought she was ill. He came to pay his respects every day, and the servants did not dare to slight her.
Even if Concubine Ying was in charge now, so what?
This household would eventually belong to Wang Zi Jing. Once Wang Zi Jing inherited the family business, would he continue to keep his own mother confined?
Furthermore, she wouldn't have to wait that long. Wang Zi Jing was getting married next year. Could his birth mother not be present at his wedding?
Bai Shi understood all these points.
But she couldn't endure it for that long.
She was the mistress of the Wang family.
She secretly ordered someone to summon Wang Zi Jing and told him that she was not ill at all, and that Wang Da, influenced by the pillow talk of Concubines Chun Lan and Xia He, believed she intended to harm Wang Qing Yao, which was why he had confined her.
Wang Zi Jing frowned, suspecting, "Father is not such a muddle-headed person. Besides, why would Mother want to harm Sister Yao? Father would realize it's impossible with a little thought."
Bai Shi sighed, "Yes, you can figure it out, but your father is muddle-headed! It's all my fault for choosing four beautiful maids to accompany Yao Yao as dowry maids. Yao Yao still resents me for it... It's also my fault for not discussing it with Yao Yao. I only thought that the Prince of Ding'an had a curse, so whether it was her or a concubine, having a child early would be good..."
This was the first time Wang Zi Jing had heard of this. He did not participate in inner-court struggles and focused on his studies. He subconsciously believed Bai Shi's words.
Indeed, Wang Qing Yao did resent her.
"Father has always respected Mother, how could he easily believe the concubines?"
Bai Shi looked grief-stricken, "Your father, he was better when he was young. The older he gets... alas, those two concubines are younger than you..."
Wang Zi Jing's face burned.
He knew of Wang Da's lecherous nature, but a son should not speak ill of his father. Whether to take concubines or not was not his place to manage.
Even if Wang Da took a hundred concubines, he couldn't say a word of objection.
However, if it involved his mother...
"I will go and ask Father for clarification. I will never allow Mother to be wronged."
Bai Shi was very satisfied with Wang Zi Jing's reaction. She was not afraid of Wang Zi Jing knowing what she had done.
Wouldn't her own son help her?