A Maid's Survival Story in a Noble Family Mansion? Rich Landlords Are More Appealing.

"Extortion?"

Faced with Liu's accusations, Chen Wanxing reacted as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world. Far from being angry, she chuckled softly, a laugh laced with undisguised mockery. She calmly smoothed her sleeves and said slowly and deliberately:

"Second Aunt, do you know that the jewelry I bought for Qinghui and the others in the county town today cost more than one tael of silver per piece? Add to that the silver locket necklace I bought for Xin'er and the others, and that's more than ten taels. And then there are the snacks, pastries, meals, and car rentals I brought for the family."

With each word she spoke, Liu's face paled a little more, and the Chen family members were increasingly shocked. They all knew that Chen Wanxing must have some savings, but they never expected her to spend so lavishly.

"Ten taels of silver," Chen Wanxing leaned slightly closer to the pale-faced Liu, his voice low. To Liu, however, each word was like a knife. "It's merely the price of a gilded hairpin that the Madam casually gifted me when I was at the Marquis's residence. Would I bother to extort you for such a small amount? To slander my own aunt and her family?"

Her words were extremely blunt. After she finished speaking, she straightened up and glanced at Liu, whose face was full of horror, as well as the crowd who were stunned and staring at her blankly.

Liu was speechless, her face flushed red: "You...you have no evidence. Your words are just slander."

"Evidence?" Chen Wanxing seemed to have heard something interesting. She stood up, her posture upright. The air she had cultivated in the Marquis's mansion, different from that of an ordinary farmer, was inadvertently revealed, carrying a sense of condescension and oppression.

"Second Aunt, some things don't necessarily need to be presented with explicit evidence. Everyone knows the truth, right? Second Aunt, you can go back to your parents' home and ask them yourself."

Besides, how do you know I don't have any evidence? Let me tell you, I have a special incense powder in my box, brought by a merchant from the Western Regions. The scent is very faint and not easily noticed by ordinary people, but once you get it on, it won't dissipate for ten days or half a month, and it can't be washed off with water. It's specially made to prevent people who don't know the rules from messing with things.

"Tomorrow you can go and smell one of your relatives; see if they have a unique, faint fragrance, unlike the ones we usually see in the countryside."

Liu trembled. She believed Chen Wanxing's words because Chen Wanxing had been back for several days and she hadn't seen him use any perfumes or balms, but he always had a faint fragrance on him, unlike anyone else in the village.

Looking at Chen Wanxing's confident expression, as if everything was under control, the last bit of hope and resolve in her heart deflated quickly, like a punctured balloon. She believed him, at least seven or eight parts of it.

Would my little brother really do something like this? Steal things from my married sister's house?

Chen Wanxing paused, looking at Liu's pale face, which was trying to appear calm, and continued, "For your sake and my second uncle's sake, I don't want to cause trouble in the government and become a laughing stock for the neighbors. So, Second Aunt, I'll give your Liu family a chance. Bring the money to me before noon tomorrow, and I'll pretend this never happened."

"Noon?" Liu gasped. "If I don't go and ask about the situation first, you might be mistaken."

Chen Wanxing didn't respond to that, but insisted, "Either the money is delivered before noon tomorrow, or who knows what I might do."

After she finished speaking, she turned to Grandma Chen and Father Chen, no longer looking at Liu's pale and flushed face: "Grandma, Father, that's how it is. How to handle it depends on Second Aunt and the Liu family's choice. I'm tired, I'm going back to my room first."

The atmosphere in the main room was heavy and subtle. Grandma Chen gave her second son a deep look, and finally said to Liu, "Did you hear that? You should have a sense of right and wrong. That's your family; go and find out for yourself. If it's true, pay back what you owe and compensate what you owe. Don't let the whole family lose face because of you."

Liu stammered, as if unwilling to accept it. She was genuinely afraid that the money had truly been taken by her family. The thought of the embarrassing scene she might face tomorrow made her unwilling to confront it. For some reason, she started making wild accusations.

"Mother, Wanxing isn't married yet, so she's a member of the Chen family. We, along with the third branch of the family, all have to contribute our money to the public treasury. Why is she the exception?"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the main room frowned. Chen's mother was so angry that her hands trembled, but before she could even refute, Chen's second uncle, who had been silent with an ugly expression, finally couldn't hold back any longer. He suddenly stood up, grabbed Liu's arm, and grabbed it so hard that Liu cried out "Ouch!"

"Shut up! Aren't you embarrassed enough already?" Uncle Chen roared, his voice filled with suppressed anger. "Come on, go back to your room, don't embarrass yourself here!" Without another word, he practically dragged the staggering Liu Shi towards the east wing of their second house, his back view radiating fury.

Everyone else watched silently, and no one spoke for a moment. Only when they were about to leave the main room did Grandma Chen say something:

"Second brother, you should also be mindful of yourself. Yanxin, Qiuju, and Dongmei are all good children. Don't put them in a difficult position. You should discipline them when necessary, but you also need to consider their feelings and perspectives."

"You're blind too. We others don't know what her in-laws are like because we haven't had much contact with them, but you go there every holiday, don't you know? From now on, don't bring these kids along for holidays."

After everyone left, Aunt Chen curled her lip and spat inwardly, thinking, "That fool, he's really blinded by greed."

Even now, they still dare to accuse Wanxing and covet her money? Ever since Wanxing was sold, her household registration has been cancelled, and she has no connection with the Chen family whatsoever. The fact that she came back to acknowledge her relatives and is now willing to call them "father" and "mother" is already considered benevolent. If it were someone heartless, they would simply disown this family and not care about her parents or elders, and no one could say anything against her, and they would be powerless to do anything about it.

Pay back the money from home? I don't know how someone could say that, they have such a big mouth!

Thinking of this, Aunt Chen rolled her eyes and complained to her husband in a low voice, "See? I don't know what kind of pig your second sister-in-law is. I've really learned something new today."

Uncle Chen gave a muffled "hmm," clearly also extremely dissatisfied with his second sister-in-law's words and actions today.

That night, many were destined to be sleepless. In the east wing of the second house, suppressed arguments and weeping continued for a long time. Chen Wanxing, in her own room, listened to the faint sounds, her face calm and expressionless.

Some boundaries must be drawn more clearly, and some people's shamelessness must be completely exposed, otherwise they will still try to take advantage of her and treat her like a pushover.