Demoting my wife to a concubine? After being reborn, I turned around and married into the imperial f

Zhou Qing then opened his mouth, cupped his hands, and laughed loudly, "Great news, Lord Marquis! Miss Chu has caught the Emperor's eye because of the betrothal gift case. Today, I, Zhou, have come to present you with silver."

Upon hearing this, Chu Zhanpeng beamed, his eyes filled with pride as he looked at Chu Wanrou: "What merits has my daughter accumulating to be favored by His Majesty?"

Chu Wanrou showed a shy expression and smiled slightly.

The three young masters of the Chu family were even more proud and looked at Chu Wanrou with great surprise.

Looking at the expressions of the group, Zhou Qing, though puzzled, still smiled at Chu Zhanpeng and said, "Today, I confiscated valuables from the Chongding Marquis's residence, which have been converted into cash. Of these, 30,000 taels of silver have already been handed over to the national treasury. As for the remaining 10,000 taels, they are now being given to your Miss Chu."

"Rou'er, aren't you going up? This is the money to compensate for the inferior betrothal gifts," Chu Mingli said with a smile.

"Good. Rou'er, go quickly, your third brother is watching you," Chu Mingxuan said excitedly.

As for Chu Mingyuan, although he didn't say anything, he supported him with his eyes.

With Li Yi's beaming support, Chu Wanrou bit her lip, gracefully stepped forward, and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Lord Zhou."

Zhou Qing raised an eyebrow, not even glancing at her, but simply smiled slightly, reaching into his wide sleeve with his left hand to pull out a ten-thousand-tael silver note, and walked towards Chu Xunzhen.

"Miss Chu, here are some silver notes for you."

As Zhou Qing finished speaking, the candlelight in the hall flickered, and the laughter that had filled the room suddenly vanished, replaced by a deathly silence where only the sound of breathing could be heard.

Chu Wanrou was even more incredulous. Her eyes suddenly reddened, and she clenched her handkerchief tightly. She wanted to speak, but dared not open her mouth. She just stood there, feeling wronged.

"My lord, why was the money intended as compensation for the betrothal gifts from the Marquis of Chongding's residence given to Chu Xunzhen?"

Li Yi looked at Rou'er with heartache, then coldly asked Zhou Qing.

"Madam, you are confined to your quarters and have lost your power to manage the household. Isn't Miss Chu currently the most powerful woman in the Marquis's household? May I ask what problem this official has with his actions?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yi's expression became quite interesting.

Being confined to her quarters and stripped of her housekeeping duties made her lose face.

At this moment, when someone said it so casually, the expression on her face was as colorful as if a palette had been overturned.

Chu Xunzhen smiled slightly at Zhou Qing, indicating that she understood.

Zhou Qing still had a somewhat wicked sense of humor; he was enjoying watching the Marquis's mansion make a fool of itself.

"Mother, if you had been more magnanimous in your younger years and allowed Father to take a concubine, we wouldn't have had to deal with this situation after all, leaving me, an unmarried girl, to take the blame?" A cold smile flashed across Chu Xunzhen's eyes.

Upon hearing this, Li Yi almost vomited blood, but with Zhou Qing present, she had to suppress her anger.

"Chu Xunzhen, how could you say such a thing?" Chu Mingyuan's voice was icy.

Zhou Qing ignored them and continued addressing the people from the Ping'an Marquis's residence: "The total value of the Chongding Marquis's property, when converted into cash, is 130,000 taels of silver. The remaining 90,000 taels is from the proceeds of the sale of medicinal herbs, and it all belongs to Miss Chu. Miss Chu, please accept the silver notes."

The candlelight flickered in the hall, and the nine silver notes, each worth ten thousand taels, emitted an alluring stench of money in the candlelight.

Chu Mingyuan lunged forward, his hand reaching for the silver note, but when he caught sight of Zhou Qing's ambiguous smile, his fingers twitched slightly, and he abruptly stopped.

As for Chu Mingli, he appeared calm and collected on the surface, but at this moment, his eyes were flashing wildly as he pondered one method after another, wanting to pocket the silver.

Chu Mingxuan snorted coldly, his temper flaring, seemingly quite displeased with Chu Xun holding the silver notes.

Li Yi's face was ashen, filled with frustration and anger.

The most excited was Chu Zhanpeng. His palms trembled, and he leaned forward as if the silver had already gone into his pocket.

Chu Xunzhen smiled slightly, not giving it much thought. Ignoring the gazes of those around him, he accepted the silver notes and casually put them away. These ninety thousand taels would be just enough for his foster brother to start a business.

"Lord Zhou, when will we receive the remaining 60,000 taels of silver?" It was Chu Zhanpeng who spoke.

He didn't have enough money to proceed to the next step, so he had to find out the details.

Zhou Qing raised an eyebrow, gave Chu Zhanpeng a deep look, and said, "I will tell Miss Chu about this privately. The distribution of silver in front of everyone this time is to demonstrate the majesty of the royal family. Everyone, please remember not to engage in any acts of plunder, otherwise the Emperor will be furious, and the Chongding Marquis's mansion will serve as a cautionary tale."

Everyone's faces turned ashen.

Although it wasn't said explicitly, it was clearly a veiled criticism, implying that they were deliberately making things difficult for Chu Xunzhen and trying to steal her money.

"Lord Zhou, aren't you meddling a bit too much?" Chu Mingxuan flicked his long sleeve with his right hand, his cold voice ringing out, "The affairs of my Marquis's residence are none of your business, a mere Five Cities Garrison Command."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qing remained unperturbed: "A mere protector of the Gu Sect dares to look down on an official of the imperial court. If you were the Holy Son of the Gu Sect, I might hold you in higher regard. But as a mere protector, I cannot fathom where you get the confidence to speak to me like this."

Chu Mingxuan stood up straight, patted his muscular chest, and said, "This young master is a disciple of the Great Saintess of the Gu Sect, and I also studied under the Third Saintess, who is also half my teacher. How dare you, a mere garrison commander of the Five Cities, dare to speak so arrogantly to me?"

Zhou Qing remained unfazed, his left hand stroking the jade-inlaid gold official seal at his waist, while his right hand pointed to the sky: "You are a citizen of Da Ning, and the son of a marquis. You should know that the law must come first in all matters. If you are dissatisfied with what I have done today, you can submit a memorial to the emperor, instead of competing here with your laughable background."

Chu Mingxuan was about to retort when suddenly Pei Changqing, who had just arrived, grabbed his hand.

"Lord Zhou, you flatter me. Brother Mingxuan was unaware of your identity, but Changqing is. Please do not hold it against Brother Mingxuan."

Seeing the confusion in everyone's eyes, Pei Changqing finally spoke up: "Lord Zhou Qing is the son of the Heavenly Sect Master. He left the mountain before he even reached adulthood."

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes widened in surprise.

Chu Mingxuan, in particular, turned pale and then flushed.

Chu Xunzhen admired his pale face, smiled gently, and patted his shoulder: "Chu Mingxuan, you keep saying you are a disciple of the Great Saintess, but has the Great Saintess ever visited the Marquis's residence? As for the Third Saintess you mentioned, if she knew that you were using her name to bully your younger sister, I wonder if she would still value you?"

Chu Mingxuan moved his lips, but couldn't utter a word for a long time.

He was pulled away by Pei Changqing.

"Sister, the money from selling the medicinal herbs is rightfully yours. But the ten thousand taels of silver that was supposed to be my betrothal gift should be kept by Father and Mother. How can you keep refusing to return it?" Chu Wanrou's eyes were slightly red, and her voice was aggrieved, clearly indicating that she was very unhappy.

Chu Xunzhen smiled and said, "This money is compensation to the Marquis of Ping'an's public funds, which I will keep in the public funds. As for who uses it, they can simply report to the steward."

Zhou Qing nodded slightly, gave Chu Xunzhen an appreciative look, and said, "Miss Chu is fair and just in managing the household. I admire her."

Li Yi's face was grim. Zhou Qing was subtly trying to find fault with her management of the household.

"Lord Zhou, you flatter me. Is it alright to talk over here?" Chu Xunzhen gestured for him to enter.

Zhou Qing readily agreed. He was about to explain the remaining 60,000 taels to Chu Xunzhen in detail.

Watching the two walk aside to talk, a hint of jealousy flashed in Chu Wanrou's eyes.

Unaware that her sharp nails were digging into her palm, Chu Wanrou stared intently at Chu Xunzhen. Thinking of her grandfather's birthday banquet, a cold glint flashed in her eyes.

"Chu Xunzhen, you forced me to do this."

Chu Wanrou lowered her head and looked down, her eyes bloodshot.

First, they ruined her engagement with the Crown Prince, then they destroyed the Third Prince's good impression of her. Now, the Five Cities Garrison dares to ignore her.

Just as she was fuming, a commotion suddenly arose outside the Marquis's residence.

"Imperial edict has arrived!" The high-pitched voice of the imperial eunuch, Cao, rang out.