Tianliangyuan

Chapter 173 Cheng Yuan, the Super Rich

Cheng Yuan's demands are excessive.

Given her status as the daughter of a disgraced official, she could never marry Xie Sanlang. She wouldn't even qualify as a concubine, let alone a wife.

But Prince Zhong would certainly not provoke Cheng Yuan at this time, because he still needed what she had.

"I need to plan this matter carefully; it cannot be rushed."

"can."

Cheng Yuan agreed readily, clearly aware of how rude her request was.

But she also knew that for the truly powerful and wealthy, no matter how unreasonable the request, they could fulfill it if they wanted to.

To put it bluntly, even simply changing Cheng Yuan's identity would be an easy task for them.

After returning to his inner quarters, Prince Zhong couldn't help but tell Princess Zhao Yue about it.

The reason he sought out the Princess Consort instead of Lady Jiang was because he knew that the Princess Consort came from a more powerful family and was a true noblewoman. The household management skills she had learned since childhood were far superior to those of Jiang Ning.

After hearing this, Zhao Yue indeed did not take it seriously.

“She’s too greedy. And if we have to wait until her marriage with Xie Sanlang is settled before we agree to hand over what the prince wants, then we’ll be at a huge loss.”

This is precisely what King Zhong is unhappy about.

"Then what does Your Highness think?"

"She doesn't have to hand over the stuff now, but shouldn't she at least show us what she's got the guts? She has nothing, just empty words, yet she expects such a huge reward. Isn't she afraid of escalating her own ego?"

The Loyal King nodded, agreeing with the assessment.

"Your Highness, rest assured, leave this matter to me. However, I must ask first, are you certain that this Cheng Yuan possesses what you seek?"

Prince Zhong was not really sure. It was all Cheng Yuan's own words, and since there were indeed assassins who wanted her dead, he suspected Cheng Yuan.

"It's hard to say, but Cheng Yuan does have a group of assassins under her command, numbering around thirty."

Zhao Yue suddenly laughed: "Your Highness, she was chased all the way from Jizhou to the capital, but she was unharmed. The old woman who was with her was only injured. Do you think it was because her assassins came to her rescue, or were those assassins originally extraordinary?"

King Zhong was taken aback; he hadn't really thought of that.

He always thought that the other party didn't kill Cheng Yuan because they wanted to force her to find the hiding place of the Cheng family's century-old wealth. That's why they spared her life and wanted to see if she could eventually reach a dead end.

Now that I've heard what the princess said, it seems like both possibilities are possible!

"Your Highness, what benefits can we gain besides those assassins? Even if Cheng Yuan has that token, we cannot be sure that the valuables are still safe and sound. Therefore, I think we should make Cheng Yuan give us some benefits first, and then we can make further plans."

"Very well, everything will be as the Princess says."

Cheng Yuan received an invitation from the Prince Zhong's residence, but it was signed by Madam Jiang.

Cheng Yuan had heard that the Prince of Zhong doted on this Lady Jiang, so he must have arranged for Lady Jiang to appear so that they could meet openly and legitimately.

Jiang Ning did want to meet Cheng Yuan, but this was all on the prince's orders. He wanted her to probe Cheng Yuan's background, and it would be best if Cheng Yuan could return some of her wealth first.

Rumor has it that when the Ningguo Duke's mansion was raided, the seized property was seriously inconsistent with the Cheng family's account books, and a large amount of gold and silver went missing.

Therefore, for the past few years, someone has been secretly investigating this batch of assets.

Many parties are watching closely.

That's no small amount.

Cheng Yuan knew that Jiang Ning had Grand Tutor Jiang behind her, and if she could really get in touch with her, it would be better than always risking her life to see Prince Zhong.

After much deliberation, Cheng Yuan ordered the old servant to go out for a while. When he returned, the old servant was followed by an oxcart with several boxes on it, which were then unloaded one by one.

While unloading the goods, one of them accidentally knocked over a box, revealing some obviously old clothes inside.

As a result, the few families who had been secretly spying on their house all backed away, thinking it was copper coins, but it turned out to be nothing.

Once the box was carried into the house, the two maids arranged by Qi Yunze also withdrew.

The box wasn't heavy, so it definitely wasn't containing gold or silver.

However, they were clearly too arbitrary.

The old servant closed the door and then muttered to herself as she tidied the clothes. The people outside, hearing her grumbling, all dispersed with disgusted expressions.

Once the old servant saw that there were no more eavesdroppers in the courtyard, he carefully and gently unfolded an old garment that was crumpled up, revealing what was inside.

These old clothes were just a cover; inside three or four old clothes was a jade Buddha about half a foot tall. In one box, there was only this jade Buddha, along with a pair of embroidered shoes inlaid with gems and pearls.

If all the pearls on those shoes were removed, they could at least provide a year's worth of food for a family of five.

Four boxes were brought back in total. The box that the old servant deliberately overturned did indeed contain old clothes, but after all the old clothes were taken out, the bottom partition was exposed.

This box holds a secret!

Open the bottom partition to reveal six gold ingots.

The gold ingots are not heavy, each weighing about half a pound. In addition, there is a small, flat wooden box.

After taking it out, there were several wooden hairpins inside!

This is no ordinary wooden hairpin; it is made of valuable Phoebe zhennan wood!

The price of a single wooden hairpin could probably buy a small courtyard.

Cheng Yuan was also trying to please Jiang Ning, and at the same time let Prince Zhong know that she had something real, so that he would no longer suspect that she was lying.

When Jiang Ning saw the jewelry in front of her, she was quite surprised.

She casually wrapped two precious hairpins made of Phoebe zhennan wood in a handkerchief and brought them over.

Can't you even afford a jewelry box?

Jiang Ning had a general understanding of Cheng Yuan's current situation.

Nine times out of ten, this is because they're afraid of being targeted.

“Miss Cheng, you’re too kind. We did meet back then, but we were both quite young and it was in a crowded place, so it’s normal that we don’t remember clearly.”

As a girl from a wealthy family, she would generally reduce the number of times she went out after the age of seven, until she was thirteen or fourteen, when she could appropriately participate in some occasions because of marriage proposals.

Clearly, Cheng Yuan no longer had this opportunity when the Cheng family ran into trouble.

"I would like to ask Madam Jiang to pass this jade Buddha on to His Highness. To be honest, I am ashamed to say that I have heard that Prince Zhong is benevolent and filial, and has personally copied Buddhist scriptures and offered them before the Buddha many times. I am just a commoner and do not believe in Buddhism, so it would be a waste for such a good thing to stay with me. I might as well use this to present it to His Highness as a token of my goodwill."