Chapter 81: Collide

Tan Qingjiu had just finished a hot bath and changed her clothes when the steward appeared once more.

"Second Miss, the master would like you to pay a visit to the lady."

Qing Dai stood behind Tan Qingjiu, muttering in the faintest voice, "How is it that just after the daughter-in-law left, now Chen Yue Ru has come? What does Chen Yue Ru want? Is she seeking justice for her daughter?"

Tan Qingjiu smiled gently and nodded, agreeing, "Very well, I’ll go right away."

Chen Yue Ru was already dressed, sitting in a chair, her body slanting to one side, reclining against the armrest with a languid, seductive air.

Upon seeing Tan Qingjiu, Chen Yue Ru managed a helpless smile. "I must apologize, Qingjiu. I was bitten by that big black dog earlier, and my wounds have yet to heal, so I can only meet you like this."

Tan Qingjiu curled her lips. "It’s nothing."

"I wonder what business Father and Madam have for me?"

Chen Yue Ru hurried to explain, "Actually, it’s I who wish to speak with you. The master is here merely as a witness."

A witness?

Tan Qingjiu narrowed her eyes. What matter required Tan Yun’s witness?

"It concerns the dowry your mother left behind."

Chen Yue Ru lowered her gaze. "Your mother did indeed leave a generous dowry, but the truth isn’t as the He De monk claimed, accusing me of seizing your mother’s dowry."

"When your mother passed away, the master was present; he knows all about it."

"At that time, you were still young and ignorant. If those dowry items were placed in your hands, you wouldn’t have been able to manage them. So I discussed it with the master, saying I would hold them for you for the time being, and when you married, I’d hand them over as your dowry for your husband’s household."

Tan Qingjiu sneered inwardly. Hold them for her? Wait until she married to hand them over? If she hadn’t learned of this from Nurse Li, she would have been entirely unaware of the dowry’s existence.

Had she not known, Chen Yue Ru certainly wouldn’t have brought it up.

Chen Yue Ru’s calculations were shrewd.

"The other day, I was enraged by He De monk’s slander."

"So today I asked the master to be witness. I’ll carefully inventory your mother’s dowry, and once the count is complete, I will hand everything over to you."

"Your mother’s dowry was already substantial. Over the years, I have managed it diligently, and it has grown. I must tally everything and draw up clear accounts, so it can be handed over to you, with everything accounted for."

Tan Qingjiu glanced at Chen Yue Ru, her suspicions quietly confirmed. Chen Yue Ru was plotting something.

Her mother’s dowry was considerable, not just gold and jewelry, but surely land and shops as well. Especially with shops, the inventory would involve accounting books—a process that could easily take two or three months.

By seeking their approval in this way, Chen Yue Ru could stall for time under the pretense of thorough inventory, and meanwhile, devise ways to deal with Tan Qingjiu in secret.

Tan Yun, sitting to one side, nodded gently. "That works. Qingjiu, what do you think? I am aware of your mother’s dowry. Just as the lady says, you were too young at the time, and she brought it up with me. I asked her to keep it for you."

"But now that you’ve returned, it’s only right for those things to go back to you."

Tan Qingjiu licked her lips. With Chen Yue Ru putting on such a generous act, refusing would seem heartless.

Moreover, the exact amount of her mother’s dowry was known only to her maternal relatives and her mother’s personal servants.

Her mother’s attendants had long since vanished, and even if Chen Yue Ru made a show of returning the dowry, how much she actually handed over and how much she kept would remain a secret known only to herself.

Fortunately...

King Duan had mentioned earlier that her grandfather was soon returning to the capital.

By her calculations, he should arrive within the next day or two.

Tan Qingjiu looked up at Chen Yue Ru; the woman likely had no inkling of this news.

Even Tan Yun...

Her grandfather’s family had left the capital over ten years ago, and Tan Yun probably hadn’t paid attention to their affairs in quite some time.

He was unlikely to know about her grandfather’s impending arrival.

Previously, she felt her relationship with her grandfather was distant, and she had no idea what he thought of her or her mother, so she hadn’t considered meeting him or acknowledging him.

But now that Chen Yue Ru intended to tamper with the dowry, she might as well pay her grandfather a visit.

Tan Qingjiu, thinking thus, smiled at Chen Yue Ru. "Very well, I’ll trouble you, Madam. Please make a thorough inventory and hand it all over to me."

"Of course."

Tan Yun had never cared much for matters like dowries. Seeing they were in agreement, he waved his hand. "Then it’s settled. Qingjiu, you may go."

Tan Qingjiu bowed her head and withdrew.

Once Tan Qingjiu and Qing Dai left the main hall, Qing Dai whispered, "Could Chen Yue Ru really be so generous? I feel like she’s scheming something."

"She certainly is, but we’ll respond as needed. It’s nothing—I’m curious to see what she’s really planning."

Tan Qingjiu raised her head and looked into the distance. The sunlight was dazzling, and she squinted. "Send someone to investigate when Shen Chang’an, the prefect of Qizhou, will arrive in the capital."

"When he’s near the city, report to me. I’ll intercept him."

"Yes."

On the third day, news arrived.

"Master, our people report that Lord Shen Chang’an has reached the city outskirts and will be entering the capital in about an hour."

Tan Qingjiu nodded. "Excellent."

Under the pretense of going out to treat patients, she left the house and waited on the main road leading into the city.

Before long, someone came to report, "Master, Lord Shen is about to enter the city."

A moment later, Tan Qingjiu saw several blue carriages roll in, with small wooden plaques hanging from the bells at each corner, the word ‘Shen’ inscribed upon them.

They were unmistakably Shen family carriages.

Tan Qingjiu lowered her gaze, ready to repeat her carriage collision scheme, but this time with a new target.

She dropped the curtain of her carriage. "Drive straight into them."