Chapter 37 This Isn’t a Dog—It’s My Dowry
by 枕星鱼Chapter 37: This Isn't a Dog, It's My Dowry
Luo Junhe had dedicated his life to the battlefield and had never experienced romance, yet inwardly, he felt willing.
If that person was Ji Yuntang, he would be delighted to spend his life with her, raising children, supporting each other through thick and thin, and loving her until their hair turned white.
Unaware of his thoughts, Ji Yuntang noticed that Luo Junhe had suddenly relaxed entirely.
Afterward, Ji Yuntang wiped Luo Junhe's legs and feet clean, changed him into a new diaper and clothes, and then turned off the light in the room. "A He, good night."
The woman's gentle voice stirred Luo Junhe's heart. Every night before bed, Ji Yuntang would say "good night" to him.
He thought it probably meant wishing peace for the night.
He immediately replied softly to Ji Yuntang as well, "A Tang, good night to you too."
Ji Yuntang: "?"
*
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, everyone was still asleep.
Prince Ye's mansion was jolted awake by a piercing scream breaking the dawn.
"Ah! Murder!"
Nanny Xu went to Liu Linlang's courtyard as usual in the morning to wake her up. Who would have thought that as soon as she reached the doorway, she was unexpectedly splashed with an unknown liquid.
Furious, she looked up and saw a face as pale as paper come into view. Her hair was disheveled, her eyes, filled with hatred, stared straight at her, her body hung upside down from a tree, and blood continuously dripped from the corner of her mouth.
Dead with eyes wide open!
Nanny Xu was petrified on the spot. After screaming, her eyes rolled back and she fainted.
Liu Linlang was startled awake from her sleep. She lit a lamp and sat up in bed, her heart uneasy.
"Bi Chi, go outside and see what's happening?"
Bi Chi's legs felt weak. That horrifying scream seemed to have come from their courtyard gate. Could Prince Ye's mansion be haunted?
"Miss Liu, I... I don't dare..."
Liu Linlang hated Bi Chi's timid and fearful demeanor. Her expression turned fierce. "You wretched maid, I told you to go, so go! It's already daylight, can it eat you?"
Helpless, Bi Chi could only muster her courage and walk out.
When she reached the doorway and saw Qiao Ye's corpse, she was also scared and collapsed to the ground.
"Absolutely useless, why hasn't she come back after so long?"
Liu Linlang, seeing that Bi Chi hadn't returned after a long time, cursed a few times, put on her shoes, and walked out.
The weather after the rain was still damp, and the cold wind felt chilly on her body. Liu Linlang couldn't help but shiver.
As soon as she stepped out the door, she came face to face with Qiao Ye's upside-down face—pale skin devoid of color, empty crimson eyes staring directly at her.
"Ah, a dead person!"
Terrified, Liu Linlang didn't even care about Nanny Xu on the ground. She turned and ran back into the house.
Running inside and closing the door, Liu Linlang leaned her back tightly against it, but her heart simply couldn't calm down.
Qiao Ye was dead?
How was that possible?
Shouldn't it have been Ji Yuntang who died last night?
What on earth was going on?
The news of Qiao Ye's death and her body being hung upside down at Liu Linlang's doorway quickly spread like wildfire.
Nanny Xu was scared into unconsciousness, and Liu Linlang was so frightened she didn't leave her room all day.
Hearing Tao Zhi's report, Ji Yuntang couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "This mother and daughter really did something wrong and are afraid of ghosts knocking on their door!"
But, that was fine too.
She had more important things to do today and didn't have time to play with the two of them.
"The three-day deadline is up, and now it's the fourth day. Yet Marquis Yongning's mansion still hasn't sent the silver to Prince Ye's mansion. In that case, this Princess will have to personally go to their door to collect the debt."
Having made up her mind, Ji Yuntang found Chen Hu, who was eating breakfast. The small table in front of him was piled high with empty bowls and steamers, enough to show how much he ate in one meal.
Ji Yuntang let him eat his fill—after all, one needs to be full to have strength for work. "Chen Hu, once you're full, grab your gear and follow this Princess!"
Chen Hu reluctantly drank the last mouthful of meat porridge from the bottom of his bowl and let out a satisfied burp.
"Princess, the things you make are too delicious. Even the meat buns and rice porridge are so fragrant. Your subordinate is so full."
After hearing Ji Yuntang's intention, he went into the small kitchen, grabbed a kitchen knife, and rushed out.
"They signed the IOU, how dare they not repay us? This old man is going to kill those hypocritical petty people from the Marquis's mansion today."
Seeing him ready for a big fight, Ji Yuntang helplessly facepalmed.
"This Princess told you to grab your gear, not *this* gear."
"We are civilized people. We must convince with virtue. Killing someone requires paying with one's life. Are you willing to sacrifice your own life for those hypocritical petty people?"
Chen Hu looked confused. "Ah, Princess, aren't we going to fight?"
Ji Yuntang shook her head. "Fighting will happen, but not now. Using brains to solve problems is the superior method."
After saying that, she took a dog leash from her space and put it around the neck of the little black dog at her feet.
"Raised a dog for three days, use it for one moment. Ji Baiyi, today is your time to shine. Perform well, and I'll reward you with a big chicken drumstick when we return."
Ji Baiyi seemed to understand its owner's words. It barked "woof woof woof" a few times and wagged its tail flatteringly at Ji Yuntang.
"Tao Zhi, you stay home and take care of His Highness."
"Chen Hu, take the gong, we're setting off."
Hearing the young woman's decisive arrangements, Chen Hu finally realized that the "gear" Ji Yuntang wanted him to grab was actually a gong?
Prince Ye's mansion was located in a bustling area of the capital, with the main street right outside its gates, filled with the constant shouts and calls of vendors.
When the duo and their dog appeared on the street, they instantly attracted many people's attention.
To the common folks, dogs were creatures that could bite and weren't proper; no wealthy household would keep one.
None of the people on the street had ever seen Ji Yuntang, nor did they know she was the Princess of Ye. A woman buying groceries couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.
"Miss, why are you walking a dog in the capital? Aren't you afraid it might bite someone?"
Ji Yuntang smiled. "Ma'am, you've misunderstood. This isn't a dog."
Another woman sneered, "If it's not a dog, what is it? Do you think we don't recognize a dog?"
"Ji Baiyi is definitely not a dog—it's my priceless dowry." Ji Yuntang said proudly, a smug look on her face.
"My dad says having a dog brings good fortune. The dowry he gave me is far more useful than gold, silver, jewels, or silk. Those things are way too tacky; they can't compare to this dog he gave me."
"Besides, Ji Baiyi cost him ten thousand gold taels to get for me. I'm the only one in the capital who has one; no one else does. My dad is so good to me."
The grocery-buying aunt frowned. "Miss, I think your dad might have pulled one over on you. This dog looks so small—how could it be worth ten thousand gold taels? I'd say it's worth maybe two silver taels, tops."
Ji Yuntang looked a bit displeased. "No way! My dad also gave me two ducks and a grass carp. He said all three together are way more valuable than the dowry of the Prime Minister's daughter next door!"
The surrounding crowd was stunned.
In all their years, they had never heard of anyone marrying off a daughter with a dowry of a mutt, two ducks, and a grass carp.
To put it in perspective, the dowry of Hua Ruyue, the daughter of the Prime Minister next door, had caused a sensation across the entire Eastern Chen Kingdom!
It consisted of a full hundred chests of gold and jewels, one hundred fifty thousand taels of silver, plus ten shop deeds, land deeds, and twelve maidservants.
And the man she married was only Xu Muyan, the third-rank Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.
Who was this person, running her mouth saying a dowry of a dog, two ducks, and a fish was worth more than the Prime Minister's daughter's million-tael dowry?
"Miss, may I ask who your father is?"
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