Chapter 991: Chapter 991: Compensating with Sister-in-law’s Dowry

As Shu Yu spoke, she lifted her gaze to glance at Ms. Mei lying on the bed. Sure enough, her eyelids had begun to twitch.

Shu Yu smiled faintly, “Calculating it this way, Lord Yao’s blueprint is worth a thousand gold coins, and two of them total two thousand gold coins. As for the repairs to my house — factoring in manpower, resources, and everything else — plus the damage to my reputation and the loss of goodwill from having to personally explain to Lord Yao and Lord Xiang, it would amount to no less than two thousand taels.”

Two thousand gold coins plus two thousand taels.

Shu Yu did some mental calculations, “So I ask the Eldest Young Mistress for compensation amounting to twenty-two thousand taels. For the Fan family, that’s an amount you can certainly manage, isn’t it?”

Ms. Yu shrieked, “Twenty-two thousand taels? You’re robbing us!”

Shu Yu cast a light glance at her, “Mrs. Fan, are you suggesting that Lord Yao’s blueprints are worthless?”

“I-I never said that.”

Shu Yu shifted her gaze to Third Young Master Fan, “What does Third Young Master have to say?”

“Fine, but this money won’t be coming from the Fan family. Whoever made the mistake should bear the responsibility. Use Sister-in-law’s dowry.”

As soon as Third Young Master Fan finished speaking, Ms. Mei, who had just moments ago been unable to sit up, suddenly bolted upright.

“Impossible! I have no money!” Twenty-two thousand taels?? What kind of joke was this? Her entire dowry combined wasn’t worth that much.

“Then we’ll take it to the courts.”

Ms. Mei was utterly incredulous. Ms. Yu tugged at Third Young Master Fan’s sleeve, “Sanzhu, she’s your sister-in-law. If you send her to the courts, what will people say?”

“She was the one who made the mistake first.” Third Young Master Fan, however, maintained a stern expression, “Do you think the blueprint can just be destroyed without consequence? Ask Monarch Lu Xiang if he’d accept that!”

Shu Yu chimed in, “I feel the exact same way. If you won’t pay, then let’s take this to the courts.”

Ms. Yu opened her mouth, wanting to argue that even if compensation were given, it shouldn’t be such a large amount. But this matter didn’t directly involve her. The trouble was caused by the Eldest Daughter-in-law herself; if she got tangled up in this mess, Monarch Lu Xiang would undoubtedly turn his ire toward her.

Besides, if the Eldest Daughter-in-law’s dowry was used to pay for the compensation, it wouldn’t impact her in any way.

After all, aside from the Eldest Daughter-in-law herself, no one else in the family could spend her dowry anyway.

Her obvious attempt to distance herself from the matter didn’t escape Ms. Mei’s sharp observation.

Ms. Mei understood her all too well. She immediately realized that her mother-in-law was siding with Sanzhu and Lu Sanzhu.

Biting her lip in anger, she growled through gritted teeth, “I’m telling you, I don’t have money! Even if you beat me to death, I can’t come up with twenty-two thousand taels. If Monarch Lu Xiang insists on such an amount, then take it to the courts! When the Eldest Daughter-in-law of the Fan family lands in prison, none of you will go unscathed either.”

Ms. Yu immediately objected, “No, we can’t go to the courts.” The Fan family’s reputation couldn’t survive such humiliation.

Shu Yu simply observed her with an icy gaze. Looks like Ms. Yu couldn’t extricate herself from this anymore.

Ms. Yu wanted to negotiate with Shu Yu, but the latter denied her the chance, “Not a single cent less.”

Ms. Yu finally fell silent. Twenty-two thousand taels — even though the Fan family was wealthy, losing such a large sum at once would still hurt, wouldn’t it?

After pondering for a long while, Ms. Yu finally instructed the old woman beside her, “Go to the public funds first and take the money to compensate Monarch Lu Xiang.”

The old woman was about to leave when Third Young Master Fan chuckled and remarked, “I already said, the Fan family isn’t paying for this compensation. It’s Sister-in-law who should pay up. The public funds aren’t just for the main household; they include contributions from the second and third households as well. Why should our money be used to cover Sister-in-law’s mistakes?”

Ding Yuehua added from the side, “Exactly, we from the third household disagree, and Second Sister-in-law wouldn’t agree either. With Second Brother not here, do you plan to bully Second Sister-in-law, who’s a widow and orphan?”

Ms. Yu flared up in anger, “Then what exactly do you want? Do you really intend to send your Eldest Sister-in-law to the courts?”