Xie Mangshan intended to insult Xie Qiao, but Xie Niushan did not get the underlying meaning.
He only felt that his eldest brother was praising Ms. Lu. He was already angry, so he said directly, "She's pretty great?! She gave out all of the assets that I hid away! She's even more powerful than that beast. She took 200,000 taels of silver from me at once!"
"200,000 taels?!" Xie Mangshan's heart jolted in disbelief.
This brother of his did not have that much silver, right?!
When Xie Niushan said that, he felt a little embarrassed.
To the outside world, he had always complained that he was poor.
However, those things were not included in his family's assets. He had secretly hid them away.
Back then, he said to the outside world that he had donated most of his family's wealth to get this official position. The rest of the things were used as money to buy houses and properties.
In reality, he definitely kept some treasures. When his descendants needed them, he would sell them for money.
However, how would he know that Ms. Lu was so deceitful?!
"They were all treasures that I took from the barbarians. If I sell them, they should be worth this much money! Brother, I came to look for you because of this. Previously, Ms. Lu gave you many things. You have to return them to me!" Xie Niushan said as he took out a list.
"One is a tea set with red and blue gemstones on it. The set comes with a few pieces of items. There's a pair of golden and jade elephants too. They are small. Also… a gemstone crown and..."
Xie Niushan mumbled a few things.
The old lady and the others were stirred now.
"How... how much do they worth?" Xie Mangshan suddenly asked.
"These few items add up to about 60,000 taels of silver," he did not hide it from his own family.
When Xie Mangshan and Xie Congshan heard that, their expressions changed.
60,000 taels of silver?!
Those items had long been pawned at a pawnshop. After adding up several items, they were only worth 5,000 to 6,000 taels of silver!
Had he been cheated?!
"Second Brother, to tell you the truth, our family is short of money. We've already pawned those things. Furthermore, they were not sold for much silver. They were only pawned for 5,000 to 6,000 taels of silver?! Did you miscalculate? They were all from a foreign land. They're not worth much."
"It's because they're foreign that they're worth so much! I took them from the enemy's camp! How can the secret stash of the Great Khan be cheap?!" Xie Niushan shouted.
With that said, Xie Mangshan and Xie Congshan's faces were ashen.
"They really weren't sold for that much money..."
"Do you guys not want to return these things to me?" Xie Niushan was upset.
Other than these precious treasures, he had also given quite a lot to his brothers. What was wrong with returning the things he liked?
"That's not what I meant! Second Brother, don't you believe me?!" Xie Mangshan wanted to cry but he could not.
Of course, even if he did not sell any of them, he would not return them.
If he returned them before this, what benefits would he get?
However, his heart was dripping with blood and he felt uneasy all over. The items worth 50,000 to 60,000 taels of silvers had been sold for 5,000 to 6,000 taels of silvers!
If he had that tens of thousands of taels, how comfortable would his life be?!
The two brothers looked as if they regretted what they had done in the past.
As for Xie Niushan, he was getting more and more furious.
"You two are my brothers. Whenever I have money, I would've counted you guys in! But now, you guys have to return those items to me. My family is so poor that we have nothing to eat. I need those items to raise my child!" Xie Niushan said in all seriousness.
Xie Mangshan and Xie Congshan did not believe him at all.
From their point of view, Xie Niushan was just here to stir trouble.
Right, maybe all the words were not true. If the things were really worth that much silver, would Ms. Lu give them away?
His wife did not want the items anymore. Now, after listening to Xie Qiao's instigation, he wanted to take back the thing after marking up the price, right?!
Hmph!