Xiangzhou Chapter: Soul Transferred to Another World Chapter 3: No Dowry Is Worthier Than Thick Skin

Hearing the commotion, Chen Bailei hurried out. Seeing Xiang Ling'er sitting on the ground in a state of terror, he rushed forward to help her up.

"What's wrong?" Chen Bailei asked, his face full of confusion.

"She, she, she!" Xiang Ling'er pointed at Ye Qiaoqiao, who stood before them, stuttering so badly she couldn't form a complete sentence.

Chen Bailei followed the direction of her finger and saw a face covered in dirt and grime, yet paired with a pair of exceptionally bright, crystalline eyes. He frowned slightly. "Are you a person or a ghost?"

"Unfortunately, I am a vengeful spirit returned to settle a score," Ye Qiaoqiao said, picking at her fingernails as if it were a casual matter.

"Ah!!! Look at her!!!" Xiang Ling'er shrieked again.

At this moment, the gate of the Chen family estate was swarmed by a crowd. Chen Bailei looked up and saw the servants he had previously dismissed. Why were they back? And who were the people behind them? Were they here to watch a show?

Fury burned within him. Ignoring whether Ye Qiaoqiao was human or ghost, he cursed, "As the wife of the Chen family, how dare you rally such a crowd to make a mockery of my house!"

"You were heartless first, so don't blame me for being unrighteous. Isn't this all of your own doing?" Ye Qiaoqiao chuckled, her words dripping with sarcasm.

"What do you want?" Chen Bailei looked at his wife, who clearly wasn't dead, and finally accepted that she was human.

"To come home, of course!" Ye Qiaoqiao smiled brilliantly, her eyes sparkling. "You haven't submitted the death certificate to the magistrate yet, have you? Don't bother. I am still your wife."

Xiang Ling'er screamed, "No! No! Bailei, you can't!"

For a moment, she was gripped by pure terror. She could not let this wretch Ye Qiaoqiao take away what she had worked so hard to obtain—whether it was the man or the wealth. The Chen estate was, after all, the second most prominent residence in Xiangzhou City, surpassed only by the magistrate's office. How could Ye Qiaoqiao have returned from the dead so easily, and how could she so easily reclaim the property she had struggled to secure?

"What can't I do?" Ye Qiaoqiao asked, closing in on Xiang Ling'er. Her dirt-streaked face looked terrifyingly grotesque to her rival, causing Xiang Ling'er to shriek again.

"Don't be afraid," Chen Bailei said, soothing his little beloved in his arms. He then looked at the approaching Ye Qiaoqiao, suppressing his revulsion, and informed her, "I have already submitted the death certificate to the yamen. You are legally a dead person. Do not stir up any more trouble."

"Oh? In that case, should I pay a visit to the magistrate and tell him I didn't die, but was buried alive by you and Xiang Ling'er?" Ye Qiaoqiao asked calmly.

Chen Bailei, fearless, retorted, "Go ahead and report it."

Ye Qiaoqiao sneered, "Chen Bailei, as the third-place scholar of the Nanli imperial examination, surely you know that according to Article 21 of the Nanli Code, falsely reporting a death or causing harm to a life is punishable by imprisonment?"

"Do you think a mere scholar like me would fear you?" Chen Bailei was livid.

"Indeed, you certainly wouldn't fear me, My Lord. But..." Ye Qiaoqiao gave a shy smile and trailed off. In the next instant, her face darkened. "Men, throw out everything here that does not belong to me."

"Try it if you dare!" Chen Bailei, pushed to his limit, stopped coddling Xiang Ling'er and glared at Ye Qiaoqiao with extreme rage.

"And why wouldn't I dare?" As she spoke, Uncle Zhang, who was behind her, stepped into the house with nimble feet.

Before he could even step inside, the servants within the house brandished tools to clash with Uncle Zhang’s party. However, while Xiang Ling'er had only hired three or four laborers, Uncle Zhang had brought ten men. The disparity in strength was clear, and the servants inside were quickly subdued.

But when the group of men finished searching the house and came back out, they held only two embroidered pillows.

Hanxiang was speechless. "Miss, these people have been eating your food and sleeping in your house!"

How marvelous! These two were effectively leeches. Everything in the house was hers, and the only things they had actually bought were two pillows! Seeing Chen Bailei dressed so impeccably, only to realize he was sleeping in her original clothes, made Ye Qiaoqiao feel a wave of nausea.

Chen Bailei, however, was secretly pleased. Fortunately, he had already had people move his belongings to a new residence he had found in the capital! After all, he was now a ranked scholar!

Xiang Ling'er did not know that Chen Bailei had already moved his belongings out. Believing that, as mistress of the largest estate in Xiangzhou, everything inside belonged to her, she lost her fear and turned to Ye Qiaoqiao in a rage. "You vile creature, return my assets!"

"Assets?" Ye Qiaoqiao laughed in spite of her anger. She signaled to Hanxiang, who understood immediately.

Ye Qiaoqiao looked at Xiang Ling'er and mocked, "Is it not just three pounds of gold turned into three pounds of weight? I grant you three pounds of spirit money! Don't thank me."

Hanxiang carried the three-pound bundle of spirit money and hurled it hard at Chen Bailei and Xiang Ling'er. It was a moment of pure triumph!

"You!" Chen Bailei could not believe that a maid would dare treat him this way, and all under the orders of a wife he thought was dead and buried! The three accompanying servants had already been restrained. Seeing that he had no way to retaliate against the woman before him, he began to curse, "You have a lot of nerve! Do you know the penalty for insulting a scholar appointed by His Majesty?"

"Oh, please—insulting?" Ye Qiaoqiao wore a mocking smile, her expression one of disdain.

"From the moment I hanged myself, I lost all love for you! From the moment I awoke and realized I had been buried alive, I swore to punish you two adulterous wretches! From the moment I stepped into this estate and saw my property occupied by villains who claimed it as their own, I vowed to take it all back! As for us, you trying to divorce me? Impossible! I will be the one to divorce you!"

Chen Bailei listened to her words in silence, unable to find a single rebuttal.

Seeing this, Ye Qiaoqiao looked at the pair and chuckled, "My dowry may be substantial, but it's not as thick as your skin. Vile people are destined to live off their faces."

"You!" Seeing that she couldn't get the assets back and instead was being insulted as a shameless wretch, Xiang Ling'er turned to Chen Bailei with a pitiable expression, crying, "Bailei, look at her!"

Chen Bailei remained calm. He leaned into Xiang Ling'er's ear and whispered, "Don't worry, I have already found us another place to stay."

"Oh?" Xiang Ling'er looked up in surprise.

Ye Qiaoqiao watched the two whispering in front of her, sensing something was afoot. Before she could dwell on it, Chen Bailei looked up and said sternly, "Since it has come to this, we are finished! However, from ancient times until now, only a man writes a divorce letter to a woman! Never has a woman written one to a man! In a few days, I will have someone deliver it to your Chen estate!"

With that, he helped Xiang Ling'er up from amidst the pile of spirit money. Xiang Ling'er, shedding her aggrieved demeanor, looked up at her husband with satisfaction.

"Is that so? Don't be in such a hurry. We have a long road ahead of us." Ye Qiaoqiao smiled gently, her voice shifting from her usual sharp, quick tone to something intensely sweet.