How come this person can always do things that make people misunderstand their relationship as being stronger than ever? Once or twice is enough!

Everyone in the room had their eyes on them.

I admire the deep affection between Shen Wan and Xie Jingyan, and I am even more surprised by her lavish spending.

It was just my cousin getting married, and five hundred taels of silver was already a lot for the dowry. She actually gave five thousand taels. Even if you have a lot of money, you shouldn't spend it like that.

Shen Jing and Shen Du were both present, and they both felt that Shen Wan had given a lot, but their opinions differed.

Shen Jing felt that his daughter was kind-hearted and generous, and must think that Shen Rong had not married well, so he gave her more dowry to help her.

Shen Du was more curious. Shen Rong had indeed married poorly, but she had brought it upon herself and didn't deserve sympathy. His sister knew that the second and third wives and the old lady harbored malicious intentions, and had warned him, her elder brother, to be more cautious. How could he possibly give Shen Rong five thousand taels as a dowry? He, as her elder brother, knew his sister's character well, if not completely. She hated evil and would rather throw the money down the drain than let these people benefit.

Something unusual must be going on.

I wonder what my sister is up to.

Shen Du felt a strange sense of anticipation for his younger sister to cause trouble.

Shen Du, “…”

The old lady sat on the daybed. Seeing everyone praising Shen Wan's generosity, she frowned and a hint of displeasure appeared in her eyes.

Today's focus is on the old lady's birthday. Sending gifts to Shen Rong is just a side event. Almost all the guests have arrived, and it's time to present the birthday presents.

The birthday gift that Shen Jing prepared for the old lady was a jade ruyi, which was of exquisite quality and obviously very valuable.

The second master presented a Buddha statue carved from purple jade. The old lady worshipped the Buddha, and this gift touched her heart deeply. She was overjoyed and couldn't stop smiling.

The Third Master's birthday gift was a jade incense burner, which was also used by the Old Madam for Buddhist worship.

The fourth master presented a pair of porcelain vases with crane motifs symbolizing longevity.

After the Fourth Master presented the offerings, it was the grandsons Shen Du and Shen Li who were presented, followed by the married granddaughters and grandsons-in-law Shen Wan.

Shen Wan had previously revealed that the birthday gift she prepared was a painting of a hundred longevity characters that she and Xie Jingyan had co-written. Before, everyone probably thought that Shen Wan's gift was worthless, but now no one thinks that way anymore.

Shen Wan even gave five thousand taels of silver as a dowry to Shen Rong, so why would she be stingy with money when preparing a birthday gift for the old lady? She must value the sentiment even more.

It is the sentiment that is truly precious. In order to prepare a painting of a hundred longevity characters for the old lady, Prince Ling even stood up, which aggravated his leg ailment.

The old lady really didn't like the painting of a hundred longevity characters, but she still had to praise Shen Wan and Xie Jingyan for their filial piety and immediately had the maid hang it in her room.

After Shen Wan and Xie Jingyan finished presenting their birthday gifts, it was Shen Ying and Xie Jingyin's turn.

They gave the old lady a string of sandalwood prayer beads, which she liked very much and immediately replaced the prayer beads she was holding.

Since Shen Rong didn't come, she naturally didn't bring a congratulatory gift. Shen Wei gave the old lady a headband that she had embroidered herself.

The old lady praised the needlework a few times, then casually handed it to the maid.

After Shen Wei, the next group of guests came: first the old lady's nephews, then her married nieces, then the relatives of each branch of the family, and even the heir of the Duke of Wei, who was engaged to Shen Wei, came.

If a small birthday banquet is this lively, imagine how grand it must have been in the year following my previous life, with all the officials offering their congratulations.

However, in this life, the old lady will definitely not have that opportunity.

The birthday gifts were presented for almost half an hour, and the old lady's smile never faded until a maid came in.

The maidservant walked up to the Third Madam and whispered a few words in her ear. The Third Madam's voice suddenly rose, "What? Counterfeit banknotes?!"

The lively main hall fell silent instantly because of the Third Madam's words.

Everyone looked at the Third Madam, including the Old Madam.

The old lady frowned. "What counterfeit banknotes?"

The third wife shook her head, "No, it's nothing..."

With such stammering and barely concealed anger on his face, it's no wonder there's something fishy going on.

The second wife said, "Today is the old lady's birthday banquet, a joyous occasion. If there's anything you need, third sister-in-law, just say it directly, so that the old lady won't worry and lose her good mood."

The third wife remained silent, so the second wife looked at the maid, who then said, "The five thousand taels of silver notes that the eldest young lady gave to the third young lady are fake!"

The maid spoke very loudly, as if afraid that no one would hear her.

Everyone's eyes instantly shifted from the Third Madam to Shen Wan's face, whispering and gossiping among themselves.

I was surprised to find out she gave me a fake banknote.

Shen Jing frowned deeply.

Shen Du had been waiting for his younger sister to cause trouble, and just when he was starting to doubt himself, things happened, but they were somewhat unexpected. He looked at Shen Wan and asked, "How come my sister has counterfeit banknotes?"

Shen Du knew perfectly well where his younger sister's money came from. Small change might have come from other sources, but for a five-thousand-tael note, besides what his father gave her, only the Yun family would have given it.

The money they gave to Shen Wan couldn't possibly be fake.

Shen Wan's face was grim, with a hint of suppressed anger. "The silver notes I gave her couldn't possibly be fake!"

The Fourth Master said, "Wan'er shouldn't have counterfeit banknotes in her possession. Could it be that we've misjudged her?"

The second wife said, "If I'm not sure it's true, how could I dare send a maid to report to my third sister-in-law?"

Shen Wan couldn't contain her anger. "My third sister has handled several five-thousand-tael silver notes. What makes her so sure that the silver notes I gave her are fake?"

Shen Ying immediately spoke up to defend Shen Rong, "Eldest sister gave Third Sister a fake silver note and then belittled Third Sister like this, which is going too far."

Shen Wan looked at Shen Ying, "I'm being unreasonable? I felt sorry for my third sister and gave her five thousand taels as a dowry. She didn't even have anyone verify the authenticity of the banknotes before accusing me of giving her fake banknotes, and she won't even let me question it?!"

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!