Chapter 14 Dowry

Aunt Qin felt as if she had been branded with fire. She abruptly pulled her hand back, and her wide sleeves fell down instantly, completely covering the gold on her wrist.

“Tong’er must have misunderstood,” she said quickly, forcing a smile. “How could I, I would wear your mother’s things so casually? It must just be a similar style.”

Meng Yutong lowered her eyes, concealing the fleeting sarcasm deep within them, and obediently said softly, "Perhaps Tong'er is just missing her mother so much that she's seeing things for a moment."

She stopped dwelling on it, raised her head to look at Jiang Yunshang, who was sitting at the head of the table, and said in a voice with a hint of filial piety and sorrow, "However, Grandmother, recently, Tong'er has been troubled by nightmares."

"In my dreams, I always see my mother. She looks sorrowful and says that she left too early and could not see her daughter get married, which she deeply regrets. The only things she left behind were the dowry items, which she had kept long ago as a kind of companionship..."

She paused slightly, then looked at Aunt Qin again, her tone earnest and gentle: "Aunt, you have managed all the household affairs over the years, big and small, with great care and effort. Tong'er has seen it all and feels truly sorry for you."

"Now that my wedding is approaching, I should learn to manage affairs and share my aunt's burdens. Tong'er thinks it would be better to take stock of the dowry left by my mother and temporarily move it back to Xingtao Courtyard for me to take care of personally."

"Firstly, it will satisfy Tong'er's longing for her mother, and secondly, it will save Auntie some trouble. I wonder what Auntie thinks?"

Aunt Qin's heart was filled with alarm bells, but she could only force a gentler smile on her face and waved her hands repeatedly: "Oh dear, how can this be! We're all family, what's with all this talk about dividing things up or saving money?"

"It's your thing, your aunt is watching over it for you, isn't that what I should do? Don't bother, don't bother at all!"

Jiang Yunshang sat on the couch from beginning to end, her hand resting on the armrest of the grand master's chair, tapping gently.

Tonight, she summoned everyone to Songfeng Courtyard, but only uttered a few words, spending most of the time in silence.

However, those eyes were sharp and deep, silently scanning the crowd below, as if they could see through all pretense and reach straight to the heart.

Under such an oppressive gaze, even though Meng Yutong had already made up her mind, she couldn't help but tighten her fingers hidden in her sleeve.

Since returning from the Ji residence, she had anticipated this event. Therefore, she deliberately changed into the bright and eye-catching brocade dress with peony patterns and purple and gold thread that Aunt Qin had sent her during the day, and "casually" wore the jade gourd given to her by Meng Yurou at her waist.

Just now, when her grandmother inquired about the Ji family's affairs, she gave a half-truth and a vague answer, covering up some of the truth for the mother and daughter.

All these acts of weakness, obedience, and even slightly clumsy behavior were simply a way for her to retreat in order to advance, as she was well aware of the temperaments of the people in the mansion.

All she wanted was to get back the dowry left by her mother, Liu.

She never cared about these things before. In the past, she never had the slightest thought of "wanting for herself" in front of her grandmother.

She only knew that she could only do what her grandmother told her to do; she couldn't even think about anything her grandmother hadn't mentioned.

Her grandmother was her only lifeline and support in this world. She could only rely on her wholeheartedly and carefully sculpt herself according to the mold of the "perfect young lady" in her heart, not daring to make a single mistake, for fear of disappointing her grandmother.

Now that everything has started over, her state of mind is quite different.

To place all one's hopes and sorrows on another person, no matter who that person is, is the most foolish thing in the world.

To live in this world, one must understand where one's heart leads and where one's strength should be directed. What one desires, one should strive for; what one wants to do, one should do. Only in this way can one live a life well-lived.

Thinking of this, Meng Yutong had no more doubts.

She ignored Aunt Qin's hypocritical excuses, straightened her slender back, met Jiang Yunshang's unfathomable gaze, and repeated clearly, word by word, "Grandmother, Tong'er wants to personally manage Mother's dowry."

Opening a decent clinic in Lin'an would be extremely expensive. Her mother's dowry was the only thing she could rely on at the moment.

Jiang Yunshang did not immediately respond to her request regarding the dowry; instead, her deep gaze fell upon Meng Yutong's bright purple dress, which was completely out of place with her temperament.

She frowned slightly, her voice revealing neither joy nor anger, "Tong'er, Grandmother remembers that you disliked this deep purple color the most, finding it gaudy and oppressive. Who picked out this dress for you?"

Upon hearing this, Meng Yutong did not answer immediately. She merely turned her head slightly, her gaze quickly sweeping over Aunt Qin, whose expression had changed slightly. Then she lowered her eyelashes and remained silent.

Everything is understood without words.

Aunt Qin's heart skipped a beat again at that silent glance, and she subconsciously adjusted her wrist, as if trying to suppress her unease with the heavy gold bracelet.

She forced an awkward smile and explained to Jiang Yunshang at the head of the table, "Mother, please understand, this outfit is because I thought Tong'er's usual attire was too plain."

"Considering that the Ji family's birthday banquet is such a prestigious occasion, our Meng family's daughters should... should dress up in a dignified and radiant manner, so as not to tarnish the family's reputation, right?"

Meng Yutong seemed to hear a very faint sneer from the head of the table, so faint that it was almost inaudible.

It wasn't until she noticed that the scar on Jiang Yunshang's face also twitched slightly upwards that she was certain that her grandmother had truly smiled just now.

“Aunt Qin,” Jiang Yunshang’s voice was calm and even, her fingers still moving rhythmically on the armrest, “Tong’er was right just now. Over the years, you have indeed worked very hard to manage the affairs of this household.”

"Of course it was a bit of hard work," Aunt Qin said, her embarrassment instantly replaced by a hint of self-satisfaction after receiving this "praise."

She raised her hand to press the hairpin with a new ornament at her temple, her tone becoming lighter, "But after so many years, I've gotten used to it. Mother, your words sound rather distant."

Having spent many years immersed in the inner quarters of the household, entangled in worldly affairs and money, she was left with only a strange sense of aloofness, as if she had read poetry and books. As for the hidden meanings and witty remarks in her words, she had long since become too dull to hear them clearly.

“In that case,” Jiang Yunshang paused slightly, looking coldly at Aunt Qin, “you will spend the next two days carefully counting out each item of the dowry left by Madam Liu in the storeroom, comparing it to the dowry list from back then, and move it all to Xingtao Courtyard. If Tong’er wants to learn how to manage things, she can start with her mother’s things.”

"Ah?!" The smug look that had just appeared on Aunt Qin's face vanished instantly, replaced by panic. "This... Mother, this... Madam's dowry has been stored in the storeroom for so many years, I'm afraid... I'm afraid it will be difficult to sort out in a short time!"

"You can't even handle this simple matter," Jiang Yunshang frowned slightly, her voice suddenly turning cold, "How can you manage this household?"

Jiang Yunshang was already quite annoyed. She raised her hand and pressed her temple, her weariness barely concealed between her brows.

Wu, the old nanny standing to the side, understood immediately and stepped forward, half helping and half forcefully leading Aunt Qin out: "Aunt Qin, the old lady is tired today. You and the second young lady should go back and rest first."

Before the words were even finished, they had already half-pushed the person out the door without saying a word.

Meng Yurou looked around and met her grandmother's cold gaze. She panicked, quickly gave a curtsy, and hurriedly followed her mother out.

Seeing the mother and daughter disappear behind the curtain, Meng Yutong's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down.

She knew that her grandmother had always been annoyed by these trivial disputes within the inner quarters.

In this vast Meng mansion, apart from the legacy left by her grandfather, which was the only thing that mattered to her, all other people and affairs were nothing but fleeting clouds in her eyes.

Therefore, even though Aunt Qin was slow-witted and short-sighted, and not a good choice to manage the household, Grandmother was happy to leave the household affairs to her. As long as she didn't make any major mistakes, she could avoid seeing or worrying about her.

Today's minor incident at the Ji residence was handled with feigned weakness and restraint. In the verbal exchange at Songfeng Courtyard, she used retreat as a tactic to advance, proceeding step by step with careful planning.

Grandmother, with her keen insight into the ways of the world, how could she not see through her little scheme?

If she really displeases her grandmother, not only will she not be able to get her mother's dowry back, but she will also likely be seen as scheming and lacking in common sense.

Fortunately, it was a close call.

However… Meng Yutong subconsciously clenched the cold jade gourd in her palm.

The intricate floral patterns on the gourd now seemed sharp and angular, digging deep into her flesh and causing a clear, sharp pain.

She took a deep breath, as if trying to squeeze out the last bit of worry from her chest.

Immediately, she looked up abruptly, meeting that deep, unfathomable gaze, and said clearly:

“Grandmother, there is one more thing that I need to tell you.”

She paused, then spoke each word steadily:

"My granddaughter wants to break off her engagement with the Ji family."

The moment the words fell, the flickering flame on the candlestick in the room seemed to be touched by an invisible hand, suddenly swaying and then leaping up, burning brighter and more intensely than before.

The sudden burst of fire made the old scar on Jiang Yunshang's face appear even clearer and colder.

There was no sound in the hall. Meng Yutong could only hear the clear sound of her heart beating in her chest in the silence.

A note from the author:

Is anyone watching? [eating melon seeds][eating melon seeds]