Yun Ling chuckled. This was indeed her second aunt, the real deal. Faced with Yun Ruoxia's eagerness, she couldn't help but feel a surge of teasing intent, and so she teased:
"Auntie, you don't like this thing."
"Is there anything in this world that I don't like?"
Yun Ruoxia grabbed the box and started shaking it, but before she could even begin this dangerous action, Tang Ling anxiously called out to her.
"Second Aunt, please don't! This is jade; it's easy to break if it's bumped or knocked."
"Jade?"
This surprised everyone else as well. Yunling stopped keeping them in suspense and, together with Tangling, opened the locks on all five boxes.
When the box was opened, revealing the crystal-clear, exquisitely carved jade ornaments inside, everyone except Yunling, Tangling, and Gangzi stared wide-eyed, their mouths agape enough to fit a small egg.
Yun Ruoxia reached for the jade bracelet, but just as she was about to touch it, she was afraid that she would break it, so she quickly withdrew her hand.
Old Lady Yun had a keen eye and quickly noticed the number of jade ornaments in the box. She saw that there were six jade bracelets, eight jade pendants, five jade thumb rings, six jade plaques, and about sixty jade beads. Knowing Yun Ling's personality, there must be some belonging to Yun Ruochun among them. In this way, the dowry would be complete.
Although Zhang also liked them, she knew Yunling didn't have many coins. How could she have bought so many jade ornaments? And judging from their good quality, she wondered how many copper coins they must have cost.
"Ling-jie, do you still have any copper coins to use?"
Yun Shenghua, after all, works in a trading company. Over the years, he has seen all sorts of fine treasures. Take this jade pendant for example. Whether it is green jade or white jade, the jade itself is of superior quality. Furthermore, the craftsmanship is superb, with the polishing being excellent and the Bodhisattva being depicted lifelike.
Not to mention how high the price of this jade would be in Bianjing, even in Pingcheng it would be something that wealthy families would fight over. If you had one piece, that would be fine, but you also have five other items. How many copper coins would that cost?
“Ling’er, although your father doesn’t want to think this way, in my opinion, this is the only thing I can think of. Did you pick up these treasures on the way? Or did other ships on the same route get robbed and you got a share of these things?”
Yunling didn't know what was going on. She had only been to Bianjing once, so why were her aunt and father's imaginations suddenly running wild? Could it be that some kind of storybook was popular in Pingcheng recently?
"Father and Mother, I bought these raw stones for processing. I just got lucky and picked out some good stones. Isn't that a great bargain for me?"
"Raw stone processing? To be able to buy such good raw stones... you either need to have good connections or pay a high price. If you want to find good raw stones on the market, it's harder than climbing to heaven. Moreover, processing with such fine craftsmanship is not cheap either."
Yunling had forgotten that Yun Shenghua, that cunning old fox, was still at home, so she couldn't hide anything from him any longer and had no choice but to tell him everything.
"These raw stones are from the area near the mine. They cost fifty strings of cash each. I bought five, which cost a total of two hundred and fifty strings of cash. The processing was done in a large workshop, which cost a little over twelve hundred strings of cash."
Yun Shenghua remembered that Zhang said Yunling only took 1,000 strings of cash to Bianjing. Even if they sent another 2,000 strings later, it would only be 3,000 strings.
With all these expenses and purchases, how can it possibly be enough?
Old Lady Yun immediately noticed that something was off about Yun Ling. She had clearly hesitated when discussing processing fees, so there was definitely something fishy going on.
"Hey, you rascal, did your lover pay for this processing?"
Yunling jumped up abruptly, avoiding everyone's gaze, and said only:
"What lover? Grandma is just talking nonsense. We just share the same interests. He paid first, and I did try to return the money to him, but he refused to accept it, no matter what I said, so I stopped."
Yunling's last two letters were delivered from the Lu family's trading company, so the two were very likely in contact in Bianjing. Moreover, the fact that the man was willing to spend so much money on them proves that their relationship was not ordinary.
Everyone present had their own thoughts, and Zhang and Yun Shenghua looked at each other, even seeing smiles in each other's eyes.
Yunling, not wanting them to dwell on this matter any longer, quickly continued:
“I was thinking that each of us women should have one jade bracelet, and I have already distributed the jade pendants according to the Guanyin Bodhisattva or Buddha image that each of us wants to wear. Each of us women should also have one jade plaque. As for the jade thumb rings, Father and Father-in-law should each have one, and the remaining three should be given to my eldest aunt, second aunt, and eldest sister.”
“I think these jade beads should be divided among us women. As for how to divide them, Grandma and Mother can decide.”
When Yun Ruoxia heard Yun Ling say that the jade bracelets also needed to be sorted, she immediately bent over to look inside. She wanted to pick a good one, but she hesitated between the green, pale yellow, and white jade. She seemed to like everything about them and wished she could have them all.
“Ling’er, you have such a good thing, why didn’t you tell me in the letter in advance? I could have dug out some of my private money and asked you to buy me one.”
"I was trying to give you a surprise. I originally wanted to buy more, but being a big tree attracts a lot of attention and trouble, and since I'm not familiar with the area, I had to stop."
"Indeed, Sister Ling is intelligent."
Under Yun Shenghua's praise, Yun Ling carefully took out an envelope from her bosom, handed it to Zhang Shi, and said:
“My aunt is currently engaged to the Qin family, and I’m thinking of buying a estate as part of her dowry when I have some free time.”
"Your father and I are thinking of buying a shop for your aunt."
As Zhang opened the envelope, her legs went weak upon seeing the countless coins inside.
Yun Shenghua helped Zhang up and curiously looked into the envelope. His legs went weak, and the two of them trembled. Fortunately, Gangzi was there to protect them, otherwise they would have fallen.
"What's wrong with you guys? Is there some kind of gold bar hidden in this envelope?"
"It's nothing, it's just 20,000 strings of cash."
Yun Ruoxia panicked, and the jade bracelet slipped from her wrist. Startled, she reached out to grab it, but it eventually fell onto her thigh. She quickly picked it up and put it back in the box, and her panic subsided slightly.
"Ling-jie, where did you get 20,000 strings of cash?"
Tang Ling explained:
"When we were in Mincheng, we met a spoiled brat who made a bet with us, saying that the young lady was afraid to ride a horse, but she often drove a carriage to and from the city, so he naturally lost."
"Looking back now, Bianjing was indeed dangerous, but wealth and status were also easy to come by. It's just that the young lady was aware of this and knew when to stop, which is a rare composure among her peers."
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