Chapter 41 Reclaiming the Dowry
Meng Jinyao lowered her head, staring blankly at the wooden box in her hand. The box wasn't heavy, but it felt incredibly heavy in her hands.
In the morning, she was a poor person who couldn't even afford to eat at the restaurant. In the afternoon, she became rich overnight. The feeling of suddenly having a large sum of money was unreal.
Gu Jingxi entrusted all of this to her to manage. Wasn't he afraid that she would squander his wealth and end up losing everything?
Gu Jingxi found it amusing to see the little girl staring blankly at the wooden box, speechless. Just a few days ago, her fiancé ran away from the wedding, and she didn't act stupid at all. She was able to deal with it calmly and even had the audacity to change husbands. But now she acts stupid when she sees money. Could it be that her fiancé is not as important as money?
He asked with a smile, "Madam, what's wrong?"
Hearing this, Meng Jinyao looked up at him and asked, "Husband, aren't you afraid that I'll squander your family fortune?"
Gu Jingxi glanced at her and said with a smile, "Husband and wife are one, sharing honor and disgrace. What's mine is yours. However, it is also your skill to squander my family fortune. But after squandering the family fortune, you will probably have to live a hard life with me in the future."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao was startled, and a look of surprise flashed in her eyes.
They got married under those circumstances, which was different from that of ordinary couples. At most, they just made do. Gu Jingxi actually felt that they were one, and regarded her as a wife who would share both honor and disgrace in the true sense.
It must be said that Lord Gu was unexpectedly responsible. However, it is probably because Gu Xiuming, a responsible person, raised such an irresponsible and willful son that Gu Xiuming was bad at his core and his personality was just like his biological parents.
Gu Jingxi seemed to see through her thoughts and said, "It is a disservice for you to marry into the Gu family. I cannot give you anything else, but I hope you will not find these material possessions too offensive."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao immediately understood. It turned out that she felt indebted to her because of her hidden illness, so she was making up for it with money. But who would complain about money? This was substantial compensation. She was short of money and didn't have any to buy anything. This money was a timely help.
She composed herself, calmed down, and smiled as she replied calmly, "I don't mind. Since my husband has entrusted me with this, I will manage it well."
Gu Jingxi nodded and said, "I called Madam over for this matter. If Madam has nothing else to say, please go out first. I have some things to attend to."
"Then I'll go out first, so as not to disturb my husband's busy business."
After saying that, Meng Jinyao carried the wooden box out of the study and returned to her bedroom. She then opened the box and took out the contents to take a look.
Flipping through the storeroom's register and looking at the list of items recorded there, she was astonished. The contents of the storeroom were more amazing than she had imagined. There were many treasures, paintings, and antiques inside, and many of them were imperial gifts, probably bestowed by the emperor after Gu Jingxi made meritorious contributions.
And then there are those estates and shops. Judging from the land deeds, the estates are located in the outskirts of Beijing, and their locations are excellent, guaranteeing a bountiful harvest each year. The shops are the same; they're all situated on bustling streets in the capital, and these shops must be making a fortune every day.
No wonder Gu Jingxi said that it was her skill to squander his fortune; she herself didn't think she had the ability to squander all of Gu Jingxi's private assets.
Finally, Meng Jinyao counted the silver notes Gu Jingxi had given her. They were all silver notes of different denominations, including fifty taels, one hundred taels, five hundred taels, one thousand taels, and five thousand taels, totaling thirty thousand taels of silver notes.
With such a fortune in her hands, she was somewhat dazed. Gu Jingxi was truly generous; he was giving her far too much. What husband would give his wife 30,000 taels of silver as pocket money?
When Ningdong and Qingqiu entered, they were stunned to see their master holding a stack of silver notes.
Qingqiu asked, "Madam, how come you have so many silver notes?"
Meng Jinyao briefly recounted what had happened in the study.
The two maids were shocked to hear this, but they were also happy for their master. Entrusting their property to him meant that the Marquis recognized her, considered her a true wife, and would live a good life with her.
Ning Dong glanced at the stack of silver notes, seemingly lost in thought, and said, “Madam, since this money is from the Marquis, why don’t you go out tomorrow to buy some clothes and jewelry? Your current attire is far too plain. Before, there was no way to dress up, but now the Marquis has given you the money.”
As she spoke, she glanced at her mistress. Her mistress's clothes were not exactly shabby, but rather dignified and simple. The dowry that Madam Sun gave her mistress included jewelry, but it was all rather vulgar in style, and it would have been better not to wear it at all. Even her clothes were in rather old-fashioned colors.
Sun has always treated her mistress this way. The jewelry is of some value, and the fabric of the clothes is not bad, but they are not very attractive. Isn't she doing this because she is afraid that her mistress will steal the spotlight from the second young lady? Her mistress is beautiful, and if she dresses up nicely, the second young lady will become a mere foil.
Sun was simply used to it and was short-sighted. She had already forgotten that her mistress was getting married and was only preparing things to take to her husband's family. On the one hand, she was thinking about using this marriage to benefit the Meng family, but on the other hand, she didn't put any effort into her mistress. She didn't have the means to dress up nicely, and her future son-in-law wouldn't even look at her. What benefits could they possibly gain?
Meng Jinyao nodded and said matter-of-factly, "Of course. I am his wife, so it is only right for me to spend his money. If I save his money and don't spend it, maybe other women will spend it for me."
Qingqiu said, "Madam, please don't worry. The Marquis doesn't seem like that kind of person."
“He doesn’t seem like that kind of person now, but who knows what will happen in the future? It’s important to live in the present.” Meng Jinyao was open-minded and didn’t care whether her husband would support other women in the future. Clutching the banknotes in her hand, she suddenly remembered an important matter that she had forgotten.
Ningdong and Qingqiu noticed her sudden change in expression and asked in unison, "Madam, what's wrong?"
Meng Jinyao looked at Qingqiu and asked in return, "Qingqiu, do you remember when I asked you at noon if there was anything I had forgotten to do?"
Qingqiu nodded: "This servant remembers. Has Madam forgotten something?"
Meng Jinyao smiled enigmatically, her red lips parting slightly as she responded with two words: "Dowry."
Before her wedding, she fell ill in the chilly spring, feeling dizzy and listless, with no energy to do anything. She had just recovered when her wedding day arrived, and there was no time to ask for her mother's dowry back. She had originally planned to ask for it back after the three-day homecoming, but then her fiancé eloped with someone else, and she forgot all about the important matter.
Upon hearing this, Ningdong and Qingqiu suddenly remembered this forgotten most important matter: when the Earl's first wife, Madam Zhou, married into the Meng family, she had a large dowry. However, after Madam Zhou passed away, the dowry was held by the Earl's second wife, Madam Sun, who said that Madam Zhou was still young and that she would manage it for Madam Zhou until Madam Zhou got married.
As Meng Jinyao put the silver notes, land deeds, and booklets back into the wooden box, she said, "I'll go buy clothes and jewelry another day. Tomorrow I have to go to the Yongchang Marquis's mansion to get my mother's dowry back."
She was never in a hurry to get her mother's dowry back from Sun's hands. This was because her maternal grandfather had given her the dowry list before he passed away. Since her mother was an only child and had no brothers or sisters, she was afraid that her husband's family would covet the dowry. So she was careful and made two copies of the dowry list in case the other copy was 'lost' in her husband's family.
Sun was unaware that her mother had prepared two copies of the dowry list, so she planned to give her a random one when she got married.
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