"Fourth sister, you..."
Gu Yue stared at Gu Shan in disbelief.
Gu Shan always avoided her gaze and didn't say a word.
Gu Yue screamed, "Ah!" "I won't let you succeed, never."
After saying that, Gu Yue rushed out of Zhilan Courtyard.
Gu Zhen laughed heartily, looking like she was in a very good mood.
Gu Shan blushed and felt embarrassed. "I'm worried that something happened to my third sister. I'll go and see her."
"Fourth sister, take care. If third sister bullies you, don't be polite."
Gu Zhen smiled.
Gu Shan nodded awkwardly, then stood up and left.
Gu Lin's eyes rolled around as she belatedly discovered a shocking fact.
"Madam, don't you value the third sister now? How is that possible?"
Gu Zhen smiled broadly, "Of course not. Madam is nearly pissed off by her, and I don't know how much anger she's holding back. It's just that Gu Yue herself doesn't understand, and really thinks she's in the northwest. She actually dared to question Second Sister. Does she have any shame?"
Gu Lin opened her mouth wide, her jaw dropping in shock.
Gu Jiu said, "Big sister, there's really no need for you to have a falling out with your third sister."
"Thank you, second sister, for your concern. But seeing her smug look, I can't help but want to provoke her. Second sister, don't you want to see third sister crying bitterly?"
Gu Jiu looked at Gu Zhen with a half-smile and said, "If Third Sister really cries bitterly and changes her ways, then it will be Madam's turn to feel distressed."
Gu Zhen was speechless.
She laughed and said, "Second sister is the one who sees things clearly. I'm so stupid. Why bother to enlighten Third sister? What if Madam softens her heart? Then she'll be proud again."
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "Don't worry about that, big sister. Judging from the expression on Third Sister's face, she doesn't look like she's going to burst into tears. I guess nothing is more important than a dowry these days."
Gu Zhen suddenly understood and then burst into laughter.
"Second sister, you are amazing! Why didn't I think of that? Third sister should be talking to the wife about the dowry. With her temper, I'm afraid she will be so angry that she will die."
Gu Zhen hadn't finished speaking yet. Xie was really going to be mad to death, and Gu Jiu had some credit for that.
After all, Gu Jiu was betrothed to Gongzi Zhao, so she needed to prepare a large dowry.
Given Mrs. Xie's stingy nature, this dowry would make her heartbroken.
At this moment in Furong Courtyard, Xie was discussing the issue of dowry with Lord Gu.
"Yue'er needs a dowry, and the second girl is betrothed to the prince, which requires another dowry. If the eldest girl's marriage is confirmed, three dowries will be prepared this year. The public treasury is unwilling to pay a penny more. If this goes on, my lord, our second house will suffer from famine this year."
Xie's complaints of poverty in front of Lord Gu naturally had a purpose.
The words that the eldest wife Zhang had said to her before were still fresh in her mind.
If Gu Jiu were to marry the emperor's grandson, she would need at least tens of thousands of taels of dowry. How could she bear to give that up?
At this time, he had to cry poor so that Lord Gu would know that he should not think that Gu Jiu being betrothed to the emperor's grandson was a good thing. The dowry alone could cost him his life.
Lord Gu's fatherly love was overflowing at this moment. When he thought that Gu Jiu was suffering for him, he felt that he owed Gu Jiu a lot.
He said with a sullen face, "Let's not talk about anything else for now. Xiaojiu's dowry cannot be small. She is marrying the emperor's grandson, and she cannot be looked down upon. I plan to prepare a dowry of 40,000 taels for Xiaojiu."
"master?"
The flesh on Xie's face was trembling and her fingers were shaking.
She really wanted to point at Lord Gu's face and ask him what hatred or grudge he had that made him empty the house.
"Prepare a dowry of 40,000 taels for the second girl. Where can I get that much money? Master, don't forget that the eldest girl, Yue'er, also needs to prepare a dowry. The boys are also of marriageable age and need to prepare betrothal gifts."
Master Gu said in a deep voice, "Yue'er will prepare a dowry of 20,000 taels. As for the eldest girl, if the eldest sister-in-law can get the marriage agreed, she will be given a dowry of 8,000 taels."
Xie felt dizzy and blood rushed to her forehead.
She simply didn't play the roundabout way and said directly to Master Gu: "Master, there is no money in the account. I am unable to take out 70,000 taels at once."
Lord Gu frowned.
Xie pursed her lips and said nothing, but it was clear to her. Preparing a 40,000 tael dowry for Gu Jiu? Dream on.
Her daughter's dowry was only 20,000 taels, half of Gu Jiu's. Did she really think her daughter was inferior to her first wife's daughter?
Lord Gu pondered for a moment and said, "Half of the dowry left by Mrs. Su will be divided, which is about 20,000 taels. Add to that the 5,000 taels from the public treasury, and that will be 25,000 taels. I will also give out another 10,000 taels, and the remaining 5,000 taels will be deducted from the account."
It just made up a dowry of 40,000 taels.
Xie's eyes widened, her face turned pale, and she looked as if she had been greatly shocked.
"Master said that Sister Su left behind a dowry of 40,000 taels?"
How could there be so many?
Xie was a little bit unbelievable.
Lord Gu nodded. "I've been stationed abroad for many years, and the Su family's farms and shops are all in the capital, so I've neglected them. If I had returned to the capital two years earlier and taken better care of them, Xiaojiu's 40,000 taels dowry would have been almost enough with the portion left by her late mother."
Xie was speechless and her face flushed.
She gritted her teeth and said, "Master, isn't it a bit too much to prepare 40,000 taels of dowry for the second girl? We don't have much money in the account of the second house."
Master Gu looked at Mrs. Xie with dissatisfaction, "Could it be that you can't even come up with five thousand taels?"
"It's not that we can't afford it, it's not that the cost is too high."
Lord Gu snorted coldly, "Xiao Jiu... if she marries into the palace with a dowry of less than 40,000 taels, how can she hold her head up high in front of others? I'm afraid she'll be ridiculed and mocked on the first day she gets married. When I think of Xiao Jiu being looked down upon in the palace, my heart..."
Lord Gu covered his chest and wanted to say emotionally that he felt uncomfortable. Suddenly, he came to his senses and realized that he had to maintain his dignity in front of Mrs. Xie, so he did not say the word "uncomfortable".
However, Xie heard what Mr. Gu had not yet said.
She frowned slightly. Is the master confused?
When did I start to feel so sorry for Gu Jiu?
This is not right.
Xie gritted her teeth and said, "Master, a dowry of 35,000 taels is not a small amount. The dowry of a girl from the Marquis's Mansion is about the same."
Master Gu looked at Mrs. Xie coldly, "Madam, didn't you hear what your husband said? Your husband made it very clear that the dowry for Xiaojiu must not be less than 40,000 taels. Of this, 35,000 taels have nothing to do with you. How can you not even be willing to give up a mere 5,000 taels? Do stepmothers really not treat their stepdaughters as human beings?"
"Master, you are wronged!"
Xie felt so wronged that she burst into tears.
"When have I ever stopped treating the second girl as my own daughter? I've been the one taking care of her all these years.
When Sister Su gave birth to her, she was a skinny little child. If I had harbored ill intentions, I could have deliberately delayed calling a doctor. Would Second Girl still be where she is today?
"I have given my heart and soul to you, bearing children for you, and raising them to adulthood. Yet you speak such cruel words. I shall not live any longer, I shall not live any longer."
Xie cried and was extremely sad.
Lord Gu also felt a little regretful, as if his words were a bit too harsh.
Seeing that Xie had behaved well during the first month of the year, and that the Xie family hadn't come to the banquet held at the mansion yesterday to cause any nuisance, Lord Gu comforted her, saying, "It was your husband who misunderstood you. However, Xiaojiu's dowry must be 40,000 taels, not a penny less. Only 5,000 taels needs to be paid from the account, which won't affect the dowries for Yue'er and the eldest girl."
Mrs. Xie was still crying.
She covered her face with her sleeves, feeling extremely angry.
What do you mean only five thousand taels are needed from the account? Isn’t the ten thousand taels that the master paid out money?
For Gu Jiu's dowry, the master was willing to spend 10,000 taels of his private silver. You know, that money will be left to the two brothers Gu Cheng and Gu Gong in the future.
This is equivalent to using her son's money to subsidize Gu Jiu.
How could Xie bear it?
But looking at Lord Gu's determined expression, Xie knew that her opposition was useless.
Lord Gu has really made up his mind to prepare a dowry of 40,000 taels for Gu Jiu.
Xie's heart ached and tears fell.
This life is unbearable.
She lay on the bed and cried sadly, unable to stop.
Lord Gu frowned, "Why are you crying again? Your husband has already said that I misunderstood you in those previous words. Why do you have to be so picky?"
Xie said in a muffled voice, "I am just sad and want to cry. Master, please leave me alone and go away."
Master Gu frowned, "Don't make a fuss! Let's finish the business first."
Xie bit her lip and said, "Master has the final say on important matters, and I have no objection. The only thing is that Yue'er's dowry is half as much as the second girl's. If word gets out to the Haixi Marquis's mansion, what will they think? Will they think Yue'er is inferior to the second girl, and think our parents are partial, and then treat Yue'er harshly?"
"You're overthinking it."
Lord Gu rubbed his brows. "Gu Jiu is marrying the emperor's grandson, so her dowry is larger than Yue'er's. This is natural. Even if the Haixi Marquis' Mansion knew about this, they would understand. Could it be that they want to compete with the royal palace for superiority?"
Xie was choked, but she did not give up. She continued crying and said, "I just feel wronged for Yue'er."
Lord Gu finally understood what Xie meant by making such a fuss.
"Alright, I'll give Yue'er another 5,000 taels of silver as a dowry, as a token of my appreciation to her as a father. Also, I'll give Zhen's dowry another 3,000 taels of silver. Are you satisfied with this?"
Xie gritted her teeth and gradually stopped crying.
She sat up, her eyes a little red and swollen. "I accept this gift from the master on behalf of Yue'er and Zhen. The two children will be very happy when they know it."
Master Gu hummed, "Hold on tight for the children's dowries. Forget it, I'll make a list based on Su's dowry back then, and we'll discuss the specific arrangements later."
Lord Gu changed his mind at the last minute.
Originally, he wanted Xie to come forward and arrange the dowry for Gu Jiu. This was also the rule.
But Lord Gu changed his mind and thought that if he let Xie prepare Gu Jiu's dowry, with 40,000 taels of silver, he could probably only buy 30,000 taels of dowry at most.
Needless to say, 10,000 taels of it would definitely fall into Xie's pocket.
There was no need to explain this explicitly; Master Gu simply planned to send someone to prepare the dowry himself. After all, the farmhouse, the shop, and some other items were already available.
It’s okay to let sister-in-law Zhang keep an eye on the remaining matters.
Xie opened her mouth and guessed what Lord Gu was thinking.
But she didn't say anything.
Because she didn't want to buy a dowry for Gu Jiu, even if there were benefits to be gained.
She was afraid that she would be angry to death.
In particular, Gu Jiu's dowry formed a sharp contrast with Gu Yue's.
As for money, Xie is not short of it.
After following Lord Gu for so many years and with the help of Second Master Xie, Mrs. Xie has saved a lot of money.
After the busy New Year, Xie also planned to open a farm and shop in the capital to earn more money and to relocate the idle people.
Lord Gu wanted to give Xie some advice, but when he saw Xie's expression, he gave up the idea.
Lord Gu said, "I have something else to do, so I'll leave first."
"master!"
Xie called out to Lord Gu, her eyes full of autumn water, which made Lord Gu recall the ridiculous years of his youth.
He kept a straight face and asked, "What's the matter?"
The more I miss the ridiculous days of my youth, the more I have to pretend to be serious on my face.
Lord Gu has just this kind of temper.
Xie said, "I'm going to visit the Marquis's residence tomorrow. I want to ask you, Master, what kind of gift should I prepare?"
Lord Gu said, "I will ask Gu Quan to handle this matter, you don't have to worry about it."
After saying that, Lord Gu left Furong Courtyard.
When Gu Yue heard the noise, he hurriedly hid in the side room, not daring to show his head.
She had already arrived at Furong Courtyard and stopped the maid from informing them.
She stood under the window and listened secretly for a long time.
When she heard that a dowry of 40,000 taels was prepared for Gu Jiu, while she only had 20,000 taels, she was so angry that her teeth were broken.
Gu Yue came out of the room only after Lord Gu left.
Chun He stood under the eaves, looking at Gu Yue, and deliberately raised her voice and said, "The third young lady is here. I will go in and announce it."
"Is Yue'er here? Let her come in."
Xie's voice came from inside the house.
Chun He looked at Gu Yue with a smile, "Third Miss, please come in. The Madam is inside."
Gu Yue walked into the main room with an expressionless face, "Daughter pays respects to mother."
"Sit down and talk."
Mrs. Xie looked lazy and listless.
Xie sat upright on the chair, feeling mixed emotions, her nose pricking, she felt wronged, and tears started to fall.
Xie stared at Gu Yue, "Why are you crying?"
"My daughter didn't cry for any reason, she was just sad."
Xie asked expressionlessly, "You heard everything, didn't you?"
Gu Yue's heart started to panic and her eyes flickered, fearing that Xie would scold her.
As a result, Xie was just deceiving her.
"Judging from your reaction, you must have heard the conversation between me and your father. Chunhe is becoming more and more outrageous, actually letting you eavesdrop."
"It's none of Sister Chunhe's business. It's my fault. I was the one who eavesdropped."
Xie groaned and said, "It's rare that you can think of others."
Gu Yue's face flushed instantly.
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