The group entered Songhe Hall, and the old lady and Su Chengye were already waiting in the main hall.
Su Chengxun and Hai brought their two children to the center of the main hall, knelt down politely and paid their respects to the old lady.
"My son pays his respects to my mother. I have been unfilial in the past few years and have not been by her side to serve her. I ask for your forgiveness."
Whether it was true or false, Su Chengxun had to say this. Scholars valued filial piety the most, and even if his stepmother was not very kind to him, he had to sincerely support her.
Hai and her two children knelt behind Su Chengxun, respectfully and appropriately.
Although the old lady had a smile on her face, she looked perfunctory.
Su Qingyu curled her lips and thought that if her second uncle came back, her grandmother would probably burst into tears.
But it is understandable. They are not biological children, so there is still a gap between them.
But my grandmother’s mistake was that she didn’t treat him as her son, but still wanted to interfere in everything.
Eight years ago, Su Chengxun was promoted to Censor of the Censorate. His future was bright and he and his wife loved each other very much.
However, with the sudden death of the old master, Su Chengxun temporarily withdrew from the court to observe mourning, and the old lady began to interfere in the affairs of Su Chengxun's room.
She set rules for the Hai family and asked Su Chengxun to seek benefits for his two brothers. After the mourning period, Su Chengxun should have returned to the court, but the old lady forced two concubines into his room.
Su Chengxun didn't confiscate any of it and sent the man away directly. A few days later, he found a way to use his connections in the Ministry of Personnel and was transferred to Suzhou.
The old lady was obviously also thinking about the past, and she said, "It's amazing that you still remember that there is still a mother at home. I thought you were living a comfortable life in Jiangnan and didn't want to return to Beijing."
Su Chengxun hurriedly said, "Mother, you are too serious. I dare not do that. Whether I am sent out or return to the capital, I will always prioritize state affairs. I dare not have any selfish motives."
The old lady snorted lightly and said, "Everyone go down and rest. I heard that the third daughter-in-law is good at tying her hair. Come in and help me change clothes and rest."
It is obvious that she still wants to act like the legitimate mother in front of Hai.
Just as Hai was about to agree, she heard Lin say, "Mother, you need a maid to tie your hair? How are the people around you serving you? Can't you even tie your hair properly?"
"How about this, all the servants around mother are sold, and I will buy a maid who can tie her hair to come into the mansion to serve mother."
The old lady was so angry that veins bulged on her forehead. She had no doubt that if she dared to let Hai in, Lin would sell out everyone in Songhe Hall.
Glancing at Lin, the old lady said unhappily, "Go down and have a rest." After that, she flicked her sleeves and left.
Hai stood up and whispered to Lin, "Thank you, sister-in-law. But next time, please don't contradict my mother-in-law for me. I'm afraid it will affect your reputation."
Lin said in a low voice, "It doesn't matter. This reputation is useless to me now."
Since marrying into the Su family, Lin had changed her temperament and now spoke softly. Recently, after figuring out many things, she was no longer so cautious about what she said. She just felt that speaking this way was really refreshing.
After Hai Shi returned to Qingyin Court and settled down, she sent greeting gifts to each courtyard. She gave Su Qingyu two pieces of fine Suzhou embroidery brocade and thanked her for buying many things for Qingyin Court.
After Su Chengxun and his family returned home, the Marquis's Mansion became much more lively than usual.
Hai often brought her children to visit Lin. Both children were well-mannered and sensible, and were very much loved by Lin.
By the end of March, the Su and Zhao families had agreed on the marriage, and Zhao Ji sent someone to the Su family to propose marriage.
Although the betrothal gift is not as good as that of the Shen family, it is still quite decent.
The day after the Zhao family made their betrothal, when Su Qingyu went to pay her respects in the morning, she heard the old lady say, "Qingyu, your dowry is too much. Give half to your third sister, otherwise it will not look good for her to marry into the Zhao family."
Before Su Qingyu could even get comfortable in her chair, she was shocked by the old lady's words.
Is this what the old lady meant, or is Su Yihui fanning the flames behind the scenes?
She glanced at Su Yihui coldly, and heard Aunt Xue say to her almost pleadingly, "What do you want your elder sister's dowry for? What else can the mansion do without your dowry?"
Su Yihui said impatiently: "It's ok if Auntie doesn't dare to fight, but don't stop me."
Su Qingyu understood and said coldly, "Impossible. Grandmother was worried that she wouldn't look good after getting married, so she could buy her some extra money. But part of my dowry was taken from my mother's dowry, and part was bought for me by my mother with her own money. There's no reason to give it to my third sister."
Su Yihui blurted out: “Isn’t there still the dowry that Mr. Shen San gave you? That’s worth one hundred thousand taels.”
"Isn't it too ostentatious for Big Sister to have so much dowry?"
Su Qingyu didn't expect that she was also eyeing the Shen family's part of the dowry. She didn't know whether to say that she was whimsical or shameless.
"Third sister, if you want to show off, you can ask Prince Zhao to give you a dowry of 100,000 taels as well."
"As for whether I am showing off or not, it is not your turn to interfere."
The old lady sighed and wanted to give some advice, but was interrupted by Lin's words.
"This family is becoming more and more unruly."
"I think the Third Miss is living too comfortably in the mansion and wants to stay at Jinghui Temple for a while."
There were some things that Su Qingyu was reluctant to say, but as the mistress of the house, Lin had no scruples.
How could a concubine's daughter really cause such a turmoil?
Aunt Xue quickly knelt on the ground and said, "Madam, please forgive me. The Third Miss was confused for a moment. Please calm down."
He seemed to be pleading with Lin, but he kept glancing at Su Qingyu from the corner of his eyes, fearing that Su Qingyu would take her anger out on him and harm Su Yuankai's life.
Seeing this, Su Yihui bit her lip and knelt in front of the old lady.
"Grandmother, please help me persuade my elder sister. I have already told Prince Zhao that my elder sister will give me half of her dowry."
"Now that the Zhao family has already made the betrothal, how can I explain to Prince Zhao if there is no dowry?"
"It's no big deal that Prince Zhao broke off the engagement in anger, but if he brings my second uncle back to Qianzhou, I'll become a sinner of the Su family."
Su Yihui deliberately waited until the Zhao family proposed marriage before bringing up the issue of dowry, just to leave no room for maneuver.
The old lady had agreed to speak for Su Yihui before, but she was just trying to use Su Yihui's dowry to establish a relationship with the Zhao family. After all, even if Su Chengyan was transferred back to the capital, he would need the Zhao family's help to get a good position.
After hearing what Su Yihui said, she became more determined to let Su Qingyu pay for the dowry. Otherwise, as Su Yihui said, what if Prince Zhao got angry and took her back to Qianzhou?
Even if it cost her money to buy peace of mind, she would be willing to do so. However, it wouldn't be her own money.
"Qingyu, since your third sister has said so, you can't just sit there and watch her marriage go wrong, right?"
"In the end, we can't explain this matter to the Zhao family."
Upon hearing this, Su Qingyu stood up and said with a slight smile.
"Grandma, are you worried that this matter will be difficult to explain? That's okay. I will go to the Zhao family and explain it myself."
"The wife of the Duke of Wei is very reasonable and will surely understand the lies my third sister told because she wanted to marry into the Zhao family."
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