Chapter 18 Fighting for the Bride Gift
Gu Qingning's birthday is June 22nd.
She was a junior, so it was impossible for her to have a grand celebration on her birthday. She thought it would be enough to just have some longevity noodles.
Granny Liao disagreed, "Miss, this is your first birthday after getting married. No matter what, we have to prepare a birthday banquet for you, even if it's just in our Songtao Pavilion."
Banxia nodded beside him like a chick pecking at rice, "Yes, Miss, I have prepared a birthday gift for you."
Gu Qingning's eyes were gentle.
It's really sad to say that there are only a few family members who still care about her now.
That means he is closest to Granny Liao and Banxia.
Chen Fenfang didn't know that today was Gu Qingning's birthday. She immediately agreed after hearing this: "Madam, Granny Liao is right. This is your first birthday after marrying into Songtao Pavilion. We must celebrate it! Leave it to me. I know the owner of Baixianglou. I can ask them to prepare a large table of dishes and send them over while they are hot!"
Granny Liao: "That's great! I'll make the longevity noodles!"
Seeing them so enthusiastic, Gu Qingning felt warm in her heart.
She smiled and nodded, "Okay, let's do as you say. Aunt Chen, please prepare more wine and food, so that the whole Songtao Pavilion will be lively today."
"Oh, yes!"
Everyone went to prepare happily.
Chen Fenfang went out, first went to Baixianglou to book a table, and then turned to the shop where Su Ziyuan was staying.
She cut to the chase: "Today is Madam's birthday, you should find a way to ask the master if he wants to express his gratitude!"
Su Ziyuan's mouth twitched, "But the master is not alive yet."
Chen Fenfang: "It's not easy for Madam. This is her first birthday after marrying into Songtao Pavilion. Please ask the master to think of a gift, even if you can use me to send it later."
It was pitiful enough for the lady to be a widow, and then there were people in the Duke's Mansion who were targeting her and bullying her. The more Chen Fenfang thought about it, the more distressed she felt.
Su Ziyuan nodded, "Okay, I'll do it as soon as possible."
After explaining this matter, Chen Fenfang quietly returned to the Duke's Mansion.
At this time, Gu Qingning was counting the accounts with Feng. It was almost the middle of the year, and the household expenses for half a year had to be settled to see if there were any problems.
In fact, Feng had already had the accounts settled long ago, she was just deliberately making things difficult for Gu Qingning.
In fact, Gu Qingning also knew it, but she also wanted to calculate it again to know the income and expenditure of the Duke's Mansion in half a year, where more money was collected and where more was spent, and whether it was reasonable. This would also help her better grasp the financial situation of the entire Duke's Mansion.
Oh, it turns out that the biggest expense of the Duke's Mansion in the first half of the year was the wedding of Lu Hangzhi and Shen Ruoying.
Although they got married on the same day, Gu Qingning's wedding was extremely shabby and simple. However, Gu Qingning didn't want to argue with the Duke's Mansion about these things. She wanted to argue about another thing.
Gu Qingning picked up an account book and asked in confusion, "Mother, why is it written as taking back the betrothal gift?"
The date was before those two marriages.
Feng's expression changed slightly, and she coughed lightly, "This is the betrothal gift that Jingyu gave to the Shen family when he married Ruoying. Later, the marriage was changed, and Jingyu's betrothal gift was taken back. We went through the process of three letters and six ceremonies again."
Gu Qingning did not go through all these formalities. She simply wore the wedding dress she had embroidered herself, was taken to the Duke's Mansion in a red sedan chair, and bowed in front of the young master's spirit tablet.
Seeing Gu Qingning's expression, Feng also became nervous. "Qingning, this happened before you got married. Didn't you say last time that you were very satisfied with this marriage exchange and wouldn't worry about it anymore?"
Gu Qingning: "Mother, I am indeed very satisfied with this marriage exchange, and I have no grudge against Hang Zhi Ruoying and his wife. However, since this was the betrothal gift given by the young master, should it be transferred to me?"
Those betrothal gifts were prepared by Lu Jingyu himself when he was getting married.
It was really generous and full of good stuff, which made Feng selfish. She wanted to find a reason to embezzle it later, but who would have thought that Gu Qingning would find out?
If I had known, I wouldn’t have let her check the accounts of income and expenditure of the mansion in the first half of the year!
Feng was filled with regret, but she still laughed dryly, "But Qing Ning, don't you mention that your parents are both dead, and your other relatives are far away in Jiangnan, and they are not close after the separation. Do you think this betrothal gift should be given to the Chenhou Mansion?"
Feng had long seen that Gu Qingning was not close to the Chen Hou Mansion, so she probably didn't want to give so many good things to the Chen Hou Mansion for nothing, right?
Gu Qingning thought about it seriously for a while, then nodded, "Mother is right. The Chen Marquis's Mansion hasn't married off any daughters yet, so they definitely can't take this betrothal gift."
Feng smiled and nodded, "That's right."
Gu Qingning changed the subject and said, "Then these things should be taken back to Songtao Pavilion. Mother, I will ask Aunt Chen to take people to the warehouse to count and move them out this afternoon."
Feng almost couldn't catch her breath!
Her eyes were wide open, and her eyes were twitching. She was obviously very angry, but she forced a smile on her face:
"Qing Ning, isn't the Song Tao Pavilion's warehouse already full? There's no rush anyway, so just leave those things there."
Gu Qingning smiled: "Thank you for your concern, mother. Don't worry, the warehouse in Songtao Pavilion can accommodate it."
Feng: “…”
She was about to get angry when Lu Hangzhi pulled open the curtain and walked in.
He has been studying very seriously these days, which makes Feng very pleased.
Feng: "Hangzhi, why are you here?"
Lu Hangzhi: "I'm here to see my sister-in-law. I'm very sorry for the misunderstanding that Ruoying caused before. Today happens to be your birthday, so this is a birthday gift from my husband and me."
When the brocade box was opened, inside lay a very beautiful red gold and kingfisher feather Ruyi hairpin, which was very valuable.
Gu Qingning took it with a smile, "My cousin still remembers my preferences. She knows that I like this hairpin the most. Thank you for the birthday gift."
Seeing this, Feng, who was standing next to her, couldn't pretend to be ignorant anymore.
She deliberately said angrily, "Hey, Qing Ning, it's your birthday today, why didn't you tell mother? Stop looking at the account book and go back to your room to rest. I'll have someone prepare a table of food and wine later, and we'll celebrate your birthday together as a family."
Gu Qingning: "Don't bother me, mother. I'm a junior, so I don't need to do this. But since you said so, I'll take a break today and help you settle the bill tomorrow, okay?"
"Of course, go back and rest."
Gu Qingning bowed and took the betrothal gift list with her when she left.
The corner of Feng's mouth twitched. This damn girl was so difficult to deal with. She wanted to see how long you, Gu Qingning, could guard the things given to Songtao Pavilion!
After Gu Qingning left, Feng turned around and asked her son, "Hangzhi, did you and Ruoying really prepare this birthday gift together?"
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