Chapter 11: Report to the police, my wife has troubled you
"Listen, what kind of nonsense are you talking about?" The Second Madam stood on the steps in front of the door, looking down at Madam Liu: "Your Second Madam's dowry was carried into the Lanxueyuan storehouse by the dowry delivery people yesterday morning.
If the numbers don't add up, you should ask the person who is in charge of the storehouse, or the person who delivers the dowry. But you actually asked my second wife for the dowry.
Is it possible that if your second grandma is short of a penny in the future, you will have to ask me to make up for it?
Even if I were the goddess Nuwa, I wouldn't be able to fill this huge hole she left behind."
"To answer the Second Madam, Second Madam asked the storekeeper, and they found out that it was Third Madam's sixteen loads of dowry that were carried into Lanxueyuan, while Second Madam's over one hundred loads of dowry went into the storehouse of the Second House." Madam Liu said with a smile, "Second Madam said you were reasonable and agreed to let us carry the dowry away when we served tea."
The Second Lady agreed because she was forced by the situation and did not dare to act rashly in front of the Old Lady.
These more than one hundred loads of dowry were originally for Shen Mingzhu. For the sake of reputation, the Shen family deliberately gave her as a dowry under the name of Shen Qingtan.
Originally, the crime of replacing the bride was to be put on Shen Qingtan. The Shen family doted on her, making her arrogant and shameless enough to snatch Shen Mingzhu's husband.
The Shen family took charge again. In order to compensate Shen Mingzhu, the more than one hundred dowry given to Shen Qingtan was all put under Shen Mingzhu's name.
Who knew that the matter was first exposed by the eldest wife, causing them to suffer in silence.
"It's no use being reasonable. The dowry is in Zhu'er's hands. You have to ask her for it." The Second Lady sighed and said helplessly, "Zhu'er sat in her room crying as soon as she came back. She felt that she was not capable enough and that she had burdened her sister with the responsibility of managing the dowry for two people.
If she had not suffered for more than ten years outside, and had lived a comfortable life in the mansion like her sister, she would have been able to go to a private school from a young age and have her own mother teach her how to keep accounts.
The Shen family would not put her share of the dowry on her sister alone, she could also help share some of it.
Zhu'er didn't argue or fight, and took the initiative to ask her sister to move the dowry. But the elder sister, while promising her mother that she would take good care of her younger sister, was not willing to give in at all, as if she was afraid that her younger sister would embezzle the dowry. She came to take the dowry right after serving tea, not giving her any face at all.
If I had a sister like this who has suffered so much, I would give her half of my dowry. If she doesn't know how to manage accounts, I will teach her myself. We are not born knowing everything."
Mother Liu saw that the Second Madam was accusing Shen Qingtan of being unkind and actually wanted to take over the dowry.
"God have mercy on her! It was all that midwife's evil deeds that caused Third Grandma to suffer so much. How could Second Grandma not feel bad? It was precisely because she felt bad for Third Grandma that she took on all the responsibilities herself. She suffered so much, so much, and it was inconvenient for her to confide in anyone. After all, how could these hardships compare to what Third Grandma had to endure outside?"
Madam Liu twirled her sleeves and wiped the corners of her eyes, her throat choking with sobs. "Second Madam is a very filial person. She wanted to give half of her dowry to Third Madam, but she didn't dare disobey the Marquis's order. Those who know that Second Madam loves her younger sister, while those who don't think that Second Madam is married and has become powerful, so she dares to disobey the Marquis's order."
In short, the Second Grandma is feeling miserable, and no matter what she does, she will be misunderstood.
The second lady choked.
"Second Madam is anxious to carry away the dowry because she's afraid of gossip. She's worried that Third Madam is trying to seize her eldest sister's dowry and ruin her reputation." Madam Liu suggested, "Second Madam, how about I take the dowry back today? When I return home in a couple of days, I'll have Second Madam discuss with the Marquis' wife and redistribute some of the dowry to Third Madam?"
The Second Madam pulled the corner of her lip and said, "I did misunderstand my niece-in-law. It's just that this dowry is mixed with my other private property. I have stored a lot of valuables, and I don't have anyone to spare..."
Seeing that the Second Madam was still trying to shirk her responsibility, Madam Liu directly pulled out a dowry list: "The government and the Shen family each have a list of the dowry that the Second Madam prepared before she got married.
You don't have anyone to help you count, and the people I brought with me are clumsy, and I'm afraid they will damage your private belongings. Why don't you send someone to the government office to ask the official to bring the registered dowry list and come over to help us count it?
Those officials have handled many cases, and they are calm and swift in their work, so they would never bump into the valuables inside."
The second wife clenched the handkerchief in her hand, feeling resentful and angry at being forced to this point by a cunning servant.
How could she dare to ask Mother Liu to go to the government to ask for help?
If the matter gets to the government and the reputation of the Duke's Mansion is ruined, the second branch will really be finished!
"There's no need to alert outsiders. You're an elder in the mansion, and I trust you to do what you're supposed to do." No matter how reluctant the Second Lady was, she had to return the dowry. With a cold expression, she instructed Madam Cao beside her, "Go and ask Madam San to come over and open the door to the storeroom so they can carry the dowry."
"Yes." Mother Cao went to Meiyingyuan at a brisk pace.
After a while, Shen Mingzhu and Mother Cao came hurriedly.
Shen Mingzhu had heard that Shen Qingtan had sent people to carry the dowry, so she deliberately hid in the yard and did not show up, hoping that the second wife would keep this dowry.
Now that even the Second Madam couldn't keep her, she couldn't speak up. After all, she was the one who first asked Shen Qingtan to carry the dowry. If she turned her back on her, her reputation would be ruined.
She could only let Shen Qingtan take the dowry away first, and then ask her mother to make the decision and instruct Shen Qingtan to divide the dowry among her when she returned home.
Shen Mingzhu took out a key and handed it to Mother Liu: "Go open it yourself. After you lift it, send someone to return the key to me."
"Thank you, Third Madam, for your consideration." Madam Liu took the key with both hands and looked at the Second Madam. "Please leave Madam Cao behind to help. I will finish carrying the dowry as soon as possible to avoid disturbing the peace of the masters."
The Second Madam knew very well what Mama Liu was thinking. She was simply afraid that without anyone from the Second House watching over them, they would be falsely accused of stealing.
She was upset and didn't want to be pestered any more, so she waved her hand and motioned for Mother Cao to follow.
Mother Liu led everyone out of the front yard of Mingde Hall. The door of the study opened, and the second master and Zhao Jue came out.
The Second Master frowned and said, "How can we carry the dowry back to them? Jue'er has received the job and is still short of tens of thousands of taels of silver. This dowry will be used."
The Second Lady glanced at Shen Mingzhu, secretly annoyed that the Second Master was so careless with his words that he talked about the misappropriation of the dowry in front of others.
Shen Mingzhu's eyelashes trembled, and she whispered, "Mother, I have discussed with my husband privately that I will lend him this dowry to do his job."
Hearing this, the Second Madam's brows relaxed as she explained, "I agreed in front of the old lady to return the dowry to Shen Qingtan. If we don't return it, the old lady will think we are short-sighted and incapable of great things. How can she give the title to our second branch then?"
The Second Master and Zhao Jue originally wanted to use the dowry to buy military rations. When Shen Qingtan made a fuss in front of the Duke, they would just say that it was an emergency and the grain merchants were raising prices. They still lacked the money to buy grain, so they had to borrow the dowry first and then slowly return it to Shen Qingtan.
As for when to pay it off, that is up to them.
The old Duke has always put state affairs first and would not blame them.
Unexpectedly, the dowry was taken back by Shen Qingtan.
The second master was worried: "What should I do with the money to buy military rations?"
Shen Mingzhu flattered him, "Father, Mother, after my daughter-in-law returns home, I will ask the Marquisate to find a way to make up for the money needed to buy military rations."
Several people knew it well, and they must take back the dowry from Shen Qingtan to make up for the loss.
When the second master and the second mistress heard this, they smiled happily and praised him several times.
Zhao Jue said in a low voice: "Madam, I'm sorry to trouble you."
Shen Mingzhu felt relieved when she saw their attitude change, and she found a way to please her husband's family.
Hearing Zhao Jue's words, she blushed: "Husband, I am very happy to be able to share your worries."
Seeing her sincerity, Zhao Jue's expression softened: "I'll take you back to your room."
Shen Mingzhu nodded slightly. This was the first good look Zhao Jue gave her after serving her tea, so she cherished it very much.
——
Mother Liu took the dowry list in her hand, opened the boxes one by one and compared them. After a careful inspection, she confirmed that everything was correct before having it carried back to Lanxueyuan.
Shen Qingtan just came out of the house and saw servants carrying the dowry coming in one after another, filling the front yard of Lanxue Garden.
She went back into the house and waited.
By the time all the dowry was brought back, it was already noon.
Madam Liu had accomplished something important and came back briskly. She entered the house and asked, "Second Madam, all the dowry is here. Would you like to see it?"
"Okay." Shen Qingtan glanced at the dowry filling the yard and said gently, "You've worked hard today. Madam Liu, go get a few taels of silver from the box later and treat them to a drink."
"Yes!" Madam Liu agreed immediately and said happily, "This old servant will thank Second Madam for her kindness on their behalf."
Shen Qingtan came out of the house, walked down three or five steps, stood in front of the nearest box, and opened the lid.
Inside were several scrolls made of sandalwood. Before she even unfolded the scrolls, she felt something was wrong just by smelling the fragrance of the sandalwood.
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