Chapter 12: Fakes
The scent of sandalwood is soft and elegant, with a slightly spicy aftertaste and a sharp texture.
The dowry included several paintings and calligraphy by renowned artists, one of which was a unique piece. Each was crafted from old sandalwood, known for its ability to repel both moisture and moths. The gilded gilding gave it a truly elegant and luxurious appearance.
Shen Qingtan took out a scroll. It did not have the warm and delicate fragrance of old sandalwood, but gave off a bitter smell. The gold decoration was shiny and glossy, as if it had been newly plated.
The calligraphy and paintings were handed down from ancestors, and the gilding has a matte finish that comes from the passage of time, which is simple and natural.
There is no doubt that the items were swapped.
Shen Qingtan unfolded the scroll and carefully examined it before he realized it was a fake.
The painting before me is so vivid and skillful that it is almost indistinguishable from the real thing.
If Shen Qingtan had not grown up looking at these famous paintings and calligraphy, he would not have been able to recognize that they were fake.
She put the painting back into the box and opened the other boxes one by one. The gold and silver jewelry, jade and gems were all fake, made in a one-to-one ratio.
Mother Liu sensed something was wrong: "Second Madam, is there something wrong with these dowries?"
Shen Qingtan glanced at Qiu Chan and Chun Jiao who were standing under the eaves. There were many people around him and it was inconvenient to say much.
"These calligraphy and paintings are authentic works by famous scholars and are priceless treasures. I noticed a bit of moisture on them just now, and I'm worried they might be damaged." She explained, then instructed Qiu Chan and Chun Jiao, "Take the men and store all the dowry."
Qiu Chan and Chun Jiao were scolded by Shen Mingzhu and were then sent to Shen Qingtan's courtyard to serve him.
Shen Qingtan did not trust them. He gave the management power of the courtyard to Zhao Yi's wet nurse, and assigned errands to Liu Mama. It was obvious that he did not intend to use them. Their days in the Duke's Mansion would become more and more difficult in the future.
The two of them did not dare to have any evil thoughts for the time being, and hurriedly and diligently helped the servants to move the dowry.
"Mother Liu, please come with me." Shen Qingtan entered the house and motioned Mother Liu to close the door. "You went to ask for your dowry. Did the Second House give you any trouble?"
"The Second Madam refused to return it, and only after the old servant reported it to the authorities did she allow us to bring it back." Madam Liu realized there was something wrong with the dowry and, not daring to conceal anything, she told Shen Qingtan what had happened in the Second House. She asked anxiously, "Second Madam, is there something fishy about this dowry?"
"There's something fishy going on."
Shen Qingtan's face was as cold as ice. Only the Shen family and the second wife could swap the dowry.
The Shen family wants to save face, so they will only take the dowry back to Shen Mingzhu under various pretexts, and will not send fake ones.
The only one who would be swapped would be the second wife.
In her previous life, she was newly married and bedridden. Zhao Jue received an assignment to buy military rations, but was short of tens of thousands of taels of silver, so he asked her to borrow her dowry.
At that time, she thought that husband and wife were one, sharing honor and disgrace.
Zhao Jue completed his mission and made great achievements. If he was promoted, she would also have more respect, so she gave him her dowry.
If it was false, Zhao Jue would definitely tell her.
Probably for fear of interfering with Zhao Jue's work, the second wife gave the real dowry to Zhao Jue.
In this life, she married Zhao Yi, and the second wife used this fake dowry to deal with her.
There was a cold look in Shen Qingtan's eyes. The exchange of dowry was definitely arranged by the second wife.
The second wife was short-sighted and greedy. The dowry was her daughter-in-law's private property, so she couldn't ask for it openly, so she secretly replaced it.
As for the fact that the Second Madam was able to obtain the dowry list, it must have been leaked by that idiot Shen Mingzhu before the wedding.
Otherwise, how could the fraud be completed in just one or two days?
Mrs. Shen was planning to marry in exchange. This dowry was ostensibly for her, but actually it was intended for Shen Mingzhu, and she would definitely give Shen Mingzhu a list.
"All the valuable items in the dowry have been exchanged. I'm afraid the silver notes at the bottom of the box can't be exchanged for silver at the bank. Now only the land and shops are left. These things are in the open, and they dare not touch them."
Shen Qingtan's eyes were cold: "The Second House deliberately argued with you, just to lower our vigilance and not suspect that the things are fake."
"Are you sure it's the second wife?" asked Mrs. Liu.
Shen Qingtan said, "The Shen family married off their daughter with a grand ceremony. If they used a fake dowry, people would criticize them and they would even become enemies with the Duke's Mansion."
Mother Liu said angrily, "I will go find the Second Madam now..."
Shen Qingtan interrupted her: "Even if you go and look for them, the Second House won't admit it. Instead, they will blame me for framing them."
Mother Liu was upset: "Second Madam, are we really suffering from this?"
"I'll eat anything, but I won't suffer any loss." Shen Qingtan already had a plan in mind and said coldly, "I'll make them spit out all their dowries."
And they will spit it out with interest!
If you dare to embezzle her things, you must be prepared to pay the price!
Mother Liu stared at Shen Qingtan, whose eyes were cold and sharp, in amazement, feeling a chill in her heart.
I used to think Shen Qingtan was a very kind person, but now it seems that he is a cunning and resourceful person.
How could an ordinary person remain so calm and composed when faced with the situation of having his dowry swapped?
She even thought of a countermeasure?
"Mother Liu, just pretend you don't know about this." Shen Qingtan instructed: "You can take people out for a drink later, and you don't have to save the wine money for me."
Mother Liu was a shrewd person. She guessed that Shen Qingtan was going to pretend that she didn't know about the replacement of her dowry, and then set a surprise trick on the second wife.
She quickly responded, "I will take them to a banquet with great fanfare, and let everyone in the mansion know."
Shen Qingtan reminded: "Second Master is not in good health and is working for the royal family. There is no need to bring these trivial matters in the backyard to him."
"I've made note of this."
Mother Liu went to the inner room to get the silver.
Shen Qingtan looked at Mother Liu's back and recalled things from his previous life.
The Great Zhou had four major granaries, and originally there should have been sufficient food reserves, but last year's climate was extremely abnormal and natural disasters occurred one after another.
During the plum rain season, floods hit the south of the Yangtze River. The extremely hot summer caused a drought, followed by a locust plague. The people had no harvest, and all the food in the granaries was used for disaster relief.
It is only April now, and the new grain has not yet been harvested. The provincial governments and military garrisons have not yet collected grain to fill the granaries. The major aristocratic families had already provided grain for disaster relief last year.
This time, the army was short of rations, and the need for food was urgent. Taking food from the pockets of the aristocratic families would probably be like taking away a straw.
The people were too slow in raising food, and since they had just experienced a natural disaster, their families might not have enough surplus food.
The old Duke then became worried about food and asked Zhao Jue to raise the food.
In his previous life, Zhao Jue contacted Boss Qin to buy military rations and completed the task assigned by the Duke. Soon after, he was asked to be named the Crown Prince.
It was she who introduced Zhao Jue to Boss Qin, whom she had just met.
A dark light flashed in Shen Qingtan's eyes. In this life, she wanted to see if Zhao Jue could still step on her and become the heir of the Duke's Mansion.
"Second Madam." Madam Liu came out from the inner room, fetching three taels of silver. She had messed up her job and wanted to make amends. "Do you have any other instructions?"
"I have something for you to do."
Shen Qingtan remembered that before she got married, Qin Yao came to add makeup for her and mentioned that Boss Qin had gone to Jiangnan and would take half a month to return to Beijing. Calculating the date, it was time for her to return home.
She said, "My mother loves the Jade Bean Cake from Baixiangzhai. Please go there in my name and ask the owner to make it for her. I will pick it up on the morning of my return."
Boss Qin is the boss behind Baixiangzhai, and this is the code word between them when they are about to meet.
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