Chapter 52: A Big Bargain
Shen Qingtan nodded slightly: "Okay, I'll be there right away."
After paying his respects to the Second Madam and Shen Mingzhu, the housekeeper hurried to the gate of the mansion.
The Second Madam and Shen Mingzhu had stiff expressions.
"Second Aunt, you are truly a prophet." Shen Qingtan turned to look at them, a smile on his lips as he said, "I also thought the Emperor was dissatisfied with me, so he didn't give me a gift. It turns out that the Emperor sympathized with me and sent the reward to the mansion."
The second lady's mouth twitched and her expression turned ugly.
Shen Qingtan invited, "Second Aunt, don't you want to open your sister-in-law's eyes? Then let's go together?"
The second wife clenched the handkerchief in her hand. Although she was jealous, she really wanted to see what rewards the emperor would give to Shen Qingtan.
She pulled the corners of her lips together, forcing a smile: "Since my niece-in-law has sincerely invited me, I will go with Mingzhu to see the world."
Shen Qingtan gave Tingxue a few words and then took Liuyue to the front hall.
When Shen Qingtan turned around, the second lady's face suddenly turned gloomy.
Shen Mingzhu's heart was gnawing with jealousy, and her eyes stared gloomily at Shen Qingtan's back, as if she wanted to drill two holes in her body.
The lives and destinies of both of them were completely changed.
Everything Shen Qingtan had should have belonged to her.
The group came to the front hall, and a maid walked towards Shen Qingtan holding a square carved wooden box.
The second wife looked around but saw no one from the palace. Finally, her eyes fell on the wooden box.
The wooden box was about the size of a jewelry box.
Seeing that there was only so little, she felt better.
Without waiting for the maid to speak, she opened the box first.
"Let me see what rare treasures the emperor gave to his niece-in-law."
The lid was opened, revealing a box full of gold ingots, with a house deed on top.
The second wife was close by and couldn't help laughing when she saw what was written on the deed.
"The Emperor is sincere. My nephew is not in good health, so I will grant you a house in Jiangnan. When the weather in the capital is bad, you can return to Jiangnan to recuperate."
The Second Lady pressed her handkerchief to her lips and said in a strange tone, "No reward can compare to gold. Other things can't be given away casually, and if you have a hard time, you can't sell them. Gold can help you out in an emergency."
This amount of gold should be around five or six hundred taels, right?
Although she was jealous, she didn't feel jealous at the moment.
Because the aristocratic families regard money as vulgar and what they value is purity.
The emperor gave Shen Qingtan gold. Doesn’t this imply that she is vulgar?
If this gets out, who knows how others will laugh at her.
"Second Auntie's words make sense, and I think they are quite practical. But this thing was not a reward from the Emperor, but a gift from my younger sister." Shen Qingtan closed the lid, smiling: "She has a straightforward personality, and she always thinks of me, her elder sister, when she has something good."
Shen Mingzhu pursed her lips, feeling that Shen Qingtan was pointing at her.
"Really?" The Second Madam was unconvinced and pretended to be puzzled, "Didn't the steward just say that the palace had sent a reward?"
At this time, the maid interrupted and said, "Second Madam, this is something Miss Qin sent to Second Madam. She said it's pocket money for Second Madam."
Then she handed the wooden box to Liu Yue and explained with a humble look, "Someone from the palace sent a message in advance, and it will be here in a moment."
The next moment, the old lady and all the women in the house arrived.
The front hall was filled with people.
The palace eunuchs arrived soon after, carrying rewards and entering one after another, almost filling up the front hall.
The emperor specially dispatched Eunuch Cao to make this trip in person to show his importance.
After paying his respects to the old lady, Eunuch Cao said with a smile, "Second Madam Zhao, the Emperor praised you for your beauty, intelligence, gentleness, virtue, and decency. You and Lord Zhao are a perfect match. I wish you a long and happy marriage."
The old lady and her family members knelt down to thank the emperor for his grace.
After expressing her gratitude, the old lady stood up tremblingly and gave the maid a look. The maid quickly gave the generous gift she had prepared to Eunuch Cao.
The old lady invited him to the front hall: "Eunuch Cao, please sit down and have a cup of tea."
Eunuch Cao held his whisk and politely declined, "I have to return to the palace to report."
The old lady did not try to persuade him to stay.
At this time, Tingxue hurried over and handed a small wooden box the size of a palm to Shen Qingtan.
Shen Qingtan handed it to Eunuch Cao and said, "Eunuch Cao, thank you for taking the trouble to come here. Please have a drink with the other eunuchs."
Eunuch Cao took the heavy wooden box, and the smile on his face became even more amiable: "We will accept your gift and thank you for your kindness on their behalf."
Shen Qingtan watched Eunuch Cao and the others leave, then looked at the old lady: "Grandma..."
"The reward is for you. You should thank Eunuch Cao. You have done a good job." The old lady saw her smooth handling and looked at her with admiration. She instructed: "Record the emperor's reward in the book and then put it into the warehouse."
Shen Qingtan smiled and said, "Okay, grandson's wife will have someone write it down."
The old lady nodded slightly and left the front hall with her maid.
Shen Qingtan ordered Liu Yue and Ting Xue to bring pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and arranged for someone to take each item away and send it to Lan Xue Garden.
"One hectare of South China Sea pearls, a pair of jade ruyi, a piece of red coral, and ten rolls of tribute satin..."
The Second Lady was dazzled by the round pearls, the finely crafted jade ruyi, the bright red coral, the crystal clear amber, the smooth and soft tribute satin, and the boxes full of ivory, agate and other jewels.
Such a generous reward is enough to show how much the emperor values Shen Qingtan.
From now on, all the officials and their wives in the capital will look up to Shen Qingtan.
The second wife felt a pang of pain in her heart. There were so many treasures in the room, but not a single one belonged to Shen Mingzhu.
Shen Mingzhu is also a bride, why isn't she given anything as a reward?
It is true that those who are suffering from drought will die of drought, and those who are suffering from floods will die of floods.
Shen Mingzhu had never seen such a scene before, and her eyes widened. These things should have belonged to her, but now Shen Qingtan had taken advantage of them.
She regretted it in her heart. If she had married Zhao Yi, with this reward and the emperor's support, her life would have been very comfortable even if she became a widow in the future.
It's nothing like now...
Zhao Jue was getting further and further away from the title, he lost all his jobs, and there were other women in the room.
The more Shen Mingzhu thought about it, the sadder she felt, and the more she felt that Zhao Jue was useless.
Now that he has lost power in the Duke's Mansion, he should have to curry favor with Marquis Cheng'en. Why should she be afraid of him?
The Second Madam leaned close to her ear and said, "When Shen Qingtan had good things in the past, she would give some to you. Ask her for a bushel of pearls and some jewels."
Shen Mingzhu lowered her eyes as boxes of pearls, jade and gems passed by.
If it were in the past, she would have to act like a spoiled child and coax Shen Qingtan into giving her half.
Now the two of them are maintaining their relationship to save face, but they have long been enemies inwardly.
"She won't give it to me."
Shen Mingzhu was too proud to say that.
Shen Qingtan's other sister gave him gold and a house.
Her "sister" only knows how to ask for things, and she doesn't even know how others will mock her.
"If you want to go, ask her yourself."
After Shen Mingzhu figured it out, she was no longer afraid of the Second Madam and turned around and left the front hall.
The Second Madam was furious. This bitch was so rebellious that she actually dared to give her a cold shoulder!
She suppressed the anger in her heart and turned to look into Shen Qingtan's smiling eyes. Those clear and bright eyes were full of sarcasm.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
