Granny Wang looked worriedly at the golden necklaces and hairpins on the brother and sister. Weren't they too conspicuous?
Seeing her expression, Li knew what she was worried about, so she said, "Don't worry, these two items are part of my dowry and are not included in the official register. Just avoid some people and don't let them see them. If it weren't for the fact that my land deeds all have my name on them, I would have liked to give them to you as well!"
Among the things she gave to the two children were some of her private banknotes.
Since they're going to confiscate our property anyway, we might as well take some things with us. Even if we don't end up in our own hands, we can't just hand them over to the authorities without any explanation.
Xiao Youran took the purse, which seemed to contain two bulging ingots of silver or gold.
Jiang Youchen took the square object and felt that its weight indicated it was an inkstone.
Granny Wang nodded, curtsied, and took her two children with her as she left.
When they arrived at the third room, Guo saw two golden objects walking towards her room from afar. When they entered the room, her eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
Especially the purple jade pendants hanging from the waists of the brother and sister, which were clearly very valuable.
She curled her lip; such fine goods were only for the old lady.
The old lady still favored her own niece, leaving them with all the best things in the end.
But upon further reflection, with all his family assets confiscated, he wouldn't be able to obtain anything good.
Never mind.
Her husband, Yun Rui, had just been taken away. Although she was heartbroken, she was fortunate that her son, Yun Tianyi, was only four years old and she could still keep him by her side.
As soon as Wang Mama entered the room, she bowed to her and said, “Third Madam, this old servant has come to deliver two messages. First, we are about to leave the mansion around Shenshi (3-5 PM), so please ask Third Madam, Young Master Yi, and the two young ladies to make preparations. Second, my cousin’s mother and her two children are going back to Dingzhou. My cousin’s mother is unwell and cannot get up, so she asked her son and daughter to come and say goodbye to Third Madam.”
Jiang Youchen stepped forward and said warmly, "Third Aunt, I've been staying at your residence for the past month and have troubled you. My younger sister is young and doesn't know any better, so please forgive her."
Xiao You Ran: ……
She hasn't even said anything yet, and she's already being blamed again?
Although... last time... it seems she did do something to upset her second cousin?
What exactly happened?
Well, some of those memories are too distant to expect her to remember them all.
Remember the important things, and forget the minor things...
Thinking this, she looked at the Third Madam without any guilt and said crisply, "Third Aunt, I haven't received your gift from last time."
Third Madam: ...
So they came to collect a debt!
snort!
She snorted coldly, turned around and went back into the house, took out the box she had prepared earlier, and said with an unhappy expression, "Take it."
Granny Wang stepped forward, took the necklaces, and opened them. One was a jadeite carved pendant necklace, and the other was a jadeite Pixiu necklace, both of ordinary quality.
Her lips twitched, but she always knew that this Guo was not someone to be trifled with, so she said no more, thanked her, and led the brother and sister to the fourth house.
If she doesn't understand something, you shouldn't try to make her understand; doing so would only increase the risk.
The fourth wife, Madam Yu, was a straightforward person, but her family background was average, and they lived far away in Dingzhou. It was impossible for her to set up a dowry shop in the capital. Therefore, she didn't prepare many gifts for the first meeting. She gave Jiang Youchen a packet of gold ingots and Jiang Youran a delicate gold bracelet.
Xiao You Ran and the other person had nothing to say, thanked them, and left.
Upon reaching the door, Madam Yu suddenly realized what was happening and chased after Jiang Youchen, stuffing several silver notes into the purse containing the gold ingots.
Granny Wang smiled and happily led the two back to Zhou's courtyard. However, they saw from afar that city soldiers were already guarding outside Zhou's courtyard, and an official was inside taking inventory of something.
She also realized that these officials were cunning and had discovered the secrets of the house raids. They knew to seal the storerooms first, then the residence of the mistress of the house, and now the old lady's residence was probably sealed as well.
She had no choice but to send Jiang Youran and her brother back to where the Su family lived.
On the way, they encountered a patrolling city guard who, seeing the glittering gold things hanging on the two children, instinctively went up to question them.
Granny Wang quickly smiled apologetically, "These are the young lady and young master who live in the manor. They will be leaving soon."
The city guard looked at them suspiciously, scrutinizing their clothes with the air of nouveau riche.
Xiao Youran immediately puffed out her little chest and held her head high. "This young lady just loves to flaunt her wealth. What, you have a problem with that? Don't you know I'm from the Su family of Dingzhou?"
The city guard was taken aback, but then he remembered the immense wealth of the Su family in Dingzhou, and the one who had protected them in the palace. He began to believe him, saying, "If you want to leave the mansion, hurry up and pack your things."
Granny Wang readily agreed and urged the brother and sister to hurry up and leave.
Xiao Youran and Jiang Youchen returned to the Su family's house and hurriedly took off their belongings and placed them on the table.
Having seen many fine things, Su's eyes widened when she saw the pair of purple jade pendants.
Goodness, this pair of jade pendants alone is worth at least ten thousand gold pieces.
It's obvious that it must have been given by my aunt. In the Yun family, only my aunt has such a valuable private collection.
They didn't open the silver notes hidden in their purses and inkstones; they left them sealed inside as they were.
Ms. Su gestured for Zhao's mother to pack the items separately, and then checked her own belongings again before packing them up one by one.
Jiang Youchen went back to his room and tidied up his books and other belongings.
Madam Su leaned against the bedside, directing Zhao Mama to pack her valuables.
Xiao Youran just looked around beside her mother. In her own room, apart from a few sets of clothes, almost everything that could be broken had been smashed to pieces by her daily life. She didn't have any jewelry, so there wasn't much to tidy up.
Zhao's mother knew Su's things very well, and she packed them up very efficiently. In no time, she had packed most of the items.
Finally, only the most valuable jewelry and silver notes remained, which I planned to wrap in a separate bundle and keep close to my body.
Xiao Youran sat curiously at the table, watching a floral cloth spread out on it. Sometimes a headdress would appear on it, sometimes a gold hairpin. After a while, Zhao Mama brought in a whole box.
Xiao Youran curiously opened the box and saw a dazzling array of jewelry and hairpins inside, such as a gold-hearted phoenix hairpin, a gold-inlaid jade peony hairpin, and several large pieces that she recognized very well.
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