Chapter 69 Questions
In her previous life, the Second Wife had not thought about her mother's dowry, or rather, she had not cared about it. The Jingyang Palace was in a hurry to get married, and the Second Wife was fully focused on how to help Shen Xi avoid becoming a widow, so she had no time to secretly replace the dowry.
Besides, at least half of the people in her courtyard were the Second Wife's people, and she lived under the Second Wife's nose. Even if she married into the Jingyang Palace, she could still be replaced secretly, so there was no need to rush.
In her previous life, the people that the Second Madam had placed around her could not win Xie Guimo's heart, so they were beaten or sold. The Second Madam could not get into the Jingyang Palace, and her mother's dowry was always locked in the warehouse in the outer courtyard. Chen Tang did not think much about it. She did not expect that she had underestimated the Second Madam's ability, and she actually took away so much of her mother's dowry quietly.
A painting cannot appease the anger of the Yongning Marquis' Mansion. God knows how many things the Second Wife took away!
Doesn’t father believe in the second wife’s ambition? This is a good opportunity for him to see clearly.
When Shen Sui returned home from the military camp, Shen Tang went to the front yard and waited for Shen Sui outside the study.
After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, Shen Sui came back and saw Shen Tang standing there with red eyes. Shen Sui asked, "What happened?"
Chen Tang said, "I have something to ask my father."
The yard was not a place to talk, so the father and daughter went into the study to talk.
After entering the study, Shen Sui asked, "Who wronged you again?"
Chen Tang looked at Chen Sui and said, "Father, do you remember that there was a painting of 'Nine Peaks in Snow' in mother's dowry?"
Why did you mention that painting for no reason...
Shen Sui not only remembered the painting, but also had a deep impression on it. Jiang had given it to him to appreciate and copy before her death. He would never forget those days in his life.
Shen Sui thought Shen Tang wanted the painting, and said, "I'll have someone open the warehouse and give it to you."
Chen Tang asked, "Is the painting of my mother an authentic one?"
Shen Sui laughed, "Of course it's authentic."
Chen Tang said, “I went out of the house today and saw the painting in the Mobao Pavilion. It was also an authentic one.”
Shen Sui frowned.
There is only one authentic copy, it is impossible for it to be both in the mansion's storeroom and outside the mansion.
Shen Sui said, "The one your mother left behind is the original one."
Why couldn't her father hear the hidden meaning behind her words? !
"Mother's dowry was stolen!"
"I know my father doesn't believe that anyone dares to steal the dowry left by my mother. If he doesn't believe me, my father will secretly have someone open the storehouse and find the painting."
Shen Sui didn't believe what Shen Tang said before, and Shen Tang had no other evidence to convince Shen Sui to believe it, but this time it was different. Either the painting was nowhere to be found in the warehouse, or someone had replaced it with a fake.
She wanted to see how her father felt when he couldn't find the painting and saw a fake!
Since it was related to Jiang's dowry and it wouldn't be difficult to find it, Shen Sui asked Manager Li to get the painting.
After waiting for a long time, Steward Li finally brought the painting back and said, "Sorry to have kept you waiting, my Lord."
Shen Sui took the painting, opened it and glanced at it, then his face darkened.
Although the painting is so realistic that it looks fake, fake is still fake.
Shen Sui had copied it several times, so how could he not know it?
Chen Tang looked at Manager Li, "After I fell into the water, did anyone enter the warehouse?"
Manager Li nodded and said, "The second wife's people went in once and said that the eldest daughter didn't know when she would get married, so they wanted to take back the dowry given by the second wife and give it again when she got married, so they opened the storehouse."
Chen Xian married the Prince of Jingyang to bring good luck, and the second wife gave her a lot of dowry, including two shops, a farm, and a lot of fertile land. Since Chen Xian didn't marry, it's understandable that the second wife wanted to take them back, and besides, the old lady allowed it.
Manager Li said, "When the people from the second house were looking for something, I asked someone to accompany them. It shouldn't happen..."
Manager Li's voice became lower and lower as he spoke. If he hadn't personally watched over the items, there was a possibility that someone had tampered with them.
Shen Sui threw the fake painting on the table and looked at Shen Tang, "Tell father everything you know."
It's rare that my father finally believes me.
Chen Tang said, "I saw the painting today and asked someone to follow the clues. Now the original is in the hands of King Zhao. It was given to King Zhao by the Yongning Earl's Mansion."
As he spoke, Chen Tang paused, looked at Chen Sui and said, "I said that the painting was stolen by Second Aunt as compensation for the eldest daughter of the Yongning Earl's Mansion. Does father believe it?"
Chen Sui frowned, "Why does your second aunt want to compensate the eldest daughter of Yongning Marquis's Mansion?"
Chen Tang did not explain, but said, "It is not easy to convince father with nothing but words, let alone to ask Second Aunt to confess her guilt in person. Please lend me 10,000 taels, I want to get my mother's dowry back."
Explaining now is feeble and powerless. Once my mother's dowry is taken back, the Second Wife will have no right to quibble, and my father will have no right to disbelieve.
Chen Sui looked at Manager Li and said, "Give 10,000 taels to Tang'er."
Chen Tang said, "You don't have to give it to me. Please ask Manager Li to go to the Yongning Earl's Mansion tomorrow and exchange my mother's dowry back."
As for how to change it, she doesn't need to teach me.
Manager Li looked at Shen Sui, and Shen Sui said, "Do as Tang Er said."
Manager Li agreed.
Chen Tang said, “After I get my mother’s dowry back, I will explain to my father why Second Aunt wants to compensate the eldest daughter of the Yongning Earl’s Mansion.”
Chen Tang didn't say much, bowed, and left.
Chen Tang left without looking back. Chen Sui was angry and helpless.
His daughter was angry with him. He didn't believe what she said before, and now that he asked, she deliberately didn't tell him.
It's not that he didn't know that the second branch had selfish motives, but he had no children, and the marquisate and title would be handed over to the second branch in the future. The daily military affairs were tiring enough for him, so he just turned a blind eye to these things. But the second branch had set its sights on the dowry left by Jiang, and no matter what the reason was, he would not tolerate it.
Chen Tang returned to the inner courtyard and almost as soon as she entered the second gate, she saw Chen Xi walking towards her from a distance.
Chen Xi questioned, "You went to look for your father again?!"
Are you so afraid that she will look for her father?
Chen Tang really didn't want to deal with Chen Xi, so he said perfunctorily, "Shouldn't I personally ask my father to pay back the money I borrowed from him?"
She had just received her monthly salary two days ago, and no one would give her extra money, so she could only pay back the monthly salary.
Chen Xian thought that Shen Tang was looking for Shen Sui to borrow money or complain again, so when she heard that Shen Tang was looking for Shen Sui, she hurried over. She didn't expect that he was looking for money to pay her back, but why didn't she believe it?
If it's just a loan of 100 taels, would my father ask Chen Tang to pay it back with the monthly allowance?
Shen Xi asked, "Did father accept it?"
Chen Tang's eyes were cold, "You wouldn't believe it even if I told you, you can go and ask your father if he will take it back."
Throwing down this sentence, Chen Tang walked around Chen Xi and left.
Even if she lent Chen Xian two more courage, Chen Xian would not dare to ask Chen Sui.
Chen Xian really didn't have the courage to go. She didn't know why. Although Chen Sui loved her very much, she was afraid of Chen Sui from the bottom of her heart. Unlike Chen Tang, she dared to act coquettishly even when Chen Sui was angry.
Chen Xi didn't dare to ask, she could only stare at Chen Tang's back as he walked away, pulling the embroidered handkerchief in her hand fiercely.
…
The next day was a day off for the imperial court.
As usual, after Chen Tang had breakfast, he took Ginkgo to Songhe Hall to pay his respects to the old lady.
Chen Tang arrived early today. When she arrived, no one had come yet. Chen Tang greeted the old lady, sat down, and looked at the old lady, wanting to say something but stopping herself.
The old lady noticed it and put down the teacup in her hand, "Is there anything that you can't say to grandma?"
Chen Tang said, "There are many paintings by famous artists in the dowry left by my mother. I want to open the storehouse and take a few to copy. I would like to ask for your permission, grandmother."
The old lady thought Shen Tang had something difficult to talk to her about, but it turned out that he just wanted to copy a few paintings. She was about to agree when the second wife's voice of obstruction came, "Second Miss has only learned painting for a few days, and you dare to copy the masterpieces of famous masters?"
She walked up to the old lady and said, "That day when I went to Duke Wen's mansion to celebrate his birthday, I heard that Mrs. Lin, a Hanlin scholar, felt sorry for her daughter copying a painting and accidentally knocked over the inkstone, ruining a famous painting. I felt sad when I heard it at the time. The second young lady wanted to copy paintings, so she took two cheaper ones from the public house to copy for fun. It's enough to practice her painting skills. If she accidentally ruins it, there's no need to feel sad. It's better not to let her ruin the famous paintings left by my eldest sister-in-law."
Spoil...
These two words made Shen Tang's eyes cold and icy.
She just wanted to copy the calligraphy and paintings left by her mother, but she used such insulting words.
What’s even more infuriating is that there are people who chime in. Chen Xian said, “My second sister went to the study to look for father yesterday. Could it be that she wanted to take the dowry left by mother? Father didn’t agree, so she came to look for grandmother again?”
The old lady would not easily agree to anything that Shen Sui disagreed with, especially such a small matter as copying a painting.
Only Shen Sui and the old lady have the key to the warehouse of Jiang's dowry. As long as one of them agrees to open the warehouse, it will be fine.
Chen Tang said, "Eldest sister, what you said is too harsh. I just want to copy the calligraphy and paintings left by my mother. It's not like I won't return them. How can I touch my mother's dowry?
Before she died, my mother told me that all the dowry should be given to me alone, and if I couldn't grow up safely, I would be sent back to the Jiang family. When my eldest sister got married, I took the initiative to give her half of it. Now I just want to borrow some calligraphy and paintings, but my eldest sister is trying to stop me. My second aunt is afraid that I will ruin the paintings. Could it be that when I get married in the future, my mother will not give me the calligraphy and paintings as dowry? ”
Mentioning the arrangements made by Jiang before her death, Shen Tang became more certain that it was to protect her, and her father would definitely listen to her mother's last words.
If she died, all her dowry would be sent back to the Jiang family without missing a single item, and not a single item would be left for Chen Xi.
For the dowry left by her mother, the cruel and ruthless second wife allowed her to live until now.
Shen Xi's eyes were red, "I know my mother doesn't like me, do you have to stab my heart with a knife so early in the morning?!"
Is this a stabbing?
She hasn't really used the knife yet.
Chen Tang felt extremely disgusted, but the Second Madam felt sorry for her daughter and said sarcastically, "The Second Miss hasn't even decided on a marriage yet, and she's already thinking about getting married."
This was even more irritating. Even the old lady couldn't stand it anymore and scolded, "Is this what you should say as an elder?!"
The second wife knew she had said something wrong and quickly admitted her mistake, "I just feel sorry for Xian'er. We are both born to my eldest sister-in-law, but she treats us differently..."
The old lady felt sorry for what Chen Xian had gone through since she was born, but Shen Sui had no control over Jiang's dowry and who Jiang would leave it to, let alone other people in the Marquis' Mansion. Moreover, although Jiang was left to Chen Tang, Chen Tang took the initiative to give half to Chen Xian, which showed the deep sisterly love. But how did Shen Xian treat Shen Tang? She plotted to have Shen Tang marry the Prince of Jingyang for her to get married. It's no wonder that after this incident, Shen Tang and she were always at odds with each other.
Is she, Shen Xian, the only one who can play the victim? She can do that too. Chen Tang's eyes also turned red. "My mother loved me, but unfortunately she passed away early. I am not like my eldest sister, who was loved by my second aunt for more than ten years. They are as close as mother and daughter. I just want to copy the painting left by my mother. I don't know why my second aunt and eldest sister stopped me..."
Everyone in the room felt sorry for Chen Xian, but when Chen Tang said this, they felt that Chen Xian was not so pitiful. After all, everyone in the Marquis's Mansion knew how much the Second Wife loved her. No matter how much Jiang loved Chen Tang, it was useless after her death. Otherwise, there would not have been any calligraphy and paintings left as a dowry, and Chen Tang would not even be able to copy them.
And why did the second wife and the eldest daughter stop the second daughter from copying the painting? Even if the second daughter was clumsy and destroyed the painting, the worst that could happen would be that it would be taken from her half of the dowry, and it would not affect the eldest daughter at all, let alone the second wife. Yet they kept obstructing her, clearly deliberately going against the second daughter.
The balance in the maids' hearts completely tilted towards Chen Tang.
The Second Wife said, "Second Aunt is also concerned about you..."
No one cares about the second wife's concern, can you please stop disgusting her?
Chen Tang suppressed the goose bumps that rose up on his arms and glanced at the clepsydra from the corner of his eye. Shouldn't Manager Li be back from the Yongning Earl's Mansion?
Just as he was thinking this, Manager Li came in, followed by four servants, carrying in two large boxes.
As soon as he came in, he attracted everyone's attention. The old lady glanced at the two large boxes, "What is this...?"
Manager Li said, "This is the compensation that the Second Madam sent to the Yongning Marquis's Mansion a few days ago. The Marquis ordered me to take 10,000 taels to the Yongning Marquis's Mansion to exchange it for me."
Swish.
The old lady's face instantly darkened and she put the teacup she had just picked up back down heavily.
The sound of the teacup hitting the small table frightened the maid in the room.
Chen Tang glanced at the Second Wife's pale face, the corners of his mouth curled up, then pursed them tightly, "I was pushed into the water by the eldest daughter of the Yongning Marquis's Mansion, and I caught a cold. The Marquis's Mansion wanted to compensate her with 10,000 taels. If the public treasury didn't compensate her, Second Aunt used her own dowry to compensate her..."
The old lady said, "She is willing to pay this money, why would the Marquis redeem her?!"
Steward Li suspected that the old lady was secretly cursing the Marquis for being stupid, and he said awkwardly, "This box contains the dowry left by the lady..."
Originally the old lady's face was filled with anger, but this time she was furious.
The room was so quiet that not even a loud breath could be heard.
Chen Tang's foreshadowing just now was brilliant. She, the biological daughter, wanted to copy the calligraphy and paintings left by her mother as a dowry, but the Second Wife obstructed her under the guise of caring about her. As a result, the Second Wife herself stole Jiang's paintings to compensate the people who pushed Chen Tang into the water. Her selfishness was so great that she almost brought Jiang, who had been buried in the ground for more than ten years, back to life.
The old lady was so angry that she wanted to skin the second wife alive.
She glanced over with an angry look, and the second wife, who had been feeling very uneasy, almost slid off the chair and fell to her knees.
The second wife's face was pale, and she couldn't argue even if she wanted to. "Mother, I have my reasons for doing this..."
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