Because Madam Pei was old, Chang Mama quickly brought the bowl closer to show her.
Upon closer inspection, the problem was discovered.
Outdated Shu brocade not only has a dull luster, but also has wormholes.
There are also headpieces and faceplates, the jade is mottled and not transparent, and some even have cracks.
"Grandma, these things are all defective..." Mrs. Chang's heart skipped a beat.
She remembered that Granny Tao, whom Jiang Shuwan had sent, had said that these were all betrothal gifts from the Marquis's mansion.
"Old lady, the first wife tampered with the betrothal gifts."
"The First Madam really is..."
Madam Chang really didn't know what to say. The Marquis's mansion was not short of money. Wen's actions would only make her daughter-in-law look down on her and the Marquis's mansion.
Moreover, if Jiang Shuwan hadn't brought these things over today, but instead had worn them out, she would have lost face.
Jiang Shuwan is the Crown Prince's legal wife; if she loses face, the Crown Prince also loses face.
If the heir apparent loses face, the Marquis's mansion loses face.
Moreover, if anyone asks Jiang Shuwan where the things came from, she will say they were betrothal gifts from the Wen family…
Mother Chang shivered.
The Marquis's mansion became a laughing stock.
They're not short of money, so why did they have to go to this...?
"Fool!"
"That idiot Wen!"
Madam Pei slammed her fist on the table in anger.
"They're so greedy, they'd even dare to use such inferior goods as a betrothal gift..."
Madam Pei gritted her teeth.
"She is incredibly audacious, completely disregarding the dignity of the Marquis's mansion."
Whenever Madam Wen was present, Old Madam Pei would want to slap her, disregarding all etiquette.
“This is a betrothal gift! If the Jiang family is arrogant and flaunts the betrothal gift when the bride gets married, our Marquis’s mansion will become the biggest joke in the entire capital.”
In general, betrothal gifts are covered with silk.
However, some families, when a woman marries into a higher social class, will deliberately unveil the betrothal gifts and dowry for the onlookers to see in order to show off, hence the term "showing off the betrothal gifts."
While showing off betrothal gifts can have a somewhat boastful connotation, it's still a way of showing off.
But it is still within the bounds of etiquette.
Therefore, if Jiang Shuwan were to display her betrothal gifts when she got married, the Marquis's mansion would immediately become the laughing stock of the entire capital.
Other prominent families, in particular, would not only ridicule the Marquis's family for being poor and using inferior goods as betrothal gifts, but would also suspect that the Marquis's family was in decline. The resulting chain reaction should not be underestimated.
Madam Pei was so angry that her liver ached.
"What did Granny Tao just say? She said that Madam Jiang is sorting out the betrothal gifts and putting them into storage..."
"Yes, madam."
"Go quickly and see what else is in her betrothal gifts. If there are any inferior items, bring them all back to me. Just say, just say I like them..."
Madam Pei's words caused a pang of pain in her heart.
To clean up Wen's mess, she really...
Madam Pei sighed heavily.
After that, Madam Chang went to carry out the order and returned with twenty or thirty loads of betrothal gifts, as well as various kinds of cloth, all of which were of inferior quality by the Wen family.
"Bring the Wen family here!" Old Madam Pei shouted sternly.
Soon, Madam Wen knelt down again in Madam Pei's room.
She was summoned and reprimanded by Madam Pei early in the morning, and made to kneel and chant scriptures. She knelt for two hours without even eating.
Right now, I'm so hungry I'm dizzy.
I don't know why Madam Pei summoned her again.
Then, looking at the betrothal gift box, Madam Wen was stunned.
"How did these things get here?"
"What do you think?" Old Madam Pei gave a cold laugh, and Madam Wen's shoulders trembled.
"Grandma, I...I...I..."
Who gave you the idea?
Wen's mind was in a complete mess, and he couldn't form coherent sentences.
She dared to tamper with the betrothal gifts because she was certain that even if Jiang Shuwan saw through it, she would have no choice but to suffer in silence.
Madam Wen gritted her teeth, "Old Madam, did Madam Jiang come to you to complain?"
She never expected that Jiang Shuwan would dare to complain to Old Madam Pei on the second day after she married into the family.
Even people from humble backgrounds dare to sue her...
"Ha! You guessed wrong. The new bride thinks I, this old lady, am kind and filial to her."
Without Madam Pei giving her a signal, Chang Mama immediately presented the cloth and jewelry that Jiang Shuwan had previously sent to Madam Wen.
Madam Chang said softly, "The young mistress respects the old lady, but the old lady said she didn't need to come to pay her respects. So she sent these things over, saying that she was too young to handle such valuable items and wanted to offer them to the old lady as a token of her respect."
Wen was stunned.
She never expected that it was Jiang Shuwan's filial piety towards Old Madam Pei that gave her away.
"Wen, do you know your crime?" Old Madam Pei said coldly, her face frosty.
"old lady……"
"Do you know what will happen to our Marquis's mansion if word gets out that you did such a thing?" Old Madam Pei questioned again.
"I...I..." Madam Wen's eyes darted around, then she racked her brains. "Grandma, I'm innocent! I was deceived by the servants! It was my dowry maid, the master of ceremonies, who arranged all of Jiang's betrothal gifts. Waaah! Grandma, I've seen the betrothal gift list. I never imagined she would use inferior goods..."
“The etiquette matron was part of my dowry, and I always trusted her. I never imagined she would deceive me,” Madam Wen said, wiping away tears with a handkerchief. “Grandma, please understand, how could a Marquis’s wife withhold her daughter-in-law’s betrothal gifts? My family are imperial merchants; it’s not like we’ve never seen money before…”
When Madam Pei saw her eyes darting around, she knew that everything she said was a lie.
The etiquette matrons may have been involved in passing off inferior goods as superior ones, but it must have been with the Wen family's consent.
Having been a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law for so many years, she knew exactly what kind of person Wen was.
As Wen said, she was born into a wealthy merchant family and had seen too much money. She loved it so much that she disregarded propriety.
Seeing her like this made Old Madam Pei furious; she truly regretted letting her into the house.
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