Chapter 22 The Zhou Family Requests a Dowry
Ye Er and Mrs. Ye were sent out of Hanjing overnight, and the door of the Cao family was also knocked at night.
The knock on the door was so loud and urgent that the Cao family members who had just fallen asleep were startled.
"Who is it?"
Chunxi went out of the house to check the situation, and a rough and familiar voice came: "Open the door, it's me."
Big brother!
Chunxi's eyes lit up and he quickly opened the door. His elder brother, with his burly figure like a bear, squeezed in immediately.
Chunxi didn't have time to get a lamp, and in the moonlight he saw that his elder brother had a face full of stubble and a ferocious expression, like a bandit who wanted to kill and rob.
It's scary.
The next moment, the whole person was held in his arms, and then his eldest brother whimpered aggrievedly: "Axi, I'm sorry, it's all my fault that I didn't protect you well. I'm useless, and I feel guilty towards Daddy."
“…”
Brother, after all these years, you haven't changed your crying habit at all.
The lights in the main room were turned on, and Wang and Qian gathered around Cao Wu in surprise and talked. Chunxi went to the kitchen to cook a bowl of shredded pork noodles and two eggs.
Cao Wu hadn't eaten dinner and was very hungry. He finished the noodles in no time and even drank all the soup.
Wang wiped away tears distressedly, "You're already so hungry. That wicked workshop of yours must be unwilling to give you enough food. Otherwise, don't go there anymore. Your sister got a lot of good things from the Wei family. She can sell them for a lot of money."
"How can this be possible?" Cao Wu put down his chopsticks with a bang. "Those things belong to Ah Xi. How can I, as the eldest brother, be thinking about my sister's things?"
"My silly son, your sister is very smart. She has hidden so much money in her hands that she would not even consider such a small thing."
Wang Shi was filled with grievances when she mentioned this. She wanted to recount Chunxi's recent rebellious and unfilial behavior to her son, but Cao Wu interrupted her and said, "No matter how much it is, it was earned by Ah Xi himself. No one has the right to be jealous."
What do you mean by jealous? She hasn't married yet. Shouldn't she share her money with her family? Is it appropriate to hide it and take it to her husband's family?
Wang wanted to refute, but Cao Wu didn't want to discuss it anymore. He asked with a stern face, "Mother, did you accept the betrothal gift from a man named Zhou Qin?"
Wang's eyelids twitched slightly.
Cao Wu just returned home, how could he know about this?
Wang subconsciously looked at Chunxi. Could it be that this girl wanted to take all those things over?
Just as he was thinking about it, Cao Wu slammed the table and shouted angrily, "Since the marriage didn't happen, the betrothal gifts should be returned to the other party. This Zhou guy wrote an article and posted it outside. Now everyone knows that Ah Xi cheated people out of their money under the guise of a marriage proposal. How can my mother expect Ah Xi to get married in the future?"
Cao Wu's eyes became red again as he spoke.
If he hadn't heard people discussing this matter in the workshop, he wouldn't have known that Ah Xi was kicked out of the Wei family and almost married a bad guy like Zhou Qin.
Wang stood up suddenly and said, "What do you mean by swindling people out of their money? It was the Zhou family who was so eager to marry my daughter, and it was Zhou Qin who inexplicably came to cancel the engagement and even said the betrothal gifts didn't need to be returned. How dare he turn the tables and throw dirty water on our family? I'm going to confront him now!"
Wang was really angry now.
Chunxi had caused such a thing before she even got married, so naturally, as a mother, she would not have a good reputation. She didn't even dare to think about how her neighbors would look at her in the future.
It was already past curfew, and Cao Wu and Qian had to persuade Wang to come back after much persuasion.
Wang said angrily, "The betrothal gifts sent by the Zhou family don't amount to more than twenty taels of silver. We don't care about them. Tomorrow I will give matchmaker Zhang thirty taels of silver, and it will be considered as us buying those things."
Zhou Qin's article had become known to everyone. Returning the things at this time would have confirmed the fact that he was greedy for the betrothal gift. Wang Shi asked Zhang the matchmaker to return the money, which was much more low-key. Moreover, she gave an extra ten taels of silver. How could she be so wealthy and powerful as to be greedy for small gains?
Wang felt that she was very smart to come up with this idea. Cao Wu was stubborn and didn't understand all these twists and turns. He just thought that as long as he didn't owe the Zhou family anything, it would be fine. Qian didn't have much of her own opinion and always listened to her mother-in-law.
Seeing that they had no objection, Chunxi rolled his eyes.
The Zhou family was in the wrong to cancel the engagement right after the engagement, and now they are turning the tables and putting the blame on them. If this happened in an ordinary family, they would have fought to the death, but her mother actually gave them money.
It turned out that her mother had used all her cleverness on her.
"After all, this matter was caused by me. Mother, why don't you give me the thirty taels? Tomorrow, my eldest brother and I will go to find Matchmaker Zhang."
Chunxi took the initiative to take the responsibility for this matter, but Wang shook her head and said, "You are still a little girl, how can I ask you to go to Zhang the matchmaker?"
Chunxi has been too rebellious recently, and Wang is afraid that she will take the money but not do the job.
Thirty taels of silver is not a small amount.
Chunxi could guess what Wang was thinking with her toes. She said softly, "Things have already come to this. Even if we give the money, some people will still think we are greedy for the Zhou family's betrothal gift. I am going to get married anyway, so it doesn't matter if I bear a little more criticism. But Awen is still studying and will get married in the future."
Who would dare to marry their daughter to a family that has coveted other people's betrothal gifts?
Wang was very concerned about her reputation and loved her youngest son even more.
She certainly hoped Chunxi could bear this infamy, but she had to hide her selfish motives and said with a stern face, "You still feel sorry for Awen. If it weren't for your entanglement with Young Master Wei, you wouldn't have gotten into such trouble."
Early the next morning, Chunxi and Cao Wu went to Zhang the matchmaker's house together.
Matchmaker Zhang had anticipated their arrival, and instead of being warm and welcoming, she began to criticize Chunxi coldly, "I thought you were a down-to-earth girl, but I didn't expect you to rely on your job at the Wei family to flirt with men everywhere, and even shamelessly withhold their betrothal gifts. I've been talking about marriage for so many years, and now I've really opened my eyes."
These words were extremely unpleasant to hear. Cao Wu wanted to step forward to argue, but Zhang the matchmaker's husband and two sons immediately came out of the house.
Chunxi stood in front of Cao Wu and looked at Zhang the matchmaker with a smile: "I was wrong. I have caused trouble for my aunt."
Chunxi admitted her mistake, and matchmaker Zhang raised her chin a little higher. Just as she was about to ask for the Zhou family to get the betrothal gifts back, she heard Chunxi's soft voice.
"The wedding of Young Master Wei and the niece of the Concubine Xian is scheduled for two months from now. The Young Master Ye who had Mr. Zhou beaten that day actually has a grudge against the Concubine Xian's family. I'm not familiar with them, and Mr. Zhou really misunderstood me. If you don't believe me, you can ask him to come with me to the Concubine Xian's house and ask him in person."
Ordinary people like Zhang the Matchmaker had no idea what the Xiao family was like, but when they heard the words "Empress Xianfei", they knew that the other party was a very powerful person.
Matchmaker Zhang's expression changed slightly, and Cao Wu frowned even more.
Aren’t they here to return the money to the Zhou family? Why does it sound like Ah Xi wants to continue to be with the Zhou family?
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