The villagers present were somewhat puzzled.
"The betrothal gifts? Didn't Dazhu and Da Niu already agree to be engaged?"
Wan Shu explained with a smile, "We only agreed on it verbally before, but as for the betrothal gifts, since a woman only gets married once in her life, I wanted to prepare the betrothal gifts as thoroughly as possible, so it has been delayed until now."
"Yes, we women only get married once in our lives, so it's always better to be thorough."
Wan Shu's words resonated with all the women present, and gradually, the sentiment shifted from envying Li Cuilan to envying Da Niu.
"Da Niu is so lucky to have you as her mother-in-law, she must have accumulated good fortune over many lifetimes."
"As expected, a proper daughter-in-law is valued by her husband's family."
Aunt Zhang even said loudly, "Isn't that right? It's definitely better to be a proper daughter-in-law. Only a proper daughter-in-law can receive such formal treatment. It's nothing like taking a concubine, where none of the elders are brought along!"
Li Cuilan blushed as she was being criticized, and just as she was feeling utterly humiliated, she suddenly caught a glimpse of the jewelry box in Siya's arms.
The jewelry box in Siya's arms was very large, seemingly more than her betrothal gifts. However, this jewelry box was the most ordinary and cheapest in the county, making it look particularly shabby.
Li Cuilan quickly came up with an idea and said with an envious expression, "Indeed, it's better to be the legal wife. I imagine the dowry for the legal wife must be much more formal."
“I’ll never be a proper wife in my life, and I’ll never see the dowry a proper wife should have. It just so happens that you brought it today, Aunt Liang. Why don’t you open it and let me see it? I think it’s definitely much more generous than my dowry.”
Wan Shu looked troubled: "This... I think it's better not to. It's not appropriate to open the betrothal gifts so openly. I'll just give them to my in-laws privately."
Could it be that Wan Shu is so reluctant to display the betrothal gifts in public because the gifts in the jewelry box are too meager?
That makes sense; what good stuff could you possibly put in the cheapest jewelry box?
Many families who were on good terms with Wan Shu, not wanting to embarrass him, spoke up for him, saying that the betrothal gifts could be given privately.
But Li Cuilan had finally found this opportunity to retaliate, and she was not willing to let it go easily, so she simply resorted to cheating.
"No, I really want to see it today. Aunt Liang, if you don't want me to, I'm not leaving today."
Tsk, Li Cuilan is a typical example of being both stupid and wicked. She only pretended a little, and she actually believed it.
Fortunately, Dazhu didn't like Li Cuilan. Otherwise, if he had married Li Cuilan, there would have been endless chaos in the family.
Wan Shu was secretly overjoyed, but her face still showed a troubled expression.
"There's really nothing to see here... but if you really want to see it, Cuilan..." Wan Shu said reluctantly, "Then I'll open it up and show it to everyone. But please don't laugh at the poor quality of the item."
"Aunt Liang, don't worry, I definitely won't laugh at you!"
After making a hypocritical promise, Li Cuilan couldn't hold back any longer and snatched the jewelry box, opening it impatiently.
Before opening the jewelry box, Li Cuilan had even prepared how to mock Wan Shu's poverty, but as soon as she opened it, all the sarcastic words she had prepared were stuck in her throat.
His smug expression turned into one of disbelief.
The opening of the jewelry box was pointed at Li Cuilan, and no one else could see what was inside.
Everyone was curious when they saw Li Cuilan's expression change drastically.
"What's wrong? What's wrong? What kind of betrothal gifts has this wealthy bride prepared?"
Lin, ever the steady one, launched into another sarcastic remark: "Maybe it contains something shady that scared my daughter. Cuilan, don't be afraid, just show her what it is!"
Li Cuilan forced a fake smile: "Let's forget about it. After all, this is Da Niu's betrothal gift. How can we open it in front of so many people?"
After saying that, he quietly shook his head at Madam Lin, signaling her not to say anything more.
Madam Lin wasn't very bright. She thought her daughter was trying to maintain a good image in front of her son-in-law and not to be too obvious, so she was gesturing for her to take action.
My dear daughter, don't worry, your mother will definitely take care of things for you!
Lin gave her a reassuring look, then without hesitation, snatched the jewelry box from Li Cuilan's hand and displayed it to everyone.
By this time, Lin was convinced that there must be something shameful inside this shabby jewelry box. In order to make Wan Shu suffer as soon as possible, she didn't even glance at it before she began to mock him.
"Oh dear! You're a wealthy young lady, and you're the only family in our village with a big brick house. How can you include such an unseemly item in the betrothal gifts?"
Lin thought that if she said that, many people would support her.
But after she finished speaking, she saw that the villagers were all looking at her with unspeakable expressions.
Aunt Zhang laughed even louder, showing absolutely no mercy: "Hahahaha, if the things a rich bride prepares are not presentable, then what about the betrothal gifts your son-in-law prepares? They're just going to have to be thrown into the latrine!"
Lin finally realized something was wrong and looked down.
Inside that shabby jewelry box were a pair of gold bracelets, a pair of gold earrings, a gold hairpin, a gold necklace, and several exquisitely crafted pearl ornaments.
In terms of quantity, quality, and workmanship, it completely surpassed their betrothal gifts!
Lin knew at a glance that she had lost completely today.
"That rich bride is really wealthy and generous! She's willing to spend so much on a dowry!"
"Actually, in my opinion, it's not that the wealthy wife is too generous, but that Aunt Lin's son-in-law is too stingy. I've heard that when wealthy families take concubines, they give them gold and silver jewelry by the chest. Unlike him, he only gave a few pieces of silver jewelry. That's too stingy."
"Yeah, this is so shabby. I was just about to say that, but you guys keep praising it."
"Tsk, it seems that this rich kid isn't as wealthy as the Dazhu family!"
Lin and Li Cuilan's faces turned pale and then red as they listened to the villagers' words, but at this very moment, Wan Shu continued to poke at their lungs.
"Don't say that, everyone. Young Master Meng's family is definitely richer than mine. The reason they only gave silver ornaments is probably because Cuilan and Sister Lin like silver ornaments. They probably wouldn't want such vulgar things as gold ornaments."
Wan Shu smiled and turned her head to look at Li Cuilan and Lin Shi.
"Cuilan, Sister Lin, don't you agree?"
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