Mrs. Yang was displeased, but remembering what Chang Sanzhuang had told her the previous night, she reluctantly agreed. Seeing Mrs. Lyu swaggering about while cradling her stomach, she aimed a subtle barb: “Seeing how delicate you are, Sister-in-law, surely it must be a girl?”
Mrs. Lyu exploded instantly. “Third Sister-in-law, what kind of talk is that! Our second child is destined to be a high official; of course they’ll be more precious than others.”
Madam Zhang couldn’t stand her daughter-in-law’s smugness either and said impatiently, “What’s all this shouting? You’re daydreaming before the child is even born. Take a look at yourself and see if you have the makings of an official’s mother. If you can raise even a single Xiucai, you should thank the heavens.”
It had to be said that Madam Zhang’s words were quite realistic.
When Shen Qingru heard about the news, she still had Aunt Lan take two catties of brown sugar, several kinds of pastries, and a bolt of high-quality fabric over to them.
Mrs. Lyu rummaged through the gifts for a long time but found no silver, muttering under her breath about how stingy they were.
Aunt Lan was so angry she laughed; these people truly were ungrateful wolves. “This is top-grade Soft Smoke Silk, worth five or six taels of silver per bolt. Neither the Miss nor I could bear to use it, intending to save it to make undergarments for the Young Master. If you look down on it, I’ll just take it back.”
Hearing it was so expensive, Mrs. Lyu immediately hugged the fabric tightly, refusing to let go. “I just have a quick tongue, but in my heart, I remember Miss Shen’s kindness. Besides, there’s no reason to take back a gift once it’s been given.”
She had to admit, a lady from a wealthy family had real boldness; she gave away something worth several taels without even blinking. Unlike her mother-in-law, who talked a good game but hadn’t given her a single copper coin yet.
After Aunt Lan returned and told Shen Qingru what had happened, both agreed that they should stop doing such thankless tasks in the future.
Unfortunately, many times, even if you don’t look for trouble, trouble finds its way to your door.
After dinner at the Chang house, Chang the Third did something unprecedented and stayed behind to help Mrs. Yang clean up. Seeing that most people had left, he gave Mrs. Yang a meaningful look, washed his hands, and swaggered into Madam Zhang’s room.
The mother and son whispered together for a long while before Chang the Third stepped out, looking satisfied. Mrs. Yang, who had been waiting anxiously outside, felt relieved at the sight. She then headed toward Mrs. Lyu’s room with a light step.
Chang the Third also headed toward the eldest brother’s quarters.
Mrs. Lyu was summoned with a look of utter confusion. She listened to Madam Zhang’s speech, still bewildered. Once she processed it, she shrieked, “What? Sanzhuang’s son, Ziming, is getting married? And the bride price is three hundred taels?”
Madam Zhang gave her a displeased look. “What are you yelling for? Ziming is marrying the daughter of Headmaster Xu from his academy. That’s a proper, wealthy family; most people couldn’t marry into it even if they wanted to.”
“But three hundred taels is still too much.” Mrs. Lyu didn’t care who he was marrying; her own bride price had only been ten taels when she married into the family. She had a rough idea of how much money Madam Zhang had saved; if it was all used up now, what would happen when her own son, Tianbao, reached marriageable age? She knew Mrs. Yang was being secretive for no good reason. If they thought they could make her the scapegoat, they were dead wrong.
“Second Sister-in-law, Headmaster Xu is a man of status in Qingyuan County and was a classmate of the County Magistrate. If he hadn’t seen how clever and studious Ziming is, he would never have married his daughter into our family. Ziming said the Xu family has a house in the county seat that will be part of her dowry. That alone is worth more than three hundred taels.” Mrs. Yang was extremely pleased with this daughter-in-law. In the past, three hundred taels would have been an astronomical figure they wouldn’t even dare dream of, but now…
Mrs. Lyu wasn’t stupid when it mattered. “The Xu girl is naturally wonderful in every way, but as long as the Third Branch pays for it themselves, I won’t say a single word.” After saying this, she pinched Chang the Second’s arm.
Chang the Second also spoke up: “Third Brother, what you’re doing isn’t right.”
Chang the Third had already secured Madam Zhang’s promise and was feeling quite smug. He simply smiled and said, “Second Brother, you can’t put it that way. If Ziming truly becomes successful, it brings honor to all of us.”
Madam Zhang nodded. “What the Third says makes sense.” She then looked at Old Man Chang. “Old man, what do you think?”
Old Man Chang rarely interfered in family matters, and Madam Zhang had already briefed him, so he said, “I think it’s fine. Let’s proceed this way.”
Since the head of the household had spoken, Mrs. Lyu couldn’t say anything more, no matter how unwilling she was.
Madam Zhang was satisfied with this outcome. “You’ve all heard. Now, let’s talk about the silver. You all know our family’s situation in the past. We didn’t save much in decades. It’s only since Miss Shen arrived that things have become more comfortable.”
As she spoke, she glanced at Chang Dazhuang and his wife, who hadn’t uttered a word since entering the room. She huffed inwardly. “So, for this bride price, I will provide fifty taels. The Third Branch will provide fifty taels—have your wife go back to her parents’ home; Ziming is their grandson, after all. As for the Second Branch, since the wife is pregnant and they have Tianbao to raise, we’ll leave them out of it.”
Mrs. Lyu had been listening intently and breathed a sigh of relief. She had no money, and even if she did, she wouldn’t give it to Chang Ziming. She shot a cold glance at the calm Mrs. Yang, realizing exactly what the plan was.
Sure enough, Madam Zhang continued, “As for the remaining two hundred taels, the Eldest Branch, you will provide it.”
Aunt Liu had sensed something was wrong for a while, but she hadn’t expected them to be so shameless. “Old Lady, you must be joking. You said it yourself, look at our family’s circumstances. Two hundred taels? Even if you sold our whole family, we wouldn’t be worth that much.”
Madam Zhang’s face darkened. “Is that how you speak to your mother-in-law?”
Since they had already had a falling out last time, Aunt Liu no longer held back. “What are you talking about, Old Lady? My mother-in-law has been dead for over thirty years. If she were still alive, our family wouldn’t be treated so wretchedly.”
This hit Madam Zhang right where it hurt. Seeing the situation turning sour, Mrs. Yang hurried to smooth things over; if these two locked horns, they wouldn’t be able to discuss anything today. “Eldest Sister-in-law, we all share the name Chang. We’re one family. Any minor unpleasantness can be slept off. There’s no need to hold a grudge.”
Chang the Third also diligently tried to soothe Madam Zhang’s anger. “Third Brother, look at what Sister-in-law is saying. You should keep her in check; Mother is doing this for the good of the whole family.”
Aunt Liu knew Chang Dazhuang was slow of speech and worried he would be tricked. “Third Brother, tell me then, which part of what I said was wrong? ‘For the good of the family’? I’m afraid it’s only for your good. It has nothing to do with our branch.”
“Even if Ziming becomes successful in the future, we don’t expect to benefit from it. You should provide this money yourselves.”
Madam Zhang felt a headache coming on. This usually submissive eldest daughter-in-law had been like a firecracker these past two days, exploding at the slightest touch. “Are you truly refusing to give the money?”
Aunt Liu sneered. “Isn’t all the family’s money with the Old Lady? Where would we get any money?”
Mrs. Yang clearly didn’t believe her. “Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law are Miss Shen’s saviors, and Miss Shen is a generous person. There’s no need for Sister-in-law to be stingy. At most, we can have Ziming write you an IOU and pay you back later.”
Aunt Liu didn’t believe a word of her lies, and besides, she truly had no money. “Miss Shen is pitiful enough already. She has to raise Xiao Ji’er in the future and will have many expenses. If we still demanded her money, would we even be human? Isn’t that just driving someone to their death?”
Aunt Liu’s sharp words left both Madam Zhang and Mrs. Yang with ashen faces.
Seeing that things were going poorly, Chang the Third looked to Old Man Chang for help.
Old Man Chang cleared his throat and was about to speak when Chang Dazhuang said coldly, “Father, you don’t need to say anything. We really don’t have the silver. Let Third Brother find his own way.”
Ignoring the others, he took Aunt Liu by the hand and walked straight out.