The West Wind Cuts Works The Eldest Daughter Should Marry, First-Rank Noble Consort The Eldest Daughter Should Marry, First-Rank Noble Consort The Eldest Daughter Should Marry, First-Rank Noble Consort Volume 1 Chapter 77

  After hearing Jing Wangfei's words, Xia Ting condensed a faint smile and replied, "Mother-in-law. If the daughter-in-law doesn't squeeze all these dowries into these fifty boxes, but instead attracts attention by carrying them in with the sedan chair. Wouldn't people outside think that these were all prepared for me by my mother?"

  If so many rich dowries were thought to be prepared for her by those people in the Xia family, wouldn't that just add to their prestige? She would never do something beneficial to them.

  The quiet queen heard the words and was stunned for a moment, then reacted again. This daughter-in-law really didn't want to give her mother's family a good face, so she would go to great lengths to put the rich dowry that attracted attention into these fifty inconspicuous boxes, just to prevent outsiders from thinking that the Xia family treated her well and prepared a rich dowry for her.

  Upon careful consideration, this child's actions are understandable. After all, the people of the Xia Manor were heartless from the start and didn't even provide a dowry for their daughter-in-law, so it's no wonder she would do something like this.

  The King listened and was also suddenly enlightened, his heart couldn't help but be even more satisfied with this daughter-in-law. When it's time to cut ties, then cut them off, unlike other women who suffer all sorts of grievances yet still foolishly insist on maintaining a facade for the sake of appearances. In his opinion, the daughter-in-law's actions were absolutely normal, if someone else isn't even willing to prepare a dowry for you, and you're still eager to help them save face, then that would truly be idiotic.

  The rest of the people also didn't speak up, but in their hearts they had a few more points of understanding towards Xia Ting, she was indeed a brave and unconventional woman.

  An ordinary family's daughter can't be like her, under the circumstances of being unfilial to her natal family, she also resolutely abandoned him. Moreover, she dared to show her dissatisfaction with her natal family in her husband's home, which also shows that her heart is towards her husband's family. This is not a brave decision that those girls who are raised in the boudoir can make.

  Xia Ting looked at everyone's reaction for a moment, then turned her head to look at Baili Rongjin again, what she cared about was how he saw her.

  Baili Rongjin's face still wore a warm smile, his eyes filled with understanding and heartache for her, which made Xia Ting feel a warmth in her chest, and she smiled slightly at him, revealing an unparalleled elegance.

  But unfortunately, there is one person in the hall who doesn't think so.

  Ruan Shi had just been scolded by Jing Wangye and Bai Lichuan, with a belly full of grievances. Originally, she should have stayed quietly in her place, pretending to be mute. But this person obviously didn't know what it means to restrain oneself.

  He saw the other person looking at Xia Ting with a condemning expression, saying "Sister-in-law, this is where you are wrong. How can you be so ungrateful? Xia Furen is your stepmother, aren't you slapping her in the face by doing this? Outsiders will also mock her because of this."

  When she said this, she was completely on the side of her own mother, who was a legitimate wife. As the eldest daughter since childhood, she had always been ashamed of those humble concubines. Under her mother's guidance, she had formed her own thoughts and deeply believed that it was natural for concubines to obey their legitimate mothers, how could they have any rebellious thoughts? That would be disloyal and unfilial, unkind and unjust.

  Xia Ting looked at Ruan Shi with a slight raise of her eyebrow, this person was indeed unyielding, it seemed that she had to find a way to get out of this situation from her.

  "What does Second Brother and Sister think I should do?"

  "Of course, it's to maintain the dignity of the Xia Manor. You should loudly proclaim to outsiders that these dowries were all prepared by your mother's family for you. This way, it will sound good when it gets out. Otherwise, wouldn't your stepmother be humiliated because of this?"

  At this point, she was standing from the legitimate daughter's point of view to look at this issue. In her opinion, Xia Ting's move was simply wrong and out of line. Every concubine-born daughter should consider the face and reputation of their own family, even if they suffered grievances, they should swallow their teeth and blood. How could she behave like this? This is simply a great disrespect to the legitimate mother.

  If it were her own younger sister getting married and daring to lose face like this, she would have skinned them alive. A group of young concubine daughters should make any sacrifice for the family anyway, besides, not giving dowry is not a big deal.

  Xia Ting's eyes gleamed coldly as she said in a low voice, "Ashamed? What's the point of that? As the saying goes, 'every cause has its effect.' If she hadn't done such things herself, how could there be today's bitter consequences? It can only be said that it was her own doing, and no one else is to blame."

  She and Ruan's family are absolutely generation gap, listen to what the other party said. Others don't prepare dowry for themselves, she didn't let people spread it out, spread all over the streets and alleys that is her kindness. Ruan's family actually dared to ask her to drum and trumpet everywhere to make a good face for Xiafu, this is really a wonderful thing in history.

  Ruan Shi heard this and immediately widened her eyes, pointing at Xia Ting Cong and saying "Elder sister-in-law, I didn't expect you to be so disrespectful to your birth mother, this is utterly unfilial."

  She had never met a concubine who dared to be as arrogant as her opponent, and the concubines in her family were all trained by their mothers to be like obedient cats. In her heart, she also thought that concubines should be soft and humble, respectful to herself. But Xia Ting's behavior overturned her perception, making her feel that her dignity as a legitimate daughter was being challenged.

  Just as Zheng Qi was still fuming, Ruan Shi's eyes happened to catch sight of Jing Wangfei and Baili Luyao. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck her, and she hastily said, "Elder sister, you previously said I was corrupting Luyao, but now look at yourself - aren't you teaching Luyao to be disrespectful to her birth mother? Elder sister, you're really too much!"

  As soon as these words came out, Jing Wangfei was stunned for a moment. How did it suddenly involve her?

  Xia Ting listened quietly, then gently raised her eyes and looked at Ruan Shi with displeasure. "Second sister-in-law, you'd better make it clear to me. I'm completely different from my elder sister. She's lucky to have met a kind mother-in-law like hers, who takes good care of her every day, so she lives a life similar to that of a legitimate daughter. It's only natural that she respects her mother-in-law. But I'm different from her. Since childhood, I've been living in Yixing City, and my father sends me dozens of taels of silver every month. If it weren't for the support of my maternal grandfather's family property all these years, I wouldn't know what kind of life I and my mother would be living. And most of this is thanks to my legitimate mother-in-law. You can't generalize everything, second sister-in-law, don't talk without considering the consequences."

  At first, the cheap father wanted to bring his mother back to the house, but Li was already very dissatisfied. The old lady also had a heart of defense, and under the obstruction of the two, her mother finally did not get a name, and could only be arranged by her cheap father to the outside. At that time, the financial power of the Xia family was in Li's hands, if she didn't have ulterior motives, why would her cheap father only send so little silver every month? Although most of it was due to his own weakness, after all, it was because Li couldn't tolerate her mother.

  If it weren't for her maternal grandfather leaving behind a considerable amount of family property, and she herself being knowledgeable about managing the household and doing business, the mother and three children would have ended up in a miserable state.

  Now she still wants her to respect others, but she is not Guanyin Bodhisattva, willing to save all beings. She doesn't have such a broad mind.

  Ruan's eyes widened, wanting to say something more, but was cut off by Jing Wangfei's stern voice "Enough, put away that tone of yours. This matter didn't happen to you, what do you know? If it were you instead, who knows what kind of outrageous things would have happened?"

  This daughter-in-law is getting more and more outrageous. The daughter-in-law is right, she hasn't shortchanged the concubine's food and clothing, so it's only natural that the other party should respect her. The daughter-in-law just happened to encounter a narrow-minded legitimate mother, suffered enough oppression, and would do this. Jing'er doing this is just human nature, what does it have to do with teaching Luoyao bad things? It's just her alone who is being alarmist and making a fuss.

  Ruan Shi was first stopped by Jing Wangye and Bai Lichuan, but now she was also shouted at by Jing Wangfei, suddenly feeling embarrassed, thinking of arguing a few words to regain her composure. However, she was pulled aside by Bai Lichuan with a fierce tug.

  Ruan's wife looked at her husband with a face as black as ink, and suddenly she was so frightened that she didn't dare to speak again, and gloomily returned to her seat.

  The others in the hall also maintained the principle of silence is golden, and the entire hall was suddenly quiet, with only Ba Li Rong Qi and Ba Li Rong Chen making soft noises while eating snacks.

  Xia Ting smiled slightly and looked at the quiet Wang Fei, saying "Mother, since the dowry has already been discussed, why not take this opportunity to clear up the accounts and make a record, so as to avoid further trouble."

  The queen nodded in agreement and said, "That's a good idea. Li Ayi, go and take stock of all the dowry for Jing'er, make an inventory."

  Everything has been moved over, so it's better to get it all done now. Saves having to worry about it when things get busy, and if something goes wrong later on, it'll be too late.

  Mrs. Li took the order, brought several maids to the hall where the boxes were placed, and fetched pen, ink, paper, and inkstone. She began to check and register each item one by one.

  Wan Yu also took out her dowry list for comparison and started with Li Nai Nai from the opened box of gold hairpins.

  Everyone was idle and had nothing to do, so they all stared at the movements of these people.

  Once again seeing that box full of golden hairpins, I still can't help but feel a tremble in my heart.

  Mrs. Li carefully started checking from the first layer of the box, looking at these exquisite hairpins, and her hands moved even more gently, afraid of accidentally damaging or dropping them.

  One by one, even if she had followed the queen and seen many things, she had never seen hairpins made so exquisitely. Moreover, each of the hundreds of gold pins was unique in style, truly dazzling her eyes.

  The hand holding the pen also trembled slightly, and it was recorded one by one.

  As the trays stacked with golden hairpins were brought out one by one, Princess Jing was also very excited. Seeing that several trays had already been cleared, she hastily waved her hand to signal the maids to present them to her.

  The maid carefully carried the tray to Queen Jing's presence, striving to keep her hands and feet steady, lest she accidentally drop the exquisite golden hairpins on the tray. If she broke them, she would have to work as a cow or horse for ten lifetimes to repay the debt.

  Although she had already made some mental preparations, Jing Wangfei was still shocked by the various hairpins in the tray. Each of these pins emitted a layer of sparkling golden light, and the workmanship was extremely delicate, just this style alone was something she had never seen before.

  The style is unique and elegant, exquisite and unparalleled, making people amazed.

  The two madams also walked over with curiosity, admiring the various hairpins on the tray. It was already stunning from a distance, but up close it was even more breathtaking. Just look at these hairpins inlaid with colorful gems, each one reflecting dazzling light, making people wonder how this was achieved?

  Even Madame Hsu and Concubine Qi couldn't help but gather around to watch, and in their hearts they were even more convinced by these exquisite hairpins. Concubine Qi couldn't help but reach out and touch the hairpin she had tucked into her own hair, which was a reward given to her by the princess after giving birth to her daughter, originally it was an extremely good high-quality hairpin, now looking at these, it's actually been surpassed.

  Ruan sat alone on the chair, sulking, while everyone else had gathered around. She had just pushed aside those hairpins earlier, but hadn't taken a closer look at the time, only remembering that they were very exquisite. Now she wanted to take a look at those hairpins, but couldn't bring herself to do so. Originally, she thought that if those people called her over to join them, she would reluctantly go and take a look.

  Who would have thought that these people actually took her as transparent, every one of them wanted to greet her. Now she was even more embarrassed and couldn't bear to face it. Annoyed, she sat in the chair, tightly twisting the silk handkerchief in her hand. What's so special about it? It's just some golden hairpins, she herself isn't without them, why would she be envious of others'?

  The quiet queen slowly moved her gaze away from the golden hairpin and turned to ask Xia Tingjing, "Tingjing, where did you get all of these?"

  Such styles were all she had never seen before, beautiful and gorgeous to the extreme.

  The King also couldn't help but look at his daughter-in-law, with the same confusion in his eyes. He was sitting next to Queen Jing, and when the maid presented these hairpins earlier, he had taken a close look too. Although he was a man, he wasn't someone who didn't appreciate beauty. These hairpins were obviously of the highest quality, even more exquisite and luxurious than Ya Su's precious jewelry.

  It turns out that most of Ya Su's jewelry was made in the palace. It was actually surpassed by comparison.

  Xia Ting said with a faint smile, "Mother-in-law, these golden hairpins were all custom-made at Zhen Bao Xuan."

  "So that's how it is. I've long heard that the jewelry of Zhen Bao Xuan is exquisite, but before this, I thought it was just exaggeration. Unexpectedly, today I saw it with my own eyes and it's really this beautiful. No wonder those ladies are willing to spend a fortune on it. It seems that I also need to find some time to go take a look." The quiet queen said with a smile.

  The second lady also chimed in, "Sister-in-law, don't forget to bring me along at the right moment. Such a good thing can't be monopolized by sister-in-law alone."

  She also liked these hairpins very much, but they were all her elder sister-in-law's. As an elder, she couldn't ask for them from a younger generation, could she? Now that she knew where to buy them, of course, she would go and pick out a few more. It just so happened that her daughter, Hua Fu, was also due for some new accessories.

  The queen smiled and replied with a smile, she and her sister-in-law had always gotten along well, and it was common for them to go shopping together.

  Although Madam Xu didn't say a word, her eyes flashed with resentment. As just a concubine, how could she be qualified to go out and select hair accessories? These hairpins were obviously very valuable, even if she could afford them, she couldn't wear them. Otherwise, where would the silver money to buy these hairpins come from?

  Ji Yiniang's face was also gloomy, her monthly allowance was only fifty taels. Even if she had some private savings, such an expensive hairpin was not something she could afford, and she feared she would have no chance to wear it.

  The Third Master and Second Master sat quietly drinking tea. This woman's family adding jewelry, what do these two old men know? Of course, they just sit and drink tea.

  Baili Chuanxuan also sat in his seat, holding a teacup and lost in thought.

  Baili Rongjin held Xia Tingcong's hand with one hand, and from time to time picked up a pastry from the plate with the other, softly asking his wife if she wanted to have one.

  Half a time had passed, and Li's aunt finally finished counting the entire box of gold hairpins, a total of 280 hairpins, which almost dazzled her eyes.

  Xia Ting Cong took Bai Li Rong Jin's hand, lightly opened her mouth and bit into the pastry he was holding. Looking at the one box of dowry that had just been cleared up, she frowned slightly. One box takes so long to clear, these fifty boxes won't be cleared until tomorrow.

  Xia Ting swallowed the pastry in her mouth and turned to face Queen Jing, saying "Your Majesty, there are too many things here. It's really too much for the nanny to handle alone. Why don't we open all the boxes and get some more servants to help? Otherwise, who knows how long it will take to finish checking?"

  She felt waist and back pain when she got up in the morning, thinking that after finishing her meal, she should be able to go back for a nap. But if it's at this pace of checking things, she's afraid she'll have to stay here until tonight. She has been feeling very tired since just now, and if she still has to sit until night, then forget it.

  The queen looked at the boxes filling the hall and nodded in agreement, "That's also true. Let's do it as you said. With so many things, it's indeed a lot of trouble to sort them out."

  After getting the permission of Jing Wangfei, Li Mama hastily ordered the maids to call more maids over. Her old bones really couldn't withstand such a commotion.

  Wan Yu also received Xia Ting's instructions and hurriedly unlocked the boxes one by one.

  Suddenly, the dazzling light emanating from the box suddenly shone brightly on the wall, like a sparkling emerald starlight, giving people an unparalleled visual impact.

  The quiet queen unconsciously stood up, and saw that the box flashing with dazzling light was filled with all kinds of colorful jewelry.

  Wan Yu pointed to the boxes and explained to everyone, "This box contains golden hairpins, the one next to it has armlets, and another box in the back has rings. There are also separate boxes for silver pins, gold bangles, silver bangles, jade bangles, earrings, pearl necklaces, and exquisite small hair ornaments. Additionally, five boxes are filled with complete sets of headdresses, totaling fifty sets, all made from gold, silver, or beautiful jade. The remaining boxes contain jade objects, large and small ornamental pieces made of jade, antiques, paintings, and various fabrics sold by the Snow Workshop."

  Everyone listened to Wan Yu's explanation while watching with eyes wide open and dazzled.

  Jewelry with a lustrous golden sheen, jade and emerald ornaments that dazzle the eyes, colors that are translucent and radiant. Exquisite fabrics, vibrant in color and smooth to the touch, also refracting light as they change angles.

  Everyone stared blankly at the jewelry in the box, such magnificence and luxury, dazzling to the point of almost blinding their eyes.

  It took a long time for everyone to come back to their senses, and the shock in their hearts was hard to conceal. How rich must this family be to afford such a generous dowry?

  The King's wife was stunned, but then felt a heart full of joy. She didn't expect her daughter-in-law's family to be so wealthy, and it wasn't just about their power. Although the King's household wasn't short on money, having a son marry a woman with a good family background was better than marrying one who had nothing. These things would give her daughter-in-law enough face, and in the future, she could speak with more confidence in the manor.

  The two madams and Baili Xiangxiang were shocked to the extreme, but they only admired her and did not have any other bad thoughts.

  Xu's calm face finally revealed a look of shock, this Xia Ting Cong, actually had such a deep background. This made her unable to be unshocked.

  Ji Yiniang was also full of incredulity, the other party was just a concubine's daughter, but she could have such a dowry. Before, when the boxes were not all opened, she was only envious to the extreme. Now that all the boxes are open, she feels like her heart is going to jump out, these dowries would be great even if she only owned one box. So many good things actually all belong to this person in front of her.

  Ruan's family was stunned, sitting in a daze, how could this be possible? One box of golden hairpins was already enough to make people jealous. But she didn't just have one box of golden hairpins, there were also silver hairpins, golden hair ornaments, and gold and silver bangles. This illegitimate daughter, what right did she have, what exactly did she rely on?

  Ruan Shi now only felt that her heart was about to go crazy with jealousy, and her hands unconsciously clenched the silk handkerchief in her hands into shreds. Her eyes were almost spewing out jealous flames.

  Mrs. Li made an effort to calm down her racing heart, and in a low voice, she called out to the maids who were still standing there in a daze to hurry up and check the dowry. Everyone moved with great care, afraid of breaking anything. This newly arrived young mistress was really something else, no one had ever heard of any bride bringing such a lavish dowry.

  The maids carefully counted the dowry, and with many servants called in, the counting speeded up a lot. After more than two hours, all the dowries were cleared.

  Mrs. Li combined the registration forms in her hands, re-copied them together, and then compared them one by one with the dowry list in Wan Yu's hand, confirmed that there was no mistake before reporting back to the King's wife.

  The queen held the book full of dowry, nodded in satisfaction and said "Since everything has been checked, then this book will be copied again, and it's good to put a backup in the treasury. These dowries should also be moved back to Qinglan Garden."

  She is now full of joy, this daughter-in-law was indeed married well.

  As the matter of dowry came to an end, everyone also got up and returned to their respective gardens.

  When Xia Tingjin was about to leave the hall, she felt several unfriendly glances shooting towards her.

  She smiled faintly and let Baili Yongjin pull her hand out of the hall. This life, perhaps will not be calm anymore.

  Digression

  Everyone, I added 1,000 more words today, so it's half an hour late. Sorry about that.