bayedsolid Chapter 12 Dowry Register
Chapter 12 Dowry Register
Seeing that the grandmother and grandson were talking and not paying any attention to her, Old Madam Qiao rolled her eyes before picking up her teacup and taking a sip to rest.
Qiao Qingshu recounted in detail the circumstances of the fire at her mother's Jinxiu Hall that day.
Since her eldest son, Qiao Anlan, was abducted several years ago, Bai Shi had become depressed and her spirits had never been the same as before. Last year, a lame monk passed by the Qiao family and said that the eldest son was not dead. He told Bai Shi to burn paper money and pray to the gods every day, and perhaps she would be able to find out where her son was.
If Bai received the imperial decree, she would cheer up and pray devoutly in the Jinxiu Hall every day, burning paper money and kowtowing. One night, Huan'er was on duty, and both mistress and servant fell asleep. The fire in the brazier in the room was not extinguished in time and set the bed curtains on fire. By the time they were discovered, the fire was out of control. The two mistress and servant had already suffocated and fallen into a coma, and were burned to a crisp in their sleep. By the time the servants in the outer courtyard found out, it was already too late.
Qiao Qingshu had already thought these words over and over in her mind. This lie was half true and half false. It was true that her mother had been burning paper money every night to pray for her brother, which was known to everyone in the Qiao family. The only thing that was false was that Bai Shi had quietly left the Qiao family with Huan'er when the fire spread.
At this moment, Old Madam Qiao sighed and continued,
“My wife is good in every way, except for one thing. After our son was lost, she seemed to lose her soul. She’s always like she can’t wake up. She used to be a great housekeeper, but these past few years she’s refused to do anything and just left me, this old woman, to manage the household. I’ve been working so hard these past few years that I’ve gotten sick.”
His words implied that his wife was incompetent and immature.
Qiao Qingshu gritted her teeth inwardly. If her mother hadn't fallen ill with depression, how could someone as intelligent and capable as her have been drugged and murdered by that bitch Xu Biyun?
There is no greater sorrow than a broken heart; her brother's disappearance is a thorn in Bai's heart that can never be removed.
In her previous life, Bai kept calling out her brother's name before she passed away; this was her greatest regret before she died.
Qiao Qingshu also assumed that her brother, who had been missing for many years, was already dead. However, when she was imprisoned in the Cold Palace, Xu Biyun and Liu Wan'er came to ridicule her and accidentally let slip that her brother's disappearance was actually orchestrated by Xu Biyun.
Bai Zhining couldn't stand seeing this old woman Qiao slander her sister, so she spoke up in defense of her.
“Back then, during the Lantern Festival, if my nephew Anlan hadn’t been lost by the nanny under Madam Qiao’s care, how could my clever and intelligent sister have turned out like this?”
Speechless after being rebuked by Bai Zhining, and not daring to argue further, Old Madam Qiao awkwardly shut her mouth.
At this moment, Madam Bai cleared her throat. Bai Zhining had already told her the truth. She knew that her own daughter was resting at the manor in the suburbs of Beijing. She was not very sad. She also knew that the purpose of her visit was for her daughter's huge dowry.
She thought for a moment before slowly speaking.
"I heard that Chanzi's funeral was simple, and the old lady only allowed eight hundred taels for the funeral. I thought that my daughter was raised in the finest and most precious way. When has she ever been treated so poorly? When she entered your Qiao family, she brought a dowry of three hundred thousand taels. Even if the funeral expenses were deducted from her dowry, it shouldn't be this meager."
Bai Zhining gritted her teeth and added unhappily.
“Mother, you haven’t even seen the funeral hall yet. The coffin is just ordinary nanmu wood. When our steward Xia passed away, he had a coffin made of the finest nanmu wood! The Qiao family’s funeral for my sister is extremely shabby.”
Old Madam Qiao knew the Bai family would bring this up, and she had already prepared her words.
"Oh dear, old sister, you don't know, Bai's dowry list has always been in her own hands. I, this old woman, have never seen it. I have no idea how much was spent or how much was saved. Now her house has burned to the ground, and I don't know how many antiques, paintings, gold and silver jewelry have been reduced to ashes. How much of her dowry is left? If I had her dowry, would I not let her spend it? It's just that her money isn't with me."
With these words, they completely absolved themselves of any responsibility. In any case, the person was dead, and everything had been burned. In short, it was a muddled mess, and how could the Qiao family possibly accept it?
Bai Zhining sneered.
“Madam Qiao, the way you’re saying this makes it sound like you’d be willing to spend money if the dowry list were still available.”
Madam Qiao nodded hurriedly.
"Of course! If the Bai family's dowry register is still available, I will definitely calculate it carefully, and whatever is left over will naturally be spent on me, the daughter-in-law! Anything that is not spent will be returned to your Bai family!"
Overjoyed with her words, Old Madam Qiao raised her eyebrows. Now she could say whatever she wanted, could Bai Shi possibly come back from the dead?
Qiao Qingshu stepped forward, tilted her head back, and said in a feignedly innocent manner,
“Grandmother, my mother’s dowry book is with me; it wasn’t burned.”
The whole room was stunned.
All eyes turned to Qiao Qingshu, who took out an account book and an account ledger from her bosom and handed them to the old lady Bai beside her.
“Grandmother, my mother said before she passed away that she would give me all of her remaining dowry. Not counting the dowry that the Qiao family helped me with, this is what my mother secretly gave me. She said that she could spend all of her dowry in three lifetimes. I’m getting married soon, so she gave it all to me to make me look presentable. There’s even an account book written by my mother herself.”
Old Madam Qiao and Qiao Jizhou looked at each other, their eyes filled with astonishment, and both were stunned for a moment.
A calculating glint flashed in Old Madam Qiao's eyes as she glared at Qiao Qingshu and questioned her with displeasure.
"Qingshu, how come you didn't mention such a big thing to me?!"
Qiao Qingshu looked up innocently and said,
“Grandmother, you have been ill these past few days and have not even been able to handle Mother’s funeral. How could I dare to bother you with such trivial matters? I was planning to report to you in detail after Mother’s funeral. If Grandmother hadn’t mentioned it, I would have forgotten about it.”
A sinister glint was clearly visible in Old Madam Qiao's eyes.
"Even if we had this booklet, it wouldn't amount to much. Jinxiutang was burned down, and countless other things were destroyed. How could we possibly calculate it?"
Qiao Qingshu smiled brightly.
“Grandmother, you are mistaken. Mother was a meticulous person. She updated her dowry register all the time. She kept a detailed record of how much was spent or moved elsewhere. She even kept the pawn receipts for the money she used to help Father buy his official position. I did a quick calculation and the things that were burned in Mother's house were only a thousand or two thousand taels of silver. The rest are stored in the Zhonggong Treasury. Grandmother, you have been ill lately and must have forgotten all of this.”