Chapter 547: Chapter 536: The Marchioness’s Maid
Ye Qiu was truly happy that her lady could think this way. As a person from this era, although a husband’s affection was important, being a legitimate wife did not mean she couldn’t live without it.
What she feared the most was that her lady would fall into despondency and trap herself in a dead end.
Of course, it would be better with the husband’s affection, hoping that Marquis Weiyuan could one day recognize the virtues of her lady!
"Besides, everyone knows that Marquis Weiyuan’s expedition to the border is extremely perilous. Even if Marquis Weiyuan has the heart to cherish me, I’m afraid there might not be an opportunity," Zhong Lan said with a somewhat dimmed interest.
"That won’t happen. I don’t think Marquis Weiyuan looks like someone who would die young," Ye Qiu reassured.
"Who can be sure about the future," Zhong Lan shrugged indifferently, "That’s enough. I feel much better after chatting with you today. You should go to sleep early too."
Ye Qiu lay on the couch outside but couldn’t fall asleep because the mysterious System 001 was now crashed. No matter how she called, there was no response, and the task panel only displayed a few lines of text.
The first was the world’s task target: Zhong Lan, followed by giving her an option to choose this time’s Skill, and finally announcing Merit Points of 18,000, then nothing more. It provided neither the memories from her previous life nor the specifics of how to accomplish the task successfully—whether to help Zhong Lan or to solve Zhong Lan, and if it was to assist her, in what aspect?
Ye Qiu’s face remained unchanged, then she coldly sneered: "Trash System."
When leaving, she selected Poison Scripture and Medicine Manual as her Skill. Being in the inner house, that should be the most useful, right?
After Ye Qiu left, the System, trembling with fear, scurried out. It didn’t have any other choice, for it was just a small robot. Some people said that Ye Qiu completed the tasks too smoothly, and it had to manipulate them slightly before the idea of having a task target came about. It hoped that Ye Qiu wouldn’t hold it against itself in the future.
"Miss, the Eldest Young Master has come." The next day, Zhong Jue entered Qingzhu Garden with a list in hand.
"Brother, why have you come at this time?"
"To show you your dowry list."
Receiving it, Zhong Lan glanced over and exclaimed, "So much!"
"Not much at all. You were personally granted a marriage by the Holy Emperor, and the palace has also contributed to the dowry. Besides, marrying into the Marquis Mansion, father wouldn’t want to lose face." Not letting Aunt Wei succeed was probably the most satisfying thing Zhong Jue had done regarding his father.
"Aren’t these in the back all of mother’s dowry? How could you put them all in?" Zhong Lan frowned, "That’s not right; as the legitimate eldest son, I can take one or two items from mother’s belongings, but I can’t take them all."
"Why not?" Zhong Jue held his sister down, "As the legitimate eldest son, most of the household belongings will be mine in the future. What do I need mother’s things for? Besides, you’re marrying into the Marquis Mansion. If you don’t have sufficient possessions with you, people will look down on you."
"But still..."
"There are no buts. The wife I marry in the future won’t care about these things. If she does, she wouldn’t be worthy of being my wife."
"Brother, how can you think like that? No matter who my sister-in-law will be in the future, you should prioritize her, not me. No matter what you say today, you must listen to me. Half of mother’s things go to each of us. You can’t refuse because I know mother, and her belongings are meant for her future daughter-in-law. If you don’t agree, then when you get married, I’ll send those things as gifts. You have to think carefully; once they’re sent as gifts, Aunt Wei will have a chance to interfere. Then, you’ll have to put in a great effort to keep them safe."
Zhong Jue was frustrated, "Why must you be so stubborn!"
"I’m not being stubborn. I am being reasonable. As a married-out daughter, I shouldn’t even be taking so much. Maybe..."
"Alright, alright, we’ll do as you say." Zhong Jue was worried that Zhong Lan would keep on insisting to only take one or two items and send the rest as gifts. He wasn’t afraid of Aunt Wei but found it troublesome. Moreover, with his biased grandmother and father above him, he certainly couldn’t ruin his reputation and jeopardize his future for some belongings; otherwise, who would support his sister in the future?
"Eldest Young Master, Eldest Lady, people from the Ying Family have come. The Old Master invites you over," reported a servant while the siblings were arguing.
The Ying Family?
Upon hearing these two words, Zhong Jue and Zhong Lan both froze for a moment. Hadn’t it already been three years since the Ying Family had last visited?
The Ying Family was the siblings’ maternal family. The relationship between the Zhong Family and the Ying Family had already become very stiff even before Mrs. Ying passed away. Moreover, Zhong Jue and Zhong Lan were not warmly welcomed at the Ying Residence.
Especially after Mrs. Ying’s death, the Ying Family forcibly took back half of her dowry and even beat Mr. Zhong. Since then, Old Madam Wei forbade the siblings from visiting the Ying Residence, and thus the connection between the two families ceased. Why would the Ying Family send someone now?
The visitor was a housekeeper from the Ying Residence, whom Zhong Jue and Zhong Lan had both seen before. He held a high position in the Ying Residence.
Upon seeing the siblings, the housekeeper’s face brightened a bit, "Greetings to the Young Master and Lady."
"Uncle Ying, why have you come? Are grandmother and my uncles well?"
"Your uncles are fine; it’s just that ever since the Old Madam’s daughter passed away, her health has never been good." As Uncle Ying spoke, he glanced at Zhong Huaiwen, whose complexion grew even more unpleasant.
"We have been unfilial, not visiting her all this time," said Zhong Lan with a sense of loss.
In these three years, although Old Madam Wei had been obstructing them, the siblings had thought about visiting the Ying Residence to pay their respects. The first year after their mother’s death, Zhong Jue and Zhong Lan felt that their visit would only bring pain to their relatives, so they did not go. In the second year, whenever they attempted to visit, Old Madam Wei would pretend to be in pain or sick, demanding their personal care. Once, she even pretended to be paralyzed in her bed, refusing to move, and threatened that if they visited the Ying Residence, she would kill herself on the spot, leaving the siblings no choice.
Then, last year, as the eldest uncle was posted away, and grandmother had followed him to Jiangnan for her health, the siblings’ determination to pay respects faded, and it transpired that they hadn’t seen them for three whole years.
"What brings you here this time?" Zhong Jue asked with confusion.
"The imperial marriage came so suddenly. The Old Lady’s health is too poor to make the journey back, so she sent a letter to the Second Old Master asking to deliver a portion of dowry to the Lady," said Uncle Ying as he presented a list, "The items are all outside; please accompany this old servant to check them, Lady."
When they arrived at the courtyard outside, Zhong Lan realized just how much dowry her maternal grandmother and uncles had sent over.
"Is this all?"
"Yes, everything that was taken back three years ago is here. However, those previous fabrics have gone out of fashion, so the two ladies arranged to buy some new ones; there are also some fashionable Jiangnan jewelry that the Old Lady thought was pretty. She’s been saving it for these three years!"
Listening to Uncle Ying, Zhong Lan couldn’t help but shed tears.