Chapter 36

Chapter Thirty-Six: Pawn This Plaque, and Give the Clothes to This Young Master! Song Jiaojiao was hungry and refused to compromise. Her face was full of rejection, yet a glint of greed flashed in her eyes. "I don't want to! I'm hungry, Wuliang-gege. I just want to eat roast duck. I heard that place's roast squab is absolutely delicious. If we go late, there'll be nothing left." Pei Wuliang was a bit embarrassed. He couldn't very well tell the woman he loved that he didn't have the money to treat her, could he? He knew that shop well. The squab there tasted quite good. The last time, before he had announced his engagement date with Jiaojiao, he had taken Jia Qingcheng there to eat. Jia Qingcheng also really liked that shop's roast squab. However, he knew the price wasn't cheap. "Wuliang-gege, do you not like Jiaojiao anymore?" "How could that be? Alright, I'll take you to eat. We'll go right now!" "Wuliang-gege, you're so good." There was no denying that a woman's coquettishness was a man's greatest weapon. Pei Wuliang's persistence and embarrassment completely vanished at that moment. He also let himself go, thinking that he'd just put it on his tab for now and have Jia Qingcheng pay for it when he got back. ... The dusk was deep, and the setting sun was dipping below the horizon. Jia Qingcheng was in the storeroom, going through all the dowry she had prepared. From large items like furniture to small things like quilts and soft mattresses, she had prepared everything in full. This entire room was filled with the dowry she was to send to Chu Wangfu. Naturally, this also included the betrothal gifts Prince Chu had sent over. She was bringing all of them along, not leaving a single piece for the Jia family. She knew very well that if she left anything behind, it would likely end up in her stepmother's pockets in the end. So, to avoid being stripped of everything, she had long since made thorough preparations in advance. "Miss, everything has been counted. The total value of the dowry is over five hundred thousand taels. This doesn't even include the gold and silver utensils your grandfather prepared for you. All together, it might come to over eight hundred thousand taels." With over eight hundred thousand taels of silver, Jia Qingcheng was a veritable rich young lady. The Jia family owned countless medicine shops, which were naturally very profitable. On top of that, her maternal grandfather's family was also extremely wealthy—one could say their riches rivaled a nation's. So Jia Qingcheng was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. The greatest hardship she had ever endured in her life might just be love. "Chunyan, I remember I bought a pair of South Sea night pearls for the Pei family last time but haven't sent them over yet. Where are they now?" "They're right here, Miss. Are you bringing these to Chu Wangfu as well?" Chunyan didn't understand. Was she not leaving anything behind at all? "Add them all to the dowry. When the wedding day comes, they'll be sent to Chu Wangfu." "But Miss, won't these dowry items have to be sent to the Pei residence eventually? Prince Chu, he..." "The Prince will be fine. He'll gradually get better." On this point, she was confident. After all, she had already planted a protective heavenly silkworm in Prince Chu. The heavenly silkworm would slowly devour the Gu insects inside his body. He would survive. She firmly believed it! Chunyan: "..." "Eldest Miss, the Master is here." Her father was here? Upon learning that her father had arrived, she immediately had them wrap all these items in red cloth. Then, she quickly walked outside. There, Father Jia was approaching slowly with the steward. "Qingcheng, what are you doing here?" Jia Qingcheng saw that her father was fine and didn't find it strange. After all, her father was a physician—there was no way a physician would knock himself out. "Daughter greets Father." Through the window that wasn't completely shut, Father Jia caught a glimpse of what was inside. "Are you preparing your dowry?" Jia Qingcheng neither denied it nor answered. She merely said calmly, "Does Father have business here?" Father Jia knew she harbored some misunderstandings about him. "You're about to marry into Chu Wangfu. Your father has a few words he wishes to advise you in private. Come with me." In the study, the fragrance of mugwort assailed the nose. After Jia Qingcheng entered, Father Jia had her close the door. Under the candlelight, Jia Qingcheng's face remained dark and ugly, which filled Father Jia with great disappointment. Clearly, both he and his wife were not bad-looking, so why had this child grown uglier and uglier as she aged? There was even a moment when, egged on by his wife, he suspected Jia Qingcheng wasn't his biological daughter. But soon, he dismissed that notion. After all, he had been by her side throughout her birth back then—there was no possibility of a switch. The atmosphere in the study grew tense. Jia Qingcheng disliked this kind of atmosphere and spoke up first. "May I ask what instructions Father has?" "Your wedding and Jiaojiao's are on the same day. You're marrying into Chu Wangfu, and she's marrying into the Pei residence. Just now, your father and your mother discussed it and decided to give half of your dowry to Jiaojiao. That way, when she marries, no one will criticize her or say the Jia family mistreats their adopted daughter." What? He still wanted to get his hands on her dowry? Jia Qingcheng straightened her back. "Father, if you truly insist on doing this, then I won't marry into Chu Wangfu in my sister's place. You can have her marry into Chu Wangfu herself." "You—how can you be so selfish? Jiaojiao is your sister after all!" "She's only a cousin, isn't she?" These years, the Jia family had already done enough by raising her, yet instead of showing gratitude, she had the audacity to seduce her fiancé, stringing her along all these years. Ask anyone—who would like such an ungrateful wolf? Let alone giving her a share of the dowry. Not a single coin would she get! "Qingcheng, why can't you be sensible? Your father has his reasons for this arrangement. Think about it—perhaps the very day you marry into Chu Wangfu will be the day you become a widow. In the future, you'll still have to marry Wuliang as his wife, and by then, Jiaojiao will be your mistress. If you don't appease her now, when she becomes your mistress later and gives you a hard time, bullying you—what will you do then?" "Father need not trouble himself over my affairs. If you truly care for me, then don't bring up the dowry again. Also, I do not agree to Song Jiaojiao being added to the Jia family register!" "How dare you! What right do you have to disagree? This is this old man's decision!" "Father, don't forget—Grandfather won't agree either." "You... you have quite the nerve, using your grandfather to pressure this old man?" Jia Qingcheng's face remained expressionless. "Grandfather is a traditional man at heart. He only recognizes children with Jia blood as members of the Jia family. If Father doesn't believe me, by all means, try it?" "You..." Father Jia wanted to curse, but in the end, he held back. He was doing this to leave his daughter a way out—why couldn't she understand his good intentions? "Qingcheng, everything I'm doing is for your sake." For her sake? Jia Qingcheng nearly laughed in anger. If it were truly for her sake, he shouldn't have fooled around with those women in the first place, driving her mother to an early grave with grief, leaving her without a mother since childhood, starving for affection deep inside. And just then, Pei Wuliang walked into her life, giving her warmth and care, and she naively believed that Pei Wuliang didn't mind her ugly appearance. That must surely be true love... The past was not worth mentioning. "Your daughter still needs to return and prepare for the wedding. I take my leave." ... Inside the room, Jia Qingcheng had just returned when a respectful voice came from outside. "Eldest Miss, Manager Li is here." Outside, Manager Li stepped forward, holding in his hands the written agreement signed and fingerprinted by Pei Wuliang, along with a heavy golden Wushi Plate. "Please take a look. He signed and pressed his seal, and he also put down this piece of gold as collateral."