Chapter 60

Chapter Sixty: How Dare You Squander Your Dowry Like This? Jia Qingcheng knew that Song Jiaojiao wanted to see her make a fool of herself. She said nothing, merely staring blankly at her. Seeing that Jia Qingcheng came out wearing a veil, unwilling to reveal her original ugly face, Song Jiaojiao assumed she must have been thoroughly rejected by Prince Chu. With a face like that—never mind Prince Chu, even a beggar on the street would be disgusted. "Sister, if you're not saying anything, does that mean you admit it?" Song Jiaojiao had come to get medicine. Recently, she had discovered that her monthly cycle was two months late again, which sent her into a panic. After all, she had previously taken Pei Wuliang's medicine and recovered, but now her menses had stopped again. She wasn't pregnant, and it was just like before. This forced her to secretly come and get medicine to regulate her body. If her menses didn't come, her chances of conceiving a child for the Pei family would be very low. She absolutely could not let the Pei family know that her infertility hadn't been cured. Jia Qingcheng didn't want to acknowledge her. She simply looked at the shopkeeper and said, "Hurry up and fill the prescription. I need to leave soon." "Yes, miss, please wait a moment!" Seeing that Jia Qingcheng was also there to get medicine, Song Jiaojiao assumed it was for Prince Chu. But Prince Chu was already beyond saving now—no matter what medicine she got, it probably wouldn't make a difference. "Sister, don't waste your efforts. Everyone knows Prince Chu is on his deathbed. Even if you use the Jia family's precious prescriptions, it won't help. Why bother going through the trouble and wasting your silver?" Song Jiaojiao had her eyes on Jia Qingcheng's silver, because that silver would soon be hers. After all, once Prince Chu died, Jia Qingcheng would have to become a widow and marry Pei Wuliang as a concubine. By then, all her silver would be brought into the Pei family, and as the principal wife of the Pei household, she would naturally have the right to control it. Now, watching her squander it like this, she felt deeply dissatisfied. Faced with such humiliation, Jia Qingcheng chose to remain silent. She wouldn't say a single word, because the medicines she was getting were all for bruises and injuries, and she couldn't let Song Jiaojiao find out. Prince Chu had gone to battle in secret, and she had to keep this confidential—even when it came to getting medicine. "Miss Biao, don't go too far. What does my mistress spending her own silver have to do with you?" Chunyan couldn't bear it anymore and wanted to mock Song Jiaojiao for meddling too much, but Song Jiaojiao scolded Jia Qingcheng in the capacity of the Pei family's principal wife. "Sister will marry into the Pei residence in the future, so her silver naturally belongs to the Pei household. Isn't it only natural that I show some concern now?" "You—" "Enough, Chunyan. Let's go inside." Jia Qingcheng didn't want to deal with Song Jiaojiao. After all, saying more was pointless. She walked straight into the inner room, and seeing that she had been driven inside by her words, Song Jiaojiao finally let it go. "Miss, the eldest miss was almost driven to tears by your words. Perhaps you should stop." "Hmph, whose fault is it that she's wasting her silver? And she never fulfilled her promise of giving me half of her dowry either?" Song Jiaojiao harbored resentment toward Jia Qingcheng. That night of the wedding was the greatest humiliation of her life. It was bad enough that debt collectors had come knocking on her wedding day, but when she was about to consummate the marriage, her mother-in-law had called her over and scolded her for having too little dowry, making the Pei family lose face. Could she be blamed for that? It was Jia Qingcheng who had skimped on her dowry, leaving her with only that little bit to bring into the Pei residence. And now, Mother Pei, who had once been satisfied with her, had also developed grievances against her. This morning, when she went to pay her respects and serve tea, her mother-in-law had only given her a very small red envelope, which was a tremendous blow to her self-esteem. On top of that, her husband wasn't at home to speak up for her. Having swallowed a bellyful of her mother-in-law's anger, she naturally needed somewhere to vent it. Now that she happened to run into Jia Qingcheng here, she naturally wanted to make her miserable. Soon, Jia Qingcheng had her medicine ready and was preparing to leave. When she saw that Song Jiaojiao was still waiting outside, she wanted to avoid her... But Song Jiaojiao suddenly stepped forward to block her way. "Sister!" "Move aside!" Jia Qingcheng finally spoke up to tell her to move, but Song Jiaojiao just giggled. "Sister, don't be angry. I was only joking with you. Oh, by the way, I just heard that the shop has received a new batch of complexion-reviving cream. I heard it's very effective for sister's scarred face. Would you like to take some back to try?" "Madam Pei, you've gone too far. Can the eldest miss's face be cured by ordinary medicine?" Even the shopkeeper couldn't bear it anymore. He didn't understand why the eldest miss wouldn't retort against Song Jiaojiao and let her spout nonsense here. "Oh dear, what a pity. My sister is truly besieged on all sides now. Prince Chu is on his deathbed and still married a stunning beauty into the prince's residence. Sister, your days must be so difficult. So for tomorrow's Three-Visit Return, will sister still be willing to make the visit?" The return visit? Jia Qingcheng had actually forgotten about that. Seeing that she remained silent, Song Jiaojiao quickly laughed. "Sister needn't worry. Prince Chu certainly won't be able to accompany you. But that's alright—I'll be a good person. After my own return visit, I'll ask my husband if he'd be willing to accompany you in Prince Chu's place. If he's unwilling, then this sister of yours can only say I've done all I could." "Are you done?" What? Song Jiaojiao saw that she had actually lost her temper and knew she had hit a nerve. If a woman returned to her natal home on the third day without her husband accompanying her, she would be ridiculed by her own family. At this point, Jia Qingcheng's only option was to seek help from her husband, Pei Wuliang, to avoid such an embarrassing situation. "Sister, I'm only concerned about you. If you don't want to hear it, then I won't say anything more!" "Chunyan, let's go!" After Jia Qingcheng boarded the carriage, Chunyan quickly placed the medicine inside as well. Once she was on, she saw Song Jiaojiao still standing at the door, smugly waving at them. "Sister, take care now. Be sure to return early tomorrow—I'll be waiting for you at the Jia residence!" Just look at how capable Song Jiaojiao was! Chunyan couldn't hold it in any longer. "Miss, why didn't you tell her the truth? That so-called stunning beauty, she's actually..." "Chunyan, don't say another word about my appearance." "I know you don't bother with people like her, but she's too much. You're clearly that stunning beauty, yet she insists on saying..." "What she says doesn't matter to me in the least!" She knew that Song Jiaojiao's nonsense today was because she had been mistreated at her in-laws' home and wanted to take it out on her. In her past life, she had known that Mother Pei was difficult to get along with. Since she had sent all her dowry to Chu Wangfu ahead of time, not leaving a single share for Song Jiaojiao, Mother Pei would naturally look down on Song Jiaojiao's meager dowry. Perhaps the trouble had started on the very wedding night. "Miss, you have such a good temper. Even if you ignore her today, what about tomorrow? What are we going to do tomorrow? Prince Chu is in no condition to accompany us back. Are we really going to have to beg Pei Wuliang?" Beg Pei Wuliang? How could that be! Jia Qingcheng was about to say something when, suddenly, a shout came from outside. "First Miss, please hold on!" That voice—wasn't it the shopkeeper's? She quickly had the coachman stop the carriage and lifted the curtain. The shopkeeper hurried forward to report, "First Miss, Song Jiaojiao bought the medicine without paying. She said to put it all on the Pei family's account."