bookcurios Chapter 316 Dowry? Returned to the Duke's Mansion
Chapter 316 Dowry? Returned to the Duke's Mansion
Originally, there were indeed several hundred taels of silver, but Shen Youran started to spend lavishly as soon as she took over the household. She had no idea about the family's situation. The daily extra meals cost a lot of silver. Things in her yard were broken, and this cost more than a hundred taels of silver to repair. A little bit here and there, the account was soon in debt. She found something wrong only after she understood the account book. The housekeepers came to find her one after another in the past two days, and she couldn't stand the headache of being quarreled, so she had to find her grandmother.
The grandmother swallowed her pride and went to find Chen Shuhua, but she said she had no money and that the dowry was managed by this bitch. She had no choice but to give her her own private money for emergency use, but that was just a drop in the bucket. She and her granddaughter went to Shen Wenting to talk about this. They decided that this was not going to work and they had to talk to the mother and daughter again.
But Chen Shuhua refused to see him, saying that she was in the courtyard reflecting on her mistakes. Yao Qingnian was nowhere to be seen all day, so he had no choice but to wait in the front hall until she came back.
"Sister, a few hundred taels of silver is enough for an ordinary country person to spend for a lifetime. How dare you say it's too little? You are the head of the mansion now. If you are out of money, you should ask father and grandmother for help. What's the point of asking me, a country person with a cleaner pocket than my face?"
"Shen Nianran! If you are still a girl in our house, you should use your mother's dowry to subsidize our house. Otherwise, your life and death will have nothing to do with our house in the future!" Shen Wenting could no longer bear to talk to her and went straight to the point.
"You want mother's dowry? Father, you should have told me earlier!"
Shen Wenting was delighted when he heard her words. This was hopeful. She was sensible and knew that she had to rely on the Shangshu Mansion to have a good life. He softened his expression and said softly, "Nianran! Father is doing this for your own good. He is just borrowing it. When father gets promoted and becomes rich, you will naturally get some benefits. Then I will arrange for you and your sister to marry into the royal family and share the glory and wealth. Besides, your mother's family belongs to the Shangshu Mansion, so there is no need to separate you and me."
You're trying to make big promises when you can't force it anymore? She won't buy it. Marrying into the royal family? Ugh, she doesn't want that.
She uttered two words lightly: "No"
"What did you say?" Shen Wenting thought he had misheard and asked again to confirm.
"Father, I asked for mother's dowry, but it belongs to mother, not to me, so I don't have the right to do so.
Also, I forgot to tell you that my mother's dowry, farm, land deeds, etc. have all been given to my grandmother to keep for my mother, so my daughter is just helping to manage it and has no right to dispose of it.
As for the money, it will not reach your hands. You have to discuss this matter with your mother or grandmother in person. I also want to share the burden of the family, but I am powerless. It is useless to ask me for help.
By the way, my grandmother and mother both have a copy of the dowry list!" Yao Qingnian specifically mentioned the dowry list at the end to remind them not to try to take Chen Shuhua's dowry. There is a backup. If it is used and accidentally leaked out, the huge Shangshu Mansion will steal the lady's dowry. Then Shen Wenting will not only lose face, but for the sake of his future, he dare not do anything too extreme.
She had known for a long time that these people would definitely be eyeing her mother's dowry. After thinking it over, she decided to talk to her grandmother. The two of them finally decided on this method. In fact, all the things were still kept well here by Yao Qingnian.
When Yao Qingnian mentioned this, the two elders of the Duke's Mansion realized that their daughter had been living like this in the Shangshu Mansion for so many years. Shuhua always reported good news but not bad news, and Shen Wenting was used to pretending, so they had no idea of the situation. In any case, with the Duke's Mansion around, they would be more restrained, so when she proposed this method, the old couple agreed with both hands.
After making this decision, she also discussed it with Chen Shuhua and informed her. She had no objection. She had given so much to the Shangshu Mansion over the years, but they didn't appreciate it at all, so why should she flatter them?
"What? I gave it to your maternal grandparents!" Shen Wenting felt his blood pressure suddenly rush to the top of his head, and he almost fainted. He wanted to beat this traitorous daughter to death. After talking for a long time, he handed the things back to the Duke's Mansion.
Shen Youran had never expected that they would come up with such a plan in order to prevent the mansion from using her mother's dowry for subsidies. Her father, who values his future and reputation so much, would definitely not lower his face to ask for things from the Duke's Mansion. Damn bitch, she cursed Yao Qingnian in her heart again: "Sister, how could you do this? This is my mother's stuff, and it also belongs to the mansion. You didn't say a word. Where do you put my father and grandmother?"
It would have been fine if she hadn't said this. As soon as she said this, Shen Wenting's anger rose again. He clenched his fists. But when he saw Shan Wei beside her, his fists loosened again. A good man would not suffer a loss in front of him. He couldn't beat this bitch, so he had to find a chance to deal with her first.
"Sister, what you said is not right. Mother's dowry is her own. How did it become Shangshu Mansion's? It is not her turn as her daughter to decide how to deal with it. Besides, if mother's dowry is gone, will Shangshu Mansion stop turning? Don't we still have you, father and grandmother? With so many people, Shangshu Mansion will always be able to get through this difficult time, right? Father?"
"..." Shen Wenting was speechless for a moment. They had relied on Chen Shuhua over the years, and each of them indeed had their own secret treasury. Yao Qingnian didn't know about this at first, but Shan Wei said that she couldn't sleep at night, so she quietly wandered around the mansion. Out of professional habit, she inquired about every courtyard when she was bored, and only then did she know about their affairs, and even the location of the secret treasury was clear.
She came back and told Yao Qingnian about this. Yao Qingnian was delighted for a long time. Shan Wei was really a treasure. She knew the location of their small treasury. If she made him unhappy, she would sneak out in the middle of the night to find them.
"Father, although mother's dowry can't fill the mansion, we still have my sister Youran and me. My daughter just came back from the countryside and doesn't have much savings, but I am willing to take out all the money I have to supplement the household expenses and make a contribution to the family!" Yao Qingnian was righteous and looked like he was thinking about the Shangshu Mansion.
This made Shen Wenting a little moved for a moment. It seemed that he had wronged her. Since she was willing to take out all her savings, it meant that she was still on the side of the mansion. It seemed that he had upset Chen Shuhua this time. He had said too harshly. He had to go to her again to bow his head and coax her. Only if she changed her mind, there would be room for discussion on other matters...