"This garlic-shaped gold bracelet inlaid with gemstones is what your sister-in-law has always wanted, but I didn't give it to her. At that time, I was thinking that when the family is divided in the future, Yang Ge'er is the eldest son, and this entire mansion belongs to him. He is also a capable person. I am not worried about him, but you and Bao Ge'er. When the time comes, you and Bao Ge'er will move out of the mansion and live on your own, and you won't get much of the family property. You two are young, and Bao Ge'er has no job, so how can you not have some family property? It's not easy to give a lot of money, so I plan to leave this little private money to you." Miao smiled and pushed the box in front of Mingyu. "Take it, I originally intended to give it to you. When you go to the northwest, there will be only you and Bao Ge'er there, and there will be no elders watching over you. If you have money in your hands, you will feel confident in your life, and I can feel more at ease."
The box was pushed to Mingyu's hand and touched the back of Mingyu's hand. Mingyu suddenly retracted her hand as if burned by something. Miao was always concise and clear, and seldom talked as much as she did today. These jewellery were accumulated throughout her life, and each piece had its origin and story, representing the beautiful memories of Miao's life. She had never expected that Miao was going to leave all these jewellery to her.
"No... Madam, you should keep it." Mingyu smiled with difficulty. This gift was too valuable and she couldn't accept it.
Miao shook her head. "Why should I keep it? I am too old to wear these bright things. It would be a waste for me to keep it. But you will be the wife of a mansion in the future. If you dress too plainly, people will look down on you. You should know that a person's appearance accounts for 30% and his dress accounts for 70%. If you dress elegantly, the servants will be in awe of you, and it will be easier for you to manage people and affairs, and you will feel more confident."
"Then you keep it for me first, and when the Marquis rebuilds the Anxi Marquisate in Tianshui in the future, he will take you there, and you can give it to me." Mingyu said with a smile. These things are a woman's lifelong collection. Maybe Miao has relied on these jewelry to recall the past over the years. How could she keep them? They are too heavy.
Miao looked at Mingyu and suddenly laughed. After she finished laughing, she felt sad again. She shook her head and said, "In the past, I always felt that people from small families were not worthy of being on the stage. They had never seen money. Once they opened their eyes, they would be greedy for money. But these jewelry were given to you for free, but you didn't want them. Back then, Luo Shi tried every means to get them from me... In the end, I was blind and married that shameless bitch, and harmed my brother Yang! Origin is not important. Being greedy or not, being dutiful or not is a person's nature. What does it have to do with origin!"
She originally looked down on Mingyu, but after the divorce, looking at her sad and lost son who had grown up overnight, she even felt some hatred towards Mingyu. If her son had not been so determined to marry her and had not been so devoted to Mingyu for so many years, and if she had been in danger of remaining single for the rest of his life if he did not marry Mingyu, she would not have come to propose marriage to her son.
But now she finally understood that no matter how good one's background was, it was useless if one had a vicious heart!
Mingyu looked at Miao who was suddenly gritting her teeth, and sighed secretly that after so long, she no longer hated Luo Lingxiu, but Miao still couldn't let it go. But think about it, she and Luo Lingxiu were just minor quarrels, one resisting and the other bullying, just a fight between sisters-in-law, and the only thing that could be considered a deep hatred was Luo Lingxiu's intention to harm Lixiang, but Miao was different, it was related to her son, so it was not surprising that she hated her so much.
"Madam, getting angry is harmful to your health." Mingyu advised, "Sister-in-law is now in the temple practicing asceticism. I'm sure she will repent sooner or later."
Miao's eyes turned red. Thinking of her eldest son who died young, she felt a pain like her heart was being cut out. She took out a handkerchief and covered her eyes. After a while, she began to cry, intermittently, "Whether she regrets it or not...what does it have to do with me? If I hadn't insisted on hiring her...why would Yang Ge'er be angry? Why would he stay in the capital and not go home...If Yang Ge'er was in Tianshui at that time...how could he have been killed by the thief Dong...at least he would still be alive and well!"
The crying sound gradually became louder and was heard outside the house. Nanny Wei and Bixi, who were guarding the door, looked inside the house and hurried in. They patted Miao's back, one on each side, to help her breathe and gently persuade her.
Mingyu felt miserable and uncomfortable listening to her crying. She stood up and changed a cup of hot tea for Miao and advised, "Madam, don't blame yourself. Who could have expected so many things to happen? Madam, you are only thinking about big brother's good. It's been so long since the incident happened. Madam, you should relax. If big brother knew about it, he would feel sorry for you."
Bixi took the hot tea and slowly fed it to Miao. After the hot tea went down her throat, Miao calmed down a little. She covered her red eyes with a handkerchief, took a few deep breaths, looked at Mingyu and smiled apologetically, "I'm old now. I can't control myself when I talk about this. Don't scare you."
Mingyu shook her head quickly. She was not a crystal doll that would break if frightened. After thinking for a while, Mingyu spoke, "Don't worry, Madam. When I arrive in Xi'an Prefecture, I will take good care of the Marquis and ask him to be more careful on the battlefield." Miao only had this one son left, and she only had this one husband. If Sima Hong was gone, Miao probably would not want to live anymore. For your sake, my sake, and everyone else's, Sima Hong must be alive and well no matter what.
"Okay." Miao nodded, with a satisfied smile on her face. This was what she wanted to hear the most. For her, fame and fortune were nothing. As long as her son was safe, that was more important than anything else.
Near noon, Mrs. Xu warmly invited Miao to stay for dinner. Fearing that Miao might not be accustomed to the food of their small family, she specifically instructed Dongyuan and Lixiang to go to the restaurant to order two tables and have the food delivered to her home.
Miao politely declined, saying that she had to prepare for the formal proposal when she returned. The marriage had been very hasty and Mingyu had been wronged. She wanted to compensate her now, and left with Nanny Wei and Bixi.
The guests left, but the food was served. At noon, Xu Mingye and Xu Changqian came back. The family ate at one table, and the servants ate at another. During the meal, Mrs. Xu told Xu Changqian and Xu Mingye everything that happened today. Finally, she sighed to Xu Changqian quietly, "It seems that she is too sad, and her temperament has changed. She is not as arrogant and overbearing as before. I am relieved that she is like this. I believe she will not embarrass Mingyu in the future."
Xu Changqian didn't think so. He never worried that Mingyu would be bullied. He saw clearly that his daughter looked quiet and well-behaved on the surface, but in fact she had a hot temper. It might not be that easy to bully her. The only thing that made him feel uncomfortable was that his daughter married too far away, and it was not easy to see his daughter again.
In the following days, Mingyu seemed to be in a dream. She was confused as if watching a movie. She watched the Sima family send a matchmaker to choose an auspicious day and ask for names. It was like an assembly line process. Even her sister-in-law Fu Lemei got busy. She was the only one at home with nothing to do. She just did some accounting and writing. Apart from the excitement in her heart, there was no difference from her usual days.
In a blink of an eye, half of October has passed and the weather has turned cold. Mrs. Xu was thinking that by the end of the year, every family would need to buy new jewelry, and the people in the jewelry store would definitely be too busy to handle it. It would probably be too late to make jewelry for Mingyu by then, so she urged Mingyu to pick out jewelry these days.
It happened that Xu Mingye was on leave, so he took Fu Lemei and Mingyu to the silver shop. Fu Lemei grew up in the aristocratic circle of the capital, so she naturally knew where the best jewelry was. With her guidance, the three of them soon arrived at the door of the old silver shop in the capital.
"Let's go to another store." Mingyu looked at the large and imposing sign and smiled. This kind of store was obviously more expensive, and she wanted to save some money for her family.
Xu Mingye smiled and patted Mingyu's shoulder. How could he not know what his sister was thinking? "What do you want to exchange? This is the one. I can still afford the money to make you a phoenix crown!"
Fu Lemei held Mingyu's arm as they walked inside, also smiling, "No, no, no, you don't trust my taste or what? The master craftsman in this shop is the best at making phoenix crowns in the capital. My sister-in-law and the others all got theirs made in this shop!"
Mingyu had no choice but to let Fu Lemei pull her and walk in with a smile on her face. As soon as they entered the store, they saw a familiar figure standing at the table, choosing jewelry. She was wearing a white silk embroidered flower jacket and an apricot-yellow silk skirt. It wasn't that cold in October, but she had a thick, fluffy white fox fur scarf around her neck.
Hearing the voice behind her, the woman turned around, was surprised for a moment, quickly calmed down, stood up and greeted with a smile: "Sister Mingyu, you are here too?" As she moved, the huge pearls embroidered on her embroidered shoes appeared under the hem of her skirt, and the ruby-studded necklace hanging around her neck also swayed.
Fu Lemei glared at her sinisterly. She was so shameless that she still had the nerve to say hello after all this!
Mingyu glanced at Hong Fang'er. A few days ago, Mrs. Hong came to cry and complain that Hong Fang'er was treated coldly and despised by Lu Hao. Now it seems that it is not the case at all. She even came to such a place to pick out jewelry. Could this be the treatment of an "abandoned concubine" who was banished to the "cold palace"!
"You've come just in time!" Hong Fang'er clapped her hands and laughed, and came forward and enthusiastically pulled Mingyu over to the table. Mingyu looked down at the table, where a few pieces of jewelry were placed, and next to it stood a waiter who was carefully and eagerly serving.
"Sister Mingyu, I'm just worried and can't make up my mind!" Hong Fang'er said with a smile, "It's just right that you and Sister Lemei can give me some advice. Should I buy this hairpin with a phoenix holding a pearl, or this diamond bracelet? Hey, actually this gold hairpin with peony flowers is well made, I like it too..."
Fu Lemei interrupted Hong Fang'er's chattering, which seemed distressed but was actually showing off, with a sneer, "I heard from your mother that your cousin is angry with you and ignored you. Why did you come out to buy such an expensive thing?"