Ling Shen acted like "I don't care anyway", and Ling Qingwan had no choice but to accept it.
When Ling Shen was in charge of the household affairs, she had given Ling Qingwan some banknotes and land deeds. On her birthday this year, Shen Chengzhou gave her another sum of money. Even without this dowry, Ling Qingwan was not short of money.
But whether it was Ling Shenshi, Shen Chengzhou or Ling Xiao, they all tacitly gave her the best.
A warm feeling surged in Ling Qingwan's heart.
This love is really too heavy.
Plum Garden.
"What about mine?"
Ling Chuchu raised her eyebrows slightly and questioned Zhihua.
"To answer young lady's question, Madam divided the dowry into three parts. Two were given to the eldest young master and the second young lady, and one was left for her to live on in her old age. None... none was given to you." Zhihua trembled, not daring to say more.
"absurd!"
Ling Chuchu was so angry that she slammed the table.
The two little girls, Zhiqin and Zhihua, were both trembling with fear.
"Damn Shen Qingyun! I've called her mother for more than ten years, but in the end, I wasn't given even a penny of her dowry!" Ling Chuchu was furious.
Naturally, she couldn't stand this.
After thinking for a long time, Ling Chuchu stood up and went to Fuluxuan angrily.
At that time, the old lady was sitting in a rocking chair in the yard, basking in the sun, looking very comfortable.
When she heard the maid bow to Ling Chuchu, the old lady opened her eyes and looked at Ling Chuchu.
"Chu Chu is here." The old lady said with a smile. "Come, come and eat grapes."
Ling Chuchu suppressed her inner disgust and walked over to sit next to the old lady.
"Grandma, I came here today because I have something to tell you."
After hearing this, the old lady's smile stopped abruptly.
"Chu Chu, you also know that grandma has no real power in the Ling Mansion. Fuluxuan just needs to go to the accounting office to get as much silver as he needs. Grandma doesn't have any silver on her."
Since Ling Qingwan took back Ling Shen's dowry and took charge of the household expenses, she began to strictly control the expenditure of the Ling Mansion's backyard. The amount of silver that each courtyard could spend each month was marked in advance.
Ling Chuchu had been spoiled since she was a child, and could not bear the hard life. She usually went out to attend poetry meetings and buy rouge and powder, which were all big expenses. She had run out of money, so she had no choice but to go to the old lady to borrow.
It was also the old lady's fault that she did not see through Ling Chuchu's true colors at first and felt sorry for her granddaughter. She told Ling Chuchu that she could come to her if she needed money.
Unexpectedly, Ling Chuchu was so rude, coming to get it every other day. As the number of times she came to get it increased, the old lady began to feel somewhat resentful.
After all, she is not rich now. And Ling Chuchu came here just to ask for money, she would not come to Fuluxuan if she had nothing to do. The old lady loves Ling Chuchu, but she is not a fool.
Over time, she had a good idea of Ling Chuchu's character.
"Grandma, what are you talking about? I'm not here to borrow money from you." Ling Chuchu emphasized the word "borrow".
"Then what do you want to see me about?" the old lady was curious.
Ling Chuchu was a little embarrassed.
The old lady's reaction clearly meant that she often came to borrow money. So much so that if she came to Fuluxuan without borrowing money, the old lady didn't know what Ling Chuchu would do.
But soon, Ling Chuchu withdrew her thoughts.
She sobbed twice before speaking.
"Grandma, as you know, my mother died when I was five or six years old, and then I was adopted into the eldest wife's house and became the eldest lady's daughter. Over the years, I have always been filial and treated the eldest lady as my own mother. I have also always believed that the eldest lady treated me as her own daughter..."
After saying this, Ling Chuchu couldn't hold back any longer, and tears rolled down her cheeks.
While sobbing, she wiped her tears with a handkerchief, looking so pitiful.
If it were in the past, the old lady would have felt extremely distressed. But now, she could not muster the slightest sympathy for Ling Chuchu.
"What happened with the eldest lady?" the old lady asked Ling Chuchu.
"You should know that the eldest lady and Wanwan are back, right?" Ling Chuchu looked at the old lady.
"I know. When they came back in the morning, they sent someone to tell me." The old lady replied.
"But you definitely don't know that the eldest lady got a share of the dowry. Originally, I was her daughter, and you adopted me to her yourself. But in the end, she didn't give me a single cent of the dowry." Ling Chuchu pouted, looking very aggrieved.
"Grandma, my brother and Wanwan have already made an engagement, and so have I. I made the engagement earlier than them. It's unreasonable for the first lady not to give me a tenth of the dowry, both morally and logically."
The old lady was troubled by Ling Chuchu's sobbing.
She knew everything Ling Chuchu had done since Ling Qingwan came back. Afterwards, when Ling Shenshi went to the general's mansion, Ling Chuchu did not ask about it at all. The old lady could understand that Ling Shenshi's dowry was not given to her.
But the old lady couldn't directly refute Ling Chuchu's face, so she could only pretend to agree.
"Why don't you go and talk to the eldest lady?" the old lady suggested.
"How can I go?" Ling Chuchu sniffed. "Since she won't give me anything, it proves that she doesn't take me seriously. If I go, she won't give me anything, which would make it seem like I'm after her money."
The implication was that she wanted the old lady to talk to Ling Shen on her behalf.
The old lady had no choice but to agree to Ling Chuchu.
Only then did Ling Chuchu finally let go.
The old lady was irritable, and the good mood she had just had while basking in the sun was gone. She closed her eyes tightly, and twisted the Buddhist beads in her hands faster and faster.
"What's wrong with the old lady? Why are you so sad?"
Suddenly, a pair of hands touched the old lady's head.
The little maidservant was talking to the old lady while massaging her.
"Qiao'er said yesterday that you looked younger. You'd better stop frowning, or you will get wrinkles." Qiao'er pouted.
The old lady looked much more relaxed.
"It's time for dinner. I'll ask the kitchen to prepare a light pig's trotter soup for you, and two side dishes, with some porridge. You can eat and have a rest, how about that?"
"Okay, okay." The old lady nodded repeatedly. "You still know how to please me."
"Then I'll ask Jiujiu to take care of you first, and I'll go to the kitchen to serve you some food, okay?" Qiao'er's tone was gentle, as if she was coaxing a three-year-old child.
"Okay." The old lady nodded.
With Qiao'er's comfort, the old lady felt much better.
Afterwards, Qiaoer stood up, talked to Jiujiu, and left Fuluxuan.
Taking advantage of the darkness at night, Qiaoer saw that there was no one around and hurried to the Orchid Garden.
"Miss, Qiao'er is here!"
Qiao'er was standing at the door. When she saw Qiao'er, she hurried in to report.
Qiao Er
If it wasn't Qiao'er who said that, Ling Qingwan would have thought it was Qiao'er.
Immediately afterwards, Ling Qingwan invited Qiao'er in.
"I'm Qiao'er, your humble servant, greeting the Second Young Lady!" Qiao'er squatted down and bowed deeply toward Ling Qingwan.
After not seeing her for several months, Qiaoer looks much more lively.