Checking the Dowry

"Greetings, Old Madam."

Madam Su, with her two children, was also quite old, the same age as Lin Yunjiao.

Old Madam Lin smiled and instructed the maid, "Why haven't you prepared a seat for our in -Madam yet?"

Madam Su raised her head. Although she came from a merchant family, she was delicate and had the air of a pampered young lady from a scholarly family.

Her two children were also very well-behaved.

Lin Yunwan went over to pay her respects.

Yun Wan greets her maternal uncle's wife, cousin, and younger female cousin.

The two younger siblings dared to move, turned around to greet her, and said in unison, "Greetings, eldest cousin."

Lin Yunwan helped them up.

"Old Madam."

Madam Su glanced at Lin Yunwan, then continued speaking to Old Madam Lin, "I'm just a woman, not very good at speaking. My husband hasn't paid his respects to you for many years, so he's come all this way to wish to pay his respects."

Old Madam Lin seemed to be in a difficult position.

After all, he's a man from out of town. If he were a younger man, it would be fine, but Master Su is already in his forties.

The Eldest Madam then stood up and said, "Madam. Su, what a pity, today the house is full of women, I think Uncle..."

Madam Su remained silent, and led her two children to kowtow to Old Madam Su.

She looked up, and said awkwardly, "Old Madam, I'm not good with words. But Master only has one younger sister and one niece, and they're both getting married soon..."

Although the Su Family and the Lin Residence have not had any contact for many years, their kinship ties are indeed unbreakable.

There's such a large sum of money involved!

The Eldest Madam of the West Lin Residence took the lead, saying, "We heard the osmanthus flowers in the Garden are in bloom, let's go take a look."

The women all left together.

Old Madam Su had nothing more to say, so Nanny Fan help Madam Su up and said kindly, "We're relatives, and you haven't visited for many years. Now that you've come for Yun Wan's wedding, I must see you."

He then said to the Eldest Madam, "Go and invite her!"

The maidservant went to invite Master Su into the Second Gate and led him to the Old Madam.

A lame man entered. He was tall and dressed neatly, but not in fine silk or satin.

Although he is a businessman, he has the spirit of a chivalrous knight.

Master Su limped in and greeted Old Madam Lin, "Old Madam."

"Uncle, your leg..."

Old Madam Lin was quite surprised.

Master Su said nonchalantly, "Traditional merchants are always prone to accidents." He patted his lame thigh and said, "It's healed now, just a lingering ailment, nothing serious."

Old Madam Lin smiled and said, "Uncle, please have a seat!"

Lin Yunwan went over to greet him, "Yun Wan greets maternal uncle."

She knelt down, and the maidservants didn't even have time to put down the prayer mat.

Master Su stroked his beard and chuckled, "You're about to marry into the Prince's mansion, why are you still being so polite with a rough man like your maternal uncle!"

Madam Su's two children helped Lin Yunwan to her feet.

Lin Yunwan also sat down.

Neither Zheng Shi nor her daughter Yun Jiao left; the mother and daughter sat on the very edge, feeling uneasy.

She is now the legitimate mother.

It must be Zheng family's maternal uncle who came to add to the dowry!

Zheng Shi's face was tense, and she couldn't utter a single polite word.

Outside, Lin Huabin had already sobered up.

He wanted to see his Elder Brother-in-Law in person, so he asked the servant, "Where is he?"

The servant said, "... Master Uncle has gone to see the Old Madam."

Lin Huabin walked briskly, asking as he went, "How did Uncle get here? Did he bring anything with him?"

Why not come earlier, why not come later?

Is this an attempt to reclaim the Su Shi's dowry?

That's impossible!

The two families had agreed long ago that once the Su Shi members married into the Lin family, their dowry would belong to the Lin Residence.

The servant boy could barely keep up with Lin Huabin, and hurried along, saying, "They didn't bring much. It was just my uncle and Madam, along with my Cousin Young Master and his Cousin Miss."

Did you come empty-handed?

That doesn't look like adding makeup at all!

Lin Huabin grew increasingly suspicious. He walked to the entrance of the Old Madam's courtyard and barged in.

"Old Madam."

Everyone in the room was startled.

Lin Huabin then greeted Master Su, who held an official position and politely nodded, saying, "Elder Brother-in-Law."

Master Su was aware of his lowly status.

He stood up, supporting himself on a chair, and bowed. "Lord Lin."

Lin Huabin noticed that his brother-in-law's leg wasn't in good condition, but he acted as if he hadn't, smiling and saying, "Elder Brother-in-Law, sit down and talk. We're family, don't be so formal, don't call me 'elder brother'."

Master Su readily changed his tune. "I'm sorry to have kept you entertaining your guests, brother-in-law."

"It's alright."

They both sat down.

Master Su and Old Madam Lin said, "Old Madam, I won't beat around the bush. We've come to help Yun Wan with her dowry."

But you didn't bring anything with you!

Everyone felt something was strange.

Then, Master Su took out a stack of silver from his sleeve and smiled sincerely, "Over the years, I haven't saved up anything worthwhile. This silver note is our token of appreciation for Yun Wan, a dowry for her."

The Lin family felt embarrassed to accept it.

Lord Su held the silver notes in his hand, but his arm remained outstretched for a long time, unable to move.

Xiruo, he had no choice but to go and collect them. They were quite thick in his hand, and each silver note was quite large, with the smallest being fifty taels.

"Girl..."

Should we accept it or not?

Zheng Shi craned her neck to take a look, and muttered to herself.

"Didn't they say they'd been starving all these years...?"

Where did all these silver notes come from?

Lin Huabin smiled slightly, "Yun Wan, aren't you going to thank your maternal uncle?"

Lin Yunwan was about to get up, Master Su waved his hand and said, "We're family, no need for so much formality."

Old Madam Lin smiled and said, "Since your uncle has said so, Yun Wan, you should accept it. After all, it's your maternal uncle's kind gesture."

Lin Yunwan nodded, curtsied in thanks, and whispered to Xiruo, "Put it in the box."

It was placed together with the other relatives' belongings that were stored away in their boxes.

"It's rare for your uncle to visit, so please stay and have dinner with the guests!"

"Old Madam Lin said with a smile."

Master Su had no such intention. He said, "We still have work to do at home, so it's not convenient for us to stay any longer."

Are you leaving already?

Lin Huabin was secretly delighted, but outwardly he also wanted to try to keep him.

Then, Master Su said with an upright expression, "After we finish discussing business, let's go back."

"Brother-in-law, if I may ask, did my sister leave all her dowry to Yun Wan?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Huabin's expression turned sour!

Both Old Madam Lin and Zheng Shi appeared unnatural.

Master Su didn't seem to realize he had said anything wrong. He continued, "Yun Wan wasn't married, so it was only right that my sister's dowry remained in the Lin Residence. Now that Yun Wan is married... I agree to leave it all to her."

"However, I need to check Yun Wan's dowry list with you."

Lin Huabin stammered, "This... Elder Brother-in-Law, this is too sudden. There's so much dowry left by Yun Wan's mother that we can't possibly account for it all in a short time."

"You came in such a hurry, you should have told us beforehand so I could have sent someone to get things ready..."

Master Su waved his hand and said, "There's no need for such trouble."

"The dowry I gave my sister back then is all recorded in the family register. I've had it brought along; it's in the carriage outside your Lin Residence. I've also brought people to check the list. There's no time like the present, let's check the list today!"

The booklets have been brought, and everyone is ready.

The Su Family didn't arrive suddenly; they must have been planning to seize Su Shi's dowry all along!

Lin Huabin's face was gloomy.

Zheng Shi also a little confused.

Old Madam Lin remained calm. She didn't know if this day would ever come, but since it had, there was nothing surprising about it.

"Since Uncle has brought the booklets, let's bring them in and compare them."

She spoke calmly.

Lin Huabin cried out anxiously, "Mother!"

Zheng Shi was getting anxious. "What do you mean, 'match'? How can that even match?"

How dare this Old Madam say such a thing?

Lin Yunjiao bit her lip.

Was Su Shi's dowry large?

Hmph. She's been pampered since childhood, what treasures hasn't she seen? Who cares about Su Shi's meager dowry?