Tianliangyuan

Chapter 422 Are you out of your mind?

Xie Xiaowei understood; this person was thinking of rummaging through his mother's private stash.

"Alright! Our family has already gotten a great deal. Besides, Xie Juan is still my elder brother's daughter, the legitimate daughter of a Duke. So what if she's an illegitimate daughter? As long as she catches the eye of my elder brother and niece-in-law, they'll be happy to pamper her like a legitimate daughter. What can you do about it?"

Ms. Kobayashi choked, realizing that it actually made a lot of sense.

“Our daughter won’t be able to get married until next year at the earliest. I don’t care. You have to figure out how to save up a dowry for our daughter now. No matter what, it can’t be worse than Xie Juan’s.”

Xie Xiaowei ignored her, tilted his body, and lay down on the bed.

Xie Qiao's dowry has been saved up for so many years, how much could it be short?

After many years of marriage, Xie Xiaowei knows his wife very well.

Ultimately, the goal was to outdo Xie Chan and Xie Juan in terms of Xie Qiao's dowry.

The problem is, how do they apply pressure?

Leaving aside what Xie Xiaowei already owns, most of it will be left to his son in the future.

As for Kobayashi's own dowry, it was nothing special, not particularly eye-catching, but not embarrassing either.

Now that she wants to outdo Xie Juan, Xiao Linshi is definitely unwilling to touch her private treasury, so she's setting her sights on the old lady.

Xie Xiaowei almost laughed at her for being so easily swayed.

Even if we take the old lady's things, how much can we get in return?

If we're talking about all the wealthy ladies in the capital, who dares to compare with Xu Zhaozhao in terms of wealth?

Although Xu Zhaozhao is not a merchant, she has many capable people under her command!

Who doesn't know her top managers?

His sheer size and imposing stature alone were enough to intimidate countless local gentry and landlords.

Then there's Xu Zhuzi, who's a famously shrewd and cunning person.

He was just a servant, but he actually managed to show his face before the emperor and even received a reward.

Is that a reward?

That's a family heirloom!

That's a level of dignity that many people can't earn in their entire lives.

The key point is that Xu Zhaozhao is the master, and she is willing to give her subordinates this opportunity and dignity. What can you do about it?

And then there's Xu Degui, who now manages Baiguoyuan. A few years ago, he was no good at all; he couldn't even speak properly. But look at him now; he's not far from being smooth and shrewd.

Xie Xiaowei was also puzzled, wondering how his niece-in-law had trained so many people to be so capable!

I heard that Song Qing has now been brought to serve Xu Zhaozhao. Previously, many of the external accounts were reported to Dingxiang, but now some are reported to Song Qing and some to Shaoyao.

Xu Zhaozhao is really carefree. Isn't she afraid that these people will deceive her?

However, after thinking it over repeatedly, Xie Xiaowei felt that these people really hadn't lied to her.

Otherwise, how could Xu Zhaozhao's business be so large?

Xie Xiaowei couldn't figure it out, so he simply stopped thinking about it and went to sleep!

Madam Lin was furious, but she really didn't want to be suppressed. Ever since she married into the Duke's mansion, she had never suffered a loss.

Even if she couldn't compete with Madam Yu in the matter of housekeeping, it was because Madam Yu was older and had entered the family earlier, not because she lacked ability.

Therefore, she had to think of a way to get the old lady to contribute more.

As a daughter of an official family, Lady Lin would never do something like having Lady Yu and Xu Zhaozhao add more to her dowry; that would be too undignified.

But when she went to pry open the old lady's clothes, Madam Lin felt no guilt whatsoever.

They're elders, so it's only right.

After visiting the old lady twice, Kobayashi finally found an opportunity to probe the matter.

"Mother, your daughter-in-law sees that Seventh Miss's dowry is quite substantial. According to the rules of my niece-in-law, Sixth Miss's dowry should be about the same, right?"

The old lady nodded: "Zhao Zhao has always been fair, so the difference should be negligible."

“Mother, you see, Qiao’er should have gotten married this year, but unfortunately, something happened to her in-laws, so we have to wait until next year.”

The old lady glared at her: "Don't talk nonsense! It's not even certain whether we can get married next year."

When an elder passes away, it is proper for the younger generation to observe mourning. So next year will be considered the end of the mourning period. Shouldn't we be preparing for the wedding?

It's really uncertain next year.

"Yes, daughter-in-law misspoke, please don't be angry."

The old lady snorted irritably, "You, just say what you want to say, stop beating around the bush!"

Madam Lin chuckled and moved a couple of steps closer to the old lady: "Mother, I think Seventh Miss's dowry is quite substantial. And it's all good stuff. You see, Qiao'er is the only legitimate daughter of the Fourth Branch, she can't be overshadowed by a concubine's daughter, can she?"

Bringing this up again!

The old lady felt that her niece was just not very bright!

She had made a special statement last time about the issue of legitimate and illegitimate children, and now they still dare to come to her and say such things.

"Are you out of your mind! Xie Juan is the eldest son's biological daughter. Her status is obvious. How can she be the same as him? If her dowry is less, people will say that our Duke's mansion is mistreating the eldest son's family."

Mrs. Kobayashi smiled awkwardly: "Mother, that's not what I meant!"

"What do you mean? Do you think I don't know? You just want Qiao'er's dowry to be bigger than Xie Juan's? You idiot! What's wrong with making their dowries about the same?"

Madam Lin choked, her eyes widening: "Mother, Qiao'er is the legitimate daughter!"

"But she's not the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Protectorate!"

With just one sentence, Kobayashi was speechless.

"What can I say about you! Qiao'er is simple-minded and too naive because you've spoiled her. You should find some nannies to teach her properly. You always say you love your daughter, but I think you're not as good as Madam Yu in this regard. Even the newly arrived Zhao Zhao is better than you!"

Madam Lin retorted, "Mother, how can you say that? In what way is my daughter-in-law inferior to Xu Zhaozhao?"

The old lady couldn't bear to look at it anymore.

This niece is still so self-righteous!

"You're really stupid! Look at the dowry Xu Zhaozhao prepared for Xie Juan, don't you understand? If Xu Zhaozhao wasn't willing to contribute, do you think Xie Zheng would have thought of this? Moreover, Xu Zhaozhao did all this for all the nobles in the capital, and also for the Li family. This is to let everyone know that Xie Juan is the daughter of the Duke, with a noble status, and no one can bully her!"

Madam Lin curled her lip: "Mother, I understand what you're saying, but the Li family is weak. Although we have General Li to uphold our reputation, Li Shun has lost his father and is a scholar, so it will be difficult for him to advance further. Besides, this General Li doesn't have much influence in front of the Emperor. How can he compare to our Duke!"

The last sentence made the old lady feel quite comfortable.

“Mother, Li Shun’s future is predictable. To be frank, I still don’t understand why my elder brother would be willing to marry his daughter to him. In all the powerful and wealthy families in the capital, which family doesn’t have a few illegitimate sons? Why would he have to marry a nobody like Li Shun?”