“Chapter 200: Regarding the Dowry”

"Chapter 200: Regarding the Dowry"

"'Please rest easy, Elder Madame.'"

"Madam Su arrived with her two children, both of a similar age to Lin Yunjiao."

"Old Madam Lin smiled and instructed the maids, 'Arrange seats for our esteemed in-laws.'"

"Madam Su raised her head; though born into a merchant family, she had a delicate demeanor resembling a lady from a scholarly family."

"Her children, too, were very well-mannered, much like their mother."

"Lin Yunwan approached to pay her respects."

"'Yunwan greets aunt, cousin, and cousin sister.'"

"The two younger ones hesitated before stepping forward to return the greeting, saying in unison, 'Greetings to our elder cousin sister.'"

"Lin Yunwan helped them up."

"'Old Madam.'"

"Madam Su glanced at Lin Yunwan and then continued speaking to Old Madam Lin, 'I’m just a woman and not adept at speaking. Our family’s master hasn’t paid respects to you for many years. We thought it rare to come today and wanted to pay our respects.'"

"Old Madam Lin seemed somewhat troubled."

"After all, it was an external male visitor. If it were a younger boy, it would be easier, but Master Su was already in his forties."

"The main madam then stood up and said, 'Madam Su, it's unfortunate, but today we only have female relatives here. I think it might not be convenient for Uncle...'"

"Madam Su, without speaking further, led her children to kowtow to Old Madam Lin."

"Raising her head, she spoke awkwardly, 'Old Madam, I’m not good with words. But the master has only one sister and one niece, and she is about to be married...'"

"Despite many years of no contact between the Su and Lin families, their familial ties couldn’t be severed."

"And there was also the matter of a substantial amount of silver!"

"The main madam of the Western Lin mansion took the lead, 'I heard the osmanthus flowers in the garden are in bloom. Let’s go have a look.'"

"All the female relatives then left together."

"Old Madam Su, having nothing more to say, let Mama Fan help Madam Su up, and kindly said, 'We are relatives after all. You haven’t visited for many years, but now that Yunwan is getting married, I wanted to meet you.'"

"She then instructed the main madam, 'Go invite him in.'"

"A maid went to invite Master Su through the secondary gate, leading him to Old Madam Lin."

"A tall man with a limp entered, dressed neatly in simple attire, neither silk nor satin."

"Though a merchant, he carried the demeanor of a chivalrous knight."

"Master Su, limping, came to pay respects to Old Madam Lin, 'Old Madam.'"

"'Uncle, your leg...'"

"Old Madam Lin was quite surprised."

"Master Su, unconcerned, replied, 'In the life of trade and business, accidents happen.' He patted his lame leg, 'It's healed, just left with a bit of an old problem, nothing serious.'"

"Old Madam Lin then smiled, 'Please, Uncle, have a seat.'"

"Lin Yunwan approached to pay her respects, 'Yunwan greets Uncle.'"

"She knelt down, and the maids didn't even have time to place a cushion."

"Master Su, twirling his beard, smiled, 'About to marry into the prince's mansion, yet still so polite to your rough uncle!'"

"Madam Su's two children helped Lin Yunwan to stand up."

"Lin Yunwan then took a seat."

"Zheng Shi and her daughter Yunjiao didn’t leave, sitting at the edge, feeling out of place."

"She was now the legal mother."

"It should have been Zheng family's uncle coming to add to the dowry, shouldn’t it?"

"Zheng Shi's face was tight, unable to utter a word of courtesy."

"Outside, Lin Huabin had sobered up."

"Eager to meet his uncle, he asked a servant, 'Where is he?'"

"The servant replied, '...Uncle has gone to see the Old Madam.'"

"Lin Huabin hurriedly walked, asking, 'How did Uncle come? Did he bring anything?'"

"Why come now, of all times?"

"Was he intending to reclaim Mrs. Su’s dowry?"

"That would be impossible!"

"It was agreed long ago between the two families: once a Su married into the Lin family, the dowry became part of the Lin estate."

"The servant, struggling to keep up with Lin Huabin’s pace, said while running, 'He didn’t bring much. Just Uncle and his wife, along with their son and daughter.'"

"They came empty-handed?"

"That doesn’t seem like adding to the dowry at all!"

"Growing more suspicious, Lin Huabin hurried to the entrance of Old Madam Lin’s courtyard and barged in."

"'Old Madam.'"

"Everyone in the room was startled."

"Lin Huabin then greeted Master Su, who, despite his lower status, politely nodded, 'Uncle.'"

"Master Su was aware of his humble background."

"He steadied himself on a chair to stand and bowed, 'Master Lin.'"

"Lin Huabin, noticing his uncle’s limp but pretending not to, said with a smile, 'Uncle, please sit. We’re family; no need for formalities like 'Master.''"

"Master Su easily switched, 'I hope I’m not interrupting your hosting, brother-in-law.'"

"'Not at all.'"

"Both sat down."

"Master Su said to Old Madam Lin, 'Old Madam, I’ll be direct. We’ve come to add to Yunwan’s dowry.'"

"But you haven’t brought anything!"

"Everyone felt it was strange."

"Master Su then took out a stack of silver notes from his sleeve, smiling sincerely, 'We haven’t saved much worth mentioning over the years. This money is our sentiment for Yunwan, to add to her trousseau.'"

"The Lin family felt awkward to accept."

"Master Su held out the silver notes, his arm extended for quite some time, unable to hand them over."

"Xiruo stepped forward to take them, feeling the thickness in her hand. Each note was substantial, at least fifty taels each."

"'Miss…'"

"Should she accept it or not?"

"Zheng Shi also craned her neck to take a look, feeling doubtful."

"'Weren’t they said to be impoverished all these years…'"

"'Where did all these silver notes come from?'"

"Lin Huabin smiled slightly, 'Yunwan, won’t you thank your uncle?'"

"Just as Lin Yunwan was about to stand, Master Su waved his hand, 'We’re family, no need for such formalities.'"

"Old Madam Lin smiled, 'Since Uncle says so, Yunwan, accept it. It’s your uncle’s heartfelt gesture after all.'"

"Lin Yunwan nodded and thanked him, then whispered to Xiruo, 'Put it in the chest.'"

"With the other items added to the dowry by relatives."

"'Uncle’s rare visit, why not stay and dine with the guests?'"

"Old Madam Lin suggested cheerfully."

"But Master Su had no intention of staying, 'We have things to attend to at home and cannot stay long.'"

"Are they leaving already?"

"Lin Huabin was secretly pleased but outwardly tried to insist on them staying."

"Master Su, with an air of integrity, said, 'Having discussed the important matters, we shall take our leave.'"

"'Brother-in-law, if I may ask, is my sister’s dowry all given to Yunwan?'"

"At this question, Lin Huabin’s expression turned sour!"

"Old Madam Lin and Zheng Shi also looked uneasy."

"Master Su seemed unaware he had said anything amiss, continuing, 'Before Yunwan was married, it was only right for my sister’s dowry to remain at the Lin mansion. Now that Yunwan is getting married... leaving it all to Yunwan, I agree.'"

"'However, I need to check the dowry list against what Yunwan is receiving.'"

"Lin Huabin stammered, 'This... Uncle, you’re being rather sudden. The dowry left by Yunwan’s mother can’t be accounted for in a short time.'"

"'Your visit is so abrupt, you should have informed us in advance, so I could have had someone prepare...'"

"Master Su waved his hand, 'No need for such trouble.'"

"'The dowry given to my sister was all recorded. I’ve brought the records with me, they’re in our carriage outside the Lin mansion. I’ve also brought people to check the list, so why not do it today instead of waiting for another day!'"

"The records were brought, and manpower was ready."

"This visit by the Su family wasn’t sudden; they had prepared to reclaim Mrs. Su's dowry!"

"Lin Huabin’s expression darkened."

"Zheng Shi was also somewhat stunned."

"Old Madam Lin, however, remained composed. She might not have expected this day to come, but now that it had, there was nothing surprising about it."

"'Since Uncle has brought the records, let's bring them in and check against the list.'"

"She spoke calmly."

"Lin Huabin was panicked, 'Mother!'"

"Zheng Shi, also anxious, thought, 'What's there to check? Can it even match up?'"

"'How could the Old Madam say such a thing?'"

"Lin Yunjiao bit her lip."

"Was Mrs. Su’s dowry substantial?"

"Hmph. She grew up in luxury, what treasures hasn’t she seen? Who cares about Mrs. Su's dowry."