Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Shen Qinglan immediately denied where the yellow jade bi came from, claiming he bought it himself.

But Lv Shurou didn't believe it at all!

Because the quality and craftsmanship of that yellow jade bi were truly exceptional, even better than what the wives of top officials, or even county princesses and commandery princesses, wore at the banquets she attended.

Such a rare treasure required not just money to buy, but also a network of connections.

How could her brother-in-law, an unmarried young lad, have such access?

Only her mother-in-law, whose family had been merchants for generations and who had long done business herself, could have the connections to acquire such a fine item.

So it must be that her mother-in-law was playing favorites and secretly slipping her brother-in-law extra money again!

Thinking of this, Lv Shurou was fuming. Ignoring the fact that everyone present was watching the scene, she immediately kicked up a fuss.

"Bought it yourself? Lan Ge'er, listen to yourself—who would believe that? How could such a rare treasure be bought with ordinary money? If any jewelry shop in the capital had such a fine piece, the elite would have snatched it up long ago. How would a kid from a fifth-rank official's family just come across it while out shopping?"

She then turned to Madam Shen and whined indignantly, "Mother, I know you've always doted on Lan Ge'er, but there's a limit to how much you can spoil him!"

"It's not that I begrudge the money, but giving Lan Ge'er such an expensive gift without a word to the eldest branch, the second branch, or even Quan Ge'er—do you think that's fair?"

Saying all this in front of the entire household was indeed embarrassing, but if she didn't make a scene, she would be the one suffering a huge loss. This wasn't a few hundred taels—it was several thousand taels!

Her entire dowry combined was only just over ten thousand taels!

Though Lv Shurou came from a scholarly family and should have been well-mannered, not so vulgar and shortsighted, the truth is that most noble daughters who "married down" had some kind of flaw.

Lv Shurou's flaw was her harsh temperament and narrow-mindedness, which easily offended people. Her family had to choose a lower-ranked family for her marriage, hoping they would be more tolerant...

"..."

Shen Qingquan's expression was also unpleasant. He felt wronged and grumbled to himself about his mother's favoritism, but after every time he spoke recently, he met with no good result, so he dared not say anything more.

In the past, for the sake of her eldest son, Madam Shen had always tolerated this eldest daughter-in-law.

But her eldest son and daughter-in-law's actions had truly chilled her heart. Now, she was unwilling to take this insult anymore.

Madam Shen immediately shot back coldly:

"Lv Shurou, give you an inch, and you take a mile! So what if my son is a lad from a fifth-rank official's family? If you look down on the Shen family, you can get a divorce and go back to your folks. We can't afford to keep someone like you!"

"Let me tell you, not only did Lan Ge'er buy this yellow jade bi himself, even if I did give him extra money, so what? I'm using my own dowry to spoil my own son. I'm in the right no matter what!"

"Instead, you're the one coveting your mother-in-law's dowry. One of these days, I'll march over to your Lv family and raise a stink about how a girl from a scholarly family has such bad manners!"

In this world, elders naturally held the upper hand over younger generations, and reputation and upbringing were everything for young ladies and lads.

A mother-in-law playing favorites might only attract some gossip, especially since Madam Shen wasn't using family money. But if word got out that a son and his wife were after their mother's dowry, that would truly be disgraceful.

Lv Shurou was flustered and angry, hastily defending herself: "Mother, when did I ever covet your dowry? Don't talk nonsense!"

"Yes, Mother, you dote on Lan Ge'er and spend your own private money—that's natural and justified. But everything should be fair and square, right?"

"Even if partiality is human nature, if my husband and Quan Ge'er aren't your favorites, what about Second Brother and his wife? Do you ever send such good things to their courtyard every so often?"

"Or... could this yellow jade bi be another gift from Second Brother to Lan Ge'er?"

Lv Shurou wasn't completely stupid. She quickly changed tack, stirring up trouble by dragging Second Brother's family into it.

Unfortunately, Li Huilan had a good attitude and didn't take the bait.

Li Huilan chuckled and said, "Big Sister-in-law, what are you getting at? How can we, as juniors, question Mother's actions?"

"Besides, Mother has always been generous and fair. She has managed the household without partiality, and everyone outside praises her as an exceptional mistress. You must be overthinking things..."

Even if her husband had not told her the origin of the yellow jade bi, and even if Mother-in-law and her husband had given Lan Ge'er extra money, she might feel a little regret but wouldn't truly resent it.

She had married into a higher-status family and didn't have the same backbone as Big Sister-in-law. To live comfortably, she had to follow her husband's wishes. Besides, her husband hadn't neglected her and their children, and he brought home plenty of silver. Why should she care so much?

Before marrying, her mother said: "If you can't turn a blind eye and a deaf ear, you can't be the matriarch!"

Unable to stir up trouble, Lv Shurou's chest was tight with anger: This second sister-in-law was a total idiot—couldn't see what was good for her! Wasn't she afraid that Second Brother would empty the family coffers for the younger brother?

She dared not confront her mother-in-law, and the second sister-in-law wouldn't play along.

Finding no advantage from Mother-in-law or second sister-in-law, Lv Shurou finally glared at Shen Qinglan and resorted to a veiled insult: "Fine, fine, you're the most benevolent and magnanimous, Second Sister-in-law! I'm the petty and worthless one!"

"I really can't understand the rules of the Shen family. With so many sensible and well-mannered young ladies and lads in the family, you neglect them all and spoil someone who's a disgrace to the family. Ridiculous!"

"Some people have no shame. After being rejected three times, instead of hiding out in the family shrine to keep a low profile, they dress up flamboyantly and swagger around. What a nerve..."

But before she could finish, "Smack!" a whip cracked across her.

Lv Shurou cried out in pain, staring in disbelief: "Shen Qinglan! How dare you hit me? I'm your elder sister-in-law! Don't you want a reputation anymore?"

Shen Qingquan and several concubine-born young ladies and lads also stared wide-eyed at Shen Qinglan.

They knew Shen Qinglan was fierce, and last time Shen Qingquan was even chased by his whip, but it was mostly all bark and no bite—he'd never actually hurt anyone. He was just a paper tiger.

Otherwise, how would they dare to repeatedly steal his fiancées?

But now... the whip had truly struck!

Facing Lv Shurou's harsh questioning, Shen Qinglan didn't stop. Instead, he lashed out two more times, then finally stopped with a huff, declaring loudly:

"I hit you—what can you do about it? Since you say I've been rejected three times already, why should I care about my reputation?"

"What I wear, what I adorn myself with, what I use—all comes from my mother's dowry and her own money. Why do you need to meddle, Big Sister-in-law? This household isn't yours to run yet!"

With that, he swept his gaze over the others, threatening:

"When the cat's away, the mice will play! I'll make it clear today: I'm a man with nothing to lose and I'm not afraid of anyone. Anyone who messes with me or talks trash will join me in front of the King of Hell to settle it!"

As his words fell, the long whip cracked again, the sound echoing in the courtyard.

Shen Qingquan and the other concubine-born siblings scrambled backwards, waving their hands and yelling: "Second Brother, we didn't say anything about you!"

"You... you..." Lv Shurou, hurt and scared, pointed a trembling finger at Shen Qinglan. The nasty words died in her throat. Finally, she burst into tears: "You Shens... you're too much! I'm going back to my family!"

Who would've thought this young brother-in-law actually had the guts to use his whip?

But her accusations and threats were clearly useless.

Madam Shen waved a hand calmly. "Go back? By all means, go. When your parents come knocking, I'll be sure to ask them how they raised their daughter—always coveting her mother-in-law's dowry, playing matchmaker, arranging marriages for the husband's children by concubines, and even stealing the fiancé of her own brother-in-law?"

At that, Lv Shurou's sobbing stopped abruptly.

The children from the second and third branches, who had taken Shen Qinglan's marriage prospects, also changed color, looking embarrassed and ill at ease.

Li Huilan looked on in shock as well. "..." Surely her eldest sister-in-law wouldn't stoop to that?

Lan Geer was, after all, her own brother-in-law. Even if he was a bit spoiled, he had only been slightly cold toward his eldest sister-in-law in the past. How could she treat him like this?

Lv Shurou's face turned pale, and she forced an awkward smile. "Mother... what, what are you saying? I don't understand, Mother..."

"It's fine if you don't understand. When your parents come, they will. Don't you want to go back to your parents' house? Shall I have someone pack your things now?" Madam Shen shot her a cold glance.

How could Lv Shurou actually go back to her parents' house over this?

My brother-in-law had already given up all pretense and didn't care about a reputation for beating his sister-in-law, but her own reputation was precious!

"Mother, I, I was just speaking in anger... I'm feeling unwell and won't be going to Golden Light Temple today. Please go on without me, Mother and sisters. I'll, I'll return to my courtyard now."

Lv Shurou avoided her gaze, dared not say another word, and scurried away in disgrace.

Madam Shen stared after her, her expression heavy. She looked around at the servants kneeling in fear, all terrified, knowing full well what to say and what to keep quiet about.

Then she spoke calmly, "It's getting late. Let's go."

"It's late. Let's set off."

Everyone, as if pardoned, quickly dispersed.

---

Shen Qinglan's heart was unsettled. He followed his mother into the carriage and pressed urgently, "Mother, what did you mean by what you said to eldest sister-in-law?"

Now that things had come to this, Madam Shen saw no point in hiding it any longer. She sighed softly before explaining, "I've always kept a tight rein on the inner quarters. How could Shuang Jieer, Bai Geer, and their concubines have schemed to steal your marriage prospects right under my nose?"

"Unless your eldest sister-in-law helped them... She has been learning household management from me. Only she had the means to quietly arrange all this."

This truth angered Shen Qinglan, but it didn't surprise him.

His eyes reddened, and he asked without much hope, "Does eldest brother know?"

"Without his tacit approval, how would your eldest sister-in-law have dared? You've always been closer to your second brother. His temper is just like your father's..."

Madam Shen lovingly pulled her son into her arms and soothed him, "You did the right thing today. We don't care about the Shen family's honor. We just need to live as we please."

"Your mother is here. Your father won't dare do anything to you. The reputations of the young ladies and lads in the family are all connected. Shuang Jieer and the others have secured good matches now. For the sake of their future, they won't dare ruin your name anymore..."

So, the lashes that Lan Geer gave today were well deserved. Mother and son now feared nothing.

"Mother..."

Shen Qinglan nestled in his mother's arms, his eyes burning slightly, but he finally forced back the tears.

Still, his heart was unsettled. He leaned close to his mother's ear, clenched his fists, and whispered a vow, "Mother, what goes around comes around. When I marry Han, I'll push him every day to work hard and rise up!"

"Han is amazing. He will definitely become a prime minister someday. When I'm married to a First-Rank Official, I'll take care of you in grand style."

"Then I'll make Father kneel every night to serve you soup and wash your feet, and make eldest brother and his wife wait on you hand and foot day and night, showing proper filial respect—I will make you the most powerful dowager in the Shen household!"

Madam Shen: "..."

Suddenly, she felt a bit sorry for that young man surnamed Han. Go figure.