Chapter Thirty-Three

  Lin Ruo Lan couldn't help but smile slightly and looked up at Mrs. Lin with curved eyebrows: "Mother, do you think this outfit is passable?"

  "Hmm... okay! Actually, Lin Ruolan wanted to ask if her outfit made her look cool?"

  Just now behind the screen, Bai Zhi and Mo Zhu had already taken out a copper mirror to reflect Lin Ruo Lan's image; although the reflection from this copper mirror was completely different from that of a glass mirror, it was totally incomparable.

  However, Lin Ruolan was still infatuated with the girl dressed as a boy in the mirror, to put it simply, this girl had fallen in love with herself.

  But if Lin Ruolan had known that today's almanac said it was not suitable for going out, she would have been willing to stay in the Flowing Light Temple and be a rice worm.

  Mrs. Lin looked at Lin Ruolan with a doting expression, and instructed Bai Zhu and Mo Zhu: "You two must remember that this is the young lady's first time out; you must be careful to attend to her and pay attention to safety."

  "I know!"

  Bai Zhi and Mo Zhuo stood up straight and saluted Mrs. Lin, respectfully responding with a "yes".

  "Mother dear, she's gone." Lin Ruolan couldn't hide her excitement and said happily.

  "Come back early." Mrs. Lin looked at Lin Ruolan's joyful appearance and suddenly felt a little heartache; poor Lan'er, just going out to the street made her so happy.

  In an instant, Mrs. Lin's heart was filled with maternal love, and she couldn't help but feel deeply sorry for the hardships that Lin Ruolan had endured over the past few years.

  Lin Ruo Lan didn't know that in just a short while, her own mother had already supplemented her mind; infinitely miserable life in Yunhe Mountain.

  But even if Lin Ruolan really knew, she would probably just say that these ancient people were indeed idle all day after eating their fill; the brain hole is too big, and this kind of thing is really unbearable.

  Rongguo House!

  Inside Rongxi Hall, Old Mrs. Jia was chatting with Mother and Daughter Jia Min.

  "My son, come and take a look at the dowry I've prepared for you. Are you satisfied?" Old Lady Jia handed over a list of dowries to Jia Min, her face with fine wrinkles showing a loving smile.

  Who in the Jia household doesn't know that the eldest daughter is the old lady's most precious treasure, even if it's the master of the house, Mr. Jia Zheng or the second master, Mr. Jia She; they can't compare to Miss Jia Min, the younger sister.

  This old master Jia She is nothing, after all, everyone in the mansion knows that the old lady of the house favors the second master; because Master Jia She was raised by his grandmother since childhood and has never been close to his own mother, Lady Wang.

  Even though the old lady of Rongguo House had passed away many years ago, the knot in the hearts of Grandfather Jia and Lady Jia was never untied.

  It was actually the second master, Jia Zheng, who had always been kept close by Old Lady Jia, and the relationship between mother and son was unusually intimate; however, even so, in Old Lady Jia's heart, this son, Jia Zheng, was not as important as her precious daughter, Jia Min.

  Jia Min was born when Old Lady Jia was already an elderly woman, and she naturally loved this late-arriving precious daughter as if her life depended on it; her sons, grandsons, and granddaughters all took a back seat.

  Jia Min merely glanced at the dowry list prepared by Old Lady Jia, seeing the top-grade pearls from the South China Sea, rubies, sapphires, and a set of pearl-inlaid headdresses; a three-foot-high coral screen, an inlaid lacquer screen, and a pair of butterfly-and-flower-shaped gourds.

  The ingenious screen was a rare treasure, and Jia Min knew that her mother had only one such screen at home; she cherished it so much that she rarely took it out to use, but now she was willing to give it to her as part of her dowry; this showed how good her mother was to her.

  And that pair of butterfly-shaped flower and calabaza bottles are truly a treasure among treasures, it's not an exaggeration to say they're the Jia family heirloom; Jia Min really couldn't have imagined she'd see them on her own dowry list.

  There were also many precious items of all kinds, with everything one could eat, use or wear; and in the dowry houses and shops, Old Lady Jia had also spent a lot of thought. Most of the houses were purchased in the southern regions of Yangzhou and Suzhou, which were all high-yielding large estates.

  As for the shops, apart from a few cosmetics stores in the prosperous areas of Beijing, there was even one that sold jade and antique furniture.

  It can be seen from these points that Mrs. Jia is indeed very fond of her daughter Jia Min.

  "Mother!"

  Jia Min softly called out to Old Lady Jia and suddenly her eyes turned red.

  "My child, take a look at this," said Mrs. Jia, taking from the side of her couch a small box made of purple sandalwood and handing it to Xiangling with a gesture for her to open it and take a look.

  Jia Min opened it and saw a whole box full of silver notes; one thousand taels, one hundred taels, five hundred taels... roughly estimated to be at least no less than one million taels.

  "Mother dear, is this..." Jia Min's heart skipped a beat as she made some vague guesses; yet she still wasn't quite sure and asked Old Lady Jia another question.

  "My child, these are all Mother's private savings; they were originally set aside for your dowry. With these, you'll be able to hold your head high and live a good life in your husband's household." Old Lady Jia said gently, stroking Xiangling's hand.

  The amount of dowry a woman brings often determines her status and position in her husband's family.

  Jia Min was truly beyond expectation that her mother would prepare such a rich dowry for herself, she estimated that this time when she got married, at least one-third of the warehouse in Jia's house would be emptied; for a moment, she couldn't bear it anymore, and tears fell like broken pearls 'patter patter' down.

  Lady Jia smiled and comforted Xiangling, saying: "My child, you shouldn't be like this. I only have one daughter, and your marriage is a major event for our entire household. Of course, I will make arrangements for you. I won't let my child suffer any injustice. I will prepare a magnificent dowry of ten li of red satin to ensure that you leave with dignity and glory."

  "Mother!" Jia Min rushed into Old Mrs. Jia's arms, thinking that she would soon become someone else's daughter-in-law; of course, she wouldn't have the same freedom as when she was a young lady at home, and for a moment, she felt a pang of sadness.

  Mrs. Jia herself had gone through the journey from being a young girl to a daughter-in-law and now an old lady; as soon as she saw Xiangling's appearance, she immediately guessed what her daughter was worried about.

  "My child, you must remember that the Lin family is a noble and simple household; after you get married, your every move and word cannot be as casual as they are in our own home. However, my child... as long as you behave properly and steadily after entering their household, the Lin family will naturally not find fault with you."

  "Daughter knows!" Jia Min responded softly, with a hint of sadness in her voice: "The daughter is unfilial, and Mother has suffered for the sake of the daughter's affairs; from now on, the daughter will definitely burn incense and worship Buddha every day to pray for the Buddha to bless Mother with good health and longevity."

  "My son, you've always been a good one, unlike those two sisters-in-law of yours; Mother knows, right? You already have your own ideas about the four maids who came with me as part of my dowry?" Old Lady Jia recalled how soon after she married into the Jia family, her maid had climbed into bed with the master. A flash of ruthlessness crossed her eyes - she naturally didn't want her daughter to follow in her footsteps and make the same mistake again.

  In general, the so-called accompanying maids in large households often end up being the mistresses prepared by the young ladies for their husbands; or they become concubines, but only if the master has given his consent.

  Jia Min is not a young girl who has just reached adulthood, she has been helping Old Lady Jia manage the household for several years; she knows very well about some maids climbing into their masters' beds.

  After hearing her mother's words, Jia Min was stunned for a moment; then she said in a low voice: "In addition to Qingmei and Qingxuan, I also want to bring Qinghe and Feicui; as for Qingyu..."

  Jia Min paused for a moment and said in a low voice, "Qing Yu is always so competitive and arrogant, thinking she's better than Qing Mei, Qing Xiang and Qing He; I don't plan on bringing her to the Lin family."

  Jia Min's words were already very clear, and Qingyu's appearance was nothing to worry about; what she was worried about was the other person's temperament, such a sharp-tongued and competitive maid; if in the future she really raised her to be a madam, if she was content with her current situation it would be fine; but she feared that she wouldn't be willing to settle for her present circumstances, especially since Lin Ruhai was such a handsome man.

  Jia Min did not want to add trouble for herself in the future, and it was better to cut off the source of the disaster early on rather than bother with it later.

  Jia Min had already made up her mind, so Old Lady Jia didn't say much more. After all, the road ahead was one that Jia Min would have to walk alone; even if she were her own mother, she couldn't stay by her side forever.

  "These things, my son, you can decide for yourself. However, since you plan to take Feicui with you; why not change the two characters 'Feicui' to 'Qingju'? What do you think, Min'er?" Old Lady Jia thought that since the other three accompanying maids all had names starting with 'Qing', if Feicui didn't change her name, it would give people a strange feeling.

  "My mother said it's extremely good, the name Qingju looks very nice on you; from now on, let's just call Feicui Qingju." Since her own mother changed the name, and besides, it was only a maid anyway. Jia Min naturally wouldn't have any opinion saying it wasn't good, she nodded her head in agreement with a pleased expression.