Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Zhao Guangyin dismissed his servants and returned to his private quarters, where only his wife remained.
"Gather our most valuable belongings and secretly transfer them to your family's home. Keep them hidden and make sure no one knows about it," he instructed.
He also contemplated withdrawing money from their shared savings for personal storage.
Young Madame Quan was taken aback. "Is it really that serious…?"
"I'm not sure," Zhao Guangyin replied with a sigh. "If the Shao Family were simply causing trouble, it would be easier to handle. We could offer them money and use sweet words to make them go away. But right now, they are treating us poorly and refusing to negotiate, so…"
Young Madame Quan felt a sense of unease. She suggested, "What if we ask your mother and sister to visit the Qiao Family? Your sister and Elder Miss
Qiao are good friends, and your mother has a good relationship with Madame Qiao. If they intervene and offer to reconcile, perhaps the Shao Family would back down?"
Zhao Guangyin found himself feeling a glimmer of hope. While uncertain of the outcome, it was worth a try.
But Madame Zhao was unable to have the invitation delivered to the Qiao Family at all. They couldn't even meet with Madame Qiao and Qiao Wei.
Zhao Guangyin had to prepare for the worst-case scenario.
Soon, a grand banquet was held at the main residence of the Shao Family, spanning two days.
People from Zhang Village attended the feast, but the Zhang Family was conspicuously absent.
They knew it was best to stay away and not be present in such circumstances.
Yang Liang and his wife didn't even dare to show up. However, some people from Yang Village attended the banquet. The couple had become the laughing stock of the village, and they had no face to meet anyone.
After the banquet, the Shao Family returned to a state of calm. Shao Yunduan began preparing for the upcoming spring examination next year.
Meanwhile, Ms. Fang, Yang Xiaoni, Qiao Xuan, and Taotao had some time to go through the presents they received.
Qiao Xuan prepared two booklets to list down all the items and accessories, making it easier for them to organize and find what they needed
Nis. Fang thought it was an excellent idea. Since Qiao Xuan was the only literate woman in the household, Ms. Fang appointed her as the person in charge of organizing the gifts.
They had received a total of 2,300 liang in monetary gifts, along with various other presents such as clothing, jewelry, tea leaves, tea sets, spices, calligraphy and paintings, inkstones, paperweights, stationery, toys, jade vases, fans, screens, and more.
Ms. Fang was overjoyed, but she wanted Qiao Xuan to select some items to share among the family so that everyone could feel uplifted. The remaining items would be stored in the storage room.
Qiao Xuan distributed six pieces of clothing to the girls, along with three or four pieces of jewelry and several decorative items for each of their rooms.
Shao Sanlang, Shao Xiaoqi, and Shao Junyan received writing tools as their gifts.
"What do you think, mom? We can definitely store these items and save them for special occasions. Whenever you want to give away presents, you can simply select some from the storage room and record it in the booklet."
Ever since the completion of the new house, everyone had received a set of brand-new furniture, including tea tools. They had everything they needed and lacked nothing.
Ms. Fang expressed her joy and praised Qiao Xuan for doing an excellent job in sorting things out..