Xu Lan did not like the idea of this marriage at all. Furthermore, Xia Zhe had gotten married on his own without informing his parents.
“Nobody is allowed to worry about this matter. Doesn’t he like doing things himself? Let him handle it on his own!” Xu Lan said to her family sulkily.
Xu Lan was in charge of everything in the family. Xia Mao had his hands full with work and he forgot about the matter as time passed.
As for how Tan Jing found out about it, it happened when Mrs. Zheng from the Zheng family and Xu Lan went for a massage together some time ago. At that time, Mrs. Zheng had tactfully said that Xia Zhe’s marriage was the hardest on Zheng Yuan as she had waited for him for so many years to no avail.
Xu Lan felt really embarrassed, but there was nothing that she could say. After returning home, she vented her anger on Tan Jing.
She kicked up a fuss about why a village girl could get 2,000 dollars as a betrothal gift, but she only mentioned the amount and did not tell Tan Jing where the money came from.
Therefore, Tan Jing thought that the betrothal gift was given by the family. Xu Lan did not have any confidence to tell the truth either. After all, if parents did not help with the expenses when their son got married, people would say that the parents were incompetent and biased.
Xu Lan sat on the sofa and looked at Xia Zhe unhappily, feeling very upset.
He had been away from home for so many years and did not even bother to write a few more letters to his family. When he was back, all he could think of was to pick up his wife first.
“Now that you’re back, what’s your plans about your future together?” Xu Lan asked.
Xia Zhe frowned and did not speak.
Xu Lan was about to say more when Xia Jun came back down with a brocade box in his hand.
“Come and take a look. This is the first-meeting gift that your grandmother prepared for her granddaughter-in-law a long time back. It’s for you.” Xia Jun opened the box gently.
There was a pair of shiny green bangles in the box. The jade was very transparent with no impurities inside and it looked especially clear when the light shone through it.
“Thank you, grandmother. I really like it!” Qiao Mei said.
Qiao Mei did not stand on ceremony and immediately wore the bangle on her arm. She looked at it from different angles and decided that she liked it very much.
However, everyone’s eyes were actually not on the bangle given by Xia Zhe’s grandmother. This was because Qiao Mei had another bangle on her arm that was even more transparent and greener in color.
That bangle was even more valuable than the one Xia Zhe’s grandmother had prepared for her as a gift. Anyone who had some knowledge on the quality of jade would know which one was better.
Xia Jun could tell that Qiao Mei really liked it and he felt very happy.
However, that was not what Xu Lan was thinking. Xu Lan only had eyes for the other bangle on Qiao Mei’s arm.
“Where did you get the other bangle?” Xu Lan asked sternly.
For a country girl like her to have such good jewelry, her son must have bought it for the girl.
Xia Fang frowned slightly. She already knew Xu Lan’s character, but she did not expect Xu Lan to go out of her way to make Qiao Mei look bad during their first meeting.
Qiao Mei and Xia Zhe looked at each other at the same time. He did not know anything about the bangle, nor did he know that Qiao Mei had given his aunt a set of jewelry.
However, money was meant to be spent. If he did not allow Qiao Mei to spend his money, then who else could spend his money?
“Didn’t I already tell you? Don’t wear this when you go out,” Xia Zhe said as he tugged at Qiao Mei’s sleeve.
From the looks of it, Xia Zhe must have bought her the bangle.
Qiao Mei smiled happily when she saw Xia Zhe covering for her.
“As a daughter-in-law, how can you not know how to be thrifty!” Xu Lan said sternly.
“Mother!” Xia Zhe frowned at Xu Lan.
In his memories, Xu Lan was not like this. Although the Xu Lan he remembered did not have a close relationship with him, she was not such an aggressive person.
It was the first time she met Qiao Mei today. He did not know what Qiao Mei had done wrong for Xu Lan to keep treating her like this.
“Am I wrong to say that! It’s not as if our family has much money and yet she has gone out to buy jewelry. It’s so wasteful. My son’s hard-earned money will soon be all gone because of you!” Xu Lan said angrily.
Qiao Mei stood rooted to the ground, not knowing what to do. She was not afraid of Xu Lan, but she felt that if she retorted, it would make things difficult for Xia Zhe.