Dowry
“Second young miss, this is a gift from the first young miss.”
Mu Mingtang opened it and saw that it was a box of gold jewelry. Almost everything inside was exactly the type of gaudy accessories that Jiang Mingwei disliked. However, Mu Mingtang immediately closed the lid and hugged the box to her chest.
“Although she is older than me, I am, after all, her sister-in-law. In terms of seniority, I am higher than her. She doesn’t need to be so courteous with her own family.” Even as she said this, she did not loosen her grip on the wooden box.
The maidservant was rendered speechless. Not too long ago, she had been serving Mu Mingtang. When Mu Mingtang settled into Jiang Mingwei’s bedchamber, all of the maidservants around her were also Jiang Mingwei’s old maidservants. It was conceivable that these maidservants were even more critical of Mu Mingtang than Madam Jiang was. Now that Jiang Mingwei had returned, they were finally able to go back to serving their real master.
Mu Mingtang stood face-to-face with the maidservant. At this point, they were both tired of seeing each other. The maidservant disdained Mu Mingtang and thought that only an ignorant girl like her would like such an extravagant hairpin, while Mu Mingtang was wondering if Jiang Mingwei had a problem with her eyes.
Those high-quality jade and gemstones she liked were indeed nice to look at, but would it sell for as much as gold during times of poverty?
Gold was undoubtedly the best. Just look at this beautiful, golden color!
The maidservant looked away and said, “You are being too polite, second young miss. The madam is currently preparing the first young miss’s dowry. She will soon become the Princess of Jin and cannot afford to embarrass herself when she is in public. These hairpins are not suitable for her position, so she no longer needs them and thought that you may be able to use them, second young miss.”
“That’s right, I can use all of them.” Mu Mingtang carefully put the box away and said, “Unfortunately, I, her sister-in-law, possess nothing to give back to her. I can only wish the first young miss and the Prince of Jin an everlasting marriage. Alright, you can go now.”
If Mu Mingtang had any moral integrity left, she wouldn’t have accepted this act of charity from the Jiang family. Who would’ve expected her to just take it without saying a word? The maidservant was so enraged by her shamelessness that she turned around and left without saying another world.
By now, Mu Mingtang had completely given up on maintaining her mask and image in front of the Jiang family. She had no need for those things anymore. After she pointed her finger at Jiang Honghao’s nose and scolded him for being a hypocrite, Jiang Mingwei gifted her a box of gold. Why wouldn’t she take it?
She didn’t need moral integrity. She only needed money.
Once the maidservant was out of sight, Mu Mingtang stood up and gave her precious box of gold a new hiding place.
The fact that she was moved to the guest chamber meant she had completely lost the Jiang family’s favor, and anyone could take advantage of her. However, for Mu Mingtang, this life was much better than the life she lived in the previous year.
Before, she was like a puppet. She wasn’t allowed to take large strides when she walked or raise her voice when she spoke. During meal times, she had to take small bites of her food and chew seven times per bite before she could swallow. Whenever she made a mistake or did something without thinking about it first, the nanny would immediately give her a long scolding.
Mu Mingtang was fed up with the nanny’s constant squawking. Now, she was living in a quiet guest chamber. There were no maidservants around to judge her, and she could do whatever she wanted without the nanny breathing down her back. Other than to give her three meals a day, no one came in to bother her. It was such a good life!
The box of gold actually delighted her so much that even the humiliation and anger she had received from Jiang Honghao earlier was completely erased. If someone wanted to insult her with gold every day, they could be her guest. She would invite them to trample her dignity to the ground.