Chapter 182 FCADW? IRTBTMOTMM
FlamingoBees
Translating Chinese Historical Dramas for your enjoyment... and mine! :)
Favoring Concubines and Destroying Wives? I Refuse to be the Mistress of this Marquis' Mansion
Chapter 182:
Found
"Miss, Cuiqing has returned," Xiruo announced, lifting the curtain.
Lin Yunwan set down her book and sat up on the couch. "Let her in."
When Cuiqing entered, she appeared dusty and disheveled, clearly rushing straight to Bixi Pavilion without even stopping to freshen up.
Her eyes sparkled, and though her voice was low, it carried excitement. "Miss!"
Lin Yunwan spoke gently, "There's no rush to speak. Go freshen up first."
Cuiqing was composed enough to nod. "I'll come back in a little while."
With Xiruo's assistance, Cuiqing spent half an hour washing up. When she returned, her hair was still damp, draped over her shoulders, looking glossy black.
© translations belonging to flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com. If you read this somewhere else instead of flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com then the translations has been posted WITHOUT permission of translator.
Lin Yunwan had some snacks and tea prepared for her.
Seated on a stool, Cuiqing tilted her face up and said, "My brother asked me to run an errand these past few days, and I found some people from the Su family."
"Where are they now?"
Lin Yunwan was very curious. The Su family, once prominent merchants in Jiangqian controlling a large portion of its businesses, seemed to have disappeared without a trace.
Cuiqing explained, "After the Su family's original business failed, Master Su wanted to restart his business in Chengzhou selling medicinal herbs. He traveled to many places, and I heard he moved back to Chengzhou the year before last."
"It's quite coincidental that you were asking about it. Master Su returned to pay respects to his ancestors last month, and someone from the Su family's hometown saw him."
"I believe Master Su should be back in Chengzhou by now."
Cuiqing shifted forward slightly and continued, "Chengzhou isn't far from Jiangqian, but the dialects are different, and the roads are not easy to travel. Very few people go back and forth between the two places. If Master Su hadn't returned, no one would have known he went to Chengzhou!"
"After my brother left, I waited at my brother-in-law's house for a day and a night. As soon as I saw my brother at dawn, I hurried back to convey your message."
Lin Yunwan looked at Cuiqing's bright eyes and asked with a faint smile, "So, your brother did meet Master Su?"
Cuiqing nodded vigorously. "Not only did he meet him, but Master Su is willing to meet you!"
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"Great!"
Lin Yunwan felt very pleased and said to Xiruo with a smile, "Cuiqing handled this matter well. Reward her with ten taels of silver. Her brother will receive fifteen taels."
Xiruo turned to weigh the silver. Cuiqing, however, hesitated to accept, standing up and waving her hands. "Miss, this... this is too much!"
She had her own calculations when helping Miss with tasks.
"Miss, according to the script, this is the pledge I'm giving. How can I accept your reward?" Cuiqing protested.
Xiruo handed Cuiqing the silver from two pouches, letting her feel the weight. She asserted confidently, "Helping Miss with tasks deserves even more. If you do well, there will be even more rewards!"
Cuiqing held a pouch in each hand, feeling the weight pressing down on her wrists... It was heavy!
For their family living as servants in Lin Manor, they wouldn't earn this much in a whole year!
"Thank you, Miss! Thank you so much!"
Cuiqing held the silver and knelt down, bowing her head.
"Your eyes are red. Did you stay up all night waiting?" Lin Yunwan helped Cuiqing up and said, "Go rest."
Cuiqing asked Lin Yunwan, "Miss, can I... have a day off?" She glanced at the silver in her arms and continued, "I want to take this back to my brother and sister-in-law."
Lin Yunwan teased her, "All for your brother and sister-in-law?"
Cuiqing protected her share of the silver like a calf, tucked it away, and shook her head. "No! This is what I've saved for myself and my parents."
© translations belonging to flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com. If you read this somewhere else instead of flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com then the translations has been posted WITHOUT permission of translator.
Xiruo chuckled as she escorted Cuiqing out. When she returned, she said to Lin Yunwan, "Miss, Cuiqing is really amusing."
Lin Yunwan smiled.
Cuiqing usually tends to be so mature, but she had become lively today. Indeed, she was very cute.
“Miss, do you want to see Master Su?" Xiruo asked.
Lin Yunwan nodded. "Yes, I do," she replied, absently rubbing the jade bracelet on her wrist. "Back then, the dowry Su family gave to Madam Lin, not many people in the current Lin Manor know about it."
"But Su family must have kept a list of the dowry items for the past madam."
"Su family was indeed a wealthy household back then. Otherwise, during the famine, Old Madam Lin wouldn't have allowed Master Lin to marry the daughter of the merchant Su family, jointly providing relief to the people of the manor."
"Miss Lin's mother came to the Lin Manor with a substantial dowry, but she passed away after only three or four years. How much of the dowry could the mother and daughter have spent?"
Xiruo felt a pang of regret for Madam Lin and her daughter.
"What do you think we should do, Miss?" Xiruo asked.
Lin Yunwan had a few books on the table, including the imperial law book and the local chronicles of Jiangqian.
She pointed to the books on the table and said, "I've been reading for several days. The laws here in Jiangqian are similar to those in the capital. If a married daughter passes away, her dowry is inherited by her legitimate son. If there's no legitimate son but a legitimate daughter, her dowry can also be inherited, but the natal family can reclaim part of the dowry."
"If there are neither legitimate sons nor daughters, the dowry given by the Su family, after deducting the portion used by the married daughter, must all be returned to the Su family."
Lin Yunwan paused and said calmly, "It's not about what I want now, but these things should rightfully return to their original owners."
Xiruo realized something and said indignantly, "No wonder Master readily agreed to have you as his daughter. Without you, Master wouldn't have made Miss Lin's death public, would he?"
"We might even have to find a fake daughter to replace Miss Lin."
"Otherwise, the Su family would have found a way to reclaim the dowry. How could Master and Madam bear to lose so much?" Lin Yunwan went through the entire situation in her mind, sneering. "Master really miscalculated. If he had adopted a legitimate son under Madam's name earlier, the Su family wouldn't have been able to reclaim this dowry."
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"Unfortunately, at that time, Master was at odds with Madam Lin and unwilling to take concubines. His heart was only with Madam Zheng, without even a legitimate son."
"Otherwise, with the means of the Lin Manor, they would have definitely adopted a legitimate son as Madam Lin's son."
Xiruo hadn't thought so deeply, but Lin Yunwan's words made sense to her. She expressed her concern, "It's been over a decade. Miss, do you think Master and Madam might have used up Madam Lin's mother's dowry?"
"It's unlikely," Lin Yunwan replied thoughtfully. "The main and third households haven't touched anything from the second household. Only the second household, with Master, Madam, and the second Miss, live in luxury, but they dare not flaunt it too much."
"That wouldn't cost much silver," she added with a faint smile. "Didn't you hear how Miss Lin's wet nurse described it? The Su Mansion was so wealthy that even noble households couldn't compare."
Recalling Madam Zheng's usual attire, Xiruo said, "They must have spent a lot. Madam isn't afraid of having a guilty conscience. It's too cheap for them!"
Lin Yunwan wasn't worried about this. "As long as there's a list, Master and Madam will have to repay every penny they've spent."
"The dowry of the Su family's daughter may not have been brought up in recent years, but who in all of Jiang Qian doesn't understand it? If it's taken to court and the Lin Manor doesn't produce it, they'll lose face!" Lin Yunwan remarked.
"Our Master just takes advantage of how much face Master Su has. Otherwise, this money should have been returned long ago."
Lin Yunwan instructed Xiruo to put away the local records of Jiang Qian, then got ready to pay her respects to Madam Zheng.
"Lets go and check on Madam. She always dresses so splendidly. Who knows, one day we might not see her like that anymore."
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Ah, ok.
ReplyDeleteNow it finally makes sense to me.
Ngl, before I thought it a bit too much. I mean, yes, she was granted a new life and wants to honor the og/dead miss Lin, but still - even that opportunity was given to her cause Lin Huabin chose to welcome her. Has he profited? Yes.
But still, it was an opportunity given to her, and he welcomed her into his family. Is he scummy/letting his wife run along with it? Yes, but it's not like he's actively plotting to say, drug her and the nephew to have them "spend the night" and be forced to marry like I was so sure the stepmother would be doing by now.
Him giving her the opportunity, and she going so far to destroy his family's comfortable situation just to "avenge" og miss Lin and keep her dowry to herself when she clearly is marrying the richest guy/future emperor/use my limitless bank account guy made no sense and even made me think kind "hmmm" of her.
But it seems she's thinking of the og's mother too, and their situation was similar. She got completely screwed/used because her hubby didn't want to marry her and had a childhood sweetheart.
Plus, the og' s family is going through financial duress and trying to start over, while the family is just being spendthrifts and living in luxury and getting complacent using the money of 2 ppl they calculated and killed.
So yeah.... If she's returning the money, I can accept it. Thought ngl, I'd still leave them a few shops, not enough to subside the women's luxury but something, after all, the father did receive her in his house.
That is how I felt too! I couldn't understand why she was worried about the dowry and what she had planned to do with it. But when she sought out the maternal family of the OG Miss Lin, I felt much better about it.
DeleteI also agree with your thought about not leaving them high and dry... I mean Lin Yunjiao is only as crappy as she is due to her parents indulgence, I don't really think she has a bad heart. She just needs a good reality check. To leave her destitute doesn't really seem fair.
Thanks for reading! <3
Why should she leave them a few shops though? The father received Yunwan into his house not out of the goodness of his heart. He did it for his own benefits. The duke gave him a very profitable winery AND he wanted to keep all of the OG mother's dowry for himself. Yunwan already pointed out that if he hadn't accepted Yunwan, he would have to fake a daughter anyway to keep the dowry.
DeleteIt's not about Yunwan needing money even though she'll marry the future emperor or honestly even about giving the money back to the Su family. It's about ensuring Lin Huabin and Madam Zheng don't get away with basically coordinating the OG Miss Lin's exile, years of suffering and suicide while they profited off her mother's death and her exile. Lin Huabin might not have known his daughter was framed, but he doesn't seem at all distraught even after knowing the truth, except for a brief time when he's upset about the shame it brings his family. He's a cold-hearted, self-centered, vicious man and Zheng is just as bad if not worse.
Don't forget that when Yunwan first arrived as well, Madam Zheng and Lin Yunjiao basically spread everywhere that Yunwan tried to cause a miscarriage when she was 4 years old, and Lin Yunbin turned a blind eye to all of that even though he already received plenty of benefits for taking Yunwan in. Yunjiao might not know the truth (note: she feels no guilt about what she did even after knowing the truth), but Zheng did know those were lies and while Yunbin believed it, he also knew Yunwan isn't his real daughter so she shouldn't have to bear such a dirty reputation. Back in those days, such a reputation would have guaranteed Yunwan would not have gotten a good marriage, or any marriage at all even, which was exactly what Zheng and Yunjiao wanted, and Huabin didn't care if that was the outcome. Huabin is happy to take all the benefits and let Yunwan's reputation be destroyed without interfering.
All the while, they've been living the good life on OG Miss Lin's mother's dowry! They don't deserve sympathy or to keep the dowry. Anyway, from the description of the wider Lin family, Lin Huabin has enough money for them to live comfortably anyway even without that dowry. They just might not be able to live luxuriously, and IMO they don't deserve to. None of them are going to be punished for causing OG Miss Lin to suffer since she was 4 and driving her to despair and suicide and then stealing her dowry, so they shouldn't also be enjoying the profits of her literal death.
yes I agree with poster upstairs…she is doing what she can to avenge the OG Ms Lin, and not to let the bad Lin father and stepmother duo get away with using up all her dowry money. it belongs to her Mothers family and stepmother has been living in extravagance at their expense.
Delete