"What are you doing? Your son-in-law is still here, aren’t you ashad? Can’t we have a civil conversation? You crazy woman, let go of !" Ms. Zhang’s father was infuriated by her mother’s sudden outburst.
Ms. Zhang’s mother was a rather docile woman, and in their household, it was her father who made all the decisions. Otherwise, Ms. Zhang’s dowry would not have been so ager.
But the more submissive a person is, the more frightening they beco once they explode—they don’t consider too many external factors.
"Ashad? Do you even know the aning of sha? She’s your only daughter; how could you be so heartless!" Ms. Zhang’s mother cried hysterically. "I knew it when you had people carry out that chest yesterday. What were you doing? Are those my daughter’s clothes? Tell ! Did you return those items?"
A young lady from a wealthy family would have plenty of clothes and shoes prepared for her wedding. If the family didn’t have an embroideress, they would order them from the cloth shop. That’s why Ms. Zhang’s mother suspected the clothes had been returned to the cloth shop by her father.
But Ms. Zhang didn’t see it that way. She said, "Father, I suspect you never prepared those items for in the first place? Or maybe you told the cloth shop to deliver one chest fewer of clothes and shoes. After all, those were made to fit my asurents; how could they allow you to return finished goods?"
Realizing this, Ms. Zhang’s mother understood the situation.
And Ms. Zhang’s father admitted, "So what if I did? What does a woman need so many clothes for? Having enough to wear is enough. Buying so many, isn’t that wasteful?"
Indeed, as Ms. Zhang had said, after the cloth shop took her asurents, her father stealthily went out and changed the order when the shop’s people were about to leave.
The full chest that Ms. Zhang’s mother saw actually only had two new items on top, which had been taken from another chest. After Ms. Zhang’s mother had a look, her father imdiately had the chests switched back.
As for why there was cornal in the empty chest—that was just to add weight. Otherwise, it would be too light and obviously empty when lifted.
Besides, the chest had been altered by Ms. Zhang’s father, so all the cornal had spilled out by the ti they arrived at the Yang Family’s house. The Yang Family wouldn’t open the chests to check the clothes, so there was no fear of losing face.
Once the daughter found out, she would keep it quiet for her own dignity at her in-laws’. With her temperant, she was likely to co back ho and make a scene, but no matter how much she fussed, if her father refused to give her the items, what could she do?
Ms. Zhang’s father had calculated everything well, but he never expected that Ms. Zhang would sever ties with her family over the dowry issue.
"Very well, father, you truly are my biological father!" Ms. Zhang was furious, "I’ve managed the family shop for so many years, and I’m still worth less than two chests of clothes. Father, I’ll lay it out for you—if you replenish my dowry, we are still father and daughter. If not, this is where we part ways!"
Ms. Zhang’s resolute attitude made Yang Qingrui’s heart pound.
He couldn’t help but tug at her, wondering if it was appropriate to make such a scene during her visit back ho?
He said, "Let it go, it’s just two chests of clothes. I’ll make it up to you."
"No way!" Ms. Zhang decisively refused, adding, "You go sit over there for now. I’m going to settle this with my father. I should get every last coin that’s mine, but I won’t take a single one that’s not. Father, you handle this. You’ve made lose face at the Yang Family’s ho. If you don’t make up for it today, don’t expect to help out with the family shop or handle trouble from the several branches of the family coming to our doorstep."
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