Chapter 233: Dividing the Gifts
When Xun Feng returned after seeing the men out, he saw Wen Yao’s face beaming with joy.
Sure enough, the young master was right; Miss Yao’er would definitely love it.
Old Madam Luo had never seen such things before either. Her eyes weren’t enough to take it all in, and she didn’t dare touch them with her hands, deeply afraid of breaking something.
“So these are pearls and gemstones,” Old Madam Luo looked at the set of hair ornaments and couldn’t help but sigh. The gemstones on this were even larger than the ones Qiu Rongrong wore in her hair. Moreover, these were all made of gold; how much must they be worth?
Wen Yao picked up a hairpin and was about to put it on the old lady.
“Oh, you girl, what are you doing?” Old Madam Luo hurriedly dodged. She wouldn’t dare wear such an expensive thing on her head.
Wen Yao held the old lady still, inserted the hairpin, and admired it for a moment. “It looks great, Grandma. Just wear it.”
Old Madam Luo frantically tried to take it down. “This was rewarded to you by the Empress Dowager. Keep it for yourself, how can you give it to me to wear? This is too precious. If it gets lost, it’ll be a huge trouble.”
Wen Yao stopped her. “Grandma, Grandma, just wear it. It looks great, really. If you don’t believe me, ask Xun Feng.”
Xun Feng nodded along. “That’s right, Old Madam. You look wonderful wearing it, just like the old matriarch of a wealthy family. Those old matriarchs in the capital, which one of them isn’t covered in gold, silver, and jewels? Don’t argue with Miss Yao’er, just wear it, wear it.”
Old Madam Luo’s movements slowed down, and her heart wavered a bit. She looked at Wen Yao and Xun Feng. “Does it… really look good?”
The two nodded in unison.
Old Madam Luo smiled, carefully reaching out to touch the hairpin on her head. In this lifetime, since marrying Old Man Wen, she had never worn such beautiful jewelry. This was the first time.
Seeing that the old lady was no longer stubborn, Wen Yao continued to look at the rest.
“This pair of earrings is quite nice, for Second Aunt.”
“Oh, this bracelet—Grandma, you wear this too.” Wen Yao slipped the bracelet onto the old lady’s wrist.
“This pair of pearl hair flowers is for Wen Di. This… forget it, Wen Ying is too young, she’ll just lose it later. These earrings are similar to those, let’s give them to Third Aunt.”
Wen Yao muttered to herself as she organized the items.
Xun Feng, standing to the side, watched in silence. He wanted to remind Wen Yao that these things rewarded by the Empress Dowager couldn’t be casually given away. But on second thought, with the Prince and Princess Consort shielding them from the front anyway, the Empress Dowager likely wouldn’t blame them.
Seeing her dividing the items more and more outrageously without leaving anything for herself, Old Madam Luo grew anxious.
“You girl, stop messing around with these. Save them properly to be your dowry in the future.”
Without even thinking, Wen Yao blurted out, “I’m not getting married.”
Whether in her past life or this life, Wen Yao had never considered this question. A dowry? How long would it take to save up for that? It was better to put these things to good use now.
“Even so, you can’t divide them like this. Put all of these back for me.” Old Madam Luo placed everything in Wen Yao’s hands back into the boxes.
Wen Yao held onto them tightly. “Don’t, Grandma. Then just one item per person, one item is fine, right?”
In the end, Old Madam Luo couldn’t win against her. Family harmony was Old Madam Luo’s greatest wish. The fact that Wen Yao could remember the goodness of her Second Aunt and Third Aunt brought comfort to Old Madam Luo’s heart. However, she feared that Wen Yao’s generosity might breed bad habits in her two daughters-in-law.
But her two daughters-in-law didn’t seem to be that kind of people, and with her around, no chaos would erupt.
Biting her tongue, Old Madam Luo nodded. “Alright then.”
Only then did Wen Yao smile. She closed the boxes of the two ruyi jade and stuffed them into Old Madam Luo’s hands. The two ruyi jade weren’t large, fitting perfectly in the hand, but the craftsmanship was exquisite, and the material was top-grade. One look was enough to tell they were extraordinary.
“Grandma, take this pair of ruyi jade for you and Grandpa to play with. Bask in the Empress Dowager’s good fortune, so you two may live to a hundred.”
This time, Old Madam Luo refused no matter what. If this thing was kept at home, she would be terrified of it being stolen. How could she live in peace?
Wen Yao then pointed at the fabrics. “Then you can at least take these fabrics to make two sets of new clothes for you and Grandpa. No, a set of new clothes for everyone in the family.”
Old Madam Luo touched the materials. She had never worn such fabrics in her life, and she never expected that one day she would be able to use them to make clothes.
But this was Wen Yao’s stuff after all. Old Madam Luo knew in her heart that the eldest son’s family had already given them more than enough. Even if it was to repay their past sacrifices, it was already sufficient. They absolutely could not take advantage of them any further.
In the end, the grandmother and granddaughter bickered for a long time, and only a few pieces of jewelry were given away. Wen Yao was made to put everything else into her own small storehouse.
Although Old Madam Luo didn’t know where Wen Yao hid her things, she had never seen Wen Yao lose anything. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have let the girl keep the jade pendant left by Li Fu.
“Alright, move everything to your room and put it away securely.”
With Xun Feng’s help, all the glittering gold in the courtyard was placed into the cabinet in Wen Yao’s room and locked up.
In reality, Wen Yao stored everything into her space. After all, what place could be safer than the space?
Fortunately, no one else was home at the moment and the main gate was locked, so no one saw.
“Remember, you absolutely cannot tell outsiders about this, understand?” Old Madam Luo instructed Wen Yao.
Wen Yao nodded. She wasn’t stupid; why would she tell others and invite them to rob her house?
However, with so many people arriving at the house, it was impossible to hide it from the rest of the family. On his way back from the fields, Old Man Wen heard people talking about it and asked the moment he stepped through the door, deeply afraid that something had happened to his son.
Old Madam Luo didn’t give them details either. She merely said that people had come from the capital because Li Fu’s family enjoyed the food Yao’er made, so they sent some return gifts. As for what was sent, Old Madam Luo didn’t mention it.
In the evening, Old Madam Luo called her two daughters-in-law, Wen Di, and Wen Yao into the room privately. Only then did Wen Yao take out the gifts she intended to give them.
Lady Li’s eyes lit up instantly. Even Lady Cai felt a surge of delight upon seeing such earrings, a look of uncontrollable fondness appearing on her face.
“Second Aunt, Third Aunt, these two pairs of earrings are for you,” Wen Yao said as she handed the items to them.
Lady Li was so happy that she trembled slightly. “What? For… for us?”
Lady Cai waved her hands repeatedly. “This won’t do, Yao’er. This is too precious, Third Aunt cannot take it.”
Lady Li had been ready to reach out, but hearing those words, she snapped out of it too. She smiled awkwardly and followed along, “That’s right, Yao’er. This was given to you by others, keep it to wear yourself.”
Although she liked them very much, no matter how much she liked them, she couldn’t snatch her niece’s things. Lady Li still possessed this bit of propriety.
Seeing that both of them acted this way, Old Madam Luo spoke up directly: “Since she’s giving them to you, just take them. This is also a token of Yao’er’s filial heart. Just remember this niece’s goodness in the future.”
With Old Madam Luo giving the word, the slight hesitation Lady Li had vanished instantly. To wait another second to receive them would feel like a disrespect to the earrings.
“Then Yao’er, Second Aunt thanks you.”
Hehe, Mother gave the nod, so I can take them without any worries.
Seeing that Lady Li had taken hers, Lady Cai had no choice but to accept them as well. In truth, she liked them too. Having lived to this age, she had never seen such beautiful earrings before.
