The west wind cuts off the works of a humble daughter who should be married off. A first-class noble's consort, a humble daughter who should be married off. A first-class noble's consort, a humble daughter who should be married off. Volume 1 Chapter 52: Rushing to Send the Betrothal Gifts (Part 2)

  Lizhen was lying in bed, fast asleep.

  Suddenly, Late Jade rushed in, panting "Miss, miss, wake up quickly, something big has happened."

  Having said that, he gently shook his head at Xia Ting.

  Xia Ting woke up with a frown and opened her misty eyes to look at Wan Yu, "What's going on? What big thing happened?"

  "Wan Yu hastily said, 'Miss, hurry up and get dressed. The King's palace has sent someone to deliver the betrothal gifts. Mrs. Li wants to lock all your dowry into the treasury.'"

  "What's going on? Locking the treasury? Xia Ting was startled, already half awake, and threw off the soft warm quilt to get up and ask"

  The people from the Palace of the Silent King came to offer their condolences, but surprisingly no one came to report it to the Pear Courtyard.

  Wan Yu handed over the clothes and helped Xia Ting wear them while saying, "It's still not Mrs. Li, she actually sent people to guard the Pear Courtyard. She didn't let anyone from the front come to report the news. If it wasn't for me thinking of going out of the mansion to buy some things, I saw the person by Mrs. Li's side guarding outside the Pear Courtyard and thought it was very strange. So I let Qing Wei go over and entangle them, sneaking out quietly. Only when I arrived at the front hall did I find out that Mrs. Li was about to receive the betrothal gifts for Miss. She also said she would lock them in the treasury. This is why I hurried back to tell you. This Mrs. Li is really too wicked, it's clear she wants to swallow up Miss' betrothal gifts!"

  While they were talking, Late Jade had already helped Xia Ting wear her clothes with quick hands and feet, tied up her hairpin again, and added some small accessories.

  Xia Ting's face was calm and serene, she rinsed her mouth, then put on a luxurious fox fur coat and walked to the front hall of the Xia Mansion.

  As soon as they came out of the hospital gate, they saw Lü Wēi entangled with an old woman. The other party blocked Lü Wēi and wouldn't let her leave.

  Xia Ting's face turned cold and she walked straight past him.

  Greenery saw Xia Ting Cong coming and hastily knelt down to salute, saying "Miss."

  The old woman's face changed as soon as she saw Xia Ting Cong. She stuttered and said "Second, Second Miss"

  Good heavens, how did this second miss come out? How unlucky can she be to actually get hit by the second miss. She didn't want to end up like Qian's wife, losing half her life in bed.

  Xia Ting said with a faint smile, "Lü Wú, since this old woman likes Li Yuan so much and refuses to leave, then please invite her in and treat her well. As usual, give her fifty slaps."

  The old woman was so frightened that her legs went soft, and she almost fell to the ground. She cried out, "Second Miss, spare my life! I'll never dare again!" Originally, she had thought of taking advantage of the mistress's promised reward, thinking that if she just kept watch for a little while, nothing would happen. But now her own life was in danger.

  Xia Ting didn't bother to argue and directly walked away with Wan Yu, leaving the rest to Qing Yun to handle.

  As soon as they arrived at the front hall of the Xia residence, they heard Li's voice coming from inside: "The second daughter is not feeling well and cannot receive guests..."

  Xia Ting hooked the corner of her lips, she had just woken up from a good sleep on the high soft bed. How did it become that her body was not comfortable when it came out of Li's mouth? Besides, the other party hadn't even set foot in the pear garden today, how did they know her body wasn't feeling well? It wasn't like they had clairvoyance or super hearing. In just two days, this skill of speaking nonsense with one's eyes open was really impressive.

  Xia Tingjing walked in, and those servants who were about to move the betrothal gifts were stunned when they saw her arrive, and they all stood still on the spot, not knowing what to do.

  They also knew that these betrothal gifts were the second young lady's, and when they heard what Madam had just said, they all understood in their hearts that Madam was probably going to embezzle the second young lady's betrothal gifts. Now that the master has arrived, do these servants still want to follow Madam's instructions? It's worth noting that this second young lady is not someone to be trifled with, and the miserable cries that came from the pear garden last time still left them with a lingering fear.

  She stepped into the hall calmly and looked at Li with a cold gaze, "I don't know which 'insignificant person' spread rumors about me being unwell?"

  Upon hearing Xia Lian's voice, Li turned her head stiffly. What, how did this little girl come here? Didn't she send someone to guard the Pear Courtyard? Where is that old woman, sneaking off somewhere, and actually let her out?

  Xia Ting looked at Li's expression, seemingly guessing what the other was thinking, and a faint arc rose from the corner of her mouth. "Is the lady wondering where the old woman who guarded the pear garden went? I saw that she seemed to like the pear garden very much, lingering by the gate and refusing to leave. So someone invited her into the yard, and now there are people taking good care of her."

  Li heard this and her face changed from pale to blue. This damn little hoof, already knew it was someone she sent, and actually took action again like last time.

  Xia Ting glanced at Li with a faintly cold gaze, intending to deal with her later. She then turned her head to look at Li's nanny standing beside her.

  Mrs. Li saw this woman who had just entered the door, with a pair of eyes like cut water, teeth like threaded shells, and demeanor and temperament seemingly natural and effortless, looking like a well-bred lady from a prestigious family.

  Mrs. Li secretly admired, really didn't think that the Xia family would have such a refined and elegant young lady. Although she was an illegitimate daughter, as long as no one said anything, who would consider such a woman to be those inferior, petty-minded illegitimate daughters? The young master's vision is indeed unique, and the princess's worries were for nothing this time.

  Seeing the other's gaze, clear and bright, made one dare not look directly. Li Nian bowed subconsciously and said "Miss Xia. I am Li Nian, a servant by the side of the princess, today I come to propose on behalf of the princess."

  She was just thinking of how to stop Mrs. Xia and ask her to bring the second young lady out for a meeting, but unexpectedly, the other party came over by herself.

  Xia Ting smiled slightly and nodded "So it's Li Matron, thank you for making the trip. I was delayed by something and kept you waiting."

  Her demeanor was neither arrogant nor humble, not belittling herself, nor with the slightest intention of currying favor. Only a legitimate daughter from a prestigious family would have such good manners and etiquette.

  Mrs. Li couldn't help but nod secretly, she was originally worried that the second miss of Xia's family would have the same moral character as Mrs. Xia, but it turned out that she had thought too much, and indeed one must see the real person to make a judgment.

  She handed over the gift list from her bosom with a smile, saying "Miss Xia, this is the gift list sent by the Jing Wang Fu. Please take a look. Also, the wedding date has been set, it's on March 6th of next year."

  Xia Ting stretched out her slender hand, took the gift list, glanced at it casually, and then turned her head to look at the open betrothal gift boxes on the ground. She just smiled and said, "No need, trouble the nanny to have someone move these to the Pear Courtyard. Wan Yu, go lead the way and give the gift list to my mother."

  Witnessing the summer listening to the condensed face facing this treasure trove of treasures and gold and silver jewelry, Mrs. Li's heart was even more for this second lady of the Xia family, adding a few points, this is the style of a noble lady. Which is unlike that Mrs. Xia and her two daughters, it's really too outrageous.

  Just looking at the attitude of the second young lady of the Xia family towards that Mrs. Xia, it's likely that their relationship is not good. But thinking about it, this second young lady of the Xia family is a concubine-born daughter, which means she was not born to the current Mrs. Xia. No wonder earlier she refused to invite her over and spoke with many offenses, without worrying that such behavior would make things difficult for Miss Xia after entering the Wang family. After all, she's not her own biological child, perhaps she even hopes that they don't do well.

  And judging from the current situation, Xia Jie seems to be not afraid of her stepmother at all. This can't help but make her a bit curious, and she must have someone investigate thoroughly when she gets back.

  Although many thoughts had flashed through her mind, Li's face did not show half a hint of it, but instead politely nodded at Xia Tingcong, instructing the servants to cover up the betrothal gift boxes and move them all to the Pear Garden.

  After all, the other party is the future Jing Wang's crown prince consort, and she is also a woman with such elegant manners. When she was about to leave, the crown prince had someone come over to convey his message, telling her to be respectful and courteous to Miss Xia, so now listening to her words and doing some things should also be a matter of course.

  Xia Rong was staring at the treasure trove of jewels in front of her, when she heard Xia Ting say that everything had to be moved away.

  All of a sudden, she became extremely anxious, opening her arms to block the way and saying "No, these are all mine, mine. You can't move them away. Mother, mother, say something quickly, tell them no one can move these things away."

  Such a good thing should be hers, and only she is worthy of having such a thing. How can it be given to that cheap woman Xia Ting?

  Xia Lian was also staring intently at the jewelry in the box, her hand tightly grasping a gold-inlaid jade phoenix hairpin and refusing to let go. Although she didn't show as much eagerness as Xia Rong, her eyes were fixed longingly on Li Shi, filled with a thick desire to find an excuse to keep these betrothal gifts.

  As soon as Li heard Xia Ting's intention to move away the betrothal gifts, her heart sank and she hastily put on a thick face to pretend to smile: "Ting'er, the Pear Garden is small, I'm afraid it can't hold so many things. Let mother help you lock them in the treasury instead, it's more spacious and closer."

  How could she just watch as Xia Tingjing, that little slut, took away all the betrothal gifts? Those were supposed to be left for her daughter's dowry and for her son's marriage proposal.

  Xia Ting smiled faintly and turned her head, taking a few steps forward to get closer to Li Shi. She whispered in her ear, "Madam, are you sure that once these things are locked in the treasury, they will still be mine? Won't you and your two daughters embezzle them? Do you think I would do something as foolish as sending sheep into a tiger's den?"

  She stepped back a few steps and returned to her original position, still smiling. Lock it in the treasury? This treasury is not under her management, she doesn't have the key. She didn't believe that Li would lock up these betrothal gifts in the treasury and hand over the key to her, fearing that they would take advantage of the opportunity to seize them for themselves. Such shameless things they could absolutely do.

  Li heard Xia Ting's straightforward words, her face turned red, and she was annoyed because her heart was pierced, suddenly her blood rushed up, and she shouted out "You, I am your stepmother, aren't your things mine? What's wrong with locking them in the treasury? Even if they are given to Lian'er and Rong'er in the future, it is rightful. They are your sisters. What's wrong with taking some of your things?"

  Li and the others only suddenly reacted after finishing this speech, realizing that there were still Shizhuang's mother-in-law and many servants standing in the hall. She actually said such words loudly in front of everyone, wasn't she clearly telling them that she wanted to swallow Xia Tingcong's betrothal gifts?

  Everyone in the hall was shocked to look at her, and Li Shi's face was so thick that she wanted to find a hole to drill into at this time. If this got out, how could she stand in the noble circle of Kyoto in the future?

  At this thought, Li suddenly glared at Xia Tingcong with a fierce gaze, it was all because of this little cheap thing, if not for her, how would she say such words to make people laugh.

  Mrs. Li stood by, and when she heard these words, her jaw almost dropped. She had lived for most of her life, but it was really the first time she saw such a shameless person, who could say such shameful words out loud.

  It seems that's what it is, Mrs. Xia was unwilling to send someone to invite Miss Xia over earlier because she wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to embezzle the betrothal gifts sent by the Jing Wang Fu. She's so eager to lock them up in the treasury. I really didn't expect Mrs. Xia to be so shameless, if she just said she didn't like Miss Xia, that would be fine, after all, she's not her own biological daughter. But wanting to embezzle the dowry of her stepdaughter to add to her own biological daughter's dowry is truly despicable and contemptible.

  It's really fortunate that she is still an official's wife, but unexpectedly her eyelids are so shallow. And those two legitimate Misses of the Xia family, actually bluntly showing their desire to monopolize these betrothal gifts, this is truly a mother and daughter, both equally shameless.

  Xia Ting looked at the other party with a faint smile, this Li Shi was really stupid enough. The reason why she said that earlier was to deliberately provoke her anger. After all, Li Shi was her nominal stepmother, and saying that she wanted her to lock up the betrothal gifts in the treasury was reasonable enough for outsiders to see.

  Now that there were outsiders present, she could no longer refute the other party as before. So she deliberately approached the other party and whispered these words in her ear to provoke her. Li Shi really couldn't tolerate any provocation, and these simple few words actually provoked her into loudly blurting out her own purpose.

  Because he spoke very softly to her, no one else in the room could hear them. All anyone else could hear were Li's loud and foolish shouts.

  In that case, even if someone wonders what they said to Li first, they will only guess in a direction that is beneficial to themselves. After all, the other party openly said that they want to occupy this concubine's betrothal gift. How could they be the victim?

  Now even if she refused Li's gifts in front of everyone and didn't put them away in the treasury, no one would say anything against her.

  Xia Ting's elegant hand smoothed her hair, and she said lightly, "Madam, you should be careful with your words. If what you just said gets out, who knows what people outside will think of you? Besides, Madam, I'm afraid you're mistaken. My mother only gave birth to my brother and me, when did she have a daughter?"

  What a joke, her sister? With the virtue of Xia Lian and Xia Rong, she doesn't have such good fortune to enjoy. Thinking of asking for her betrothal gift, that also depends on whether she is willing or not.

  Li was so angry that her whole body was shaking, this damn little cheap person, actually, actually dared to openly threaten her, if the previous words were spread out, then she would have a vicious reputation for robbing the dowry of a concubine, wouldn't it be letting others scold her behind her back? This killer.

  Seeing Li's family being speechless with anger, Xia Ting's elegant figure turned around and said "Take the things away."

  The people below the Wang Fu immediately covered up the boxes, but Xia Rong suddenly shouted "No way, Xia Ting you dare, these are mine, all of them are mine." After saying that, she pounced on the boxes and refused to let go.

  Li also felt a sense of urgency, her eyes rolling rapidly as if she had thought of something and suddenly shouted "Xia Tingcong, you have a big nerve. In front of me, your legitimate mother, you dare to call that Shui woman 'mother'. She's just a concubine, I'm your real mother, you should be calling her 'aunt' instead."

  Xia Ting turned her head towards Li and slightly raised an eyebrow, smiling lightly "So? What does the lady want?"

  At this time, she suddenly brought up her term of endearment for her mother, what is this Li trying to pull now?

  Li saw Xia Tingcong looking at her, and suddenly felt that there was a chance. Just as she was about to speak, she remembered that there were many servants from the Jingwang Fu here too. So she beckoned to Xia Tingcong, indicating for her to come over quickly.

  Xia Ting's mouth curved up as she walked forward, and Li Shi hastily put on a stern expression, lowering her voice to say "Although what you're doing is extremely unorthodox and unjustifiable. But considering your filial piety, if you leave these betrothal gifts behind, I'll pretend I didn't hear anything, and in the future, I'll even allow you to call that Shui Shi 'mother'."

  After saying these words, she secretly rejoiced in her heart, fortunately letting her catch the handle of this little hoof, now she should keep the betrothal gift.

  Xia Ting Cong couldn't help but find it extremely amusing, and in a voice that only the other party could hear, she said, "I really didn't think that the madam would say anything to get these betrothal gifts. However, it's a pity, I like being called 'mother' by my own child, that's my own business, do you think saying this can suppress me? If I were you, I would have found a hole in the ground to hide in early on, and yet you're still not satisfied with losing face here? Time and time again, you've made a scene in front of the servants of the Jing Wang Fu, wanting to snatch my betrothal gifts, do you no longer want your own face?"

  Li was so angry that she felt suffocated, her eyes staring fixedly at Xia Tingcong. This cheap woman actually dared to defy her, had she eaten something that made her lose all sense of propriety?

  Xia Ting's eyes narrowed into a silent, cold smile as she shot her opponent a warning glance. Only then did she back away, casting a sidelong glance at Xia Rong who was still clinging to the box, and said in a low voice, "No need to be polite, pull her away."

  The several maids standing behind Li Jiaojiao heard this and, with Li Jiaojiao's nod of approval, walked forward to pull Xia Rong away. However, the other party suddenly wailed loudly and struggled non-stop, shouting and cursing in her mouth: "Xia Tingying, you little slut, if you dare to move my things, I will never let you go."

  The crazy appearance is simply tongue-tied. Li Ayi couldn't help but widen her eyes slightly, was this really an official's daughter? Hadn't Madame Xia taught her what etiquette was?

  Xia Ting didn't hear a word, not even half of it, and didn't care about the other person's scolding. This madman really had no face to lose, daring to make a scene in front of so many outsiders, this reputation was truly ruined.

  Li was greatly shocked and hurriedly covered Xiaorong's mouth. This Rong daughter is really muddled, how can she make such a move in front of so many people? Isn't this clearly telling outsiders that the eldest Miss of the Xia family is an impolite and unrefined young lady?

  Xia Lian's hands were tightly grasping a few pieces of jewelry, her eyes fixed on Xia Ting, trying to put on an appearance of deep sisterly affection. "Second sister, since fifth sister likes these things so much, then second sister can give her a few boxes. Anyway, there are still so many here, and I believe second sister won't miss these few boxes either."

  Xia Ting rolled her lips and smiled shallowly, "Third sister is confused, this is the betrothal gift sent by the Jing Wang Fu, after a few days when I get married, it will be taken away as part of my dowry. Besides, madam is the mistress of the house, aren't all the things in the treasury left for you all in the future? Why are you all staring at me with these betrothal gifts?"

  Xia Lian's face stiffened, and she immediately turned to Xia Rong, who was covering her mouth with her hand, and said, "Fifth sister, don't be sad anymore. Although second sister doesn't care about our sisterly love, we are still family after all. Let it go. There is a newly bought jade hairpin in my room, although it's not as valuable as the hairpin in second sister's betrothal gifts, but it's also a token of my heart. I'll go get it for you later, and don't blame second sister anymore."

  With a pitiful expression as if she was about to cry, looking like she had suffered great grievances.

  Xia Ting was about to faint, Xia Lian was really good at pretending, she could say nonsense with her eyes open. What sisterly love, it turned out that what she called sisterly love was Xia Rong's scolding and calling her a little cheap person.

  Are they all pretending to be deaf in this hall? Just now, who didn't hear Xia Rong's insult to her? What sisterly love is that? Who believes it.

  Xia Ting glanced at the other person with a calm and composed expression, then said, "It's rare for Third Sister to be so understanding of the big picture, knowing that one can't have any ulterior motives when it comes to things that aren't their own. Come on, take Xia Rong away and hand her over directly to Third Sister, she'll definitely be able to advise her well, given how close they are as sisters." He completely ignored Xia Lian's face turning a deep purple color after hearing his words.

  Upon hearing Xia Ting's orders, the several maids who had just come forward immediately took action. They pulled away Li Shi, who was protecting Xia Rong, and directly dragged Xia Rong down from the box. The servants of the Wang estate hastily took advantage of the opportunity to carry away the betrothal gifts. As they left, their eyes looked at Xia Rong with contempt, thinking that in all these years, this was the first time they had seen such a shameless official's wife and daughter. This time, they truly gained some insight.

  Wan Yu smiled and walked ahead, gesturing for the Wang Fu crowd carrying the betrothal gifts to follow her.

  As soon as the betrothal gifts were taken away, Xia Rong directly pushed open the door of the Wang Fu's maid and ran to Li Shi's side, crying loudly. Xia Lian also hurried over, and Li Shi could only softly comfort her two precious daughters.

  She had come to her senses and knew that she couldn't make any more trouble now. Otherwise, who knows what kind of face-losing behavior that little cheap woman Xia Ting would do next. For now, she could only patiently wait for Li Nian's departure, and then think of a way to get the betrothal gift sent by the Jing Wang Fu back from that little thief.

  By the way

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