Chapter Two Hundred Thirty-Three
"You silly child, what kind of foolish talk is this? Those things are merely worldly possessions." Lady Yao said with utter indifference.
After all, compared to those ostentatious items, the contents of these two chests were far more substantial than the dowry.
There was no need to fuss over some things. As long as their family was safe and sound, as long as they were together, Lady Yao felt it was all worth it.
"But, your daughter gave away the sincere intentions of you and father to the court." Thinking of this, Li Zhiwei shed tears of sorrow.
"You child, those things, gone is gone. If they're gone, your father and I can prepare another set for you." Lady Yao declared with the confidence of great wealth.
"Mother, speaking like that, be careful of arousing envy." Li Zhiwei said, smiling through her tears.
"What of it? Your father and I can afford it. What others see or think, what does it have to do with us?" Lady Yao repeated her magnanimous statement.
"Alright now, with you crying like this, if your father saw you, he'd definitely think I bullied you." Seeing her daughter's low spirits, Lady Yao quickly added.
"Mother would never bully me. Mother is the best mother I could have." Li Zhiwei said obediently, nestling into Lady Yao's embrace.
She greedily savored her mother's tenderness.
Thinking of everything she experienced in her past life, and her parents' tragic deaths, she did not regret acting this way in this life.
Those things were not a major issue either, they were just worldly possessions.
"Don't you want to see what mother has prepared for you? Do you like them?" Seeing her daughter's mood was not great, Lady Yao teased.
"Mother, what have you prepared for me?" Li Zhiwei quickly sat up, asking curiously.
"Wouldn't you know if you looked yourself?" Lady Yao said with a smile.
Li Zhiwei curiously opened the first chest. Inside were some hairpins, jade pendants, and jewelry.
"Just keep these things." Lady Yao felt that a young girl of Li Zhiwei's age probably wouldn't enjoy wearing such ornaments.
However, these items also held significance for being preserved.
"Mother, you should keep these things for yourself first." Looking at the jewels in the chest, Li Zhiwei still felt these items should be kept by Lady Yao herself.
"You keep them. Sooner or later, these things were meant for you anyway." Lady Yao had long since grown indifferent to many things. After all, her own mother had been gone for many years. If not for what Shu Heng did to Weier, her elder brother might still have been reluctant to give these to her.
"Never mind those, look at what's in these two chests." Lady Yao gestured for Li Zhiwei to look at the others.
Li Zhiwei opened the slightly smaller chest. Inside was a full box of property deeds, land deeds, and some contracts of indenture.
Li Zhiwei's eyes widened. This full chest's value was probably far greater than that dowry, wasn't it?
"Mother, all of the family's things like these... you're giving them to me?" Li Zhiwei asked somewhat incredulously.
She thought to herself, in her past life, did these things also end up in the Lin family's pockets?
In her past life, they didn't let her handle such matters. If her parents had also intended to supplement the dowry, these things would likely have been taken advantage of by that pack of wolves, the Lin family.
Thinking of this, a sour feeling rose in Li Zhiwei's heart.
Her parents toiled their whole lives, only to end up making a bridal gown for others. No matter who encountered such a thing, their mood wouldn't be particularly pleasant, would it?
At this moment, Li Zhiwei grew even more curious about what was in the other chest.
After all, that chest was the largest and didn't look like it would hold ordinary things.
Li Zhiwei opened the chest. Inside, placed prominently, was a stack of banknotes.
These banknotes were all issued by Jinlilai, the largest silver house in the capital, and were redeemable everywhere.
Looking at the large chest filled with high-denomination banknotes, Li Zhiwei conservatively estimated there had to be over a million taels worth.
"Mother, what is the meaning of this again?"
Now, Li Zhiwei began to suspect whether Li Tianyou and Lady Yao had secretly sold off all the family's assets?
Otherwise, where did so much money come from?
Previously, they had prepared several hundred thousand taels of silver for her dowry.
Now, with so many banknotes, Li Zhiwei suspected this might be the entire Li family fortune.
"I already said, this is the dowry your father and I are giving you." Seeing her daughter's astonished expression, Lady Yao couldn't help but show a smile.
"To be precise, these are the greatest source of confidence your father and I can give you." Lady Yao looked at Li Zhiwei and said again.
"Mother, do you mean... those things before were just for show? Only this is my real dowry?" After saying this, Li Zhiwei swallowed hard, wondering if it was as she thought.
Seeing her daughter's stunned look, Lady Yao felt both heartache and found her daughter adorable.
"You didn't really think that with our Li family's resources, marrying off a daughter, we could only afford those one thousand three hundred and sixty loads of dowry, did you?" Looking at her daughter's expression, Lady Yao couldn't resist teasing.
"That dowry, though splendid, isn't very useful. It's merely for show. In critical moments, it can't save a life either." Seeing her daughter's expression, Lady Yao explained further.
After all, those things were indeed beautiful, but hard to liquidate. They weren't as practical as real gold and silver.
Zhu Jingchen: So that's why those things are still in the treasury! They're difficult to dispose of! Li Tianyou is truly cunning!
Li Zhiwei swallowed hard. She had never known about any of this. In her previous life, these things never reached her hands.
She didn't know if they were intercepted by the Lin family, or if her parents had other plans?
Thinking of her parents' tragic fate in her past life, Li Zhiwei couldn't help but suspect that all of this might have been a Lin family conspiracy.
Could it be because her parents produced these things, making the Lin family covetous, wanting more, and when her parents refused, they fell victim to the Lin family's schemes?
The more Li Zhiwei thought about it, the more unsettled she felt.
While Li Zhiwei was preoccupied with the dowry matter, she was unaware that in the imperial court, because of her, arguments had long since erupted into a fierce uproar.
If Li Zhiwei found out any later, perhaps even a second child would have been fabricated in the rumors.
However, Li Zhiwei soon found out as well.
"Miss, Eunuch Liu is here." Qinghua called from outside the room.
"Understood, we'll come out now." After responding to Qinghua, Li Zhiwei said to Lady Yao, "Mother, Eunuch Liu is the Chief Steward by the Emperor's side. Later, no matter what, just listen to what I say." Li Zhiwei quickly instructed Lady Yao.
Lady Yao nodded. Regarding the capital's etiquette and such, Lady Yao was completely ignorant.
At this moment, she also didn't understand why a eunuch from the Emperor's side had come to the Li family.
However, seeing her daughter's calm demeanor, Lady Yao felt somewhat relieved.
"Greetings, Eunuch Liu!" Li Zhiwei performed a half-curtsy towards Eunuch Liu.
"Eunuch Liu!" Lady Yao also nodded in greeting to Eunuch Liu.
"This must be Lady Li? Truly a beauty that would put the moon and flowers to shame." Eunuch Liu said with a smile.
"Please forgive my impropriety, Eunuch Liu. Might I ask if there is something you require of me, that you have come at this hour?" Li Zhiwei inquired, looking at Eunuch Liu with curiosity.
