When Cui Mei heard this, she became anxious. Zhao Su's dowry was not a small sum of money. She had been jealous a long time ago. Now, taking advantage of the opportunity of Ruo's marriage, she was preparing to change Zhao Su's dowry. If she handed it over at this time, wasn't so much of her thoughts in vain?
She said aggrievedly: "Master, do you not trust my family? Ling's dowry should be prepared by me as a mother. How can I leave it to Ling to let her prepare it? How do you arrange the slave house?"
Zhao Ling didn't bother to watch her acting, and said directly: "Mother, your daughter heard that the doctor often comes in and out of your mansion these few days, are you having any physical discomfort?"
"Yeah?" Zhao Jiang also looked at Cui Mei's family and asked, "are you unwell?"
Cui Mei gave a dry smile and said, "Master, it's not a big deal. I just felt a little pain in the chest, so I asked the doctor to come over and see me. The doctor said I was just tired..."
"My mother is so tired, so she must be tired from buying sister Ruo's dowry. How can I bother mother by buying my own dowry too? Besides, mother has to take care of sister Ruo's body before she gets married. Isn't it? Mother Xu, who happened to be beside your daughter, is also an experienced person to do the errands with me, and it's probably not a bad thing. Mother, what do you think?" Zhao Ling interrupted her, and said with a faint expression.
Zhao Ling already knew that Zhao Ruo was really pregnant, and also knew the truth about the fire that day.
Meng Yun has always disliked Zhao Ling. After getting intimate with Zhao Ruo, Zhao Ruo always talked to him about how stupid her sister was, which made Meng Yun even more determine to do everything possible to give up his marriage.
Zhao Ruo then came up with an idea and asked Meng Yun to arrange for Zhao Sanhuai to enter into the mansion to find a chance to harm Zhao Ling. However, Meng Yun never thought about killing Zhao Ling, nor did he expected Zhao Ruo to be so cruel that she actually wanted to set her sister on fire.
For this, he also reprimanded Zhao Ruo who later concealed it under the pretence of being innocent and pitiful.
Zhao Ruo was very angry that day because Meng Yun reprimanded her for Zhao Ling. So she complained to Cui Mei, and happened to let the maid beside her listen. Rulan and Luzhu were good sisters, and they often inform each other of any news. This time was no exception.
However, without evidence, she decided to stand by and watch.
Cui Mei looked at Zhao Ling's unwavering eyes, feeling a little flustered. For some reason, under such eyes, she felt invisible. Does she know about Ruo? She was shocked, and now there was no need to fight hard with her. It would only slow-down her plan.
She thought for a while and said, "Ling is so compassionate and filial. It takes only a few days for me to sort out the dowry list and then we will go to the warehouse to count the goods together, will that be alright with you?"
"That would be so troublesome. Don't I still trust my mother?" Zhao Ling asked smiling faintly: "Mother only needs to give me the warehouse key. I already have a copy of the dowry list here. Just check with the actual items in the warehouse. That's all."
"Just do it, Mei, you have kept it for so many years and you have worked really hard. From today on, give it to Ling, and you can prepare for Ruo's marriage with peace of mind." I don't want to be entangled in this kind of dowry.
While Zhao Ling was sorting out her dowry, Cui Mei was bedridden, distressed, in the room. The prepared fakes are intended to replace the original calligraphy and paintings in the dowry container. She began asking herself "What should I do now, is it a waste? It also costs money to make fakes, nowadays. So why not let her get frustrated?
Seeing that Cui Mei was unwilling to accept those things, the close mother next to Cui Mei suggested: "Why don't you put those things in Zhenbaozhai, Madam. If you run into those who are not good enough, you will sell them to them. I can't even recognize them. ."
Cui Mei was originally from a small family, short-sighted and coveted for small profits. Listening to the personal mother's suggestion, although it felt risky, but she really felt sorry for the money, so she followed the mother's suggestion.
Who was Zhao Ling? She had a master's degree in psychology. She had first-class observation and reasoning skills. Hearing the news that the treasurer of Zhen Baozhai had met Cui Mei, she guessed Cui Mei's plan.
Since she wanted to die so much, she would by all means help her. Zhao Ling said to Mother Xu. "Mother Xu, I heard that a distant nephew from your natal family came to the capital to seek refuge with you, isn't it?"
Mother Xu replied: "Yes, miss. Speaking of which, the old slave's nephew is also a scholar, but unfortunately there was a disaster in his hometown, and life is not going on well for him. So he wanted to come here to try his luck."
Zhao Ling nodded, and instructed Mother Xu. "Let your nephew do what I'll tell him tomorrow. If it is done, he will benefit from it."
On the second day, a foreigner came to Zhen Baozhai's shop and asked if there was a masterpiece painting called "Dragon Lilly" by the famous painter Lu Luchang in the store. Seeing that it was a high-profile guest from outside of town, the Zhen Baozhai invited him into the inner room and sold him the fake "Dragon Lilly" picture.
Unexpectedly, a few days later, the foreigner reported Zhen Baozhai to Shuntian Mansion, saying that it was Zhen Baozhai who sold fake products to the market. After receiving the case, Shuntian Mansion went to Zhen Baozhai's shop. They searched and found a number of fake items. Zhen Baozhai was apprehended and fined 50,000 taels of silver.
Upon hearing the news, Cui Mei became angry and fainted.
After their plan succeeded, Lu Zhu and Mother Xu really admire their young lady more and more. Zhao Ling still had a faint look, and said to Mother Xu. "Mother Xu, your nephew is doing a good job. Recently, Linglong Pavilion should sell a batch of jewellery, let him buy it at a low price as much as possible. If things go well, I'll let him be the treasurer of Luo Yufang."
Ling Long Pavilion was under the name of Cui Mei family, and Luo Yufang was the dowry of Zhao Su family. And it had always been taken care of by Cui Mei family. Over the years, Cui Mei took the opportunity to carry out many things.
Unknowingly, she had privately transferred many things from Luo Yufang to Ling Long Pavilion. Now is the time to get them back.
Mother Xu's nephew was also a sensible person, and naturally did a good job on this matter. A few days later, he bought a batch of jewellery from Ling Long Pavilion at a price forty portion lower than the appraised price.
Seeing that Mother Xu's nephew had some business acumen, Zhao Ling hired him as the shopkeeper of Luo Yufang. The original shopkeeper had long been bought by the Cui Mei family, and Zhao Ling naturally couldn't keep him around anymore.
On the grounds of his advanced age, he gave him a severance pay and sent him away.