Chapter 163: Chapter 163: What an Ungrateful Girl!

Yan Liqing was surprised and said, “This… my cousin is indeed too polite. How can we accept something so valuable?”

What they gave Fu Mingzhu and Fu Shinian were just little trinkets, nothing that warranted such a valuable return gift.

Yan Liqing felt in her heart that there might be something going on.

Otherwise, ordinary return gifts are usually based on the value of the original gift. How can one return jade for bricks?

Mrs. Yan was also shocked when she saw it.

But she was also from a scholarly family. Although her family was not as wealthy as the Cheng Family, they had seen good things before, so her eyes weren’t fixated on it at the moment.

However, she was also disdainful at heart, thinking that Fu Mingzhu was showing off to them.

“The young lady said, the cousin lady shouldn’t be so polite, we’re family, it’s nothing.” Qiu Li bowed and said, “I will be going back now.”

“Thank my cousin for me.” Yan Liqing hurriedly said.

“Yes.”

After Qiu Li left, Yan Liqing frowned, “The return gift from my cousin Mingzhu is really too valuable. Even if you were to visit a prominent family seeking a favor, such a gift would be sufficient. Why would she give us such a heavy gift?”

Mrs. Yan, however, rolled her eyes and said, “She’s just showing off!”

“Her maternal family does business, has money in their hands, and is showing off to us. She really has so much money that she has nowhere else to spend it, and is showing off in front of us.” Mrs. Yan said with disdain, “Truly a merchant family who can’t make it to the stage, everything they do carries a stench of money.”

“Cousin Mingzhu is not such a person.” Yan Liqing said, but then saw Mrs. Yan’s disapproving expression.

Yan Liqing didn’t want to talk to Mrs. Yan anymore, so she just said, “I can only go to the store tomorrow to pick out some gifts. It’s almost time for the list to be announced, regardless of whether the cousin makes it or not, we should prepare the gifts in advance, lest when the cousin makes it, we have nothing to give and are caught off guard. Even if he doesn’t make it, some consolation gifts should be given. Just in time to buy the gifts for Mingzhu and Shinian as well.”

Mrs. Yan did not agree, “Just buy for your cousin, that’s all. We’ve already sent gifts to Mingzhu and Shinian, there’s no need to send them again. The return gift from Fu Mingzhu is valuable this time, but that was her own doing, not knowing the weight. She could have returned gifts of a similar value. Now we’re in trouble.”

Yan Liqing didn’t respond.

She always felt that this return gift from Fu Mingzhu was not so simple.

Thinking of Mrs. Yan’s temperament, Yan Liqing asked, “Mother, tonight when we were out shopping, did you have someone send our gifts to Mingzhu and Shinian’s courtyard? Was the list all made out?”

Mrs. Yan immediately widened her eyes, unwilling to say, “What do you mean by this? Don’t you trust me? How long have you been learning to manage the household with your grandmother, and you think I can’t even handle such a small matter?”

“I don’t mean that…”

While Yan Liqing was helplessly explaining to Mrs. Yan, Fu Shinian was also approaching their courtyard entrance.

Just in time to see Qiu Li coming out from inside.

Qiu Li stopped in front of Fu Shinian, “Second Young Lady.”

“What did my sister ask you to do?” Fu Shinian asked.

“The young lady asked me to bring over a return gift.” Qiu Li said, not waiting for Fu Shinian to ask, she proactively said, “The eldest young lady sent the cousin lady a ruby-inlaid hairpin, and the cousin gentleman a box of high-quality ink.”

Both are good items.

Fu Shinian smiled, “In that case, there’s no need to send mine. Chunmian, put the items away and don’t bring them out later.”

Upon hearing Qiu Li’s words, Fu Shinian understood that Fu Mingzhu was thinking the same as her.

Since Mrs. Yan didn’t understand fairness, they were going to show her.

“Are you here for a return gift as well?” Qiu Li asked surprised.

“Tonight when Chunyu was checking the items with you, did you know why?” Fu Shinian asked.

“I did.” Qiu Li said, “When the young lady returned, I told her, and she immediately guessed that Mrs. Yan probably gave different things.”

“The young lady said we can’t let Mrs. Yan continue to sow discord like this.” Qiu Li said, “So the young lady ordered me to bring these two items. Although the gifts are different, they are of comparable value. Mrs. Yan may not understand, but the cousin lady is smart and will surely understand. I hope the cousin gentleman and cousin lady can restrain Mrs. Yan in the future.”

After Qiu Li finished speaking, she saw that although Chunmian had put away the previous two long boxes, she was still holding a small box in her hands.

“Young lady, forgive my impudence for asking.” Qiu Li inquired, “This box is…”

“It contains some small items sent additionally by my aunt.” Fu Shinian said, “It must be that the servants from my aunt’s side counted incorrectly and packed wrong, I’ll return it to her.”

Qiu Li laughed, “As expected, the eldest young lady guessed it.”

“What did my sister guess?” Fu Shinian asked with a smile.

“The eldest young lady said if Chunyu took the trouble to check the gifts, if there were any differences, the young lady would definitely address it with Aunt.” Qiu Li said with a smile.

“Alright, you can go back and report to my sister.” Fu Shinian said.

“Yes.” Qiu Li bowed.

Fu Shinian then took Chunmian with her into the courtyard.

Mrs. Yan was lecturing Yan Liqing unhappily, when a servant came to report that Fu Shinian was also here.

“These two sisters are really interesting.” Mrs. Yan said, “One comes, then the other, could it be that Shinian is also here for a return gift?”

Yan Liqing hastily said, “Quickly invite my cousin in.”

Fu Shinian came in with Chunmian.

Seeing that Chunmian was indeed holding a small box, Mrs. Yan began to smile, thinking that Fu Shinian really was here for a return gift.

“Aunt.” Shinian called out, “Cousin.”

“Why did you come here so late?” Mrs. Yan said with a smile.

“I just got back, the maid told me that Aunt even brought gifts from Jinzhou for us.” Fu Shinian said with a smile, “Thank you, Aunt.”

“It’s nothing.” Mrs. Yan smiled, “They are just local specialties from Jinzhou, not worth much, their charm lies in that they aren’t available in the capital.”

Fu Shinian nodded, then smiled again, “It’s just that the servants might have packed the wrong items, as I found a few extra pieces during counting.”

“So I came to return them to Aunt.” Fu Shinian said, “Otherwise, if I had more and my sister had fewer, given my elder sister’s temperament, she wouldn’t mind at all. She wants nothing, much of what I have comes from my sister on ordinary days. But I thought it wouldn’t be good to cause misunderstanding due to a servant’s mistake, harming Aunt’s reputation.”

Mrs. Yan’s smile suddenly froze and quickly faded, she took a deep breath.

Was Fu Shinian here to give her a hard time?

Such an ungrateful girl!

She kindly helped suppress Fu Mingzhu’s limelight, letting Fu Mingzhu recognize her own identity.

To make Fu Mingzhu understand that just because she shares the same title as Fu Shinian, it doesn’t mean she can stand on equal footing with Fu Shinian.

Fu Mingzhu in the end is just an illegitimate daughter.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep