Liang Yuchuan was her elder brother-in-law. By reason and sentiment, he had no standing to say such things to her.
Unless, by saying so, he could curry favor with someone he wanted to please.
People outside all said that Liang Yuchuan was amiable, gentle, and approachable, completely different from Liang Yuzhou's noble and aloof manner, and it was easy for him to leave a good impression on others.
But Song Wanchu saw through his appearance.
Behind his cautious words and deeds was a man who would not do anything without a profit.
Her tone and look turned colder. "Brother, it's getting late. I should go home."
After Song Wanchu's carriage left, a magnificent golden nanmu carriage slowly drove out of the darkness and stopped under the lantern.
Liang Yuchuan dismounted and walked up to the carriage, bowing respectfully.
"Your Highness, the Crown Prince."
"I heard all the words you just said to Wanchu."
The delicate and precious carriage curtain embroidered with golden five-clawed dragons was lifted a little. The Crown Prince's voice carried a slight chill, and his eyes shot out two cold glints.
Liang Yuchuan keenly sensed that the Crown Prince seemed rather unhappy.
He buried his head even lower and his attitude became more respectful.
"Wanchu is a good girl. I think that maybe if she leaves the Duke's Mansion, there will be a broader world and greater wealth waiting for her. This is also what Your Highness hopes for, isn't it?"
The Crown Prince sneered coldly. "Do you mean that you hinted to her to leave the Duke's Mansion for my sake?"
"I just feel sorry that Your Highness failed to win the beauty's heart back then. It's never too late to mend the situation. I'm willing to do my bit to help Your Highness."
"Liang Yuchuan, you're really interesting. You act like a good elder brother in front of Liang Yuzhou, but secretly you want to help me snatch his woman."
Liang Yuchuan heard a hint of disdain in the Crown Prince's tone, but he didn't care at all. "It's my duty to serve the royal family, the Emperor, and Your Highness."
The reason sounded high-sounding.
The Crown Prince's eyes turned even colder, like a bottomless sea, emitting a cold and fierce light.
"Liang Yuchuan, you're very smart, but don't be oversmart. I do like Wanchu, but I never want to see her being forced to come to me after being constantly belittled, hurt, and humiliated!"
A fine layer of cold sweat broke out on Liang Yuchuan's back.
His eagerness to curry favor was too obvious.
"She has heard too many unpleasant words over the years. She doesn't need you to hurt her again with your so-called kind words!"
Liang Yuchuan buried his head deeply in his arms, pursing his lips and not daring to utter a word.
...
"Sir, Madam, the list of betrothal gifts is ready. Please take a look."
The steward of the Duke's Mansion brought the list of betrothal gifts to the Fragrant Snow Pavilion.
The old duke hadn't come to the Fragrant Snow Pavilion for dinner for half a year. The Princess Jiahe was extremely excited and even changed into a pinkish-white brocade dress.
Since they were going to discuss Liang Yuzhou's marriage, the old duke rarely spoke to the Princess Jiahe in a kind tone.
The Princess Jiahe was already overjoyed. When she heard that the betrothal gifts were ready, she could hardly contain her excitement.
"Quick, let me have a look!"
After reading the list of betrothal gifts, the Princess Jiahe's face sank.
"Why are there only 168 carriages of gifts? Back then, the gifts for Song Wanchu were a full 100 carriages more than those for Huiyan! And there are only 300 mu of good farmland, 200 mu less than what was given to Song Wanchu! The betrothal money is also less. Song Wanchu was given 5,000 taels of silver. How come when it comes to Huiyan, there are only 2,000 taels?"
She complained non-stop. She might as well have directly asked why the Duke's Mansion had become so poor.
The faces of the steward and the old duke were both turning black.
But the Princess Jiahe only cared about complaining. "Sir, this is too much. Huiyan is going to be the lawful wife when she marries in, but her betrothal gifts are less than those for Song Wanchu, a concubine. If this gets out, won't people laugh at us for favoring concubines over the lawful wife?"
She kept chattering on. The old duke looked bored and didn't even want to look at her.
The steward bowed and forced a smile. "Madam, half of the betrothal gifts for the Second Lady back then were supplemented by the old lady with her personal savings."
The Princess Jiahe immediately said, "Sir, the old lady has plenty of money. Why did she pay for the betrothal gifts when a concubine was taken in, but become stingy when it comes to Zhou'er's proper marriage?"
The old duke sneered continuously. "Don't you know how much your niece weighs in the old lady's heart? You're daydreaming if you think the old lady will pay for the betrothal gifts for you!"
The old lady still hadn't given her consent to this marriage and had turned a blind eye to the matter of the betrothal gifts.
In the past few days, she had simply pretended to be ill and even refused to let him, her son, visit her.
This was showing her attitude and putting pressure on him!
The Princess Jiahe actually had the nerve to ask the old lady for the betrothal gifts. Where did she get the audacity?
Shallow, foolish, and stupid without knowing it!
The old duke felt a wave of annoyance in his heart and didn't even want to have dinner.
"The gifts are a bit less, but I suppose the Yu family won't be able to offer much in dowry either. It's a match, so we won't lose face."
He perfunctorily replied to the Princess Jiahe, then put down the hem of his robe and got up to leave.
The Princess Jiahe refused to give up.
"Sir, we have to think of a way if the betrothal gifts are not enough. Huiyan will only get married once in her life. If her betrothal gifts are less than those for Song Wanchu, a concubine, how can she hold her head up in front of other noble ladies in the future?"
The old duke looked angry and impatiently shouted, "If you have the money, you can make up the difference. If not, just shut up!"
The Princess Jiahe reluctantly shut up. The old duke looked at her head full of jewelry and the pinkish-white dress that made her look like she was trying to be young, and the more he looked, the more annoyed he became.
She was already forty years old, yet she still tried to dress in such a youthful color like a young girl. It was like the ugly woman imitating the beautiful one. It was disgusting!
The steward standing beside them felt embarrassed.
"Madam, allow me to say one more thing. As the saying goes, a good horse deserves a good saddle. The betrothal gifts our Duke's Mansion can offer to the Yu family are actually quite a lot.
We can afford these gifts mainly because the Second Lady has managed the manors and shops well since she got married. She not only made up for the previous deficits but also had surpluses for three consecutive years. Otherwise, with our Duke's Mansion being so big and having more expenses than income, there wouldn't be a single extra coin."
When the previous deficits were mentioned, the Princess Jiahe's face froze. She glanced at the old duke awkwardly.
The old duke's anger was almost out of control.
Back then, after the Princess Jiahe got married and gave birth to Liang Yuzhou, she became more and more confident.
She almost forcefully took the power to manage the Duke's Mansion from the old lady.
As a result, within three years, the Duke's Mansion had more expenses than income. By the end of the year, there wasn't even enough money to send New Year gifts to other noble families.
In the end, it was the old lady who took out her money to make up for the deficit, so that they could smoothly get through the New Year and save the face of the Duke's Mansion.
After the New Year, the old lady thoroughly checked the accounts and found that the Princess Jiahe had embezzled 80,000 taels of silver from the public funds and used it to fill the bottomless pit of her natal family!
The old duke was extremely angry when he found out. In front of all the clan members, he gave the Princess Jiahe two hard slaps.
That slap almost completely erased the last bit of affection the old duke had for the Princess Jiahe.
It was from that time on that the Princess Jiahe started to hate the old lady.
That old woman was almost at the end of her life, yet she still wanted to control everything in the Duke's Mansion.
Why did she not allow Huiyan to marry Zhou'er? And why did she only pay for Song Wanchu's betrothal gifts but not for Huiyan's?
The Princess Jiahe was indignant.
She cursed in her heart that the old thing should die soon!
The night was getting darker. Liang Yuzhou's carriage passed through the bustling streets and stopped in front of the Elegant Studio.
When he was in a bad mood, he liked to come here to find some peace.
The shopkeeper quickly came down from behind the counter, bowing and scraping. "Young Master Liang, you haven't been here for a while! Coincidentally, Young Master Wen and Young Master Guo just booked a private room. Do you want to go and find them or book a separate private room?"
Just as he finished speaking, the door of a private room on the second floor opened.