20demayo Chapter 1114 "Dowry"
Chapter 1114 "Dowry"
After listening to Cui Jinyin's description, Shen Zheng's heart became heavier and heavier.
She asked solemnly, "Did you find that Prime Minister Cui really kept his promise and deposited a substantial dowry for you every month?"
Cui Jinyin was slightly surprised and asked in surprise, "Teacher, how did you know?"
At that time, even though she was used to seeing treasures, she was still shocked.
She even thought that Prime Minister Cui and the accountant of the Cui Mansion must have forgotten about this matter, otherwise why would they continue to transfer money?
Shen Zheng took a deep breath and asked again, "Did you take them all?"
"No... that's too much." Seeing Shen Zheng's expression was not right, Cui Jinyin also became nervous: "Teacher, is there something wrong? I, I thought that he owed it to me and my mother, so I thought it would be a waste, so I took out a small amount..."
"You, you!" Shen Zheng pointed a finger at her forehead and scolded her lightly: "Such a big thing, why didn't you tell your uncle or me?"
"I..." Cui Jinyin was a little panicked. "You and uncle were very busy those days, and I was afraid to disturb you, so I went to the bank by myself... But, because I didn't withdraw much, I turned around and forgot about it..."
As she spoke, her voice began to tremble: "Teacher, have I made a mistake? Will this implicate you and my uncle? I will send someone back to Beijing to return the money!"
Seeing her panic, Shen Zheng held her hand and said in a steady voice, "It's not serious, and it won't take long. Don't worry, eat first."
On the side, Yu Shizhang stood up and said to everyone, "Put away the gifts Xiao Cui gave you. Let's get ready to eat. You old rascal!"
"Hey!" Uncle Lai responded from the kitchen, "Master, there are two more dishes. Everyone, eat first. The dishes will be here soon!"
Everyone looked at the gifts on the table, not knowing whether to pick up their chopsticks or not.
They couldn't hear what the adults and Miss Cui said, but the adults' expressions looked a little strange, and Miss Cui seemed to have been scolded as well.
In such a situation, how could they dare to accept gifts?
Zhao Xiu was the first to speak: "Sir, this gift is too expensive. Miss Cui is willing to give it, but we dare not accept it. How about this..."
He paused, and before he could speak, Shen Zheng interrupted him: "This is a kind gift from Jinyin, you must accept it, and don't feel any burden. But there are some things I must say in advance. Most of you here are men. The silver jewelry in the box is a gift from Jinyin to the women in your family. If anyone dares to embezzle it secretly... I will not let him go, understand?"
Everyone was stunned by the joke.
Is the adult... angry or not?
"I'm not angry." Shen Zheng seemed to have guessed what they were thinking. She smiled and pulled Cui Jinyin to sit down. "I'm not angry at Jinyin, nor at the meeting gift. I just happened to remember... Jinyin still has some unfinished business at home, so I said a few words to her."
Everyone is doubtful.
Zhou Lizheng glanced around, then stood up and said loudly, "Don't worry, sir! You know who is in my family. If I dare to hide any private money, she will peel off my skin. I don't have that courage! Oh, and Miss Cui, thank you for the gift, welcome to Tongan!"
Wu Lizheng was secretly shocked. He pulled his sleeves and whispered, "Brother Zhou, you really dare to accept it?"
Zhou Lizheng sat back down with a smile, and then forced a smile and said, "Brother Wu, don't you understand what the adults are saying? Since Miss Cui has taken out this gift, there is no reason for her to take it back. And I guess... there is something else going on here, and we don't understand anything. It's better for us to listen to the adults and keep the things first. If the adults need them later, we can take them out!"
"Hiss..." Wu Lizheng thought intently, "That's right. Anyway, we're not short of money right now. We can save the gold leaves if we take them back. Just think of it as keeping them for Miss Cui!"
After that, he also put away the gift box, stood up and said: "Miss Cui, thank you very much! I am the head of Xiahe Village, my surname is Wu. If you are free, remember to come to Xiahe Village to play!"
"That's right!" Zhou Lizheng clapped his hands and was the first to put away the brocade box.
After thinking for a moment, he said to the crowd, "Everyone, just keep this matter a secret. Don't tell anyone about it, or they'll get jealous!"
Everyone was still hesitant, but nodded subconsciously.
Everyone present here is a smart person, and they have all been with Shen Zheng for more than a year, so they understand this principle.
The banquet began in a half-joyful and half-weird atmosphere.
At first, everyone was still in shock, the situation was a bit awkward, and no one dared to speak loudly.
But after Zhao Xiu and Zhou Lizheng stepped forward to toast Shen Zheng, the atmosphere gradually became lively.
Especially when looking at Shen Zheng, whom they had missed for a long time, everyone couldn't help but tell Shen Zheng about the interesting things that happened in the county recently while eating.
"Wu Lizheng would go to the dock several times a day, and many crew members mistook him for a dock laborer. They paid him to move cargo, but not only did he not do it for them, he even got impatient with them."
What about "While Sun Zhi was patrolling the streets, he saw an old woman walking slowly with a bucket of feces on her shoulder. Feeling that she was affecting the appearance of the street, he offered to help her carry the bucket. However, she slipped and the bucket overturned, filling the entire street with stench."
There's also something about "More and more men and women from other places are hanging around in the county, either wanting to marry in or marry into the family."
Among these anecdotes, the most outrageous one is "Lord Shen snatched back Lord Wei from the Grand Canal Transport Department and married him."
Shen Zheng's eyebrows curved when she heard this, but Cui Jinyin, who had always been curious about Tongan County, looked dazed and even dropped the food several times.
It was almost midnight and three rounds of wine had been drunk.
The moon was high in the sky, the lights were warm, and everyone left the banquet, stepping on their shadows.
Shen Zheng's eyes were clear, and Hua Duo had already called the yamen runners to prepare the carriage.
Looking at Shen Zheng who was about to leave, Cui Jinyin was very nervous.
Shen Zheng smiled and asked her, "We're leaving soon. Our most fashionable little girl... have you packed your luggage?"
This time they will probably only stay at the government office for one day.
But for Cui Jinyin, who loves beauty, she has luggage to bring with her no matter whether it is for one day or half a day.
Under the moonlight, Cui Jinyin was stunned by Shen Zheng's smile, and then nodded hurriedly: "It's ready, it's ready, teacher, please wait a moment, I'll go get it!"
After saying that, she ran away quickly, fearing that Shen Zheng would abandon her if she was too slow.
Beside Shen Zheng, Yu Shizhang sighed softly, "Look how scared she is by this girl. Actually... I often wonder if this girl is really the granddaughter of old thief Cui. Just look at her personality... She's too easily taken advantage of, and her brain isn't very bright. Take what happened today for example... Sigh, I don't even know what to say to her."