He was murdered after his family was wiped out and left with no descendants; his whole family knelt

Chapter 22 Inventorying the Dowry

After the income from the shops, farmland, and estates over the years was tallied and recorded, Qiao Qingshu instructed someone to fetch the silver to settle the accounts.

As she watched the boxes of gold and silver being loaded onto the Bai family's carriage, Old Madam Qiao's brows furrowed more and more tightly.

Qiao Qingshu had compiled a stack of deeds for land, estates, and shops, made a copy, and handed it to her uncle, Bai Zhining.

“Uncle, please keep these contracts. Give them to your grandmother to register first. I will notify you to come and meet me after I have personally inspected them one by one.”

Bai Zhining nodded approvingly. His niece was even more capable than her sister, being well-educated, reasonable, and handling matters in an orderly and considerate manner.

He was even secretly amazed. Shu'er was only seventeen and had not yet left her maiden home. How could she manage household affairs so efficiently and effectively, as if she had been in charge of the household for many years? Could it be that her sister had taught her how to manage the household early on?

Even Old Madam Qiao was somewhat surprised. She originally thought that today's handover would be chaotic and would take three to five days to complete. Unexpectedly, before lunch was even served, in less than half a day, Qiao Qingshu had properly handled Bai's dowry.

While she was still in a daze, Qiao Qingshu walked to her side and said,

“Grandmother, the indentures of the servants and slaves who served Mother are also included in the dowry. I’m going to take stock of them.”

Madam Qiao pursed her lips. The Bai family had brought about fifty servants with them as part of their dowry. Over the years, some of them had married and had children, bringing the total to nearly seventy or eighty. She was worried that if they were released, the Qiao family would not have enough manpower, and the Qiao family might appear desolate.

He hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Shu'er, should we send these servants back too?"

Qiao Qingshu smiled.

"Take stock of them, keep what should be kept, and let go of what should be let go. If Grandmother has anything she is particularly proud of, just leave it to her. It's not a difficult task."

Qiao Qingshu looked up and smiled at Bai Zhining.

"You agree, right, Uncle?"

Bai Zhining snorted coldly.

"Sending a few servants to the Qiao family is not difficult. If the old lady likes any, she may keep them."

These words were truly unpleasant to hear, as if the Qiao family didn't need a few servants from the Bai family. Old Madam Qiao, still proud and defiant, retorted.

"Of course not. The Qiao family has countless servants. If the Bai family wants to go back, they can send them back themselves. The Qiao family will never hold them back."

Seeing that her grandmother was so concerned about saving face, Qiao Qingshu nodded in agreement with a smile.

After lunch, the Bai family's four or five carriages had made seven or eight trips back and forth before they had moved all of Bai's dowry.

At the hanging flower gate, Aunt Chen, having finished her meal, was picking her teeth. Seeing this, she laughed and scolded her maid, Hu Niu.

"Look at the Bai family's skills. Even after someone dies, they can still drag the dowry back, not letting the Qiao family get a single advantage. They truly are the Duke's mansion!"

Just then, Aunt Lian happened to pass by and was stopped by Aunt Chen to talk.

"Aunt Lian, don't be in such a hurry to leave! Come and see this good show! Even though your dead mistress is gone, her soul still knows to come back to ask for her dowry. She's a really clever little devil!"

The news of catching someone in adultery at the funeral last night has already spread like wildfire throughout the inner quarters. Even the maids who tend the fire are gossiping about it, not to mention the concubines.

Aunt Lian frowned, somewhat displeased.

"Even though Madam is gone, you shouldn't be so disrespectful. If you continue to speak like that, I will definitely report you to the old lady."

Aunt Chen just smiled and said,

"You're quite the loyal one, still defending your master even after he's dead. Don't you even open your eyes and see that the Qiao family is about to change drastically?"

Aunt Lian looked up at her with a puzzled expression, while Aunt Chen suddenly spat out a curse.

"That Xu Biyun! She pretends to be close to me, but she's been having an affair with Second Master all along. This slut is even pregnant with Second Master's child now. If she gives birth to a boy, what chance will we have in the future?"

After Bai Shi passed away in her previous life, Xu Biyun was made the legal wife. Although Aunt Chen was unhappy, Xu Biyun had become the legal wife after all, so she had no choice but to accept her fate and suffer in silence. She then turned around and continued to fawn over Xu Biyun.

But things are very different now. Aunt Chen felt a lot of resentment for being used as a pawn by Xu Biyun over the years. However, since Xu Biyun could not be the principal wife, she felt relieved and vindicated. She thought that since they would all be concubines in the future, no one was more noble than the other. She no longer respected Xu Biyun as before and now wished she could kick her a few times!

When Aunt Lian heard that she was talking about this matter, she was completely unmoved. She had never thought about vying for favor.

She turned and left immediately; she still had to go to Liufang Garden to burn paper money for Madam Bai. Last night's commotion must have disturbed Madam Bai's spirit, so she needed to burn plenty of paper money to appease her mistress's soul.

After Bai's dowry was settled, Qiao Qingshu said to Old Madam Qiao...

“Grandmother, Mother’s funeral is approaching. I have some free time this afternoon, so I need to go to Lingyun Temple to check out the place where the coffin will be placed, make arrangements with the monks, prepare the necessary furnishings, and get ready for the funeral procession.”

After a morning of running around, Old Madam Qiao was already suffering from a headache. Seeing that it was still about the trivial matters of Bai's funeral, she was naturally extremely annoyed and waved her hand.

"Go ahead, go ahead. You take care of it yourself."

Bai Zhining also said.

"Lingyun Temple happens to be on the same route as the Bai residence, so your uncle will take you there in his sedan chair."

Old Madam Qiao didn't care whether Qiao Qingshu rode in the sedan chair himself or in his uncle's sedan chair, and simply said, "Whatever you prefer."

Then, Granny Zou helped her back to Fushou Hall.

As the carriage bumped along...

Bai Zhining, Shen Wenying, and Qiao Qingshu sat in the sedan chair, their eyes meeting for a long time before they all burst out laughing.

Bai Zhining clapped his hands and said,

"You little rascal, this move is absolutely brilliant! I was worried you wouldn't be able to plan properly and would make a mistake, but it seems you are indeed very clever and astute, just like your uncle."

Aunt Shen Wenying smiled and pulled Qiao Qingshu into her arms.

"Shu'er, you did the right thing. If you hadn't been so clever and noticed, your mother would have been completely taken advantage of by the Qiao family."

Bai Zhining laughed freely.

"Old Mrs. Qiao's face today, hahaha, it was as black as the bottom of a pot, it was truly a sight to behold!"

Qiao Qingshu let down her guard, which she had displayed at the Qiao family home, revealing a shy, gentle smile.

"Yes, I feel very relieved. If I hadn't planned this show in advance, not only would my mother's life have been taken, but her dowry would have also fallen into the hands of others. It would have been too late to regret it then."

While the group chatted, they arrived at Lingyun Temple.

Qiao Qingshu alighted from the sedan chair and stepped forward to pay her respects to Ling Kong, the officiant.

Although the funeral was fake, the formalities still had to be followed. Qiao Qingshu finished her task after explaining the arrangements for the body's temporary rest and the funeral procession to Master Lingkong.

Bai Zhining led the way, and the three of them went to the meditation room where Old Madam Bai was waiting.

Pushing open the door, I saw Old Mrs. Bai and Mr. Ye sitting opposite each other, chatting and laughing.

Qiao Qingshu obediently lowered her head and bowed to each person.