Chapter 57 "What's the reason..."

Chapter 57 "What's the reason..."

"What reason did you give me, Father, to use my dowry to bribe Xiao Yanhui?" Xiao Quexian asked tearfully, her voice filled with accusation.

“Your third sister will get married first. The Qin family's betrothal gifts include a manor at the foot of Fuhu Mountain. That's why I was thinking of giving your sister some of our farmland nearby as part of her dowry. It's convenient for her to manage both places since they're close together. But I also plan to supplement your dowry with some fertile land in Wangdong County. Don't worry, Xian'er, the supplementary land won't be less than what you got at Fuhu Mountain.”

Seeing his daughter's tears, Xiao Fuyan finally suppressed his anger at her for speaking recklessly and explained the matter properly.

Upon hearing Xiao Fuyan's words, Xiao Yan Hui knew that she had indeed gained some advantage in this matter, and she also knew about the fields at the foot of Fuhu Mountain that they mentioned.

In fact, ever since Qin Ji offered to give her the manor at the foot of Fuhu Mountain last year, she had inquired about the surrounding mountains and fertile fields. At that time, she thought it was in line with what Master Xiao was thinking. She also considered that when she got married, the Xiao family would give her some land as a dowry. If she could buy land in the surrounding area, it would be much more convenient to manage or expand the manor.

But after asking the first wife, she gave up the idea, because unfortunately, the Xiao family owned land there, but that land was always managed by the second wife's side.

The Xiao family was somewhat different from ordinary families. Xiao Fuyan was in charge of both branches of the family. The implication of the second branch managing the property was that although the land was not explicitly divided, it was implicitly considered to belong to the second branch.

After learning the ownership of those fertile fields, Xiao Yanhui gave up the idea of ​​expanding the manor. However, she did not expect that Xiao Fuyan had already quietly taken care of it without her mentioning it.

"Thank you for your understanding, Father." Xiao Yan returned Xiao Fuyan's greeting with a curtsy to express her gratitude.

"You..." Hearing Xiao Yan's thanks, Xiao Quexian felt her anger flare up even more. This bitch was clearly acting innocent after getting the better deal; she was openly provoking her.

He raised his right hand high and slapped Xiao Yan hard across the face.

Xiao Yan calmly took a step back to avoid the slap, and sighed inwardly: She knew... Xiao Quexian would make a move. That thank you just now sounded incredibly cheesy even to herself, let alone to Xiao Quexian.

But Xiao Yan Hui felt no remorse. From the moment Xiao Que Xian began to scheme against and suppress her, it was impossible for them to be good sisters.

At this point, it's really just a competition among them for family resources. Whoever gets the most favor or seems to have more potential, Xiao Fuyan will lean towards that one. So, all he has to do is put on a show of tenderness and affection.

Moreover, if Xiao Fuyan were to restore Xiao Quexian's fertile land as he claimed, she wouldn't be at a disadvantage.

From today's perspective, it seems like she's not losing out financially, but Xiao Quexian can't stand that what belongs to her is being taken away by Xiao Yanhui. Those fertile mountain fields have belonged to her since her previous life, so why should they be transferred to Xiao Yanhui now?

Most importantly, hot springs will be discovered at Fuhu Mountain a few years later. In other words, what she seems to have lost is the mountain, but in fact she has lost several hot spring sources.

The two men, who had been sitting upright, stood up abruptly when they saw Xiao Quexian start fighting.

Xiao Heyou stepped forward and pulled Xiao Yanhui behind him: "Second sister, watch your words and actions."

"Xiao Quexian, you're fighting with your sisters? Where are your rules?" Seeing that Xiao Quexian had actually started a fight, even though she hadn't hit her, Xiao Fuyan felt that his authority as a father had been strongly challenged.

He had already offered a compensation plan in a polite manner, but his daughter acted as if she hadn't heard him at all, and her behavior became even more outrageous.

Xiao Quexian felt all her anger was contained in that palm strike. She hoped to slap Xiao Yan Hui hard in the face and smash her smugness to pieces. Unfortunately, reality was completely different from her expectations.

It was a palm strike that had clearly been delivered with all its might, yet Xiao Yan Hui dodged it so easily.

Immediately afterwards, Xiao Quexian watched helplessly as her elder brother shielded her behind him, while her father glared angrily at her.

"No matter what you say, you're just biased and opportunistic. Those mountains and fertile fields at the foot of Fuhu Mountain are mine. You yourself said you would give them to me as my dowry. Besides, they belong to the second wife's family. Why should they be given to Xiao Yan Hui?" Xiao Que Xian knew in her heart that she had acted impulsively just now. Reason told her that she should say something softer and show some weakness.

But the anger that had been burning inside her for so long wouldn't allow her to back down. All she wanted to do was make a scene. She wasn't happy, so she couldn't stand seeing anyone else happy, and she especially couldn't stand seeing Xiao Yan Hui looking so happy and ready to get married.

"You haven't even discussed marriage yet, so how could there be any promised dowry?"

Faced with his second daughter's aggressive demeanor, Xiao Fuyan was initially somewhat guilty, but after failing to appease her, that slight guilt turned into displeasure. Now, hearing Xiao Quexian's words, which clearly seemed to incite a fight between the two families over the inheritance, coupled with Xiao Quexian's previous rudeness towards her elder brother Xiao Heyou, he was truly angry at this moment.

"Nonsense! Have I become increasingly indulgent, making you even more arrogant and ignorant of your own limitations?" Xiao Fuyan slammed the teacup in his hand down in front of Xiao Quexian. He wasn't even dead yet, and the second branch of the family was already plotting against the family's assets!

Xiao Quexian was completely provoked by the words "they haven't even discussed marriage yet." Her hateful gaze was no longer fixed on Xiao Yanhui; her eyes, red from crying, burned with a mad flame as she stared straight at Xiao Fuyan.

"Master." The second wife rushed in from outside the door and immediately shielded Xiao Quexian behind her.

Her hair was slightly disheveled from running, she was panting, sweat was on her forehead, and a faint blush appeared on her face: "Master, Xian'er is just too wronged."

Before she could finish her sentence, she burst into tears: "You didn't give me any explanation, and just gave the dowry that was originally promised to Xian'er to Yan Hui. Xian'er was just too scared. She was afraid that you wouldn't love her anymore, and she was also afraid that in your heart there was only the Third Miss and not her, the Second Miss. That's why she ran here and made a scene today. It's all just her childish jealousy. Please forgive Xian'er this time, Master."

"You have no idea what he just said! I'm not even dead yet, and she's already dividing up the first and second houses." Although Master Xiao's tone still carried some anger, it sounded much calmer. But precisely because those impassioned emotions were gone, his words sounded even more malicious.

The second wife only heard that Xiao Quexian was making a fuss over the land in her dowry, but she didn't expect that the conversation would involve the division of property between the two families. She immediately broke out in a cold sweat. If she didn't handle this well, it would leave a bad impression on the master.

"My second sister is still young. She suddenly found out that the things originally reserved for her had been given to my third sister, and Father didn't explain it to her clearly. It's understandable that the sisters would get emotional and quarrel. Father doesn't need to take it too seriously. The little girl is still immature. Just teach her more."

Before the second wife could even organize her words to dispel the suspicions that had arisen in Xiao Fuyan's mind, Xiao Heyou spoke up first to plead for Xiao Quexian.

Having spent most of the day as a bystander in this grand drama, with almost no action or words, Xiao Yan Hui raised her eyes upon hearing these words, looking at Xiao He You, who was still blocking her way.

She and this older brother rarely saw each other. The last time they met was during the Chinese New Year. However, they only pretended to be familiar with each other and chatted about daily life in the big family. They exchanged some auspicious New Year greetings. To be honest, although they were siblings, they were only superficially acquainted.

But her brother's performance today was somewhat unexpected.

This guy seems to be quite cunning. Just now, his words were ostensibly an explanation and excuse for Xiao Quexian's excessive words and actions, but he was subtly implying that Xiao Quexian's outburst was because she was influenced by some negative words and actions.

As for where this negative impact comes from, isn't it obvious? It's naturally from the second wife.

Moreover, he repeatedly said that she was young. If Xiao Quexian's age were in modern times, she could indeed be considered young and immature, but in this era, if she had married early, she would probably already have children by now.

Her young age is not enough to explain her crazy words and actions just now.

But Xiao Heyou's words sounded like nothing but good things, leaving no room for rebuttal or explanation.

The second wife was rendered speechless by him.

"Second Madam, Xian'er doesn't know the details about those fertile fields, but don't you know either? Why didn't you explain it to him?" Xiao Fuyan was indeed influenced by Xiao Heyou's words, and he immediately began to question the Second Madam.

"These are all old stories, and I had forgotten about them if no one had mentioned them. Besides, the marriage between Second Sister and Third Sister has been arranged for so long, and Third Sister's wedding day is just around the corner. You didn't mention the land before today, so how could I have thought of talking to Xian'er about it?" Second Madam explained logically.

"Alright, let's make this clear now. The reason I said I would give those fertile fields as Xian'er's dowry was because the Qin family has a manor in Fuhu Mountain, and our family's fertile fields are close to that manor, so giving these fields as dowry would be convenient for both sides."

"The person betrothed to the Qin family back then was Xian'er, so these fertile fields naturally belonged to Xian'er. But now that the bride has changed, I've taken the liberty of transferring these dowries to Yan Hui's name. Is that clear enough? These fertile fields aren't meant for any of you; they were originally intended as dowries for whoever marries into the Qin family. They'll go to whoever marries into the family."

This explanation did make sense, but Xiao Yan knew in her heart that it was just an excuse Xiao Fuyan had come up with at the last minute. In the past year, she hadn't known her father completely, but she knew him to a certain extent.

In short, it can be summarized in three phrases: no one gets up early for nothing, harmony brings wealth, and impartiality is key.

What Xiao Quexian said today was actually true; he was indeed biased. However, his bias wasn't because he particularly favored his third daughter, but because he discovered that he was more valuable.

As for Xiao Quexian, who was wronged, it was naturally because her marriage to the Liang family was getting worse and worse, which made Xiao Fuyan, who had once had high expectations for her, feel conflicted.

Through Xiao Quexian, Xiao Yanhui also discerned that this father was perhaps only capable of sharing wealth and honor.